Cycling UK Forum

How about a Ragley Blue Pig?

I considered a Cheviot a while back and am sure its a great bike etc but the killer for me was the large amount of toe overlap with the front wheel given my small-for-a-man size 8 feet. Get confirmation of the centre to centre (bottom bracket to front wheel) measurement before you travel all the way over to Leyland if this is a concern.

Leeds? Have you researched Bob Jacksons at Bramley or Woodrups on Kirkstall Road? Hopefully others will wade in with reviews/comments but my partner had a Bob Jackson custom bike made up and loves it. There's also Ellis Briggs at Shipley although I don't think they like to vary the design much on their custom frames(?) and Mercian near East Midlands Airport is probably the same drive time as Harrogate, not that I'm trying to take custom away from Spa.

There's a Vaude saddle cover available at a couple of places on the net if you google it. Don't know what it's like - I use the hood of an old raincoat.

Since my last posting I have again been in contact with Gatwick, and their response is one that needs printing and laminating for your next flight. Basically it's up to the airline, it's not up to the ground crew. If the airline checks it in, the ground crew will take it.

Dear Gatwick Customer Services
I ask you for a third time to check whether your responses are in accordance with Gatwick Airport policy, maybe you should check with your supervisor.
Forget about the kayak for a minute: if I check in a bicycle with British Airways for example, the airline requirement is that the bicycle is packaged in a protective case or bag. So if I subsequently present the bicycle in a bag at the oversized luggage conveyor, will the operator let the bike through?
Yours [Hufty]

Dear [Hufty]
...I have made enquiries from our Terminal Duty Managers who inform me that as previously mentioned any item checked in with an airline becomes their responsibility. The airline will advise you on how your particular sporting item should be packaged. Once your item has been accepted by the airline they may ask you to take this item to oversize baggage where it will be accepted by the member of staff on duty.
Yours B.G.
Gatwick Customer Services Team

That's good enough for me - my bike is on that plane and it's up to the highly-trained operative at the oversized baggage point how much of a huftying he wants. I've also written to Norwegian Air, pointing out that as the majority of other airlines don't have a hard packaging requirement for bicycles on flights out of Gatwick, and as Norwegian don't even want this policy, surely there's a mix up somewhere? Watch this space.
I get the impression by the way that this is mainly down to cultural misunderstanding - I bet there isn't the concept of "petty officialdom" in Norwegian, and I bet they don't realise how truly appalling British customer service usually is.

Can I join the Raven Tour love-in please - brilliantly thought out bike, oodles of clearance, special mention to the wheels which are still completely true after quite a bit of dirt track rough stuff (non-Himalayan).

kuba wrote:on the Raven Tour you would use straight bars anyway, surely?

I've posted this before, but I've got drop handlebars on my RT with the Rohloff shifter underneath on a stalk (a Thorn utility bar with one arm chopped off) and it works very well. If you angle the stalk slightly, your hand falls easily from the brake hood towards the shifter without the weight transfer you'd get if you had to move your hand down to the bar end. Which brakes is of course for another thread.

And a response from Norwegian Air Shuttle:
It is correct that London Gatwick is the only airport were it is required to pack the bike in a box/suitcase. I am not sure who you talked to at the airport, but it is them who have given us these instructions. We do not have any desire of refusing our passengers to travel with bikes as on our other routes.
In our ground handling manual, regarding bicycles it states: * At London Gatwick LGW (due to local airport restrictions) the bicycles must be packed in either a fiberboard box or in a bicycle suitcase.

Med vennlig hilsen / Best regards

Original question was sent to enquiries@gatwickairport.com, on 8 Aug 2011, all replies 9 Aug 2011. If you get bored, just read the last paragraph.

Where can I find written details of the restrictions on hold luggage you at Gatwick impose above and beyond those declared by individual airlines with respect to larger items of sports equipment?

Dear [Hufty]
Sports equipment can be carried in hand baggage provided it fits within the bag size restrictions and complies with the rules on sharp objects. Fishing rods are not allowed in the cabin – and scuba diving tanks cannot be carried anywhere on the aircraft. You can find this information on our website at the following url: http://www.gatwickairport.com/faqs/baggage/faq-111/
Sincerely
[P.O.]
Customer Service Team

Dear [P.O.]
You didn't read my question properly - I'm on about HOLD luggage not HAND luggage.
Regards
[Hufty]

Dear [Hufty]
Most sporting items can be carried in the hold - go to the Department of Transport url: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTr ... /DG_176922 where you will find a list.
Sincerely
[P.O.]
Customer Service Team

Thank you for the link, unfortunately it quickly refers the question back to the departure airport, which is, unfortunately for you, you: "Other restrictions may be in place, so contact your airline or departure airport directly if you have any questions about what you can take." So just to confirm are there any additional conditions imposed by Gatwick Airport on the carriage of sports equipment as hold luggage above and beyond those set by the Department of Transport and the carrying airline? If so, please send me the link. Examples of larger item of sports equipment that I might want transported as hold luggage are a bicycle or a two section kayak.
Sincerely
[Hufty]

Dear [Hufty]
Gatwick Airport does not have any additional conditions on the carriage of sports equipment as hold luggage above and beyond those set out by the Department of Transport and the carrying airline - including a bicycle or kayak - this is entirely up to the individual airline.
Sincerely
[P.O.]
Customer Service Team

(Edited to remove the customer service rep's name - seemed unfair given I'm going round calling myself Hufty)

Not been to Iceland, so don't know, but the cheapest way to Norway is probably going to be with Norwegian Air from Gatwick (http://www.norwegian.no/en). Flights to Alesund for example are about £30-60 one way with €40 for bike carriage. Bike fare seems outrageous on the way out, a bargain on the way back once you're used to Scandanavian prices - I don't think you could get an hour's bike hire for €40! Norway like an expensive, clean, depopulated Scotland, with worse weather. Loved it.

Just a mention for P20 sunblock - it's the only stuff I've found that works all day and doesn't sweat off my sweaty face. Yes it's only factor 20 but I'm better off with this lower factor gunk bonded to my skin all day (or whatever it does) than with a higher factor sunblock running off in streaks after a few minutes.

Leave your cycle computer at home, work out approximate distances after the holiday if you want to.

I had this problem on my mountain bike (Thomson seatpost, steel frame) , and a suggestion which has worked is to degrease both the post and the inside of the frame, then dust the post with tailors chalk or climbers chalk. See http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=209789. Post and frame haven't fused together so far.

I posted this in Cycling Goods and Services as well but does anyone ever look in there unless they want to whinge about Spa or SJSC (+1 Spa, +1 SJSC by the way). Anyway, if there's a way for moderators to unify threads across forums please feel free...

We’ve all seen the Ordnance Survey Active Maps for sale, but I didn’t know until a few weeks ago that you can post any map you want to Aqua3 in Derbyshire and they will laminate it with the same stuff they use on the OS maps then post it back to you, all for about a tenner. Absolutely brilliant and worth every penny. I had three road maps of Norway done. Without laminating they would have disintegrated within a couple of days as there was so much rain and general dampness. The web site is http://www.aqua3.com/services.asp

(In the past I’ve also tried a wipe-on solution, Nikwax MapProof, which comes in a bottle with a shoe shine applicator. From experience, if you’re not incredibly careful, it’s a great way to shred a map, and even if you are careful it weakens the maps at the folds, whereas lamination strengthens the map at the folds.)

We've had a cheapo supermarket tent for car camping and festivals for a few seasons now. It's been great, and when you consider the cost it's been brilliant. If you're basically staying on campsites go for it. It'll be a good way to see what features you want out of your next tent, and you won't have to worry about your expensive lightweight tent getting trashed by drunk "non-technical" campers or similar if you're venturing onto a campsite during the school holidays. The poles will probably be fibreglass rather than aluminium, the pegs will probably be wire and will go rusty (but will do the job better than the currently fashionable titanium drawing pins), but I bet the stitching will be fine. If it does break while you're on tour, you'll have one night in the toilet block followed by a ride to the nearest tesco to get another tent.

Just like to say that my last minute purchase of an eBook reader turned out to be a good one for cycle camping, so if you're wondering whether to get one I'd say go for it. I’ve just come back from a tour in Norway and I’ve read four books in three weeks (due to the relentless rain and the extended daylight) and had access to loads more, and a built-in dictionary. It only weighs 200g or something and it’s smaller in volume than a single book too. Also on it were pdfs of my flight details, the airline’s bicycle policy, a list of Norwegian tunnels, hub gear servicing instructions, travel insurance bumf etc. It would have been useful to have ferry timetables on it too if I’d thought ahead. I didn’t have my Norway guide book on it as I already owned a paper copy, but would do next time I’m cycle camping as I tend not to refer to a guidebook so frequently compared to for example backpacking round Asia. Battery life is easily in excess of two weeks because there’s no backlight - it only uses juice to change the page. I kept it in a dry bag in a pannier with my clothes and it was fine.

We’ve all seen the Ordnance Survey Active Maps for sale, but I didn’t know until a few weeks ago that you can post any map you want to Aqua3 in Derbyshire and they will laminate it with the same stuff they use on the OS maps then post it back to you, all for about a tenner. Absolutely brilliant and worth every penny. I had three road maps of Norway done. Without laminating they would have disintegrated within a couple of days as there was so much rain and general dampness. The web site is http://www.aqua3.com/services.asp

(In the past I’ve also tried a wipe-on solution, Nikwax MapProof, which comes in a bottle with a shoe shine applicator. From experience, if you’re not incredibly careful, it’s a great way to shred a map, and even if you are careful it weakens the maps at the folds, whereas lamination strengthens the map at the folds.)