Cycling UK Forum

vexed wrote: south of the Waal, towards Nijmegen, then north to Arnhem, pick up the southern edge of the Veluwe, then head back along LF4.

If you get anywhere near Nijmegen, don't miss Velorama, an amazing collection of historic bicycles:

http://www.velorama.nl/engels/museum/index.html

MacBludgeon wrote:Thanks for the review, re this shifting thing, I can't find it now but I was reading a thread/article/blog somewhere that indicated this problem was due to initial cable setup. It certainly criticised some mechanics for being too slapdash in this area, thankfully, if it is this, then easy and cheap to sort out.

I've just fitted an 11-speed hub to a Brompton and am also experiencing iffy shifting from/to 6th gear. I sometimes hear clicking noises that sound lik the clutches are partially engaging.

The thread you regfere to was probably at Hubstripping.com here: http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/11-speed-alfine-hub-from-shimano/

In my view, the OP's theories concerning the exact setting of exposes cable length are unlikely to explain the symptoms. Surely the 184mm setting is merely to get you into the middle of the adjustment range at the lever end of the cable? I spent some time wondering why Shimao had made the cable abutment bracket so long compared to the 8 speed. It's something of an encumbrance on a 16 inch wheel. Then I realised that it's because of the weather seal, or boot on the cable. The long travel of the cable would pull the boot into the pulley if the bracket was shorter.

I'm not too worried and I suspect that the return spring is a little too weak to consistently overcome the friction in the cable. It's possible that a few miles of running-in will ease the internals a bit.

Kalkhoff Agattu Lite Alfine 11: http://www.50cycles.com/product.htm?product=agattu-lite-alfine-11-speed

(Belt drive)

2CV67 wrote:This thread is proving invaluable!

I still find it hard to accept Shimano getting this so wrong!
Will they correct it soon?

I don't see how they can correct it now. They can't redesign the hub overnight and they can't change their stated minimum ratio without losing credibility. I will be running mine at 1.8 with a 26 inch wheel and am not at all concerned given that:

1 The 1.9 recommendation will have a big safety factor built in

2 Shimano must be expecting lots of people to use lower ratios and would not risk this if they expected failures as a result.

3 They are probably just covering themselves against too many claims

4 Shimano have no way of establishing what ratio a broken hub has been subjected to

5 The range of rider weights / power outputs is vast and I'm definitely on the low end of the range

On another forum there are posts (which I can't find now) from some superman desert racer who raced down the Baja Peninsula with an Alfine 8 and a very low MTB drive ratio with no problems at all. I can't imagine a harsher environment except possibly a tandem.

The interesting question is, what compromise forced Shimano to come up with the 1.9 advisory and thereby potentially lose a slice of the market? Leaving aside the possibility that the marketing department left it up to the engineers (surely not), why didn't they beef it up a bit? Was it perhaps the constraint of trying to keep it the same size as the 8-speed? Or just cost? Weight maybe?

I'm just waiting for my hub to arrive from Germany and as soon as it's here I will be swapping it for the 8-speed that came with my Dahon Cadenza. This will be my first wheel build so hub failure will not be my main worry! I'll be very light on the pedals for the first few miles.

Incidentally, I seem to have accidentally bought two 11-speed shifters (complicated, don't ask), so if anyone wants to buy one off me...

You can buy a modern die-cast model of Supercar. Don't ask me how I know. Appropriately, they do a monochrome version painted in blacks and greys.

Also, they have released a DVD boxed set of all the episodes with a "the making of" documentary.

I was in a similar position a few months back as i had a Rohloff that I wanted to build a bike around. I was sold on the idea of an eccentric BB as it seemed the most elegant solution to me. I looked at Velotraum also and even arranged a test ride at the SPEZI exhibition in Germany. However, as soon as I saw one in the flesh, I relised I wouldn't be happy spending 700 plus Euros on one. Van Nicholas look tasty but too dear and I think they are 700c (?) and I wanted 26 inch wheels.

Somebody then mentioned the Dahon Cadenza, which I had never heard off to be honest. Ally frame, 26 inch wheels, hybrid style with low standover height, brazeons for everything, luggage, guards, discs or V brake. Best of all, they do one model with an Alfine hub that has an eccentric BB, with a clamp as opposed to the not so nice set screw arrangement on the Thorn. Rohloff do a torque bracket that adapts a disc brake mount which looks a lot less fussy than the torque arm. And it fold in half! And it's got that pump in the seat stem thingie for what it's worth.

The best bit was that I got a previous year model for not much more than half price, about £360 I think, which is less that I was prepared to pay for frame and forks alone. The way I see it, the Cadenza is a versatile frame that I can re-use on future projects.

One snag though, I had a ride round before I removed the Alfine and really liked it. I'm not a massive fan of the Rohloff to begin with and now I can't help thinking how rough it feels. Alfine 11 maybe?

awparker wrote:May I add my voice in favour of the small NCN stickers.

Comments from any NCN volunteer rangers, whose work I much appreciate, would be particularly welcome

Alan

Speaking as a Volunteer Ranger noob, we can't put up finger posts without liaison with local authorities / highways etc, whereas we can usually get away with a sticker here and there. It's not a cost issue, we can order as many signs as we need. Finger posts are definitely the easiest to follow but they do tend to mysteriously move about, as someone mentioned. Can I suggest that next time anyone gets annoyed when they find one that's off target, they just straighten it up rather than complaining.

Surely it's a spoof, or worse a scam? I don't see any links to a .gov site, only to a publisher's page for buying the guide book.

I got my invitation to apply through the post yesterday and i've decided what to do. I'm going to send off for an application pack, read it thoroughly, make an appointment at my local processing centre in Blackburn (which is a mere twenty miles away), go down when called, and then spend some of their time telling them what an iniquitous scheme they are running and rip up my application.

I apologise to all you taxpayers out there for wasting a little bit of your money, but I'm hoping this approach will be cheaper in the long run.

Not sure why nobody has mentioned this yet, but the problem with combining a triple and a 3-speed hub is that you will have nine ratios but neither shifter on its own will give you reasonably small steps. So every gear change will be a double shift. Also, some of your ratios may be duplicates. Even with nine distinct ratios, and a cunning sequence of double shifts, since you will have a fairly large overall range the steps between ratios will be larger than the ideal.

Before you apply, have a look here: http://www.no2id.net/

It's possible to plot a path in Google Earth, save as a .kml file and then use (free) conversion software to a generate .gpx file. This can then be imported into the eTrex as a route.

If you opt for direct routing, as opposed to auto routing, in practice, you will be able to follow the route with the eTrex even in you don't have the detailed Garmin maps.

psmiffy wrote:the mapping outside the major towns is practically non-existant

I've just checked my 2009 version of the Garmin maps (City Navigator NT 2009) and there is a lot more detail in Estonia than there used to be. Looks pretty complete in fact.

I have recently acquired a campervan with a similar idea to yours, i.e., using it as a base for day rides and short tours. It hasn't been a complete success to be honest. There are a few things I have found out from experience, for instance:

I don't feel like I can safely leave the van unattended in public car parks. This means that I would have to pay for at least two nights in a commercial camp site to do a day ride. In Spain recently, I struggled to find a camp site open near the start of the vias verde I was planning to explore. It's somehow not the same as leaving your car in a carpark. Campers are targetted by thieves and are likely to have more valuable items inside.

I agree that a garage compromises the living space, especially on a smaller van, but if you keep the bike(s) in the living space you have to think about securing them without damaging the furnishings. An unsecured bike could be lethal in a front end collision. In my case, I got a van with an over-cab bed. Since I only use it as a bed occasionally, it is ideal for storing a bike with no need for tie-downs. Also, the bike can stay put during overnight stops because it doesn't encroach on the living space. I have a Moulton separable and a Brompton. The Moulton goes over the cab, the Brompton in the storage locker. A full size bike goes over the cab with no trouble.

Other non-cycling related things that I was aware of that only sank in after a few trips are the fuel consumption (don't kid yourself that you will be able to drive economically), and the sheer complexity of getting the thing on the road. I had the naive notion that I would have it parked up ready to go at a moment's notice. In fact there are a lot of things to know, you will need checklists and hours of preparation each time before you set off, batteries need to be charged, food stocked, fridges pre-cooled, water tanks rinsed and filled, repairs done from the previous trip, etc., etc.

Have a thinkabout the economics. Consider the fact that you have to use a campervan a lot before you start to save money over the alternatives. It helps if you go aw ay for a long trip and keep the mileage down, also the more occupants the better. Campervans hold their value well but they are expensive, so depreciation per annum can be high. Work out how many nights in a hotel you could pay for with this money.


Sorry for concentrating on the drawbacks, but that is what you need to know isn't it? Of course, millions of people love their vans, I'm just not sure how many of them are serious cyclists.

Graddad's tricycle in "No Limit".