Search found 414 matches

by vjosullivan
13 Sep 2014, 9:03pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: How to train for long distance cycle touring
Replies: 14
Views: 3289

Re: How to train for long distance cycle touring

Sign up for warmshowers.org. Disconnect the internet. Turn out the lights. Disconnect the electricity and sell your home? That'll confuse anyone that turns up for a room. :)
by vjosullivan
29 Aug 2014, 8:11am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Why are bikes so expensive…
Replies: 211
Views: 12022

Re: Why are bikes so expensive…

Dave W wrote:At what price does a bike become expensive?

Yoda, in "Cycling for Jedis", wrote:'Affordable' or 'not affordable'. There is no 'expensive'.
by vjosullivan
12 Jul 2014, 4:10pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Dried ready meals …
Replies: 28
Views: 12712

Re: Dried ready meals …

s2vmx wrote:How about Vesta Curry - if its still produced?

Stu

I think they're called "Pot Noodles" now.
by vjosullivan
24 May 2014, 1:50pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Viscount bicycles!!
Replies: 2796
Views: 444345

Re: Viscount bicycles!!

Sooper8 wrote:I admire anyone who takes a principled stand on such issues. There is a guy on here who will not buy from Amazon due to the fact that they don't pay a penny tax here in UK. I support that and applaud him...

Actually Amazon paid (an albeit paltry) £4 million tax last year. That said, I agree with the principle. However, tax law is set by governments not by companies. So, unless Amazon are actually breaking any UK laws (and they don't appear to be) then they'd be pretty stupid to pay more than they need to. I know I don't. The real question is why has the government set up the system to reward all big companies in this way (not just ones with brands that make good headlines), and then not taken the trouble to update them if they really agree that these companies should pay more. Blaming Amazon is good PR for activists and politicians but it actually lets the real culprits (the politicians) off the hook and nothing gets changed.


- All I really wanted to say was that the Cane Creek reproduction brake hoods, mentioned earlier, are good but not quite as tight as the Weinmann originals. I fitted some on my old (does 1980s count as old already?) Dawes Horizon. -
by vjosullivan
22 May 2014, 9:03pm
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: Travelodge & Hostel LEJOG, equipment?
Replies: 29
Views: 15425

Re: Travelodge & Hostel LEJOG, equipment?

fossala wrote:Basicly I'm planning on not wearing any cycle clothes for more than 2 days.

Cycling naked? That really is taking travelling light to the extreme!
by vjosullivan
18 May 2014, 9:45am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: FIRST TIME FRANCE
Replies: 28
Views: 8265

Re: FIRST TIME FRANCE

somebloke wrote:We ... don't speak French and have no idea where to start.

There are several online web sites that teach the basics of languages. I am currently using Duolingo on my iPad. It's free and has an online counterpart (at http://www.duolingo.com). Everything is broken down into small chunks that take about ten to fifteen minutes to complete (a little longer if you keep repeating a section until you get 100%.) Designed to be used casually and daily, this particular app may suit lapsed speakers who have forgotten more than the learned at school but it does seem to work.
by vjosullivan
16 May 2014, 11:13pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: To Europe and back with bike on a budget
Replies: 15
Views: 5891

Re: To Europe and back with bike on a budget

22camels wrote:BA budget fares. The two times I've flown so far have been with BA and they were excellent. They take bikes for free, no fuss, as part of your checked allowance, if you have a standard economy ticket. Their cheapest fares are hand baggage only fares, and are ~£10-15/way cheaper than standard economy. It's also nice to fly with a full service airline without all the gimmicks. Looking at their low fare finder http://www.britishairways.com/travel/lo ... blic/en_gb it looks like you have to limit to destinations no higher than £80 "hand-baggage only return" which picks out Nice, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Pisa, Turin, Alicante, Amsterdam, Genoa, Malaga, Naples, Geneva, Venice, Verona, out of high season - not summer basically - and if you book well in advance. And it's possible to combine these by purchasing one way fares so you fly into one and out of another.

While I'd agree that the hand baggage only fares are good value, I'm not sure they're much help on a cycling trip...
by vjosullivan
15 May 2014, 1:43pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)
Replies: 69
Views: 30128

Re: First EVER Tour! (and I'm going RTW)

Jamesjohnson wrote:My name is James Johnson and I am not a cyclist.

Go for it. There are plenty of non-cyclists that have already done this, many of whom survived. Keep a diary and write a book about it when you get back and you might even cover the costs.

Plenty of similar books out there already though. The names Thomas Stevens and Dervla Murphy come to mind.
by vjosullivan
9 May 2014, 7:08pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Dawes Disc Brake Voluntary Recall
Replies: 28
Views: 12933

Re: Dawes Disc Brake Voluntary Recall

horizon wrote:Dawes are still a serious bike maker

Do Dawes still make bikes? I was very much of the impression that they are really just and importing/distributing/marketing outfit now. That would explain their reluctance to engage with customers or recall bikes themselves. They have neither the hand-on cycle engineering expertise nor the facilities here to physically do any hands-on work, relying instead on the factories in the east to get everything right at their end.

Of course, I may be wrong. Perhaps an email to them would clarify things...
by vjosullivan
4 Apr 2014, 8:44pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: mountain bike for iceland
Replies: 7
Views: 3431

Re: mountain bike for iceland

mercalia wrote:
Cunobelin wrote:Do NOT, repeat do NOT go out in Reykjavik on a Saturday night.


eh please elaborate for the rest of us who arent going?


Reykjavik has a lively social scene, particularly if you're young.
by vjosullivan
28 Mar 2014, 6:38pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Ryanair Bicycle weight??
Replies: 22
Views: 7328

Re: Ryanair Bicycle weight??

HarryD wrote:Ooops! Earlier post was incorrect as several have already pointed out. Ryanair cabin weight limit is 10kg

Ooh, that's tight. BA's cabin baggage weight limit is 23 kg in a cabin bag and another 23 in a smaller personal bag. My cabin bag weighed 16kg on my last trip and personal bag another 5. Unless you fill the bags with lead, I can't imagine breaking those weight limits. But, at least in theory, your total baggage allowance is 69 kg.
by vjosullivan
5 Mar 2014, 10:27pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Pushing Uphill, Should it be Accepted, Maybe EvenRecommended
Replies: 43
Views: 27501

Re: Pushing Uphill, Should it be Accepted, Maybe EvenRecomme

Hand on heart, I think I can say that I've never pushed a bike up a hill (unless it's been too steep to cycle).
by vjosullivan
4 Feb 2014, 7:21pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Which Garmin for touring
Replies: 27
Views: 5263

Re: Which Garmin for touring

Binsted?

I made the mistake, last Friday, of driving from Hook to Binsted on the back roads from Odiham. It felt like there was someone stood behind every hedge, throwing buckets of water over the car as I drove down. I then made a worse mistake, at midnight, of trying to go back the same way. I think I've discovered a new river, just north of Bentley, where the road used to be.
by vjosullivan
4 Feb 2014, 3:01pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Which Garmin for touring
Replies: 27
Views: 5263

Re: Which Garmin for touring

Touring where and for how long between charges?

In the UK I can recommend the Garmin 800 loaded up with 1:50,000 OS map for the UK.
by vjosullivan
13 Dec 2013, 9:32pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cleats - whats that about then?
Replies: 148
Views: 8499

Re: Cleats - whats that about then?

les tocknell wrote:I use multi-directional release SM-SH56 SPD cleats and I swear by them.

I tried SPDs for several months without success and eventually gave up on them before coming across these and gave them them one last try. An immediate success and no worries about doing three or four attempts at the correct 'ankle twist' to detach from the pedal. Somehow these ones seem to 'know' whether I'm lifting the pedal or taking my foot off. I started off with them on the loosest settings... ...and stayed with those settings ever since.

The SPD pedals I use are double sided but with detachable flats clipped on one side. I thought that that would be a good compromise to start with but I don't think I've ever used the flats since.

Curiously, my "off road" bike still has flats and I just can't imagine trying to tackle any of the long distance mud baths (aka bridleways) around our way with any kind of pedal attachments. I always need at least one foot on the ground to extract the bike from the gloop and push myself along (assuming I can find any ground solid enough to do so).

V.