Now we are deep into the winter season what are people doing after washing their bikes ?

My usual plan is leaving it drying outside and then into the garage after the foolproof bounce it a few times and then a quick lube of the chain with light oil.

I have heard about people using dehumidifiers of that air blowing thing that car detailers like to use - but are they necessary?

My method hasn't seemed to let me down in the last 30 years or so.

What nonsense bikes on trains rules do your local train operating company have? Here's some of mine (London North Western):

• No cargo bikes. What is a cargo bike? Is an elephant bike a cargo bike? It's no bigger than a normal bike.
• No trailers. I can break my Carry Freedom Y trailer down so its tiny. Admittedly this isn't the case with all trailers, but most of them can be broken down so they're small. Are big pushchairs allowed? Some Burley trailers double as pushchairs.
• No more than two bikes per train - regardless of how many carriages designed for bikes are on the service
• Disconnect battery from eBike...regardless of whether it's something you knocked together from AliExpress, or a £10k eBike.
• Switch all bike lights off (including helmets) when using the railway. What should I do with my dynamo? OK maybe this one isn't nonsense given the reasoning, but they appear to have forgotten lights can't be switched off on dynamo powered bikes, and many eBikes too. My eBike has a stand rear light.

https://preview.redd.it/w2r8dz2qf87e1.jpg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a5c840808b21f59dd94e869bbd82ec60f09c6f68

Might need a new one!

Hello,

I went to buy a new inner tube today after getting snake bite type punctures two days in w row (and not finding anything wrong with tyres or rim.) I went to put the wheel back on I saw the tube bulging out like this. At least, now I know what's wrong.

My friends think someone stabbed my tyre. I personally have no idea what happened.

The worst bit is I was excited about going for a ride but it's not happening today.

So I'm new to bikes and want to buy my first one my budget is up to 300 and want to find a decent one to ride around to get to places and would also want bike lock recommendations ! Any help will be appreciated

Just wondering has anyone here tried swapping their car for a bike? It's something I've occasionally thought of doing but haven't done so yet for a few practical reasons and a few lazy ones. It also doesn't help that where I live in Northern Ireland has next to no cycling infrastructure/lanes so the traffic puts me off a bit too (and the weather).

Wondering has anyone else cut down/cut out their car usage? I know some people rent cars when they need them but the nearest car rental place is about 10 miles away.

Hi all. I'm in the process of setting up a new bike brand from my current bike shop in Bristol, with the aim to offer out the brand in the near future to other independent bike shops as a cooperatively owned company. For the first year I will be selling them just from my shop and online, making hybrids and gravel bikes designed to be tough enough for UK commuting.

Long term I'd hope to offer a full range of bikes, and should be able to offer UK cyclists the price of direct-to-consumer, the quality of big brands, with the aftersales service of a local bike shop.

I've devised a pretty rubbish survey (my skills are fixing bikes, not IT!) it'll only take 10 mins to fill out but if you could share your opinions with me I'd be very grateful.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSep4x0gVT9826ZXSDboOdlqVt8etYACLFP_IlzC-fKgh7p4LA/viewform?usp=sharing

I was walking down the pavement, wall on one side and road on the other.

I heard a ding but I didn’t know where it was from (didn’t think to look behind me for some reason!) anyway they got closer then yelled ‘scuse me!’ a woman made me back against the wall to let her past on the pavement, little kid on the back. When she went past she goes ‘f-s sake’.

It’s not a cycle and walking shared pavement or anything, just a normal one.

I felt really bad! What are the rules?

Hi

I'm looking at buying a new bike for commuting to work (3km), pootling about town, and the occassional longer (20km) rides in summer.

I am now feeling pretty done with drop bars and the bike I've been using most recently was a flat bar which I liked.

I was considering the Genesis Broadway https://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/product/genesis-broadway-vargn23240/VARGN23240/GN23240SM but couldn't find any reviews or experiences online. Does anyone here have experience with it?

Hey all, I've recently got back into riding and I picked up a Carrera Subway 2 second hand. The original forks had some minor surface damage but nothing that worried my LBS.

I got a pair of replacement forks regardless, from the brand Airbike. At first I thought it was the top cap and just rode normally, there was a loud click sound that happened rarely. - It was noticeable, but happened so rarely that I originally thought it was the cable housing. I checked it over myself, took off my wheel and checked everything, nothing stood out to me as being an issue. - The LBS hadn't really heard of the brand, but still installed them as I've known them for a few years now.

This noise only really occurred when riding over a bump, or a small pot hole. - As I've done my best to avoid those, the issue wasn't that noticeable.

I re-attached the wheel and it had been silent for a number of months after.

It wasn't enough to make me immediately get off the bike and start praying. The bike shop checked it over at the time, but couldn't reproduce the noise, they replaced the star nut and headset cap for free, they've done far more for me than I could ask for.

This was done in May, a month after I had purchased the forks, they're an Ebay seller and... the exchange today prompted me to seek out additional support/advice.

Over that period of time, the clicking started to happen more and more frequent. Not "I really shouldn't ride this" frequent, but every so often, at least 3-4 times in a 5/6 hour ride. Then gradually more and more, to the point where mid-November it was happening when riding over small bumps in the pavement.

Now, it's probably twice as loud, occurs when going over the slightest bump and under braking no matter what speed.

So yesterday I contacted the seller (on Ebay, it's the business page for Airbike, rather than a individual seller), the exchange wasn't exactly pleasant and I was immediately dismissed and told that I have no rights. Word for word.

I contacted them on their WhatsApp customer service number, as it turns out, the CEO handles everything. This is the brief exchange I had with them.

For clarification, I pointed out that the LBS saw the conversation I had today, after they saw my bike on Thursday. Today I visited them and shared the conversation. They told me of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 - Something I disclosed in the Ebay conversation, after they originally dismissed my issues with the forks.

So now, I'm looking for advice on how to proceed. - Ebay has stepped in to some degree, agreeing that it was completely unprofessional and advised me to contact my bank. But I'm hoping that someone here may have some other recommendations, other than the immediate obvious which is to avoid AirbikeUK completely in the future.

Cheers.

edit just to give a more clearer timeline.

Forks were purchased in April this year. The clicking occured shortly after but was so infrequent it didn't really concern me. It was taken in at the time about a month after, they couldn't reproduce the noise, I rode on. Gradually between then and today, it's steadily got worse. - To the point where it was easily reproduced as of Thursday. Bike shop told me to get in touch with the manufacturer/seller, I did that yesterday (Sunday) and got an immediate response from the CEO of AirBikeUK. I was immediately dismissed and told they won't replace them, I showed my LBS this afternoon and they told me what my rights were. - They told me to remind them, as the exchange was completely unprofessional.

The forks were purchased on Ebay, the page explicitly states that they come with a manufacturers warranty.

im looking for some decent waterproof trousers which i can wear over my normal clothes for short inner city bike rides. can anyone recommend a brand which is good quality and reasonably priced?

Hello, I am looking for a couple of events to book in to keep the motivation up on Zwift this winter. I have only been cycling a year and a half so haven't done a lot. Was intending to do Ride London again but that's obviously been cancelled.

I found a Sportive in Cambridge which looks great and I was going to do one of the Glorious Gravel events too. I did wonder, are sportives closed road? I don't really understand as I believe Ride London is classed as a 'sportive' but I don't really know what that means.

Are there any fun events anyone can recommend? I am in the Midlands but happy to drive a couple hours but Cornwall and Scotland are out of bounds for sure.

Also are there any fun group rides that welcome strangers? Or events that some youtubers or companies (like Rapha) organise? I'd love to get in on some of them too.

I'm about 35 minutes from Cambridge and plan on going there once a week for a fun ride just to get the experience of riding around others a little more and being in a city as opposed to the countryside, I didn't know if there were any clubs there I could get involved with?

Thanks! :)

Good morning everyone. After my last post about some of the details regarding the cycle to work scheme, I have decided that I will make the most of the scheme and upgrade my current bike.

The roads around my home town are sufficiently bad that I would benefit from bigger tyres and more relaxed frame geometry. I have a Ribble bike and I have been very happy with it so my first thought was to look at the new Ribble offering and I nearly pulled the trigger on their new AllRoad SL. This bike has all the benefits that I am looking for and the price is decent. Looking for alternatives, the Canyon Endurace CF7 and the Giant Defy Advanced 2.

Spending a bit more time into it, I think I am going to go for the Defy for a couple of reasons. On the Canyon CF7, I am not sure I am sold on the integrated cockpit and if I was to consider the Endurace 7, the frame is Aluminum and I just love the feel of riding a carbon frame, so that is too much of a compromise for just a cockpit. Aside from that, the Endurace has stellar reviews and looks like a proper good endurance bike, both on roads and light gravel/pathways/bridleways. The Ribble AllRoad looks good, but some of the reviews are a bit meh, however in terms of specs that is probably the closest to what I am looking for. The only thing that has bothered me was (again) the cockpit which feels very cheap for a bike of nearly £2K. Not that is a massive problem, but I wished they had spent a little bit more time on it. Aside from it, good set of wheels, lighter than the Endurance Al frame version. Recently I decided to check once more my options and the Defy keeps on coming back as a strong contender. The more I read reviews, the more I am convinced this is the absolute best package. All the reviews are excellent and pretty much everyone seems to focus on how comfortable the bike it. Composite frame, hydraulic brakes, comfort... The cockpit looks to be the closest to the non integrated / Comfort side of things. Price to specs, reviews and pretty much everything else I can read about this bike is telling me this is the one I should go for.

Has anyone got any experience with this Giant Defy Advanced bike and how do you feel about it? If you also have some experience with the other ones that I mentioned Canyon Endurace CF7 and Ribble AllRoad SL, please feel free to share you experience too. Thanks

My husband and I are considering going to the UK for vacation next September. He is a hard core road (American Cat 1) cyclist and has also gotten heavily into mountain biking. Thus all of our trips involve dragging along the road bike in a bike case :)

We are thinking of doing the following:

--Fly into London, spend a day or two

--Take the train up to Edinburgh

--Spend 5 days in Scotland--Edinburgh/Inverness/maybe the Isle of Skye--open to other options.

--Take the train back down to London to fly home (just significantly cheaper to fly in and out of Heathrow)

Trying to balance his need to be on a bike and my desire to do other things is always tricky, but we usually manage it. I'm happy to wander a city/village on my own or hang out at a good hotel while he does an early morning ride--he usually likes to do at least 100km and loves to do the really iconic stuff. I also ride enough to be comfortable on a e-road bike or e-mountain bike if they are available to rent for a shorter ride with him. (I did Els Angels in Girona with him a few months ago, though I didn't love the city traffic).

I am a huge Outlander fan (I know, I know) and am hoping to see a few of those sights and we both love history and any outdoor adventure. We don't know a whole lot about Scotland and where to really start! Any suggestions for things to do/places to hit that will be good stops for both of us?

Some other questions:

--Is taking the train from London to Edinburgh with the bike case going to be a problem?

--We were planning on renting a car once we got to Scotland. I'm assuming getting to places we want to be via public transport + bike case will be too difficult otherwise? We live in Western North Carolina, so tight, curvy, mountain roads are no big deal, but the other side of the road thing is a little worrisome to me.

My forks are caked in mud but the disk brake rotors not? Why is this?

I know contaminated disc brake rotors are a problem so not saying they are perfectly non contaminated but why don't they pick up the mud? I realise they are designed for this but what is it technically that does this?

Hi guys, I'm out hunting for a good 700x32c tyre for my hybrid bike for daily commute and I found this. Is this website legit? The price seems too good to be true

Hi guys, first post here as I’m after a bit of advice. Essentially, my nice bike got stolen (again) in central London. I was mainly using it for commuting so to save much despair and money I bought a very cheap single speed bike whilst waiting for the insurance payout.

I’m now left with a £3000 voucher for Sigma Sports that I have I don’t want or need. I’m thinking this might be a common occurrence. If so, what have other people done? Are there any threads/forums where I could give it to someone for slightly cheaper?

As the title suggests, does anyone know of a pannier bag that functions like a sling & able to fit larger items?

The Arkel one looks ideal however it's a bit pricey & postage from Canada is £20 on top.

I confess that I'm an SPD dork; cold isn't a problem since I bought expensive winter cycling boots &c. But my partner is a normal person, doesn't identify as a cyclist, occasionally enjoys a weekend ride with flat pedals and a pair of trainers - but recent winter rides have led to very chilly toes. Are there any good options for a warm overshoe which aren't designed around cleats...?

Decathlon have a couple of options like this - but is there anything else good out there, anything insulated? What do the good folk of r/ukbike recommend?

First post - be kind please :)

Wanting some feedback on my proposal to Lambeth Council. If supportive, please go and like and comment. If not, please comment below and I can see how I can incorporate appropriate changes. I note that this is an existing roundabout with a MASSIVE centre island and stop-start traffic lights already within the roundabout. I believe this makes it a different problem compared to other roundabouts that do not have traffic lights within the roundabout.

Status Quo

The roundabout at Lambeth Bridge on the Albert Embankment already has a special cycle way which segregates cyclists turning right onto the bridge.

Current design

This great design needs to be expanded for every other direction. The current roundabout is a concrete eyesore as of July 2024, with the trees in the roundabout having been cut down.

Proposal

The dark green shows the new cycle ways. The on-ramps and off-ramps are all modelled based on the existing roundabout cut-throughs. A mini cycle roundabout is shown at the centre of concrete roundabout. This great design needs to be expanded for every other direction. The current roundabout is a concrete eyesore as of July 2024, with the trees in the roundabout having been cut down.

https://preview.redd.it/v2x0e0vjog4e1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=b9670dfb27c2ff4aec9a97a278e40a087995bd26

Benefits

The redesign will result in a better flowing roundabout for all road users and increased cyclist safety, where the traffic light timings are optimised for cyclists to encourage uptake. No longer would motor traffic be required to wait for cyclists to accelerate within the roundabout.

In addition, this would allow the joining up of cycle ways c8 and c5 between Westminster and Lambeth. The light green cycle path (with an appropriate box junction in front of Lambeth High Street) would allow proper and safe access to C5. 

Simple changes

The concrete eye sore will simply need the addition of the proposed route, and can be further improved with greenery.

Given the presence of traffic lights already within this roundabout, the only change needed would be to slightly modify the location of the advanced and normal stop lines to the location of the red boxes, to give space for cyclists to enter / exit the mini roundabout. This is already the case on 2 of the four exits due to the existing cut through, so in the traffic lights and stop lines only need to be adjusted on 2 of the exits.