Cycling UK Forum

Sorry to ask, which one is Bob? The top one I presume as he's got the Sgt Pepper kit on and Gandolf's a colonel isn't/wasn't he? Or am I in the wrong fantasy?

The Jetboil - cracking idea but a 100 dollars! I like tea, but not that much! Oh well, Christmas is coming - lol

A couple of points re the original question: the OP said they were thinking of changing bikes to make the commute 'easier' - define 'easier first? Do you mean more comfortable or faster or what?

Bear in mind that there is often a trade-off between speed & comfort: fast road bike / 23c tyres / rigid frame = not so comfy ride as touring bike / 28c tyres / more flexible frame (e.g. steel).

Buying: if like me and Mrs bikes4two, the first, second, third & forth bikes are still not the 'perfect' choice (what ever that might be) and you don't have a bottomless pit of money, then consider used bikes from places like this forum or eBay. You buy at a used price, try it out and if not liked, sell on at a minimal cost difference.

anniesboy wrote:I have a Helton tandem carrier, I have difficulty with it my roof bars are Thule and the Helton was not made to accommodate them.
The other issue is my tandem is a Thorn,with non crossover drive ,hence locating the "drainpipe" to the Helton is not easy.
Using this is in my situation a two person job even then not easy.
If I was starting afresh I would look at http://is.gd/kz2Nz7

It is not easy to explain my problems with the Helton, but once the tandem is in place its secure on the rack

This link is the Atera hydraulic tandem lit referred to in my earlier post Maybe SJSC market it under a diferent name or it's changed names, bt it's the same ting as far as I can see from the photo, but not as cheap as a pair of ladders and fixing though and I can't clean my gutters out using the Atera

I couldn't recommend any particular saddle as what's good for one, may not suit another. As for the sit-bone measuring gizzmo, they are a good starting point providing the bike shop know how to interpret what the gizzmo tells you versus getting a saddle to match the measurements.

My wife had this measurement taken and the local bike shop chose a saddle to suit - and that was 6,000 happy bike-miles a go. The skill was in the bike shop man choosing the right saddle.

You are pushing your luck in expecting to get a good saddle for yourself in such a short space of time!

I have a Santos Double Travel and I use an Atera Hydraulic Tandem Lift and I get the tandem onto my roof-rack without any strain what so ever. I've never used any of the other market brands so I can't give a comparison, but believe me, the Atera is easy peasy to use - see this youtube clip for a single bike on one of these lifts. Lifting the tandem is much the same albeit you gave an 8ft bike rather than a 6ft one on the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btC6iLXiW8Y . If you can't get this link to work, just search Youtube for Atera Bike Lift

The tyre width/rolling resistance debate again - hmmm. If you could tell the difference in rolling progress between 32c and 38c when carrying a 13Kg load, then well done you. What you may notice though is the 38c pneumatic cushioning effect is improved over the 32c.

IMHO when touring, loaded or unloaded, the positive effects from a fatter, lower pressure tyre are very beneficial from the comfort perspective. Rolling resistance? Well, so you spend 5hrs 30 mins admiring the scenery rather than 5hrs 10 mins say, but you'll possibly save an evening of having a sore butt and other 'shock' related niggles.

And when all is said and done, if you think something narrower than 38c is desirable, just get another pair of tyres to suit - don't let your choice of bike be swayed by something as simple as changing tyres.

I knew it would be straight forward (not) - thanks for all help - the last stumbling block was to realise that image files of type PNG do not work but JPG ones do - now able to do as intended - after this experience I am now less likely to slag Microsoft off for their Windows issues.

Just to let you know that I have tried the following on my Carradice canvas bag
1. Using a hot air gun (low setting), I melted some Grangers wax dressing and black boot polish (about 6:1) in a tin until liquefied
2. Then using a small paint brush I applied this to the bag whilst at the same time playing the hot air from the gun over the canvas to ensure an even spread of the liquid.
3. By using the brush and air gun with care, I avoided getting any of the liquid on the straps
4. I left the bag for a few hours to naturally dry and then buffed the surface of the canvas with a clean cloth to remove any residue of the dressing, especially the black shoe polish residue.

The bag looks 'rejuvinated' but without the loss of that lovely 'used' look so characteristic of these bags.

boblo wrote:There's loads of s/h 700c tradditional steel machines around. Have a look in the Tandem Club classfied ads (on line and in the rag) and you'll come up with something. You regularly see nice kit (Longstaff etc) for sale there at reasonable money.

Not at the frame size I need there isn't. I am reading all sources daily and even have a WANTED on the Tandem Club site - the stumbling block is the 18in stoker seat tube and I'm only seeing 26in wheeled machines such as the Double Edge with the appropriate sizing, hence my posting.

Gaz, thanks VM for the links and I'll be delving through them as soon as the Cornflakes have settled.

The good lady and I are looking for our 2nd tandem - is this n+1 or n+(1+1)? Anyway, we set out looking for the 2nd machine as a 'nifty day rider' and to meet certain criteria (in no particular order):
1. traditional frame design i.e. straight but sloping top tube and a marathon tube and about or under 20Kg
2. steel tubing from Reynolds (did not want any ali over-size stuff, just neat 531/501 etc)
3. Second hand (budget constraints)
4. And most challenging of all, a stoker seat tube of 18in(45cm) or less (don't want to use crank shortners)
5. 700c wheels, triple chainset, drop bars

So far no luck, but the Dawes Double Edge is getting my attention even though it is 26in wheeled and straight barred but the frame sizing would suit my stoker.I have my eye on two examples - one uses 501 tubing and the other 653.

My questions are these:
A. Does anyone have experience of the Double Edge as a day machine especially if converted to drop bars. To offer comparisons with other tandems would be a real bonus
B. Comments in general as to the suitability of 501, 653, 531 as tandem tubing
C. Is there a noticeable speed difference between 26in and 700c if say, both were running 35c tyres (about the smallest I want for reasonable pneumatic cushioning)

If by some miricle someone has a suitable machine they are wanting to sell, then please PM me (or email direct to a23morgan (at) googlemail.com

This bike seems not to be liked much. My wife has one and we've done two short cycle camping tours in France totalling just a few hundreds of miles. In that time none of the issues previously discussed were experienced but then again 35mph wasn't something we do very often. I think it would be fare to say that this is a gentle touring bike, rather than a quick one. We are selling it actually and hoping to get enough for a deposit on a Rohloff (yes, just the Rohloff! Sooo pricey).

Recognising the OP's dilema and any one else looking at a women's specific touring bike like this, anyone who wants to just test ride the ladies Karakum is welcome to do just that - just PM me. (Location: near Havant, in Hampshire)

I know I'm going to be embarassed wehn the answer appears but I've looked at the FAQs and pressed all sorts of buttons, but I cannot figure out how to upload images to postings - just how the heck is it done? I guess it's something to do with the BB Code and the {img} tag, but how's it done?

It can't be that straight forward can it as you often see postings with the comment of not being able to upload images? Sorry to be so dippy, but this is driving me loopy trying to figure it out

OK Pete75, thanks for that and I've dropped them a line and await a response. I know they sell their own wax dressing etc., but I was interested to see what others might do. As you know, forum members are very inventive so I look forward to hearing more.

I've just got my first Carradice - an old Nelson longflap. I know some relish the old look in their saddlebags, but I would like to revive mine a little, so what are good ways to restore a bit more 'blackness' to the cotton duck and is there some way of cleaning the light grey straps?

I've got a tin of Nikwax, some wax dressing used on Barbour jackets and the like, and black boot polish: would any/some of these do the trick? I wondered about mixing shoe dye in with the Nikwax/dressing and applying with a brush or cloth - what do you think. Any suggestions gratefully received - thanks.