Search found 1564 matches

by nirakaro
8 Dec 2023, 6:19pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: When will Eurostar recommence carrying bikes?
Replies: 198
Views: 26741

Re: When will Eurostar recommence carrying bikes?

CJ wrote: 8 Dec 2023, 4:50pm
nirakaro wrote: 7 Dec 2023, 4:32pm Not many bikes would comply with the 36cm maximum width!! Does it still count as ‘fully assembled’ if you’ve had to turn the handlebars? (Which not everyone would know to do.)
... part of a competent touring cyclist's essential skillset. And it's no big deal ...
Certainly. But I'd be mightily annoyed if I was expected to do any of that after paying for the carriage of a 'fully assembled bicycle'.
by nirakaro
7 Dec 2023, 4:32pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: When will Eurostar recommence carrying bikes?
Replies: 198
Views: 26741

Re: When will Eurostar recommence carrying bikes?

Not many bikes would comply with the 36cm maximum width!! Does it still count as ‘fully assembled’ if you’ve had to turn the handlebars? (Which not everyone would know to do.)
by nirakaro
7 Dec 2023, 4:27pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Why my new bike creaks.
Replies: 22
Views: 2872

Re: Why my new bike creaks.

willcee wrote: 7 Dec 2023, 1:08pm... sale of goods act ...
The Sale of Goods Act was replaced in 2015 by the Consumer Rights Act - it always helps to get the terminology right. The provisions are different, and you can read about it here -
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights ... fvv5x8SaYa
by nirakaro
4 Dec 2023, 8:55pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: What should I do with this frame?
Replies: 7
Views: 1092

Re: What should I do with this frame?

gbnz wrote: 4 Dec 2023, 2:06pm
geomannie wrote: 3 Dec 2023, 8:02pm I hate just to put it in the skip.
+ 1. If you've the space, put it in a shed and/or loft for 10 yr's
... and then put it in the skip. :D
by nirakaro
29 Nov 2023, 4:07pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Kilometers or Miles?
Replies: 311
Views: 22724

Re: Kilometers or Miles?

Bmblbzzz wrote: 29 Nov 2023, 9:57am Interestingly, OS maps adopted metric grid before metric contours. Maps I had as a child in the 70s were like that. Presumably this was because a grid can simply be superimposed, whereas contours require re-surveying (spot heights of course can simply be converted).
As I recall, the first series of the 1:50000 maps used the existing contour lines at fifty-foot spacing, but changed the numbers on them to metres.
by nirakaro
26 Nov 2023, 1:25pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Abandoned bike locks
Replies: 21
Views: 2390

Re: Abandoned bike locks

Tangled Metal wrote: 26 Nov 2023, 12:08pm On one of my earliest days at my new job I made a lame joke about hoping I still had my lock key. She said it doesn't matter, they'll have several ways to open it for you. A heavy engineering site, I sure they'd have no issues removing any lock. In fact they'd probably make it a learning experience for the apprentices. It made me smile anyway, not least because losing my bike lock key when it's locked up is one of my very minor stresses.
I'm an inveterate loser of keys, so I only ever use combination bike locks. I'm an inveterate forgetter of number sequences, so I use alphabetical combination bike locks.
by nirakaro
24 Nov 2023, 5:24pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Kilometers or Miles?
Replies: 311
Views: 22724

Re: Kilometers or Miles?

Jdsk wrote: 24 Nov 2023, 9:23am The two common methods for expressing slope on roads are both ways of describing the tangent of the angle of inclination.
Splitting hairs, but I'd have thought the sine would more useful, to give the actual distance pedalled. Though how steep would it have to be to make a difference?
by nirakaro
21 Nov 2023, 10:45am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Kilometers or Miles?
Replies: 311
Views: 22724

Re: Kilometers or Miles?

Bmblbzzz wrote: 21 Nov 2023, 10:27am... the use of pound to mean, often, 500g, but sometimes another weight. Why, having invented a logical scale, do we complicate it by adding names which have no place?
Old habits die hard. The French still call 500g 'un livre', after what, nearly 250 years.
by nirakaro
19 Nov 2023, 11:02am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cycling using trains (in UK and EU)
Replies: 588
Views: 61758

Re: travelling with your bike on the continent

bobbyblue wrote: 18 Nov 2023, 10:31pm Has anyone taken their bike on the interail global pass through Europe ?
Yes, I used Interrail to get to Italy and back last year, and touring in France this year. I only used local/regional trains, not TGVs, which I understand require reservations and charge a supplement. All straightforward and problem-free. Practically paid for itself on just the UK legs, getting from Leeds to Dover and back
by nirakaro
12 Nov 2023, 5:46pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cycle Retail In Meltdown.
Replies: 195
Views: 24356

Re: Cycle Retail In Meltdown.

Cowsham wrote: 9 Nov 2023, 8:10pm I lusted after one my grannies ...
It's lines like this that make you realise the value of proper punctuation! :shock:
by nirakaro
27 Oct 2023, 12:57pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Group bike transport
Replies: 16
Views: 3719

Re: Group bike transport

European Bike Express have a coach with a purpose-built trailer for bikes. Not in use currently I imagine, as I think their season is over. I wonder if it would be worth contacting them about a one-off hire?
https://www.bike-express.co.uk/Corporate_Events
by nirakaro
23 Oct 2023, 4:16pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Being 'Equipped to Free Bikes'
Replies: 18
Views: 4611

Re: Being 'Equipped to Free Bikes'

jimlews wrote: 23 Oct 2023, 2:29pm ... I think the correct procedure would be to approach a police man and explain your dilemma.
Haha, when did you last see a bobby on the beat?
by nirakaro
13 Oct 2023, 10:12pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Train from Nice to St Malo
Replies: 8
Views: 4048

Re: Train from Nice to St Malo

Just one small detail to add: Deutsche Bahn thinks that you can’t take bikes on the TER to Calais Ville. But you can. I have.
by nirakaro
9 Oct 2023, 10:03pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Col de Larche
Replies: 3
Views: 3486

Re: Col de Larche

Many thanks for that - very helpful. The Tourist Office, though, seems to contradict itself: “The ascent of the pass by bike can be done … from Barcelonnette” but “the first 5 kilometers are prohibited for pedestrians, tractors and bicycles due to the risk of landslides.”
Or am I missing something?
by nirakaro
9 Oct 2023, 5:37pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Col de Larche
Replies: 3
Views: 3486

Col de Larche

It’s a lovely steady, scenic ride from France to Italy that I did ten or fifteen years ago, and looks like a re-visit might fit nicely into next year’s plan, but - I’ve read that although the French side is open to motor traffic, it’s closed to cyclists and pedestrians due to “risk of landslides”.
Personally, if it’s safe enough for cars and vans, I’d be inclined to file that risk under elf-n-safety-gorn-mad, and take my chances. Anybody know if this prohibition is real? And to what extent, if any, it is enforced?