Search found 11 matches

by downstream
6 Sep 2018, 10:52pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Interfering stranger lecturing my son about bike clothing
Replies: 252
Views: 10818

Re: Interfering stranger lecturing my son about bike clothing

It's a shame that the OP's son had his ride affected by some negative comments. Back in my climbing days we used to call this kind of unwanted advice 'chaff' - you'd be halfway up some crag, minding your own business, when some know-all would start shouting unsolicited advice at you and criticising your choices. Back then, it never bothered me much, but now I don't think I could say the same; I think the OP did well to maintain a civilised manner with the chap. Perhaps people are trying to be helpful, but if it strays into criticism it can offend, and I would have been far from happy if someone took it upon himself to berate my child's innocent choices.

But to stay positive, it's been my experience that when out cycling with my daughter, we (or more particularly she) gets lots of nice comments, waves, and smiles. On a recent mini-cycle-camping tour, she was pedalling her trailerbike behind my tourer, and generally drivers passed wide and even sometimes gave us a thumbs-up, and overtaking cyclists shouted words of encouragement as we toiled up the hills. My daughter loved it.

Every now and then we all encounter some negativity, but to remain sane I try to assume that most people are mostly well-intentioned, even when experience might not bear this out. I think the important thing is not to take too much notice, and I hope the OP's son continues to wear his team kit with pride, whatever anyone else might think.
by downstream
2 Jun 2018, 7:33pm
Forum: Family Cycling
Topic: Baby bike seat and pannier bags
Replies: 23
Views: 6945

Re: Baby bike seat and pannier bags

Just to clarify my post above - I mentioned about a lot of weight being on the back wheel - but as noted by foxyrider up-thread, be careful with the total weight so the bike's not overloaded. I tend to ride steel touring bikes that have a reputation for being strongly-built (I have a Surly LHT, and a Thorn Nomad) as I'm heavy enough (120kgs) even before I add panniers, child seat etc...and I tend to ride slow and steady. I'm sure you're much lighter than me, but I don't know anything about road bikes and their carrying capacity. As rjb noted up-thread, it's a precious cargo, so worth checking and getting advice as necessary.
by downstream
2 Jun 2018, 7:13pm
Forum: Family Cycling
Topic: Baby bike seat and pannier bags
Replies: 23
Views: 6945

Re: Baby bike seat and pannier bags

I use a Hamax Smiley childseat and manage to carry small panniers on the rack. The seat is of the type that is fixed through two steel arms that click into a bracket fixed to the seat tube, and is not connected to the pannier rack at all. The 'legs' of the seat cover the front of the pannier rack, but still leaves two-thirds of the top rail of the rack free to attach a pannier to, which I've found sufficient for small (front) panniers.
IMG_2256 (Small).JPG


I've used panniers and a seat like this lots without problems, but there is a lot of weight over the back wheel, quite far back too; the centre of the pannier is behind the axle. I've never had stability issues, even with a five-year-old in the seat, but then I'm very heavy :roll: Putting the bags on the front fork might have been better.
Agree completely with the advice above about a trailer - a good trailer is a great investment. I often used both at the same time; my daughter in the seat when she wanted to be, and in the trailer when she wanted to rest; allowed me to ride longer with my daughter, and carry more stuff.
by downstream
9 May 2018, 6:27pm
Forum: Family Cycling
Topic: Baby time! Buggies for cyclists
Replies: 9
Views: 2069

Re: Baby time! Buggies for cyclists

Not sure if this is what you need, but with my two children I use a Burley cycle trailer. Behind the bike, it has done many happy miles with one or both kids, my daughter until about four and my son (now three) still happy in there. Advantages of this particular model (Burley D'Lite) are there's plenty of room inside, there's a big 'boot' behind the seats for shopping or camping gear, lots of ventilation options, good weather protection, and a integral multi-position handle on the back. Also, the seats come out / unclip and fold down to use for general cargo. It's a two-seater (future-proofing!) and can fit two side-by-side in relative comfort, still with internal pockets available for snacks and bears. However the double seat can be changed into one single in the middle, which is handy.
I also got the 'jogger' kit, essentially a front wheel, like this -
P1050104 (Small).JPG

which turns the thing into a giant pram. I pushed the kids miles over bridleways and moorlands using this. Would be a bit too big to use around town, but I bought a (very) cheap lightweight folding buggy from the charity shop for that.
By the way I believe Burley advise that you shouldn't carry a baby in a trailer behind the bike until they're 12 months, but can push them (using it as you would a pram) from being little. There's a baby-snuggler available for little ones, although I never had one and my youngest was happy in there (being pushed) from about five months.
Hope that helps, cheers
by downstream
8 May 2018, 3:27pm
Forum: Family Cycling
Topic: South Wales - Biking routes with a trailer?
Replies: 12
Views: 1963

Re: South Wales - Biking routes with a trailer?

I don't know about South Wales, but this is a problem I've had over the last three years or so; almost all of my cycling over this time has been carrying or towing the kids, mostly off-road. I use a Burley D'Lite two-seater trailer, which is quite wide. One tip is that I look for bridleways, and trails suitable for horses, as (around here anyway) they are less likely to have any narrow access restrictors. If there are restrictors, these tend to be sleepers laid along the ground perpendicular to the path, which are a pain with the trailer but can be traversed with care, and are certainly more manageable than those sustrans bollards or local authority A-frame width restrictors. I also replaced the tyres on the trailer with fatter BMX tyres, run at lower pressure, to provide more comfort to the little 'uns.
by downstream
8 May 2018, 3:02pm
Forum: Family Cycling
Topic: Philips Park (Bury)
Replies: 3
Views: 1062

Re: Philips Park (Bury)

The Transport for Greater Manchester cycle route leaflets can be helpful in local route planning - they cover most of the routes suitable for cycling, rather than just the mountain bike loops. AFAIK you can't download the TFGM maps but hard copies can be requested from the website https://tfgm.com/cycle-maps-order-form
by downstream
1 Apr 2018, 10:43pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Frame mount roof bike carrier recommendations
Replies: 15
Views: 2032

Re: Frame mount roof bike carrier recommendations

IIRC, another difference is that the 591 fits to square or aero-type roof bars out of the box; the 598 is primarily designed for aero bars and therefore needs a separate adaptor for square bars. The OP wants to fit to square bars, therefore the 591 seems the better bet. Now discontinued but easily available as NOS for around £70. Mine have done lots of trips, carrying kids' bikes, with no issues. Have never used a 598 so can't comment otherwise.

Personally, I think Thule stuff is worth the money; carrying anything on the car roof regularly and at speed demands quality equipment. I'm sure another discussion on here linked to a youtube vid of crash tests in Germany; only thule carriers retained the bikes in the test scenario. I've seen bikes come flying off the roof of other peoples' cars on the motorway - I'd never trust a cheap carrier.
by downstream
1 Apr 2018, 11:17am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Lamp fitting on bagman
Replies: 6
Views: 922

Re: Lamp fitting on bagman

Thanks James!

Followed your link, we've had the same idea, but yours is probably lighter...I tend to ham-fistedness so have to over-engineer.

Had that bag since I was about 15; in my youth i collected patches from places i'd cycled to, probably thinking that it'd make me seem well-traveled and interesting. A few times since I've thought about removing them but haven't had the heart - nostalgia creeping in now I've turned 40...

Cheers

DS
by downstream
31 Mar 2018, 11:54pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Lamp fitting on bagman
Replies: 6
Views: 922

Lamp fitting on bagman

I'm fairly new on here so apologies if this is old hat, but thought this bodge might be worth sharing.
I use a bagman on one of my bikes and I've been struggling to securely fit a rear lamp. A bit of head-scratching time in the shed this afternoon resulted in this - a scrap piece of metal cut to the shape of the bagman 'platform' with a tab bent round the back, with the lamp bolted through. Looks ok when the bag's attached, and seems secure so far. Probably obvious, but the light's been mounted all over the back of the bike over the last few months and this is the first solution that's felt (to me) reasonably secure and neat.
IMG_1359.jpg
IMG_1359.jpg (21.28 KiB) Viewed 842 times
IMG_1363.jpg
IMG_1363.jpg (20.83 KiB) Viewed 842 times

Best, DS
by downstream
19 Oct 2017, 9:19am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Introductions - tell us about yourself
Replies: 1305
Views: 421650

Re: Introductions - tell us about yourself

Hello everyone, been reading this forum for a while so thought I should introduce myself. I'm Lee, I'm 40, I'm married with two young children, a little VW campervan, a chaotic house full of art materials, toys, camping gear, maps, books, and a small but growing collection of bikes and associated paraphernalia. Professionally, I've studied ecology and environmental engineering, and work with rivers (hence the username). As a family we try to spend as much time as possible outdoors, learning about the natural world.

In the past I've done a fair bit of cycling and touring, nothing exotic but lots of camping weekends, a C2C, and a JOGLE. When we had children, the mileage went down, but through a trailer, childseats, and now a tag-a-long we've managed to keep cycling. My daughter, who's now five, wants to go on a camping weekend on her tag-a-long next spring; my three-year-old son is happy on day trips bouncing along in his trailer, or occasionally in the childseat on his mum's bike.

Main bike is a Surly LHT, usually coupled to either a Burley D'Lite or an Islabikes Trailerbike; there's also a Soma Doublecross for lighter duties. Both I built up with a mixture of old and new parts on secondhand frames.

I've had a lot of great information from this forum over the last year or so; hope now I can contribute, maybe with any family cycling stuff.

Cheers, Lee
by downstream
19 Oct 2017, 8:21am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Burley trailers and wonky flags
Replies: 14
Views: 1576

Re: Burley trailers and wonky flags

The small flag holder works okay to locate the bottom of the flagpole, but to keep the flagpole upright it needs to be supported higher. On my Burley D'Lite, the 'pram handle' is adjustable, so i leave it close to vertical (when seen from the side) and adjust the flagpole holder so the flagpole is parallel to the side of the pram handle. Then just wrap a toestrap or similar around the highest point of the handle and flagpole. Mine's travelled this way, more or less upright, for the last few years.

Hope that helps