Cycling thread

Black Belt Jones said:
Stock has been decimated in the UK - there wasn't a single adult bicycle in our local Decathlon at the weekend, so it might be a case of what's available near you to have a look at (you should ride the bike before buying to check it fits).

Boardman (Halfords, Tredz) and Triban (Decathlon) are prob the best overall value - they're solid.
Something like this, say, at £849, is not possible to beat for value:


But it doesn't have the cachet of more established cycling brands (Giant, Trek, Specialized etc) so it depends what grabs you, you like the colour, fit feels right etc. My wife just ordered this CAADX on C2W and the components are two levels down from that Triban.

* PDP

www.cannondale.com www.cannondale.com
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Yeh I've noticed this morning everywhere has such low stock - kinda thought they'd have managed to get more back in now but I guess the factories making them might still be low staffed. I've got an Evans Cycle and a Halfords near me to try. I will definitely need a fitting though as I'm really tall but also quite awkwardly out of proportion.
 

Nymzee said:
Yeh I've noticed this morning everywhere has such low stock - kinda thought they'd have managed to get more back in now but I guess the factories making them might still be low staffed. I've got an Evans Cycle and a Halfords near me to try. I will definitely need a fitting though as I'm really tall but also quite awkwardly out of proportion.
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Down your way, I'd go to Bike Treks in Ambleside or Wheelbase in Staveley. Halfords were always notoriously useless... Evans I've never bought from.
 
Nymzee said:
Yeh I've noticed this morning everywhere has such low stock - kinda thought they'd have managed to get more back in now but I guess the factories making them might still be low staffed. I've got an Evans Cycle and a Halfords near me to try. I will definitely need a fitting though as I'm really tall but also quite awkwardly out of proportion.
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Buying from someone who knows bikes in order, then, which prob won't mean a boardman or a triban.

You can actually find some knowledgeable folk in those stores, some of the lads in the Decathlon near me are good riders and know bikes. But you can also get people who are NEA about bikes and could as well be working in primark.
 
Black Belt Jones said:
Buying from someone who knows bikes in order, then, which prob won't mean a boardman or a triban.

You can actually find some knowledgeable folk in those stores, some of the lads in the Decathlon near me are good riders and know bikes. But you can also get people who are NEA about bikes and could as well be working in primark.
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I had to go to a Decathlon last week for a spare for my shoes that their website told me they had in stock.

I was amazed to discover the mechanic was exactly the sort of person who used to own bike shops 15 years ago. Dismissive, surly, a superior attitude and trying to sell me a new pair of shoes instead of a spare part.
 

Bruce Wayne said:
I'm sure you'll point out the Tour where Thomas was winning sprints, creating gaps in crosswinds, and doing 7km turns up mountains that end up dropping Grand Tour winners.
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One of froomes wins. 2015 he was dropping contador and quintana in the Pyrenees. It was hilarious. But you won't have that... Team sky and the britbots would never do anything dodgy
 
spectateur said:
Never considered GT particularly as a classics specialist. What did he win?
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Don't know about a specialist but G put in some v strong campaigns mid part of this decade - brought Sagan to the line in 2014 at Harelbeke and finished third. Next time round in 2015 he learnt from that mistake, attacked 5k out and buried him (Sagan) for the win. Not many riders can say they put prime Sagan away in a bike race. Few other podiums at Gwent Wevelgem and Dwars. A couple of top tens in Flanders and Roubaix around that time but never made the final selection IIRC.
 
Great win for Simon Yates yesterday at Tirreno Adriatico - needed to defend his lead from G Thomas in the final TT which was a short 10K, but he's not a natural in this discipline and has posted some shaky efforts in the past. Kept it together and put in a strong ride - G is a v good tester and did take 22 secs out of him but it was not enough, so he finished second overall. Both will contest the Giro in a few weeks.

The Big Italian Filippo Ganna absolutely annihilated the field, 18 secs clear of second place, rode it at 56km/h! Probably the fastest rider in the world right now over any short TT distance. He will line up at the Giro looking to take the prologue stage - don't know what the course looks like but unless there's some crazy hill involved you can bet the farm he will win that.
 

Pretty boring mountain stage, Jumbo riding at tempo throughout. Waste of effort for any GC contender having a go.
Good win for the German lad from the Breakaway, a crafty ride.
 
Nymzee said:
Yeh I've noticed this morning everywhere has such low stock - kinda thought they'd have managed to get more back in now but I guess the factories making them might still be low staffed. I've got an Evans Cycle and a Halfords near me to try. I will definitely need a fitting though as I'm really tall but also quite awkwardly out of proportion.
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a friend who sellsTrek here in the States told me his shop won’t get new supply until April, but I’ve seen Cannondale in some shops. I had to search up and down for a used bike and paid dearly, although still less than what a new bike costs.
 
Tweet shared on some cycling forums says Rose bikes (Big German online shop, decent own brand stuff as well) will no longer supply bikes to the UK market. The reason? Swapping the brakes around to UK style (front right, rear left) is causing too many problems with EU law.

Sounds like a very odd case of CBA, seen as it takes 5 minutes and is orders of magnitude simpler than LHD / RHD cars, say, but I'm sure they wouldn't lose the market without good reason.
 
SerenityNigh said:
a friend who sellsTrek here in the States told me his shop won’t get new supply until April, but I’ve seen Cannondale in some shops. I had to search up and down for a used bike and paid dearly, although still less than what a new bike costs.
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I went for a browse in the Trek shop in Milton Keynes at the weekend. Chap at the door greeted me with a cheery "You are aware of the global shortage of bikes, aren't you sir?" Needless to say, I left pretty quickly.

Anyway ... big day in the Tour today. Col de la Loze looks an absolute beast. Hoping for a decent pace early on to put some pressure on the JV train on the lower slopes...
 

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