Bike Ride London

Three repairs I have recently done on my bike

andikam — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:27:35 +0000

I have recently put together a load of repairs on my bike. The three that I think have made the most difference have been:

1. Changing the brake cable

This was a long overdue repair on my bike and I’m glad its done now. The cable had started to really become untangled and was slowing my braking. I could tell because my break levers where not returning to the normal position. Luckily this is a cheap repair and only costs about £10 as the brake cables where very cheap from my local bike shop. I did have to ask to borrow his tool though which he was not happy about!

2. Changing the brake pads

This is and old classic one but it has to be done occassionally. They seem to wear out faster than you would think. But it is essential. The braking now feels much better and while I was doing it I also re-aligned the bicycle brake arms so they now line up correctly and provide good stopping power

3. Cleaning the bike

This was a good one to do as I could tell it was long overdue. Not a task I enjoy performing but probably only because I leave it for so long each time! This was obviously the cheapest of the three repairs though I did destroy at least a couple of cloths getting it clean again. In future may dissassemble to do a more thorough job.

That’s it for now!

Doing bicycle repairs by book!

andikam — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:49:39 +0000

Well I finally got round to repairing my bike! It needed a good clean all round especially the chain. Luckily there is no rust to report of. I am a big fan of the book Zinn and The Art of Road Bike maintenance out of all the bicycle repair books. I know that at some point I want to do some upgrades but its hard to find the energy (and the cash!).

I’m glad I decided not to take my bike into the bike repair shop down the road from me because it would have cost me so much and these days it is so easy to search for bike repair videos on youtube. In fact I wonder why everyone doesn’t do it more often?

The best part of doing a bike repair is that you get a placebo effect afterwards thinking that now you can go so much faster! I always enjoy that and usually shave off a few minutes from my trip into work!

Cycling from Birmingham to London

andikam — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:05:27 +0000

Well – I’m going to give it a go at some point over the next two weeks. The things I believe I need to consider are:

Can I cycle all the way along the canals – I know its definitely legal but will the route be good enough?
How many punctures will I get?
What do I need to take with me?
How long will it take?
Can I make it there on my hybrid bike or will I be at a disadvantage?
Where shall I stop on the way?
Should I do it the other way round? London to Birmingham?

I would be interested in hearing other peoples routes though I have been hard pressed to find them on the internet. Maybe its not a route a lot of people do. I definitely need to get my fitness up before I leave!

Bamboo Bikes

andikam — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:04:10 +0000

I came across this link on EcoVelo about Bamboo Bikes. Can see some people picking some of these up but surely not to be used as the main bike?

Abandoned Bike

andikam — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:59:46 +0000

My bike has been in the garage for way too long now. Its always hard to get back into cycling after a long break. I know for certain that I need to do various repairs. The debate now in my head is whether to do these myself or to take it to a bike shop and save the hassle!

Welcome to Bike Ride London

andikam — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:01:37 +0000

Imagine a clear deep blue sky, an empty path and the river Thames flowing gently to the left. Now imagine a busy London road, with lots of noise and nearly getting run over by a bus! Which do you prefer out of the two? This blog is here to list some of the amazing bike rides that exist in the city of London. However, while I get this site together and get all my information gathered I recommend:

Cycling games – great collection of games that I use when I should be studying!
Dolphin Rider – the image used in the header image of this site (currently)
Londonist – for London news

Hello world!

andikam — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:24:27 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!