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GB bike and Super Mario's old 'dale...

I thought this would look better in the flesh....it doesn't...

As seen today, at the Rouler classic show. What an utter bastard of a thing...

Pretty certain I had a target on my back this morning. And also more certainter that people driving red people carriers are cunts. Specifically ones with Foose stickers on the back window. Now having spent a significant amount of time on the Discovery channel whilst waiting for the freeview babestation thing to start, I've watched a few programs with Chip Foose in, where he normally takes a shit American car and makes it shitterer. However I'm pretty certain that basin-haircutted Chip hasn't 'modified' a '53 plate Vauxhall Zafira and if he did, he'd fix the steering to ensure it didn't feel the need to swerve left into cyclists every time one was trying to fucking filter...

Whilst I've got my angry type on, whoever thought Tooley street in its current layout was a good idea needs a kick in the bracket. The poor bloke with the stop sign needs a medal, run over by cyclists, sworn at by peds...fuck his job...

Day off today and a planned ride with the bloke who does 'the rules' book - think his name is Frank...

Anyway, new post fitted along with one of those super comfy fabric saddles. Rear guard replaced - couldn't be arsed to do the front as it was bloody freezing doing this outside. And replaced the rear brake pads.

Turned up for the ride and everyone is on crabon road bikes and I'm on this nail. Thankfully a double puncture meant an early bath and cake...which was nice. Still need to desticker the wheels and I'll fit the front guard when I can be bothered, just so they match.

Temporary post and guards fitted, new Thompson purchased at lunch to replace the bendy one.

Picture below taken over lunch while fitting a new chain in the works bike lockup. Looking like more of a weapon than usual fixing my bike whilst wearing a suit...

In other news I tried to fit the Challenge tyres at the weekend. I can see why they're called Challenge....after blowing the tyre off the rim three times (once while riding it down the road) I gave up and stuck the 28mm GP4000's back on again. So no skin-wall goodness any time soon until I figure out why they won't stay on the rims. I've had similar issues before with them albeit on a 25mm fitted to Aksiums so maybe Challenge tyres just don't like Mavic rims.

It's frigging huge!

Of course*

*I haven't yet. But then I haven't put the new mudguard on either so it has bigger issues currently than the 'special' rim stickers...

Okay doke - this morning I has mainly been shopping on the internet.

Bought some of these to get the ball rolling

Needed some new tyres as the GP4000's aren't great for the commute

And on the crank front, bought one of these with a 50t ring

Also purchase some new shimano PTFE cables in dark grey and I've got a Fabric saddle on the way to replace the Fizik

However, one thing I didn't purchase was a new rear mudguard. Idios!

So, this morning's commute involved me being run into by a taxi which bizarrely apart from knocking me off (sat at a red light at the time) only broke the rear mudguard. Checking everything else it looks OK (well, it looks bent but I think its meant to be like that) so I ripped off the remainder of the guard and carried on. My bike now looks like a bobber type chopper but I was never that impressed with the SKS guards anyway so something more Audax'y could be on the cards.

A name change is also needed - its now the Uber Commuter....HA!

I've also been looking at 1x cranks and think I'm going to plumb for a Rival job off of Bike24. I'm going for a rather manly 50t ring as oppose to the 42 they also offer. And possibly a set of the Ksyrium wheels as I'm fed up with tightening spokes in the current set. Win

It's running 75psi as it is! Still stiff as poop, just handles worse. And punctures more. I don't get all the fuss about open paves..

So, errr yeah...bikes. I've got some. Anyway, I've been commuting most of the year on the singular which whilst good fun to ride has me hanging by Friday (15 miles each way). It's also got no bottle mounts, has a fairly brutal saddle to bar drop and..well sometimes it'd be nice to freewheel.

So I've bought myself a GT grade - the alloy 105 version. Turned up from tweeks pretty much ready to go. I swapped out the seatpost straight away for a salsa ti one I had and also changed the shit fsa cranks (22mm spindle??) For an ultegra one I had in the spares box. Oh yeah, and mudguards. Gotta have mudguards.

Compared to all my other bikes it's comfy but stupidly upright. So first job is to swap the stem out for a shorter negative rise one (this is 130mm!). Second job is to maybe go 1X11 as I never use the inner ring anyway - flat commute brah - but I can't find a narrow/wide in shimanos funky bolt pattern. Third on the list is some better wheels cos these are heavy and shit.

I'm not going with a rack because A) I don't like em and B) there's no rack mounts.. so I'll stick with the Aero backpack for now. What I really want is one of those carradice bags but they're mega money so maybe not..

Check ma seat pack whut...it's also a big bastard considering it's a 56...

Quick pic of the commuter...it's, er...stiff!

My views on drafting depend on what day of the week it is. If its Monday, I'm dead set against it and I'd never draft. If its Friday, I'm probably hanging and will take any help I can get so will happily sit on someones wheel.

What does piss me off regardless of the day of the week are shitped riders. Dozy walkers, motorcyclists and taxi drivers (including Addison Lee) I can tolerate, but hipster muppets on their plastic vespa ripoffs with no sense of space, observation or what anyone else is doing boils my piss. And the ones that buy those R125 yamaha's that look like they've shrunk in the wash that the acne ridden chav has fitted a loud exhaust on - they can fuck right off. The bloke next to me on the A2 yesterday had an exhaust that was so loud people were ducking as he rode past. Obviously I made my point by giving him a nasty stare and dropping back a bit - that'll learn him..

Does it involve stabilisers because frankly I think they're going to make a bad situation worse..

I didn't bother watching the new Walking dead episode the other night as I get my fill of zombies when they exit London Bridge station and stride out in front of you on Tooley St. Be nice if they finished Tower bridge early so I can get back to being pushed into the railings by builders vans...

First post and its about disc mounts...eeesshhh

EDIT:........and not only that but page two reveals that someone has already covered my suggestion

Bugger