Cycling UK Forum

I also have a Genesis Equilibrium, also about 9 years old, which is equipped with Continental 4 Season 25mm tyres and the bike rides like a dream, so I would endorse what others have said and before shelling out a lot of money on a new bike, I would seriously consider trying some different tyres. Touch wood, I've had no problems with punctures to date, but that could just be a streak of good fortune, which inevitably will now run out!

Spokes in Kidderminster, perhaps?

Address is Unit 9, Fine Point Way, DY11 7FB, situated just off the Stourport Road, between Kidderminster and Stourport.

I've taken stuff up there on several occasions.

Chris - no, unfortunately I rarely use my gps, I tend to have a vague plan when I'm out riding which can be adapted to suit how I'm feeling when I'm out. As I said in my previous post though, I can send you a blow by blow account of the route as we did it - canal towpaths can be hard work in my view, because there's so much stop / start, and it's rarely possible to build up any degree of speed, so although the route was pretty flat, it was also quite slow. For info, we did it on our Thorn Ravens, which although bought for touring, are more akin to a mountain bike than a road bike, and ideal for the job.

I've actually cycled through the Netherton tunnel, a few years ago admittedly, but I was at the southern entrance (on foot) a couple of weeks ago and it's not changed! As far as I'm aware, there's absolutely no lighting in the tunnel, apart from what you have on the bike, and there are several ventilation shafts which admit the faintest amounts of light, of no assistance whatsoever! I also have a memory of the surface being heavily pot-holed, with lots of water lying about - bear in mind the tunnel is more than 200 years old and water ingress over that period of time has made its mark. I really enjoyed the experience, my wife hated it! I would thoroughly recommend working your way back to the campsite at Wolverley via the canal network, there's so much industrial archaeology to see, as well as really nice countryside, we did it last a couple of years ago (on our Bromptons).

On a slightly different tangent, Chris, the area to the west and north-west of Kidderminster is well worthy of exploration, either by bike or on foot. If you've never been up on the Long Mynd, Church Stretton, then that's well worth a day out. From Wolverley, you can also walk up on to Kinver Edge, another local beauty spot - like everywhere else in Britain, the possibilities are endless......

Chris - my wife and I did a Birmingham / Black Country circular day 'tour's last year, slightly longer than the one you're planning (71miles in total), clockwise in direction, generally avoiding the worst of what the area has on offer! We live in Kidderminster, so we know the local area well, and the Birmingham area reasonably well. We went north up the Staffs /Worcs canal as far as Bratch locks, from where there is a good disused railway line up to Wolverhampton, which joins up with the canal again eventually. Just after Wolverhampton racecourse, at Aldersley Junction, we took the mainline canal which ultimately leads into Brindley Place and on to Gas Street basin,which, if you've not been before, is worth a visit. From there, we headed south on the Birm / Worcs canal to Alvechurch marina, where we left the canal, taking the lanes to the south of Bromsgrove back to Kidderminster, avoiding the horrible and (in my view) dangerous A448.

The condition of the towpaths is generally very good and although there are reports that the local reprobates can sometimes be a problem, we've never had any experience of intimidating behaviour. My recommendation would be to take a longer but quieter route towards Birmingham, your route into the city is also quite hilly, and the more rural areas are well worth riding through. Also, I would recommend sticking to the canal tow path when you join the Staffs / Worcs canal, it's scenic, and a much better alternative to the adjacent A449.

If you have any questions about your proposed trip, then please feel free to either post here, or send a message

Simon - I also wanted to fit the same Ergon grips on my Brompton and was fortunate enough to already have a set on my Kinesis Crosslight, so I was able to experiment before purchasing a second set. Unfortunately, as DaveP states, the angle of the stem on the left side renders this nigh-on impossible without upsetting the balance of the bike when fully folded. Instead, I fitted the Ergon 1 grips, which are so much better than those spongey jobbies which were on mine when I bought it eight or so years ago. Although I'd still like to have some sort of stem to grip from time to time, the Ergon 1 grips are definitely a more than adequate compromise. A fellow Bromptoneer with whom I do multi-day tours from time to time has the sporty 'flat-bar' version, and the 2's DO seem to be okay on that type of bar.

Martyn

I bought a Marin San Rafael best part of 20 years ago, and although there will undoubtedly have been upgrades on the model since then (disc brakes, perhaps?) I can only say that if you have as much use out of it as I did, then you will not be disappointed! For about 5 years, I did an urban commute of about 3 miles each way every day, through all weathers, and when I changed jobs, I did a longer commute for a couple of years of about 14 miles each way, just a couple of times a week, and once again through all the muck and bullets that the British weather can throw at cyclists. I also did a few lengthy day rides of about 70 miles without any degree of discomfort or mechanical problems, apart from the odd p-word! The only reason I upgraded to a 'better' bike was because, if I'm honest, I wanted to be part of the 'roadie' fraternity while I still had the fitness to keep up with some 'faster' riders. So, I passed the bike on to our local bike charity, Spokes, who couldn't believe I was giving them such a decent bike.

I kitted mine out with full mudguards and a rack, and I also purchased a suspension seat-post for those bumpy canal towpaths. I would agree with the comment made in an earlier post about the chain-set, I was on my third by the time I eventually handed it in, but I had done a lot of miles so that's just 'normal' wear and tear.

For me, the ringing endorsement of the bike is the fact that many years on, I now have 2 road bikes, a cross bike, a Brompton, and a Thorn Raven with Rohloff gearing for touring, but I really would love to be able to jump back on that San Rafael, I so wish that I'd kept hold of it!

For info, my wife and I and a friend intend to do the Outer Hebrides by Brompton in early June next year. Unfortunately, our friend is not over enamoured with lengthy ferry crossings, so we investigated the possibility of flying from Glasgow to Barra, with the Bromptons as 'luggage'. I spoke with the operator, Loganair, who advised me that no bikes, folding or otherwise, would be permitted on this route, because of the limited capacity of the hold of the aircraft operating on this route.

Ferry it is then........

Earlier this year I decided to replace the original grips on our 2 Bromptons with some sturdier Ergon grips - the 'two minute job' evolved into a (for me!) mammoth task, because it would appear that they were actually glued on to the bars, and ultimately had to be cut off. Not a problem in itself, but the residue left on the bars from the glue took an absolute age to remove, despite the use of various solvents recommended by work colleagues who are for more clued up about this sort of thing than I am..... If you do ride your Brompton on a regular basis, I would definitely recommend changing the grips for something sturdier and more comfortable than the cheap and cheerful spongy jobbies which come out of the factory.

Keep on Bromptoneering!

Best regards
Martyn

A couple of years ago we based ourselves in the northern part of Luxembourg in a town adjacent to the Belgian border by the name of Clervaux, with a view to touring round 'Battle of the Bulge' country on our Bromptons. The idea was take the train from Clervaux up to Liege in Belgium, then over to Aachen, and cycle back to Clervaux down the Vennbahn cycle way. As it panned out, we actually started from a place in Belgium called Eupen, then cycled to the Vennbahn to join it just east of the border at Raeren. The route then headed south, snaking in and out of Belgium and Germany, before reaching Troisvierges in Luxembourg. We took great care to be absolutely minimalist with luggage (basically one dry bag each, fastened to our carriers with bungees), and more importantly, we made sure that we didn't overstretch ourselves mileage-wise. As it happened, we only spent one night out on the bikes, and we probably did a total of about 130 kms in those two days. For the remaining time available, we cycled locally around Clervaux on day trips, sometimes using the trains to 'kill' the stem mileage. It's an extremely hilly area, but our six-speeders coped fine with all the hills.

So, in a nutshell, the Belgium we've cycled in was very enjoyable (I appreciate it's not Brussels or Gent, but eastern Belgium is an equally viable alternative!), I'm not convinced that Bromptons are the easiest option for cycle touring, but they are good fun and always prompt interest from our European cycling brethren, almost a two-wheeled confirmation of British eccentricity! As I said earlier, I think it's very important to be aware of your own limitations, within the context of the further limitations imposed by a loaded small-wheeled folder. To give you an idea of our fitness levels, we did the Way of the Roses east to west (ie against the wind) on fully loaded Bromptons a couple of years ago in four and a half days, neither myself nor my wife managed the climb on the alternative route out of Pately Bridge, but that was the only time we had to get off and push!

If you have questions either about our experiences with Brompton touring or perhaps about the Vennbahn and Luxembourg, just post them on here and I'll try to assist

I had my Opinel confiscated by a particularly unpleasant individual at Plymouth a few years ago, on my way out to Roscoff - a complete jobsworth ,bully and moron, all rolled into one. The guy did his best to provoke a reaction from me, almost goading me into doing something which would have led to missing the ferry. Fortunately, I succeeded in annoying him even more, by not reacting to his puerile mentality, keeping a very cool head and refraining from using a sarcastic or condescending tone towards him, although beneath the surface I was absolutely fuming. All this because I was stupid enough to acknowledge, when asked, that I did have an Opinel knife in the boot of the car! I should point out that this person was not an employee of the Border Agency, or the Port Authorities, but employed by one of our more prominent security firms, which probably says it all.....!!

We did the Way of the Roses east to west on our Bromptons earlier this year, which unfortunately are not (yet) equipped with clipless pedals so we bought a pair of the VauDe gaiters recommended by Nick - we had to use them on several occasions, and on one particular occasion in the Dales the rain was absolutely torrential - they were well up to the task, though, and during the course of the trip, we never once had wet feet, nor was our footwear ever wet. I would also endorse the Sealskinz socks, which I use in combination with DHB overshoes on my road-bikes, all of which are equipped with SPD pedals. I guess the ideal situation is a combination of both, if finances can stretch that far......

My wife and I did the Way of the Roses earlier this year (May), with a slightly different slant from the norm: we did it east to west, on Bromptons! This was our first cycling tour, although we have backpacked extensively around Europe and different parts of the World, and our principle was basically the same - if you think you MIGHT need it, don't take it! My main advice would be 'Don't travel east to west' because the prevailing wind can be quite strong at times - the reason we travelled east to west was because it suited us from the point of view of reaching the starting / finishing point by train, and we also fancied a couple of days at the start on the 'flat'(?) before hitting the hills of the Yorkshire Moors and the Dales. We took five days over the route, principally because a fully-loaded Brompton, even with six gears, can be damned hard work over that terrain, and we also went off route (deliberately) a couple of times, which increased the mileage. I'd love to do it again, as a sporting challenge, on my road-bike, without luggage and without the wind in my face, two days maximum! Did we enjoy it? Let's just say that a few weeks later we did a similar thing around Luxembourg and Belgium, also on the Bromptons,taking in the Vennbahn route (check it out on t'interweb!)............

I could bore you at length with the detail of our trip(s), but if there is anything specific you have a question about, I'll always post a reply, assuming that it falls within the boundaries of our experiences..... hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

thirdcrank wrote:In spite of owning a large part of the European Goretex mountain, the recommendations for Paramo interest me, but I've been unable to find out much about it. From reading the company's publicity I presume it's made up of some sort of inner wicking layer or layers, with an out fabric layer which depends on Nikwax for its impermeability. (ie no membrane to penetrate.)

Can anybody confirm this or put me right? One post suggested it was heavy. Is this so?

I'm not really au fait with the technical side of the product, Thirdcrank, but I would say that it tends to be slightly (not significantly) heavier and less compact than some other products on the market - somewhere down the line, there is always a trade-off, and with Paramo, warmth and comfort come at the cost of a bit of extra weight. From the cycling perspective, I appreciate that weight can be crucial to some people and if that's a major issue for you, then I would suggest there are lighter, more suitable options available. I'm quite happy to pootle along at 15/16 mph so the weight of my Velez smock is of no consequence to me - as long as I'm warm!

Having unwittingly initiated the durability / waterproofing discussion in my earlier post about the Paramo gear, I feel duty-bound to clarify and to a certain extent justify those comments. When I said I waterfproofed my garments perhaps a couple of times a year, this was a flippant comment not to be taken too literally - there might well have been occasions when I went 12 months without proofing, and conversely I'm sure that there have been other instances where there has been an interval of just two or three months between proofing, but it all probably averages out at 'perhaps a couple of times a year'. I can assure everyone out there that I am anything but obsessive!

The main point I omitted from my original post is that like the mountain rescue boys & girls, I very often use my Paramo gear in extreme conditions and I need to be confident that it is up to the task in hand. Earlier this year, for example, I was caught out in a snow storm at 8000 feet in the Austrian Alps and my Velez smock did exactly what it says on the tin, keeping me warm and dry until the storm passed through. Cycling is just one of many activities in which I participate where I would use my Paramo gear - backpacking, climbing, orienteering, mountain walking all put the gear through its paces and it's not let me down as yet - that's why I continue to sing its praises and heartily recommend it, despite the rather obvious downsides of the initial cost and its tendency to weigh a touch more than some other brands. I am also a firm believer that quality gear should be well maintained, which is why when I come off a back-packing trip I'll chuck my mountaineering coat in the washer for a quick rub-through - to me, this isn't obsessive, it's just common sense and just one step towards ensuring that your kit doesn't let you down. Similarly, when I go out on any of my bikes in the winter, I'll clean them up afterwards - nothing major, just a quick rinse off, but the principal in my world is just the same - look after your gear and it will look after you.

What I did not intend my original comments to imply is that there is nothing else on the market that does the same job as Paramo - clearly, until I've tried everything else in the marketplace I'm not in a position to pass judgement on that assumption. What I am saying is that it works for me and could well work for you - but then, so could Rohan, Helly Hansen, Berghaus, Montane, Sprayway etc. etc all of which have been and still are used by my fellow outdoor enthusiasts to good effect.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Yet another vote for Paramo. Like Neilo, I am fortunate enough to own 3 Paramo garments - a mountaineering jacket (as used by the mountain / cave rescue boys & girls), a Velez smock and a recently purchased Quito jacket. For all round use, the Velez wins hands down, in as much as it's as good on the bike as it is for walking, backpacking, lightweight mountaineering et al - if I could only keep one, the Velez would get my vote for its versatility. The Quito is great for cycling when the weather is just that bit warmer and I guess it would be ideal for touring, being considerably lighter than the Velez. Paramo garments also dry very quickly, which has not been my experience with Goretex

The major downside of Paramo gear is the cost, although I would argue that this disadvantage is offset by its durability - I've had my mountaineering jacket for about ten years and it still performs as well as it did when new - I reproof it perhaps a couple of times a year (as indeed I do the Velez) and not only does it still perform well, it still looks good ! There are some good bargains to be had on the 'Paramo Seconds' website and there's a healthy second-hand market on the usual websites.

If you are prepared to pay for quality, I would suggest that you give it a try......