Cycling UK Forum

I'd say if you want a commute bike and you fear it might be stolen or vandalised in an attempt, then just buy something off-the-peg that is easily replaced, and don't get too attached to it. A bike at that price point (£200-ish) will be two a penny so only opportunist amateur thieves are likely to bother, and if you use a secure looking lock they'll probably just move on to the next. A determined thief will nick anything and get through almost any portable bike lock or chain within 60 seconds anyway so no point in worrying too much about a £200 bike if you have to leave it locked up outside. Just make sure that you leave nothing on it such as cycling computer, lights, saddle bag, even pump as they will nick anything... I once left a cycling cape and some tools / innertube in my saddle bag as I went to the supermarket, I discovered somebody stole the cycling cape and left the saddle bag open - quite what anyone would do with a cycling cape is beyond me, must have been kids. The irony is that the saddle bag was worth much more than the cape.

That Hoprider looks decent enough and comfortable for a few miles commute, a decent rack bag (I like the Carradice one that attaches with velcro straps to the rack frame and has a shoulder strap) that you can quickly remove and take with you and you're sorted.

I've actually used a similar bike for long rides in the summer, did 60 miles on mine one sunny day this year so they're perfectly comfortable for good distances. I also would just use the city hybrid tyres that come with it, they will be perfectly good for commuting.

When I was looking at mountain bikes I asked the same question.

The cyclocross bike and mountain bike I bought from the same manufacturer are both Medium, however the frame measurements are completely different because of the different bike geometry. Unless you are buying from the same manufacturer (and the models are no more than a few years apart) then I'd say you really need to sit on and test-ride to find the correct size for you.

For touring I'd recommend a hybrid or cyclocross frame if you're not wanting a full touring frame, the cyclocross bike I recently purchased has a road-like frame and drop handlebars, only the thicker tyres and off-road treads slow it down slightly on tarmac (but they are excellent for muddy off-road excursions!) A hybrid will take straight handlebars well and make a very comfortable upright road tourer.

I currently use a Dakota 20 as my cycling GPS, I use it to take notes on mountain bike routes, mark forest trail gate locations, follow planned routes and the like, but the main use is to get the GPX trace which I upload to share my ride data with friends.

Recently I have been wondering about the Edge cycling computers, they look nice but would they give me anything I don't already have in the Dakota 20? The Edge 1000 and 810 seem to have far more than I would ever use, I don't have a smart phone so would not be transmitting location data or displaying ghost trainer info, although receiving live weather updates would be good I'm usually confident I know what's going to happen for the few hours I'm out on the bike. I'm just not sure if it's worth the price tag even for the Edge Touring Plus, as the more I look at it the more it just seems to be a differently packaged Dakota 20, with a few disadvantages - no simple AA battery replacement, probably no good for any purpose but cycling (Dakota can be used for hiking, boating, car GPS, even flying), and I read in some reviews that the interface is clunky.

Has anyone done a thorough side-by-side ride comparison of the Dakota 20 and Edge Touring Plus?

Currently I use a small dedicated cycling computer (no GPS, just a speed sensor) and have the Dakota along with me for the GPX recording and on-screen mapping, which can prove very useful at times to quickly know where I am in a maze of forest tracks. The cycling computer gives me the most reliable ride data, there is usually a slight discrepancy in terms of distance, perhaps due to slightly inaccurate height detection by the GPS. This discrepancy worries me that if I relied solely on a GPS then I would not be getting 100% accurate data, I would want a wheel speed sensor as well to correct the GPS inaccuracy and I don't know if the Edge Touring Plus has that facility (I know it has ANT+ but I haven't yet seen a companion wheel speed sensor for this model).

Thank you for any help or advice.

An alternative for me could be one of the Cateye GPS cycling computers, they have a wheel sensor and display basic information, no mapping function, I could still take my Dakota along with me or a paper map, even my camera which can log a GPX file and GPS data for photos taken. So many options!

Bit of an old thread, I know, but thought it worth mentioning that I have been using my Dakota 20 on my bike for a while now and it works very well. I researched mounts for the bike and settled on the RAM mount system - they make a cradle for the Dakota 10/20 and various handlebar attachments that connect to the cradle via a ball joint, makes getting that perfect viewing angle easy in any light, although the handlebar attachment I currently have keeps slipping so will be looking at getting something more secure (I have one where you have to pull a plastic loop around the handlebar, perhaps not the best design for bumpy roads, just seen a quick-release style one online so will be investigating that).

As for the Dakota 20 as a bike GPS, when put in bike mode it works very well, navigation is 90% hit (I use OpenStreetMap free maps, the roads do not always connect up for proper routing as most of the map has been auto-generated, I go online and fix things using the OpenStreetMap editor when I find them but it can take a while to trickle down to a garmin-compatible downloadable map; most roads are fine, it's only when it gets into forest roads or very minor / farm roads that it sometimes struggles) and will quickly re-calculate as you ride if you take a detour. Having the same map in the Dakota and in BaseCamp is a big help as it allows you to plan a route on the computer and know that the Dakota will be able to display it - if you have different maps then the route may come up differently or may have odd detours if there's a map error.

When asked to route to a destination the Dakota has selected some interesting cycle-friendly detours that I would not otherwise have known about, avoiding difficult hills or busy sections of road in favour of quiet side roads.

The display can be changed to show large speed readouts and other data, all based on GPS but having compared it to a wired cycling computer side-by-side it seems fairly accurate, though when signal is iffy it can't be relied upon like a dedicated computer with a wheel-mounted speed sensor.

I think in my discovery of GT85 I may have inadvertently degreased the crank bit (is that the crank set or bottom bracket? I'm lost when it comes to the jargon), I know it could be a hundred different parts on the bike that make a creaky tick tock sound but this only started after I started to use degreaser spray, and having recently taken my hybrid into a bike shop to fix a very similar noise they showed me the old crank bit and it was ropey as anything, that too only started after I'd used GT85 spray on it. Need to start applying it to a cloth rather than directly to the gears, live and learn.

So, I want to check out the crank bit, is there anything I should know before I begin? Any good guides on crank refurbing for an old classic like this?
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=80138

Just given the gears and chain a damn good clean (it needed it!), I don't expect the ticking to have gone but at least now I won't get covered in years-old grime when I come to try to locate the noise.

I'm fairly certain it's not a sticker, it's definitely a tick-tick sound so probably not the hub creaking (could be the handle-bars though). I seem to recall standing while pedaling to try to eliminate the seat post as the source but that was during a hot summer's day so my memory of back then is a bit hazy (and it was a steep hill).

I shall have to try Brucey's suggestion of applying some lubrication to one thing at a time, might just start at the crank sprockets. I suppose one of those indoor trainers might be of use in this situation, probably cost more than the bike though!

Thanks Brucey... just one question - what is the BB?

I have a Claud Butler hybrid bike which has developed an annoying 'tick tick' noise on practically every push of the crank (one 'tick' for each stroke), but not when just turning with no pressure or when free-wheeling. This leads me to believe it might be the front gear set (chainset? I don't know the proper term) that might have worked its way loose, sadly the sprockets look to be riveted together so no chance of me tightening them up so was wondering if it's worth spending £30 or so on a replacement set that I can actually tighten up when needed, and will any set do so long as it is stated as appropriate for my bog standard 7 gears at the back? I don't have any special crank tools and I begrudge paying someone £30 to turn a spanner for 10 seconds so if necessary I would buy a crank tool if tightening is all that is required

I have gone around the rest of the bike with an Allen key tightening anything I can see. Apart from the annoying noise the bike is a good solid ride so I'm not looking to replace it just yet.

I went ahead and cleaned then re-greased the wheel bearings, I mentioned in a separate thread about this and oddly found one side on the rear wheel appeared to have ten balls and the other had only eight, when I came to put them back in place (after cleaning the freewheel) I found that ten didn't fit anyway, it must have just been one that fell through the middle as I took them out. All seems to be well after putting nine in each side, they fill the space perfectly and there were no pits or scoring, just the expected stripe where they have worn against the nut.

The freewheel and chain were cleaned in paraffin and then soaked in thick diesel oil, drip-drained and (after much faffing and trying to work out the best way to do it with a very slippery chain) refitted to the bike, but not before I cleaned and re-greased the derailleur gears. The derailleur itself seemed to operate fine so I stopped short of stripping that down completely, just gave it a few dabs of Muc-Off bike oil (smells so nice!) and gave it a good wiggle.

The gears are now looking better than they have done for many years, changing up and down seems to be smooth, the freewheel nice and quiet (just the smooth click click click of the hub when it spins).



I also took the opportunity to sand down the rims so that hopefully the brake blocks (which I also need to replace) will have more surface area to grab on to, instead of the grooved surface that was full of oil and grime. I used 1200 wet and dry (in wet mode) with a sanding block, and plenty of elbow grease. Did this when the wheel had no tyre or freewheel on it, made handling a lot easier.

Next up - pedals. I'm going to clean and oil them for now, see how it goes.

Left it to drip-dry for a day, the freewheel/sprockets assembly and the chain are now sitting in a tub of diesel engine oil (thick stuff!) Will probably take them out tomorrow morning and let them drip for a few hours, then re-install. I can be cleaning the derailleur sprockets and front chain rings while they drip.

That IceToolz nut fitted perfectly, placed that in a vice with the wheel horizontal and it came straight off. I couldn't remember which way to turn it at first and did get a tiny bit of a turn in one direction, tried the other and that was the correct way, no problem at all. Threads looked good.

I now have the freewheel and sprockets assembly sitting in some paraffin, after playing with it a bit the gritty sound has gone which I take as a good sign. After it's soaked in that overnight (is that ok?) should I just fit it and oil it? Need to do a little more scrubbing while it's in the paraffin to get those deep recesses between the sprockets clean first though, I have one of those sprocket brushes for this.

I have ordered one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300959900470

It looks correct and is (it says) from a UK seller so should arrive quicker.

After reading Sheldon Brown's page a bit more, I think all my freewheel really needs is a good oiling, my application of degreaser probably just thinned out the original oil, the gritty sound should go once oiled. I will try to soak it in paraffin along with the chain, oil it and then see how it sounds.

Still going to buy a new freewheel and chain anyway so that I have a spare set, they are not expensive.

Yah, I was thinking I should just get that nut one anyway, though I don't want to put the wheel bearings in as it's currently full of old grease and degreaser as I can't get to it to clean it properly with the freewheel in the way; I will see if I can just put the quick release part in to hold the nut thing in place.

The one with the handle says it's for HG cassettes, I don't have one of those.

Freewheel turner / Chain whip is now on order. I don't think I can do any harm by taking it off and soaking it and the chain in paraffin, it will be the first time I have removed one so good experience, and the chain whip should be good for use on my other two bikes that I believe have the newer freehub and cassette system (just learned what that is today!)

I think the chain rings look fine (those are the big cogs that the pedals turn, right?), they are large alloy ones.

Thank you. It's all Greek to me, I just called it the gears at the back but I keep seeing cassette mentioned everywhere now, thought it was just some trendy new name they have for it.

I have been advised by the eBay trader regarding that freewheel that it should be fine for my hub, and probably to replace the chain as well. I can't really argue with that as it's been on the bike for at least ten years, although it has probably only done a few hundred miles in that time it has not been maintained or cleaned.