Search found 39 matches

by mongoose
27 Jul 2023, 8:22pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Ardennes
Replies: 4
Views: 464

Re: Ardennes

A group of us did a tour of the Ardennes including the RAVeL cycle path along the River Meuse from near Sedan to Huy a month ago. You can get an idea of what it is like from our ride report - https://basu3acycling.joomla.com/154-to ... june-2023
The most scenic part is probably between Charleville and Namur. You could do a one way trip down the Meuse and take the train back to the start if you wish - a rail line runs parallel to the river for the whole way except that it does not cross the border at around Givet. We had our own bikes, but bike hire is available at Namur, Dinant and just above Givet that looks suitable. We started and finished the tour at the Hotel Jardins de la Molignee in Anhee just north of Dinant [recommended] and they had bikes for hire there.
by mongoose
25 Jul 2022, 10:04pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Via Claudia Augusta
Replies: 8
Views: 1291

Re: Via Claudia Augusta

I cycled part of the Via Claudia Augusta from Oberau to Verona in 2018 in a group. It is a great route but starting from Benner means you miss out on some wonderful scenery - I flet the best bit was the climb over the Fernpass.

I flew with my bike to Muinich and back from Verona whilst the other in the group flew to Innsbruck, hired their bikes there finishing at Lake Garda. You can read the details in the blog of our trip -https://basu3acycling.joomla.com/past-r ... s-the-alps
by mongoose
30 Mar 2022, 7:55pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Lifting e bike to remove rear wheel
Replies: 29
Views: 1740

Re: Lifting e bike to remove rear wheel

A few of our group have hybrid e-bikes including three Cube Touring Pros. To enable the rear wheel to be removed when we have a very rare puncture [all now on Schwalbe Marathon Plus], we just put the rear stand down and tilt the bike on the stand and this allows the rear wheel to be removed.
by mongoose
28 Jan 2022, 8:06pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: hydraulic calliper separation
Replies: 3
Views: 326

Re: hydraulic calliper separation

I have Ryde Strokers on one of my older bikes and find they are poor compared to newer Shimano on the others. You will need another bleed kit as Tektro uses mineral oil whereas Hayes uses DOT fluid.
by mongoose
22 Nov 2021, 9:47pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Taking bikes on a tour to Europe by car
Replies: 24
Views: 4134

Re: Taking bikes on a tour to Europe by car

Thanks - I have posted to the topic you suggested and good to see we should have guidance in Cycle soon.

I had emailed CyclingUK before posting about this anyway.

I see gov.uk suggests and alternative to a carnet that is free to use - Duplicate List - do you have any experience of this as it seems more geared to re-import to the UK than outgoing export?
by mongoose
22 Nov 2021, 9:42pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Call for queries on cycling in post-Brexit Europe
Replies: 8
Views: 975

Re: Call for queries on cycling in post-Brexit Europe

Ten of our cycling group had planned a tour for 2020 starting in Strasbourg and looping around the Alsace wine Route and through the Black Forest. Because of covid this was not possible but we are now intending to reschedule this trip for June 2022.

Our intention was four of us to take the ten bikes to the start point in Strasbourg in two cars whilst the rest of the group travel by plane and train. This means that there will be six unaccompanied bikes in the cars [some are e-bikes].

There was an article in today's Independent on Sunday where someone was charged €400 import duty and VAT on taking three e-bikes into Spain on the ferry for a holiday and bringing the bikes back with him on the return. The customs officers said he could have had an ATA Carnet to avoid import charges. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Having done a bit of research, British Cycling advise obtaining a carnet to take bikes to Europe - presumably aimed at cycling teams rather than individual touring cyclists. The ATA Carnet costs £300 + VAT plus either a non-refundable insurance premium or a security deposit based on the cost of the "goods" being temporarily imported [40% of the value has been indicated]. Similar advice has been given by Motorsport UK and the ACU. It may be that a carnet is only required where the car, motorbike, bike or whatever is not accompanied by the owner who has proof of ownership or it could just be e-bikes as they are treated as motorised vehicles under the customs rules.

For our trip it may be that those not going by car will have to hire bikes at the destination or everyone goes by car.
by mongoose
22 Nov 2021, 7:55pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Taking bikes on a tour to Europe by car
Replies: 24
Views: 4134

Taking bikes on a tour to Europe by car

Ten of our cycling group had planned a tour for 2020 starting in Strasbourg and looping around the Alsace wine Route and through the Black Forest. Because of covid this was not possible but we are now intending to reschedule this trip for June 2022.

Our intention was four of us to take the ten bikes to the start point in Strasbourg in two cars whilst the rest of the group travel by plane and train. This means that there will be six unaccompanied bikes in the cars [some are e-bikes].

There was an article in today's Independent on Sunday where someone was charged €400 import duty and VAT on taking three e-bikes into Spain on the ferry for a holiday and bringing the bikes back with him on the return. The customs officers said he could have had an ATA Carnet to avoid import charges. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Having done a bit of research, British Cycling advise obtaining a carnet to take bikes to Europe - presumably aimed at cycling teams rather than individual touring cyclists. The ATA Carnet costs £300 + VAT plus either a non-refundable insurance premium or a security deposit based on the cost of the "goods" being temporarily imported [40% of the value has been indicated]. Similar advice has been given by Motorsport UK and the ACU. It may be that a carnet is only required where the car, motorbike, bike or whatever is not accompanied by the owner who has proof of ownership or it could just be e-bikes as they are treated as motorised vehicles under the customs rules.

For our trip it may be that those not going by car have to hire bikes at the destination or everyone goes by car.
by mongoose
9 May 2021, 9:40pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear rack that attaches to axle (for carbon bike without eyelets)
Replies: 35
Views: 6252

Re: Rear rack that attaches to axle (for carbon bike without eyelets)

A couple of years ago I sorted a skewer mounted rack to fit a Specialized Cirrus Carbon bike. Although it had thru axle hubs the skewer fitted through the axle with just a small spacer to clear the seat stay. At the time there were suitable racks by Blackburn, Mpart, Tubus, Oxford and Axiom from SJS Cycles and Tredz - I can't remember which one we got. We needed a longer skewer than standard which SJS Cycles supplied.
by mongoose
9 Feb 2021, 7:51pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Classic C2C and general touring costs
Replies: 30
Views: 2619

Re: Classic C2C and general touring costs

The Devon C2C is straightforward for credit card touring - done it with a group twice before. First time took the train to Barnstaple and stayed overnight in a B&B but next time we stayed at the Premier Inn - they allow bikes in your rooms. The next time we drove to Plymouth and left the car in the station car park, then the train with bikes to Barnstaple [2 bikes per train from Exeter to Barnstaple]. The overnight stop after Barnstaple was at Okehampton where we stayed at the Wetherspoons Hotel - they have a limited number of bookable secure bike lockers. The last time, as we were a large group, they allowed us to lock our bikes under the stairs in the garden under shelter - the garden is locked overnight. The hotels were about £80 per night.

For the WOTR we drove with bikes to Lancaster and stayed in the Premier Inn - bikes in room. We cycled to the start at Morecambe and back through Lancaster and onto Settle for the first overnight stop - limited choice of hotels. The next stop was in the Wetherspoon hotel in Ripon with the bikes stored in the beer cellar. The next night it was a hotel in Pocklington - again bikes stored in the beer cellar. The last night it was the Premier Inn at Bridlington - bikes in the luggage room. Most of the group took the bike shuttle service back to Lancaster - I cycled to Malton for a train home to Basingstoke. Similar hotel costs and bike shuttle cost £260 for 7 people and 7 bikes back to Lancaster.

It was a similar story for the TPT using mainly Premier Inns and one Travelodge - no problems with bike storage.

It is a few years since I did the C2C and then it was on my own. Car to Whitehaven and left it at the hotel with overnight B&B's each night and finally train back from Newcastle to Whitehaven. It was cheaper then!

We did the Lon Cambria from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth leaving the cars in Shrewsbury and returning by train with overnight stops in Montgomery and the Elan Valley and staying the first and last nights in the Premier Inn. Hotels were about £60 per night.

Hope that helps
by mongoose
23 Aug 2020, 9:51pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Problem adjusting Shimano front deraileur
Replies: 9
Views: 367

Re: Problem adjusting Shimano front deraileur

paul092 wrote:HI Mongoose. The derailleur cage does not match the diameter of the largest chain ring. It seems to be suited to something much larger. I did adjust it down as far as possible.

Re your question Eyebrox, the rear has a 7 cog cassette.


Did you release the gear cable clamp on the FD before trying to adjust the height of the FD?
by mongoose
23 Aug 2020, 8:35pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Problem adjusting Shimano front deraileur
Replies: 9
Views: 367

Re: Problem adjusting Shimano front deraileur

I agree with the earlier comments about adjustment and possible wear in the components. In the side-on photo, the FD cage looks too high which significantly affects front shifting. There should only be 1-2mm clearance between the underside of the FD cage and the top of the outer ring teeth at the front edge. Use a 1p coin to check the gap when the outer plate of the FD is immediately above the teeth.
by mongoose
24 Jun 2020, 8:10pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Squeaking as pedalling
Replies: 19
Views: 621

Re: Squeaking as pedalling

I have had this problem before, changed the BB although it was fairly new and it still squeeked. Tightening the pedals to the cranks arms sorted it - pity I did not try that before buying a new BB.
by mongoose
24 Jun 2020, 5:29pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: How to service Rockshox Tora forks (parts needed)?
Replies: 4
Views: 289

Re: How to service Rockshox Tora forks (parts needed)?

You might have difficulty sourcing a service kit for a 2010 Tora fork. Tftuned will service it for you but as it was not an expensive fork, the service cost is probably more than it is worth. Here is a link to the 2011 Tora service manual on my Dropbox - https://www.dropbox.com/s/dunkul8h66475ey/2011-Tora-Technical-Manual.pdf?dl=0 - I will remove it after a weeks or so. Your fork should have the model number on it, but the critical identifier is the stanchion diameter.
by mongoose
19 Jun 2020, 8:30pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Front Mech
Replies: 7
Views: 312

Re: Front Mech

If you are only having a problem with the change from middle to outer front ring and it is OK from inner to middle, then check your outer limit screw is set correctly and you are not pulling the cable hard against the stop to get it to change. If it needs a a hard push for all changes then check that the inner cable slides easily in the outer and around the guide below the bottom bracket.
by mongoose
8 Jun 2020, 9:14pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Garmin Edge failure - what next
Replies: 6
Views: 530

Re: Garmin Edge failure - what next

TerryField wrote:I have had my Garmin Edge Plus for about 4 years, and used it all over Europe. For the first couple of years it worked fine for navigating, either to destinations entered manually, or dowloaded as TCX files.


Is it the Edge 520 Plus or Edge Touring Plus?

I have an Edge Touring Plus that occasionally throws a wobbly when following a downloaded route. Often traced to the route recalculation being reset to automatic when it periodically resets everything. Switching back to recalculation off usually cures this. It seems to be a problem where the downloaded routes have lots of waypoints and the Garmin does not have enough memory to cope and seems worse with TCX files than with GPX files. IWorth a try if you have not done this already.

A couple in our group have the newer Garmin Edge Explore that seems less problematic, has a faster processor, a larger screen and uses bluetooth for downloading files.