Cycling UK Forum

bogmyrtle wrote:It can help your confidence if you know you can deal with simple maintenance issues like mending punctures. When you get your bike see if there are any courses near you or any independant bike mechanics who will show you some basics.

Now thats one of the best bits advice i've ever seen on here! My living for several years was exclusively selling high end touring bikes, we took a call one March day from one of our customers touring in Russia, these were the days when mobile phones were still quite rare. He was stood next to the main eastbound road to Moscow, but why was he calling good old Blighty? Well he had a puncture and didn't have a clue what to do let alone have the right kit to get going again. In the end we had to airfreight tools, tyres and tubes out to him!

Ask away on any subject, you'll get a wide variety of advice, some helpful, some not but all given with enthusiasm for riding and exploring on two unmotorised wheels (well three occasionally!)

The Tubus adapter can be used with any brand rack and is ok to use up to 30kg. Buy Tubus if you can afford it but honestly I'd most likely spend £25 on a Tortec Expedition - features nicked from Tubus but a third of the price with a five year warranty.

Try looking at some of the 'next generation' options like the Specialised Tricross or Giant TCX or if your budget will stretch to it the Bianchi 'cross bike would actually be my current choice, junk the steel and get a really nice bike that's lighter, handles better on any surface and is much sexxier!

Well i'm hardly a professional and i do ride drops with four panniers and bar bag on my sub 10kg touring bike, i don't have a support team and have covered all terrains across Europe, comfortably and with relative ease. I stand by everything i said as my customers appreciate and can testify.

Classic for me - mine are seven long tours old, never had any issues with QL1 plus unlike the Plus, they can easily be cleaned!

New for 2012 are 9 new colourways for the rear Classics!

The difference in weight is neglible and unless you have real eco issues the Plus are an indulgence with no advantages.

Bike Packers are not watertight regardless of material, fine for drier climes but you'll need liners to keep stuff dry in northern europe.

I've ridden it once - on a road bike in winter so i'd recommend it to anyone wanting great views over the moors. I'd approach up the Rosedale climb - just because you can and the slight incline on the tramway prolongs the enjoyment!

If you want comfort on long trips use drops.

The most comfortable riding position is going to be the most relaxed so try this and relate it to your riding position.

Stand up straight, legs slightly apart, arms hanging loose at your sides. You shouldn't feel any tension in your arms or back so this is what we need to replicate on the bike.

Now raise your arms to where your handlebars are, still comfy eh, but look at your hands - your palm will be at 90 degrees to the ground which just happens to be where you generally sit on the brake hoods. Now turn your hand as though you are riding on straight bars, feel the muscles in your wrist and arm tense up - thats not gonna be comfy after an hour or so.

Next imagine the bars are wider - just like straight bars or butterflies - you will feel the muscles in your upper chest pulling and you'll be crunching the muscles across the neck - even less comfortable! For the best comfort you need bars that fit you - not your need to put loads of accesories there! Measure between your shoulder joints and you will be about right, typically @ 44/46cm for men, 38/40cm for women.

Reach is something different altogether and height is personal choice but generally the closer you are to the bars the more relaxed the position. Sti controls are designed to be used from the brake hoods and as you don't have to force a movement with a thumb, you use the blade of your hand, if hand size is an issue, Campagnolo are smaller than Shimano and as has been pointed out don't have the flying cables although newer top end Shimano do use hidden cables.

As i work selling bikes i get asked this question almost every day, i've very rarely had anyone upset with the drops but those that do choose straight bars very often return bemoaning their choice. If you really can't cope with drops at least use butterfly/trekking bars.

Oh and the reason you rarely see drop bar tourers in Europe - they go trekking which is quite different, shorter daily distances often carrying the kitchen sink. I do see drop bar tourers abroad, the longer distance enthusiasts i've met pretty much all have used drops and the more casual riders tend to look on your bike with some awe - especially if they get a chance to pick it up!

As a last thought, the professional cyclists who ride the furthest need to be comfortable all day, day in day out, strange how they ALL ride drop bars!

My experience in CH has been very good, well signposted if not always the prettiest routes! Did get a bit lost in Zurich a couple of years ago and my map didn't really help.

You don't really need maps on the Rhein but get a copy of the Esterbauer guide, think you need section 2, the mapping is great plus you get information on accomdation, bike shops etc. Have to say though, that section is one of the most boring on the whole river,i'd be tempted to go along the Alsatian foothills or the Black Forest equivalent as thats where the scenery is.

Have a good trip - i'm heading to CH again next year so don't use it all up!

Check out the ADFC website for routes, their maps are excellent too. They are the German equivalent of the CTC.

Try this for size - Berlin - Cottbus - Dresden - Leipzig - pick up the Saale Radweg down to Hof - link across to the Main Radweg at Beyreuth which will then take you right through to Frankfurt. That'll give you well in excess of 1500km. I agree with the previous poster about getting to Berlin and Wien - don't try riding, the distances are too much unless you really want to kill your family off!

The biggest problem with flat routes can be boredom, i did a fortnight around Luneberg Heide and never got out of the 13 sprocket!

The trains can be a problem in high season, i struggled to get one bike on a train from Stuttgart to Koln as all the bike places were booked out. Smaller local trains never seem to be an issue but remember to book your bike tickets!

Best idea would be to pick out where you'd like to go and see how that'd sit with potential routes.

Have fun!

Paper maps seen their day? not likely.

I used the Sustran map for the Hadrians Wall route and i quite agree that they leave a lot to be desired. biggest problem for me was the narrow band they show, i had to use OS maps to find campsites and even bits of the Wall! Electronic devices, particularly mobile ones all suffer from the same problem - too small an area to view, you just can't get the big picture.

Even if i use a route guide i always take a paper map of the region as you'll be able to spot places of interest, alternate routes and so on easily. I try to get them well in advance of the trip so i can pore over them and get a feel for the terrain. Map reading isn't difficult and its possible to spend hours digesting the content - and you don't need batteries or a power cord!

I did a chunk of this in 2010, the bit between Salzburg and Lichtenstein/Bodensee (no one calls it Lake Constance except Brits!) Forget the Danube unless you want a boring trip plus you end up quite a long way from your destination!

You have two basic routes from the Salzburg area (depending how you get that far you might prefer one over the other.) The northern route will take you through the German Alps - Bertchesgaden then north past Chiemsee before heading across towards Fussen and eventually popping out at Lindau on Bodensee just north of Bregenz. Of course you get a lot of actual route options and the roads are pretty quiet.

The southern option has two options at either end. From Salzburg/Hallein follow the river Salzach around to Zell am See then continue up the valley and either go over the 1700m pass into the Ziller valley then drop into the Inn valley. Alternatively turn north and avoid the big climb by going through Kitzbuhel and Worgl to the Inn. You pretty much have to go along the valley through Innsbruck and on as far as Landeck before you get a choice again. The busier route is directly through St Johann iT, over the pass and down to Feldkirch.I took the Silvretta pass route, climb to almost 2000m then drop down to Bludenz and onto Feldkirch. there is a third option, if you have the time, head south from Landeck and cross the 2300m Fluela pass to Davos then drop down to the Rhein before turning north for your destination.

Of course there are various other options which may combine elementsof the different routes depending on your preferences. Good maps are readily available, i used the Esterbauer stuff but on my first trip to the area i used free tourist maps posted in the towns!

You can read about my route in my journal available here :- http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/dirnd ... ht_192079_

Have fun!

why not just buy a Kona Sutra?

You will have to have a camping card as previously mentioned cost is currently KR100

Was there last summer - campsites are generally very good but beware, food is very expensive! If you want to self cater on that front most sites have a kitchen that you can use foc, some even supply the cooking kit and crockery but don't rely on that. A can of beans might cost you £3 but bread is relatively cheap as is beer! Use roadside hotdog stalls to eat during the day - good value and generally a range of options - never seen any veggie stuff tho.

I can recommend several sites that i've used along the baltic coast and across Sjaelland if its any use. btw the riding is excellent! What are you interested in seeing? there is stuff like Glumso cykel museum, railway museums, country houses etc etc where are you going to be?

Did the crossing from Falster to Rostock a few years ago - nice boats and a chance to use up your krone!

The north Germany bit has plenty to see and do, again if you tell us where you expect to be i can suggest some visits.

i've done Basel to Bodensee - fantastic in places - dire in others. Switzerland is pricey full stop but the campsites i used were reasonable and well sited.
Some great stuff to see - Rheinfalle, Konstanz, Roman remains, castles and of course Bodensee.

Further up i was in Lichtenstein last year which is worth a visit and Buchs on the Swiss side is nice and a must stop.

I've not ridden the top bit, only travelled by train but i think you'll enjoy the trip.

I swear by my Vaude Taurus Ultralight - not the cheapest but its roomy, quick to put up and light. Mine has managed to survive Alpine thunderstorms, gale force winds and general mis treatment over 10 years of use and apart from replacing bent pegs has only suffered a couple of stress fractures on the poles after being literally flattened by Baltic gales a couple of years ago.

theres even a pic of the flattened tent here http://cycletouringstuff.eu/ostseegallery.aspx !

I'm thinking of replacing before my next trip - the latest version of the Taurus is top of my list!