SiPie

Just a general bit about your commute really, how far, type of bike, how long it takes, cycle all through winter etc etc ?

Me:

9.18 miles each way.
26 minutes -> work (downhill)
35 minutes -> home (uphill)

Penicuik - Edinburgh city centre.

No cycle paths (cycle lane however) so it's take your chance with Taxi's & Buses

Used a Cannondale F400 mtb (very light though!!) with the headshock locked out with road tyres up at 80psi

Now using a Specialised Sirrus 07 Hybrid
Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op

Showers at place of work

Cycle all through winter, gales last week (70mph up here) was interesting

Anyone else???

Oh, and please save the all cyclists are wank3rs for somewhere else, plenty of them certainly are (students around Edinburgh mostly!!) and some of us do actually follow the highway code, don't run pedestrians over by going through red lights and generally follow the highway code and some of us even have Subarus in the garage at home with nowhere to park the damned things anywhere near work

davegtt

Me:

3.5 miles each way.
25 minutes -> work (downhill the up a very big hill)
20 minutes -> home (down very big hill seeing speeds of 50+ before uphill at the end)

Grantham one side to the other, all on road stopping for traffic lights and avoiding ****** who overtake and pull asl close to the kerb as possible.

Use a GT Aggressor, few years old now and could REALLY do with a service

No showers so change of clothes kept at work now and end up half naked in the toilets for 10 minutes washing myself down at the sink

Cycle when I dont have a car which has been quite often recently.

scoob_babe

Only have 1.5 miles each way to go so not too bad at all really. I can get there in pretty much a straight line door to door although I do use public footpaths (empty) as the roads are in a shocking condition and most drivers here are fairly inconsiderate to bikes.
Don't tend to kill myself getting to work as I can't be bothered to traipse around to the shower or want an entire wardrobe in my desk - do have spare office boots in there - swap out of bike shoes!

speye91

Do the Seagull's follow you around?

KiwiGTI

4 miles each way through Hyde Park, Wellington Arch, Green Park and past Buckingham Palace.

20 mins to work, 35 going home - looks flat but is actually up hill on the way home (St Johns Wood)

LG John

all cyclists are wank3rs

Si, one day I'm going to have a day off and give you a drive-by supersoakering

imlach

Good on you Sipie. Penicuik -> Ed not the most cycle friendly route, so you have my admiration.

While the commute in the winter can have it's harsh moments, you do benefit from those lovely crisp winter days, viewing a beautiful sunrise while pedalling along.

I'll give you my two top tips for dealing with Edinburgh's buses and taxis.

1. If a taxi cuts you up and is empty, take advantage of their central locking which automatically unlocks at the next set of lights....open their nearside rear door, gie them some abuse, and pedal off. They have to get out and shut the door, which pees them off no end. Best done where there are escape routes, as the buggers tend to get a deathwish and try to mow you down. Anywhere around the Meadows is pretty safe

2. Buses. If you ever get cut up by a bus, take advantage of their engine cut off ****, which is often found on the rear of the bus next to the engine. Disables the ****** which gives ample 'rant' time.

As for dealing with the Saxo Boaby and his supersoaker, remember that bike water bottles are surprisingly accurate as well. A damp S2000 interior is far harder to dry than a wee bit of lycra

C'moan the bikers!!

Simon S3

Yep,

Cycle all year round.

I have a Scott Boulder from 1998, nice frame and good components. It`s just a hardtail but they`re my favourite without spending loads of cash. I`m toying with the idea of getting a Trek SU600 though.

Have got City Slicker tyres pumped mega hard.

Cycle 7 miles to work and usually about 10 on the way home (I go the long way back most days unless the weather is really ****ty).

WHEELSHOP0_0

Lycra dries surprisingly well when trapped between the tarmac and hot exhausts of the parked S2000 as he runs you over in retaliation for his damp interior

ps Am not really recommending road rage as a solution.

paulr

Yes we are,but the satisfaction of cycling past a load of even bigger ******* in a traffic jams,ignoring red lights and one way systems and getting home before you makes up for it.

.......

LG John

Whilst normally I'd agree Sipie is so small that if I ran him over the bottom of the car would probably only mess up his hair

King RA

6 miles each way, about 25 minutes both directions (wind dependent ). Use a specialized stumpjumper with armadillo road tyres (highly recommended). Every weekday come rain or shine.

King RA

Check this forum out Cycling Plus - Commuting

KiwiGTI

In fact the worse the weather the better the riding can be. It is true there are a lot of cyclists who are ******* - you tend to get a lot of holier than thou tree-huggers that ride in fairweather and they disappear at the slightest sign of coldness or rain.

imlach

I use Specialized Armadillo slicks as well, pumped up to about 90psi.
On average, getting about 1 puncture per year on them, which helps a lot. Work colleague on non-Armadillos was getting about 1 puncture per WEEK until he saw the light! Nothing worse than getting a puncture on the daily commute.

Suresh

Fair weather commuting only. I cycle to work a couple of days a week in the summer and occasionally on bright and sunny winters days - I guess that makes me one of your holier than thou tree-huggers Kiwi,

14kms / 35 mins each way. No hills whatsoever.
My beastie is an aluminium "Giant Brisbane" 7 speed city bike with suspended front forks and saddle stem. The bike has hub brakes which means no stopping problems when wet. Shimano nexus gears and dynamo are also hub mounted. Tyres are semi-slick.

My route is mostly through beautiful countryside on dedicated, segregated cycle paths . I work in a city, so some of the the last 3 km is on the road with a painted cycle lane to keep me safe.

Unfortunately most cyclists are ******* - with around half electing not to have any lighting whatsoever.

scoob_babe

Unfortunately I don't get a say when I have to use the bike for work as it depends when Rich needs the car - cycling to work in the rain isn't good - spare clothes needed in my rucksack and tends to get heavy!!

I like the bus disabler idea though

KiwiGTI

Those are the tree-huggers I'm going on about. They usually ride old style iron frame bicycles with baskets on the front and generally look like students or university lecturers (in feminine studies). Never any lights, sometimes on their mobiles, but always oblivious to any other traffic and always go through red lights.

Suresh

Ah! That would be the Dutch then

scoob_babe

That would be students in Cambridge!!
How they couldn't see or hear the scoob was beyond me!!!

SiPie

PMSL @ Imlach .... Love the Taxi tip

...and Kenny LOL ;o)

Just bought a new bike at the weekend, as I priced the bits I needed to keep the Cannondale running sweet and it was around £350 quid

So a new Specialized Sirrus Fast street bike it is....keep the Cannondale as a spare

www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk

We'll see if it shaves any time off tomorrow's ride... should do

LG John

I thought most of your rides were a 30-second affair?

<you have to stop giving me material like this to work with>

SiPie

**** you're sharp for first thing on a Monday

Hope all's well mate

LG John

Yeah, S2000 chucked a benny and wanted £850 in repairs but I sourced the part from a blown engine and fitted it myself at the weekend for £90 and the car seems to be 100%. Got it with me at work today - for testing purposes you understand

SiPie

Good to see some things never change

Goochie

As of this morning I'm working 15 mins from home. Its along a canal towpath though and I'm worried about punctures from all the hawthorne hedges along the way.

Do they do run-flat tyres for bicycles?

I could take the road route as most of the pavement is cycle laned but that involves going up a significant hill to come all the way back down again... the tow-path is pretty much level all the way.

I'm using the bike I go tfor my 16th Birthday 10 years ago - Diamond Back Topanga. No suspension but it has 21 gears and decent indexed shifters.

KiwiGTI

Sort of

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?ReferID=goo...FQu-XgodSVHyzA

RMA26

As Cyclists, do you ever get splashed by busses or trucks?

davegtt

Sometimes, doesnt matter though as cyclists if its raining we're drenched already.