Good luck Hooter, It’s something I’ve wanted to do and was planning to do this summer so please report once you complete your journey!
ps how did you pick the route or is it something that is pretty standard, i.e. freely available online?

Thanks Kayak, I know Charge have a good rep & seems like a nice ride for £400

I’m looking at getting a Charge Grater on C2W, does anybody have experience with them? Would it be tarmac friendly only or could it take a little bit of rough? (Canal towpath/rough pot holed single lane ect…)

Thanks Aidy, it was a bit of a numpty question really.
I did kinda guess that but I know the park tools one has a straight edge so there are no two ways with that 1, it drops in or it doesn’t. The x-tools one can fall in but not sit flush with the chain ie the first photo.

Thanks again guys, I think I’ll give that particular track a miss and try find some alternatives.
Some interesting reading in this post

Thank you all for your input, I think you are correct DanW.
I’ve found the village website and it’s clear it’s not a right of way, sorry to use such a particular example but I’ve leant lots just from the few comments for future reference.
Anyway, here is a local map, the track in question runs from (R)ectory Farm to Coolington Farm.

Since getting my new bike im super paranoid about it being stolen. Im now looking on ebay for a commuting hacker so i dont have to leave my new one chained up at work all day. Even tho I double lock it there would be no stopping somebody pinching it, if they really want it they will find a way to pinch it.

Hey thank you all for your comments.
njee20 yea I plan to go to a few bike shops round here to get the feel of a few, I think I will be looking at ones with more of a race geometry and a compact drive.

TrailRat; do you know how the calculate the fmv at the end of the year, does somebody actually come out to inspect the bike or do they work it from milage or what?

Crashtestmonkey the bike that you linked to isn’t available on C2W but a really good idea to go for the previous years model. It’s what I did with my Cube LTD SL, 2012 model reduced by 20%.
Also I noticed that the bike you linked was a carbon frame, I had written off the idea of getting carbon because of my budget. Is it better to go for a lower spec carbon frame or higher spec’ed aluminium??

Thank you!
I’m going to have a go at fixing it this afternoon

I’d like to try it out.

I’ve heard it makes you look cool and might help you make new friends.

That would be awesome Nick, thank you. Looking forward to a change to round here!

Is the guide book worth getting?
I’m from close to Banbury where there isn’t much to my knowledge apart from bridleways (unless anybody could tell me different?!).

It’s easy to jump onto the motorway to J6 (Lewknor) although I have yet to do it, could anybody point me in the direction of a 25-30 mile loop in the area or should the guide book point me in the right direction of routes in the area.

I use a cateye SL-110.
I was surprised at how bright is was when I first used it. Really simple too, I just clip it on round the seat post and remove it when I’m not using it.

Out of interest, how frequently should these forks need a service?

Once I brought some Twinings Assam teabags, my girlfriend said they tasted like old scout huts. She now picks the tea bags, we get English Breakfast’s.

All of this new series has been poor. I lasted about 15 minutes before putting a film on.

Hey thanks again for all of your advice.
I already have all of the tools I need, I brought the cheapo tool set from the on-one website which actually is okay. I’m confident with maintenance and have removed and serviced most components on the bike already, I just wasn’t sure about specific component sizes & fitment ect because my bike is still stock set up.

I think now I will wait until my chain set actually needs replacing.
I was just keen on the idea because I’m only ever on the 32 chainring and get fed up of the chain slap and rubbing on the front mech, guess I should try to use the other 2 more.

Thanks alot for your suggestions tho, at least I know how for the future, sorry for sounding like a broken record!!

Thanks again.
Would you know if I just need a standard 104mm chainring? That should just bolt onto the middle/outside holes on the crank spider and i’ll be away?

Thank you for your reply tmb.
I wasn’t aware of your tip on shifting groves so thanks again for that.
Am I right in thinking that the chain device won’t fit my bb then and I’ll need a seat tube mounted one?

Anybody….?