Cycling UK Forum

No. A new Brooks saddle should not look like that. If the retailer didn't tell you it's got a defect and you paid the normal retail price, I'd send it back for a refund and buy another one elsewhere.

I once went to buy a new Brooks saddle at Spa, and the chappie there showed me a honey B17 that had a very slight mark on the side. It was purely cosmetic but because of the slight defect, the price was significantly reduced. I don't remember by exactly how much, but it seemed a bargain. I bought it and still have it on one of my bikes.

Anyone done this route?

Good plan. I once stayed at this great hostel (called a "gîte d'étape" in French) near La Grave when the Tour was coming through. There were places available then. It is within striking distance of Galibier.
http://www.la-breche.org/
Send them an email asking if they have room for you. The food there is also very good value for money, so you might want to book half board (37 euros all in). If your French isn't up to scratch, here's a model:

Bonjour,
Je voudrais réserver une place avec demi-pension pour une personne pour le (put your date here; if more than one night, "du" X "au" Z). Merci de confirmer.
Cordialement,
(your name)

There's also a good campsite near La Grave.

Hah, PH, we're on the same track. I'd also agree about the distance/days. Personally, I'd aim to spend more time in the Outer Hebrides and less time on Skye. Speaking of Skye, there's a good official campsite (with small shop) at the end of Glen Brittle, which is especially handy if you're also interested in the Cuillins... but miles away from anywhere else.

Just a couple of random thoughts:

- It can be a bit breezy on the Atlantic side of the islands, so if you're set on wild camping on the beaches, you might want to leave a little leeway for getting over to the more sheltered eastern side.
- hope you're planning to spend more than 2 days on the outer hebrides and go further north than Tarbert before catching the ferry to Uig on Skye.
- Do you know about the Gaitliff Trust hostels? You can camp near them for a nominal fee and take advantage of the facilities. they are also in stunning locations. Beware though that the one at Garenin is closed.
http://www.gatliff.org.uk/

hope that helps.

Another vote for JD Cycles in Ilkley and Cycle Heaven in York.
Both good friendly shops.

Only ordered from them twice, so maybe not representative, but second time (two weeks ago) order never arrived. Managed to reach them by phone after a couple of tries, and they sound like they have a well-rehearsed line about unreceived orders. Hmmm. Waiting now for the "replacement"....
Doubt I will use them again.

Thanks for the replies/info. Very interesting.
I have an irrational distrust of the Powerlink and have been running a 9sp chain without it, but maybe I've been fooling myself thinking it's less likely to break.
It would be even more interesting to hear some anecdotal tales about 9sp chains without Powerlinks that have broken.

If you join a 9sp Sram chain the old-fashioned way using a chain tool to press the pin into the connecting link instead of using a Sram Powerlink, does this compromise the strength of the chain?

Assuming it's 1", Tange threaded:

http://www.cyclebasket.com/products.php ... p540&rs=gb

Know nothing about the shop, but the Tange is an inexpensive copy of the old Record h/s.

Otherwise, a new threaded Record, which apart from the lettering looks pretty much like the original:

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... AMPHSTR500

Well Colin, I think this thread might have turned out better if you had told us you build wheels for Spa. Thanks for letting us know.

Paulson wrote:Before this post degenerates into a very unpleasant slanging match, and given that I am the one who started the post in the first place, could I please ask that this kind of highly personal accusation is avoided?

I asked for advice about wheels and received an awful lot of information which I found very useful. People are bound to have differing opinions, but the purpose of this post is simply to share advice. The choice of supplier was certainly not influenced by anything anybody has posted - I am intelligent enough to make my mind up based on other background information freely available.

I feel genuinely sad to see posts like the one above being made - we're talking about wheels for goodness sake.

Let's have an end to it.

Paulson, my sincere apologies, honestly, but there could be a slight issue here. However, I really do not wish to offend anyone, and am happy to leave it at that.

Wouldn’t it be funny if Colin at Spa was actually 531Colin. It would sort of put a different light on this thread. It would, for example, explain why he objected so strongly to my recommending using the LBS. Cyclists in that part of Yorkshire are spoilt for choice when it comes to good ones. Ellis Briggs, Woodrup, Bob Jackson, JD... It would also explain his pronounced anti-racing stance.

It must be just a coincidence. There must be at least a couple of wheelbuilders in North Yorkshire named Colin. Surely the CTC forum would not allow anyone with such an obvious direct commercial interest to post on this forum anonymously. Perhaps such a practice is not expressly forbidden by the forum’s rules, but it would still be questionable. On other forums with stricter ethics, it would get you banned.

One assumes one will be suitably attired for said expedition and in possession of the prerequisite accoutrements. You will be taking your plus fours?

If you're going via Lake Léman and the Rhone valley, there are no cols to cross all the way to Arolla. But the last few kms after Les Haudères is a slog.
If you're going via Chamonix, the Montets and Forclaz passes aren't particularly high, steep, or long for the Alps. I've done them with 42 x 23 a few times, but on a racing bike. There's a good cafe at the Forclaz pass to catch your breath.
If you're doing it the scenic way, via both the Petit and the Grand Saint Bernard passes, good luck! Seriously tough passes. Only done the GSB once with 30 x 26. The Italian side of the GSB pass sometimes also has stretches of very rough roadworks.