Cycling UK Forum

Following a recommendation on this forum I used parcel2go.com

They were quote "Highly recommended. They are a broker and will get you the best deal with DHL etc. All done one line, easy and smooth. I have used them to UK, Japan and USA all went smoothly."

I used then for a price and all went well with shipping costing me £25-£30 as I remember. I blagged a cycle shipping box from a bike shop and packed the bike with due care and attention, Check-out Youtube for suggestions on packing a bike for shipment (search "packing a bicycle")

Hope this helps

Sorry if this has been posted before ( I haven't read every post) but it seems to me that there are 3 questions.

1. Did your son actually cause the damage. You have every right to ask for a copy of the video. If he won't or can't give you a copy I don't see why you should pay.
2. What is the true cost of repair? He says £1000 but he should have brought the damage to your attention before effecting a repair himself, with the request that you consider making good his loss arranging repair yourself. You are of course perfectly at liberty to refuse any payment whatsoever, but he must offer you the chance of getting your own quote for repair. After all, he is not after a profit, he just wants his car unscratched (at least in an ideal world).
3. Is your 4 year old son actually liable under law and by default you as his guardian?

Hi Vorpal

Thanks for your suggestion but the pictures that I find for Raleigh Grand Prix's are some what different to mine. They all seem to have a looped bar at the top of the seat stays for the rear-brake hanger (mine doesn't) and the tops of the seat stays are flattened off. Mine are more of less tubular to the very top with only the very end 1cm being angled. Were there perhaps different models?

Cheers

Hi All

I'd be grateful for help in identifying this hand-painted bike, or at least the frame. I bought this old road bike for my son but am curious to know what it might be. I suspect that it might be a Raleigh from the late 1970's from the frame number on the bottom bracket of WP9002742 following Sheldon Brown (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/dating.html). Can anyone confirm? I am in two minds as to the quality of the frame. The complete bike isn't very light at ~24lbs but it has chromed froks implying some sort of quality. The seat stay's and the drop-outs however, don't seem to have the quality I would expect of a good Raleigh 531 of this era.

The bike seems to have been heavily modified over the years. It has a couple of (to me) unusual components. The derailleur has a Campag logo but I cannot find any model name or number (see picture). I'd be grateful for any thoughts as to what model/date it might be. The cranks, and by implication, the chainrings (double) are marked Azzurro. All I can find on the web is that this might be from Gipiemme. Any more info on this also gratefully received.

Thanks

geomannie

We visited the excellent mountain biking trails at Glentress at the weekend (http://www.7stanesmountainbiking.com/Gl ... nerleithen) and hired bikes from Alpine Bike's newly opened store by the car park. They supplied Trek 6300's, nearly new and perfectly set-up for £20/day. For that quality of bike (was retailing at ~£950) I think £20 a day a bargain. When you take into account the wear and tear you can put on a bike in a good day's off-roading, plus not having to transport or clean the bike, its not worth my while to upgrade from the old nail of a mountain bike I use in the local park.

Definitely recommended.

Any good

Perfect!

Is this thread not becoming more complicated than it needs to be?

Yeh, but thats forums for you.

You are probaly right right DevonDamo that I will need to find a saddle secifically designed to solve this problem, but are you sure that I haven't already tried one? I seem to remember that I did, albeit one of the more moderate designs.

Anyway, from all the helpful answers I have gleaned the following.

1. Bike fit is very important including saddle height.Well this evening I thought that I would gingerly lower my bum on my saddle and recheck the height and compare with my old tourer. Bugger me if the saddle wasn't too high! Dropping it by about 15mm has made quite a difference and may weight has significantly shifted to my bum bones (*).
2. A different saddle secifically designed to solve this problem will probably help, but which one in particular remains to be seen.
3. Standing up and relieving pressure frequently is good.

So hopefully one way or t'other I should get a solution, when I can bear to sit on bicycle again that is. However, I do wish someone had said "the only solution is to buy that really expensive recumbent that you've always wanted". I could have shown a post like that to my wife as full justification .

Thanks a bunch to all

geomannie

(*)Why you may ask was my saddle too high? Well, I broke my carbon seat-post 4 months back when on a ride and had an emergency purchase which I shoved in at the shop. Height seemed Ok at the time and I din't think any more of it. Silly me.

Many thanks to all for the suggestions on saddles. My problem is that I have tried a 3 or 4 different saddles already, and have found no solution. The specialist saddles all come at a price (often £100+) and I can't afford to buy and try until I find one I like (or rather one that likes me).

Does anyone know of a shop that stocks a wide range of saddles that specifically support the ischcial tuberosities and reduce pressure on the perineum? I would happily travel to wherever to try them out before purchase.

Thanks

geomannie

Hi All

Been to see the doctor and as boris suggested the doctor had absolutely no knowledge of the problem and deferred to my diagnosis, such as it is (helped by you lot). When I mentioned possible prostate (I am 56 after all) she was on firmer grounds and recommended a PSA test and the rubber glove (not lycra), all in due course. Probably a wise precaution.

Reading around the web a bit more, I think what I am suffering is often known as Bicycle Seat Neuropathy. According to http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/9 ... view#a0199 this quite common, especially after longer distances, and can have symptoms lasting a week or more. My example is then nothing too dramatic as, apart from a slight tingle, I am more or less back to normal after a couple of days, but not yet back on the bike.

I've much to consider now. Do I change saddles (again), get bike-fitted, buy a recumbent (always wanted one), walk more or drive everywhere (just kidding on the last one)?

Also lots of stuff here on http://www.google.co.uk/#sclient=psy-ab ... _pw.&cad=b

Cheers and thanks folks

Have you considered having a bike-fit

Yes I have but any suggestions for who might do this is Glasgow?

Cheers

you may need to change to recumbent bikes except for shopping trips.

Thanks Boris,

That was a possibility I am considering, depending on what the doctor suggests.

Cheers

geomannie

Height and angle are both important as is the quality of the ROAD....

Thanks all for the suggestions but just for the record I have been playing around with height, angle, fore & aft setting and different saddles (including 3 different Brooks) for the last 18 months. I was using a Brooks B17 for the Sportive where, as you might imagine I saw every possible road surface over the 100 miles. Tyres were at 120 psi and while it wasn't a full-on road bike, it was a fairly sporting Van Nicholas Yukon. I guess the distance, the road surfaces, the tyres pressures and being on the drops for a long way may have all contributed to the extreme reaction.

I've now appointment at the doctor's tomorrow but I suspect that as James 01 suggested they will just tell me to stop cycling. Either that, or they will whip me into hospital and cut my googlies off (or something like that). Should I smile? I'll give it a go

Cheers

geomannie

I have suffered from a degree of Numb Wil*y Syndrome for the last 18 months or so. It came on unexpectedly and seems to affect me on all my bike/saddle combinations to a greater or lesser extent. Why I now suffer where I previously didn’t I don’t know, though it could be related to the fact that I now cycle more and further. Last Sunday I cycled the Pedal for Scotland 100mile sportive, 7 hours of hard grind, and when I finished the not only was I numb, but stayed numb for a further 24 hours, with the numbness only slowly wearing off. I still have residual tingling and soreness over 42 hours later. This is alarming to say the least.

My questions are-

Is this unusual?
Could I do myself permanent damage by continuing to cycle?
Could it be related to prostate problems?
Should I see a doctor?

Finally, I would appreciate suggestions about alleviating the problem. I have, however, tried the usual tilting the saddle up and down, moving it back and forward, changing it for a different model etc., etc. What else might I do? I have been reading about the Selle smp saddles which might offer some relief (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Sear ... =selle+smp). Anyone any thoughts on these?
Thanks for any suggestions anyone can make.

Cheers

geomannie

If its a frame respray that you are after in Leeds, then you have Bob Jackson Cycles on your doorstep. They did my Raleigh Royal respray and very nice it was too. It can be pricey if you go beyond a simple flat colour (see http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/resprays_pl.php) but what may seem costly today, you will be gald you did on the future. A nice old Super Galaxy is worth a bit of TLC in my opinion.

As an aside, a few years ago I re-sprayed and rebuilt my Raleigh Royal of similar vintage to your Galaxy. I put on new transmission, wheels, cabling but kept everything else original (but well cleaned up). I ended up with a bike of better quality than the original spec but as good as new. Total cost was about £350, well less than half the price of a new equivalent. I kept my down-tube shifters too. They do have a nice retro look and as I had been using them for years there was no reason to change them. I would ditch the 6 speed, however, and go for a nine speed freehub, mainly as 6 speed replacement stuff is getting hard to find. There is no point in putting in obselescent stuff.

For replacement decals, Bob Jackson can supply quite a lot of these or try EBay where they are easy enough to find, depending on exactly what you want.

Hope this helps,

Cheers

geomannie

Cervelo S1, 10 spd Ultegra 50/34 on the front, 10 spd XT 11-34 on the back with a XT M771 rear mech, plus a cable adjuster in line - works perfectly, 26 to 120 inches

Hi Aprildavy

I am intrigued by your reply. I too have a problem with the too high gears running an Ultegra 50/34 on the front. I am considering changing my rear set-up to match your Cervelo. I'd be grateful if you could help by clarifying a coulpe of points.

When you say XT M771 rear mech do you mean medium cage or long cage? When you say cable adjuster in line, do you just mean the standard cable adjuster, or do you have anything more specific in mind?

Many thanks for any help you can give.

Cheers

geomannie