Cycling UK Forum

Anyone have experience with road bike rentals in Barcelonnette? Planning to be there in September. Thanks!

Do you really mean eroica?

Sort of a modification on the shoelace idea, I carry a small section of spoke and slip each end through the link and then pull in opposite direction. I have a Park tool I use at home but the cut off spoke works as well and easy to cary on a ride.

I use a bell on my road bikes. My routes out into the countryside utilize multipurpose paths and it's a lot easier to use a bell when necessary instead of having to give a yell and, as I live in a bilingual area (ON/QC) it's easier than having to give a warning in 2 languages!

Enjoyed your photos immensely- looks like it was a wonderful trip and thanks for posting!

To do the work yourself, you need this tool from Park- http://www.parktool.com/product/campagn ... %20Bracket - or something like it. May be more cost effective if you aren't likely to repeat the process to just take it to a good LBS that understands Campagnolo

I lived in Berkshire/S Bucks area for 5 years so spent a fair amount of time in the lanes of the Chilterns. It's a bit different riding on the left side of the road and can be disorienting particularly if you're on a road without markings. Right shoulder goes to the centre of the road is a helpful thing to remember. Also, take a little time before you get there to practice looking back over your right shoulder for traffic rather than over the left as we do here in Canada. UK is a wonderful place to ride- have a great time!

Something like this might work for you:https://www.groundeffect.co.nz/products/tardis-compact-bike-bag

How about Colombia? Google can give you lots of info and tour groups if that's what you like.

I'm using a set of Paul Mini Motos (shorter arm v-brake for drop handlebar levers) on the front of my old steel Mercian frame. They work well and I run them in conjunction with cantis on the back. Expensive but worth taking a look at. (www.paulcomp.com) Made in USA.

I put these on my old Mercian which uses a TA Cyclotourist triple crankset, 9 speed chain, 9 speed Campag or Shimano cassette (depending on which set of wheels I use. Mine index the RD and are friction for the FD. They alleviate the problem I had of hitting the shifters on the bar end while out of the saddle climbing and they shift as well as when they were mounted on the bar end. You are, of course, restricted to shifting from the hoods but if that's where you ride a lot that's not a problem. The hand/finger positions are a learned skill because you have to position them differently depending on how the lever is positioned for different shifts. There's a video on the Gevenalle website on how this works. On balance, not for everyone but then bar ends aren't either!

If you're really curious, you can google Avid Shorty Ultimate Cantilever Reviews. I run cantis on an old Mercian but have no experience with these.

they are supposed to be good brakes but if you go on ebay (look at vendors in the US for instance) you'll probably find you can get both front & rear for what it's costing you for each at £87. for one

This link, although heavy on US suppliers, will provide you with lengthy entertainment: http://bikepackersmagazine.com/bikepacking-bags/
The bikepacker web site it self also has a lot of reviews, info, etc.

I use 3 but perhaps 2 is enough. If you do the cutting of the padding yourself, make sure that you get some sort of a white marker to identify the pieces- e.g. Rt CS (chain stay) L ST (left seat stay). Use whatever nomenclature works for you but it's a lot easier when you know where the padding pieces go.