Cycling UK Forum

My nephew lives in Vietnam and got into cycling after doing a Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City charity ride (about 1,200 miles). From what I saw of the photos and videos, the riders had locally sourced 'average' road bikes but the interesting thing was that although bikes looked 'modern' in most respects - frame geometry, threadless headsets etc., there was a marked absence of 'brifters' (I think I only spotted one bike with them) - almost all bikes had down-tube shifters - so, with spares and repairs in mind, it might be an idea to keep away from brifters. The roads varied from mostly good tarmac to the occasional stretch of pot-holed with loose hardcore but the riders seemed to manage without much incident - I got the impression that other road users were far more threatening than the state of the roads. They had a support van with mechanics

Here's a link to a blog of the 'project' - some photos there that might be of interest.

P.S. Re. the bike, I can't really recommend one but I would have thought any decent 'tourer' up to the job with the usual caveats about repairability etc. I have a Jamis Aurora; haven't used it for anything other than day rides, commuting (with panniers) and shopping but I reckon I would feel as confident with it as with any other bike.

al_yrpal wrote:Cycle.travel (in chrome browser)
EsvFile Explorer App
OSMand App

I use cycle.travel which calculates its routes from the density of traffic. It gives you the routes with the least motorised traffic and makes some use of decent bridleways etc. If you set it to export the route to a gpx file and then open that file with ES File Explorer it will open a route in Osmand, and that gives you excellent voice guided navigation instructions and an on screen display. Its far superior to Garmin, I sold mine after trying this combination.

All on my android phone and although it sounds complicated its not and it all takes just a couple of minutes to sort out an excellent route. I use it a lot.

Al

This sounds interesting - I'm going to give this a closer look - thanks

Try this page: http://www.cyclestreets.net/

There is also an Android bicycle satnav app - Bikeroute that uses the above site to calculate routes - and you can download all the maps to your phone - so as long as you plan the route whilst you have a data connection, you only need a gps 'lock' to navigate.

My battery pack (that came with the light) holds 18650 cells that are removed and then charged in a separate charger - that's the method I'd recommend if you need to replace your existing battery pack. There are a few waterproof 18650 battery holders (with the standard cycle lamp connectors that most of the Chinese lamps seem to use) on Ebay/amazon etc. Then invest in decent 18650 cells and a smart charger. If you ever decide to this, you will be equipped for other lamps including hand-torches etc. that run on 18650 batteries. For information, 18650 denotes 18mm by 65mm with circular cross section. Torch/flashlight websites (like candlepower forum) are a good place to look for information on cells and chargers.

Addendum: The above recommendation is on the presumption that it is 18650 batteries that you require

I'm now too decrepit to bend down to work on the bike for any serious length of time, (or to lift the back end with my shoulder under the cross-bar or saddle whilst steadying the handlebars with my right hand and spinning the pedals with my left hand when adjusting the gears ) without causing myself a few days of lower back pain. I bought myself one of the Aldi £30 jobs and imho it is a wonderful piece of kit. The clamp has a cable groove so that when used on the top tube, you can still operate the rear brake if you have bare cable routed that way. Folds up and leans in the corner of the outhouse.

1st time for me too

LollyKat wrote:

pete75 wrote:As some one who has worked in IT for a long time and uses Linux on a daily basis I find the suggestions to move to Linux from Windows a bit silly. Windows and Mac OS are designed to be easy for users - GUI, pretty pictures and mouse etc. Linux is a command line operating system little different to Unix and something a non technical user will have problems with - like using dos from windows.

It doesn't have to be like that - there are lots of pretty GUI flavours of Linux. I used Mepis for a long time and recently moved over to a variant of it, MX-14, which runs extremely well on my 8-year-old hardware and is straightforward to use. I don't need to use the command line at all though I do occasionally for fun (I remember the days of DOS). It can be downloaded as a 'live' CD which contains the OS plus a lot of software, so that you can try it out running from the CD, without committing yourself to installing it. It also has a very good user forum for tips and advice.

I am still dual-booting with XP as there are a couple of programs on it that I still use, such as Photoshop, but one of these days I will learn to use GIMP and abandon Windows altogether.

Going off-topic a bit, but to think of Linux as like command-line Unix or DOS and only for the techies is a bit wide of the mark nowadays.
I have switched a couple of relatively computer illiterate people over from Windows to Linux (usually Ubuntu using the 'Cairo dock') and the transition has been, imho, no less arduous than from one flavour of Windows to another. One friend, who experienced one too many issues with malware, is chuffed to bits now that his laptop copes with all that he throws at it and that he can go to the 'Software Centre' (like an app store) and browse & install software at choice without payment - without loads of eulas, licence and payment variations. He also doesn't have to stress out over anti-virus software updates. I wouldn't suggest that a switch to Linux is suitable for all Windows users, but it is more suitable for some than one might think - especially those that are not computer literate, not 'dependent' on particular propriety software and never really got moving with Windows

mercalia wrote:

Erudin wrote:I installed Windows 7 on my old XP PC recently and it runs fine, got it from http://itrevive.co.uk/windows-licences.html.

hmm that looks too good to be true. the coa key activated ok with microsoft?

the difference in price for 32 and 64 bit is not valid as the coa key will work with either

The website says:

"The C.O.A label is unused, It may show slight signs of wear"
"Retail packaging is NOT included"

Sounds like a returned OEM

Price of OEM Home edition (32bit) with media on Amazon = £35

Price of (what appears to be) OEM Home edition (32bit) with media on above link = £44.99

Price of non OEM Win7 as above on Amazon = £69 - on the linked site - ???

I have an old Garmin etrex (can't remember what version -looks like a bright yellow old mobile phone - no maps, no colour screen- just old fashioned lcd) that I use with Linux (Ubuntu) - gebabbel and viking together with google earth are what I use. The etrex only has a serial connector, so I needed to tinker a bit to get the pc to recognise the Garmin on a serial to USB converter cable.

I thought I'd share my efforts with a different headlamp. I have a Fenix lamp (with Cree XM-L T6 LED) that has an irregular shaped case that tapers down towards the front and so made most methods of affixing an anti-dazzle 'visor' difficult. As the front part of the casing is made out of a solid lump of aluminium and where it overhangs in front of the lens is quite thick, I decided to drill and tap a hole to screw a visor to.

I used a piece of tin cut from a coffee tin to form the visor. You can't really tell in the photos but it is asymmetrical - it is 1 cm wider on the offside, the idea being that it will cut a bit more dazzle down as other road users approach from the opposite direction. I mount my light at the fork bridge and so it is quite low and also has cables crossing either side of it. Because of the cables, I used some rubber strip to cover the relatively sharp edges and finished it off with duct tape to hold the rubber strips on. I gave the underneath of the tin visor a quick rub-down with duraglit to give it a bit extra shine - the reflective surface throws an astounding amount of light back down to the ground and gives a very useful beam pattern. Here are the pictures:

Years ago, I used to ride on the ramps, the flats and the hoods much more than on the drops. I tended to position the bars so that the ramps were near-horizontal rather than the drops. After buying a new bike and getting back in to cycling after a long absence, I find that I'm often trying to squeeze my hands on to the ramps of my compact bars but can't because they are too short (the ramps not my hands ). I'm thinking that I am going to have to experiment a bit with position of bars and my position on the bars. If I'm still not happy - maybe one day I'll get round to looking for a different handlebar.

Not really multiple use, more different facets of one use, but I always took a large plastic mixing/salad bowl - it would just slide into one of my Karrimor paniers and could be filled with other stuff for transit. Off the bike it was used for food washing/preparation, washing-up, clothes washing and body washing/shaving. Could also be used inverted as a rain cover for odds and sods.

I concur with the original post. As far as 'grumpy old man' goes, if there are some modern things that you welcome and embrace - then you can't just be a grumpy old man. It's the experience that comes with age that affords opinions that those (without the insight afforded by such experience) see as moaning (that's my defence) .

I've had no experience of racing wheels and have no desire to buy a racing bike but when perusing the plethora of sales emails that I receive from several of the well-known bike retailers, you'd think that the only bikes available are race machines and the occassional exotic off-road affair. Most racing bike owners that I know do not race. But then I suspect that most Range Rover owners do not 'off-road' much beyond parking on the pavement, or that most sports car owners never get the [legal] opportunity to drive their car in the manner it was designed to perform. It doesn't make those vehicles unsuitable for commuting (for example) but maybe not 'optimised'. Maybe some people buy the bikes with the same rationale that they would like to buy cars (but can't afford to). Unlike sports cars (compared with, for argument's sake, a saloon car), the same rider will not get massively different performance out of a racing bike than out of a touring bike - the single most important component - the rider - remains the same.

To that end, my personal opinion is that a considerable number people spend excessive money on machines that are not optimised to their riding styles/conditions for an inconsiderable 'performance gain' (and that this is not only encouraged by the industry and marketeers but 'bought into' by many consumers) and therefore could be termed as irrational behaviour if not madness

I do find it amusing that some folk spend a considerable sum on carbon fibre components etc. to reduce the weight of their machine by a few grammes or make the machine a little more aerodynamic and then take a 'spare tyre' everywhere they go (especially if they are no faster than me - and I'm slow and not in a hurry).

I never knew that Buffalo did cycling-specific clothing - another thank you for the links

Psamathe wrote:(As a beginner) one aspect I've discovered is that the traditional lycra shorts were fine (not really "me" but they worked). Then when I took to having stops e.g. pop into a supermarket, they became a nuisance as, whilst I did have a pannier, without pockets, I was tucking my cycle computer into the shorts and "fishing" for it later, attaching my lock keys to my helmet strap, etc. Then I got some MTB shorts (actually ones with replaceable padded liners) and the pockets made a big difference. Padding (in the ones I got) was just as good but the pockets are really useful - not whilst cycling but whilst making stops.

Ian

When I'm lacking pockets and not using my handlebar bag, I use a small bumbag - big enough for my phone, keys wallet etc.

As far as clothing goes, I wear Endura trousers when going 'urban' but prefer something more traditional for longer out-of-town rides - my 'longs' are very similar to the 'York Tights found on this linked page. I have an Altura Night Vision (at least I think that is the 'model') jacket which has been good up to now. Having only recently gotten back into cycling, I can't comment on the long-term durability of these items but they all appear well-made with good materials. My longs have been going for about twenty years but they did take a fifteen year rest

Edit: - almost forgot to say - I find that Aldi shorts work very well and I wear them under my longs too.