Cycling UK Forum

pete75 wrote:

charliepolecat wrote:

spun by racists to whip up anti-immigrant feeling.

I'm quite sure you don't have to be 'racists' to stir up anti-immigrant feeling. Most of us are sick of them.

Most of who?

Sick of who? most of us here are sick of the racists

+1. First time I toured in France, I didn't even own a bike. Borrowed my girl friend's, and did 400 miles from le Havre to the Dordogne in five days. Oh to be young and daft again!

Southern Spain, southern Italy – they're very different. And like most places, they're perfectly safe until suddenly they're not. Italian men have a reputation for being, shall we say, over-attentive in the way they approach young women, but not for being threatening. I suspect that Italian idiots a...

The last thing a newbie needs is to heading off with doubts about her tyres, or indeed any other aspect of their gear. +1. Worth emphasising that, though it's nice to have the right tyres, it's perfectly possible to tour on the wrong tyres. And perfectly possible to change them half way if they're ...

Ivor Tingting wrote: Taiwan which although NOT China

Ooooh, careful! You can get into a lot of trouble suggesting that.

I fear Tyre Lady may have unintentionally misled us through an excess of modesty - this seems to be someone who knocks off marathons/ultramarathons by the dozen. I suspect it won't take her long to find her cycling legs, and then leave us in the dust.

Just out of curiosity, if I put the part-worn long-trailing-end pads on back-to-front, what would be the negative consequences? (They're solid pads, not the kind with replaceable pads that could slide out of the shoes.)

When you setting off Tyrelady?

Yes that makes sense – I do generally brake pretty gently. Doesn't solve the problem though!
The brakes are Tektro CR710. Pads were Clarks CPS301. I think. I've just changed them for something black and nondescript I found in the box of bits. Still squeaks.

Hmmm ... I tried degreasing the rim with meths. Made no difference at all.

Last time, a generous toe-in fixed the squeak, but after not many hundreds of miles, it came back. Looking at the pads, there's a couple of millimetres of wear at the front, and none at all at the back, so the toe-in is completely neutralized. What to do? Choose pads that don't have a front and a ba...

You're not mad. It's a great idea. But one or two caveats… Sixty-seventy miles a day may be perfectly doable, or it may be highly over-optimistic, depending on (both) your levels of fitness. You've got six months to decide which, so be prepared to revise you plans if necessary. Most of France is a d...

OK, a shiny new cable, bit of lube, and some careful adjustment and it's fixed. I'm puzzled by this post though – Front brakes are always more effective than back. IIRC about 2/3 of braking force is supplied by the front brake & only 1/3 by the rear. I know this is the case, but I'd understood t...

Brucey wrote:I would favour no keyway at all.
cheers

Yebbut... it would still be nice to know how to do it.

+1. The TER I took from Valence to Lyon had space for six bikes, and mine was the eleventh. No-one batted an eyelid. The French seem to have the weird idea that railways should be run for the benefit of the passengers…