Cycling UK Forum

I'm making a very quick visit to the Sporades in Greece, in late October. Only enough time for three days of cycling.

I'm flying in to Skiathos, but the ferry to Skopelos looks an easy option.

So, for anyone who's been there, some questions:

1. Which of the two islands would be best for some hilly gravel riding?

2. How's the weather likely to be in late October?

3. Though it's gravel riding I have in mind, I have the option of taking a mountain bike instead or my gravel tourer, if more suitable. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Clive

Hi

I'm working with a holiday company at the moment, helping them recruit some mountain bike guides and road leaders.

Is it OK to place a small ad on these forums? If so, which one should I use?

And the company offers very different holidays to CTC Holidays - so it's not really competition.

Any help appreciated.

Clive

I'm having a very difficult time adjusting the Shimano BR517 cable discs on a Dawes Galaxy.

I can adjust everything so it looks in order, but when applying the brakes, the results are really lacklustre - certainly not good enough for a touring bike. things feel right through the lever - and the pads make contact, but stopping power isn't what it should be.

I *think* I'm following the directions here:
http://si.shimano.com/php/download.php? ... 01-ENG.pdf
...but I'm not a mechanic, just a regular rider who likes to fix his own stuff.

What am I likely to be getting wrong?

I remember the 1.25 and 1.5 being tight, Tim, but the 1.75 feels very different on my 24" Airnimal rims. Loose as a goose.

Very hard to fit, then jumping off at every opportunity. I'm kind of miffed.

I've always used Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on my Airnimal Joey. Usually 1.25 or 1.5, but now only 1.75 is available.

1.75 is tight squeeze on my 8-year-old Joey frame, but it just about fits.

I've had a nightmare getting the tyre to seat on the Airnimal rim. Schwalbe, Airnimal and Bikefix have all told me it should be fine, but it's lethal. Twice it's slipped off and now the tube's just exploded (thankfully not while I was riding).

I'm annoyed I've wasted £35 on a tyre I can't trust to be safe and annoyed it's been such a pain.

Before I get rid of the Marathon Plus and switch to Kojak or Kenda, anyone else had this problem?

Hi.

A friend and I (both first timers) are planning our JoGLE for late summer. 14 days, with accommodation arrangements yet to be fixed.

We wondered if we could share our interim planning map here, in case anyone had any thoughts or suggestions. Are any particular stages looking too short or too long?

All thoughts appreciated.

http://goo.gl/maps/pC1xv

Clive (and Andy)

Thanks very much for the input, everyone. I shall study the links while trying to resist the urge to just ignore it and hope for the best...

I'm replacing a worn out rear rim on my Airnimal Joey, and it occurred to me that while I have the wheel dismantled, should this be the time for me to service (or have serviced) the Dual Drive 3-speed hub?

- The hub is working fine, with no problems
- It's had about 3 years of regular use. Mostly commuting. All weathers.

Is there something routine or pre-emptive I should do myself (I am a basically competent, but not expert, home mechanic), or should I have a pro service it?

Or is this a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

Thanks for advice,

Clive

If you've not heard of Bike Club, here's a brief summary that may be of interest, as there are funds available to local cycling groups:

Bike Club is a scheme set up by CTC and two other organisations to assist projects that enable more children and young people to gain positive experiences through cycling.

Small grants (typically up to around £2000) are available alongside expert support from regional staff.

Applications can be made by virtually any group, including local cycling groups. However, these applications should relate to work which will expand the opportunities for young people not currently cycling, or not riding a great deal. Some of the most exciting applications so far have included working with young offenders, with deprived communities, with teenage mums and with young disabled people. Projects have covered areas like mountain biking, Bikeability training, bike maintenance, BMX riding and general leisure riding.



Bike Club hopes to entend to become truly UK-wide, but in the meantime, applications for funding are welcomed from the the areas around the following towns and cities:

England:

Exeter
Bristol
Woking
Brighton & Hove
London (Barnet, Brent, Westminster, Camden)
Colchester
Cambridge
Southend-on-Sea
Leicester
Derby
Sheffield
Chester
Southport
Lancaster & Morecambe
Blackpool
York
Darlington
And, soon, Newcastle and Gateshead

Wales:

Cardiff

Scotland:

Glasgow
Edinburgh
Fife
Falkirk
East Lothian
West Lothian
Midlothian

Northern Ireland:

Belfast

If you'd like to know more, you can either contact the Bike Club officer who deals with your area, or drop me an email or a phone call.

Any questions, just shout,

Clive

Clive Andrews
Bike Club
07717 721511
clive.andrews@bikeclub.org.uk

I've decided on a project: to overhaul my battle-weary 1991 rigid steel mountain bike.

This used to be my pride and joy. It was my only bike. Over the years it evolved from a mountain bike to a geared commuter and then to a singlespeed commuter. Then it was stashed in my parents' shed for a few years and forgotten. Hardly any of the components are original an it's now a bit shabby.

I want to fit a new drivetrain and wheels, and turn this bike into an expedition-ready mountain bike tourer. Fit for extended touring in faraway places, but also for off-roading.

Most component choices will be obvious. Strong wheels, Deore or SLX mechs, existing V-brakes, rapidfires or maybe thumbshifters.But I'm not sure what to do about the chainset.

I want compact mountain bike ratios rather than anything roady. Most off-the-shelf mountain bike chainsets come as external BB systems now, but I have a hunch that for optimum touring durability I'm better off going for good old square taper. Am I right? Should I fit a square taper chainset and bottom bracket?

Any other tips for a touring-ready mountain bike restoration?

Thanks.

GrahamNR17 - You are absolutely right about the issue of inaccuracies in news reporting.

However, I don't think BBC South East were guilty of inaccuracy. They reported that Bike Club is partly run by CTC, and this is true. The distinction between the two arms of CTC is understood and discussed by many of us, but from from an outsider's point of view, this distinction is of minimal relevance.

Hello Richard, Regulator

Yes, in that BBC article, Bike Club was described as being partly run by "the cycling charity CTC" and as Regulator points out, it is indeed the CTC Charitable Trust that's involved.

I appreciate that there are strongly held views on the Club/Trust issue, but I'd suggest that the important thing here is that CTC (whichever part of the larger organisation) is being recognised for its involvement.

Regulator - You suggest "making the difference between the Club and the Trust clearer to journalists". We supply journalists with a lot of information about what we do, and they make use of that which they find most relevant. I'm not sure why "the difference between the Club and the Trust" would be important in the context of a 300 word article about a CTC project. This issue is undoubtedly important to many members, but arguably not to the wider public.

I say this without any prejudice toward either side of the Club/Trust discussion.

Clive
Bike Club

Hi belgiangoth

Depending on where you are, our new Bike Club programme my be of interest.

Have a look at http://bikeclub.org.uk and let me know if you want to know more.

Clive
Bike Club

Hello again everyone.

I just thought I'd offer a quick update to keep you posted regarding Bike Club.

- Bike Club's essential approach will be to offer cycling activities to youth clubs, after-school clubs and similar, in whatever way best suits those young people. This will be flexible. In many cases, Bikeability will be a part of what Bike Club delivers, equipping young people with vital skills. But alongside this might be projects like providing dirt jumps and off-road facilities, bike maintenance programmes or helping children with expedition planning. We're trying to use cycling as a way for young people to explore and find independence. You could say that cycling is the 'tool' we're using to help youth leaders improve the lives of youngsters. Bike Club projects will therefore vary, as they are intended to address the needs of each group.

- We've nearly finished recuiting the team who will be working on Bike Club around England. There will be 8 officers based in: Brighton/Woking, Exeter/Bristol, Stoke/Derby. Chester/Southport, Blackpool/Lancaster, Darlington/York, Cambridge/Colchester and Aylesbury/Leighton-Linslade. These officers will work alongside existing youth leaders.

- While the existing Cycle Champions programme has served to provide us with some 'pilot' examples of how Bike Club projects may work, the bulk of our work in England will kick off in September, expanding to Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland shortly afterwards.

- We have an interim website that explains Bike Club - http://bikeclub.org.uk. A fully functioning website for young people and youth workers is being prepared.

It's good to see some of you have mentioned British Cycling's Go Ride. Go Ride is a great scheme that focusses, as has been observed, on bike handling and similar skills before moving on to look at semi-competitive aspects of cycling. Go Ride is great but our intention for Bike Club is that it reflects the far broader ways cycling can be part of people's lives. In a similar way, we are full of respect for the work of Sustans and their BikeIt scheme, but we're looking to expand young people's experience of cycling beyond simply riding to school.

Any questions, let me know, and I'll continue to keep everyone posted through http://bikeclub.org.uk.

Clive
Bike Club

Hi keepontriking

keepontriking wrote:IME all too often the announcements, promises, claims and posturing come to little on-the-ground results.

Page 4 of CTC's annual report is worth a read - it talks of 'nearly 5,000 individuals across 90 groups' along with '250 volunteers to help maintain the sustainability of the projects into the future'.

As 'on-the-ground' results go, that seems fairly clear and very positive. There's more about these kind of results on the Cycle Champions section of the website.