Ebay Bicycle

Jon Rogers see_my.sig@end_of.message said:

Did anyone else here bid on this:

cgi.ebay.co.ukeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗

I won the auction, and will get my hands on it next week.

My main reasons for buying were that (a) I'm unsure if drops are for me, and (b) I'm unsure if
700C wheels are for me.

I currently ride a 26" wheeled, straight barred machine, and since I want to some some cycle
camping in France next year, I though I'd better get a decent steed.

Given that it is about half the price of a new Galaxy, it seemed worth a punt.

Anyone have any experience of this machine (good or bad) so I know what to expect?

Reasonable looking tourer from a moderately respected maker. 'Never raced or rallied' but 'about 5
Audax rides' seems something of a contradiction in terms to me. What's an Audax if it's not a rally?
Still, it _looks_ clean. You'll want to swap that saddle for something better, and you'll probably
want SPD pedals.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

' ' <------- this blank intentionally spaced left

In message <[email hidden]>, Jon Rogers
<see_my.sig@end_of.message> writes

Quoted message said:

Did anyone else here bid on this:

cgi.ebay.co.ukeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗

I won the auction, and will get my hands on it next week.

My main reasons for buying were that (a) I'm unsure if drops are for me, and (b) I'm unsure if 700C
wheels are for me.

I currently ride a 26" wheeled, straight barred machine, and since I want to some some cycle
camping in France next year, I though I'd better get a decent steed.

Given that it is about half the price of a new Galaxy, it seemed worth a punt.

Anyone have any experience of this machine (good or bad) so I know what to expect?

Looks nice :-)

No I didn't bid , as I'm not in the market, but it looks like a decent enough bike. My tourer is CB
Dalesman, though since it's about 15 years older than this one it probably bears little relation
other than the name.

Certainly it should deal with the cycle camping fine.

Of course it is lacking racks - though not cheap, I'd recommend the Cro-mo tube racks from Tubus,
these really are the biz. Much better than the alloy rod ones.

<http://www.gearshift.co.uk/acatalog/Rear_Racks.html>

if not I would just go for a cheap Blackburn copy such as Nimrod, or Bor-Yeuh

If you need to get panniers then Ortliebs are the best.

Though for day rides I now use a Saddlebag and Carradice SQR fitting.

I probably put some better tyres on it as well than the World Tours. For loaded cycle camping I
would go for 32mm Conti Top Touring or Schwalbe Marathons. for lighter touring, day rides etc.
something a bit lighter and skinnier is nice.

My experience with the CB is that a standard diameter tubed 531 frame (the standard tourer frame)
isn't quite up to the job of fully loaded cycle camping - you can get the odd bit of shimmy etc.
However, that hasn't stopped mine going to Ireland, France, various parts of Britain etc. (There was
a move a few years ago towards stiffer top tubes/seat tubes on these sorts of tourers for that
reason I think)

Load up , get out and enjoy.

(and don't do as I did - the first time I had all the gear on was when setting off to get the train
to London for the trip to Ireland. I had the balance of the load all wrong - esp. too much in the
bar bag and the handling was dreadful! Have a practise first ......)

--
Chris French, Leeds

or get cheap solid steel rod racks. Blackburn make them. They are indestructible.

In article said:

Jon Rogers see_my.sig@end_of.message said:

Did anyone else here bid on this:

cgi.ebay.co.ukeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗

I won the auction, and will get my hands on it next week.

My main reasons for buying were that (a) I'm unsure if drops are for me, and (b) I'm unsure if
700C wheels are for me.

I currently ride a 26" wheeled, straight barred machine, and since I want to some some cycle
camping in France next year, I though I'd better get a decent steed.

Given that it is about half the price of a new Galaxy, it seemed worth a punt.

Anyone have any experience of this machine (good or bad) so I know what to expect?

Reasonable looking tourer from a moderately respected maker. 'Never raced or rallied' but
'about 5 Audax rides' seems something of a contradiction in terms to me. What's an Audax if
it's not a rally?

Crossed my mind as well, but I guess if it's done a few audax rides, there can't be too much
wrong with it.

Quoted message said:

Still, it _looks_ clean. You'll want to swap that saddle for something better, and you'll probably
want SPD pedals.

My trusty old B17 will be on it in a trice. As for SPDs, I've tried really hard to like them, but I
just don't (they hurt the balls of me feet), so it'll be toe-clips for me.

Thanks
--
Jon
____________________________________________
jondotrogersatntlworlddotcom
============================================

In article said:

Looks nice :-)

I thought so!

Quoted message said:

No I didn't bid , as I'm not in the market, but it looks like a decent enough bike. My tourer is
CB Dalesman, though since it's about 15 years older than this one it probably bears little
relation other than the name.

Certainly it should deal with the cycle camping fine.

Of course it is lacking racks - though not cheap, I'd recommend the Cro-mo tube racks from Tubus,
these really are the biz. Much better than the alloy rod ones.

<http://www.gearshift.co.uk/acatalog/Rear_Racks.html>

Agreed. If a job's worth doing etc.

Quoted message said:

if not I would just go for a cheap Blackburn copy such as Nimrod, or Bor-Yeuh

If you need to get panniers then Ortliebs are the best.

Thought I'd check out Vaude as well.

Quoted message said:

Though for day rides I now use a Saddlebag and Carradice SQR fitting.

Got a Carradice Prima "top bag", which I like.

Quoted message said:

I probably put some better tyres on it as well than the World Tours. For loaded cycle camping I
would go for 32mm Conti Top Touring or Schwalbe Marathons. for lighter touring, day rides etc.
something a bit lighter and skinnier is nice.

2 sets of wheels! Actually, I'm 16 and a bit stone, so not sure about skinny tyres until I've lost a
bit more weight.

Quoted message said:

My experience with the CB is that a standard diameter tubed 531 frame (the standard tourer frame)
isn't quite up to the job of fully loaded cycle camping - you can get the odd bit of shimmy etc.
However, that hasn't stopped mine going to Ireland, France, various parts of Britain etc. (There
was a move a few years ago towards stiffer top tubes/seat tubes on these sorts of tourers for that
reason I think)

Noted...good enough reason to keep the weight to a minimum I guess (although I'm a terrible
over-packer).

Quoted message said:

Load up , get out and enjoy.

Certainly intend to!

Quoted message said:

(and don't do as I did - the first time I had all the gear on was when setting off to get the
train to London for the trip to Ireland. I had the balance of the load all wrong - esp. too much
in the bar bag and the handling was dreadful! Have a practise first ......)

I'm hoping to build up to it gently, adding a bit of weight here and there (as my body weight
decreases!), and then do a 3 day "test run" in the UK in the spring (50 miles a day, camping at
night, etc).

Thanks for your comments
--
Jon
____________________________________________
jondotrogersatntlworlddotcom
============================================

"Jon Rogers" <see_my.sig@end_of.message> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you need to get panniers then Ortliebs are the best.

Thought I'd check out Vaude as well.

Don't forget Carradice.

cheers, clive

Clive George said:

"Jon Rogers" <see_my.sig@end_of.message> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you need to get panniers then Ortliebs are the best.

Thought I'd check out Vaude as well.

Don't forget Carradice.

And Altura, and Karrimor. As usual, depends exactly what you want. I have a pair of Ortlieb
roll-tops and a pair of Altura Orkneys, and the ones I use depend on the exact job. For a day ride I
prefer the Alturas as they have loads of pockets, but for porting general baggage the Ortliebs are
better. You can get pockets for Ortliebs, but they're not as tidy as the various choices on a pair
of Orkneys (wallet in one, tools in another, bottle snacks in another, and so on).

Unfortunately the Streetmachine's 12mm racks won't take Carradice (they "only" go up to 11mm) so I
couldn't consider Super Cs, but my old Carradice Overlanders are still in routine use by a friend,
still going strong at almost 15 years despite being their "budget model" at the time.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗