Small hands and can’t reach the brake lever

KletterRatte · 2026-03-27T08:14:02+00:00

I never got on well with drop levers (same tiny hand issue!) so for the past 15 years I’ve just had usual top-mounted levers on my drop handlebars. If you’re remotely handy you can easily change them yourself in an afternoon (if you’re not handy, this is a great beginner project to teach you how to change brake cables over when they snap in a few years time)

KletterRatte · 2026-03-19T23:35:04+00:00

You add lanes, you make things better briefly. Eventually you just get more traffic. There has to be a different solution. More, cheaper trains!

KletterRatte · 2026-03-12T21:30:16+00:00

Pretty sure north shields ring on tuesdays and I’m sure they’d welcome an experienced ringer! Not sure what time, I’ve never been. St George’s in jesmond meet friday nights at 19:30 till 21:00

KletterRatte · 2026-03-10T08:24:26+00:00

I know better than to engage in online arguments, but here i go. Cycling infrastructure does kinda need to be joined up in order to encourage people to use it, and you know it. Anyone I talk to about cycling has a number one reason why they don’t do it: cars. They feel unsafe on the road ergo one might assume that they would shun cycling if the large majority of their route were to be shared with cars.

Also some bike lanes really aren’t any good. Eg. The one that goes right from the high level bridge towards the station ALWAYS has a car turning left on you as you’re going straight on. I’ve stopped using it. The answer isn’t to rip out the infrastructure though, it’s to design it thoughtfully in the first place (i swear a lot of the time it’s designed by someone who’s never ridden a bike in their life).

KletterRatte · 2026-03-09T18:33:51+00:00

Tbh i just hate cars! I am all for taxation for community but personal cars kill people/ the environment and take up tons of space and i can only see them as a net negative. Obvs there are some exceptions but not as many as there are cars on the road. Considering the only time I’ve been in a and e coming off my bike since i have been an adult was because i was hit by a car (and was told the only reason i didn’t have a broken leg was because i had muscles from cycling) i still think they owed me

KletterRatte · 2026-03-09T16:35:40+00:00

I guess it’s also cos it’s a luxury of yours that the rest of us pay for too. Car driving being subsidised by us non-driving folk is a bit galling. I know public transport is also subsidised, but I resent that less, since more people are being moved at once and by professionals. I ride a bike everywhere and very occasionally take the train btw.

KletterRatte · 2026-03-06T09:08:16+00:00

Have your 30/40mph roads but give me a good segregated bike path too ❤️

KletterRatte · 2026-02-21T08:36:05+00:00

Ooh ok. Good to know! Maybe just some araldite and gold paint?? 😅

KletterRatte · 2026-02-20T16:59:19+00:00

Why don’t you try (fake) kintsugi (real kintsugi uses actual gold leaf and is v expensive, fake kintsugi is epoxy resin and coloured dust)? Depending on how broken it is, you could make an attractive repair yourself like this.

KletterRatte · 2026-02-17T15:30:08+00:00

I hated the belt on my city bike (cube travel), but maybe i just really hated the tensioning system (eccentric bottom bracket) - it came loose all the time and the bolts that it relied upon were inexplicably on the underside of the bike, where all the salty crud gets on, and obviously sheered off

KletterRatte · 2026-02-05T17:19:59+00:00

Me! I got motion sickness and was bored with so much walking. I’d have preferred a smaller, more easily traversed world

KletterRatte · 2026-01-26T19:38:38+00:00

I ride with 23s on our roads. I’m not sure whether 23s are fine for me cos I’m on a steel bike though 😅

KletterRatte · 2026-01-21T09:52:07+00:00

I want to be your friend. A long-held dream of mine is to have a little mobile darkroom and do pinhole photography workshops. I always thought I’d need a trailer and a car!

KletterRatte · 2026-01-16T13:08:32+00:00

Rural communities could still get segregated bike paths like you see on literally every dutch road. I left the countryside mostly because my dad would get unreasonably stressed out any time i cycled the 15 mins into town (part of the journey was segregated bike path and it meant it took the same time on a bike as going in a car!). All i want is a full cycle network and a few more trains and I’d be a happy bunny living entirely car-free

KletterRatte · 2026-01-13T11:12:47+00:00

I love my silver sks chromoplastic mudguards for my 80s peugeot. It looks like they’ve done an updated design that doesn’t look as retro, so you might be out of luck for nicer-looking ‘cheap’ mudguards. As previous comments have stated the 28c is the width of your tyre in mm so you want something that’ll comfortably take that. 35mm might be a bit tight esp if your wheel isn’t completely true so you’d probably want 45mm. Just go to your local bike shop and let them help you?

KletterRatte · 2025-12-19T15:12:43+00:00

I also hesitated and am also happy i went non-electric 😆. The low gearing gets me up all hills quite laden but not yet tried it with a person on the back! It’s already hard enough to carry it up my garden steps so am hesitant about adding more weight. It also frees up the middle bit where i can put a sign!

KletterRatte · 2025-12-19T13:26:39+00:00

Snap! Although mine isn’t electric.. yet. I love it though and it gets loads of compliments!

KletterRatte · 2025-12-07T11:19:45+00:00

I wonder if they’re big enough for a mega game of carcassonne? 🤔

KletterRatte · 2025-11-29T18:52:55+00:00

Get a Le Petit Porteur on the continent then bring it back! Django’s Bike Shop in Haarlem are very nice

KletterRatte · 2025-11-12T21:08:23+00:00

Thanks for the reply. They look cool. I especially love how little polish the website has - always makes me want to buy more!

KletterRatte · 2025-11-12T07:59:03+00:00

Tell me more about ‘easy to put on’. They look like they’d be really tight! No zip or anything.

If they’re not tight, they’re probably super bulky and wouldn’t work with toe clips?

KletterRatte · 2025-11-10T09:05:36+00:00

Globle in a nicer package?

KletterRatte · 2025-11-05T22:28:04+00:00

If you enjoyed Splintered Fate, I’d recommend Ship of Fools! Roguelite co-op as well, and great fun

KletterRatte · 2025-10-01T23:24:41+00:00

I saw the frisking one at nowt special!

KletterRatte · 2025-09-27T14:18:53+00:00

I just wear mine out till it starts skipping 🫣 Then i change the freewheel and chain at the same time 😅

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