Cycling UK Forum

IME Alpkit stuff is reasonable quality and decent VFM, and their customer service is supposed to be pretty good (I've never had to use it).

Stanford's in Covent Garden and the Map Shop in Upton upon Severn should have them in stock, and they both do mail/online orders. However, depending on how far you're going you might want to think about a larger-scale map. I used the Falk 1:75K cycle atlas for a tour last summer, and unless you want...

Depending on fitness, 100km on the bike is anywhere between 3 and 6 hours in the saddle; if you've been ramping up the mileage quickly, knee and back pain might not be uncommon, especially if you're doing that with minimal stops. I'd still second the recommendation of a bike fit, mind, just to rule ...

What was different about the Dawes' feel? 27" wheels are only 1.3% bigger than 700C, so I'd be very surprised if you could reliably tell them apart if used on otherwise identical bikes. Off the top of my head I can think of any number of differences that would affect the feel, including - diffe...

I sympathise with mjr's point, but also with Richard's inner copy-editor. For a UK context I'd probably lean towards 'motor-free' (I'm not sure e-bikes have entered the general consciousness), and for NL something like 'designated cycleway'. The important point is that - from a UK point of view - an...

Just in addition to the above, 'bewaakte fietsenstalling' suggests that it's secure/guarded cycle storage. I wouldn't leave a good bike locked up on the street for any length of time in Amsterdam (or any other major Dutch city) without multiple heavy-duty locks.

Jakob why don't you have a look at the Breskens - Vlissingen footpassengers ferry. This way you will avoid the busy city of Antwerp. And you will cycle along the coast of Zeeland (our most seaside county) up north to Hoek van Holland to catch your ferry back to the UK. Thanks for the suggestion - o...

As others have said, they're all AFAIK of the bike spaces by the loos type. If you're travelling at a commuter peak time you may well find people sat on the flip-up seats there, but equally unless the train's absolutely rammed there isn't normally a problem with having your bike in the vestibule. Fo...

How much lower are wages in Indonesia than Taiwan? We've discussed the development of Taiwan's industry on here before ( https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=125702 ), and their success is at least partly due to the existence of manufacturing skills clusters and government support for...

Preaching to the converted on here, of course - how many threads do we have on 'how can I lower my gearing' - but isn't it mostly because 'road bikes' are (explicitly or otherwise) modelled after road racing bikes, whose riders can put out ludicrous wattages whilst weighing about as much as the usua...

I still use DT shifters - Shimano friction band-on levers that are used to shift an 8-from-9s cassette (as set up by Brucey OTP). For my kind of cycling - mostly day rides and light touring - they work very well, so I've not been moved to change them. I'd consider bar-ends or Kelly's mounts, but get...

(OT) are such flux deposits not removed by frame blasting prior to painting, or do you need to do more? I've seen framebuilders' pictures of freshly-brazed frames soaking in a bathtub before, ostensibly to remove flux...

That looks like it could be rather painful in an abrupt stop! Pretty sure Spa have just left it long on a test bike so that the bar height can be easily changed for different riders. The fashionable thing to do would be to cut it flush with the top of the stem clamp, but unless you're using a stem w...

How do your first and last sentences go together here? I think in many cases parsimony saves us from ending up with a high-end gimmick that won’t last (e.g. proprietary parts). Imagine trying to find a specific model of Trek’s Vector Wings in a decade. I took it to mean that if you've got the money...

I've always had great service from Russell Cycles in Walsall. Like many on here I suspect I'm not really an ideal customer for a bike shop - I don't spend much, and what I do will either be on tricky jobs I don't want to do at home, or on obscure parts that may or may not have to come out of the bit...