Cycling UK Forum

I think the answer is 23 or 25...

http://www.sturmey-archer.com/hubs_8spd_XRF8.php

Hi Folks - A HNY to you all...
can anyone tell me if a variety of sprockets are available for the new-ish SA 8 speed hub, as fitted to the Pashley TSR?
I see the Pashley TSR comes with a 25 tooth rear sprocket and I'd like something giving a lower range.

PS - I have taken to having with me a loop of that ubiquitous blue poly-something chord, a few inches long, that I wrap round which-ever brake lever presents itself to me at the time, as a hand-brake, after the occasion when my loaded cycle rolled off down a gradient, while I was off persuing croissants and I am labouring under the amusing illusion that so effective is the hand-brake that it would thoroughly deter any opportunist tea-leaf from leaping on the bike and making off, while I'm preoocupied by munching the aforementioned croissant - now how naive is that???

Helen wrote:I’ve camped solo in France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Italy. Not much in the UK!
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Cor - you're brave
I've just begun solo cycle camping again - mostly in Brittany so far, which is full of cheap, decent camp sites so I've never tried going wild yet... I take a mini U Lock with me, that's made from hardened bar, so probably better than a cable. It's v.light (for a U lock!) and needless to say I can't recall where I got it - mail order from a Geezer trading as Hard To Get or something like...
Have toyed with the idea of using some sort of loop, put down before pitching my tent, to attach the bike to overnight on the assumption that its crafty nocturnal removal would drag said loop out from under me, and wake me up.
Have always been tempted to lock the bike up 'cos having a bike taken in normal circ.s would be abd enough, but to happen in the middle of a holiday, in the middle of nowhere would be classed as a disaster

speedsixdave wrote:TSR/APBs are lovely for all but the heftiest touring... For commuting I'd recommend a hub gear, but this will limit you for touring. What you want, of course, is the AVC Rohloff TSR!

My last APB had an S/A 5 speed, hub brakes at both ends and full length cables, and arrangement which meant when used as a commuter, it was ultra reliable and seldom needed maintanance
http://picasaweb.google.com/SimoninEast ... therBikes#
but SSD's dead right - as a a tourer it wasn't right - my solution was the Brompton/TSR combination I now enjoy, although if I didn't travel regularly by train, I would use just the TSR... it's a much much nicer ride

simonineaston wrote: I like the sound of that, but it might not suit me so well, as I go slowly all the time ...

Mind you, I use Bromptons/Moultons so the pulsing would smooth at a lower speed

Excellent Work, WJ! Particularly like the Ultimate Wheel - if only all bikes were so simple...
I like your double Tesco Cree set-up - nice and straight-forward, and as for the auto-flashing feature, I like the sound of that, but it might not suit me so well, as I go slowly all the time
BTW, prompted by this topic, I braved the cold last night and spent some time outside comparing beams, concluding that although the 4W Tesco Cree is considerably brighter than the 3W Tesco Cree, the beam pattern is more obviously made up of contrasting concentric rings - or to put it another way the 3W throws a more uniform light...

my thoughts on the TSR - either the 27 or 30's suitability for commuting/touring have already been conveyed elsewhere, but another point is that the mrrp sits happily at the top end of the cycle plus scheme, thus giving potential for maximum savings... anyone who works for a company that doesn't currently run the scheme might want to take heart from the fact that mine didn't but now does.

My local Tesco's (Eastville, in Bristol) is selling both 3 & 4 Watt versions, using 2X AA, and 2X C respectively. (£10/12 at the mo')
I bought 1 of each and on close inspection (otherwise known as "taking it to bits...") I see that both use Cree LEDs, on star-shaped pcbs, which, I deduce from many other posts here and elswhere, is a Good Thing.
The 3W version is very bright with a narrow even beam, as described in earlier posts. The 4W is proportionally brighter still, but although it's much the same length, it is bulkier, to accomodate the C cells, and significantly heavier. The lighter 3W could mount on bars easily, but the 4W's a bit of a handful, however for folks who want to the use the Cree LEDs, they are both a gift... a figure of speech taken rather too literally by the Good Folk of Eastville, judging by the appearance of security tags on the torch packaging, recently

PS I've just noticed there is a link to a high resolution version of the flyer I linked to in the post above... in which you can see the front end of the Marathon replica very clearly including, of course, the canti.s

The only F frame Moulton I've actually "seen" was a modified series 2 I bought as my first Moulton, back in 1995. I came across it in a bike shop in Bristol, in Dulux White, with mountain bike bars, a derailleur/Biopace transmission and a stump where the rear rack support had been, so I had no guilty feelings about stripping it, adding canti brakes on the front, going back to the SA 4 speed, and topping it all off with a variant of the pool cue paintjob in yellow and orange...
Dubbed "The Fast One", it had ally rims and Primo Comets and was lent to my (non cycling enthusiast) friend when we did the Sustrans West Country Way in 1999. Apart from Day One, when she fell off twice on the way from Bristol to Priddy, she did alright and was delighted to lay claim to having cycled 250 miles from Bristol to Padstowe, with me on my APB and herself on TFO
The ally rims are now resident on my 3rd (or 4th - I can't quite remember) F frame - a very standard De Luxe, which is on permanent loan to friends who have a shack in Brittany - it is used to collect the croissants... but to return to the topic - the only canti equipped frame I know about is the no-longer unique Marathon referred to by earlier posters - I say "no-longer" 'cos I see in the latest Moultoneer that a chap from Germany has lavished a lot of care and attention making at replica - and very shiny it looks, too! You can just see it on the cover of the latest Moultoneer here...
http://www.moultoneers.info/news/moulto ... -out-soon/

Cool ! All I have to do now is wait for ICE to launch their rumoured full suspension trike Oh - and save up a cuppla grand...

Have had a number of F frame Moultons, as a hobby - great fun but 16" too small for me, so also own a TSR, bought in July this year, for touring/commuting etc.etc.. Delighted with it - wouldn't dream of returning to a conventional, diamond framed cycle for any reason, but especially for cycle touring at which the TSR excels. Its unique comibination of comfort, agility, speed and luggage-carrying makes it (for me) the best cycle for touring I have ever tried. Never found the 20" wheel to have anything other than benefits - v.strong, v. light, v. nimble, smaller tyres easier to carry/pump up, and crucially, allow sensible sighting for any amount of luggage, although in my case I try to pack down to about 20lbs only...
My review of the TSR 27 is available on request (or else you can join the Moulton Club and read it in The Moultoneer...)

I asked about Dual Drive on ICE's lovely sounding/looking trikes, but I see that the Scorpion trikes have DD as a factory option which sort-of answers my Q.

squeaker wrote:Don't know if noise annoys you but, on a 'bent, your ears are significantly nearer the rear hub

Hmm, hadn't thought of that... mind you the recent SRAM hub on my TSR is quite quiet, so far. (I understand Shimano have recently introduced roller clutches into their hubs, replacing the pawls that are the source of the characteristic ticking that's the "signature" sound of most hubs.)