Cycling UK Forum

There are three holes at the "top" of this rack (I have the same) and depending on your car, Thule tells you which hole to put the "pin" in. When I changed car from a smaller one to a large estate one, naturally it didn't fit the new one, so I drilled more holes, 2cm apart, so now it fits any car you could mention. I think they come with three holes originally in order to push their sales.

I knew I'd seen it somewhere.... try here:

http://www.merlincycles.com/eddy-merckx ... 62670.html

Not the exact model but it should give you a good idea, if all else fails.

Yes, Merckx frames are measured in an odd way, rendering the numbers fairly useless. However, I can tell you that the biggest frame they do is a 54 which would fit me nicely me being 6 foot 1. The next size down is the 51 so if you are about 5 foot 8,9 or 10 then I'd say it would be a good bet. The smaller one to this would be the 48.

I DID have one....as many, many reviews and reviewers say, and mine was no different, it kept on crashing, I got fed up with it quite quickly and so I sent it back.

With the advent of the new Garmin 1000, 800s seem to be going cheap at the moment. I bought one of these and it does not crash....

I've bought and used Ortlieb and Altura panniers. I find the former over hyped and the roller closing mechanism so-so whilst decreasing the amount of stuff you can squash inside. Meanwhile Altura are very resistant (I have Orkney ones) both waterproof wise and for general wear and tear, plus the pull string then flap system really does keep everything in good condition inside. Neither have ever jumped off my bikes onto the road. The Altura's are a touch cheaper and the "Dryline" model even cheaper (the inside pocket is different and the extra for the Orkney isn't really worth it but unavailable when I bought them).

If I were to buy a new set of panniers tomorrow, I'd immediately go for the Altura ones and continue to ignore all the hype around the Ortlieb *

I have not used any Carradice stuff but all I ever hear is good things, but that's from people who use the stuff rather than the marketing people....

*I'm not saying they are bad, I just don't "buy" the speil.

Someone overtaking and missing me by inches is never good, but today I was happily enjoying the sunny spin down a fairly wide country lane when an electric Renault Twizy passed by, well within my comfort zone.....My goodness, I jumped out of my skin.
The shock of not hearing it coming, the unexpected alien looking lump of metal and plastic and the fact that it was very close, really isn't on and I suppose we are going to have to get used to this sort of thing. I thought the manufacturers were going to give these 'cars' a noise so people like us lot would be able to brace ourselves for a drive by....

For those who don't know what one is, there are 3 photos here (the last one is ironic) -
http://www.renault.be/nl/gamma-renault/ ... tijden.jsp

Take a look at Charge bikes - there is a review of their Juicer Hi 105 here. It's 9.9kg. Mine have 28mm Gatorskins on it.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/ ... uicer-hi-2

I can vouch for them being a very tough and comfy bikes and mine has served me well over my commuting years. They go on ebay for about £400 ....and there is a Juicer model which comes with Tiagra, which go for even less.....

However, they are old models now and also there is no rack fixing points (I just use those metal hoop things and I've been fine)
So, Charge have a new model which comes with back fixings plus disc brakes.... here-

Plug 3 with sora (£849) and plug 4 with 105 (1099)
http://www.chargebikes.com/plug/plug-3

No weights are mentioned but I'd imagine similar to the Juicers, which are considerably less than your Galaxy.

Just regarding the back and not the shop - I have had two operations on my spine because I suffered from a disc prolapse (where it pops out), sciatica and as a result, nerve problems. I am now involved in a back charity.I had bad ache with cycling and considered giving cycling up.

My advice to you is go for a slightly larger frame that you might normally do (or have done) and for goodness sake, make sure the head tube is disproportionally tall, plus spacers (otherwise the frame will look silly IMO!) to ensure that the saddle and handlebars are almost level. I changed all of my frames to achieve this and now I can ride all day, pain free.

It is quite some time since I visited Israel, but I seem to remember precious few roads in the southern, desert area, so, the ones that there are attract all the traffic, including huge trucks, buses and the like. Not really sure, though, what an alternative would be....
Sorry to possibly disappoint....

Do make sure you have a decent map of Dunkirk, the signposting around there is terrible and the port is laid out in numbered blocks which make little sense of anyone. If you see a signpost to a town, any town!, head there and then follow the map from there.

If I were you I would stick to the coast all the way to Holland because it is flat and glorious, following either the sea or the canal. Just dip in and out to Bruges, don't to a large inland arch....

Around Antwerp is very busy, car wise so be careful and remember for the entire way, if there is a cycle path YOU HAVE TO USE IT BY LAW - if you don't, cars will be very unkind to you.

There are loads of maps available to buy in Belgium. Look out for a FNAC in Ostande.

Have a good time. It's very flat....and normally windy!

Top 10 Things to see/not see -
1. Do cycle the coast road from Dunkirk to Ostend. It takes a couple of hours and is wonderful. There are good paths along the canal too. Ostend is a typical sea side "resort".
2. Bruges does little for me but a lot for everyone else.
3. Ipes (Ypres) for the WW1 stuff, apt for this year.
4. Kortrijk isn't great for cycling.
5. Damme is nice.
6. Avoid the area between Antwerp and Brussels. Oh and the whole of Charleroi.
7. Namur and the region around is just lovely. Great town surrounded by gentle rolling hills.
8. Spa is OK for the spas - yes, that is where is word in English comes from plus the Formula 1 track.
9. Chimay for the monk's beer and cheese.
10. Waterloo, just 10k south of Brussels, more war stuff. Brussels is OK, nothing too much to see. The gleaming new European buildings may give you a vomiting fit.

General -
1. Bear in mind that Belgium really is not very big! Coast to Brussels is a straight forward 7 to 8 hours cycling. BTW, other cyclists will probably blank you.
2. If Belgium were a clock, draw a straight line at 2 o'clock to 8 o'clock, through Brussels. To the west it is flat and dull, to the east and south, rolling hills and more exciting.
3. If there is a cycle path, you HAVE TO use it. Car drivers will be very unkind to you if you don't. But if you have right of way, they are very nice
4. Make sure you have good maps/GPS. The signposts are terrible. The road surfaces aren't great either.

Have a good trip.

Try writing a letter to all the big retailers and on-line sellers asking for a sales statistic then work out an average.

Make clear that you are asking for a serious study and that you are not a competitor.

Top 10 Things to see/not see -
1. Do cycle the coast road from Dunkirk to Ostend. It takes a couple of hours and is wonderful. There are good paths along the canal too. Ostend is a typical sea side "resort".
2. Bruges does little for me but a lot for everyone else.
3. Ipes (Ypres) for the WW1 stuff, apt for this year.
4. Kortrijk isn't great for cycling.
5. Damme is nice.
6. Avoid the area between Antwerp and Brussels. Oh and the whole of Charleroi.
7. Namur and the region around is just lovely. Great town surrounded by gentle rolling hills.
8. Spa is OK for the spas - yes, that is where is word in English comes from plus the Formula 1 track.
9. Chimay for the monk's beer and cheese.
10. Waterloo, just 10k south of Brussels, more war stuff. Brussels is OK, nothing too much to see. The gleaming new European buildings may give you a vomiting fit.

General -
1. Bear in mind that Belgium really is not very big! Coast to Brussels is a straight forward 7 to 8 hours cycling. BTW, other cyclists will probably blank you.
2. If Belgium were a clock, draw a straight line at 2 o'clock to 8 o'clock. To the west it is flat and dull, to the east and south, rolling hills and more exciting.
3. If there is a cycle path, you HAVE TO use it. Car drivers will be very unkind to you if you don't. But if you have right of way, they are very nice
4. Make sure you have good maps/GPS. The signposts are terrible. The road surfaces aren't great either.

Have a good trip.

Cycling along the Loire valley is lovely...
Not too steep but interesting none the less. There's a wide path that is glued to the river, little traffic, loads of places to stay, good food stops.
It is reasonable long, too. You can start at the sea and see how far you get...! I had a great time there...
There is a book about it, I think it is called - creatively - "Cycling in the Loire"...

There is a "Formula 1" hotel in Dieppe and every time I have stayed in them, they have let me put my bike in the room.
If you have never come across one before, I would describe them as "cheap and functional".