A 225g Karrimat type mat serves for all sitting/lying duties (wrapped around the tent on the rack for transport). How much does the trekkerchair and its mattress weigh?
trekker chair weighs under 200g. My mattress weighs 450 g. A foam is not enough for this old man
I think I would take the heavy d-lock. Anything less and you will never be at ease leaving the bike.
and want to go over the pyrenees and alps on this tour –
Ah, that makes the spec super difficult. Light enough to go up real mountains but strong enough for occasional city use. Not sure that is possible. FWIW I've locked my Shand up in Brussels loads of times over the last 10 years without any issues but I also completely recognise it's a lottery and I may have been lucky. The lock is a crappy old 1kg Kryptonite so if someone wanted to go for it I'm sure it wouldn't take too long. So here are some more random thoughts:
I wonder if having a less known brand like Shand helps a bit as it is more difficult to sell on/know the value of. Anyone who has ever talked to me about it already knows what it is
My current lock is 1kg and no way would I go any lighter. I'm a little uncomfy with it as it is. So if you are only going to save 500g (go from your 2kg down to 1.5 say) then I wouldn't bother. 1kg might be nice though
I've also had to disc cut a bit Abus lock off of someone elses bike at a railway station once and it took a few minutes but only one person came up to talk to me and it was super easy to put them off by chatting. No-one took photos or anything like that. But.... it was a few minutes, not 30 seconds. Given the choice I'm sure most thieves will go for something easier unless they really know both the value and that they can sell it on
It is much easier to disk cut a D lock than a chain because you can brace it in position. Good chains tend to be heavier though so I would still stick with a D lock
It took two cuts to get through the D lock as with one I couldn't prise it apart enough to get the frame through without damaging it. I think that is because both ends of the 'U' locked rather than one end locking and the other end pivoting out of the way. That's worth looking at if you buy another lock as well as buying a smaller one that is less likely to pry open enough to only require one cut.
If you do go for a cheaper lock then consider letting the air completely out of your tyres before you go to the pub/museum/house of ill repute. In the videos I've seen of people stealing bikes one of the people then jump on the bike and ride away. Make that impossible and obvious. It's a pita for you but if you are only occasionally stopping in a super high risk space then that may make it possible to downgrade your lock a bit
Good luck, there is no obvious solution and I know I would be gutted if my Shand got stolen as it is irreplaceable 🙁
How will you secure the luggage on the trailer?
Cable thru the handles. Token only.
and want to go over the pyrenees and alps on this tour –
When you get there, work out where you want to go. Post the lock and any other kit you won't be using to your destination on the other side, just email or phone before hand to plan it. Chances are through the pyrenees you won't need a lock but you will need it getting there and afterwards.
A foam is not enough for this old man
Any fool can be uncomfortable in a field! Air tags in the tyres using the Muc-Off attachment for some find it after it's moved peace of mind?
I’ve done the posting thing as described by Damascus
I have toured loads but a long time ago. I think the answer is that we secured the bike at accommodation when in cities. I’m sure where ever I stopped in Spain or Greece some one would find us an enclosed court yard
If you’ve got luggage on the bike then your very vulnerable. I think it’s light lock and careful storage
I've got a folding lock made of hinged links. Bought for the same purpose (touring) , it's a bit heavy but I think there is a light version.
Whatever you buy, spend some time in the shop trying to defeat it before parting with your money. Some bloke on the same train as me managed to forget his key and had locked his bike to the storage rack with a pretty standard looking cable lock. It took three seconds of concerted effort to pop it open.
As above if I were visiting a city (which I would probably be unlikely to do) I'd book a cheap hotel and leave my bike in the room. Or I'd find a decent campsite with good facilities etc. TBH if I were on an extended tour I think I would want a real bed and shower every now and then.
I agree with this. I'd just buy the lightest lock with which your insurance will pay out if the bike does get nicked, and cross my fingers that it doesn't! Obviously you can try to be careful where/how long you left it, but if you're going up mountains etc I wouldn't want to ruin the tour by dragging super heavy locks the whole way which [I]hopefully[/I] won't be needed. Replace any QR stuff with bolts & try to make everything including luggage look a bit dog-eared & undesirable!As above if I were visiting a city (which I would probably be unlikely to do) I’d book a cheap hotel and leave my bike in the room.
I am trying to do this on £30 a day ish. Hotels are just not on bar very occasionally
Yeah, I'd look at that as £210 a week, which seems pretty good to me. I reckon that allows for a couple of nights in a fully-featured campsite or a cheap motel a week if needed, or if you don't then save it for when you do. Not sure about Spain but in France you have lots of places like Formule 1 which are around £30/night plus loads of other options.
Might need un peu de Francais for some of them though 🙂
We have toured fairly extensively.
When in cities we have adopted the hotel room approach. Often in dive motels as they were easier to get bike into.
Or campsite on city limits and leave the bike with the campsite management.
I've never bothered trying to get my bike into my tent.
Most folk seem amenable to help out travelers by bike.... Its just the recreational and commuter cyclists everyone seems to hate
