A bunch of us headed out for a loop of London on Christmas Day. Top idea from Object and a nice ride with quite a few more people than I expected joining in.
Thanks for the pics Horatio. Merry xmas all!
Monthly Archives: December 2008
Condor Pista
I went for a short ‘tweaking’ ride on the Condor on Sunday before Mal and I ventured to Tower Bridge for fasteddy’s xmas lunch (2am home, for LUNCH?! :)).
Today was its proper debut as my new commuter. The bike really is nice! It’s larger than the WAC Langster I was using so it fits me better and it’s reasonably light for a steel frame (none of this 531 guff, it’s some reasonably stiff SAT14 bollocks – now I’d love to try their EOM version). So, it handles really well, it’s very comfortable (tyre pressure was on the low side before you aluminium haters jump up). The 47×17 (74″) gearing is higher than I was previously using 48×19 (68″) and with clear roads it’s great. In heavier traffic (London peak) the stop start might start to wear me down. I had planned to run 47×19 but I might leave 47×17 on for a while. I’m yet to fit the Planet-X rear track wheel so it’s still using my old Open Pro. The half-link chain sounds great when you ‘go gumby’ slowing down as it vibrates through the tubing but I think I should swap it out for a smoother running chain given its roadie-esque design spec. The drops are much better than the silly track drops I had on the Langster although the brakes are shite – probably due to the cheap brake pads. Had to adjust the slipping post this morning (torque wrenches on xmas list). I wouldn’t mind swapping the caliper out for something a bit nicer and running replaceable-pad holders. All in all I’m pretty happy with it!
Cheers Hammo (frameset), BMMF (cog), Bobob (bars), BDW (post), craignasty (wheelset), dodanto37 (chainring), RPM (stem), polybikeuser (buying WAC), ebay (saddle):)
Smackdown #2
Second time I’ve crashed on my own in a month. This slippery miserable shitty weather is not just annoying, now, it’s dangerous! 🙂
Of course, it was after the work xmas party and I was tanked but I’d ridden from the city to Ealing without issue. 🙂 It was only when I went to suss out the chip shop and hit a very slippery patch of tarmac (I checked it out last night and it was greasy – actually difficult to stand on) that I hit the deck. I was on the Rubble and managed to break off the rear light, shred the rear derailler cable and cut holes in my brand new gloves. WAC.
Again, for some unknown reason, my left shoulder is worse, even though I hit my right hand side. I don’t get it. I’m over this cycling bollocks. I’m off to buy a BMW off a credit crunched banker.
In more positive news, my new commuter is almost ready to roll.. it’s an ’07 Condor Pista + some bits of forum members..
Tour de Ville – Grand Opening
www.tourdeville.co.uk – grand opening
After months of preparation Tour de Ville is almost ready to open it’s doors to the public on December 13th at our new location in London Fields. We will open at 10:00 am at our new address; 50 Lamb Lane, Hackney. You can expect the best in classic road, track, touring and leisure bikes. Next to our range of bikes, parts, frames, clothing and accessories we also have a coffee bar. Coffee served will be the Magnus Maximus brand by Swedish pro cyclist Magnus Backstedt. All of the proceeds from this coffee go towards helping young riders. The coffee foundation directly funds the continental professional Team Cyclesport.se.
Wind Tunnel Testing
Here’s an interesting article about a wind tunnel test at Monash (nicked from Carl’s Blog): fairwheelbikes.com – Monash wind tunnel testing review
Ed: Wanna trade in your funny hat now? 🙂