Search found 560 matches

by hufty
17 Sep 2023, 5:36pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Ideas for Trip
Replies: 20
Views: 5237

Re: Ideas for Trip

Starting at the end, I'd aim to finish in Morpeth and get the train in to Newcastle from there!

And personally I'd avoid Loch Lomond - leave it for the neds. The A82 does have cycle lanes and so on but it's a pretty depressing ride with all the traffic noise.
by hufty
31 Aug 2023, 8:43pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: French Municipal Campsites Becomming Private
Replies: 17
Views: 3693

Re: French Municipal Campsites Becomming Private

simonineaston wrote: 28 Aug 2023, 6:06pm The end of a era… not saying that all their municipal campsites were perfect - of course they weren’t. But it’s just part of the inexorable march of commerce over more social values. Similar to the loss of most of the YHAs over here.
The enduring influence of thinkers like Hayek and Rand is pulling us all down - well, all except the richest beggars, busy creaming off all the profits and trousering the results. Too sad.
o
One of the major benefits of the municipal system was equal opportunities - same with YHA. Ordinary people had a chance to holiday at all sorts of places, whether remote or more obvious locations, regardless of how profitable they actually were. The modern obsession with profitability means all but the most mainstream fall by the wayside, with no alternatives for ordinary folk. Massive loss, in my view.
Maaate! I mean really, what enduring influence do you think Ayn Rand has, and in France? As for Salma Hayek...
by hufty
9 Aug 2023, 3:24pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Entry to France
Replies: 41
Views: 2102

Re: Entry to France

simonhill wrote: 9 Aug 2023, 8:34am I agree, I wouldn't worry if going as a normal tourist. No reports of any hassles.

The point about the 'visa thing' is that you will need one once their new systems are in. It will be apply once for 3 year validity. It just means you can enter EU, doesn't affect the 90 days in 180 rule. Needed for any trip to EU, even 1 day. The UK are setting up something similar.
Schengen not EU - have just come back from Norway :) Hopefully ETIAS will speed things up immensley - rather than have the border official leaf through your passport looking for pairs of stamps then totting up how many days you have been in the zone, you would hope the computer system will do it instantly.
by hufty
4 Aug 2023, 8:49pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: eccentric bottom bracket - 10 -17 NM torque
Replies: 22
Views: 1186

Re: eccentric bottom bracket - 10 -17 NM torque

531colin wrote: 4 Aug 2023, 12:55pm It seems to me a poor design, the bolts attempt to fix the curved eccentric against a matching curve on the BB shell.
Don't understand. The BB shell is cylindrical obs, the eccentric is circular where it touches the inside of the BB shell.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bottom-brac ... tour-only/

Have to say never had a problem with mine, and you can tighten those slotted screws with a spoon if necessary until you can find a mechanic and borrow a 14mm spanner (might be 15mm).
by hufty
29 Dec 2022, 12:38pm
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: Dan Durston X-Mid tents
Replies: 10
Views: 1974

Re: Dan Durston X-Mid tents

SA_SA_SA wrote: 28 Dec 2022, 7:43pm
hufty wrote: 28 Dec 2022, 4:30pm....it's really simple to make your own carbon fibre tent poles which means you can have them the right length for your luggage.
Do you have a link to instructions on how?
Thank you for asking :)

I have to say those Durston poles look like The Ones although there would be VAT and import fees to pay and a bit of a wait. If you make your own you could be sleeping in a collapsed tent by mid January.

Mine are 4 sections of 12mm outer diameter carbon fibre tube with a 12.5" pack length, 46" fixed length, 83g each. You'd have to decide for yourself whether a stronger more adjustable pole is worth the 10g weight penalty. Three of my outer sections are more or less 11" (1.5" of protruding insert makes 12.5") but the top section is a smidge longer as the aluminium end (see below) protrudes only 3/4".

I got my tube from ebay eg https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/katanacarbonfibercomposite2. I used 12mm OD tube (10mm ID) for the pole sections and 9.8mm OD tube for the inserts. They make the funny diameters specifically to slip into the next tube size up.

The tube cuts easily enough with a fine tooth saw although does blunt the blades. I think the dust is injurious to health. I used a senior hack saw but you can get modeller's pull saws for your airfix planes. A wrap of masking tape is a good enough guide for a nice perpendicular cut. I got a better cut by sawing towards the middle then rotating the tube a bit, rather than trying to blast through in one go.

You can super glue carbon fibre apparently, but I have more faith in two-part araldite plus it gives you more working time. I cut my insert pieces at 3" (1.5" insertion just seemed right) masked off half, roughened the other half, cleaned all surfaces to be glued with alcohol, let everything dry, smeared araldite onto the insert, twisted it in, left it alone overnight in the shed bingo first section made.

I originally thought I wouldn't link all the sections together but shockcording them together with 3mm cord soon makes total sense. In which case you might want some of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154546032115. I cut two down for the bottoms of the poles. There's no need to glue them in, a wrap of electrical tape keeps them in place.

I tried various rubber ends, yoghurt pots, rebar caps etc to stop the poles sinking into the ground but settled in the end on these pole cups https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175207587541. My tent has a couple of webbing loops designed for walking poles and I was able to fix the cups permanently to the webbing by making a perpendicular cut into the middle of the long slot.
Poles.jpg
by hufty
29 Dec 2022, 11:20am
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: Dan Durston X-Mid tents
Replies: 10
Views: 1974

Re: Dan Durston X-Mid tents

The Dan Durston? Welcome to the forum! That Henry Shires never posts on here he just took my money and ran :)
by hufty
28 Dec 2022, 4:30pm
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: Dan Durston X-Mid tents
Replies: 10
Views: 1974

Re: Dan Durston X-Mid tents

I looked at them during my extensive internet research last year. I really wanted one, mainly due to the space and the polyester fly. I didn't go for one in the end because I get the impression you need quite a flat rectangle of ground to pitch on, and I invariably end up pitching on sub optimal tussocky ground and so on. They now do a semi solid inner not just mesh which was the other offputting thing.

I went with a Tarptent Notch 1 in the end which is a good tent but better for hiking than cycle touring - a little cramped with panniers flying around. Maybe I should be more organised.

Just out of interest, it's really simple to make your own carbon fibre tent poles which means you can have them the right length for your luggage.
by hufty
2 Oct 2022, 7:39pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Front light for tunnels and dark stretches of road
Replies: 20
Views: 954

Re: Front light for tunnels and dark stretches of road

If you had two lights, your tunnel light could be pointed down more at the road so wouldn't dazzle motorists. In general being dazzled by a 10p sized light source is nothing compared to being dazzled by two high output xenon headlamps - us car drivers have to moan about something. I have a dynamo front light, Mrs H has an ETC Kochab, which is significantly brighter. It's USB rechargeable, it has a daylight running mode, it's a good light.

A good place to compare bike lights:
https://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/up ... ine-212914
by hufty
5 Aug 2022, 9:26pm
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?
Replies: 41
Views: 4945

Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

My two year old Sea to Summit Etherlight developed a slow leak last month which turned out to be a tear at one of the spot welds. I sent it back, they replaced it. I had high hopes for the Chesterfield sofa style rather than straight line baffles, but I guess it brought home how difficult it would be to do a lasting repair in any of the puckers.
by hufty
3 Aug 2022, 10:10pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Bikes and London taxis
Replies: 30
Views: 1930

Re: Bikes and London taxis

Nothing to do with black cabs, just to point out that a cheaper alternative to the Heathrow Express is any stopper train that runs along exactly the same route. They used to be branded Heathrow Connect but are now just known as "trains". £15 cheaper, ten minutes slower.
by hufty
6 Jul 2022, 6:54pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycling using trains (in UK and EU)
Replies: 587
Views: 61420

Re: Travelling with a touring bike on a train in the uk

Just got the Caledonian Sleeper down from Inverness to Preston then home on local trains. I can recommend the service, and there were four other cyclists on board. It was the cheapest ticket I could find (for the seat not a bunk) and meant I got a leisurely start and a full day's ride in.

Several good things about it:
The staff were really good - "Welcome aboard this Caledonian Sleeper service" rather than the usual hostile opener of "Oi you can't come on here without a bike reservation!"
The online booking process for bicycles works and it shows up on your ticket, unlike with Avanti.
You can open the door yourself from the inside at your destination you don't have to hope someone remembers to walk up the platform.

A couple of minor niggles:
There's an (unnecssary) strut between bike bays 3 and 4 which made it difficult for my drop handlebars to fit in. In the end I had to hang the bike back wheel high and even then it didn't really fit that well.
I would avoid booking the single seats if you've got legs and feet as most of the space where you might want to stretch your legs and put your feet is taken up by the metalwork for the seat in front. This isn't a problem on the double seat side of the carriage. Yes I moved.
by hufty
26 May 2022, 6:56pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Do you use toeclips?
Replies: 42
Views: 2212

Re: Do you use toeclips?

A quick mention of Restrap diagonal pedal straps, which I have on my tourer mainly so I can wear Keen sandals.
by hufty
12 May 2022, 5:23pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Worst piece of kit you ever bought
Replies: 79
Views: 5285

Re: Worst piece of kit you ever bought

David9694 wrote: 11 May 2022, 11:16pm Proviz gilet. Breathable: my left foot.
Now steady on there David9694! I bought a Proviz "Classic" gilet very recently and quite rate it for its flattering cut (ahem) and bright but not fluoro colour. Agreed it can get a bit clammy sometimes in which case I undo the zip a bit, but I can't believe it's the worst piece of kit you've ever bought?

My suggestions would be those bicycle footpumps where you put a foot on the unit and pulled repeatedly on a webbing strap to turn a compressor until either the tyre was half inflated or the unit broke. And V brakes.
by hufty
23 Feb 2022, 12:53pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: US travel insurance
Replies: 26
Views: 1420

Re: US travel insurance

Insure and Go have reduced the individual trip lengths they cover on the annual insurance - best you can get is 55 days.
Cycle touring is specifically mentioned in the list of included sports. It's one of a bizarre selection of sports that only get partial cover - your hospital costs are covered if you fall off, but you don't get a cash payout for losing that arm and you're not covered for personal liability ie damage to someone else or their stuff.

LV insurance might be of interest to some - I haven't researched it fully but it looks like they have a longer trip duration, and you may be able to get medical cover /excluding/ anything relating to pre-existing medical conditions, rather than paying a penalty for sensibly managing a stable condition to lower your long term risk of illness in later life.
by hufty
23 Jan 2022, 5:27pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: More Schwalbe Marathon Woes
Replies: 35
Views: 2874

Re: More Schwalbe Marathon Woes

borisface wrote: 22 Jan 2022, 7:04pm Unfortunately, I had bought mine maybe 4 years before use probably from Wiggle. And as I now live in the EU I'm not going through the hassle of sending them back to Wiggle with the Clusterfckery that is brexit.
If we'd all known you might want to send some four year old tyres back to Wiggle after emigrating to Latvia we would have voted Remain.