cross-posted from: https://leminal.space/post/34110034

The London leg of the event, which has run annually since 2004 — interrupted only by the pandemic in 2020 — is set to take place on Sunday, June 14.

cross-posted from: https://leminal.space/post/34057102

Clik valves! I've been using these on my bike for a month, and I like them! The cores are compatible with Presta stems; so you can remove the core from your Presta valve, and put in Clik core. They also sell an adapter that threads onto a Schrader valve.

What are these good for? The stated benefits are:

• Ease of use: press the pump head on, and it clicks into place. With other valves you need to use a lock lever, or thread on the pump head. Not so with Clik. You also don't have the Presta lock nut loosening step.
• Less damage prone: the pin that extends out of a Presta valve can sometimes get bent. With Clik the pin is mostly recessed, like in a Schrader valve, so it's less likely to bend.
• More air flow compared to Presta.
• Supposedly Clik valves are less likely to be clogged by tire sealant in a tubeless setup.

For me only the first point matters. I've never damaged a Presta pin, and I don't use tubeless tires. Maybe I can inflate tires a little faster? It's hard to tell.

For those who do use tubeless tires: I heard a suggestion that Clik valves might make it easier to seat tires compared to Presta due to the increased airflow. But I've also heard that what you really want to do is remove the valve core entirely, and use an air compressor. Unfortunately I don't have personal experience to weigh in here.

But yes, the ease of use is worth it for me! I can click on the pump head and take it off one-handed. I get to skip the step of fiddling with the locking level while air is escaping. I went into this hoping to experience the satisfaction of a minor convenience on approximately a weekly basis, and that's exactly what I got.

That satisfaction is purchased at a price of about $6 per valve core, or about $3.40 if you buy in packs of 16. I'm hoping the cores will last a long time as I move them from tube to tube. I'll have to see if that pans out.

You need a special pump adapter

The trade-off is that you'll want to use a special pump head with Clik valves. The starter kit comes with an adapter that installs in a Schrader pump that does the job.

You can use a Presta pump head with Clik valves, so you aren't completely out of luck if you're away from your usual pump. But the Presta pump won't press the pin to open the valve, so you won't get an accurate tire pressure reading. And you're back to fiddling with that locking lever.

Schrader adapter

I didn't want to deal with taking the Clik adapter on and off the shared family bike pump; so I also got the Schrader adapters for my son's bike.

It is possible to remove Schrader valve cores. But it seems that instead of making a core that fits in a Schrader stem, Clik opted to make an adapter that sits on top of the existing Schrader core. In practice pumping with this adapter works just like pumping with a Clik core in a Presta stem.

Is it possible that having a pin in the adapter, that presses on the pin in the Schrader valve core has some fragility that might present in the future? I don't know! I'll update this post if I notice a problem.

Installation

The Clik starter kit comes with a tiny wrench with two openings to fit both Presta and Clik valve cores. (That's in addition to the pump head adapter I already mentioned, and two Clik cores.) It seems that Presta and Clik use different wrench sizes, so if you already have a Presta core wrench it might not fit the Clik cores.

Installation is easy: deflate the tire, remove one core, put in the other.

The Schrader adapters thread onto the valve, so that's one step. You don't need to deflate the tire for these.

Dust caps

Clik cores and Schrader adapters come with black rubber caps that also click on and off. These are nice! I have no complaints.

Just for fun I got some shiny aluminum dust caps that Clik also sells. I got the ones that thread on.

The aluminum caps do not fit on the Schrader adapters. That's something I wanted to check because I didn't think it was clear from the product description.

I was persuaded to get the aluminum caps because of the included features: they incorporate a tool to bleed air from the valve (a little fancier than using your finger), and a valve core wrench. The wrench opening seemed to be a little too small to me - I had considerable difficulty getting it onto a Clik valve core. So, kinda disappointing. The caps are shiny, which I don't mind. But if you just want functional dust caps, I think you'll be happy with the rubber ones.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/45272697

I have a somewhat unique situation in that I do not have a garage or a carport, but I do have a small barn.

I plan on upgrading to a Marin Presidio 3 soon. There will probably long periods of time (say 2-4 weeks) where the bike won’t be ridden. The challenge of a barn is that things tend to degrade in there unless they are protected. Lots of dust/dirt, spiderwebs, critters, that sort of thing.

Looking for an suggestions of how I can store the bike to minimize damage from the immediate environment.

An arrest has been made in a Newport Beach road rage incident involving a BMW driver and a pair of cyclists that was caught on video. ... Weiss is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and obstructing or delaying arrest. ... Police also confiscated the blue BMW seen in the video for evidence purposes.

Apartment dweller here, I can't store it outside and I don't have a garage, I was getting tired of just having it in the living room so I came up with this slightly better idea.

Anyone have any nice setups for keeping your bikes in your living spaces?

Moved to a small town that's a lot more bike friendly than the suburban hellscape I previously lived in, and only have one car now. My wife works in the next city over so she gets the car, and I've spent my unemployed time fixing up my neglected relic and turned it into a daily driver. I needed a new derailer, brake housings and bar tape. Got that done and am gonna put some new tires once I start getting some paychecks. Tires are fine for now, but are very narrow and we have a lot of dirt roads and paths and I want some wider tires. Added a bag to the top bar that has a clear slot for a phone so I can nav around while I'm still learning the lay of the land. Also got an under saddle bag for a spare tube, a tire lever and a c02 cart. Got my hand pump attached to the same mount as my bottle. This month I've put 60 miles on it after not riding for at least 4 years and while my cheeks were killing me the first week I'm feeling great now. I thought riding down small roads would be nerve racking, but the roads are so empty people pass with plenty of room and are generally very courteous.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/57244645

I've got an old Bianchi SX Sport from the 80s I'm using as a commuter bike. I recently moved from a concrete jungle to a rural area and probably need to get some new tires. Right now I'm riding on some slicks with pretty much no tread and am wanting to get some tires that will be better suited for light gravel and dirt roads. Current tires are 700x23. Will I need a new wheel to accommodate some thicker tires or can I get away with some all condition tires on gravel and dirt?

This type of biking only has a very light saturation near me. So when I rock up with my kid/bike situation and see this it feels like there is traction for good things happening.

Flexible 1.85€ cutting board put to good use.

I still want to seal that gap between the two rear fenders but I ran out of materials.

It's protecting the inner-tube from rubbing against the screw heads of my DIY studs. Did the same thing last year and it worked great.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/peertube/p/1821950/i-rode-my-bike-in-12-different-cities-here-s-what-i-learned-about-cycling

I've been lucky enough in the past few years to have ridden my bike in a bunch of cities all over the world. Looking back, here are lessons about urban cycling I learned from 12 different ones. Thi...

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/55967000

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/44995054

The Department of Transportation is proposing bringing a network of bike lanes to Portage Park

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/complete-streets-chicago/home/featured-projects-and-innovations/projects0/PortageParkNeighborhoodBikeNetwork.html

They are holding a community meeting to discuss the bike lane network at 6 p.m. March 5 at the Portage Park Senior Center, 4001 N. Long Avenue.

Attendees are encouraged to register here

Posting things online isn't enough. Pro-car people actually show up. We need supporters of bike lanes to also show up.