Cycling UK Forum

amediasatex wrote:And to muddy the waters even more...

...there are cycle firms like Brompton, designed and manufactured originally and to this day in England. There are bikes like Strida, designed and once built in the UK, still in production but now sold to an Asian company (Ming Cycle) and manufactured in Taiwan. And there are brands like Bickerton, who once built a machine of their own design in the UK but have evolved into a local marketing arm of a foreign company, selling private label machines.

'Lowest'. Hmm.

FWIW, there's Sustrans' "Land's End to John o'Groats on the National Cycling Network". Paths, lanes. A bit of track. 1189 English miles (1293 Roman miles).

SRAM used grippy washers on the i3 hub until the bitter end (2017). They work great on aluminum frames - kinda chew up said frames, though.

PH wrote:I don't think anything folds like a Brompton.

This will upset some people. I wish it didn't, that's not my intent.

There will be calls of intellectual property theft, although the European courts found none.

Andrew Ritchie's fold design is brilliant; that is not in dispute.

Dimensions reported on various websites don't agree. I can only report what the meter stick told me.

When I've posted this on other forums I've been called a liar and a shill, even after I posted my photographic evidence.

Wow. So much passion. A good thing, I guess, until one denies what they see in a photograph.


Anyway, at a local shop I placed a folded Brompton M6R and a folded Dahon Curl i8 next to each other, a few centimeters apart. I measured them; I photographed them.

The Dahon Curl fold is smaller.

Great scope for four countries. All within a theoretical (long) day's ride:

Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Spain, Morocco
Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria
Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay
Vietnam, Laos, China, Burma
Bhutan, India, Bangladesh, India, Nepal
Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Tajikistan
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel

Realistically, these rides range from 'what a grand adventure!' to 'well, maybe, if it wasn't the rainy season' to 'don't be daft - you'd never get through those three border checkpoints in a day' to 'don't be daft - you'll get abducted, tortured, rescued, arrested, tortured and shot'.

Many years ago, back when we were still in short pants*, Alex Moulton bikes offered a rack for the AM series that held the Kryptonite lock deemed most useful for locking up the bike.



Lock model went obsolete. Phthphth.




*Hmm. I guess we're still in short pants.

jb wrote:Anybody else had problems with the wheel nuts on an AW hub coming loose?

Constantly...until I replaced the HMW155s with HMW494s.

Fun fact: the factory instruction sheet for the RX-RF5 (C50) hubs - specifically the alignment of the shift fulcrum, the setting of the cable anchor, and the shift alignment sections - has gone through at least three revisions: ©2014, ©2015 and ©2016.

Brucey wrote:which mark have you aligned the fulcrum arm with? (step 3.2 in the manual)

And how long is the cable anchorage unit distance? This distance changes with different fulcrum arm alignments. (step 3.9)

climo wrote:You might want to think about Pacific coast route. Perfect time, not too warm. Not much covid outside of LA. overall a lot less than the UK

Alas, no.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... tries.html

https://youtu.be/HsM_VmN6ytk

thirdcrank wrote:It clamps between the chainstays in much the same way as some propstands then the pulley bears on the tyre tread

In the case of the AM bikes, it attaches to a bespoke frame fitting.

Complete with the period-spec fitted chainstay generator!

Upmarket bikes that hold their resale values well, COVID cycle-fever has additionally driven prices for Alex Moulton bikes ever skyward. If the owner is willing to ship, it's sure to find a £oving home in Japan or Thailand.

http://www.moultonbuzz.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/themoultonbicycle

The detail I liked best about the "Land's End to John o'Groats on the National Cycle Network" guidebook was the section-by-section recommendations for notable local cuisine/delicacies and regional brews.

Falling open to a random page:
Stage 19 Glasgow to Balloch
Scotch Pie- a hot water crust pastry pie, traditionally filled with mutton or steak and spiced with black pepper.
Silkie Stout - a rich stout with hints of chocolate, coffee and orange. 5.0% Loch Lomond Brewer, Alexandria

nez wrote:I agree with those who 'diss' the U brake located under the bottom stay - but the trouble is I don't see a way of replacing it with, say, a cantilever without paying for posts to be brazed elsewhere - probably equalling the value of the bike.

Relace the rear rim on a Sturmey X-RDC. Probably also equalling the value of the bike.

Does the frame have a seatstay bridge? Could you fit a dual pivot side pull like a Tektro 810C?

I have two different 700c frames I run with EA3 (650A) wheels. Like it. Wouldn't switch back.

Funny thing about different brands and models of the tyres: they're all marked 26x1 3/8 - ISO37x590, but mounted on the same rims they measure from 27 to 38mm.