I got my last set from Rose. Worth checking them out as even with postage they were cheaper than anything in the UK. And they had stock, unlike the UK websites.

Toured by bike a couple of years ago on and off road. Cycled Bergen to Voss mostly on road. Caught the train onto the Hardanger plateau. Cycled the length of the Rellervegan (wild camped overnight) and down to Flam which ends with some great hairpins. Sea Kayaked in Flam. Went to see the nearby Stadkirche (think spooky looking wooden church made of wood soaked in tar). Caught the boat from Flam back to Bergen. Loved it. Got very wet. Great camp sites. Really helpful bike shops and outdoor gear shops in Bergen.

I tour on a Surly Instigator (Mark 1) which shouldn’t work but does as it is so solid and the geometry is spot on. I fitted a Surly fork with low rider and anything cage mounts on the front and an SQR bracket on the seatpost. Have used Halo Twin Rail tyres, which I’ve also fitted to my wife’s 1992 Marin as they seldom puncture and the ‘twin rail’ design works really well on road and off. Now have a set of Surly extraterrestrials but they only just fit at the rear where the Halos have masses of room. I’ve cut/ drilled cheap clip on mudguards to fit and they work really well for what they are and come off easily if I’m flying. I run normal bars, don’t like bar ends but have found Ergon grips work well.

Find site. Park van. Don’t drive it again until you leave the site. Use bikes to get about on local cycle paths and relax. Want to go further? Public transport is great in Europe, cheap too (free bus passes for campers in Interlaaken).

I’ve done this a few times now. Flew to Santiago in Spain with bike in cardboard bike box in 2015. Taxi to hotel, Assembled in hotel room and binned the box. Cycled to Biarritz to fly home. They sell cardboard bike boxes at the airport for about 12 Euros and even lend you scissors and tape to pack it with. The people there have been great and the box is HUGE. I pad with sleeping bag opened out inside a bin bag to keep it clean, and a thermarest ridge rest. Google the airport you fancy, they might do this too. Some overseas airlines also provide cardboard bike boxed
S (KLM?).

You have just described a Stooge and I have just built what you describe. Chronicle on a 50mm rim up front, Chunky Mmonkey 2.4 on a narrower rim out back, old fashioned hubs etc. Couldn’t come to terms with the price and reliability of a modern suspension fork. It is not as good as suspension, obviously, but the diameter and volume make things bearable enough for almost all my riding.

Surly Constrictor works well on my Stooge. Don’t forget to grease between the clamp and the frame. Carbon seatpost grease works well between seatpost and frame, though I haven’t needed it for this frame.

Chronicle looks good – EXO or non?

Our Bosch was the shortest lived machine we ever had. Bearings failed just out of warranty. Replacement cost was almost the same as a new machine as they were completely inaccessible. Other online horror stories suggest that this was common. We now have a Miele, from John Lewis.

Terra Nova Coshee 1 micro is the smaller and cheaper tent (forgot that Wild Country sell the tents as Terra Nova)

Oh, and WildCountry and Snugpack both do simple, small tents for around £100. They are not very tall inside but appear to be sensibly small and light.

Easy answer is etrex 20, which are around £150 from Cotswold. European mapping, with off road treacks, road names, routing etc so you don’t have to buy extra mapping to start using it. Runs on 2 AA batteries and I’ve found the battery life excellent ((3 very long days on one set and still going strong for example). My previous gps was a touch screen and I’m glad to have the toggle on the etrex as it is quicker and more accurate.

David

VW T4 here and we also have a Smart forFour as the second vehicle. Massive saving from main dealer, automatic on ours with the smaller engine and it is great around town and fine on a run. Turning circle is unbelievable, boot & seat folding options are great.

Have had Aygo and Yaris before which were both good, but the Smart is a step up quality wise and we had the common Aygo issues, some of which were never resolved, and also a dealer that has gone downhill and isn’t really interested in helping.

Perfect, thought that could work out. 6 day tickets sorted for Saturday night already, can’t wait 😀

Easy- Surly Krampus fork, as recommended for my Instigator 2 by Surly themselves & has room for 3″ tyres if you wish.

We had a Bosch. Used daily. Lasted until 1 month after the warranty expired – bearings went and would cost over £180 to replace as the job needs 2 people and is a pig. Turns out that the bearings that they use aren’t properly sealed and loads fail in the same way. Service was rubbish from them too. The bottom of the range Miele we have now was cheap (from John Lewis, shop soiled) and has already lasted longer. Bosch seem to be building down to a price.

Griffon Vultures. I camped at a campsite on the Spanish coast last summer, in the north east, and there were loads. Turned out they nested on the sea cliffs there. Awesome sight overhead, watched them for hours from the tent (no need for binoculars

Avebury itself was too busy so walked back towards it along the Ridgeway from Hackpen Hill. Hardly anyone about and a lovely evening. Full moon was great too.

re-soled, damned auto correct

Flats with approach shoes here (stiffer soled ones). Resolved with 5-10 rubber as required by Cheshire Shoe Repairs. Flip flops for showers. Why carry other spares you don’t need especially when they add at least a pound in weight and take up space too.

Surly Troll has slots. Surly Instigator 2 also has slots and extra dropouts for geared, bolt through etc plus tapered head tube and ability to run 26″, 26+ and 27″ so is pretty future proof. Fatter 26″ tyres are excellent – I run 3.0 front and 2.5 rear on mine.

The 30 tooth narrow wide black spire fits 104bcd cranks. Mine is 9, 10 & 11 speed compatible, apparently. Currently running it 11 speed.

Have a good look at the welds, where the rear dropout section is joined on the disc brake side I think. You could do this with the wheel out. I recall hearing something similar with someone running a Rohloff. Having said that, cranks, chainring bolts and pedals are worth checking out too.

Rohan works really well, is light, packs small, still looks fine when unpacked, and lasts too which offsets some of the cost. Look at the sale stuff on the website for better pricing. I’ve tried lots (have worked in outdoor retail) but Rohan has been worth the extra for durability alone.

Three headset things to check – are the cups fully inserted in the frame or are they moving into place as you ride? Was lots go grease used in assembly and now being moved aside as you ride? Is the expander in your steerer tube loosening and migrating up the steerer tube? Or….is it something else rather than the headset,, like a 2 piece disc rotor developing play or just being loose? Loose calliper?

They are like that when spun slowly by hand, but are nice and smooth when riding. Don’t worry.

Have you ever tried wearing a buff? Much easier to wash than helmet pads. I wear one under a helmet in all temperatures (I’m too tall for my hair), if you are having a reaction to chemicals in the pads this may help.

dknwhy- thanks for that link to your trip, looks excellent.

I plan lots of stuff based on the weather. Why not look at the forecast a few days beforehand, pick up a map (Goldeneye can be good) of the area where the weather looks nicest and go. I’ve cycled (in Febraury) in the lakes and also Wiltshire like this. Lovely, quiet back roads etc at this time of year. Nothing booked, all spur of the moment. Normandy beaches (from Cherbourg down to Caen) is nice if the weather is reasonable.

Have a look at the reviews on Bikepacking.com for ideas, then do a search for all the threads on here as there are plenty for some of the downsides. How much height is there between your front wheel and handlebars? Enough space to get a bag there or too little? How much space between saddle rails and rear tyre? Check the manufacturers sites to find out the clearances they recommend. How bulky is your gear and how much space will it need?

I got the 26″ ones when they first came out – they last really well, as all Surly tyres seem to do. In fact I’ve just put together a bike based on these tyres. They work well in most conditions I’ve tried and will remain on as a result. 27 tpi rear (cheaper) and 120tpi front (more supple) are my preferred combo. I will never buy narrower again.

P.s. Have been used to Commute, tour, on road and off road ……..

I have now got 5 of the Alfine hubs (yes five). The oldest is a few years old and I’ve never had a problem with any of them. They are cheap (£50 each), work at low speed, happily run front and rear lights, will charge other devices, aren’t significantly heavier than anything else, look fine and build up easily. It’s great to get on any bike and not even think about lights and charging. Don’t even bother switching them off as the drag isn’t noticeable and I run b&m lights which are German road legal.

But it also involves a wider bottom bracket so I notice no difference (Pugsley rider). I’d guess you would be less likely to have a problem either with a 170mm rear (or135) or with an Ice Cream Truck which has an even wider bottom bracket. Best to try some.

Fuji X30 here – does all you ask, digital viewfinder is great, wifi transfers pics easily to my iPad, full manual control etc etc and fits in my Stem Cell when on the bike. Can’t fault it and am very happy i traded all my Olympus kit for it.

Good comments from Soma – have got an Edelux 1, and also a B&m IQ with built in USB charger. Both have great beam patterns, but I too had problems with my speed for charging over the summer. Getting a cache battery might solve this . I’ve previously used a solar charger with a cache battery which worked well (strapped to the side of a pannier). B&M rear lights are great too, and pretty cheap. Do you have a 3 watt or 1.5 watt hub or order? I think that the 1.5 watt hubs my be too low powered for charging.

15 years here, Science, mostly Physics teaching. Today I cycled 18 miles each way to school (I try to do this once a week) by the long, countryside route. Last night I built a new fatbike wheel (I’ll occasionally ride that to work too, but only if it’s attached to the bike). Will aim to get out for a solo night ride once per week. These allow me to totally switch off from school. My wife also knows how stressful it can be and makes allowances too.

I work in a school where SMT let us do our jobs and support us, and our exam results are pretty damn good year after year. I’ve also worked in one where the Head constantly interfered and created masses of unnecessary work which meant everyone was stressed. Even in good schools some of us are stressed, some less so. I have done other jobs in various industries but this is the only one where I really have to think.

Prioritise. Look for short cuts. Borrow other peoples resources. Look at how the ‘old lags’ do things to make life easier (e.g. me, solo, marking coursework in my van for 3 days in the Lakes in my hols, interspersed with short walks and a 2 day overnight bikepacking trip as reward at the end). Get lots of sleep – I will not work after 9:00pm as it affects my sleep. Eat well. Exercise. Have fun stuff to aim for in the holidays ( I go cycle touring somewhere new each summer – Spain last year from Santiago to Biarritz which took my mind off work both in the planning and the travel). Don’t let other people drag you down with their petty grievances (which is the case in any job), just accept that some people are like Dementors and determined to suck the fun out of everything.

Plan your career in 5 year blocks and have an exit plan (I’ve been asked to go back into outdoor retail and also asked by a shop to build wheels recently, declined politely, but kept those options open). My route out will probably be as a Science Technician as we don’t need vast sums in order to have fun. Don’t be afraid to turn down responsibilities as they can add massive amounts of stress.

Good luck, it does get easier

Yes. Look at the ISON website, Surly rigid forks will have you covered and the site shows stock levels. Or…you could run a slightly shorter fork with a 29″ wheel, which worked really well for me on an Inbred. If you do go withe the Surly option they also make a couple of wider tyres (dirt wizard and Nate, both around 3 inches) tyres that’ll fit a moderately wide 26″ rim.

26+ exists and is excellent, via Surly Dirt Wizards or Knards. Work nicely with Sun MTX33 rims on a 1×1

P.s. Best breathability, can cope with high temperatures and waterproof too is…..

An umbrella.

Light, cheap, and…….best for walking though.

Don’t use biological powder, use non-bio. Rinse the machine beforehand on a hot cycle to get rid of any biological/softener residue.
Event jackets sometimes have a label that says ‘wash me often’. Don’t be scared to wash, Gore had (may still have) washing machines running 24 hours per day to test their fabrics.
Rinse at least twice.
Reproof when still slightly damp (check the product you are using, though many work best like this).
If product label says tumble, then definitely tumble as this affects the outermost fibres and proofing agent on some jackets. But…….
It’s quite old, and well used, so may be time to say goodbye.
Why not look at Paramo? They have some new, lighter, cycling oriented waterproofs in the range.

David