Cycling UK Forum

Thought i'd share a few pics with you of Foxy (the bike) and my Vaude Taurus Ultralight which has served me through thick and thin for a decade. It always gets admiring looks from other campers, its up and pegged in as little as two minutes, weighs under 2kg including a mallet and takes up hardly any space in my bags.

There are pictures in the gallery of three weeks riding from Bonn to Salzburg, a fortnight on Luneberg Heath, two weeks on the Baltic coast and best part of three weeks riding around Baden aka Black Forest land!

http://cycletouringstuff.eu/romanticroadgallery.aspx
http://cycletouringstuff.eu/luneburggallery.aspx
http://cycletouringstuff.eu/badengallery.aspx
http://cycletouringstuff.eu/ostseegallery.aspx

enjoy

there are a few pictures of my trip here http://cycletouringstuff.eu/badengallery.aspx the Danube stretch start about 20 pics in.

Mattie wrote:I was thinking about the design of Ortliebs and whether they are the best thing for bikes that don't have a prop stand. It seems to me that Ortliebs, being German, are designed for the continental bikes that use a prop stand, rather than for British touring bikes that you have to lay on the ground or lean against walls etc.

The same for their method of fastening to the rack does not look to be so good for the sideways forces that are involved in picking a bike up off the ground. Maybe if you have a touring bike that has to be laid on its side, or leant against walls, then a tougher Carradice type fabric would be better.

Just a thought.

Well, if they are fitted correctly they are much more secure than the fussy fittings on Caradice and some of the, no make that all of the Altura bags. Like a previous poster i work in an IBD so i get to check this stuff out. As for durability, my Ortlieb roller classics are nearly ten years old, have done long tours every year plus a bit of commuting and nothing has given out up to now. They did suffer a puncture four years ago, a snake bite, quite literally - a viper bit one of my bags whilst i was doing the Ostseekust route in north Germany!

A set of 'supposedly' waterproof Altura traditional bags weigh @ 3kg, back rollers weigh in at half that for the same or more capacity. (bag capacity quoted does not just include the main compartment, all those pockets and nets on the lid and outside are included, so many '55l' bags would struggle to get 40l inside! Oh and remember thats for the pair not each.) Vaude are similar to the Ortliebs but the extra capacity and choice of closure methods sell Ortlieb nine out of ten times.

My heart goes out to that poor bike with all that stuff on the back - i hope its only ridden downhill! The handling and balance of that set up must be horrendous - the rule for loading a bike is 40% front, 60% rear or thereabouts, bike handles better, less damage to the rear wheel plus you avoid looking like a tramp on a bikewith stuff bungeed/strapped everywhere!

I've been taking bikes on German trains for many years and only once have i failed to get me and the bike on the train i wanted - a through train from Stuttgart to Koln in August! I did manage to squeeze onto the following journey although the train had very limited bike space - for Germany that is, just 20 spaces.

From my experience its rare for any train not to have people taking bikes so the previous advice re busy times is useful although apart from the above mentioned incident i've never known anyone left on the platform, you just squeeze in and no one will even mutter!

Enjoy your trip!

Seems to be a lot of mountains on here so far! I went to Denmark so my offerings have more sky!

Firstly is the River at Skelby in west Sjaelland


The second was taken as i waited for the first ferry of the morning from Stubbekobing on Falster to Bogo


In 1400km of riding over a fortnight or so this pair stand out as the epitomy of the trip. There are many more pics from the trip at http://community.webshots.com/user/andipayne Click pics for bigger

Donaueshingen is nowhere near Mulhouse! you'd have a good couple of days riding to get near the Donau from there across the Black Forest. You can get trains down from Stuttgart quite easily but anything from the south and west is going to be quite convoluted. For example fly to Zurich, train to Bodensee, ferry across the lake then ride or train north to the Donau.

I did Ulm - Donaueshingen a couple of years ago, camp sites are thin on the ground on that leg, i ended up doing 150km and 100km days - its not hard terrain of course and the cycle route is pretty good for the most part.

I generally use the Bikeline stuff as guides, good maps and plenty of accomodation and bike shop info. The Cicerone book is more of a travelogue and as such its great but not so good on practical info. Btw you should eat and drink at the brewery in Donaueshingen, its only a few metres from the source and the food and beer are excellent. Theres also a great bike shop nearby.

To put in my two p'enath on the subject, there has been some good and some bad stuff said above and some just plain stupid.

I'm always on a tight budget and run some pretty old kit quite happily so with that in mind;

Rear Rack - buy a Tortec Expedition aluminium rear rack @ £24-36 complete with a 5 year guarantee! Put the money you didn't waste on Blackburn towards better bags, Ortlieb or Vaude rolltops are easiest to use.

Front Rack - best way to balance your bike, especially with it being so big. Forget Blackburn as most modern bags won't fit on them, again Tortec are good, Expedition lowriders cost @ £35-40 including all the hardware to mount them on forks with no fittings. You should balance your load 40% front 60% back, a bar bag should never have more than 5kg in it but i would never tour without one as thats where you keep the camera. passport, wallet, phone etc. Bulky stuff in the rear bags, clothing in the front, valuables in the bar bag - oh and tools under the saddle so you don't have to empty the other bags to get them!

wheels - get a pair of ready builds in 700c touring/commuting size then get those finished by hand - much more economical than a full handbuilt set. You should be able to get a screw on rear hub too (you can get 7sp cassettes if you want to upgrade). cost @ £100 you should easily get the new wheels into your frame with it being steel. You really don't want to risk spoke breakage whilst away - i had one go in Denmark in the summer (the first in over 20k of loaded touring), £15 to sort it then an hour down the road another in the same wheel! Especially with a big load and a big rider its crucial to make sure your wheels are sound. Schwalbe do Marathons in assorted sizes - 32 or 35 are generally best for load carrying.

Stem - buy a high quill stem - you will easily get the height you like but safely! @ £20

Saddle - you are two years too late to start with a Brooks saddle! whats wrong with your current one? Get a Sport Tourer Gel if you want more comfort/support, you can get one for about £25.

about a fortnight or so before you go replace all the cables and brake blocks - that way everything has a chance to bed in before you leave.

Glad to be of help!

Further to my previous posting, it wasn't the weld that gave out but in fact it was a catastrophic failure of the tube itself!

Spoke with Airnimal - its well out of their warranty period - i'll be getting a replacement frameset at 50% discount.

Can't really say much more on that score, its a generous response on an old frameset.

It hasn't put me off using a Chameleon for touring, its a great machine and in reality the failed frame owed me nothing.

I have done several long tours with a tent in terrain ranging from the Alps to Denmarks near billiard table flatness. I always use 5 bags - handlebar with all the valuables in, two front with the clothing, two rear with tent and everything else. It would all fit in a pair of rear bags but for lots of reasons its not a good idea. My bags this year weighed a total of 12kg and the bike 10kg - i know because the airline weighed them!

1, weight distribution should be 40/60 front to rear for bike stability
2, put all the weight on the rear and [list=](a) the back wheel is severly overloaded
(b) you will have very light steering[/list]

If you want to lighten the load there are lots of ways to do it, here are some suggestions

Ti stove
Orikaso folding crockery
Ti cutlery
use walking clothing off the bike
lighter bags - I've even managed to lighten my Ortlieb classic rollers!

Of course you could treat your bike to some Ti bolts - you'd be amazed at how much this can save, consider everything you take and whether it could be either replaced for lighter - believe it or not a Decathlon blow up pillow weighs less than the microfibre one i used before, or whether you need to take it at all!

Here's how i packed for two weeks camping in the Alps last year

Barbag 2 kg
Passport
Money
Camera
Phone
Headlamp
Batteries
Sleeping mat (strapped under)

Front left Pannier 1.9 kg
Shorts
Trousers
Socks + underwear
Spats

Front right Pannier 1.8 kg
Tops
Waterproof jacket
Shoes

Rear left Pannier 4 kg
Sleeping bag
Sleeping bag liner
fleece pillow
Tent – pegs + canvas only
Mallet - a real wooden one!
Lock + cable

Rear right Pannier 4 kg
Maps/Guides
microfibre towel
4-litre water bag
Wash kit / lotions & potions
First aid kit
Cook equipment – stove, kettle, and cutlery
Plate, mug, cool bag, Gas
Food supplies – dehydrated food, instant white tea
+ coffee
Plastic box with electrical equipment + souvenirs

Seat Pack 0.9 kg
Bike spares
Tool kit

Elsewhere 0.7 kg
Tent poles (strapped to rear rack stays)
Bike bag
Bush hat
Water bottles

thats 15.3kg including the bags and food - i've since reduced the weight of loads of kit without reducing my comfort or the kits performance.

With this set up i rode over at least 15 passes with sometimes extreme (1:6 or steeper) gradients and the bike was stable enough for me to hit over 75kph on the descent of the Silvretta in Austria - the side with the hairpins!

In the last eight years my touring rig has lost nearly 10kg just by changing kit - not reducing it.

If you came to the shop where i work we'd be pretty unanimous in suggesting either a TCX from Giant or a Tricross from Specialized (maybe a Raleigh Aircross) both of which can be described as 'All roaders'.They are light, great for on or off tarmac, can take a good load and importantly are actually designed with comfort and control in mind.

You should be looking at 54/56cm frame - they are designed to have long seatposts!

Alternatively if you want straight bars the leader of the pack has got to be the Cube Cross SL range - much the same as above but with flat bars. These are designed for forest trails and come in very light but strong using a mixture of road and mtb components.

Just an observations - the Crosstrail is an entry level 29er mountain bike as are some of the other suggestions - not light, comfortable or easy to put rack/mudguards onto - just ask our mechanic!

Don't get suckered into the first shiny thing you see in the shop, ask the sales person if they have any experience of the type of riding you want to do, if not take the advice with a pinch of salt.

(just for the record i have raced in tt's, road race, track, solo + tandem, done sportives, cyclo cross, credit card touring, fully loaded touring across europe from the Alps to the Baltic and even in the UK for over 40 (ouch!) years - so i guess i have a little experience!)

I did it in three days from Carlisle to Tynemouth and i visited every thing of interest on the way. You don't see a lot of the wall - you have to walk to see it all but the forts and towns are all on the route (beware though, they can be a bit pricey to visit).

I did it in August on my sportive bike which coped ok on most of the ride, it chucked it down once or twice so be prepared!

I actually found the Sustrans map adequate until i started looking for campsites and accomodation for which it was useless.

Have fun!

For the bike get a Giant TCX3 - it has rack and mudguard mounts, bar top levers and i sell dozens of them as touring bikes with up to now 100% happy customers! For bags a pair of the new Ortlieb city rollers should be under €80 or try Lidl/Aldi - theu often have quite reasonable bags for under €20 a pair!

For me there is only one choice - Vaude Taurus Ultralight or maybe the very slightly heavier Power wind proof version or extended XP. Weight is under 2kg, its tall enough to sit upright in and if you were close it will take 2 persons. Just because you are on your own doesn't mean you can't have some comfort!

http://www.vaude.com/epages/Vaude-de.sf ... cale=en_GB

Been using mine for 10 years and its survived Alpine thunderstorms, gale force winds and travelling over 10,000km on my bike!

I spent a little over 2 weeks touring eastern Denmark - the islands, this summer, thought these notes might be of interest, if anyone wants pics pm me

DCU Absalon Camping
Korsdalvej 132
2610 Rødovre (Hovedstaden)
Denmark
Tel: (+45) 36410600
Fax: (+45) 36410293
E-mail: absalon@dcu.dk
Price KR 120

It has what it says on the box -free showers, shop, a good size lounge and so on. Look a bit deeper and some of the facilities are a little the worse for wear - probably more 3 star than five. The worst bit for me was how wet the whole site was, even the higher ground was waterlogged! a night, bread to order or take a chance.

Helsingør-Grønnehave Camping
Strandalleen 2
3000 Helsingør (Sjælland)
Denmark
Tel: (+45) 49284950
Fax: (+45) 49284940
E-mail: campingpladsen@helsingor.dk
Price KR110

A very small site about a fifteen minute walk or two stops on the local train to the town centre. Its right on the sea front and in site of Kronborg castle. Basic facilities, a shower token will set you back KR 5. And that train, it trundles past just a few metres from the tent pitches twice an hour! Bread to order KR110 night

Sølager Strand Camping
Kulhusvej 2
Sølager
3390 Hundested
Tel: (+45) 47939362
E-mail : solager@dk-camp.dk
Price KR 122 night

Very pleasant site with excellent facilities. Tents can be near the beach or almost on it, i chose the former! The showers are free but hot water isn't, some of the facilities are essentially hotel wet rooms, the others are more traditional. Bread can be ordered, its cooked fresh on site. A very quiet site with grassy and well drained pitches.



Camping Sorø
Udbyhøjvej 10
4180 Sorø (Sjælland)
Denmark
Tel: (+45) 57830202
Fax: (+45) 57821102
E-mail: info@soroecamping.dk
Price KR 224 (hut)

About 2km from the town it's main business like so many others these days is 'jahregaste'. Pleasant location with good facilities but a silly card swipe system that doesn't always let you into the toilet/shower. This was my first 'hut' and unlike the deluxe cabins appearing on many sites a hut is pretty much that - think garden shed and you'll be on the right lines. I wasn't expecting bedding or crockery, there's even a coffe maker and kettle. If this option had been more widely available i would have left the tent at home. at a push hut could sleep 4 but intended for 1/2.

DCU Odense City Camp
Odensevej 102
5260 Odense S (Fyn)
Denmark
Tel: (+45) 66114702
Fax: (+45) 65917343
E-mail: odense@dcu.dk
Price KR120

Everything is included, no hidden extras but on the other hand there isnt a shop of any kind. No bread. There are various food emporia within walking distance so its not a huge issue. One handy thing - except the week i visited, are the two bike shops nearby. Fairly level and moisture free pitch not too far from the facilities but far too close to the entertainment zone.





Færgegårdens Camping
Spodsbjergvej 335
5900 Spodsbjerg (Langeland)
Denmark
Tel: (+45) 62501136
Fax: (+45) 62502636
E-mail: info@spodsbjerg.dk
Price KR 97


This is the first site that i've ever revisited and i have to say that it hasn't changed since i was last here. Showers will cost you KR 5 a throw, there is a site grill but no shop as there is an excellent supermarket 2 minutes walk away. On a more general note they could do with cutting the grass more regularly.

Guldborg Camping
Guldborgvej 147
4862 Guldborg (Lolland)
Denmark
Tel: (+45) 62501136
Fax: (+45) 62502636
E-mail: info@spodsbjerg.dk
Price KR 170 (hut)

My second hut site, cheaper by quite a bit and i'd say its a better hut. Its set up more like a caravan inside, small kitchen area and a full size fridge come as part of the package. The site is generally a little tired although pleasantly appointed. KR 2 for a shower isn't too bad except i needed two goes to freshen up. Bread to order, limited site shop but supermarket a short walk away. As a 'hutter' its fine but ground is quite damp after several dry days.

Stubbekøbing Camping
Gl. Landevej 4
4850 Stubbekøbing (Falster)
Denmark
Tel: (+45) 54441057
E-mail: stubbekoebing-camping@mail.dk
Price KR85

Great location close to the town so no on site shop as such but bread is available to order. There is direct access to the sea if thats what you want. Unusually its the tents who have the best access to the facilities and although not level the pitches are pretty flat. KR 5 for a 3 min shower.

Stege Camping
Falckvej 5
4780 Stege (Moen)
Denmark
Tel: +45 55818404
E-mail:
Price KR75

Most expensive shower to date - KR 10 but its a very nice clean site. Level pitches but with a tendency to damp. No shop but there are several in the town a few minutes away. Tents get a good deal on the facilities and the kitchen is well equipped.




De Hvide Svaner Camping
Karrebækvej 741
4736 Karrebæksminde (Sjælland)
Denmark
Tel: +45 55442415
Fax: +45 55442429
E-mail: svaner@mail.dk
Price KR104

Shop, free showers, restaurant nearby the touring field is on a fair slope but level pitches can be found. Good and clean facilities oh and with a bonus burial mound in the middle of the tent field! bread from on site shop.



Campsite Køge Sydstrand
SDR. Badevej 1
4600 Køge (Sjælland)
Denmark
Phone: (+45) 56650769
Email: koege.sydstrand.camping@fritid.tele.dk
Price KR102

Although not fantastically signposted it was easy to find. Showers are KR 5 for just 2.5 mins! Close to shops and the 'beach' and the site has a basic shop too. If you like the sound of the sea this one is for you. bread can be ordered.