BIKES (installation view) cardboard and glue life size 2003 by Chris Gilmour.
Artist Chris Gilmour has created a bike out of cardboard. Rendered in fascinating detail, Gilmour’s Blue Peter rig brings a new frame material to the age-old carbon-steel-alu-ti debate. The question is, how does it handle in the wet?
Via Hello Bauldoff.
Yesterday was the probably the worst roadside breakdown scenario I’ve experienced. I’ve had rides brought to a premature end by forgetting to bring a pump, or multiple flats. I’ve had to radio for a car pickup miles from home before, and on a few occasions have had to beg bus drivers to give me a lift to the nearest train station. But this one takes the cake.
Picture it: beautiful, bright, crisp morning, early rise, good breakfast, 7.24 train from Marylebone. Humming along on the Denham loop, making good time. Set for a solid 4 hour ride, then back for a coffee on the train and big lunch.
Ping. Sounded funny. What the…
The hole where the spoke snapped off.
A spoke on my rear Neutron Ultra had snapped off at the rim and twanged into the middle of the road. The wheel instantly went way off true.
Realising the ride was effectively over, I checked the map and headed slowly towards Prince’s Risborough. The wheel was wobbling badly but I figured it would get me 5 miles to the train station, where I could pick up the line I came out on.
BANG. WTF.
Shredded sidewall.
I should have seen it coming, but the wobbling wheel had (within about 200 yards) rubbed against the brake pads, worn the sidewall of the tyre down and exposed the inner tube, resulting in blowout.
Luckily, I was about 1 mile from Stoke Mandeville. Nothing for it but to walk, in cleats, along the road to the station. Could have been worse. Unfortunately, Stoke Mandeville is on a different line, so I’d have to buy a new ticket. No great shakes. It’s Saturday, though, and there’s no train on the line between Amersham and London Marylebone. The bus replacement service won’t take my bike, so I’ll need to get a Metropolitan Line train from Amersham. There’s maintenance on the Metropolitan Line as well, though, so I’ll only be able to travel as far as Northwood, in Zone 6.
I’d managed to deal philosophically with the situation up to this point, but the realisation that I would have to get a taxi from Northwood back home to Hornsey was what tipped the whole experience from ‘one of those things’ into an unholy shafting. Sure enough, the taxi cost £40.
This misadventure has also tipped my feelings about my wheelset into negative equity. Check the 7-month update here.
If it's got a bike in it, it's a legitimate blog post.
Swimwear by One of Us. Discovered on Stylecrave. (Why was I surfing Stylecrave?)
Box fresh: the Edinburgh Bicycle Revolution Courier Race.
I have a new hack. Soak it up.
For the last 5 or so years of living in London, I’ve got by on a motley crew of unreliable commute bikes, piecing together old broken frames with hand-me-down componentry and bottom-dollar bits. I’ve only ever ridden nice, smooth bikes on the weekend. No longer.
I bought the Edinburgh Bicycle Revolution Courier Race in a hurry following the sudden demise of the Ballistic. Slightly gutting was today’s realisation that had I waited 2 days I could have cashed in on the EB sale, saving £50 (15% off). F@*K.
Anyhow, I’ve now ridden the bike home. First impressions:
The steering issue is probably more to do with my having ridden a bike with bent forks for 18 months, and I’ll get used to it over time. I’ve now fitted mudguards, SPDs and light mounts – bring on the autumn!
