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by robgul
18 Jan 2024, 11:27am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Accessing Calais port by bike
Replies: 32
Views: 3350

Re: Accessing Calais port by bike

nirakaro wrote: 18 Jan 2024, 11:17am All the French immigration formalities happen in Dover (before you’ve even bought the ticket, IIRC. When I remarked to the French official that this seemed a bit back-to-front, he laughed and said, ‘Yeh, like everything in England’.)
Off the ferry, the main exit leads straight onto the autoroute. For cyclists, there’s a wee van that says ‘Follow Me’, and leads you round the houses to a back gate, and the road into town.
Brilliant - that's precisely what I wanted to know. Thanks.
by robgul
18 Jan 2024, 10:59am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Accessing Calais port by bike
Replies: 32
Views: 3350

Re: Accessing Calais port by bike

Query about passport control (it's been about 15 years since I used the ferry to Calais!) . . . is there passport control at Calais,or is that handled before boarding at Dover (like Eurotunnel) .. and you just ride from the ship onto the road into Calais town?

Last few times I've been on on a ferry it was with Brittany Ferries and passport control is on arrival both ways.
by robgul
23 Dec 2021, 2:01pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Front wheel spindle
Replies: 15
Views: 825

Re: Front wheel spindle

My 2p :

If you have had the bike in a stand or fitted the wheel off the ground . . . with the bike standing on the ground open the over-centre cam QR levers to ensure that the wheel axles are fully in the drop outs (assuming vertical dropouts - horizontal uses the same principle)

Tighten the "nut" side of the QR and test the closing cam pressure - if you press the cam with the ball of your hand (the bit between thumb and wrist) the cam pressure if at the right setting will leave a compression mark in the ball of your hand for a few seconds.

Works for me, and servicing a lot of bikes when I ran an LBS.

You'd be amazed at the number of people that think you wind up the cam lever to lock the wheel.
by robgul
22 Dec 2021, 2:40pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Tip of the Day - cable ends
Replies: 39
Views: 3162

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Back to cables - the superglue idea works well with a thin coat to stop fraying . . . I also apply thin coat to cables that have to be cut (e.g. a cable for front brake/mech) - apply the glue about an inch along and then when dry cut the in the middle of the glued area.

The other superglue tip is to fix the small plastic caps that fit to the end of mudguard stays (when they have been fitted and cut to size)
by robgul
11 Dec 2021, 8:12pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: A bike recycling charity to donate parts to?
Replies: 6
Views: 689

Re: A bike recycling charity to donate parts to?

gom wrote: 11 Dec 2021, 1:08pm We’ve given things to the Cheltenham shop of
https://www.cyclistsfc.org.uk/contact-cfc.php

I see they have a shop in Stratford.
“Cyclists Fighting Cancer”
Stratford shop (and CfC HQ) is at Alderminster a little south of SuA on the A3400 (or if you wanted to drop stuff on a Sunday when they're closed I'd be happy to take delivery at home in central SuA and take the stuff to them during the week)
by robgul
21 Nov 2021, 12:12pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Dawes Galaxy Seat Post Size?
Replies: 22
Views: 1517

Re: Dawes Galaxy Seat Post Size?

I had a 1975 Galaxy unitl June last year - 99% sure it was 27.2

Vernier - get an old style sliding engraved scale one, digital are prone to mis-reading and rapid battery failure.
by robgul
9 Nov 2021, 8:25pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Shorts Wearers in Winter
Replies: 54
Views: 3273

Re: Shorts Wearers in Winter

Shorts all the year for me (rode on Christmas Day last year) - mind you I have an "advantage" - having had chemo the nerve endings in my lower legs/feet are completely shot (peripheral neuropathy) so I don't feel the cold in my feet. [Conversely I have to be careful with potentially over-hot water - although I've not had a bath for at least 10 years :lol: ]
by robgul
7 Nov 2021, 8:30am
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Colostomy
Replies: 8
Views: 1380

Re: Colostomy

I've sent a PM with my experience - which is positive!
by robgul
24 Oct 2021, 9:45am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Adding Cable Stops to Steel Frame
Replies: 31
Views: 2198

Re: Adding Cable Stops to Steel Frame

As it's a steel frame one solution would be to fit Rivnuts (drill the frame, insert the Rivnut and it pinches up like a pop-rivet - using a Rivnut tool) - then fit these (Chain Reaction) - and no damage to the paintwork.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shi ... lsrc=aw.ds

The stops normally fit to down-tube braze-ons that would in days gone buy house downtube shifter levers - but the concept is the same.
by robgul
18 Oct 2021, 9:23am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: crimping tool - good buy or white elephant?
Replies: 58
Views: 3794

Re: crimping tool - good buy or white elephant?

I have a crimping tool for electrical type cables and cable ends (various sorts: spade, bullet etc)

BUT for crimping ferrules on brake and gear cable ends this was worth the modest investment - perfect results every time.

Image

It's made by Jagwire and showing as being about £23 - was about £12 new, can't remember where though, probably an ebay seller
by robgul
15 Oct 2021, 4:11pm
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: England end to end
Replies: 3
Views: 876

Re: England end to end

Just as there is no "official" E2E (LEJOG or JOGLE) there is no official English E2E route.

I've been asked this question before on www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk - the northernmost point in England is just north of Berwick on Tweed, and the furthest point from there in England is Land's End - road distance is around 550 miles in a car, cycling recommendations are around 600 miles (that's obviously avoiding motorways)
by robgul
7 Oct 2021, 8:05am
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: Cyclist Guide for JOGLE World record attempt
Replies: 9
Views: 1276

Re: Cyclist Guide for JOGLE World record attempt

Pebble wrote: 6 Oct 2021, 11:37pm certainly have to be careful with lampposts
... and lowering the tone - toilet stops are going to be interesting :shock:
by robgul
29 Sep 2021, 1:51pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Stand-alone GPS
Replies: 48
Views: 2463

Re: Stand-alone GPS

Bmblbzzz wrote: 29 Sep 2021, 1:31pm When you say 1:50,000 UK, are you thinking OS mapping? AFAIK most if not all GPS devices come with pre-loaded mapping, usually zoomable, but rarely OS.
Garmin (my GPS of choice -Edge 1000) has a verson of OpenStreets which is pretty good covering the whole of Europe - I used to have 1-50,000 Ordnance Survey as a Garmin-sold add-on but some changes to the Garmin software about 2 years ago meant that you could no longer run the OS.
by robgul
27 Sep 2021, 3:17pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Ultrasonic cleaner
Replies: 27
Views: 1961

Re: Ultrasonic cleaner

tykeboy2003 wrote: 27 Sep 2021, 3:13pm I've got one, not used it for years, I just put the chain in a big jam jar with some DW40-type fluid and give it a good shake, dry it, relubricate and stick it back on.

The best lubricant is the one that comes with a new chain, once that's gone, I tend to use something like this:-

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-m ... c1MTkxOS4w

Chain-wear is the bane of my life.
B&Q chainsaw oil works a treat - and is very cheap compared to the tiny bottles of bike lube.
by robgul
26 Sep 2021, 8:20am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Touring in the 50's
Replies: 61
Views: 4478

Re: Touring in the 50's

My (few!) forays into cycle camping in the late 1950s used a rack similar to the one up-thread and two Govt surplus army "webbing packs" - on a gas-pipe bike with 4 speed Cyclo Benelux rear mech and single chainring on the front (my best mate had a "double clanger" on the front with the old style twist lever on the seat tube)

Those were the days - time marches on and my tourer is now Ti with a Ti rack and Ortliebs - but no camping :D