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Cyclists of WAN, some questions if you don't mind

(1) Can you recommend me a really good set of bike lights? I need something bright enough to cycle on unlit country roads, that will not fade for 90 minutes or so. Ideally rechargable.

(2) Is there a way to cut through the research park at Babraham and thus avoid the section of the A1307 between Babraham and Abington?

(3) How do you keep your feet warm on long cycle rides in winter?

Published by sam i at 10:02am on Wed 31st August 2016. Viewed 7,958 times.

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(3) These days you can get more grippy coypus or capybaras that perform feet warming duties with vigor and enthusiasm. However they may attack you if you are complicit to animal research for profit.

Published by Priority 23 at 1:21pm on Wed 31st August 2016.

Good socks, MTB boots + overshoes. But you still get cold if you're out too long/get too wet... I can recommend DeFeet's woolie boolie socks (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/defeet-woolie-boolie-2-4-cuff-socks/) and in those, I've honestly never needed the overshoes as well, but I tend to do

Published by R0B3RT (not active) at 2:08pm on Wed 31st August 2016.

[I](2) Is there a way to cut through the research park at Babraham and thus avoid the section of the A1307 between Babraham and Abington?[/I]

I know that the research park are working with the county council to open a permissive cycle path through the research campus at some point in the future. However, I don't know when.

You CAN get through by going through the research park and following the road through to Babraham village. However, you need to cycle past the site entrance and they are very tight on people accessing the site - I've only been in when I've been able to prove I am on work business. You could always ask though. Or just cycle very very fast past them...

Published by Silent Rob at 3:59pm on Wed 31st August 2016.

How much are you willing to spend on cycle lights? There are some pretty good ones for not a lot of money these days, but if you want to spend more there are some fucking amazing ones. I got a close look at a Hope District + rear light recently, and if a driver ever hit you with one of them on your bike there isn't a court in the land that'd accept the "I didn't see him" defence if you demonstrated it to them - it chucks out so many photons it probably increases your achievable top speed by 20%.

Published by John Techno at 12:40am on Thu 1st September 2016.

Thanks everyone.

Blimey, that Hope District light costs more than I paid for my bike! What's the next step down?

Published by sam i at 9:46am on Thu 1st September 2016.

the trouble with the mega-bright lights is that they blind on coming cyclists who may crash into you....

Published by Priority 23 at 12:27pm on Thu 1st September 2016.

personally, I think lights that bright while good for being seen by car drivers and other vehicles do blind other cyclists and cause accidents on pathways like Midsummer Common. I've had to slow down to walking speed because I couldn't see the pathway for an effect like staring into the SUN

Published by foolscap (not active) at 12:29pm on Thu 1st September 2016.

I use different lights for different situations. In towns you use lights so other people can see YOU, so I use cheap, light ones.

If I cycle in the country, or on the busway, at night in winter then you need to use lights strong enough to light your way ahead to see where you are going, so I use more substantial ones.

Published by Silent Rob at 1:32pm on Thu 1st September 2016.

"the trouble with the mega-bright lights is that they blind on coming cyclists who may crash into you...."

"personally, I think lights that bright while good for being seen by car drivers and other vehicles do blind other cyclists and cause accidents on pathways like Midsummer Common. I've had to slow down to walking speed because I couldn't see the pathway for an effect like staring into the SUN"

That's because people tend not to set them up right, apparently thinking that parallel to the ground is the best way to do it. If they paid a bit of attention to how car headlights are set up, they'd realise that lights should be angled slightly towards the ground. Worst of all are super bright head torches, because people wearing them tend to look you right in the face as they go past.

Published by John Techno at 2:41pm on Thu 1st September 2016.

This ^

I have good bike lights plus a very good head torch which i have dipped but which I can use to shine directly at drivers who I think may not have seen me. I also have two horns, one tinkly and the other a full-blown foghorn to alert tourists who aimlessly wander into the road without looking (grr).

Published by Boudicea Bambaataa at 11:35am on Fri 2nd September 2016.

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The phenomena of tourists in the middle of the road is very annoying, especially those homogenised groups that puke out of a coach, and stick together as they adsorb culture, in 18 principle languages.
Bridge Street is one of the worst locations for this, especially the corner near the Round Church!
The collective dithering, could be resolved by fitting modest speakers, that exclaim " get the f**k out of the way" in 18 principle languages.

Published by Priority 23 at 12:30pm on Fri 2nd September 2016.

Funnily enough this is where I last had to use my mega horn.

Published by Boudicea Bambaataa at 12:39pm on Fri 2nd September 2016.

I find the Americans are the worst for that - I reckon because the only places you can find Cambridge Old Schools-style architecture in the US is Disneyland and history-based recreations, so as soon as they're somewhere like St John's Street they switch into "theme park-wandering, cud-chewing" mode and forget they're in the real world where people ride bikes, hurry to get to work etc etc etc.

PS: I've never been to the US, so I might be totally wrong (and possibly a bit racist) :-)

Published by John Techno at 9:52pm on Fri 2nd September 2016.

"The collective dithering, could be resolved by fitting modest speakers, that exclaim " get the f**k out of the way" in 18 principle languages."

Or maybe a really crappy portable hifi playing cheesy hair metal?

Published by John Techno at 9:54pm on Fri 2nd September 2016.

Thanks all.

Update: my employer has finally joined one of those cycle-to-work schemes, meaning I can plunder the shelves at Evans and not count the cost too badly. So let me update my question about bike lights: what are the best ones that are available at Evans?

Also, I'm now in two minds about replacing my actual bike. It's an old Peugeot road bike with an alloy frame that has done a lot of miles, but it's reasonably light, reliable and shabby enough not to be an obvious target for thieves. Would I notice a big difference if I buy a new bike in the several-hundred-pound range?

Published by sam i at 9:36am on Tue 6th September 2016.

I think that depends on how savvy your purchase is - the new 2017 bikes are just being launched, meaning that you can get something from the 2016 range for 20-40% off and in many cases they're practically identical to the new model. I have done just this by picking up a 2016 Charge Plug and also got lucky with a 'shop soiled' model coming in for an additional discount, so I got the previously listed £650 bike for £360, which after CTW is applied costs me £239 at £24 a month.

But I tend to find that 'new' bikes in the several hundred pound range are a bit hit and miss so would definitely recommend aiming for a discounted bike that's dropped into that bracket...

Published by R0B3RT (not active) at 9:57am on Tue 6th September 2016.

the old vanette died in July so I've been vehicle-less since then. i'd planned to get another set of wheels but have been so enjoying cycling about and feeling super fit that I've postponed getting another vehicle.

one thing that i've been concerned about is/are the increased fumes I've been inhaling as a result, so just last night started doing some research into masks. anyone got any thoughts about these (JT)? the guardian did a piece but the comments made me wonder whether it was actually worth it.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2015/oct/07/avoiding...

Published by Boudicea Bambaataa at 11:57am on Tue 6th September 2016.

General consensus seems to be that if you cycle often in polluted areas such as cities, masks are probably worth it - but they have to be good quality, well-fitted (and therefore more expensive) ones to have any real effect.

Personally, I think the most important thing to think about is making sure you get one that makes you look like a cross between Hannibal Lecter and a ninja, rather than a gimp.

Published by John Techno at 10:41am on Wed 7th September 2016.

i cycled down the backs yesterday at and it was choco block with vehicles most of the length from madingley rd to newnham rd and definitely detected something in the air even surrounded on both sides with big trees

Published by foolscap (not active) at 1:08pm on Wed 7th September 2016.

If you cycle along the backs you have a 57% chance of being flattened by a left hand drive coach full of sun visor wearing Germans😃

Published by Priority 23 at 11:04am on Thu 8th September 2016.

Lots of cycling gear in Aldi today, including overshoes. All selling fast.

Published by B-bam at 1:34pm on Thu 29th September 2016.

Also a reasonably useful lights review in Cycling Weekly this week. I recommend grabbing a few sneaky shots of the revelant pages with your phone in the newsagent, because the mag's not worth the cover price these days.

Published by John Techno at 12:23am on Fri 30th September 2016.

Published by John Techno at 11:43am on Fri 30th September 2016.

Any suggestions on where I could buy reasonably priced reflective clothing please? My endeavours to make myself as visible as possible continue unabated.

Published by B-bam at 3:15pm on Wed 19th October 2016.

Aldi had one of their occasional bike stuff sales recently - it mostly all gets snapped up pretty sharpish, but they might be worth a try. I haven't tried on of their reflective jackets, but I hear they're decent quality. Probably made by four-year-olds in the Third World though.

Published by John Techno at 6:49pm on Wed 19th October 2016.

yeah i snaffled some flashing reflective bands but took back the jacket because it wasn't really what i wanted.

I've found this which looks like it will do the job, with the added advantage of being able to wear it at all the hip hop music concerts I attend:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/191757568458?lpid=122&chn=ps&adgroupid=...

Published by B-bam at 7:14pm on Wed 19th October 2016.

That looks alright too - and it's a bargain price!

Published by John Techno at 8:47pm on Wed 19th October 2016.

Last year I got a very fetching bright neon orange waterproof jacket for a tenner from Sports Direct. No me can miss me when I am wearing it on the road.

However since then I've heard a lot about Sports Direct's unethical business practices, plus I just looked at their website and it wouldn't work on my iPad so I can't recommend that you buy the same.

I still wear the jacket to the pub though, it always invites comments (such as "what the fuck are you wearing?")

Published by Silent Rob at 7:04am on Thu 20th October 2016.

But I want people to miss me when I'm on the road :)

Last saturday I got drowned cycling back from the gym. Really need something waterproof

Published by foolscap (not active) at 11:10am on Thu 20th October 2016.

Yeah you passed me on Midsummer Common recently SR. You're an abomination in that coat and my vision still hasn't recovered :)

Published by B-bam at 11:27am on Thu 20th October 2016.

Completely missed you BB! Glad my wonderful coat has not gone unnoticed. :)

Published by Silent Rob at 12:47pm on Thu 20th October 2016.

I was the one staring in horror, unable to speak :)

Published by B-bam at 10:09pm on Thu 20th October 2016.

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