[Percy B]

I'll give you a clue - 7 months up the stick, with a paticularly good 'withering' look everytime I mention bicycle shops. Luckily the Chesterfield James cycles has a baby seat department....

[fatdoc]

Come on fatdoc you know you want a race up Froggart Hill.

I'm taking the bike with the dodgy bottom bracket / cranks to Stan's at Matlock.

Spoke to Stan's regarding the MTB - They though I should get the Attack Trail - If I was going near it with fatdoc or the Mount Vision if I was riding with anyone else!!!!

Don't let my missus hear you say that sort of thing. I'm in enough trouble as it is with my road bike problems.....

I wonder who's wearing the trousers in Percy's house at the moment???

attack trail it is then

 


when you gonna borrow their wolf ridge then? do you want to ride it about houdkirk & blakka? or go for the more full on Hope  / ladybower experience... i know a fine test loop there of climbs, descents and one section of flat out... known as the kamikaze!  - its actually OK, and on 140mm travel would be purfect to ensnare you into the *hard* XC / all mtn thing..

also; i know some *trainer* jumps / drops 5 mins from my house... god bless the sheffield parks dept!

[fatkid2000]

I'll give you a clue - 7 months up the stick, with a paticularly good 'withering' look everytime I mention bicycle shops. Luckily the Chesterfield James cycles has a baby seat department....

Once they have you snared thats it. Just tell her that if she wants fat bloater of a husband, then you won't visit such establishments as La bicicletta. If she wants you to keep your fine physique you will continue to visit such establishments, in moderation of course.

Fatdoc : Once I've got the wedding fully funded I'll get the attack. My other half seems quite cool about it. Come on you know you want that race!!!

[fatkid2000]

Was it the LSD or maybe the hypoxia from going too fast?

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/cycling-lsd-discoverer-dies-aged-102-16085

[fatkid2000]

I'm off to do the Frog hill challenge this afternoon - is it the hill that goes up through Froggart Village? Anyone else going out? New wheels sorted and ready to go.

[Percy B]

Come on, Fatkid - get with the program! Start at the give way lines at the right turn up for the road that goes under Froggatt edge (1st right as you head towards Grindleford from Calver cross roads) and stop the clock when you hit the give way lines at the top. Just a shade less than 6 kms at an average gradient of 7% (so I as told, but maybe its not even that steep). Feels a little grim as you go past the bit by the Grouse pub, then easier to the top. 15 mins is the benchmark for seeing if you are proper fit - its very hard to get near this at the end of a ride though, so you might want to head straight there rather than do 30 miles before you arrive which is normaly the way I manage to get there! Tlr has the right idea - an easy rolling warm-up ride starting from Hathersage is the perfect preparation for a cracking time... I was doing intervals on this hill last year in preparation for alpine cols - works a treat at getting you used to finding a good hill climbing rythym and technique.

[fatkid2000]

Well I got with the programme. After a 30 Km warm up. I did the Froggart Hill Challenge. Time to the top with a standing start 13 mins 27 sec. Any good?? I was abit 'unusual' at the top. Maybe it was the new wheel set??

[Percy B]

That is quick. Oh yes! Must be those wheels...

[tlr]

Well I got with the programme. After a 30 Km warm up. I did the Froggart Hill Challenge. Time to the top with a standing start 13 mins 27 sec. Any good?? I was abit 'unusual' at the top. Maybe it was the new wheel set??

Thats very quick indeed, that's an average of 26.2kph or 16.3mph in old money. I'm very impressed (whilst mentally making a note never to go riding with you).

And I'm buggered if I have ever done a standing start on it - I hit the start line with all the momentum I can!

[fatkid2000]

I don't think I'll beat that time - think it was beginners luck type of thing and not really knowing where it was going to get hard. I also benefitted from a couple of pacers who I caught up with on the way up. May I'll try it again this week at some point.

Meet a few guys from the Sheffrec club who seemed pleasant for club riders not as stuck up as the Rutland boys. Rode back to Sheffield with a guy on a cervelo R3, looked a nice machine but not as nice to look at as some of the bling in La bicicletta or the Wilier Cento.

[fatdoc]

Well I got with the programme. After a 30 Km warm up. I did the Froggart Hill Challenge. Time to the top with a standing start 13 mins 27 sec. Any good?? I was abit 'unusual' at the top. Maybe it was the new wheel set??

Thats very quick indeed, that's an average of 26.2kph or 16.3mph in old money. I'm very impressed (whilst mentally making a note never to go riding with you).

And I'm buggered if I have ever done a standing start on it - I hit the start line with all the momentum I can!

he really is quick isnt he... 

good effort.
i fell off six times XC today, twice uphill! forks NOT bust...

I agree, you need the attack trail BTW...

[Yossarian]

well, i took the colnago for its maiden voyage around kent and sussex this morning. the gearing was surprisingly easy to get used to, although some of the steeper hills were a bit of a pain...

the main problem was the brakes. they were shit. i wonder if the pads are the original ones?!  i got about 4-5 seconds of hard braking before they began to terminally fade. hmmmm. in the end i decided to concentrate on improving my cornering speed and praying to the gods of the all religions i could remember, and i managed to get home in one piece. i'd actually bought a set of NOS super record blocks, and i think i better fit them before i go out again.

bloody comfy ride though. why i ever spent years on an aluminium bike i will never know.

[SheffyRoc]

Hi, I'm new(ish) to Sheffield and looking for a good local bike shop. I've trawled this thread and seen James and La Bicicleta mentioned a few times. Any other good ones I should take a look at?  Cheers

[fatdoc]

road or MTB?

*can of worms opening*


 about piss poor service, long waits and general indifference coming....


(i go to stanley fearns in matlock for mtb...)

[SheffyRoc]

road or MTB?

Both! But it's my road bike needing some TLC at the moment, possibly some new parts.

[fatdoc]

fatkid and percy lurrve the biccletta shop. be aware from posts above - all bits are weighed for you prior to purchase!

butterworths has a good roadie reputation... i have no knowledge but dolly has used them before...

for mtb i'd leave the city, go to matlock... stanley fearns. i may also be in touch with an ex employee of a bike shop closer to home that now works as a freelance mechanic in his spare time, he knows his shit.

[fatkid2000]

I'd agree with fatdoc's recommendations.

La bicicletta is a dangerous place for credit cards, it sells top end stuff, especially wheels and carbon components. They do complete bike builds - not sure if they do repairs / services - I suspect not.

I'd avoid James's its a big local chain, I only buy tubes, clothing and odd bits and pieces there. I wouldn't trust them with repairs etc. I've never been but old Uni told me never to go for mechanical work.

Stanley Fearns at Matlock, is also good for roadie stuff. You have to book in advance - about a week at the moment, but their mechanics are good and the bike always runs better having been there.

[Percy B]

Racescene in Barnsley is THE place for roadie repairs and service. Very friendly, very knowledgeble and friendly as you like. They also stock budget stuff amongst the extremely pricey stuff, so you don't need to remortgage the house before you visit. They fitted a compact onto my bike within 30 minutes, and gave me a brew whilst I was waiting - there's not that many bike shops around that will carry out repairs and servicing whilst you wait.  www.racescene.co.uk is their website. Highly recommended, and worth the drive from sheffield. JE James in Shef is only good for tubes and expensive clothing really. Butterworths is great, but doesn't have a masive range of stuff - nice guys though and know their stuff.

[fatdoc]

God, I love this thread!
 

[fatkid2000]

On the subject of bike maintenance I bought this book today in Outside, Hathersage. Its really good, used it to sort the rear derailleur on my wilier. Its probably got stuff in I'll never attempt, but with the photos etc it makes sorting those rattles out a touch easier.

http://www.acblack.com/Catalogue/details.asp?sku=1424257&dept%5Fid=11&mscssid=74NE6GL4CT7L9J1DJKF7R2PDD5QUEFUA
 

[Baron]

With luck a second hand JF Wilson steelie will be mine in a week or two for £300. Anyone got one? I've got alloy/carbon shizzle at the mo, but I have to say I prefered the ride of my old 501 frame. I think it's brilliant that a place like Wilsons is still around. Everyone should have a frame built for them there if they have the cash. It's like Saville Row for bikes.

[tlr]

On the subject of bike maintenance I bought this book today in Outside, Hathersage. Its really good, used it to sort the rear derailleur on my wilier. Its probably got stuff in I'll never attempt, but with the photos etc it makes sorting those rattles out a touch easier.

http://www.acblack.com/Catalogue/details.asp?sku=1424257&dept%5Fid=11&mscssid=74NE6GL4CT7L9J1DJKF7R2PDD5QUEFUA
 

You should have said hello, I've just spent 3 days working in the rock room in Outside. I normally work in the office, but occaisonally I'll work busy weekends in the shop as well. Not that you would have had any idea who I was....

Glad to see everyone seems to share my long held opinion about JE James. Simply outrageously bad service. Its been a long, long time since I spent any money in there.

[SheffyRoc]

Thanks, that place in Barnsley looks good, I'll try to make it there this week for a look about and a chat.

Re: Outside in Hathersage, I was there recently and I found the guy working there very helpful. He actually talked me out of buying the thing I'd intended to buy, and instead wrote down the name of some good shops in Kathmandu.  Kudos.

[SheffyRoc]

Reading more of this thread, I love it too.  Had a good laugh at the comments about wives and wedding lists!  I'm very lucky the wife likes me having hobbies which keep me fairly fit, so she doesnt seem to mind me spending money on bikes and stuff. 

Not so sure about the Saville Row bikes though.  Is there any point getting a bike which was made bespoke for someone else's build and posture?  Baron, you should tell your wife you need a proper bespoke one, because second hand bespoke defeats the whole purpose!

[Baron]

Ah ha, yes, you noticed the flaw in my logic. But I continue, Mr Wilson also has a number of 'off the peg' frames avaliable too, although to describe these as 'Top Man for bikes' would perhaps be to stretch an already tenuous analogy too far. But the best news is I don't have a wife and am therefore free to be as selfish as I please with my dosh, which isn't very at all as I never have any left after the first week of the month anyway.

http://www.wilsoncycles.co.uk/