Cycling UK Forum

I used the slightly smaller version, the Xenon UL2 when I was cycle touring in Chile at the beginning of the year. It is essentially the same tent as recommended by ianmcdaid but without the massive porch.
The tent is excellent.

https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/camping-equi ... -ul-2.html

I purchased mine from go outdoors.

This picture from the BBC news story makes it look like they have just completed a perfect cycle path. If only.....

I use a Wahoo Element, which I class as an advanced bike computer rather than an advanced navigation device.
It provides real time information on the ride such as distance, time and elevation. After the ride these can be uploaded to Strava or similar websites.
For route planning I use Kamoot or cycle.travel to create routes and then use the companion app to download the route to the device.
Once the route is on the Wahoo element then it is easy to follow using the basic map and the turn by turn directions, however if you wander off route it won't calculate the way back to the original route.
Battery life is about 18 hours which is about 2 - 3 days of touring for me.

Overall I like it, but I don't have any experience of the Garmin devices so I can't do a direct comparison.

These handle bars might do the trick
https://www.cyclingabout.com/koga-denham-bars/

The bars are compatible with bar end shifters but in the text the designer explains why it isn't the best setup.

I went on a 3 month tour of South America, the saddle was comfortable by the end of the trip!

For the first night on tour I try and take a frozen home made casserole/curry/stew. This defrosts during the day and is simply heated up at the end of the day and provides a tasty filling meal.
For breakfasts I take oats, dried milk, and dried fruit. This makes a good porridge an alternative to oats is museli.
For dinner* I take flat breads, cheese, jam, peanut butter, salami, pate.
For tea* I have tinned fish (tuna, sardines, salmon) tomatoe sauces flavoured with chilli, and pasta. Grated cheese will also add flavour. I will often add a carrot for a bit of variety. As an alternative Chorizo can be used instead of fish, and sometimes I will have rice instead of Pasta. Cuppa soup is a quick addition to add some extra nourishment. Any leftovers can be eaten for the next day's dinner.

All the above is suplimented with biscuits and cake throughout the day and evenings.
Apples are the only fresh fruit I will carry with me, but if I can buy fresh on route I will.

Using a pot cosy increases the choice of meals by allowing two things at once to be cooked or kept warm at once.

I can fit 5 days of food into my front pannier based on the above menu.

If there are cafes, pubs, restaurants, chippies, takeaways etc on route then I will make use of them.


* I am northern so eat breakfast, dinner and tea !

My first ride on a Brooks B17 standard was painful but after a few short rides it became comfortable, I think it was under 100miles before it became really comfortable. The Brooks B17 Narrow was less painful and took less time to break in. I think a good treatment with Proofide helps.

I have also had 2 Spa Nidd touring saddles on different bikes, these took much longer to break in.

The transpennine route comes close to Manchester and goes to Hull where you catch the ferry to the Netherlands. Once in the Netherlands your life becomes a lot easier as there are lots of signed and safe cycle routes.
https://www.transpenninetrail.org.uk/
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-62/

As for the kit, use what you have and if you don't like what you have then change it. There are plenty of threads on the internet about best panniers, best bike, best tent etc. My advice is don't stress too much about it, the ride will probably take a week and most kit will be ok for a week. Try and spend as much time as possible on the bike before the trip so you enjoy the ride.

I was in the same situation about 20 years ago when I wanted to start cycling after a period of absense. As I knew nothing about bike maintenance I purchased a new Dawes hybrid, similar to the hybrids posted above, from my local bike shop costing just under £200. I didn't know what cycling I would end up doing so bought a jack of all trades bike. I thought it was better to have an unused £200 bike in the garage rather than an unused £1000 bike in the garage if I ended up not getting into cycling and if I did get into cycling then I hadn't wasted too much money buying the wrong bike.

The basic hybrid was good enough to give me more experience riding on roads, canal towpaths, commuting to work etc and to find out what I really wanted / needed for my new Hobby. 20 years later it seems like I needed the following:

1. a flat handle bar bike with wide tyres for rough touring/adventure rides
2. a drop handle bar bike with medium width tyres for road touring
3. cross country mountain bike
4. Tandem
5. Original Hybrid

Hybrids are a great bikes to start with, but be prepared to buy other bikes in the future as your hobby develops.

I use Kilometers for self propelled journeys by bike, walking or canoe. I find it easier to measure meters/kilometers on an OS map which is what I generally use for navigation on those journeys.

Plus a journey in Km sounds much more impressive than a journey in miles.
"I cycled 100km today" sounds a lot further than "I cycled 60miles today".

First time I have entered a guess on this excellent quiz. It is giving me plenty of ideas for future tours.

Head of Loch Sligachan, Isle of Skye looking towards Rassay perhaps

Brucey wrote:48h rims here

https://tandems.co.uk/m12b0s95p0/Rims-and-Tyres/Rims

cheers

Thanks, does anyone have.any experience or recommendation for which I should choose?

rjb wrote:Those 2 position bosses for your brake bosses are clever. Pity they are not widely available. Did Thorn fit them for a short time? What make is your tandem?

The tandem is a Landscape model designed by Pete Bird, purchased about 10 years ago from the tandem shop in Shropshire

rjb wrote:I've used a 32 spoke 26" rear wheel on our Dawes tandem without any problems. Our combined weight is approx 125kg so lightweights. The wheel had a Shimano disc specific 135oln hub which I increased to 145 oln by adding a longer axle and spacers. The wheel was almost dishless which helps, and the disc hub has the bearings set further apart which also helps. On the front I would be happy with a standard 36 spoke wheel.
Curious about more detail of how your moveable brake posts work, any chance of a pic.

The forks and frame have threaded brake post mounts. I assume I just unscrew the post and screw it in lower down.

Hi,
I think I need new rims on my tandem. They are Alex rims DH19 rims and a pale line has appeared in the centre of the braking surface, I am taking this to be some form of wear line indicating a new rim is required. The current rims are 48 ho!e 700c rims, and the maximum tyre that will fit is 28c.
The bike has moveable brake posts so I can fit either 26" or 700c wheels.

The DH19 rims don't seem to be available anymore in 48 hole drilling so it looks like I will have to replace spokes and rims but I don't know which to go for.
I have read on this forum and other places that a well built 26" wheel with 36 spokes is as strong as a 48 spoke 700c wheel, but I also assume that I can't just miss out 12 spokes from my 48 hole hub. But I do have a 36 hole Son dynamo wheel with Sputnik rim from another bike will this be strong enough for the front ?

As I see it I have the following choices:
1) replace existing rims with 48 hole 700c rims. Can any one recommend any suitable rims?
2) replace existing rims with 48 hole 26" rims, again any recommendations ?
3) use my 26 inch dynamo from wheel for the front and replace the rear rim, or find a 36hole 145OLN rear hub and build a matching rear wheel.

The current brakes are rim brakes, but I can fit disk brakes if this gives me more choices but don't really want the expense.

Does anyone have any comments or opinions?

Thanks Neil