Cycling UK Forum

Hi, Barrach. IMHO I would agree with Sue on the issue of whether you need more than a decent tourer to cycle along the Canal du Midi. I saw plenty of loaded-up tourers heading towards the Med, and I'm not a big lover of asphalt anyway (the 20km or so I rode was mainly mud, gravel and cobblestones). However, in Carcassonne last week I saw a warning sign that (er, I think) urged users of the canal path to be cautious for a 3km stretch. I didn't actually ride that bit (we turned off on to a road to return our hire bikes), but looking at it from the bridge above the 'towpath' looked about four to six inches wide with a steep bank to the side of it. Still, I can't help thinking about it for next year. Did you persuade your friends to change route? Did you really persuade yourself?

Anyway, some words and pictures from our little ride here:

http://cycleseven.org/cycling-canal-du-midi

alisonlaws wrote:...I'm 5' 4 1/2", with an inside leg of 30 1/2"...

Completely unscientific comparision, but I'm a 5' 8" bloke with a 29 1/2" inside leg. So by my reckoning the OP would could have a larger frame than my bike's 51cm, but would need a shorter top tube to compensate. Or a shorter reach stem? Or both...?

Hi, al_yrpal. Good buy. Which canal(s) are you cycling in France?

DesiBhoy wrote:Would any of you know of any good audax/light tourers you can get for £700?

After months of research I think I'm still looking to get a Ridgeback Panorama as my 'best' bike in the summer. In the meantime, I tried to get a Ridgeback Horizon as a winter trainer/light tourer/Audax bike (as I mentioned above I eventually had most of the bits swapped onto a smaller frame - also aluminium). Assuming you bought your Panorama from an actual shop rather than online I reckon they would sort you out - a loyal customer - with with a Ridgeback Horizon and decent pannier rack for the list price of £700 - if not cheaper. My LBS was selling one 54cm 2010 Horizon for £579.99. Just a thought.

How about the Ridgeback Horizon? Put a pannier rack on it and it will take your clothing etc for work. I have a bike based on the same specification (but with the parts swapped onto a Kinesis Racelight T2 instead of the Horizon's aluminium frame - my LBS couldn't get one quickly enough in my size). The Voyage is a sort of watered-down version of your Panorama, don't you think? The Horizon is different enough from the Panorama with the former's aluminium frame etc, and is a lively winter bike/commuter/Audax/light tourer. It's fine for a bit of light off road/canal path riding. And - like me - you've still got a mountain bike to use if you need something heftier for your ride to work on occasion.

If you go for 1.75 I recommend Michelin PiLOT CiTY PROTEK MAX 1.75 - not light, but virtually bullet-proof and I cycled 80+ miles on them one day from north Yorkshire to east Yorkshire so they didn't roll too badly.

Mrs KM went to Lidl on her way home for hoist. Everything but hoist in shop. Met me at another branch. (Still a bit squeamish about SPD shoes.) Bought hoist and gillet for me (gillet too large - will take back). But she got carried away a bit (especially for someone who hasn't cycled yet this year): Four pairs of socks, ladies short-sleeved jersey, gillet, Ali G-style sunglasses, a multi-purpose tool (that she admits she doesn't know what to do with), oh, and a packet of cashew nuts. 40-odd quid - which is more than anyone has ever spent in Lidl, I think.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I would never say never join. I have only recently returned to cycling - well, since last autumn - and am still feeling my way back in, really. I intend to cycle much more often than I actually do. I've just thought about how many times I've been out with the very welcoming local group - it's actually twice: once in November (for half a ride) and again in January. I don't know if I'm going to keep this up - although I want to - and my organised Sunday rides won't be all that frequent. For me a turn-off for joining so soon would be compulsory membership for those who, like me, are after all "visitors". I hadn’t looked in to the cost. I didn’t realise it was so cheap.

Cheers for the info. I'll look out for the hoist, especially if it can hold a tandem, but I'm still undecided on the shoes - I still have old-school toe clips/straps on all my bikes. Something to consider, thanks.

I've recently got back into cycling so I've got a bike with Shimano Sora levers and an old-school Carradice Overlander bar bag that I've temporarily used before deciding if I want to go for an Altura model. At its widest point the Carradice is about 11" wide. (My main problem is that the frame for it was designed for skinny 80s stems and bars, not the oversize type we have these days.) I just nudge the cables out of the way without any problems.

Here's a fuzzy picture that probably doesn't help, but...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2741/430 ... 4865_o.jpg

Hi, Gus.

I have ridden with my local group several times in the last few months and I haven't been a member for many years. They made no mention of my having to join and I hope to go out with them again tomorrow. This is an extract from their website from a page called New Riders:

"Visitors are very welcome - it costs nothing to join our rides. We have rides of different standards every Sunday and you do not have to be a member of the CTC to come along and give it a try. Once you have ridden with us we are sure that you will want to join the CTC." That doesn't sound like compulsory membership to me. You don't say who voiced this apparently new condition. I would suggest you speak to the runs leader and ask.

Bentrider wrote:But my question is can a group stop me from coming out with them if I don't have CTC membership, thats what I would like answered.

Personally, I think that if a group tried to stop my from cycling with them, that would be the most compelling reason not to join.

Am I right in thinking that lidl have had this kit in before? Is it any good? I'm thinking of the SPD compatible shoes and the hoist.

Have you seen this one? I haven't checked to see if they'll ship to the UK, but:

http://www.mapmyfitness.com/shop/ibikem ... -bike.html

And for your iPod there is, inevitably, a Map My Ride app for that.

Don't know about a charger, though.

Lithril wrote:The other possible option, how does the Ridgeback Horizon compare to these?

I tried to get a Ridgeback Horizon before Christmas, but couldn’t get one in the right size. My LBS swapped the (non-Ridgeback) parts on to a Kinesis Racelight T2 frame. I’m pleased with the bike – I fancied a light tourer/Audax bike with an aluminium frame. The gearing is not as low as that on the other Ridgeback tourer of the same price: the Voyage has 32mm tyres (compared to the 25mm on the Horizon), a Reynolds 520 steel frame and comes fitted with a pannier rack. There are other differences, of course, but those above are the main ones. From what you seem to need I would suggest you go for the Voyage if it's a case of choosing between the two. Having said that, if you can get hold of a 2009 Claud Butler Dalesman (I've seen them somewhere considerably cheaper than the 2010 model) you won't go far wrong.

EdinburghFixed wrote:Did you have to cut apart the 14-25 somehow? Mine is 7 cogs in a "bunch" and two loose.

It's been mentioned elsewhere, but you just need to use a slightly oversize drill bit to remove each head of the three rivets (I would then suggest filing down any 'lip' remaining on head of the rivet to avoid breaking the spacers - oops!), and tap out the rivets with a centre punch or similar. I did this with two cassettes - HG50 11-34 and 13-25 - to get 13-34 (or 13-30, I can't quite decide).

Something to consider: the hyperglide functionality may be lost (the ramped section on each sprocket on your custom cassette may no longer by in synch with sprockets from, say, the Deore range and the Tiagra range, although they are both HG50).