Cycling UK Forum

megilleland wrote:Have you seen these:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &7.

thanks everso much ! lots to read up about + one site i 'd seen once before & couldnt find again . thanks again .trev

hi , we are off to cuba in Feb for 4 weeks & have a few questions
are there any problems flying with bikes to cuba also cubana internal flights as i cant find any info on their website re charges /weight limits etc.
and are the ctc plastic bags accepted on the flights ??

i would welcome ANY recent useful links to CASA particular sites as a lot of the info is out of date also cycle routes .( i have seen crazyman on a bike site)

we intend to go west from Santiago de cuba (cant find any accom,) then towards Havana

can we get tourist card in cuba or should we get them before ( i cant make any sense of the cuban embassy web site)

any help would be great
trev

hi ther,
Hope this is of some use. i cycled from Ipswich to Inverness last year following the Sustrans maps (showing the little camping emblem ) & finding a campsite was real problem several of them had closed ( the one just north of Beverley was then for residential caravans only & the owner fairly unpleasant & unsympathetic )dispite CAMPING sign still on the roadside. several of the campsites had NO TENT signs or just wouldnt let tents in,some insurance thing again they said.
And quite a few that i came across were for camping club members only ( i would seriously think about joining if i did something like this again)
AND they wernt cheap in the end i did a mix of Hostel (yha & independent), & camping .
it seemed talking to several of the campsite owners they were veering towards only Residential sites as it made them more money .....a bit dissappointing
having just bought a new tent .
so it might be worth a a close look at the sites when you plan your route to see IF they allow single sex tents ie one person.
trev

well after all that i did buy a YST threadless BB ,all seemed well until about 30 miles into a ride the left side flange sheered off !!!! very annoying

luckily i was able to continue home with a wobbly crank...

has anyone used one of the prestine ones that SJS sell ??? any comments as to its robustness ??? before i go towards a costly bit of reaming , sleeves , re threading etc etc ....
trev

CREPELLO wrote:Not that I'm aware of. But why the need? Once you have fitted the BB, it should stay tight, although some may retighten after a few hundred miles (I've never bothered, but always retighten the cranks a touch). Your other thread says you're fitting a threadless BB, so this tool isn't relevant.

yes that was the problem it "shouldve stayed tight" alas it didnt, the plastic Lt side came undone the right side wobbled about & hence the damaged threads on the inside Rt
i managed to see (though not the right size) a threadless BB (with the the central threads Lt to Rt) but as it hasnt anything to grip at the sides (being smooth/) i was wondering with lots of pedalling it might make its way loose , & as i dont usually carry crank extractors with me i wouldnt be able to tighten it , i thought a slim tool to slide between the crank & BB with the Castlations (not sure thats the word ) i could just tweak it up again?

hi there , i was just pondering after my bottom bracket coming loose whilst on a ride ,

whether there is available anywhere a a tool that slips between the pedal crank & BB which could be used to tighten a loose BB without having to take
the cranks off ...........i feel sure there is but after a bit of searching i havent found one .
or perhaps i need to invent one?
trev

many thanks to you all for you very prompt help .

i have now (after a few phone calls ) tracked down one of these threadless BB's which seem as though they will do the trick ,i'll let you know .
thanks again
trev

I have an old Raleigh royal which i'd like to keep

BUT whilst out riding i notice the plastic "centrilser"thing on the left of the bottom bracket had worked loose ,not having the roight tools with me i attempted to tighten it by hand & carried on ,although a BIT loose all seemed well ,however over the next few weeks still not having my tools with me the plastic "thingy " kept coming out
& the then the right hand side came loose .
all in all it seems the threads in the frame have been stripped & its impossible to tighten either side up & i have been told that its the end of the frame ,someone else has said it MAY be possible to get a re slieve ??? is this possible ?? worth it ??? and any idea where i can get it done & approx how much OR should i just look around for a new frame ??

hi there , I recently fitted a new handle bar stem(??swan neck ) to my 2005 super galaxy to bring the handle bars up abit & to make a more comfortable position.

however no matter how hard i tighten then they creak every time i put any strain on them from either side,ie out of the saddle etc. i'm wondering if they are about to either break or
just pop out the frame ??
anyone any ideas whats causing this ??
thanks trev

hi there , thanks for the info,i was looking at flights with ZOOM which was pretty cheap a few weeks ago ,havent looked recently.taking a bike looks straight forward as long as you keep in in the weight limits.
still looking at other possibilities
trev

hi there , i have been thinking about going touring in NOVA SCOTIA,anybody been there ??
whats the scenery like/traffic etc is it worth it ?? i have 4 weeks
or is there somewhere more interesting you'd recommend,NOT too hilly,& i 'd rather not fly from stansted as its a pain & expensive with a bike from Exeter.
thought about just taking the ferry across the sea & starting the norht sea route as far as norway/???? any thoughts
thanks trev