Cycling UK Forum

andrewjoseph wrote:Hudson,

the other thing I'd recommend, is going for a short trial before you do more serious rides, go out about 60km or a days ride, stop overnight then come back. That will help you see what you need to change, if anything.

I'd forgotten about the axle mounted racks, even though that was what I bought for the boardman! The also need p clips to mount to the seatstay.

I must reiterate though, that I had a problem with heel clearance on my boardman with this setup, even with small panniers.

I'm of the 'be prepared for anything' school of thought, so I take spares with us, spare folding tyre, spare spokes, brake pads, inner tubes, and tools that fit all the fixings on our bikes. i also take a few co2 cartridges and a lezayne folding track pump.

The spare tyre came into it's own on our recent end to end, a puncture in a downpour, I just whipped the tyre and tube off, put on new tyre and tube, co2 cartridge and off to go in 10 mins. Which reminds me, still haven't sorted the old tyre and tube out yet!

andrewjoseph wrote:

Hudson1984 wrote:...
As to food, cooking equipment etc. I was hoping to only take cold food with me and stop for most meals which should keep the weight down.

Stopping for most meals may mean a longer day in the saddle, and depending on where your campsite is, a long ride to cafe/pub for a meal in the evening, and then back to the campsite. I like a cup of hot coffee and porridge in the morning when touring. i don't fancy the idea of looking for somewhere to stop for breakfast as soon as I've decamped and set off. We use a small trangia set, mugs with built in filter and buy ingredients for our main meal for after we've set up camp. doesn't weigh much but does mean more time cleaning up.

... just a case of finding a guide to fit a rack without the suitable holes or space!

Not sure what you mean by this, are you saying your bike frame doesn't have the eyelets needed? You may be able to get P clips to mount a rack but when I did this on my boardman, I didn't have the heel clearance for the panniers. It was just unridable with panniers fitted. Needed to get new bikes in the end.

I'm not trying to put you off or rubbish your plans, just trying to make sure you've thought about all the variables. This is only our 3rd year of cycle camping and I'm still learning.

PeterJ wrote:I think that you could do Norwich to Wick for £57.05 as a passenger (not sure if there's any charge for a bike) if you book in advance. If you buy separate tickets:

Norwich - Peterborough £4
Peterborough - Inverness £58.15
Inverness - Wick £14.90

http://www.eastcoast.co.uk/ has a good ticket purchase system that lets you play around with options and shows you the price implications of each.

martin113 wrote:I go camping touring on a Specialzed Allez. Mine fits a rear rack but I bought it in 2008 so maybe they have done away with the eyelets now, but as some one pointed out there are other ways to fit a rear rack. I use two Carradice Super C panniers on the rear and you need to proof them with wax to keep the rain out, but they are brilliant if you do that. I use two Super C front panniers using the Carradice limpet system, where you don't need to fit a front rack. I'm not sure they do them any more but you could search, there might be some in stock somewhere, perhaps St John St Cycles. I use 25mm tyres. I did change the gearing slightly to get a bit lower gears (changed the inner chainring and got a cassette with a larger top sprocket) and I also bought new wheels, handbuilt from Spa for the extra weight carrying capacity. However, I would have had to get the new wheels anyway even if I wasn't going to tour, as the others were shot but I bet the bike would have done the tour perfectly well on the old wheels when they were new. Total weight I carry in front and rear panniers, with tent, sleeping stuff, spare clothes etc., enough cooking equipment to cook a full meal and some food for a day or two was 14kg. I'm 70kg. The bike handled well. In fact it handles better with all four bags on than when only using rear panniers. I carry a chunky Topeak Morph mountain bike pump so I can maintain the tyres at 110psi. On my recent tour I did some quite rough tracks, needed to go slowly of course, but the bike took it well and so did my backside and shoulders. I'm very happy with it and will be doing a lot more! For the price it has been an amazing bike. A nice lively ride like a good lightweight road bike without the bags, but versatile enough to be a tourer as well. Go for it.