Cycling UK Forum

ChrisF wrote:

sukuinage wrote:Thinking of doing the Danube Cycle Route from Vienna to Belgrade next summer and wondering if anyone has any recommendations on places to see, to visit, sample itinerary or any advice really.

Be aware of lack of cafes etc beyond Bratislava. I went from Passau to Budapest last year. Until just past Bratislava there were cycling-specific snack bars every 20-30 km or less, following the signed cycle route. Then suddenly (just after I'd decided it was too soon to stop for my morning coffee) there was nothing more for nearly 100km. I had to veer off into a small town and then only found a vending machine for my lunch!
Also, at some point past Bratislava (after a long very straight and quite boring bit) the path changes from good tarmac/packed sand to loose large gravel which I found impossible to ride on with a touring bike. I crossed over the river into Hungary where there were more facilities but often the path was on badly maintained tracks alongside a main road.
I don't want to put you off, but I much preferred the Austrian sections to the Slovakian/Hungarian ones. Didn't go beyond Budapest so can't comment on that.

MLJ wrote:Cicerone have an excellent guide book to carry in your pocket.
https://www.cicerone.co.uk/search/?keyword=danube

MLJ wrote:Cicerone have an excellent guide book to carry in your pocket.
https://www.cicerone.co.uk/search/?keyword=danube

Brucey wrote:some issues;

-even rims that are meant to be tubeless compatible vary in size enough to cause tyres to be variable in fit
- tyres vary too
- tubeless rims have lips that are meant to retain the tyre bead seated when the tyre is flat. These don't always work.
- on other rims there is a real risk that the tyre loses its seating immediately when it goes flat
- some combinations of tyre and rim are actually dangerous when used in a tubeless configuration; (if the tyre seals on the rim in the wrong place, the hook bead no longer helps to retain the tyre)
- tubeless tyres leak air and need pumping regularly ( a bit like tubs with latex tubes do)

All tyres tend to be a tight fit on tubeless rims, to the extent that I would actively avoid these rims unless I was definitely going to use tubeless.

It can be a major faff to get tubeless tyres seated and sealed, even in a well-equipped workshop.

To reseat a tubeless tyre by the side of the road, CO2 is pretty much the only way. Unfortunately CO2 reacts with most types of latex-based sealant, so it is best if the tyre has the CO2 removed (and perhaps the sealant too) as soon as is practicable.

Many sealants will corrode aluminium so are not recommended for use on tubeless rims that have no rim tape.

A significant proportion of punctures are of the sort that are large enough (eg made by broken glass) that the sealant in tubeless tyres isn't going to cope. You still need to be able to deal with this situation by the side of the road. To cope with this eventuality you need to carry a spare tube and something to undo the (usually very tight) valve stem locknut. And to accept that the whole process might take a lot longer than with a standard tyre and rim.

It obviously depends on where you ride and what your tolerance of various things is; arguably you trade time in the workshop faffing about vs time by the side of the road with 'normal' punctures but once in a while you will get the sort that won't seal and then it is a major faff by the side of the road. Some folk reckon this will only happen once every 7000 miles or so and that maybe this is OK. But others reckon it is a more frequent occurrence than that and a significant proportion of tubeless users have ditched them for tubed tyres again as a consequence.

With sensible (easy-fitting) tyre and rim combinations, a tube can be changed and you can be on your way again in a couple of minutes. This doesn't sound so bad to me.

cheers

Audax67 wrote:

keyboardmonkey wrote:Does anyone know if Cycling UK partner Halfords still wants our money?

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/halfor ... sts/022026

"[The] government has consistently reached the conclusion that such proposals are disproportionate and unnecessary."

I would have thought that, for the majority of Halford's respondents, disproportionate would please them no end. In fact, if you were to replace "number plates" with "death sentences" a healthy chunk of the votes would have been in favour.

As it happens, up until 2011 in Germany bikes were supposed to carry number plates. In France too, although I don't know if we still are. Nobody I know does.

Brucey wrote:looks like a tidy build that. This route can offer cracking value if you are prepared to put in the spanner time, and puts an otherwise unwanted old MTB to a good use too.

Nice one!

BTW it is a very great shame that so many later MTBs have longer top tubes and don't lend themselves so well to conversion to dropped handlebars.

cheers

Brucey wrote:I would check that the 10s ergos are in good order and that they are 'the right type'; there are several variations of Centaur and whilst all have the same RH cable pull (so all will do 8s shimergo OK, in theory) they can work best with different mechs (spring force) and some don't play well with different front mechs from those that are meant to work with them.

cheers

Brucey wrote:yup, a shortened 7-from-8 cassette will work fine. Shifters should be fine with that rear mech. Won't make much difference if you use an 8s or 9s chainset, either, BTW

cheers

cycleruk wrote:Your LX mech' should work with no problem. Just the hub to sort out.
The front mech' may be a problem depending on the left Ergo so just have to see how that goes on.
Please update as and when.