u/Reasonable_Ad_5836

Hey all,

I'm looking for some extra rear lights for my bike. I get way too paranoid about my single rear light breaking/running out of charge without me noticing, so want to get some additional complimentary lights just to out my mind at ease.

My current light is typically mountain onto the back of my rear rack (tailfin aeropack), so options of additional lights are either on the rear seat stays or onto the arch of the rack.

I'm also just generally curious what kind of rear lights people use. I'm using an exposure Blaze, I think the mk2 version currently, and while I think it's a great light, it's incredibly difficult/ vague to tell how much battery is remaining, which doesn't help my anxiety about it dying mid-ride.

Cheers!

P.S. For those who saw my last post.

I didn't manage to enter the 600km audax last weekend as my new shoes didn't arrive in time, fingers crossed they arrive this week. Hoping to get out and try my 1st audax out soon.

Edit: Thanks everyone for your help and advice, really helpful to get some information on what people actually are using!

I've ordered a Garmin Varia for a new main light, the notifications/visibility on head unit for battery life will really set my mind at ease. Will be really interesting to try iut this new radar tech too.

I've also ordered a couple of Cateye Omni 3s for some supporting lights to put on my rack supports/ seat stays for the extra visibility and super long battery life, and easy ability to just switch in new aaa batteries whenever needed!

Hey all,

I recently discovered Audax, and it sounds like it'd be right up my street. I've only ever ridden solo however, with a longest ride of 200miles (in 18hours, inc stops).

There's a 600km (in 40hours) near where I live in Wales this weekend that I'm considering signing up for. It'd be quite a jump in distance, and the timing isn't the best, as my current shoes fell apart last weekend and I'm currently waiting for my new pair to arrive.

Do I throw caution to the wind, and dive in the deep end, or should I travel further afield and try out a shorter distance 1st, after getting some test rides on my new shoes done?

Cheers!

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Hey all,

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I've exclusively used shimano road clipless pedals up until now. My recent bike trip (250miles around Cornwall over a weekend), has made me question if I should be using Mtb clipless instead, so I can actually walk around.

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I've always stuck to my guns on using the road version, and to be frank, I don't really walk about much on a trip. I cycle through places, only ever really stopping for food/ resupplies and a bit of a break, then move on.

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However my recent trip (my poor route planning), had me go down a couple of off road sections/ very steep pathways, where walking was the only option, and also incredibly sketchy due to having basically no grip/stability.

​

Another aspect that I "believe" Mtb version helps with is the ability to clip in easier, especially when starting on steep hills, but this might just be a skill issue on my side.

​

The downsides of mtb to my knowledge are reduces pedal contact, which on back to back 100mile + long days (generally my style of trip), could cause more discomfort/ decreased comfort over road than I'd actually benefit from the advantages.

​

TLDR, Should someone who walks the bare minimum on their bike trips consider MTB clipless for the edge cases when they would be more helpful, or stick to road clipless? Should I be looking into changing over, or stick to what I know and am comfortable with?

Hey all,

​

I've exclusively used shimano road clipless pedals up until now. My recent bike trip (250miles around Cornwall over a weekend), has made me question if I should be using Mtb clipless instead, so I can actually walk around.

​

I've always stuck to my guns on using the road version, and to be frank, I don't really walk about much on a trip. I cycle through places, only ever really stopping for food/ resupplies and a bit of a break, then move on.

​

However my recent trip (my poor route planning), had me go down a couple of off road sections/ very steep pathways, where walking was the only option, and also incredibly sketchy due to having basically no grip/stability.

​

Another aspect that I "believe" Mtb version helps with is the ability to clip in easier, especially when starting on steep hills, but this might just be a skill issue on my side.

​

The downsides of mtb to my knowledge are reduces pedal contact, which on back to back 100mile + long days (generally my style of trip), could cause more discomfort/ decreased comfort over road than I'd actually benefit from the advantages.

​

TLDR, Should someone who walks the bare minimum on their bike trips consider MTB clipless for the edge cases when they would be more helpful, or stick to road clipless?

​

Should I be looking into changing over, or stick to what I know and am comfortable with?

Do you plan your overnight stop locations in advance?

Hey all,

I'm based in the UK, and have done a couple of bike tours/ bike packing trips over the last 4-5 years. Both credit card tours and camping, up to about a week long would be the longest I've done. I've never done any wild camping, and I've always booked pretty much my "accomodation" in advance of setting off.

I was wondering how people handle planning and booking their overnight stops?

1. Everything planned and booked before starting the trip

2. 1st stop or 2 booked at start, then book additional stops as you go depending on your needs

3. Nothing booked, but places mapped out as potential stopping points.

4. No plan, just ride and figure it out when you need to.

Hey all,

I'm based in the UK, and have done a couple of bike tours/ bike packing trips over the last 4-5 years. Both credit card tours and camping, up to about a week long would be the longest I've done. I've never done any wild camping, and I've always booked pretty much my "accomodation" in advance of setting off.

I was wondering how people handle planning and booking their overnight stops?

1. Everything planned and booked before starting the trip

2. 1st stop or 2 booked at start, then book additional stops as you go depending on your needs

3. Nothing booked, but places mapped out as potential stopping points.

4. No plan, just ride and figure it out when you need to.

Edit: It seems that my suspicions have been confirmed, and most people seem to land in the 3-4 range most often, with occasionally some advanced booking for specific circumstances.

Might take a while to adjust to this way of doing things, but I put my anxieties to 1 side, and try it out for my next trip!

This might sound like a silly question, but I'm very much not part of any cycling communities, and so I only really have my own experiences and youtube videos to go off a lot of the time, so I think it's good to sensor check my conclusions from time to time with actual people.

A quick background of me, I cycle commute daily, 50miles per week, and have done for a couple of years now, but I really enjoy pushing my endurance limits, and doing much longer rides when I'm able to, I like to have little goals each year to try out just to see how they go. My current goal is a roughly 250mile ride across Britain from where I live to London.

In doing this, I keep running up against issues of saddle comfort. I've tried a handful of different saddles, and have had a professional bike fit which improves many aspects of my bike comfort, but I still suffer with saddle discomfort on long rides (current setup is 5hours+, and I'll be changing soon, but even previous setups have been 10-15hours + before becoming an issue).

I never get saddle sores, or chaffing, just dull aches that appear in my sit bones, and just grow steadily worse, and are most prominent when just cycling doing a flat section of road at 25-30kph.

I mostly accept this as an inevitability of riding for so long in 1 chunk, but I also don't like this conclusion and wonder if this is something others find, or if it's something that I should keep working on improving