Brilliant - that's precisely what I wanted to know. Thanks.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.
Search found 2791 matches
- 18 Jan 2024, 11:27am
- Forum: Touring & Expedition
- Topic: Accessing Calais port by bike
- Replies: 32
- Views: 3493
Re: Accessing Calais port by bike
- 18 Jan 2024, 10:59am
- Forum: Touring & Expedition
- Topic: Accessing Calais port by bike
- Replies: 32
- Views: 3493
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.
Last few times I've been on on a ferry it was with Brittany Ferries and passport control is on arrival both ways.
- 23 Dec 2021, 2:01pm
- Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
- Topic: Front wheel spindle
- Replies: 15
- Views: 844
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.
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.
- 22 Dec 2021, 2:40pm
- Forum: Does anyone know … ?
- Topic: Tip of the Day - cable ends
- Replies: 39
- Views: 3248
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)
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)
- 11 Dec 2021, 8:12pm
- Forum: Does anyone know … ?
- Topic: A bike recycling charity to donate parts to?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 728
Re: A bike recycling charity to donate parts to?
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)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”
- 21 Nov 2021, 12:12pm
- Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
- Topic: Dawes Galaxy Seat Post Size?
- Replies: 22
- Views: 1565
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.
Vernier - get an old style sliding engraved scale one, digital are prone to mis-reading and rapid battery failure.
- 9 Nov 2021, 8:25pm
- Forum: Does anyone know … ?
- Topic: Shorts Wearers in Winter
- Replies: 54
- Views: 3344
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 ]
- 7 Nov 2021, 8:30am
- Forum: Health and fitness
- Topic: Colostomy
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1415
Re: Colostomy
I've sent a PM with my experience - which is positive!
- 24 Oct 2021, 9:45am
- Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
- Topic: Adding Cable Stops to Steel Frame
- Replies: 31
- Views: 2271
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.
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.
- 18 Oct 2021, 9:23am
- Forum: Does anyone know … ?
- Topic: crimping tool - good buy or white elephant?
- Replies: 58
- Views: 3874
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.
It's made by Jagwire and showing as being about £23 - was about £12 new, can't remember where though, probably an ebay seller
BUT for crimping ferrules on brake and gear cable ends this was worth the modest investment - perfect results every time.
It's made by Jagwire and showing as being about £23 - was about £12 new, can't remember where though, probably an ebay seller
- 15 Oct 2021, 4:11pm
- Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
- Topic: England end to end
- Replies: 3
- Views: 910
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)
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)
- 7 Oct 2021, 8:05am
- Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
- Topic: Cyclist Guide for JOGLE World record attempt
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1320
- 29 Sep 2021, 1:51pm
- Forum: Does anyone know … ?
- Topic: Stand-alone GPS
- Replies: 48
- Views: 2526
Re: Stand-alone GPS
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.
- 27 Sep 2021, 3:17pm
- Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
- Topic: Ultrasonic cleaner
- Replies: 27
- Views: 2017
Re: Ultrasonic cleaner
B&Q chainsaw oil works a treat - and is very cheap compared to the tiny bottles of bike lube.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.
- 26 Sep 2021, 8:20am
- Forum: Touring & Expedition
- Topic: Touring in the 50's
- Replies: 61
- Views: 4765
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
Those were the days - time marches on and my tourer is now Ti with a Ti rack and Ortliebs - but no camping