Cycling UK Forum

Smartphone that doubles as a map, GPS, camera, phone, emailer, newspaper, etc etc. At 135g its a great weight saver.

Al

The most durable Chrome plating process is:

Copper Coating,

Then Nickel

Then Chrome.

Try a chrome plater and see if they can do you a thicker than normal copper coating straight onto the steel. They will probably have to first degrease it and then a brief acid etch, but contrary to what is said above copper does adhere to steel, in fact its used as a base coat. I have plated many things this way, and used to work in an MOD test laboratory testing coatings. Here is an extract from an another website on this :-

"Formerly most decorative items affixed to cars were referred to as "chrome", by which phrase was actually meant steel that had undergone several plating processes to endure the temperature changes and weather that a car was subject to outdoors. The most expensive and durable process involved plating the steel first with copper, and then nickel, before the chromium plating was applied."

Not my opinion, just standard practice. The copper is plated first so that the dense nickel coating can be applied (this is the barrier to oxygen so that the substrate will not rust), then the chrome as decoration. To rebuild undersized shafts in rotating machinery the thick chrome goes straight on top of the copper.

Al

Bike fitting is not infallible and all the advice in the world is not going to help either. I found much of what I was given was completely wrong.
After being away from bikes for 50 years I was advised by others and by a bike shop to buy a road bike, a Giant SCR 3, for touring. This turned out to be a disaster. For a start I paid for bike fitting at AW Cycles at Reading who recommended it. The guy made me stand almost on tiptoe whilst pushing his measuring stick thing up under my crutch despite my protestations. When the bike arrived they 'set it up' for me. When I mounted it my toes wouldnt touch the ground and my feet wouldnt actually reach the pedals. Despite my protestations (I had already paid for bike and fitting before the bike was delivered) there was no refund. I was disgusted, but it didnt end there. Whilst cycling down hills with this thing loaded with panniers the SCR used to go into death rolls at anything over 25mph, absolutely frightening. The flimsy Giant was just not suitable for a touring bike, it flexed too much. The whole thing was just a complete waste of time and money. So I sold it and cut my losses. Even what is to be taken as a good LBS didnt know what they were talking about.

I bought a Halfords Carrera Kraken MTB and used this both off road and as a tourer doing one tour of over 400 miles on it. It was very comfortable.

The next bike for touring was an E Bay Galaxy I got for £40. I cleaned it up, put a triple chainring on it. This was a pretty good bike for touring, quick, but I found it uncomfortable on poor roads. It was very uncomfortable and practically dangerous off road. The gears were old fashioned and complicated and expensive to upgrade. I spent a bit of time reading the excellent Thorn brochures which gave lots of sensible advice gleaned from long touring experience. I couldn't afford a Thorn so I compromised by trying to create something similar on a quality Halfords bike from their Carrera range. It had full SRAM gearing which I had found excellent on the MTB. As people often observe, Halfords make good bikes which are astounding value but you cannot always rely on their staff to adjust things correctly. Use You Tube to see how everything is done, its better than any book.

So last yearI bought my current touring bike which is a Halfords Carrera Subway modified by me. It cost much less than a Galaxy or a Thorn. I chose it by sitting on it and trying it around Halfords car park. It just felt right, subsequently it always has. I found its comfort superior to the expensive Konas and Ridgebacks that were being recommended by AW Cycles. It had straight bars so I wasnt crouched and uncomfortable (I fitted straight bars retrospectively on the Galaxy after experience on the MTB). The bars are fitted with soft Ergo handgrips and bar ends to give a variety of positions. It had 26" wheels and 1 1/4" Panaracer Pasella tyres ( I know these tyres smooth out bumps better than 27" or 700C rims from my MTB experiences). These tyres also have very flexible sidewalls which increase comfort vs harder tyres like Marathons. At first I fitted this bike with a leather Brooks type saddle. That was a disaster, I had to change it for a much less expensive, but much more comfortable Velo Gel saddle mid 500 mile tour. Its now comfortable all day on and off road. Its not the quickest bike around, but that doesnt matter to me, comfort is king. I have touched 45mph downhill fully loaded, its steady as a rock and with its disc brakes, ultrasafe too.

So the answer to the original question as far as my experiences goes:

Don't trust others views, be wary and critical, trust your own experience and judgement first.
For long distance riding an upright position is much more comfortable and easier on your body.
Vibration is the enemy, flexible straight bars are good, so are fat smooth tyres, so is a Gel saddle.
Speed isnt everything, comfort and welbeing make for more enjoyable touring.

You can only judge comfort by what you have experienced and what works for you. In the end you judge it by sitting on your bike and tweaking things bit by bit. Steel framed old style bikes, drops, Shimano gears, rim brakes and Brooks saddles are reckoned to be de riguer on here, but I have found them inferior to what I now have, and not for me.

Your bum and your back are the judge and jury!

Al

Remember Pete had the same problem with Greta Garbo..

Al

I still use my Road Angel sat nav on my mtb. It's got a big screen, and you can set it so that you are always in the middle of the screen wherever you are off road. As off road jaunts are quite short battery life is not a big problem. It uses memory map OS maps so you can see all bridleways dead easy. It is better than a Smartphone because it carries its own maps and doesn't need a signal. Giles' experiences sound just like my Apple ones. I was recommended to the HTC desire by my son in-law who dumped his iPhone after all the daft aerial problems. He has never looked back and also got one of those Samsung Galaxy Tabs for Christmas That looks really good for touring too, its even got a phone and dual cameras in it, unlike the unwieldy iPlods. But, again battery life....

Giles,
Really don't understand what you are on about. Are all these hacks ROMS and command line things on the iPhone? On Android you just switch it on and it works. I am just a simple ancient pensioner, and I just want point, shoot and utter simplicity and that's what you get? (plus a decent phone of course). I have long and dire experience of Apple stuff and now avoid it at all costs.

Al

Do any of you have framed enlargements from mobile phone cameras on your walls (that you would allow anyone to see!!) ? Yes! Loads........



Taken in the Scillies on my 5 mega pixel HTC desire smartphone. I am astonished at how good the inbuilt camera is.

I do have empathy with Mick's stance. If I could afford a Garmin I would get one too, the battery life is much better. But I prefer to navigate with maps and then check my position with a GPS if I am floundering, I don't want a sat nav barking directions at me all the time spoiling the peace of the back roads that I always gravitate to. I can use my phone like that with fairly minimal downloads of 3g map data.

Lugging a netbook, big camera and a kindle and some books doesnt appeal, I'd rather compromise on a 135g (non Apple) phone that does it all.

The problem with any smartphone is battery life and how to keep it charged if you are camping, a subject that we all keep returning to here.

Al

Don't be taken in by the iPhone propaga. They are a bit sore because it is falling behind. A cheap good Android phone is the Orange San Francisco, or if you want the best an HTC desire does it all. Basics for touring _ excellent free Google maps based sat nav blows the iPhone away, great camera, synchronized email, contacts and calendar, newspaper and e reader, and much much new including multitasking and flash video etc etc. Voice operated keyboard. The Orange job is about £100.

Android is about having the power to use your device the way you want -- not the way some bloke in a black turtleneck thinks you should.

Al

I use my Android phone, with a Kindle app. It's a sat nav, camera, torch, calendar, emailer, too. I think some Lonely Planet guide apps are about 70p right now for a short period.
Al

Simon
you went for it!

I have been playing with my htc desire android mobile. It does the lot, awesome! But the RA, or any proper gps with maps on board has the advantage of instant positiom, rather than waiting for map download which can be slow or non existant. I am going for a new dynohub front wheel and Dahon Reecharge when it appears
Al

Whatever, you will br close to 'cyclists heaven', the area bounded by Wallingford, Henley on Thames, Sonning Common and Whitchurch on Thames. If you live in that area you will have miles of quiet byways and bridle paths unequaled in the South of England. Aim for that area inpreference to Didcot, which is now completely suburbanised.
Al

I did this. viewtopic.php?f=16&t=36102&hilit=for+a+song . It was a new bike.

I fitted Panaracer Pasela 1 1/4" tyres because they are more comfortable and seem to have lower rolling resistance. I fitted Ergo Bar Ends, and Ergon GP-1 flat grips from my old Dawes which also had flat bars, these greatly reduce vibration and shocks transmitted by the rigid steel forks necessary with disc brakes. I had a MTB Topeak Rack which fitted perfectly giving plenty of heel clearnce with panniers. I fitted some mudguards, bottle cages and decent flat/SPD pedals. I got the disc braked low geared tourer that I wanted at a fraction of the cost of a lot of things often feted on the pages, and now after 1500 miles of touring I think its very comfortable and just great. I dumped the leather saddle I mistakenly fitted for a modern padded job in France after getting a very sore bottom. The geartrain and shifters on the bike are SRAM and are absolutely wonderful. It compares favourably to bikes twice its cost.

My next mod will be to get decent wheels built, the front with a Shimano hub dynamo because although the wheels are also used on Halfords MTB's I want stronger touring wheels that I can have absolute confidence in. The dynamo will charge one of those forthcoming Dahon Reechargers http://uk.dahon.com/accessories/2010/biologic-reecharge which will charge my Smartphone which doubles up as Sat Nav position finder, camera, music player, radio and emailer. Next year I might fit some of those oval chainrings that smooth out pedalling torque.

To get the bike you want I think its wise to start with something that has potential, and not be blinded by expensive stickers, or handbuilt customised frames. In your local bikeshop or second hand its easy to find a frame that fits you just right if you look around enough. You can then use it a basis to build on value parts that work rather than things like paper thin handlebars which just trade on a revered name.

Although I am an old bloke I believe in technology, I was an Engineer and thats why I choose discs and bits and pieces that add quality and performance rather than just names.

Al

Excellent frame with bull horn bars. A clamp on rack will do just fine

Al

Fantastic pictures - just shows why this is a 'must do' tour.

No pictures of North 'Arris's Big 'Ill?

Al

Up until now I have been using my Road Angel sat nav with Memory Map which is basically OS maps. My use of GPS is merely to check my exact location when I become unsure of it. This has served me quite well because the Road Angel has a decent screen unlike many of the tiny ones you get on Garmin type GPS's. On road I can use the ordinary inbuilt Road Angel maps, or the Memory Maps. The great advantage with Memory Map is that on the UK OS maps you can see all the bridleways which is particularly useful for MTB off roading in an unfamiliar area. The only problem is the perenial one of battery life, but this is easily solved by restricting the 'on' time to a couple of minutes and dimming the screen. I often carry a recharger which has two AA batteries inside it.

My preference is to plan and navigate using paper maps, and occasionally checking my position with the GPS. The last thing I need is some device shouting directions at me on a tour. I always have a look at bike routes before setting out with bikeroutetoaster. I have a very good Aldi bike computer which also has a heart monitor (£12.99), it also gives lots of information including calories burned.

It may be that you want one of these fancy GPS's always on, that gives directions, or, you may want to do what I do.

A few weeks ago I got an Android Smartphone, an HTC Desire. This has a very good GPS, with Google Maps that will shout directions at you. I have also downloaded 'OS Atlas', http://www.androidzoom.com/android_appl ... _gnla.html which is a £1.99! OS mapping App which also has more detailed maps when you zoom in. This actually gives me all I wanted from the Road Angel with Memory Map and more, it will even track your route although I have never tried it as I have no use for it, and I can always locate my position precisely, either on Google Maps or on OS Atlas. It doesnt end there, because you can surf the web, it recieves and sends texts, e-mails, and phone calls (of course!), and I am utterly staggered by the inbuilt camera which has 5Mpixels and a 3x zoom and flash. You can even use it as a torch, and I have whilst staggering back fro the pub. I can read and post on this forum, look at my photo library on the web with Picasa, I have loaded Tunein Radio App which gives me internet radio (the inbuilt FM radio is poor), and the phone is as useful as an iPod. As I am a Times subscriber I can read the Times on it. I even loaded the Kindle App, so now I am reading a novel that I downloaded on it. I could drone on about the always on weather forecast for anywhere, the alarm and calendar, the instant notetaker, and if you are into Facebook or Twitter (I am not), this type of phone is built around these things. When you are in a WiFi location you can of course surf the web via that.
So, when I am next touring I will leave my iPod, camera, and GPS behind, and just take my phone. It isnt really a phone, its a powerful little computer/gps with a phone built in.

The only problem is battery life, you can't have the GPS working all the time, but just when you need it. I am waiting Dahons new charger and will get a new front wheel built with a hub dynamo to solve that.

If you are touring abroad a lot you'll have to think about the availability and cost of maps, and, if you use a phone like mine abroad you'll have to be careful about data costs

Al