Nubee needs help

"Chris Nowak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle routes.
More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking a Dawes
Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover 120 miles
in 2 days. My questions are:
1/ Is the bike a good choice for this?
2/ will this bike be fast enough to cover the distance without a struggle?
Only carrying 3 days change of clothes.
3/ Do any Sardar owners have any upgrades to suggest for the bike?
Most grateful fore early replies
Chris

Only time I picked up a Dawes Sardar I thought it was very heavy. If its
just for a 2 day event could you rent something locally?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

Blimey that was a quick response.
Tumbleweed you got me worried. The quoted Sardar weight is 30Lbs is this
heavy?

"Tumbleweed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Chris Nowak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle routes.
More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking a Dawes
Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover 120 miles
in 2 days. My questions are:
1/ Is the bike a good choice for this?
2/ will this bike be fast enough to cover the distance without a
struggle? Only carrying 3 days change of clothes.
3/ Do any Sardar owners have any upgrades to suggest for the bike?
Most grateful fore early replies
Chris

Only time I picked up a Dawes Sardar I thought it was very heavy. If its
just for a 2 day event could you rent something locally?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

"Tumbleweed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Chris Nowak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle routes.
More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking a Dawes
Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover 120 miles
in 2 days. My questions are:
1/ Is the bike a good choice for this?
2/ will this bike be fast enough to cover the distance without a
struggle? Only carrying 3 days change of clothes.
3/ Do any Sardar owners have any upgrades to suggest for the bike?
Most grateful fore early replies
Chris

Only time I picked up a Dawes Sardar I thought it was very heavy. If its
just for a 2 day event could you rent something locally?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

I've only ridden a bike in Helsinki itself - just look out for the
tramlines! Drivers are generally more tolerant than here and rush-hour lasts
about 20 minutes. The ski-tracks I have seen are generally a loose surface
and would in my opinion need a widish tyre (so the Sardar is OK here) as we
had trouble with a pushchair at times. If it was me I'd use the tracks to
get out of Helsinki then the roads. You do not need to use highway 3 as
there is a parallel route to the east.There is no comparison with English A
roads; I have driven from Helsinki to Turku in August and feel you would
have no problem on the tarmac. Personally if I were doing 60 miles a day I
would want to use the road rather than soft stuff. Also refreshment is
pretty scarce so stock up when you find it and of course midges can/will be
a problem. Other than that your choice of bike is OK, a bit more
"expedition" than I would use for this trip but it all depends on your
overall cycling plans. Any more queries I'll try and help.

Julia

in message <[email hidden]>, Chris Nowak

(') said:

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle
routes.
More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking a
Dawes Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover
120 miles in 2 days. My questions are:
1/ Is the bike a good choice for this?

Probably, unless the track is in _very_ bad state. The Sardar is at the
adventurous end of tourers and should be pretty competent off road.
However, as Tumbleweed says it is relatively heavy. On _really_ flat
territory this won't matter very much but if the territory is
undulating you will feel it.

If the track is in very poor state it would be worth considering a light
cross country mountain bike.

Quoted message said:

2/ will this bike be fast enough to cover the distance without a
struggle? Only carrying 3 days change of clothes.

That's only 60 miles a day. Unless the track is in very bad state it
should be easy. It does depend on your fitness, of course - you should
get used to riding 60 miles in a day before you go.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

'graveyards are full of indispensable people'

Julia,
Thanks for your suggestions, this is just the sort of practical help I need.
Tramlines I hate and rail tracks when wet - bad experience in Dunkerque when
visiting time trials for Tour de France.
I know this sounds daft but midges/mosquitoes were annoying and unpleasant
when I crossed the Ijsselmer dam 2 yrs ago, am I going to ride into clouds
of them?

Is there anything that you can suggest to alleviate the problem?

What temperature/weather can I expect in June?

Are the Fins good at speaking english?
Regards
Chris

"JBB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Tumbleweed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Chris Nowak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle
routes. More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking
a Dawes Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover
120 miles in 2 days. My questions are:
1/ Is the bike a good choice for this?
2/ will this bike be fast enough to cover the distance without a
struggle? Only carrying 3 days change of clothes.
3/ Do any Sardar owners have any upgrades to suggest for the bike?
Most grateful fore early replies
Chris

Only time I picked up a Dawes Sardar I thought it was very heavy. If its
just for a 2 day event could you rent something locally?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

I've only ridden a bike in Helsinki itself - just look out for the
tramlines! Drivers are generally more tolerant than here and rush-hour
lasts about 20 minutes. The ski-tracks I have seen are generally a loose
surface and would in my opinion need a widish tyre (so the Sardar is OK
here) as we had trouble with a pushchair at times. If it was me I'd use
the tracks to get out of Helsinki then the roads. You do not need to use
highway 3 as there is a parallel route to the east.There is no comparison
with English A roads; I have driven from Helsinki to Turku in August and
feel you would have no problem on the tarmac. Personally if I were doing
60 miles a day I would want to use the road rather than soft stuff. Also
refreshment is pretty scarce so stock up when you find it and of course
midges can/will be a problem. Other than that your choice of bike is OK, a
bit more "expedition" than I would use for this trip but it all depends on
your overall cycling plans. Any more queries I'll try and help.

Julia

Simon,
My problem is I'm not sure what light means. I weigh about 200kgs. If it's
too light it might not be strong enough for me and luggage. When I did
Ijisselmer my road bike started to loose a spoke every few kms and I sheared
off the rear derailleur getting up an embankment. I don't want to risk this
again as it was no fun doing 80km stuck in 5th gear!
Chris

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Chris Nowak

(') said:

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle
routes.
More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking a
Dawes Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover
120 miles in 2 days. My questions are:
1/ Is the bike a good choice for this?

Probably, unless the track is in _very_ bad state. The Sardar is at the
adventurous end of tourers and should be pretty competent off road.
However, as Tumbleweed says it is relatively heavy. On _really_ flat
territory this won't matter very much but if the territory is
undulating you will feel it.

If the track is in very poor state it would be worth considering a light
cross country mountain bike.

Quoted message said:

2/ will this bike be fast enough to cover the distance without a
struggle? Only carrying 3 days change of clothes.

That's only 60 miles a day. Unless the track is in very bad state it
should be easy. It does depend on your fitness, of course - you should
get used to riding 60 miles in a day before you go.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

'graveyards are full of indispensable people'

Chris Nowak said:

Tumbleweed you got me worried. The quoted Sardar weight is 30Lbs is
this heavy?

Not for a tourer.

~PB

Chris Nowak said:

Julia,
Thanks for your suggestions, this is just the sort of practical help I need.
Tramlines I hate and rail tracks when wet - bad experience in Dunkerque when
visiting time trials for Tour de France.
I know this sounds daft but midges/mosquitoes were annoying and unpleasant
when I crossed the Ijsselmer dam 2 yrs ago, am I going to ride into clouds
of them?

Is there anything that you can suggest to alleviate the problem?

What temperature/weather can I expect in June?

Are the Fins good at speaking english?
Regards
Chris

"JBB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Tumbleweed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Chris Nowak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

>Hi,
>I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
>On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle
>routes. More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking
>a Dawes Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover
>120 miles in 2 days. My questions are:
>1/ Is the bike a good choice for this?
>2/ will this bike be fast enough to cover the distance without a
>struggle? Only carrying 3 days change of clothes.
>3/ Do any Sardar owners have any upgrades to suggest for the bike?
>Most grateful fore early replies
>Chris

Only time I picked up a Dawes Sardar I thought it was very heavy. If its
just for a 2 day event could you rent something locally?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

I've only ridden a bike in Helsinki itself - just look out for the
tramlines! Drivers are generally more tolerant than here and rush-hour
lasts about 20 minutes. The ski-tracks I have seen are generally a loose
surface and would in my opinion need a widish tyre (so the Sardar is OK
here) as we had trouble with a pushchair at times. If it was me I'd use
the tracks to get out of Helsinki then the roads. You do not need to use
highway 3 as there is a parallel route to the east.There is no comparison
with English A roads; I have driven from Helsinki to Turku in August and
feel you would have no problem on the tarmac. Personally if I were doing
60 miles a day I would want to use the road rather than soft stuff. Also
refreshment is pretty scarce so stock up when you find it and of course
midges can/will be a problem. Other than that your choice of bike is OK, a
bit more "expedition" than I would use for this trip but it all depends on
your overall cycling plans. Any more queries I'll try and help.

Julia

Fins are generally excellent at English. I have been to Finland several
times, Helsinki and Lapland and found very few people who do not speak
English. As always its appreciated if you make an effort with the basic
hello and thank you etc in their language.

Chris Nowak said:

Simon,
My problem is I'm not sure what light means. I weigh about 200kgs. If it's
too light it might not be strong enough for me and luggage. When I did
Ijisselmer my road bike started to loose a spoke every few kms and I sheared
off the rear derailleur getting up an embankment. I don't want to risk this
again as it was no fun doing 80km stuck in 5th gear!
Chris

200kg, thats about 31 stones. IF you do weigh this much I wouldn't worry
about 10 pounds or so on a bike. You could almost certainl lose 10lbs of
body weight to compensate.

Chris Nowak said:

Simon,
My problem is I'm not sure what light means. I weigh about 200kgs. If
it's too light it might not be strong enough for me and luggage. When
I did Ijisselmer my road bike started to loose a spoke every few kms
and I sheared off the rear derailleur getting up an embankment. I
don't want to risk this again as it was no fun doing 80km stuck in
5th gear!
Chris

200kilos is 30 stone. Are you sure you didn't mean 200lbs? Anyway, what you
want is a wheel that's got plenty of spokes and has been built by someone
who knows their stuff. And p'raps replaceable derailleur hangers and a
seriously strong derailleur (p'raps a MTB one on road cogs?). If you're
200lbs, I'd be wondering what was up with your wheel and how on earth the
derailleur sheared off if it was set up properly.

Chris Nowak said:

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle routes.
More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking a Dawes
Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover 120 miles in
2 days.

I can't answer any of your questions, but I can recommend Finland
as a destination! I've been there many times, including Tampere
(pronounced Tam-per-a) and Helsinki.

You'll get a friendly reception, almost everyone speaks perfect
English, and you'll see some lovely countryside on the way.

Anyway, I would love to hear a trip report if you decide to
do it.

--
jc

Remove the -not from email

Chris Nowak said:

Julia,
Thanks for your suggestions, this is just the sort of practical help I need.
Tramlines I hate and rail tracks when wet - bad experience in Dunkerque when
visiting time trials for Tour de France.

They're not really a problem in Helsinki. There are lots of cycling
facilities if you want to use them and we had no problems with the tram
tracks riding our two tandems there. Outside the centre a lot of the
cycle routes are away from traffic.

Quoted message said:

I know this sounds daft but midges/mosquitoes were annoying and unpleasant
when I crossed the Ijsselmer dam 2 yrs ago, am I going to ride into clouds
of them?

Not really much of a problem in the south but a big one in the north of
the country. We spent a couple of weeks in a lakeside mokki near
Savonlinna and didn't have a mozzie problem except in the evening when
the wood barbecue was enough to keep them off.

Quoted message said:

Is there anything that you can suggest to alleviate the problem?

DEET will do the job for you.

Quoted message said:

What temperature/weather can I expect in June?

July is the month Finland goes on holiday and the weather is usually
good then. Late June will be similar, early June quite a bit cooler -
think spring weather in England.

Quoted message said:

Are the Fins good at speaking english?

In the cities they speak excellent English. In the countryside its
patchy. Beware: you will not be able to read the language. Most
European countries the languages are closely enough related that you can
often make a stab at what it means and for some reason its fiendishly
difficult to memorize. Finnish: no chance. Our Finnish friend keep
telling us you pronounce the words literally as they are written but
there seems to be a gap between that theory and reality (to say nothing
of the length of some of the words)!

Routes.

For the journey you are wanting to do look at the Via Finlandia cycle
route which goes from Tampere to Helsinki and would be your best option.
http://www.visitfinland.com/cycling/eng/route_guides/finlandiaroute/index.html

Travel in the cities is fine with lots of signed cycling provision. We
used to cycle 11km form the north into the centre of the Helsinki with
all but a few hundred yards away from the roads. Outside the cities the
roads are OK but not the most enjoyable cycling with the traffic - not
many people seem to cycle there and so drivers are less used to dealing
with you being there. Many roads are unmetalled and you can get some
terrible washboarding and loose surfaces from car use. I would go for a
slick shod MTB with wideish tyres if your route takes you on those roads.

Sixty miles in a day is OK if you are used to it but allow time for
navigation and do not think it is like the UK where you pass regularly
through villages with places to stop/eat/drink. They are very few and
far between outside the cities. Take your food and drink with you. I
wouldn't say its the most inspiring scenery in the world either where
you are travelling.

For long distances I would be inclined to bung your bike on the
excellent train system. Along with Switzerland it is the only country
where we have turned up with our two tandems and BOB trailer, asked for
tickets and they have printed out tickets for the tandems without a
seconds hesitation as if it were a normal everyday event.

Hope that helps

Paljon onnea

Tony

MSeries said:

Fins are generally excellent at English. I have been to Finland several
times, Helsinki and Lapland and found very few people who do not speak
English. As always its appreciated if you make an effort with the basic
hello and thank you etc in their language.

I find Finnish b**tard hard. They seem to change the *nouns* based
on context, and have about 12 tenses in regular use.

Let me dredge my memory, er, "Kiitos" = "Thank you", er, "kippis" =
"cheers"...

--
jc

Remove the -not from email

Chris Nowak said:

My problem is I'm not sure what light means. I weigh about 200kgs. If it's
too light it might not be strong enough for me and luggage. When I did
Ijisselmer my road bike started to loose a spoke every few kms and I sheared
off the rear derailleur getting up an embankment. I don't want to risk this
again as it was no fun doing 80km stuck in 5th gear!

Dawes bikes tend to come with wheels that have adequate components but
are machine built and not necessarily all that carefully. If you get a
good wheel builder to re-tension, re-true and stress relieve them they
will be transformed from moderate to very good. This should certainly
reduce the chance of spoke failures. If you are a heavy rider this is
important IMV.

If you are as heavy as you say, and not a mere 200 lbs as I suspect, you
will probably need special wheels with a high spoke count and definitely
should consult a good wheel builder.

--
Dave...

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the
future of the human race. - H. G. Wells

Jeremy Collins said:

I find Finnish b**tard hard. They seem to change the *nouns* based
on context, and have about 12 tenses in regular use.

Let me dredge my memory, er, "Kiitos" = "Thank you", er, "kippis" =
"cheers"...

Its been calculated the Finnish language comprises 10**24 words -
http://www.ling.helsinki.fi/kieliteknologia/kurssit/2000s/ctl190/kielitekn-johdanto.html

Plus there is also the difference between the written language
(kirjakieli) and the spoken language (puhekieli) to grapple with!

I used to have to deal with a firm with the name
Suomenitsenäisyydenjuhlarahasto!

Tony

in message <[email hidden]>, Chris Nowak

(') said:

Simon,
My problem is I'm not sure what light means. I weigh about 200kgs. If
it's too light it might not be strong enough for me and luggage. When
I did Ijisselmer my road bike started to loose a spoke every few kms
and I sheared off the rear derailleur getting up an embankment. I
don't want to risk this again as it was no fun doing 80km stuck in 5th
gear! Chris

The weight of the bike doesn't make an enormous difference to the
strength of the rear deraileur, unfortunately. If you want a robust and
reliable drivetrain you might think about a bike with a Rohloff
(expensive but very very good) or Shimano Nexus (a lot cheaper and
still said to be very good) epicyclic.

Equally, the weight of the bike doesn't make a huge difference to the
strength of the wheels - hand-built wheels are reputed to be stronger
than machine-made ones.

The quoted weight of the Sardar presumably includes the weight of all
the racks and other touring specific kit it comes with, so the weight
of the underlying bike is probably around 26-27 lbs which isn't bad.
Also, as you say, Finland is flat. So yes - it's a reasonable choice,
provided the tracks you are riding are not too rough.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

<p>Schroedinger's cat is <blink><strong>NOT</strong></blink> dead.</p>

"Chris Nowak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Julia,
Thanks for your suggestions, this is just the sort of practical help I
need.
Tramlines I hate and rail tracks when wet - bad experience in Dunkerque
when visiting time trials for Tour de France.
I know this sounds daft but midges/mosquitoes were annoying and unpleasant
when I crossed the Ijsselmer dam 2 yrs ago, am I going to ride into clouds
of them?

Is there anything that you can suggest to alleviate the problem?

What temperature/weather can I expect in June?

Are the Fins good at speaking english?
Regards
Chris

Quoted message said:

Generally the Finns put us to shame with their language skills; many of them
speak good English; most of them speak some. The midges are the same ones
you get in Scotland, I found the best thing was to go to a chemist and ask
the staff what they used; worked well enough. Generally they are worse when
you have a dull, still evening so shouldn't bother you during the day when
you're moving. As for weather I think that's a query for the Finnish tourist
office as I have only visited in August and February (best weather for
sailing and last cheap week for skiing in case you're interested!) Oh and by
the way we prefer bottom posting here - that is the answer follows the
question. Hope you enjoy your trip.

Julia

Chris Nowak said:

Hi,
I'm thinking of cycling in Finland this June.
On what I've been told are winter ski tracks used as summer cycle routes.
More or less flat. Tempera to Helsinki. I've decided on taking a Dawes
Sardar for it which I have not yet bought. I will need to cover 120 miles in
2 days. My questions are:
1/ Is the bike a good choice for this?
2/ will this bike be fast enough to cover the distance without a struggle?
Only carrying 3 days change of clothes.
3/ Do any Sardar owners have any upgrades to suggest for the bike?
Most grateful fore early replies
Chris

The bike itself will not be fast enough for 60 miles in a day without a
struggle. You need to make sure that you are fit enough to achieve your
target. 60 miles in day should not be too much of a challenge for a
reasonably fit rider. For my first tour I planned about 40 miles per day
and had them done by lunchtime leaving plenty of time for long lunches
and lounging around.

Quoted message said:

I can't answer any of your questions, but I can recommend Finland
as a destination! I've been there many times, including Tampere
(pronounced Tam-per-a) and Helsinki.

You'll get a friendly reception, almost everyone speaks perfect
English, and you'll see some lovely countryside on the way.

Anyway, I would love to hear a trip report if you decide to
do it.

Thanks for your replies. The information is invaluable. Makes me feel that
this is going to be a good trip provided I get the right bike. My budget is
£600 max which limits choice somewhat. Roloff hub would be nice but out of
price range.
Sorry for the etiquette bloopers.
I did get my weight wrong its 230lbs - late night messaging not a good idea
sometimes.
Thanks Chris