Cycling UK Forum

slowster wrote: ↑22 Mar 2022, 12:26pm I too would be upset if I had hesitated, only for the price to go up. But not for long. And that's the important thing: you need to accept what has happened and move on. Instead it seems to me that you now intend to wallow in regret and self-recrimination. That would be a pointless, negative thing to do: it won't change things and it won't make you feel any better.

It's 15 degrees outside now, the sun is shining, and I am going to go out for a ride. While I am out, I will enjoy the scenery, the warmth of the sun on my face, the sensation of my bike gliding along, and the discomfort when I struggle uphill because I am so unfit. I won't be thinking about how much I paid for my bike, or whether it would be better with a different headset or whatever. My bike is 'good enough' and I just enjoy riding it.

If the extra £300 would not put you in financial difficulties, I suggest you simply say to yourself 'stuff it!', and order the bike from OBW today. In the long run the extra cost will not matter. In future when you are riding the bike over the crest of a hill or through some sleepy village, you will not give that £300 a thought. Ordering the bike will stop you wasting more time and mental energy thinking about it, and I suspect will help to break what appears to be a vicious negative cycle of thought processes.

It's Spring and the weather is getting better and better. Every day that you waste prevaricating and agonising over your decision, is another day lost when you could have enjoyed a nice bike ride. Once you have made the decision, you can stop worrying about it and do something enjoyable, like go out for a walk.

Dude.

Thanks for that last post. Nice understanding.

Unfortunately, OBW can no longer honour the quote they gave me until April. The bike is slightly lower spec, and costs £300 more than what i was quoted in december..

Its thrown me a bit. I think OBW frames are british steel, rather than tawainese. They are probably lighter and more flexible and comfortable than the thorn. And i was custom fitted for it.

A big decision to take.

Wish i had not procrastinated.

Thanks again, everyone. Pretty gutted.

Truth is, I have quite a severe form of mental disorder. Not illness, for that could be medicated, but a disorder. Actually, a few. Its all very tiring, but I wont bore you. But thank you for suggesting I am sophisticated. No one as ever thought that of me.

Richard, at Oxford Bike Works, has been very patient for the past two years, and has helped with all my questions. As have you guys. So, thank you. I hope I can make a decision soon and put me, and all of you, our of my misery.

So, the Thorn frame is rim, disc, derailleur, rohloff, and belt drive ready. Versatile. Yet, is there a compromise to this frame? I'm an ecologist, and recognise that generalist species are not always specifically adapted to one environmental niche, in this case, world touring. I wonder if the accommodation in the frame for a belt drive, though not compromising frame integrity, might be a weakness if the bike got thrown on the back of a truck, or something. This was suggested to me, and I need to investigate this possibility that it could be damaged. Also, perhaps the frame is heavier ? I wonder if the lower weight of the OBW frame would be an advantage? Is its geometry advantagous in some way?

I like the fact that OBW bike comes with Chris King headset as standard. Speaks of aiming for excellence. For, as Three Idiots once said, Pursue excellence, and success will follow, pants down. Perhaps the rest of the bike is excellent, too?

So, any thoughts on the Thorn Nomad frame? DooDah said how much he enjoyed his Raven, so through respect for him and his wisdom, looked at the Thorn, got a similar quote to OBW, and this is why I am here, again, asking questions. Doodah, incidently, once kindly offered to lend me his Thorn Raven, but I have long femurs, his bike was a bit short, I had to work, and my knees were super sensitive to a smaller frame (as I discovered test riding a medium sized Koga World traveller someone borrowed me with the hidden objective of selling me it). I would have liked to have taken up on his offer.


Anyway, that's it.

Your friendly troll....

Well, I took the advice of DooDah, and checked out Thorn. They make a frame that can be fitted with derailleurs, rohloff, disc brakes, and can later be fitted with a belt drive. I suggested a Chris King headset, but they recommended to use what they fit, and have Chris King Later.

So it all go gets very complicated that I think I will end up not making a decision. I just don't have the personal experience like i do with hiking. I know what to look for in tents, and boots, and clothing, but bikes are just beyond me. You ride them.

My aim is to have a bike that I can just leave and perhaps never come back. Work my way about Scotland, the UK, Europe, or much further afield. I fancy Africa. And that remains my aim.

But now I hear that having a rim brake system with a roholoff hub would require some specialist wheel making knowledge to replace rims.

There are just too many pitfalls.

Simplicity is best. Longevity and replacibility is best. But is Tom Allen right, and that rims work just as well as discs?

Hi All

Wow.... that was a lot of information to read.

I shut down the decision. Went away. Hid. And am still hiding.

I met a guy from Namibia. He is British, living there. He came over here, and the one thing he has to do is get spare brake pads, or something or other, for his friend's disk brake bike. Can't get them there. So, a good suggestion for rim brakes.



I have to now make a choice. There is OBW, Thorn, Shand... too many. I like the idea of a Thorn, as the frame can go disc as well as rim, derailleur as well as Rohloff, and chain as well as a belt drive. I am unsure if the belt drive option weakens the frame in some way.

Anyway, contacting them.


There has been some great advice. So, thank you. I think simplicity is the way to go, with rim brakes and a chain, not a belt drive. Still think the Rohloff option sounds best, though. Going for these optional extras... if I can get them fitted.

• Chris King Headset
• Ergon GP5 Grips
• Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Tyres
• SON 28 dynamo hub with Sinewave Revolu-tion USB Charger
• Light and Motion Rechargeable light set VIS Combo (Trooper and Vaya Switch) Light set
• Ortleib Roller Classic Pannier set with Bar bag in Asphalt
• DMR V12 pedals
• Mirrycle Mountain Mirror

I need a bike to let me go, without a home, in case one day i don't have a home. I would like it to charge some kind of camera, that takes RAW images, which I can edit at my leisure wherever I am. And, of course, a rack system that carries what I need. Not sure whether Tubus is better than Thorn's own racks.

Anyway, thanks again.

Bike Buddha.

You get a lot of opinions, not just on forums, but everywhere. I proudly showed the bike I plan on getting, to a young Latvian with a lot of biking experience. I told him that I might end up in Africa and very remote areas, in my search for whatever one searches for while travelling.

The young man questioned 26" wheels. He questioned rim brakes, and gave me three bikes to test... all mountain bike types.

The idea is, why not have a 29" downhill racing wheel... super strong and can take anything. It rolls over anything, and climbs hills as easily as 26" wheels. I remained quiet.

Why not have disc brakes? Ease of replacement parts, I said. He said, "Why not just take a couple of extra rotors, and spare pads? Why ware out your rims? Don't trust bike sellers who are just trying to get rid of old stock?" I sensed a conspiracy theory coming on.

Basically, he thought that touring bike design is just too old fashioned. With modern tech, and carrying 2kg of spare parts, you can do your world tour. He thought hydraulic disc brakes are ok and easy to bleed. That belt drives are fantastic. And yes, those large wheels.

Now, I am relooking at disc brakes. I am questioning my proposed purchase. After all, why spend so much money on something that has such ancient technology and rim brakes? Surely his suggestion of taking spare rotors, and pads, would be best? Surely, i could have other spares weighting to be shipped from a home base?

The world is noise... opinions. The world seems hard to fathom.

I'm definitely going to give this read a try. I listened to Aleister Humphreys book on audible and enjoyed, while marooned in a tiny tent during a storm.

Adventures are cool.

Hi Everyone.

I've finished off on the last thread, and started another. Because i find long threads very confusing.

I did a search, but only came across posts from ten years ago about Tubus racks..

I've been quoted for an OBW bike, but the tubus are on order, but might not come through for march, when i am due to pick up bike, should I accept the mission. So, i am being supplied with Thorn Expedition Racks. Which ;has completely derailed me.

I am sure this has been covered elsewhere, so I apologise. Are the expedition racks as good as the Tubus?


I'm having, if i have a bike, an extra large frame. Although i am only 6ft, my femurs are loooong. Very short ankles.

I tested OBW bike, but it had only road tyres on.... rode pretty well. I think i am going for 2" marathon tyres. Give a bit more tracking when razzing down dirt track to a local beach. Maybe not the best idea? What going to be `1.75 inch.


Its been a long, crazy day driving to Oxford. I think I might be a bit obsessive about this bike stuff. Just a bit

Just, thanks everyone for your support and kindness.

Bike Buddha

Hi Doodah and everyone

Thanks everyone for your support.

And especially Doodah. Your bike looks and sounds great. I'm about four inches taller than you, but my femurs are quite long, so it looks like, if I take OBW bike, I'll be having an extra large frame. Got fitted today. Bloody long way to Oxford.

I'd love to come up Doodah, but have a job to go back to in skye.

I am experiencing high levels of stress about something else.... work wise, and am just winging it, really. I've had about six months of severe OCD sapping my energy, and so finding it hard to judge anything. Actually missing out on a course i have bee waiting for, and everything is going to hell in a hand basket.

But I went ahead and got a fitting and a quote.... because, my rigid thinking is driving me towards OBW.

I've been quoted 4K for a

• Rohloff Tour with 26 wheels,
  with Tubus pannier racks
  TwinLeg stand and steering restrictor,
  Chris King Headset,
  Ergon GP5 Grips
  Schwabe Marathon Mondial Tyres.
  SON 28 dynamo hub with Sinewave Revolution USB Charger.
  Light and Motion Rechargeable light set VIS Combo (Trooper
  and Vaya Switch) Light set
  Ortleib Roller Classic Pannier set with Bar bag in Asphalt
  DMR V12 pedals
  1 Supply and Fit Mirrycle Mountain Mirror

However, just been told that Tubus racks might not be available, so will be fitted with Thorn Expedition panniers. This has thrown me a bit.... any thoughts?

YEs, I agree, travelling up and knocking around on bike is a good idea, but I have to go to work.... which sucks. Maybe I will just have to quite work and get my freedom back,,,,,,

Again, thanks everyone. Travelled down from skye to view bike.



BUILD

Frame: British double-butted frame Size 560, 26” Wheels Olive
Rear Mech: Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 CC OEM EX 32h Black
Front Mech: NA
Cassette: Rohloff 16t
Shift Levers: Rohloff Gripshift
Chainset: Shimano FC-M361 175mm with 42t chainring black
Bottom Bracket: Shimano BB-UN300 122.5mm
Chain: KMC X8
Wheels: Ryde Andra 30 rims.
Hub dynamo: SON 28
Bk Levers: BL-R780
Brakes: BR-T610
Pedals: DMR V12s
Clips Straps: NA
Saddle: Brooks B17 76/00
Seat post: Ergotec 5
Rear rack: Topeak Expedition
Low loader: Tubus Tara
Handlebars: Ergotec 4 63cm
Handlebar Grips: Ergon GP5
Bar ends Ergon GP5
Bar Tape NA
Stem: Ergotec 90mm
Spacers: 95/20
Headset: Cane Creek 40 series
Mudguards: SKS 60mm
Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 26 x 2.0
Inner tubes: Schwalbe
Valves: Presta
Kickstand: Twin Leg stand with steering stabiliser
Stickers: None
Mirror: NA
Headbadge: Bronze
Front Light: Light and Motion
Rear Light: Light and Motion
Front Panniers: Ortleib Sport Roller Classics Asphalt
Rear Panniers: Ortleib Back Roller Classics Asphalt
Bar Bag: Ortleib Ultimate 6 Classic L Asphalt
Pump: NA

DevonDamo wrote: ↑15 Dec 2021, 5:57pm This morning, I'd typed out a reply to your question but then decided not to click on 'submit' as what I'd written was inevitably going to be the same as what everyone else was going to write - i.e. 'the bike isn't the issue here - it's getting out and using it' - and I didn't want to be part of that pile-on.

So a revised answer... I know very little about OCD, other than apparently it's a much more debilitating condition than the popular trope of repeatedly going back to check you've locked your front door etc. However, I wonder if it's possible to use an interest like cycle touring in a therapeutic way, e.g. by changing your objectives from something unattainable, i.e. the perfect bike set-up, to something attainable, i.e. getting on the road at the absolute minimal cost? My thinking here is that it might be a bit like me on the rare occasions I drive my car - I've been able to move away from the idiotic 'must overtake everything' mindset to something a lot less antisocial by switching my focus from getting there fast to fuel economy. It's a lot easier to change your mindset by focusing on a positive thing to strive towards rather than a negative thing to avoid. If you were to switch your focus to touring on the absolute minimum budget possible, you'd inevitably start to come across stuff that works just as well, or better, than trendy stuff that costs vastly more, and that's always a sweet victory - especially when you get to annoy people by pointing out how much more value you've had out of your bargain-basement junk compared to their 'look-look-shiny-shiny' purchase.

I tour on a bike which would be considered crap by most, but which I've turned into the perfect tourer. It fits me, it's comfortable, it was cheap to buy, it's cheap/easy to maintain/fix (even abroad), it won't get nicked and it regularly carries such ridiculously heavy loads that passers-by give me the sort of comments you get on YouTube videos of people in far-off countries doing house-moves on a moped.

Apologies if I'm being naïve about your condition here. If you are genuinely compelled to strive towards perfection in terms of kit, then that's a clinical matter for which I think you'd probably need advice from a therapist rather than a bike enthusiast.

That's a really kind and insightful reply.

I thought, sitting on a bike a peddling would be good. I am like it while hiking. Just keep going.

I also know that once you get going, you might not want to stop.

Your bike sounds great.

To be fair, I have approached this from the wrong way. I have issues with spending woman, but when i do, can blow money quickly.

Its all a minefileld.

But thank you. Much appreciated thoughts and attitude.

I once had a car. I was about to climb every munro and have six months off. A pipe broke in the car. Suddenly, I wondered whether i should sell the car or repair it.

The decision went on and on for weeks, even after i got the pipe fixed. Is it best to keep the car, or sell it? I could see no logic in any choice. In the end, the anxiety surrounding decision became so painful, I decided to buy a bike.

I settled on a daws galaxy, found a stockist, and went there with the intent to buy it. They didn't have it in stock, but tried to convince me to buy a gravel bike. Lots of brochures. More decisions. More fractal choices.

Meanwhile the car decision remained.


By now, I was stuck in the bike decision, and saw a guy touring Canada on YouTube. I had never seen a touring bike before. I grew excited.

So I read Tom Allen's book.

I contacted OXB.

But then I sold my car, then headed into the scottish mountains in a fit of depression. Then Covid happened.

Two years later, i find myself on the verge on buying a bike with the intent of going around the world... in a pandemic....

And the OCD remains. As does the severe personality disorder. And after a life time of misadventure, I stand on the precipice.... and wonder, am I doing something nuts?

Everybody here has made excellent, logical recommendations. I wish I had time to follow some of them. I wish i had seen that daws galaxy.and gone riding.

But, there's no turning back. All I have to do is buy a bike, put my bum on a seat, and know that that steel-framed beauty doesn't ruminate about the past, doesn't fear the future, and gives an endorphin rush better than any pill. I may never make it clear of scotland. But at least, after two years, I finally would have made a decision, for good, or for worse.

With our thoughts we ride the world.

Bike Buddha








Then i discovered I have OCD procra

Five months later, after much procrastination, the car got sold. I did not go off on my trip.

The time to get fitted has come.

I'm about to give over 4K for a bike with v-brakes, rohloff hub, dynamo, and a standard chain, fitted with ortibleb panniers and usb lights.

I'm doubting the v brakes, as surely disc brakes would be best on Himalayan roads. All that dust and dirt grinding the rims. But I also need to think about being in back end of nowhere, and simple, replacement parts.

I'm thinking, that guy on cycling about, Alee, and how he says drive belts are tehe way to go, as he rides his alluminum, not steel, koga world traveller. Why am I having a chain?

Admittedly, I envisage a long, continuous trip, without workshops and tech. But would a spare belt simply do? Or would a belt put more stress on bearings, and require more maintenance in other ways?


What happens if my rohloff gets wet when crossing a river? Another oil change? Should i instead go for a pinion gearbox bike? Or the derrailure system?

And what happens if I never leave the UK, and perhaps only go to Ireland? I'll have an expedition grade bike .... such expensive overkill. What size lock would I need?

So doubts have amassed, and it may be time to cancel the whole project. I've never bike toured anyway. I may not even enjoy it.

I had imagined touring the world, visiting buddhist monasteries, and meditating in my tent. Seeking enlightenment in the everlasting journey.


Thanks guys for all your help in imagining that journey.
.

Confused as ever.

BikeBuddha.

doodah wrote: ↑12 Dec 2021, 4:59pm

BikeBuddha wrote: ↑12 Dec 2021, 4:16pm I've never toured, don't much like traffic, and get anxious at the drop of a hat. IT feels very scary. Going to purchase bike next week. Feels surreal.

Out of curiosity, what bike did you finally choose to buy?

Doodah

I'm too exhausted to choose, my friend.
Too much pressure to spend too much money while there is so much else going on.
Too many options, and too many unknowns.
V brakes, disc brakes, tube thickness, bike makers, dynamo hubs?>>>>>

I was going to go with OBW beacue all the thinking had been done. But, I think it would be mistake to buy a touring bike.
Supposed to get fitted on Monday, but cancelling.

I was going with v brakes. This goes against my...... anyway, another topic.

PS.. Hope you are well.

Nick

Per Terram wrote: ↑9 Dec 2021, 11:18am And you could do a lot worse than that. I had planned to be in South America this autumn but my plans were eventually scuttled so I went to Ireland for a month cycle / camping. I was lucky with the weather but, regardless, it is a great place offering great cycling, genuine friendliness and lovely countryside. There are places, Galway for instance, which would rival any place in the British Isles as a holiday destination. Whatever happens, Ireland should remain open for British travellers because of the Common Travel Area.

I have thought Ireland to be my first destination. Always wanted to go. Hillwaking, mainly. I wonder if I could combine world touring with hiking.

But while Covid happens, and it could be generating problems for a good few years, can tour scotland, and the outer isles. Get my kit sorted, before heading on big trips.

I've never toured, don't much like traffic, and get anxious at the drop of a hat. IT feels very scary. Going to purchase bike next week. Feels surreal.

Hi all..

Was thinking about Dynamo hubs.....

I guess they free you from having to spend nights in hostels, leaving you to wild camp for most of your month long, or year long trips. And they take around 3% of your peddle power, or something like that.

What are your feelings about them? A must have in this modern world. A drain? Useful, useless, or....?



I am interested in taking a DSLR camera. One that can be rechached with a usb lead. They are bulky. Is that crazy? I am thinking of photographing people and places, and making an online journal.

I was also thinking of a dedicated media player, to save charge vs phone, and a pair of sony noise reducing headphones for those long nights in the tent. Obviously, this might not be practical.

Someone mentioned that a dedicated sat nav saves power over using your phone....

Do I need a phone?


How about you? What tech do you take?

Tablets?


Do you charge in hostels, or use the dynamo hub?

Any thoughts to this erratic question.