Be Excellent To Each Other

And the voodoo

N+1

Lovely!

I will post pics of mine later.

My fav is my Planet X Nanolight in yellow...

My new mountain bike.

Pah.



Now that's what you call a bike.

Mine is one like this. (not this exact one, but very similar)



Mmmm... sub-£100 Halfords....

It gets better: It currently has a Child Seat on it, like this one...

I was in Giant on Saturday buying the boy a bike for his birthday. Now I want one.

'Kin 'ell.

I've been meaning to get the Proflex sorted out for some time. I think I'll end up getting shot of it in the end, but I wanted to sort it out. The rear MCU has hardened which is apig. I've got some Land Rover bushings which could replace it that I was very kindly sent (Thank you, Krazywookie!!) but hadn't yet put on. Anyways, I was clearing space in the garage and put the stripped frame out of the way, by the window. You can see where this is going can't you... I glance out this morning and thought "That looks odd". The rear MCUs have melted!

I did some quick googling, and there was a company in the UK that does spares, but their website is knackered (Rapid Descent, Scotland). more googling reveals a website in the US that will ship what I need (MCUs for front and rear shocks) and that'll be $106 thank you very much.

OR I can do this

EDIT: AHAH! Ebay could sort me out for £90 with springs. Still form the US, though.

IDEA I HAD WHEN I WAS IN THE SHOWER!

Could I buy a spring (spring rate to be determined, but sufficient for 2.5inches rear travel and I want it to be supple, not just a big hit) and make it fit? Assuming i can, then that is all well and good, but there would be little rebound dampening apart from my body mass. Could I use the Land Rover doodahs that Krazy wookie sent me above and below the spring to absorb the initial rebound? Would that work, if they are less compressible than the spring, then the whole thing will compress fine, but o the rebound, the spring energy would go into compressing them a bit first?

I would disassemble the shock, fit the doodahs and leave it at that! Is there a damper inside the shock or something? I think not and as such a spring would make for godawful oscillations. I think poly bushes have inert damping properties which is why they are so handy in car suspension! That inner tube trick doesn't look like it would last very long

Grabbed me some new kit from ebay

So in the pub someone was saying that if they really give it the beans on their bike they can hit 50mph.

Really?

Downhill, with a following wind.

Not beyond the bounds of possibility. I doubt on the flat though. Downhill mind you, as Dp said. Top sprinters hit 40+ on the flat after 6 hours. Down the alps 70+ is reached.

My road bike runs out of gearing at 42 mph - beyond that I'm reliant on gravity to pick up speed as I can't spin my legs any faster.
Mine's only a compact triple gear set though, so with taller gearing and a bit more hill, yep, plausible.

Oooh, wait, I have evidence, though I'm not sure the 50mph isn't a GPS glitch.
https://www.strava.com/activities/138197174

You would have to spin a 52:11 at about 200rpm

Edit: a 53:11 at 120 rpm on 23mm 700c wheels is 45mph.

MATHS!

95℅ going for a Voodoo Zobop now, over a Boardman Team FS. It is bright green, has longer travel and reviews mention the need for a stiffer rear end on the Boardman. Will get sized up tomorrow.

First upgrades will be SPDs and probably new brakes. And removal of reflectors.

Halfords bikes? Get a merida, they're better. Or indeed a giant or specialized or trek.

Yeah, they review very well, and the Hoodoo I have is great for the price. Any reviews on a £1k meridia?

I'd like 140mm travel and stuff. Voodoo and Boardman do it for the price and review very well, you see, and this is what is driving this.

Fair dos, I see them as a false economy thing, the frames are poor quality and so are the bearings and it'll be years before the geometry catches up to big brands. I'd rather folk spent a bit more and got proper bikes with good servicing backup and decent warranty cover. I.e. not halfords! Sorry not trying to be a duck here, but it's something I see a lot and it bothers me, ignore at will

That was meant to say dick obviously. Sigh.

I got a Halfords bike and the front wheel collapsed within a year. I'd never buy theirs again.

Not at all. I dug a bit deeper and the range isn't just limited to halfords so I will looksee this week.

I am limited to £1k as cycle to work scheme, and the saving makes it £680.

zobop review is positive and gives it 9/10, bad points being slippy grips and saddle height. Which should be doable. It seems to have better tyres than the Boardman Team FS, and I think I'd prefer better tyres and a green coat of paint. Halfords are getting a 19inch Boardman in to sit on, but I think I have talked myself I to a Zobop now.

Going to get the Boardman. I went to Halfords and had a look a.d a chat. It's a lovely looking piece of kit and I prefer the suspension system on it. And red is a winning color.

Do you know the max weight\age that seat will work with? Thinking of getting a bike I can take my son out on.

Also anyone have a recommendation on balance bikes for kids? (3) was just looking at getting one from Tesco Direct as we have £200 worth of club card vouchers. But if there are better recommendations would be happy to look at them

Any balance bike will do. What i did with MiniKov was just take pedals off his bike.

I like this idea. Good man.

Bike seat: I have a Hamax Kiss and still take my daughter out on it. She's 5 in a couple of weeks.

Balance bike: don't get one of these. Mini Fop found it much too heavy to get on with.

I considered a balance bike but then realised that Randall is lazy so I would have to push her everywhere on it, and it's only work going downhill sio balls to that.

Same experience for me. Nothing more frustrating than shuffling down the street, stooping over a bored child so you can push them on their balance bike while they paddle like a half-drowned dog in a pond.

If you want to go the other way, away from safety etc, come to Whitstable for lessons in how to take your little girl to school as she stands on the handlebars of your bike. Bloke here does it regularly - kind of amazing; her balance, his ability to hold on and the sheer insanity of the thing.

I took Minikov to a tennis court at the park. he whizzed round

When bored, we left

Dempsey sat on a paw patrol bike in Halfords and it fitted but she wasn't strong enough to turn pedals. She then detonated when we had to leave as I had ignored her advice of "Let's buy it!".

Pick it up today! Woowoo

This is what I was planning to get for him

http://www.tesco.com/direct/zycomotion- ... d=497-2811

It looks good and its one of the more expensive ones so thinking (maybe naively) that it will stand the knocks my son will give it.

Agree with the point that he might get board but hoping I can build some interest over Christmas as my Dad is coming over and he does anything granddad tells him

Bike is part of a general plan to get him doing a bit more including swimming, he loves water but gets pissed off when he can't move himself around.

Not sure if he is like other kids with his wiliness to get out and do things, but he can be really lazy with walking wanting me to carry him all the time.

I don't think it matters with a balance bike on the cost, very few moving parts.

Don't forget kids have much smaller legs and have to take more steps to cover the same distance as you, so get tired much quicker than adults.

Apologies if this sounds obvious/granny sucking eggs type thing, but I've seen parents try to transition from pushchairs on e.g. the school run and will literally go from child sitting one day to walking the next and then get cross at the kid because they can't walk to and from the school without wanting to be picked up.

Balance bikes are awesome. I'm sure they helped my kids make a quicker transition from having having stabilisers on pushbikes to going without them.

I find with my son that if we meet my brother somewhere for a walk then he will happily walk for miles, if I take him to the park around the corner then he wants to be carried.

Also when we go to the supermarket I will park as far away as possible as its just habit now to get steps done, so he wants me to carry him until we get to the doors then he wriggles until I put him down and is off to the toy section bugging me to get him Thomas trains!

On the topic of swimming lessons we had a call back from somebody who does 1-1 at the local pool £20 for 30 mins

I have a mate who's boy is around the same age as mine, he said you should not put stabilisers on the bike when they move from a balance bike?

Also my brothers son is getting swimming lessons and he has been told no arm bands when he takes his son outside of the lessons, he gives him a blow up ring instead.

Still some way to go for both for my son!

I chuck Tubbs into a rubber ring and she'll bob abut a bit and do some kicking to swim a length or to eventually, then she just wants to jump in a lot. I think MrsA wil take Withnail and I to some place for swimmng lessons (£20 an hour)because I dunno how to properly do it, i just go as it is realtivly quiet for an hour or so.

We can't use this swimming instructor as she only teaches when he is in nursery, so plan is to call another pool close by. No way I'm going to teach him as he will just want to piss around with me, but he will do what another adult tells him as long as I'm sat in the viewing area. He goes to a gym type class on a Thursday and parents have to sit in a viewing area, he always does as he is told in this class.

yes I pay £30 for 45mins for 1 2 1 for me

They weren't on for long, just long enough for them to get used to the whole peddling thing. If I remember correctly both my kids learnt how to ride without stabilisers at 4 years old.

Just tell him it'll turn you purple.