Cycling UK Forum

Ortlieb still make one.



Although indeed only really purchased by riders like Katie who carry less robust SLR cameras as of course the padding does reduce the storage capacity. I dare say a home made Heath Robinson affair could relatively easily be made to fit other bags.

Padding aside I would also sugget a waterproof bar bag, both interms of protection from the elements plus the fact most bar bags hang from a bracket, as apposed to resting on top of a pannier rack, as such they may not transfer as much vibration through to what looks like a lovely, yet delicate camera, I can see why you want to take it . Bar bags are also quite handy when you want to stop for just a moment to take a quick snap, you do not even need to dismount for a quickie

Having said all that I carry mine in the small pocket on the back of my Rack Pack. In all cases no matter how waterproof the storage I would recommend those little moisture absorbing packets that you get in shoe boxes etc, as moisture is in the air after all, plus bags can sweat a bit in the summer if you are riding through humid/showers/sunshine.

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

PW wrote:It helps to have a handlebar bag suspended in fresh air. Once upon a time they were made with internal foam packing to accomodate SLR body & an assortment of lenses, though I haven't seen one advertised for a while. Like Paul I now use a digital compact - it weighs far less than the old Zenit E!

I use to tour with mine but the bouncing around never did it much good,

In the end I replaced it with a waterpoof digital compact, the result can be seen in my Corsica and London to Paris write ups below

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

katied wrote:Hello

I am going on a cycle tour for approx 2 months across Europe & desperately want to take my digital SLR camera with me (even though I think it may be too bulky!)

Has anybody had any experience with touring with a DLSR for a few months....I am wondering if the constant bouncing around in my panniers might stuff up the electronics?

cheers
Katie

Paint: is what you imagine it would be, just applied with either brush/spay gun etc, air dried, only really used when you are either touching up scratches or chips on you current bike. Some of course use this method for a DIY renovation, although the finish will seldom look that professional unless you are experienced or have a flair of that kind of thing, also not that hardwearing and chip resistant.

Powder Coat: Used by some companies (Dawes did use this when they made frames in house at Birmingham)is a far more technical process. The powdered paint is electrostatically charged and sprayed onto the frame, which is then placed in an oven and the powder particles melt and coalesce to form a continuous film. This gives a very hardwearing chip resistant finish, although it does look a bit 'thin' when compared to to thicker/deeper enameled finished. From a manufactuers point of view less paint is of course a consideration when making a high volume, as is the fact that the whole system is more condusive to production line manufacture.

Enamel: Frames are sprayed/lacquered then baked to form a hard finish, most bike frames are re-enameled. Deep shine, very professional finish (if done well) hardwearing although can chip quite easily. As well as renovations most custom builders will be enameled.

Some useful contacts:

Vaz Cycle Finishes: - 020 8852 0711,
Lewisham,
London SE13, for a plain enamel he is superb.

Colour Tech: - 01322 555549.
OLD FARM BUILDINGS
MAIDEN LANE
DARTFORD
DA1 4LX.
Probably slightly better than Vaz at the more intricate finishes; although I have not used Vaz for a few years, he may be as good now.

www.daveyatescycles.co.uk - 01526 343322 (During office hours only please!)
Ivy House Farm
Hawthorn Hill
Coningsby
Lincolnshire
LN4 4UW, very good and will send frame by carrier if need be

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

simon153 wrote:I have bought a new frame cheaply because it has a blemished paint finish and I would like to change the colour and get a decent finish on it.I have a couple of Thorn Tandems with powder coating and really like the finish.This frame will be built into a tourer/day ride/audax bike.Could I have some advice please on;

Powder coating or respray or enamelling?

Anywhere within a reasonable distance of Cambridge who you can recommend to refinish a frame.

Simon

A good suggestion, some pedals will allow a weaker spring tension than others, see the small allen key at the front, these are double sided and can be very slack indeed, the brand is 'Wellgo'. If you have never used clipless before then essentially they work like a Ski Binder, infact 'Look', a make of Ski Binder also make cycle pedals.



Alternatively you can buy some that are a normal pedal one side, although these Shimano pedals will not allow such a slack spring tension as the Wellgo above



Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

dbrunner wrote:Hi,

Have you considered clipless pedals to help keep your foot in place? If possible, try out different styles at the LBS to see if they can help you find the 'right' one for you.

Good luck,

Dave

The Post office normally leave a note if you are not in (if parcel will not go through letter box) asking for you to collect the parcel from the local post office depot, if they forget to do this you obviously don’t know and as such don't go and collect it, the parcel will eventually get returned to sender.

When a parcel goes astray like this it can take a 14-21 days for it to get back to sender as naturally the Post Office hold the parcel awaiting collection, as such Wiggle will have to wait for it to go through the post office returns system, what ever happens I doubt very much that they are knowing telling you an untruth, it is just unfortunate that when an order goes astray it can take a while for it to be resolved. As for a phone number for Wiggle you could try 023 9237 0033 or 023 9231 4813

Would always recomend using a Credit Card to buy items on line, that way you are covered.

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

stephen wrote:I ordered a hub from wiggle 10 days ago. They took my money and claim to have despatched it 2 days later, 8 days ago.

I have not received it, they have failed to respond to 3 e-mails over the last three days. Yet they have my money. Surely this constitutes theft, and I have no come back.

Stephen

My advice is turn up as soon as Check in allows and print off the Easy Jet baggage page, especially the sentence that states "Only one bicycle per bicycle box or bag will be permitted".

I have been on several tours where the airline initially refused to take a riders bike, tactful negotiation got their bikes on eventually on each occasion though.

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

Neil Walker wrote:Lisa

Hope you are wrong about inevitable damage from flying. I am not the best mechanic in the world .

When I received the bag from Bike Adventures, they pointed out that some people had been refused at Easyjet at Luton even though they had used the plastic bag as shown on Easyjet's website. I am supposed to be flying Easyjey from Stansted so who knows, I may not even get away after all this.

Neil

Not sure how to delete a duplicated post ?

I assume like many bike shops one of the first things we do when a customer brings a bike in for a service is to check to see if the rim walls are starting concave, rim wear and possible subsequent failure to many is often never a consideration, as in the past when rims were made of steel this was not an issue.

Although some of the Mavic range now have rim wear indicators it is indeed surprising that the Open pro do not, although the new Open Pro Sport Model does! This is not a problem unique to Mavic of course.

Education is also something that needs to be looked at, as many rims now suffer with wear and failure like this then riders need to be made more aware that this is something they need to look out for. Cycle manufacturers are of course aware of the problem, I note that a few bikes aimed at stop/start riding such as commuting bikes as mentioned earlier are now coming with Disc brakes, most new upmarket ATB bikes are also now fitted with disc brakes as well, in part for the very same reason.

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

JohnW wrote:A question for CJ - Have you referred this matter (i.e. Carl Gerrard's disaster) to Chickens? Surely the reason for such a failure should be ascertained and published. Is it possible that the wheelbuilder is responsible?

A question for Carl Gerrard - have you referred this matter to your wheelbuilder? Your wheelbuilder didn't make the rim, but he has access to the importer, and you must certainly be owed a new rim, and an explanation from somebody.

If either of you have, what was the response?

This rim was apparently murderously defective - someone should be held responsible for this - I don't just mean for the cost, I mean that someone could have lost their life here. When I think of some of the hills in my part of the world (Halifax/Huddersfield/Keighley), that we traverse daily, and the speeds we habitually attain (certainly over 40mph) on day to day descents, such a rim failure could certainly have killed me. All this is to say nothing of the Dale-to-Dale passes which we cross on day rides out (e.g. Fleet Moss, Shaking Moss, Deepdale, Buttertubs Pass, Oxnop Ghyll).

CJ - does the CTC have an officer appointed to raise such serious matters with manufactureres/importers? Should not such matters be submitted to the mainstream Cycling press, as a warning to others? We do have a responsibility to each other. I respectfully and earnestly suggest that the picture and Carl Gerrard's account should be prominiently featured in "Cycling".

This is a big issue and should not be dropped.

JohnW

A Cliff Shrubb frame I think also still holds the British speed record, that if I recall is held by Dave Le Grys, with a gear so big he had to be towed behind a car to get it going, he then sat in the slip stream behind a special fairing that was attached to a works TWR Rover Vitesse, like the one in that link but white with a huge enclosed fairing on the back. The attempt was over two days an unopened new stretch of the M42 motorway near Alvechurch.

Trivia that I hope is still correct, the record was 126 mph set in 1986. Incidentally Cliff still owns the bike as he never got paid for it I believe, but he has not got a clue where it is, unless anyone else does??

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

KEELIEDW wrote:The CTC newsletter 23.03.07 linked to a Canadian site showing HPVs achieving 80mph speeds. I suspect that there might have been gravity/ wind assistance; the only true test is a 2-way run within a narrow time-slot to avoid tactical waiting for wind direction to change, and to negate gradient advantage.
Does anyone know the official human powered speed records for 1. land and 2. water ?

In the past it was quite common to allow tyres to mature over the winter in a dark dry place like a cupboard, especially when most of us used delicate tubular tyres for racing that were harder to repair when you got a puncture, the theory being that rubber would become more resilient to punctures.

Riiding style also helps, a smooth pedaling action is better interms of wear and tear on equipment; including tyres

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

hubgearfreak wrote:

andrew_s wrote:Conti original Top Touring,

they're the fellows. i inherited a pair from my mum, c.1997. look tatty now, but still going

Bikeadventures sell what is apparently a slightly thicker version of the CTC branded bag, I have never seen the CTC bag (we did not have them when we ran the CTC Shop) although I know of someone who has seen both.

I have used the same 'Bike Adventures' bag several times now so can confirm that it is quite robust.

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

Neil Walker wrote:I am booked to fly with Easyjet from Stansted on 21/4 and back to Gatwick on 22/4 with my bike. Following CTC advice I intended to put my bike in the a plastic bag as shown on Easyjet's website. Unfortunately the CTC Shop is sold out of the bags ( price £3.60 each). and I cannot find an alternative supplier. I cannot use a bike box because I returning from a different airport. Has anyone a spare couple of bags that I can purchase or borrow please or suggest another supplier?

UK Prices from the official distributors site are shown here, the model you have is £65.00 here in the UK, you should not have beeb quoted £100.00

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

ThomasDylan wrote:If you do decide to replace your lights, get some Busch & Muller LED D'Lumotec ones. I have the standlight, sensor version and it's great.

As I did, get it from here: http://www.bike24.com , far cheaper than UK sellers and really good service. It arrived in a few days. The top of the range front & rear lights came to 74 Quid. In the UK, the front light alone was 100 Quid, both including P&P.

It is often only stale sweat that smells so take a shower before leaving, also a complete change fo clothes is essential.

I worked in life assurance for six years a changed is a small toilet, you could take a small flask of water if there is no where for a wash and use one of theseTravel Towels as they are very compact and very effective.

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

Alex wrote:I would love to ride my bike to work, but I have tried this in the past and I just end up being all sweaty and smelly all day - there are no showers!

Does anyone have any tips on minimising sweatyness, or cleaning up without the use of a shower?

First thing to check is to make sure the point where the circuit is 'earthed' is OK, as you may well be earthing the circuit yourself when you touch the lamp

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

andyf wrote:Help please. My dynamo lights are about 8 years old. Over last few months the front light intermittently loses power. I may be imagining it but it sometimes returns to life if I touch it with my hand! Anyway I feel the basis wires and connection are still OK, maybe the generator/bottle is worn out? (The dyamo bottle is on the back wheel, and the back light doesn't have any problems).

Where to start looking?

And, if I end up buying a new set what you recommend, and how do I work out what lights are ocmpatible with what dynamos?
Thanks, Andy

As I said in my post they will not appeal to everyone

Paul Smith
www.bikeplus.co.uk

reohn2 wrote:

Mick F wrote:Just called in at a new "Specialized Concept Store" in Saltash. I was told it was one of only four (I think he said) in the country.

Has anyone been in one? What did you think?

I found it not at all to my taste. It was glitzy, full of bling and loud music. The bikes were up on display stands, and componentry up on boards and shelves. Don't get me wrong, the stuff was fantastic and beautiful.

It was the WAY it was presented that I didn't like.

The place was clean and new, and everything was there for all to see the complete range of Specialized equipment. Upstairs, there was a massive and wonderful array of clothing, helmets and shoes.

Trouble is, the place reminded me more of Topshop or River Island than a bicycle shop!

Mick F. Cornwall

Mick
If its anything like Harry Hall's in Manchester they can keep it.
It seems the younger generation(can't believe I just typed that)prefere to shop in these kind of stores and take their bikes to be serviced!!! there too, they're trying to sell bikes like cars,its all concepts and as you said glitz.
They're selling an idea a dream if you will hence the elevated stands and glass cases,as a mate once said they're squeezing your melon (they're messing with you're head Mick don't go in there again you may come out,well broke but not happy ).
A word of advice for the younger and more vunerable amongst us,One must steel one's self when going into one of these places see it for what it is,UNREAL,then get thyself away from its evil to an oily LBS where its cantankerous owner will be honest and advise thee in the way of mudflaps,where Carradice is still venerated,and the fixed wheel will and can be talked about openly and not in hushed tones behind ones hand.

DON'T GO THERE THY SOUL IS AT STAKE.