Cycling UK Forum

I would echo Tangled Metal and Kugel.

I live in the North Lakes and, daily, drive on popular cycle routes.

Knowing the roads and typical speeds of oncoming traffic, I often see cyclists getting a bit twitchy but, without close-passing, simply cannot guarantee the safety of all parties. Similarly, if I paid heed to cyclists waving me on, I would have had multiple head-on collisions by now (actually, I probably wouldn't be driving but you know what I mean).

As a cyclist, my advice is to remind yourself that if someone is taking their time to overtake either they are happy with it, in which case you don't need to be concerned; or as the slow moving vehicle, it is our responsibility to stop hold-ups and get out of the way at a suitable juncture (annoying when you're making progress, but never the end of the world and much better than getting stressed).

Finally (!) I have often observed that when cars ahead are close-passing (usually commuter traffic), if I take my time and exaggerate the gap most cars behind will recognise there's nothing to be gained with a fast and close pass and will follow suit. So I honestly wouldn't get too concerned about the impact of over-cautious drivers.

My brother and I each use diadora SPD's to accommodate our barge feet. Mine were from wiggle/CRC and, though I don't think the specific model (Vortex 2) is still available, the styling on the newer ones is so similar that I'd be surprised if the last has changed.

Wiggle also set some store by their customer service so, if you were concerned about returns, may be a good choice of vendor.

Enlightened! I enjoyed that. I also enjoyed the tandem photo on the bridge at Abingdon - proper cycling that is!

Ah cross-posted with Vorpal there.

Kohnstamm is a new concept to me - that'll be a fruitful avenue for tonights mindless procrastination!

Oh yes, when you feel spring-limbed and have that slight sensation of having come back from a long sea-voyage.

I'm sure the Germans must have an outrageously unwieldy yet satisfyingly precise term for it.

Yesterday I took my first solo ride out in six months, having been schlepping up and down the local countryside with a trailer and child exclusively.

Apart from the fact that I no longer know how to handle an unweighted bike, it was utterly amazing. I would liken it to having a third lung and maybe an extra half a leg on each side. Maybe a higher-volume ribcage with extra room for the heart to rattle around in.

Having no one else around at work today, I thought I'd inflict my incautious enthusiasm on the denizens of this forum instead. I've felt a similar effect after short tours before and, so, would assume the people of this parish have, in the past, slapped gravity in the face once freed and generally know the feeling.

My question, though, is what on Earth to call this. I've been playing with some portmanteau constructions and they're all rubbish. So, please, whip out that thesaurus or make some use of that English degree (finally!) and help me find the word I need.

Just in case this ever turns up in a search, we have had a trial ride one year on (some of my expectations around cycling with/after a baby were ... optimistic ... and so we made our dutch trip on singles instead).

We had a bimble out at the weekend, one year old in a trailer, and I can report the tandem rides quite nicely. Very smooth rolling and relaxed, the steering felt a bit twitchy up front but that could just be that a couple of days gardening tensing me up and killing my flexibility. (Or the trailer increasing the already long wheel base and pulling the tandem back onto the centre line, causing me to overcompensate - I was definitely more aware of the trailer angle relative to the bike than when on my roadbike).

I don't know that the fit is quite right for me - the reach felt longer than I'd anticipated from the description and standover height. Otherwise it's quite a comfortable ride and ratcheted up a big long hill in the granny without any fuss. Seems a solid and pleasant bike overall (notwithstanding the mudguards which I'm sure would shake apart).

I note Brucie's comments above about potentially flimsy chainsets. I don't think this is the machine to put that kind of power onto - the whole feel is incredibly cruisey. Admittedly, that may change with experience, but I wouldn't let it put me off.

Handles nicely downhill, though we kept speeds down for my partner's sake. V brakes did the job without fuss (though I need to balance the front one - it's a wee bit juddery) and felt a lot more positive than the long arm callipers I'm used to.

Just need to ride it some more - hopefully the summer will last!

I would echo what everyone else is saying about the space given to trailers - we get passed much more considerately with ours. I've also noticed that when oncoming drivers see us labouring up a hill with the trailer we get a lot of big beaming smiles: bringing a child along seems to humanise the whole interaction, it's really nice.*

I have a Burley D'lite because we got a bit of a windfall and wanted to increase our range, but when we were checking it all out to begin I got a very cheap second hand Avenir from facebook marketplace (which I still need to palm off on someone if I ever get around to taking some photos...). The Burley is a definite step up and is more suited to our needs, but the cheaper trailer is absolutely fine for shorter journeys and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one for the kind of usage you envisage, just grab a flag from amazon as well and you're off! Any of the Halfords or Aldi ones that litter the likes of eBay are also fine, I used to drag my wee brothers along in an older Halfords job and never had anything to complain about.

The Merino jerseys are heavily discounted leftovers from the Autumn promotion. I have two and rate them, the lining is like a helley Hansen baselayer and shifts sweat off your body and into the Merino blend outer dead rapid. I only wash one when I can no longer remember how long I've been using it.

Quite a relaxed cut, good for lower intensity run outs and cooler months with layers.

Just to add to the mesh & merino fan club, I'll add that I came to the same configuration from another route.

I am, substantially, of the 'runs hot' variety (to a 'freakish' extent, in the opinion of one experienced observer). However, this means if there's any real exertion (i.e. beyond skiing, which is mostly waiting to get to the bottom in artful manner) I sweat a bucket and chill badly as soon as I stop or slow. I settled on some decathlon polypropylene baselayers (which were substantially cheaper than Brynje at the time) under a very lightweight merino jersey. This serves me excellently in a very wide range of conditions and, I think brings the best out of each material.

Because the merino is there for the sweat to dump into, I think the mesh layer takes much longer to get that distinctive synthetic baselayer fug. Because the merino isn't pressed against your skin, it seems able to more efficiently lose more sweat as vapour and, so, does all the wonder things promised of merino. I've managed to get five days use out of a mesh-layer at moderate intensity (with a daily bath!).

This tack makes it possible to go winter Munro-ing where, otherwise, my temperature drops too hard after the first peak. Works well for skiing and cycling too and, shamefully, has led me toward wearing old cotton string vests around the house. I, and other converts, have found the cheap mesh layers from Decathlon and Aldi (available in last summer's cycle event) to be very adequate, even without exciting odour elimination stuff.

Hi Ronan, unfortunately I can only offer a very qualified opinion as, due to a combination of badly timed events and (minor) family illnesses I haven't done more than take it out the box and put it together.

There's nothing that gives me any particular concern, it's much what I anticipated. Though I would note that the construction of the fork is somewhat agricultural and some of the finishing is a bit scruffy. The mudguards, in particular, are a shameful waste of natural resources, though I may use them to bodge an older pair of chromoplastics I had on a commuter back into usability. Likewise, comments made upthread on the wheels are probably fair and the out-of box spoke tension is...interesting.

I've had a very brief run around the back (single rider) and while there's nothing that gives me cause for concern or regret, I don't think it really leaves me any wiser!

My personal business case when I went for this was that getting an older tandem and nursing it back to health was probably going to add 2-300 pounds parts and transit onto the asking price as well as running up against foreseeable free time limitations in which to do it (a more accurate assumption than anticipated given I haven't been on the thing!). On this basis, it fits the brief and I'm happy enough. If you're able to commit the effort, though, I would echo the advice given to me and pick a known-quantity up second hand. There's also the fact that the wheels represent a deferred cost as they will, at some point, require an upgrade - it works for my current position but may not for you!

Thanks again. I had looked at the posted tandems but, with travel and transport it wasn't a practical option in our current circumstances.

I did plump for the tandem in the OP - we'll see where that goes!

Thanks Brucey. As with the rest of the feedback I think this helps in terms of walking in with my eyes open. Especially good call on the lowriders - my Brother's failed at 60kmph last year and he was lucky only to have come away with a few broken ribs. (Most importantly, the bike was fine.)

If they're still in stock after I've slept on it I'll pick one of these up. My partner's a bit of a fair weather cyclist (and fair enough) so it may be a while before I can offer a substantive report. I'm happy, if the frameset goes well enough, to upgrade priority components piecemeal (gives me something to do) and if nothing else this should be good enough for leisurely bibles down on the solway...

Thanks Meic, the appeal of a drag brake was less for the trip to the Netherlands and more the living in the Lake District! Our combined human weight is probably nearer 140kg but it sounds like we should be able to figure something out either by approaching hills conservatively (a choice I think I'd be forced into anyway - our risk thresholds differ substantially!) or scoping a retrofit.

I have previously (don't ask) managed to use badly set-up caliper brakes with knackered pads under similar loads on my roadbike. I just did a quick spreadsheet to compare energy in a system over a comparable drop and at under relevant loads and a probable partner-capped speed. As long as we're not trying to scrub off loads of excess speed in the first place (I'll get an ear bashing) it looks like we're actually okay. Given the brakes *should* offer better performance than that comparison case I'm feeling relatively sanguine...

(in theory)

Thanks all for speedy and considered responses. The bikes are offered at not dissimilar prices across a few outlets (including some familiar) so I don't think it's a scam, though, as echoed here, I am inclined to take the cautious approach and buy on credit card (lest it turn out to be like riding a bar of soap).

It's good to know that SimonCelsa has had a positive experience with the Viking bikes. I had one of the Concept branded bikes from the same distributor as a child/teenager - given my approach to maintenance was not so much uneducated as abusive, it was surprisingly reliable. Thanks also to roubaixtuesday (cracking name!) for the reassurance over the spoke count and the other poster (small screen - power of memory evades me) on the nudge toward the getting the spoke tensions checked out.

I think I am prepared to accept my mantle as guinea pig (!) just need to reassure myself that the geometry is okay (it's a shade smaller than I'd go solo, but I understand this is fairly common on tandems) and engage in a little bit of stakeholder management tonight...