Cycling UK Forum

robgul

.... if you want Sustrans maps (like the Devon C2C) then Sustrans has an online shop which is usually instant despatch.

Have o say I agree with your sentiments on Evan/CTC shop - never again - delivery and service is poor and price at "CTC" discount is still more than almost anywhere else.

Rob

BTW - are you the Dr Peter Harris that I know ? (see sig)?

robgul

THE place to buy IGN maps in the UK is The Map Shop at Upton-on-Severn (Google and you'll find it)

Rob

robgul

The bit of tube merely "stabilises" the folding frame as far as I'm aware (I have a 1975 Bickerton and it's slightly different - but the concept is the same)

BTW "stabilise" in the context of a Bickerton is actually misleading ... the whole machine being made of alloy with tubes/components riveted does tend to flex when ridden

Rob

robgul

Bodie wrote:Rob, I'm thinking of doing this too....is it ok to do this kind of thing at what for me would be a challenging pace, about 15/16 mph, about four, four and a half hours?

I'm not a club cyclist, I don't race, just go out a few times a week on my own and I just wan't to push myself a bit. That is the kind of pace I ride my usual 40m/50m route in and I was looking for something a bit longer and more interesting.

I'm guessing that there will be some people that will ride this quite hard? Certainly faster than I'm capable of.

As an ex club runner I'm concious that those that 'race' mass participation events (what used to be advertised as 'fun runs') make themselves look silly and sort of distort the whole idea of the event, and I don't want to do that

Do people try and 'win' your Mac ride?

(sorry, I'm on holiday when the Mac is on...again)

The range of riders and abilities is very wide ... from families out for a tootle to a number of the road clubs that ride it as the Sunday run at fairly high pace - and everything in between..

Your speed/time suggestion is probably realistic.

It is NOT a race (we'd be in all sorts of trouble with the police!) and there are no time limits or performance prizes (although we may have an award for the top fundraiser this year)

MacRide is designed to be an enjoyable ride in great countryside to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support in Warwickshire & Coventry - riders in the past 3 events have returned so we must be doing something that people like!

Entries can be made online at www.macride.org.uk - and we have a great cycling jersey available too.

Rob

robgul

Have a look at www.beewee.org.uk and the JOGLE link for a ready made, tried and tested (by quite a few riders now) that is available for a modest donation to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Our emphasis was on quiet-ish roads and few hills

Rob

robgul

Daniel B wrote:Brilliant stuff, thankyou very muh both, I shall look into the replacement socket option, or the option of a converter.

The latter sounds more sensible, as if I change cars, it might well have the newer style socket, in which case I just need to not use the converter, otherwise would need to cut it off and re-attach the old one!

Thanks

Dan

Watch the prices on the plug converter ... I just bought one and found massive variations - I got mine from Towequipe.

I have to say the converter is a bit fiddly and awkward to use - on reflection I wish I'd just cut off the plug and fitted a 7 pin - the wiring diagram is in the bike rack manual.

Rob

robgul

slowrider wrote:Thanks Rob for your reply! I'm hoping to get my daughter to follow me down in the car and bring me back!

Also intend doing the Macride with a friend, Kevin, who's been in contact with you already!

Carole

Great .... why not get a MacRide jersey to wear on the Brum-Oxford ride!!

Rob

robgul

Yep - did it about 5 years go - excellent ride with just a few lumpy bits around Hook Norton - good stops for tea and cake.

Beware :

The road crossing marshals are NOT to be relied on (IMHO they're a waste of time and just a drain on cost of running event)

The van service taking bikes back to the start is (was) pretty poor - they just bung the bikes in with minimal care. Better solution is to take the train (the finish is within a few hundred yards of Oxford station) - there are no bike restrictions on Chiltern Trains to Leam/Warwick/Solihull/Brum Moor St

Rob

robgul

jake wrote:Our starting point hasn't been decided but thought that either Cherbourg or Caen would be as good as any. Hadn't even considered Calais and going east of Paris, it's a very interesting idea.
Vernon, a very impressive effort indeed. I'm on the "heavy side" too so it's very encouraging to hear your story.

I'm doing the trip with Jonboy as described above - our logic for the route was : use Eurotunnel with the bikes (a bit different), relatively hill-free route, Champagne and other wine-tasting en route, getting to the Med and then traversing the Camargue - with some interesting places along the way.

...... and I'm re-living some trips from my youth when as a family we drove to the S of France for holidays each summer (way back in the late 1950s/early 60s)

There's a bit about it at www.beewee.org.uk under the Boys' Outings menu tab. The plan is to produce a journal rather like the "Rob & Joe's JOGLE that often gets a mention ... and to raise some dosh for Macmillan through www.macride.org.uk

Rob

robgul

Dunno what it's called ... but it's a sort of crescent shaped spanner (quite often integrated with a chain whip)

... or with care .. a punch and a hammer - put the point of the punch right into the corner of the small square slot and tap it gently round.

Rob

robgul

Cliff_g2 wrote:Hmmm, Sheldon Brown's cold setting method looks pretty hairy. Basically taking the material past its yield point. Not sure I'd ever want to ride a frame after it's had that done to it, particularly a 531 frame, which would of course bend mostly in the middle of the rear fork length

Agreed - the "2 x 2 lumber lever" method from Sheldon is imprecise ... I did try it and it did no damage, but the "studding, washers and nuts" method I describe is more accurate (although you do of course have to stretch over the measurement to allow for spring-back) - and you can check the angles with a string around the seat tube as you do it.

Rob

robgul

My "best" tourer is a 1975 Galaxy with a 25" frame - powder coated, reset rear stays, fitted with Deore groupset (22/32/42 and 13-32 x 7 speed) - new levers pulling on Alhonga deep-drop dual pivot brakes, 700c wheels with 32c Marathons.

The reality is that it probably cost, excluding the frame, about £450 all told ... buying a discounted Galaxy new would probably have been a better bet ... but you can't beat an old 'un.

Some detail and other insanity at www.beewee.org.uk

Rob

robgul

If you are going to be on a tourer on "gravel tracks" I would go for a touring wheel and a robust 135 hub (as an example I have 36 spoke wheels on Deore hubs on my Galaxy (which was stretched to open the frame) - it's fine)

Rob

robgul

As said - if it's steel you can open up the frame by the 5mm or so to get the hub in. See my ramblings at www.beewee.org.uk and the Briefings for some notes on the subject - ot the late, great Sheldon Brown also has a view

Rob

robgul

Paul at the Cycle Centre in Alcester is your man (closed Wednesdays)

Rob

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