NIGHT RIDE SAFE

The winter is coming and the dark nights are earlier now so most of the riders are dusting off their lights, riding at night has it's hazards and one of the things that rears it's ugly head is danger on the roads We have to join good sections of trail with roads from time to time unfortunately and if you are a rider that leads or somewhere in the pack, looking back reveals a mass of lights, a mixture of head and bars lights of various types. My group is very good but you cannot possibly judge if the lights behind you are fellow bike riders or a car, when it comes to turning right onto the next brilliant bit of trail it is best done with a bit of caution, so we have decided after a few close calls that if we are turning right across a road instead we pull of to the left, stop then cross the road in pedestrian style. It is a bit over the top but the safest way really, the last thing anybody wants is a visit to A&E.

If you don't ride at night you're missing a trick, all the trails that you have ridden before look a whole lot different and it can help improve your balance and reactions. For more advice on choices of lights go to the USE web site at www.exposurelights.com I've used them for years and they offer the best service, choice and quality.

HELP

This is going to be a help site for bike fixes, ideas and routes. some good stuff will follow and hopefully it'll help you enjoy your'e riding more. What sort of things should we carry in the camelback? how can little tweeks to the bike make all the difference.

GEAR CABLES

When you get a new pair of shifters they both have new cables, the front shifter doesn't really benefit from a new cable as much as the rear deraileur. So what I sometimes do is remove the new front gear shift cable to use at a later stage as new shifter cables are usually the same length and it could be used as a rear cable. You can use an old cable that you took from the rear shifter and cut it shorter for the front shift, the spring on the front deraileur is usually stronger and will cope with an older cable, make sure you give it a good clean and oiling before you thread it through. Before you remove a cable from the rear deraileur always snip it off, it will pull through easier and not damage the outer cable. Always try to crimp a cable end on after fitting a new cable, but don't get carried away with the crimpers, just one nip will keep it on, they can be used a few times if your careful. They save the cable from fraying, help them last longer and stop the cable from piercing finger ends, the sort of pain that lasts for a while.

ZIP TIES

 Zip ties are fantastic devices, we just snip them off and throw them usually but we ought to use them a bit more carefully and imaginatively, I have been stuck in the middle of nowhere and been saved by these little wonders with a little invention.

In the pictures on the right are shown a couple of long zip ties fastened around the base of the head tube with a couple of short ties looped through the main tie to hold the cables in place. This keeps them in the same place and stops them from rubbing the paint off the frame.

This one shows the small ties either side holding the cables in place.











This Picture shows how a couple of ties through each other can create a loop for a cable guide to stop the remote cable on a dropper seat post from going sideways and getting in the way.

OLD TUBES

 There are many things you can use old inner tubes for, simple things like chopping them up and using them to hold tubes like rubber bands.

This shows a short piece of tube that is cut part way down so it can be pulled over the grip to protect it when the bike is up ended to work on.

A bit longer and it could have stopped the  little scrape on the dropper remote.

 These are also handy if you have coloured grips and don't want to get them all oil stained while working on the bike.

This shows the grip with the tube cover from below.











Old bits of tube can also be chopped down and slit to cover chain stays and either zip tied or taped into place to make a chainstay protector.

A design for a front mud guard attached to the front fork will follow soon.