Cycling UK Forum

glueman wrote:. I s'pose I was wondering if 631 is 'inferior' to the old 531 and is it lighter or heavier.

631 is the direct replacement for 531. It is the same in all respects except it's easier to weld.

Don't know anything about 653

It's no longer available, superseded by 853, which again is easier to weld.

My Mercian in 531ST is great for camping but is kitted out as such and a little on the lardy side

The relevant part of that tubeset is the ST rather than 531.
ST = Super Tourist = heavy gauge.
Reynolds no longer offer tubesets leaving the builder the freedom to mix and match.

All steel alloys weigh the same and the ability to resist knocks will be a directly proportional to the tube diameter and wall thickness. The stronger the steel the thinner this can be, but it doesn’t necessarily follow. The alloy determines the possible thickness and profile, which in turn determines the ride quality (along with other factors, mainly geometry). You can’t get a heavyweight touring tubeset in 853 or a lightweight road one in 631, but there is a lot of overlap. It’ll always be a compromise between weight and durability, one to discuss with a trusted framebuilder.
As posted in another thread, here’s the Reynolds tube list;
http://www.reynoldscycles.co.uk/downloads/PARTLIST.pdf

An off the cuff remark from Mercian (they're my LBS) suggested that most frame buyers come in expecting 853 because they've heard it's the best and most go out with 631 because it's often the most suitable.

boink wrote: One of the blokes at the shop suggested I'd be better off with an 8 speed cassette and spacers.

That's shocking advice, you wouldn't need spacers to fit an 8 speed cassette, but your shifters would no longer index.

I'm becoming inclined to buy a decent DIY book and order/fit any bits myself

You don't need a book, it's all here on the web;
http://www.parktool.com/repair/
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/articles.html

rickangus wrote:Any suggestions on choice of seat tube would be appreciated.

I wouldn't buy anything without checking with Paul Hewitt. The max size and max appropriate size could be different depending on length and profile. Reynolds also sometimes have stuff that's not on the pricelist.

I have an off the peg Reynolds 725 Cheviot from Hewitts, you won't be disapointed.

Put just enough air in to avoid pinching the tube and go for a gentel ride around the block. I sometimes have the same problem with Conti GP4000s.

Here's a pricelist.
http://www.reynoldscycles.co.uk/downloads/PARTLIST.pdf

What are you going to do with the information?

I bought a box of 100 for about £4.00 from Machine Mart, but as above there's plenty of choice.
BTW they're disposable latex gloves rather than surgical ones, expect to pay 4X the price if you really want the surgical ones (I won't ask).

I don't use them anymore, I found sometimes they tear, or I got oily taking them off, or didn't have a way of disposing without getting mess on something else. I now carry a couple of sachets of Rub'l, waterless hand cleaner, though I only see it for sale at York Rally.
http://www.velox.fr/fr/index.php?art=16&th=20

Andy1966 wrote:Does anyone know how much lighter and more responsive a thinner tubed steel frame audax bike could be compared with the Cheviot?

Responsive will have more to do with geometry than weight and a steel Audax bike will have similar geometry to the Trek pilot. Your comments sound to me like you have the wrong size. I doubt there's much weight to be saved on the frame, it’s 2kg in a medium size so maybe 300g? There's as much gain by using a carbon fork, 600g compared to 1kg. Any weight off the wheels and tyres will be more noticeable and there's plenty of difference in component weight if you're prepared to spend.
Nothing wrong with buying as many bikes as you can afford and have room for, I wouldn’t mind another myself. But you don’t need it, many people have just completed PBP on bikes inferior to either of yours.

I usually Audax on my Hewitt Cheviot, though I'm not fast on any bike.
I no longer use it for heavyweight camping so I've taken the racks off, use lightweight 28mm tyre (GP4000 AS) and next time the rims need replacing will choose something lighter. I'm sure a purpose built Audax bike would be better, but I doubt it'd be by much.
Why isn't the Trek comfy? It might just be set up, if you're close to Hewitt’s it might be worth taking it in to be adjusted. Or it might just take some getting used too. I went from a flat bar hybrid to my Hewitt, even that took a couple of months before I was really comfy and appreciated the difference.
I recently helped out at the first control (45km) of an Audax. If I had any doubts that it's not about the bike, that completely shattered them. Yes the first two riders were on full carbon racing machines, but then within ten minutes the cafe was surrounded by everything from gleaming custom titanium to rusty Raleigh.

AlbionLass wrote:Audax is also something I'm interested in doing in the future but lack of transport to many events would be a prob for me.

rower40 wrote:As I don't have a car, getting to/from a long-distance event could be a problem.

Alfreton CTC run a few, it’s a nice gentle warm up getting there and all downhill home afterwards.
http://www.buggc.freeserve.co.uk/audax.htm
There are also some that are doable by train, I’ve done ones in Tamworth and Leicester.
This year also had a couple of new ones from Quarndon that’ll be on again next year.
There’s a few Derby Audaxers who ride together to the start at an easy pace, you’d be welcome to join us, no obligation to ride the Audax together.

rower40 wrote:BIG question - can I do an Audax on a recumbent?

Yes, you can do them on any HPV.

You might also consider the Derby DA standard rides no Sun 16th, details here;
http://www.derbyctc.org.uk/Standardrides.html

Or any of the Derby CTC rides;
http://www.derbyctc.org.uk/rideprog.html

Good stuff. I usually do this or the six counties run alongside it. Missed them this year due to other commitments…
Where next? The Darley Abbey rides on 6th Oct are good ones, choice of distances, 110 or 153km.

I'm 99% sure they're Shimano compatible. Koolstop Salmon pads are, IMO, the best all rounders.

{ Long link modified by Graham }

Get your present rim trued up and keep it as a spare. The Schmidt is a lifelong component, no rim lasts forever, so there's likely to be times when it'll be being replaced and you'll still need the bike.
If you're that way inclined I can understand the satisfaction of building your own, though there's no great financial or practical advantage over paying a good wheelbuilder. It's always a good idea to know enough to be confident truing your own, especially if you tour in remote areas, but I've never felt the need to build.
DRC ST19s are my 700c rim of choice, though I've not tried them all. Paul Hewitt my choice of wheelbuilder.

nobby wrote:I'm off tomorrow for a couple of days and all the bags weigh just 16.7kg.
That's a 5.3kg saving over last time and I think that i am carrying more food.

Is that still in four panniers? If so. consider getting it into two, the front panniers and rack will be around 2kg before you even put anything in them. I use two for short trips and add the fronts only for the longer ones.