Cycling UK Forum

richardfm wrote: ↑21 Oct 2022, 4:21pm If you can find something like this you can just extend the existing lines.
https://www.ticycles.com/components/hyd ... ne-coupler

They look very interesting, but seeing how cheap the hose is, I think I'm going to replace that - either way I've got two ends to attach, so nowt much in it.

Glen wrote: ↑21 Oct 2022, 4:23pm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBBUVpc4hfs

This video might help. It is for a HS33 set-up which I think is very similar to HS11.

Wow, I wish my local bike shop was as knowledgeable and willing to recycle old bits as this guy! (Mine always says something along the lines of 'leave it there and we'll order new bits, take about a week or so until they arrive'). Very helpful video, full of useful tips - particularly the one about re-using the fittings.

Emboldened by that video, I've taken a pair of pliers to what turned out to be a covering at the lever end of the hose (previously tried to unscrew it), and managed to reveal the same fitting as at the brake cylinder end - so actually quite easy to deal with!

That's great - I think I have my answer already. Thank you Glen and Richardfm . Wonder where I can source the cylinder olives

Hi all,

I want to raise my handlebars but the lines of my Magura HS11 rim brakes are just a wee bit too short. I've sourced a new hydraulic line (Magura branded), and while I've found plenty of videos to show me how to attach the line to the brakes down below (and how to fill and bleed them afterwards), I can't find anything on how to attach the new line to the brake lever (or how to get the old ones off). I've had a poke at the levers, but can't see a non-destructive way of removing the old pipes.

I have the Magura bleed set with lots of bits and bobs in it, so should have the right fittings.

Any tips or links to videos I haven't managed to find? Thank you all!

Bsteel wrote: ↑8 Oct 2022, 9:04am Something in your picnic caused an insulin spike and dropped blood glucose ?

Can't think what would have done that: rye bread with spread, a few carrots and a white bap.

PH wrote: ↑7 Oct 2022, 12:22pm I find it hard to imagine any sort of bonking on a 30km ride, how are you riding?

Well that's the interesting thing - it was an easy ride at an easy pace, not even any particularly steep or long hills. And that after a week's easy touring (usually 60 to 90km every day, but not pushing myself to exhaustion or anything drastic). I doubt any reserves will have been seriously depleted by the tour, and if anything, my legs should have been in better than average condition.

Andy Stow wrote: ↑6 Oct 2022, 7:53pm Another kind of "bonk" sensation that is real is electrolyte depletion / hyponatremia (or possibly hypokalemia.) Did the tofu have significant electrolytes?

Now that's an interesting thought. Not exactly sure what 'electrolytes' are in this context, but the tofu was smoked and had a reasonable amount of calcium in (usually calcium chloride, but I don't have the packaging anymore to check), and some (but not a huge amount) of potassium. These things usually have a fair bit of salt (NaCl) in them, too.

This post (and the thread linked to by PH) has got me wondering whether a bar like a Jones H, the Ergotech Space bar or indeed the one in the photograph Jupestar has just posted could, in some situations, save the day (or at least the rider) in case of a break next to the stem? Anyone have any experience or thoughts?

PS Also had a bar break in this way on the second morning of a long tour (it was a Humpert Ally butterfly). Fortunately, it happened just as I was mounting, so no damage to me. And double plus good: a bike shop was just a few hundred yards away and I got there 20 mins before closing time so the tour was saved.

Thanks for the replies so far - seems no one else has associated protein with bonking (hitting the wall, getting the knock, gassing etc). I suppose one explanation is that I was bonking harder than I ever had done before, hence needed more sustenance than I realised.

Cugel wrote: ↑5 Oct 2022, 2:28pm Not to be alarmist but ....

Thanks for the warning, Cugel. One thing I really appreciate about these forums is the candid relating of personal experience. I'm not getting the tachycardia you describe, but your story is a good reminder for me to keep an eye on when/how often/how long I bonk and see if there's any patterns or other symptoms (altho the bonking after big carbs intake has been happening for about 20 years).

pjclinch wrote: ↑4 Oct 2022, 5:33pm I'm willing to throw a bit of money at my camping such that my convenience and fun goes up (hence the Hillebergs)

Definitely. But the elasticity of "a bit of money" varies greatly. For me that means a Vaude rather than a Festival Special (which doesn't mean to say that I don't lovingly fondle the Hillebergs on display in outdoor shops ).

pjclinch wrote: ↑3 Oct 2022, 7:33am Thing with the shower curtain is it will work fine in benign situations but come the time you actually really need a waterproof floor it'll demonstrate why tents tend to come with bathtub groundsheets, rather than just groundsheets...

I've had good experiences with plastic sheeting placed inside the tent, providing it's big enough to lap up the sides a little. That way the water ingresses/flows beneath the sheeting, leaving everything on top dry. (I like the idea of a shower curtain because it's thick enough to resist tearing).

Had a new experience the other week, and wondered whether anyone else was familiar with the situation:

TL;DR: have you ever bonked from lack of protein as opposed to not enough carbs?

I unexpectedly bonked at the end of a short trip (30km, no luggage to speak of) despite having picnicked about an hour before (raw carrots, heavy rye bread sandwiches - nothing unusual for me). No problem, recognised the signs of an impending bonk and stopped to bung in a couple of mouthfuls of fruit and nut mix, which usually gets me back in the saddle until I can sort something more substantial.

But this time it didn't. I waited the statutory 10 mins or so, and not seeing a massive improvement, took some more fruit and nut. I managed to get back in the saddle, but was still a little disorientated and weak, and 5km later was actually shaking with exhaustion. Happened to have a 200g bar of smoked tofu in my bag (don't ask), and wolfed half down, which put me back on my feet pretty speedily, altho I was up and down emotionally for an hour after that.

I've never bonked that badly before.

Thinking about it later (once I was sounding coherent to myself again), I wondered whether protein was the culprit. I realised I had eaten less protein than usual that morning and midday, most of it had been in the rye bread. I don't remember much about nutrition, but I do remember you need to complement protein from cereals with other kinds of protein, eg from beans and pulses, and wondered whether this might have been the problem in this case.

Thinking of previous bonking occasions, they usually seem to happen the morning or day after a big carb-heavy tea (eg a pasta dish) without heavy sources of protein. Looking at the packaging, the fruit and nut mix had about 5g of protein per 100g, while the half bar of tofu I ate had over 20g of protein in it.

Anyway, after that big long description, I was wondering whether any of yous think protein (as opposed to carbohydrate) bonking is a thing? Anyone have any experience of this?

PS is there another word for bonking? Saying it always makes me want to giggle like a teenager.

OP here again. While condensation is definitely an issue with the Vaude Taurus Ultralight (small space, not much in the way of ventilation, and no cross ventilation at all), this isn't what has been exercising me over the years. You know when water is coming from below when it rains so much the ground is really wet and it starts bubbling up through the groundsheet, or you even get a bit of a stream running through

As I said above, I'm rather taken with the idea of a shower curtain for this tent, and am looking around for a 3 person tent (for when I'm touring with another person). The decent Vaude models are now only a little cheaper than a Hilleberg Anjan, which has me counting up my farthings and ha'pennies to see if they might stretch that far, since I've heard nowt but good stuff about Hillebergs (might open a new thread on whether Hilleberg tents are worth the cost).

My Busch and Müller LED front light (driven off a dynamo hub) automatically switches between daylight and nighttime mode. During the day it focuses a thin beam towards drivers to help me be seen, but when the light dims, it switches to a lower, wider beam that allows me to see where I'm going.

It's more than sufficient in tunnels (tested in long, curvy, unlit Norwegian tunnels with nasty signs sticking out of rough-hewn rock sides), and, like all the dynamo lights I've seen for years (StZVO standard), provides a glow noticeable to other traffic when going through shade/light under trees or cuttings.

I'm afraid I don't know what model I have, but it cost about 30 or forty quid ten years ago, and I'd assume most decent dynamo front lights now have a similar feature. You can have a look at B+M lights at https://www.bumm.de/en/products.html (other brands are available, but I don't know them to recommend them).

I see you'd prefer not having a dynamo hub, but perhaps worth thinking about next time you need to replace your rims (if that ever happens). I find having it on the dynamo hub is nice not only because drag is negligible and I don't have to worry about remembering to turn it on or off (no concerns about charging or remembering to remove and attach lights etc).

Thanks for all your inputs - it's put my problem into perspective. The current Vaude Taurus which, although it's about 15 years old now, never had a dry floor in wet weather even when new. I would have thought it was a one-off fault had it not been for previous Vaude tents having the same problem.

I do like the idea of a shower curtain - not too crinkly, tough but not too heavy, and should be big enough to cut into the shape of the 2-person Taurus and use as a footprint. Thanks Irc for that idea.

Since I'm about to start looking for a slightly larger tent, I just need to cross my fingers for a decent floor next time. If not, then it's (shower) curtains for the new tent. And definitely for the current 2-person Taurus which I'll still use for solo-trips.

PH wrote: ↑28 Sep 2022, 3:09pm Are you sure it's water coming up through the floor and not condensation, particularly under a mat?

Definitely seepage from below rather than condensation - the floor fails your bucket test, and in real life conditions, the water gets trapped below the plastic sheet (on top of the floor, inside the tent) and never between plastic sheet and mat.

From what you're saying, it sounds like your footprint/protector is pretty much waterproof? Mine is the same material as the floor, and only seems to be any good at protecting the floor from stones, sticks and the like (but not water).

I've never really thought about this before, but after returning from a very wet trip I got round to asking the question:
Why do tent floors allow water from the ground seep in?

The only time I've had waterproof tent floors were on cheap 1980s tents with heavy woven-tarp type floors. Since I've moved up in the world and bought myself half-way decent tents the floors have always been pretty useless in the keeping-wet-out business, and I've always had a thick polythene sheet on the inside of the tent, in addition to the footprint underneath.

My current and last few tents have all been mid-range Vaude tents - so somewhere between cheapo and Hilleberg standard. As regards standing up to wind and rain they've been great (at least with the water from above).

Does anyone else have this problem or am I hounded by poor luck? And what do you do to stop seepage on damp/wet nights? Any particular brands good (am thinking about buying a 3-person tent since current 2-person is obviously too small for 2 people).