Cycling UK Forum

What is to stop the powder melting into the cantilever bosses and threads of the braze ons?..And even the bottom bracket threads?

I am shortly going to have my old Trek touring bike powder coated..should I leave bolts in the cantilever bosses and in the bottle cages and mudguard/ carrier bosses..?

Can anyone tell me the quietest route from Oakham to Stamford please..either north of south of Rutlandwater..dont mind a bit of offroad riding..avoiding A roads..dont mind pavements though if in the country..

Has anyone fitted a 559 mtb wheel into a 600a bike frame? There seem to be a few old gitanes or peugeot steel bikes on ebay..but they have 600a wheels which are 541 mm I believe..Can a 559 mountain bike wheel fit in them...?
Thanks
Chris

My folding bike has been much abused in its long life and is always getting scratched...Would it be okay to handpaint with a smooth black Hammerite paint..? Would it pose any problems in the future if I ever went for a resparay? I have sprayed with a gloss black before but it soon gets scratched again..

Has anyone ridden to Withernsea down the old train track from Hull? What's it like?.Can you get a leaflet from East Riding on the ride? (.Not talking about the Hull to Hornsea track..)
Thanks..

I bought a bike on Ebay at a good price..43cm frame with 700 c wheels..But the bike has serious toe overlap problems..You can turn the wheel no more than 4 inches off centre without it hitting you shoe..and coming to a swift fall or brake..
So..what can I do ? Obvious one is to sell it ..But could getting crank shorteners from 170mms down to 125mm solve the problem..Read a lot on short cranks..all good..
Can you buy a fork that would lengthen the wheel base by 3 or 4 inches?
I don't want to throw too much money at it really..

Thanks to all the people who answered my question..Yesterday I finally fixed my problem..I am embarassed to say..I turned the bike upside down and the inner cable has 2 guides underneath the bottom bracket..only one is visible from above..I had been threading the inner cable through the visible one and assumed it went straight to the rear derailleur from there..I have changed chains,cassettes and cables over a couple of years to solve this problem but it never occurred to me to look underneath..DOH!
Bike is fine now for the first time in years..

I agree with you about the bar end shifters wearing out..It is surprising...I have some 6 speed Suntour ones from the 1980s still going strong..
But I have a fault around gear 3 and 4..They are always skipping about..I have changed the chain,cassette ,and cables..inner and outer..over the last few years and I cannot get rid of this fault..so I have decided it has to be the shifter..Still get this fault on the friction option as well as SIS option..
it sometimes causes me to nearly slip off the pedals when standing out of the saddle..
It is the last thing I haven't changed..tried cassettes and chains..Not the chainset ..but it is always gear 3 to 4 or 4 to 3 ..It has to be the shifter..

I am having a lot of trouble with my 9 speed bar end shifters and believe they are worn out..The 8 speed shifters are much cheaper and wonder if I can simply change my chain and rear cassette ..So my question is can I run an 8 speed chain OK on an xt triple chainset chainset designed for a 9 speed cassette..?

I have a headset on a folding bike that I cannot tighten...The lower part that contains the bearings is OK but the locknut will not tighten due to stripped threads...What can I do ..Obviously I can get a new headset steerer welded on..about £60 at a frame builder..Are there any cheaper alternatives..?
Could the top of the forks be sprayed with metal and the thread recut..How much would this be?
How about using a 28.6 mm seat stem clamp as a locknut ? Then fitting the quill into the forks..On this bike the quill/handlebar stem fits down on top of the headset so there is no chance of the seat stem clamp coming off..?
Any other ideas to solve this problem...and yes I could buy an old bike and replace the forks with the forks from the old bike?

I have a Giant Boulder with a one and one eight inch threaded headtube and rigid forks..I have a suspension fork on a damaged mountain bike..The fork is an Aheadset and is one and one eight inch tube. This damaged frame has a recessed headtube so you cannot see the headset cones ..Can this suspension fork fit in the conventional thhreaded headset of my Giant. ..Will I need to get a special headset to convert it to an Aheadset system..

You can get the train to Kanchanaburi ..You need to go to Bangkok Noi railway station . A tuk tuk is about the best way to get there..Tie your bike on the back..Train will take your bike no problem..
Lots of ways to get to Chiang Mai..from Kanchanaburi go to Suphan Buri..north to Nakhon Sawan..head north to Pichit and then
to Phitsunalok..From there head to Sukhothai..and then north towards Lampang..Do not go to Uttaradit and then north..The road is busy and not very wide..Much better to go north from Sukhothai..visit old ruins..
Hilly towards Lampang..Then head to Lamphun ..visit the elephant hospital near Lampang..From Lamphun head to CM..
Riding on the main highway from Suphan Buri is quick but boring..Get a good map and take the back roads..Chances are you will always find a resort/bungalow/hotel to stay in..
If you get chance go out with the Chiang Mai sunday cycling club..meet 7am at Thapae Gate..100 cyclists sometimes..
You will do this ride easily in 2 weeks..
If you want another route get the train to Ayuthyya ..about 50k north of Bangkok..head to Lopburi and then Uthai Thani and Nakhon Sawan..and join suggested route..
You can take a bike on any 3rd class train but not second or first or express train..
You can fly back from CM to Bangkok if you wish..Send your bike by cargo Air Asia if you wish or box it up and take as luggage..
Stay out of big cities if possible..leave them early ..say 5am to 6 am and ride till 11am and try and finish for the day ..Treat every Thai driver with caution..Wear long sleeve shirts..Wear a bandana under your helmet..and long shorts..
Could be quite wet in July August..bring a waterproof!

Sadly i think you will find it difficult to insure someone who is overseas and already cycling..
If they will not do it try BUPA international..He could perhaps do that himself in Malaysia or Singapore..or Thailand..

Columbus Direct.com..insured me to cycle across USA..Used to be linked to YHA..