Cycling UK Forum

Blazin D

We need a smidge more info, like budget and are you credit card whizzing it or taking all your own kit like? Then we can refine you a series of suggetsions.

Marc

Maybe you've already made your decision.

I bought a new bike with 7 speed hub gears and hub brakes about 3 years ago. I use it every day for commuting and round town. I thoroughly recommend the hub gears for this purpose - I am delighted with the bike. The ability to change gears while stopped is a particular delight.

I live in a fairly flat area, so the gears are wide enough - but the new 8 speed has a wider range.

Maintenance drastically reduced - you soon learn how to mend a puncture or replace an inner tube without removing the wheels completely.

For longer runs it is less suitable - heavy and slightly less efficient than derailleurs - but still perfectly usable if you don't mind going a little more slowly!

If you plan a trip to France use the French on-line map site mappy.com to plan your route, it will also show you all camp sites in the area you are interested in.

http://www.mappy.com/

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING AND NOTHING WORKED.I WENT OUT THIS MORNING AND BOUGHT A WIRED ONE WORKS PERFECT.

Posted on behalf of Mark Jacobson :

The magazine changed ownership during 2004 and suffered from a few production difficulties. We now hope that these are behind us and the issues will appear regularly in your newsagents.

Subscriptions can be obtained by phoning CW at 01795 599 191.

The first issue this year is Feb, Mar has gone to the printers and Apr carries a special feature on touring in Wales.
MLJ

Various sources to look at:
Sustrans maps NN5A,NN1X & NN2A
KCC leaflets:Blue Bell Way R17 (Medway)
Walking & Cycling Guide to Kent Thameside
The Weald on Wheels R18
London: TfL maps of Ken's Patch
Cuckoo Trail
Crab & Winkle
Also, use the OS Landranger or Explorer maps and make your own!

You may have already done so, but it is easy to miss the instruction that after replacing battery "Do the ALL CLEAR operation, and set up the unit again". You might want to check the Odometer reading before doing this, so that it can be restored if your model allows this, as does the Cordless 3.

If you feel uneasy about cycling in to Amsterdam, you can catch the Flying Ferry. From Ijmuiden, cycle a few kilometres on to Velsen Zuid on the south bank of the Noordzee Kanaal. From there you can get a hydrofoil which takes you and your bike right in to the centre of Amsterdam behind Centraal Station. The service is half hourly, and costs 4.70 Euros for an adult and 2.30Euros for your bike(fiets). The Flying Ferry website is at www.connexxion.nl it is in Dutch but you will probably get the gist of it. It is an exciting trip along the canal!

May be due to the cold weather reducing the transmitter range. I've been through the new batteries, returned for repair etc. and still had to mount the head on the fork crown to get it to work in sub zero temperatures....then SJSC kindly swapped it for a new wired version which did the trick! Unless you have suspension fork or are obsessed with tidy cabling that's probably your best option.

hey, kathrine. you don't say what part of scotland but i would recommend the south west corner. dumfries and galloway has some great cycling both on and off road, very little traffic and great scenery including coast, mountains and lochs. cycle hire available at Castle Douglas Cycle Centre, phone 01556 504542. the usual OS maps will be adequate to your needs.

I managed to fix the bizarre presentation of this thread by removing a post which contained a very l o n g URL.

I guess we will have to tiny URL the long ones.

Apologies to pwward - your post on the 15 Jan - long URL for some aspect of the BMI.

Cheers
mbadmin

I did a bike tour about 7 years ago. Flew to Lisbon, 10 days along coast and countryside, stayed a night or two in Lisbon. Then flew home.
Lisbon is about the busiest traffic I have ever seen. So much so that the day I left I allowed time and walked my bike to the airport.
Country road surfaces are very variable. Watch closely for potholes.
When drivers see a car in front, they often blow their horn. Bit irritating at first, then I thought, well it is a warning instrument and that's how they were using it.
Difficult to find accomm in rural areas.
Can't comment on the rest of your journey without knowing intended route.

I also cycle commute (although only five miles each way) and I exclusively use LED/battery lights for my sins. I've found the Cateye TL - LD 600 and TL-LD1000 both excellent rear lights and (using both) I've never had any visibility issues. I also use the Cateye Compact Opticube EL 400 3-LED Front Light and a (now out of fashion) Krypton bulb front lamp for forward visibility. A note on rechargable batteries, I use high-intensity rechargables (got mine from Maplin) which are fine in terms of brightness, but like all rechargeables suffer from a negligable "fade-out" time. As a result you'll set off with bright lights and suddenly during the journey find the light has died altogether. The only solution to this is to have several front and back (I've got three at the back and two at the front) and keep a regular recharging schedule (making sure your batteries don't suffer from "memory effect"). The good news is, despite the rapid transition from bright light to flat batteries, the LED lights last absolutely ages - especially on flash mode. Alternatively, just revert to dynamos as everyone else seems to suggest. Peter

I am new to CTC (having only joined online a week ago, haven't even received the memebership card yet- anyone any idea how long this will take?) although I have been enthusiastically cycling using my Giant Expedition for about four years now. I'm now looking to spend some more money on her, and start participating in longer bicycle rides- with the possibility of some touring come the summer. I was looking firstly to get hold of some new tyres to compliment the
excellent Revolution Air Track Floor Pump I was fortunate enough to recently get hold of recently. Schwalbe Marathon Plus look to be ideal to me, anyone got any thoughts on these? Next I was looking at the idea of getting some cleates and proper cycling shoes, but am still slightly nervous of these- especially as I use the Expedition for the daily five mile commute to work (through City traffic). Is it going to be practical to keep stopping and starting at traffic lights? What models do members recommend? I was looking at Shimano A515 Pedals and Shimano M152 Shoes, although I confess complete ignorance as to whether these will even work together, much less for me! Looking forward to your comments, thanks,
Peter

Thank you for your advice and comments.The CTC mag. have also echoed the info. on people in cars v people on bikes. Your observations on what it can be like travelling by train has also convinced me to keep cycling. thanks

BJ