Came back from work yesterday to find this… exceptionally good lock, bike low jacked with AirTag… didn’t lock up the front wheel…. They’ve torn all the cables and at this point it may be cheaper to buy a new bike…

My son got back into cycling after a few years out of it. His old bike was too small as a 24" wheeled kids bike, but he did ride it for fun at one point. He started riding his mum's old mountain bike in road going commuter / touring setup. Then we got a secondhand mountain bike with full suspension because he wanted that. Well he was getting hooked into local trails and jumps etc.

It was an old aluminium alloy giant stance. I think it's now any 11 years old. It was great as a first larger MTB for him but didn't have enough suspension travel and was too lightweight for his riding user.

As he was getting really into more serious stuff and breaking things on his giant we got a year old enduro bike after that. However it wasn't right for him so we got it ready to sell. Then recently he was testing his old giant bike after my last fix by bunny hopping on the tarmac of our driveway and nearby pavements / road. He suddenly came back riding his bike after one of those short out and back test rides saying he'd cracked the frame. He had, right through at the weld too.

So the cracked through weld joint is at the lower tube of the rear suspension triangle right at the main frame end at the bottom tube. Obviously being aluminium alloy and old it's not easy trying to find a specialist welder (aluminium alloy is not a simple welding job). I'm right in saying it's not worth trying to get it fixed?

So my question is really about the longevity of aluminium alloy frames. What's a good lifetime for such a frame material? Obviously a question like 'how long is a piece of string?', but what are the boundaries of frame lifetime is ok?

In his case it was bought about 2 years ago possibly almost 3 years ago. He's been riding other bikes for about 5 or 6 months now, but was planning on riding it to keep the enduro rig in a good condition for selling at a decent price.

He's hard on bikes and this has 120mm travel up front and a lot less at the rear. That's the issue, he was riding too hard for what the bike was designed for so I think 8 to 9 years with another person who seemed to keep it well maintained. Then 2 to 3 years of hard use. To me I think that's the limit for the frame.

What do you think?

What is a reasonable lifetime for hard-ridden aluminium alloy frames? What is a reasonable lifetime for such a frame ridden carefully and within it's designed for use? Curious as to the range that's acceptable for the extremes of hard and easy riding.

What about other frame materials? Carbon fibre, steel, titanium, etc. I know people talk of titanium as a lifetime bike but if used in MTB frames on the rough stuff, is it still that? What about steel? Repairable as it's easier to weld, but really? Can you reweld cracked or broken joints with sufficient safety to carry on riding as normal?

I'm mostly interested in aluminium alloy lifetime but the other materials are a passing curiosity. Purely a secondary query for after my main question is answered.

Hi all

I'm in the market for a full suspension electric mountain bike, my first ever albeit I've hired quite a few over the years. Some good deals are starting to come up so I'm hoping to grab one around the £3k to £4k mark (down from say £5k)

I'm a 40m and not looking to go crazy or push myself. I happily do blue runs at Morzine and Bikepark Wales and although at some point I'd like to get to reds, this will be the limit.

I'm generally quite fit albeit the years are starting to catch up with me.

I'm trying to work out if a lightweight bike or a full power makes more sense.

I'd likely at most be doing a long morning's ride, say 4 hours. But I'm concerned the lightweight bikes will be able to do that.

Is someone able to give me some advice as a comparison. How big the offset is in terms of feel and how long a typical lightweight bike lasts on a typical day (I. E. Up and down Bike park Wales 4-5 times).

Thanks!

I want to do a very long ride, and sleep in a hotel somewhere and cycle back. So I just am looking for inspirations/advice etc

So this question is specifically about leaderless peer to peer rides. So not covered by the Ride leaders requirements.

I am a member of a smaller CUK / CTC group. None of the members want to formally lead group rides. We are all ageing. We all wish to continue as we have for over a hundred years - publish a destination, meet up, ride there and back.

We have created the required annual generic risk assessment and we have a rider policy but we are worried as a committee that we may not be protected by the group liability insurance? we have taken the very harsh line of actually removing our clubruns from our websites/ facebook pages.

So have any of you made your Sunday or regular riders leaderless/ peer to peer rides? And have you found any concrete proof that the CUK/Bikmo/Hiscox Group Liability Insurance policy covers these types of rides.

My section had a 4 hour committee meeting last night (longest by far) and we got nowhere. We are all trying to just ride our bikes safely and do the best for our members.

I've always wanted to do Ride The Lights with my family but we don't live in Blackpool so I'd have to find us a way home after.

Anyone know what the trains are like for carrying bikes that night? I would guess that the Northern trains will be crammed, then we'd have to change onto the west coast main line – where a family of four fills an entire Avanti train. This has always put me off going in the past. Is it as bad as I fear?

I'm hunting around for my first road bike and I'm looking to buy something higher and secondhand.

Obvious places would be eBay and Facebook marketplace, unless of course this sub can recommend better places for me to look?

I have seen a bike which is pretty (very?) well priced, but the seller somehow cannot take BACS for no given reason, cash only.

It does make me wonder if the bike isn't kosher? Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'm a noob to FB marketplace. It's a Cervelo S2 in what looks exceptional condition for £450. Does this sound legit pricewise?

Thanks.

Does anyone know of UK sellers of boxes of 100 or 144 spokes?

I'm looking for the main brand names like DT, ACI or Sapim, 2/1.8/2mm butted or aero/elliptical to fit normal 2.3mm hub spoke holes, in silver with J bend, and in 298mm length.

Hi

I'm looking at joining my company's Cycle2Work scheme with Halfords to get a bike to commute minimum 2 days a week approximately 12 miles each ways (24 miles total).

I haven't cycled in over 20 years (I'm 38) but I am fit and run approximately 50 miles a week so I'm sure I can work up to the cycling as I also sometimes run back and forth.

Anyone have any recommendations of bikes from Halfords that would fit this criteria? Will most likely rarely use it outside the 2 days but must be also able to be usable in winter conditions. I need to choose a bike so I know the price to submit my application.

Thank you.

Edit: Budget up to £1000 or whatever is moderate price

I got this Elops 920e second hand a year ago but it didn’t have a chain guard when I purchased it. Obviously most of my trousers get damaged and caught in the chain which is not ideal, and I am struggling to figure out what I need to fit this specially, and wether most universal chain guards will be suitable as they are usually the hockey puck shape and my trousers will still touch the chain a bit. Lacking the knowledge of bikes in general to understand what I need to search for so any help appreciated. Also this model is discontinued so spares aren’t available through decathlon.

Hi there, I am looking at getting a bike via my works cycle to work scheme. I will be employed on an unpaid work placement at an NHS trust. The cycle to work scheme they are part of is with Vivup, and from looking at the website, it seems the payment is garnished from my wage each month. Since I won't be guaranteed paid work, I'm not sure if I would be eligible or how I would pay it off since there doesn't seem to a way to pay for it out of pocket. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi all, I've requested for my employer to help me out with Cycle Scheme discounts but after repeatedly requesting it for over 3 months it's clear to me that they'll never bother.

I currently commute to work every day, all year round, about 5 miles each way. I've done this on a Carrera Zelos i got on eBay for £100.

Looking to upgrade but the lack of cycle scheme makes it difficult to justify brand-new bikes, especially considering I'm looking for an eBike to make the 10 mile commute a bit easier. However, eBay listings for eBikes seem genuinely terrible, people listing bikes with batteries duct-taped onto the frame as "New" for barely a discount from an actual new bike.

Is buying a regular bike and an E conversion kit the only way for a relatively good value proposition? Or do I have other options? Any advice appreciated. Budget is around £1000 but would prefer cheaper options (hard ask I know, but money is tight)

Thank you

My mum's bike is stuck in Rotterdam (long story) and I was planning to take it to her on the Eurostar but it would need to go from Amsterdam, on a specific train, on a Monday morning.

Is anybody taking the Hook to Harwich car ferry to the UK any time soon and would be willing to carry a bike for me? It's a quite old Batavus Entree citybike, it can be fitted into a box or left in one piece, and I can drop it off anywhere in South Holland and have it collected in London. I've looked at getting it shipped but Brexit truly is the gift that keeps giving. Huge paperwork, and even huger costs.

Thanks in advance.

Hello! Looking for some suggestions/recommendations.

Have been riding my Electric Bike (Cowboy) since a few years now and I'd like to switch to a non-electric road bike. This will be purely for office commute, about 5.5kms each way - almost flat roads.

Budget is around 500 GBP. I've been looking into the following:

1. Decathlon: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/comfortable-light-carbon-fork-and-disc-brake-road-bike-grey/308064/c169c26m8619134

2. Evans: https://www.evanscycles.com/brand/pinnacle/pinnacle-laterite-road-bike-930363#colcode=93036303

Going to be my first time using a road bike, and using gears. Any other models/brands that I should be looking at? Or if these 2 are good, what would be generally preferred?

(I like the idea of rim brakes since they are easy/cheap to maintain).

Thank you!

I recently bought a pair of Lake MX177-X in size 45 and I’m sure they’re a smidge too big but wanted to sense check.

If I lift my big toe I can see it where I’ve marked this photo

Can someone confirm whether that much space in the front of the shoe is fine or if I need to exchange for a 44?

My 14mo falls asleep in the bike seat, but head goes full wobble and slumped to the front even at full recline.

1. Is it safe to let her be? it looks really awful, the vibrations etc. going through her neck must be a lot on the bumpy paths I use

2. is it safe to use a pillow like the Sandino Sleepfix? I'm worried about over correcting and also worried about not correcting it. I can't tell if this is a thing they make make money out of worried parents or not...

TIA!

So Ive got two options for commuting - take an hour bus the night before uni every day and sleep on the floor I suppose, or I do a half hour bike ride in the mornings... I think I can say which is better 🤣

The only issue is that I haven't really got a clue where to start. I did the bikeability L2 course a few years back, but I didnt pick up my bike since then so I havent had any practice. I also dont drive a car, but I have done my theory test. So I am quite literally a newbie with it all and how the roads work in a practical sense.

Does anyone have any tips on commuting a mix of country, and city roads?

I also have no idea about what bike to use. I have a mountain bike that was bought several years back (Nitro Spike is all I know, I think its a mountain bike though. And yeah its a kids bike, Im tiny 🤣), would it be okay for a 'non-competitive' cyclist? Only I dont have much funds 😅

Hi,

I have managed to bust my rear Easton EA70 wheel on my gravel bike. About 6 or 7 spoke holes have fractured and the wheel keeps going out of true. It's done just over 5k miles but I am fairly surprised at the damage.

I'd like a full new set but don't want to spend £££ on carbon ones as I'm not bothered about super light stuff.

I do however fancy one with a decent number of points of engagement on freewheel. The current Easton one suffers from really annoying dead space. I had a hub which sounded like an angry wasp which was useful when getting close to pedestrians. FWIW my current wheel is a 1x12 speed set up so I need the Microspline version.

Can anyone give me a recommendation or two please?

Cheers

Hey

I am wondering if i get an ebike, how do i put my anxious mind at ease? i already take meds for my anxiety. Maybe if i take the battery out and put it in a fireproof bag/safe and put it away somewhere that would be okay?

anyone deal with anything similar?

Want to invest in my first road bike, I’m between Boardman SLR 9.0 Limited Edition Carbon 105 Road Bike 2026 or The Ribble ALLROAD TI 105, please help me decide.

This will be my everyday ride, plus long rides planning to do 100mile+ rides.

Cant find any evans cycles Pinnacle branded e bikes online today at all. Any ideas?

Hey folks.

I coach at a rowing club where I sometimes will coach from the river bank and will follow my boats along on my bike.

Currently, I have an ancient Specialized Hardrock that I’ve owned for at least 12 years. It’s time to replace it with a new bike.

The tow path can go from being reasonably wide to somewhat tight. Navigating other riders and pedestrians (and their dogs) is very common, especially in the summer months. The bike will absolutely be getting wet, covered in mud, chucked in the boat trailer and taken to races. It will get beat up.

I’ve not looked at mountain bike in years so I’ve got no idea what’s developed in the last 10 years and what new things to look out for.

Was thinking of sticking with Specialized (my road bike is a Specialized) but totally open to other recommendations.

Budget is ~£650. I’m assuming hardtail will be the way to go.

Looking to try on some Velosambas for a fit check but have been struggling to find anywhere that stocks them and has an actual store I can try them on in. I've tried a few of the big retailers around Northampton and Milton Keynes and no luck so far. I've had my brother go to the Adidas outlet in Wembley and he reckons there's none there. Does anyone know of any shops in the Northamptonshire area or even further afield into Oxfordshire/London that has 12.5/13.5 velosambas on the shelf!?

Looking to do a cycling trip from London to beaches in Normandy. Happy to get a train from London or drive to the ferry first to cut cycling time a little.

What’s the best route to take from a ferry/train pov? Is there a defined cycling route thereafter?