My cleats have died after about 4 months of use. Is this normal? I do commute daily and cycle at weekends.
What type are you using? If they are Look and you've been walking around without cleat covers then you are lucky to have got 4 months. I learnt the hard way going through 3 sets in about 9 months until I discovered these:
My cleats have died after about 4 months of use. Is this normal? I do commute daily and cycle at weekends.
What type are you using? If they are Look and you've been walking around without cleat covers then you are lucky to have got 4 months. I learnt the hard way going through 3 sets in about 9 months until I discovered these:
I Commute most days and get through my cleats about the same amount. As Clem says, the covers are an absolute must if you're going more than a few steps in them. Although, don't forget to take them off... trying to clip in with the covers on and not realising they are there is possibly the most infuriating/stupid thing I've done on a bike!
London to Paris this weekend... Solo almost the entire French side due to a fucked knee and not having anyone riding at the only pace I could manage (less than 27k/h)
I must be the only person in history who has done the ride slower the second time round (just inside 24 hours taking the ferry delay into account, Greater than 24 hours if not)
Still a great experience - despite losing the ride on my Garmin, getting a flat 30km from the finish that robbed me of a chance to beat my 2013 time, the aforementioned fucked knee, not being able to ride with my mates for anything other than the first stage and a half in France and not getting any drafting benefits for 160 miles...
Should have known it wasn't my year when I waa allocated number 13 for the ride...
Double sided cleats are great if you have knee problems as they allow for a larger range of float than Look Keo or SPD/SL. They're also marginally better for cornering due to a lower stack on them - but unless you're crit racing, that won't be of any benefit to you (even then the benefits are offset by the fact that speedplays have a propensity to come 'unclipped' when hammering a sprint)
They have their drawbacks - they require more maintenance, the recessed cleat is a pain in the arse if you end up walking over mud whilst clipped out as it makes it a bitch to clip back in (this is also true of SPD/SLs and Keos, but they're much easier to loosen mud out of as they sit proud of the shoe) and they are more fiddly to clip in and out of for some people (I didn't like it when i tried them out, but know other people who prefer them to 'proud' cleats)
In short, unless you're having specific problems with knee pain, or have a real issue clipping and unclipping, stick with what you know.
Also, I go through about five/six pairs of cleats a year on around 10-12000km. I can't be arsed with cleat covers, and walk around in my cleats a lot after/before riding. If you bought cleat covers, you could easily make a pair last six months riding 5000km and flipping left and right every few weeks - unless every one of those km was commuting (clipping in and out wears cleats down, hence you'll find the side you clip out on gets worn much faster than the other unless you switch them around regularly)
I reckon I must be doing something wrong.....I change my cleats every 2 or 3 years...always use speedplays and only ever had one issue when a pair exploded one morning as I tried to clip in...definitely invest in some cleat covers and then use them always...
Is it me or are motorists getting more and more less considerate towards cyclists?
I have gone from having one argument a month to one a day !
I don't actually think there's an increase in the number of complete pricks driving. I just think those complete pricks that are driving are now much more aggressive than they used to be. The media is largely at fault for this - sensationalising what are in fact mild incidents of road rage (witness that plum on Priory Road a while back) and attempting to reinforce the narrative of 'a war on the roads'
If the number of really bad drivers were increasing, the number of deaths and serious accidents on the road would be getting higher every year alongside the increase in cyclists, and statistics just don't bear that out.
In fact, I can't remember the last time I had a serious row with a driver - there are little slanging matches semi regularly, but I haven't had an off or a serious 'near miss' that's causes me to lose my shit for what seems like yonks.
I've been off the bike this week. Had a crash on Monday night where I landed face first giving me a right shiner and a chipped tooth and split lip. Which of course will all heal in time. But my left hood is bent inwards by about 20 degrees. Is this easy to fix or will it need new parts?
Sorry to hear about your crash. Glad there's no lasting damage - though I'm still missing a tooth and a half from my crash five months ago, don't leave it as long as I have to get the teef sorted!
If you pull the brake lever, you'll find a little bolt that takes an Allen key - hold the lever down, get the right size key and loosen it, then you'll be able to pull the hood back into the right po sotto. Tighten the bolt again afterwards, obviously
We've had a pretty dry period in the southeast the last few weeks. All the oil and shit on the road makes for a much greaser surface the first couple of times it rains. Avoid drains, painted lines etc and sharp cornering and you should be ok
We've had a pretty dry period in the southeast the last few weeks. All the oil and shit on the road makes for a much greaser surface the first couple of times it rains. Avoid drains, painted lines etc and sharp cornering and you should be ok
Seconded. I came off at the weekend from exactly this. Why drain covers cannot be made with a coating of asphalt on the lid I'll never know, but the wet surface should have been enough warning itself
Comments
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Exustar-E-CK1R-Cleat-Covers-Compatible/dp/B0030ZOKG2
I must be the only person in history who has done the ride slower the second time round (just inside 24 hours taking the ferry delay into account, Greater than 24 hours if not)
Still a great experience - despite losing the ride on my Garmin, getting a flat 30km from the finish that robbed me of a chance to beat my 2013 time, the aforementioned fucked knee, not being able to ride with my mates for anything other than the first stage and a half in France and not getting any drafting benefits for 160 miles...
Should have known it wasn't my year when I waa allocated number 13 for the ride...
They have their drawbacks - they require more maintenance, the recessed cleat is a pain in the arse if you end up walking over mud whilst clipped out as it makes it a bitch to clip back in (this is also true of SPD/SLs and Keos, but they're much easier to loosen mud out of as they sit proud of the shoe) and they are more fiddly to clip in and out of for some people (I didn't like it when i tried them out, but know other people who prefer them to 'proud' cleats)
In short, unless you're having specific problems with knee pain, or have a real issue clipping and unclipping, stick with what you know.
Also, I go through about five/six pairs of cleats a year on around 10-12000km. I can't be arsed with cleat covers, and walk around in my cleats a lot after/before riding. If you bought cleat covers, you could easily make a pair last six months riding 5000km and flipping left and right every few weeks - unless every one of those km was commuting (clipping in and out wears cleats down, hence you'll find the side you clip out on gets worn much faster than the other unless you switch them around regularly)
http://prostatecanceruk.org/amsterdam
I have gone from having one argument a month to one a day !
If the number of really bad drivers were increasing, the number of deaths and serious accidents on the road would be getting higher every year alongside the increase in cyclists, and statistics just don't bear that out.
In fact, I can't remember the last time I had a serious row with a driver - there are little slanging matches semi regularly, but I haven't had an off or a serious 'near miss' that's causes me to lose my shit for what seems like yonks.
But my left hood is bent inwards by about 20 degrees. Is this easy to fix or will it need new parts?
If you pull the brake lever, you'll find a little bolt that takes an Allen key - hold the lever down, get the right size key and loosen it, then you'll be able to pull the hood back into the right po sotto. Tighten the bolt again afterwards, obviously
I seem to find riding in steady light rain harder than anything else. Roads felt like an ice rink.