Cycling UK Forum

Yes maybe it was a very worn one .....I think the word is patina ....

Stolen from outside Tesco’s in Finchley Central today
Black 23” Evans drop bars old fashioned look Worn in fact old faithful always thought it wouldn’t be nicked in London .Only transfer is on the head .TA. Cranks ,MAFAC brakes ,Brooks saddle ,Suntour gear ,Carradice Camper Worn saddle bag .

I guess now is the peak season for bike theft ....

I have pair of XT shifters which came to me labelled as 9 speed however I think they may be 10 . One is marked M770 the other M780
Any idea what speed I have ?

Worth reading Frank Berto article Sunset for SUNTOUR which you can find on line

Superb history and analysis of why they failed mainly due to not doing enough R and D and their ATB Mountech rear gear had to be recalled which allowed Shimano to conqueror the world with Deore...
There were quality issues with the Perfect and Compe V freewheels often the result of not enough grease inside but far far better than the competitors

The National Cycle Museum has two high quality recumbents for sale.
Both are branded Merlin and are unused ,judging by the dates on some of the components built up about 15 years ago.
The red model is complete (comes with clip less Shimano pedals and there is more webbing for the seat)£500
The blue one is not complete it has a Sachs hub/derailleur combination and there are spares that come with it£350
Spares all new include tyres,rims, bearings, pedals,etc
Machines have to be collected from Llandrindod Wells

No I haven't but that would be useful if you could do that

A bit of history, in March 1919 Wayfarer (pen name of a leading Cycling journalist) with two companions from the Anfield Bicycle Club made the crossing in the Berwyns ,N Wales known as the Nant Rhyd Wilym He wriote up the adventure in 'Cycling ' entitled Over the Top(a clear reference to the Great War) and the article inspired many to seek out tracks and crossings. When the Rough Stuff Fellowship was founded in 1955 such was the importance of the article that they decided to errect a memorial stone at the apex of the crossing. Since 1957 there has always been a log book located in a metal box below the memorial where travellers could record their journey.

The purpose of this post is to ask if anyone knows the location of the old Log Books. I was told about 20 years ago they were held by someone in Wrexham DA but no one seems to have any details and the RSF have no more information.
Any information gratefully received.

Despite the onset of Tarmac at the western end its still a worthwhile crossing .I have done it several times the most memorable being in the evening in October during a full moon. As next year is the centenary members of the VCC will be making the crossing on30th March on pre WW2 bikes

Re camping unless you are in very remote area you will be picked up by the police. Plenty of cheap hotels ask for 客棧Guest House.Pay from £5 to £14 ,often family run places .I would recommend not going near Shanghai it's the most developed part of China and very crowded even by Chinese standards Navigstion on the older roads is hard for anon Chinese speaker.
I would recommend going across the south IE Hunan into Jiangxi and reach the coast in Fujian. More mountains far more out of the way rural locations eg Ancient towns,
I regularly do Cycling trip from a base in Western Hunan not far from Huaihua great riding some wonderful old towns ,rice terraces etc. Places like Hongjiang 洪江 and Chadong茶洞
Not need to carry a sleeping bag travel light you can get most things in China except good waterproofs ,cheese and shoes over size 42.
VISA you should be able o get 2 year multiple entry 90 days a trip easily for about £200

Good glad you had a good trip . It's very difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't been there the speed of development and impact on environment. After living there and many years of visiting I now limit myself to a very few places in the South , Western Hunan湘西 and nothrpren parts of Guiyang province 北黔。 there are still some amazing places but you have to do your homework and travelling there will take time. Anywhere unspoilt wil be very remote indeed.

Many people head for Zhangjiajie 张家界famous ir it's Avator scenery. I found it a very large theme park. Far better to head for a place call Laosicheng 老司城 accessed from the town of Yongshun. 永顺。ancient centre of the Tujia people's kingdom. Wonderful scenery and interesting remains .

Meant to add some of of those prefixed G roads will be dual carriageway/motorway which may not be good for cycling however you should be able to find an alternative. Also re navigation except the G prefixed roads , roads in China are not numbered on sign posts . Usually they have the place names in Chinese and the Romanisation. But would be a good idea to have each day written down the key places in want to go to in Chinese as you are very unlikely to come across anyone who can read the Romanisation.
You can easily travel light in this part of China food is everywhere and you can buy pretty much everything except waterproofs and large shoes.
You will definitely reach the places lonely planet doesn't even touch.....

I have done three trips in china all in the south west in the past year. Few points that may help:
-don't bother with camping gear you can get a cheap privately owned hotel from £5 upwards. . The Chinese have many words for hotel you want to ask for 客栈 kezhan which is us usually translated as guest house . Usually small and you live withe the owners. Never need to book in advance except maybe if arriving at a big city. Booking.com prices are far too high and they don't have particularly good places.. No need to carry sleeping bag and China is one of those wonderful countries where there is boiling water even in the cheapest hotels . Infact the only time I saw a near riot was on a train when the hot water boiler had run dry
- food is plentiful and cheap no need to carry more than emergency supplies. Noodles in the day with rice and dishes in the evening . They like their food very spicy so a useful phase is 不吃辣 I don't eat spicy food
-what makes china expensive is admission prices the only place I know where you have to pay to go into some villages you can pay up to £14 . These can be avoided locals will often help. If you stay off the bullet trains the ordinary trains are cheap infact cheaper than buses. You can take your bike on the train but will need language skills to organise. You should be able to get your bike taken by bus.

Wifi pretty much everywhere even in the cheapest hotels. Carry a knife for peeling fruit etc. you can buy pretty much everything except shoes over size 42!

-cycling first buy your maps abroad you can't get good maps in china. In the south west ie Yunnan , Guizhou and Hunan and Guangxi provinces as in the rest of China the standard is too beep your horn when overtaking . This is the major problem infact it became a bonus for me if I was passed silently. Driving standards are poor so ride defensively . On the plus side the motorways have taken much of the traffic. Cities are horrible places polluted all full of high rise but easy to ride out to the countryside which is wonderful in the south west . Signposting is poor so have written in Chinese your destination

-places to go I really rate western Hunan 湘西 ancient towns and those wonderful erhh Chinese shaped mountains. Try 洪江 Hongjiang south of Huaihua. For a really off the beaten track area try north Guizhou eg 梵净山fanjing Buddhist mountain. Southern Guizhou around Kaili凯里which is a Miao,Dong minority area is very touristry eg to get into Xijiang village will cost you over £10!
Sanjiang is just a jumping off point for Chenyang程阳the Ding villages with those covered woodbridges fantastic area for cycling. On the way south from Sanjiang are the Dragon back rice terraces will cost you £12 to get in you will see better just riding around

Yangshou which was the western backpackers hang out a few years ago has now been discovered by domestic tourists ie ruined similarly Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan best avoided. It's difficult to explain the destructive impact of mass domestic tourism unless you see it A friend describes it as Disneyification . Still there are plenty of places with a little planning that are well worth the trip.

Getting there from the UK I have used China southern to Guangzhou(Canton) .Oddly if you book a domestic flight at the same time the price of the ticket comes down . Ideal for cyclists ie you could flying from Guangzhou to say Kunming capital of Yunnan and ride back .
Later this year a new flight we start Gatwick to Chongqing ideal for heading into the south west . I plan to use this in November to go back to north west Hunan friendliest people in China , all mountains in fact famous for being a bandit hide out before liberation. Remains of an ancient civilisation the Tujia people 土家族。 can't wait

People are very helpful and should be able to fix any mechanical problem , Giant bikes are the main brand so getting mountain bikes tyres etc should be fine. I would use wide tyres , only 700c I saw were narrow racing tyres. Road surfaces are pretty good except where they are rebuilding which is quite common

Best website for info on out of the way places in SW China not yet crushed by modernisation is http://www.travelcathay.com

If you are touring in Calderdale don,t miss the superb cafe in Sowerby bridge. Sugar and spice. It's on the main street on route 66 just as you come off the Leeds/Manchester canal. Very cycle friendly and reasonable

Un wanted reservation on the above train mon 30th sept direct service to paddington

I have a set of instructions for servicing these superb hubs they are in French but illustrated . I can do a copy if anyone wants email me at griffith 531( at) hotmail.com.
I got some spare bearings a few years ago from Giles Bertround not sure if they are still on their website

They must have done a ton of miles to need servicing !!