Cycling UK Forum

yea I noticed he said take a set of scales with me whenever I buy something have to give that a whirl.

I think i'll buy the "toblerone" and hope for the best, It's only £30 so it's not like i'll lose much if it's not suitable and as you say can always trade in for a terra nova should the need take me.

I'm hoping to do (instead of LEJOG as previously planned) an east to west to east type ride in august. Not going to hammer it out at 180 miles a day, just plod along and camp so hopefully it'll cope - I can do this trip for the cost of train fare for LEJOG so that would be ideal IMO plus 200 miles less which is a good tester for myself and gives scope for increase

great advice thanks! I hate spending money needlessly, so not upgrading is fine by me

I didn't realise I was doing it a bit backwards, i've been thinking of finding comfortable gears to pedal slow but maintaining good pace whereas it seems I should be peddling faster? Have to give that a bash tonight and concentrate on the middle ring.

I agree, I'd rather have the small ring and not need it than need it and not have it.

In terms of a new bike, the idea for the allez was always to eventually use it as my winter bike whilst saving for a tarmac for summer rides. So not spending £400 upgrading parts suits me fine I obviously just need to train myself slightly different.

well, been looking into a LEJOG trip however the cost of train fares from norwich (where I live) to wick is near £200 I AM NOT PAYING THAT!

so thinking of a different type of trip and wondered if anyone has done the same; we all seem interested in north to south but how about east to west? I was thinking of riding to lowestoft (most easternly point) and riding to somewhere in wales (or as west as I can go) and then back again. Hopefully working to a 2 week schedule without having to head down the whole ride.

This way I can actually do the whole trip for the cost of food and camping (barring any costly malfunctions) which would more than likely be less than the train fair for a LEJOG

any advice here would be lovely

not meaning this in any way derogatory but are you sure it's no-one you know? could be saying hi on the way to work and see ya on the way home with a friendly hoot.

reason I ask as i had the same thing, started moaning about it in the office and it turned out to be a workmate playing silly B******

but then am I limiting myself come trip time LEJOG for example?

I generally sit on the big ring where I live! and just cruise along at 15mph although I am pretty new to cycling still so my use of gears/cadence probably does need some work

A double does look the route to take, with 10 speed at the back but thought i'd ask some people with a bit more experience than me

is 34/50 a suitable solution or am I better off with 39/53?

oh and i'm not too fussed about blasting down hills at 50mph i'm more concerned with average speed over longer distance. coming down a hill is fun at 30 let alone 50...it's getting up the damned thing that needs to be as smooth as possible

oh I could stand to lose 10kg off my own body so it's not so much weight on the frame that concerns me it's more where to put things and having to haul it all up a hill

lightweight seems better for what I want to do, rather than getting a touring bike and overloading myself with things I don't need. Plus I really don't want a touring bike, I like my allez and would rather spend the money on a garmin 705 and a 105 groupset than a tourer, so just exploring the possibilities.

I like the idea of the seatpost pannier rack and using bungee cords to keep it all on as this way it's easy enough to take off when i'm doing normal rides.

As to the tent, yeah I wouldn't be expecting much for £30 but if it serves the purpose i'd be annoyed and buying the terra nova for nigh on five times the price

hi all, well atm I have a 9 speed tiagra groupset on my allez with triple crank.

I'm just looking into upgrading to a full 105 set-up and really confused for ratios, during the week my bike rides norfolk roads which are pretty flat so having a faster final gear would be better which is really why i'm looking, I really could do with 10 speed rather than 9.

BUT! i'm really looking into doing some longer touring on the bike...yep an allez touring (see my other thread) so I would ideally like to be able to get her over a hill should I ever see one

basically i'm just after some suggestions on good ration setup using shimano 105. Be it triple, double or compact... any tips would be great.

oh and if anyones looking for a tiagra groupset I'll have one for sale when I get my upgrades lol

is that a 2012 allez? if so any tips on a pannier, as I thought you couldn't get one that fits so i've been looking at seatpost ones. would prefer to have two panniers and bungee the tent and sleeping bag to the top so any advice there would be fantastic.

Yeah 10kg does seem to be the benchmark and dropping lower is down to experience and how far you're prepared to lose comfort. I mean for a cheap lightweight tent there is always:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/High-Peak-Minil ... B0017HO182

which the guy in the blog above uses, now I don't presume that this is a perfect tent for the job but if the weather is too bad I can B+B and if not it would appear ideal, yes single skin is a bit of a pain with condensation etc but nothing that bad plus very lightweight

yep going to have to agree.

I used to put £1 in a pot each day I rode to work as I assumed this to be an approximate saving over driving... amazing how quick it mounted up!

Think i'll keep and eye out for an old racer and maybe turn it into a cheap single speed or something, make it at least presentable and save the pennies for some longer rides with camping

that would be ideal if I could camp anywhere in my garden it's all stones and paving slabs unfortunately but I see your point. even doing a short ride up the road and camping for the night will show cracks in gear should there be any

definately agree with you there, I think it's going to be about balance, granted my allez isn't the best touring bike but it really is a comfortable riding bike which i'd happily complete a 100 miles a day on. So it's a case of working out the weight I can live with - i've slept in single skin tents in the winter on the beach with no deaths so far so wouldn't be against doing it for 10 days and in the worst case scenario the credit card could save the day at holiday inn

i'm not sure I can do it at 8kg but i'd like to give it a good go, I'd rather do it this way and if it doesn't work out I know I need a bike better suited to heavier loads - rather than buying a touring specific bike and finding out later that I actually don't need it.

As to the others have done it point i'd have to say I'm not sure - i'll have to get some bits and do some weekend shakedowns. nothing stopping me doing 300 miles at the weekend camping somewhere and seeing how it goes.

a well i'm on a 56cm frame which I wouldn't say is really that big but worth looking at I guess although I do like the idea of this ultralight touring, I like hiking so most of the stuff can be used in both which is ideal, thinking of a seatpost pannier which can hold 15lbs, get the right gear and I should be fine then get a handlebar bag for the rest (camera etc)

stewartpratt wrote:Worth a read, might spark a few ideas:

http://ultralightcycling.blogspot.co.uk/

Probably wouldn't go as far as the bit about licking yourself instead of a shower, though.

DEFINATELY! inspiration galore there!

has me thinking about seatpost pannier with tent and small pack strapped to it, and a small handlebar bag for the rest....hmm could be fun seeing how low I can go. definately appeals to my more obsessive nature

yea probably for the best! yep it's an awfull bike rack - some "expletive removed" robbed someone's 40 odd year old racer which had a flat tyre and worn breaks so I don't like my chances on a nice bike.

I do like the idea of getting an old racer and stripping it down and giving it a fresh coat of paint and a bit of a tidy up but then i'm probably digging my own grave even with that! my own worst enemy!

hubgearfreak wrote:

Hudson1984 wrote:I really want to start cycling to work again but with our rubbish bike rack at work it really needs to be an understated work bike so thought a tourer looks a bit more subtle than my bright red road bike!

how far, how hilly, does it include rough stuff such as cobbles, towpaths etc.?

1.6 miles, no hills I live in norfolk, all roads so tarmac only.

well in my other post it seems like a trailer could be used on my bike so I can infact use that for touring which saves me having to buy a designated tour bike. Meaning I can just stick with getting my hardrock for the rough stuff and the daily ride (locking out the sus for daily riding though)