what ‘thiisnotaspoon’ said [must type faster.

Nice, but not bendy or turquoise enough to mimick a Yeti.

❓

Get rid.

Lizard Skins Grunge Guards
Not sure if they are still available though

won’t do it any harm

RETRO BIKE

next week: beer

Ayup Ton- maybe should get your old Peugeot hybrid you used to ride back out of the shed 😉

Seriously though,for different reasons I bought a Kona Sutra a few years back. It’s a great bike. Not the lightest,not the fastest but it has racks front and back,full guards, is capabale of a bit of off road and very comfortable for all day rides.All of which fits your description. I keep trying, but TBH I can’t find anything I don’t like about it.

Is that a tensioner or an ordinary derailleur ?

It’s an old rear mech used as a tensioner – works really well. You pop a short length of cable with the end nipple still intact into the barrel adjuster. Clamp it up, as you would for a geared set up,you can use it to fine tune the chainline.
What you can’t see is that the single gear at the back is made from 2 old cassettes taken apart with all but one cog discarded. Cogs are then replaced by the spacers either side of the one remaining cog (works best on 9 or 7 speed hubs – i’e 4 or 3 spacers either side instead of cogs). Dressed it with a bit of black duct tape and jobs a good ‘un. Easy, cheap and works perfectly.

Mary Bars – check
D.I.Y. Single speed – check
Bimbling along canal- check
Used ‘V’ brakes as opposed to discs andit now has a matching orange saddle.
Great for cruising – pop some spd’s on and it’s not too bad for other rides (just needs a better engine)

Endura TAL clothing is pretty good
see here

We’ve had loads of club kitoff them and it’s spot on. You just needtoorder aminimum of 15 items

So, the threads in the bb shell of my old Soul have just about disappeared

FFS! – Have you never been on a big job ? 😉

Make your own !

Sorry. I’ll shut the door on the way out.

I nice retro quality steel tourer where you could mix and match components as you could in the 80s. When my bike mixed campag shimano mavic simplex etc and I could pick all the nice bits I liked and choose my gear ratios from the board in the shop

My Kona Sutra is steel. Has a mixture of Shimano road and Mtb plus Truvativ on drivetrain etc.
Id like to see a bike that could be used for proper off road riding and also take a rack and full guards. Oh. That would be the original clockwork.
Got few years to decide yet. Going to build my own from 853 for my 50th.

Heres how to do it – crank and bottom bracket fitting & removal instructions

and this is the tool=Shimano hollowtech crank tool

Or Hope do THIS for the same price

coast to coast in a day. How hard?

Very

If you are off for flat bars you’ll need new brake levers which , as Saccades points out,will be MTB type – this may not only mean you need bars and levers youmay need new brakes too as [IIRC] the BB7 disc brakes are made in two versions for drop bar levers or flat bar levers , not both.
As for gears – fitting an Alfine will save hassle on the frame but it will mean a new wheel build onto the hub. That said it’spossibleyou may need a new hub anyway to convert from singlespeed back to geared – if you have a dedicated ss hub fited you will neeed to replace with a hub with a freehub body that can take a cassette.
From the picture [ and from seeing a Dr.Dew in the flesh] I’m certain you could fit a rear mech as there are cableguides on the frame. If there is no cable guide on the underneath of the bottom bracket shell[highly likely its been removed when bike was originally converted to ss] you can pickone up at most bike shops – ask with a smile and you’ll probably get it for nowt.

Let us know how you get on – I’d for one be intresed in seeing what you decide.

Ayup Ton – have a look at a Kona Sutra – they go down to a C49 size frame (which is near enough same as 16″), sloping top tube gives plenty of standover height,comes with full guards and full set of racks,bottle mounts etc.
Love mine – and I ride like a woman 😉

I’d maybe try letting a bit of pressure from the tyres for better grip – or cut your losses and get a 29er

oh! sorry – I thought this was a cycling forum ?????

have a look at a Sanderson[Life,Breath etc] The top tube length on a 16″ is 23″.

I’ve had a Life for [JHC is it that many] years and love it. Very good all rounder. Loves singletrack and is very comfortablefor all day riding.

If you need a converter try GPS Babel[/url]

I’ve got a pair of Endura Strike winter/waterproof gloves and use them for cycling and walking.
Find them to be warm enough for both activities TBH.

I’mnot sure, but if anything I’d have thought cycling gloveswould be warmer due to them having to deal with windchill etc.

You should be fine on Northern rail, even at busy times – I use them on an almost daily basis for both commuting and leisure.
They have a few different cycle storage methodson their trains depending on which type of unit you get on. But all services have a dedicaed space for at least 2 cycles. If these are taken don’t worry too much, just means you have to stand with your bike in another area of the train.
I’ve been on a Northern service where 7 bikes got off at the same stop. As for being muddy – just sit on the floor or on one of the fold down chairs near the cycle storage

Old Peugeot 405 estate diesel. Not pretty but built like a tank and tend to run for ever.Plus on a £2000 budget you’ll have loads left over for a decent tent and other stuff.
I bought one a few years back for £500 for similar reason as yourself (transporting bikes and kit and/or dogs) – only intended on keeping it for the 8 months it had left on MOT but it refused to fail the test for another 4 years. Like I said it wasn’t pretty but I loved it. Had our bike club logo sprayed on the bonnet which got a few grins/grimaces, but it served it’s purpose well.
Only got rid after I’d crashed it into a tree (and a wall and another car). Replaced it with another but petrol instead of diesel.

On the issue of reporting and getting it fixed – I’ve used the CTC method mentioned above and on each occasion the potholes have been ‘fixed’ within a fortnight.

If you’re going to build a mountain bike with new parts, chose current 10sp ones. Chose anything else and you’re going to be limiting yourself…8-9sp parts are becoming harder to get hold of except at the lower end of the market

REALLY ?????

Riding without a rear guard is for loners.
Nowt worse than following someone in the wet without guards.

Off road I’d go for rear guard, crud catcher and one of those you fit on the forks to stop spray into face. As for the ‘they don’t fit with dropper posts ‘ etc. Can someone please explain why you would need a dropper post if your bike fits you correctly ? Been riding mountain bikes for over 25 years and think I’ve only felt the need to lower my seatpost once (descending Rangers path, Snowdon)

On the commute its full SKS on the touring bike, keeps me and the bike clean and a lot drier than without – which is important as my commute involves a 35 min train journey in the middle, and I sometimes cycle to meetings etc.

It’s also harder to spot/avoid dog sh## in the wet and gloop. It might just be me, but I think you look a bigger t#t with poop on your clothes/face than guards on your bike.

Ffffwwwhhhoooaaaarrrrrr!!!!!

Now these are Clockworks

Not that its any of our business what Orange call their bikes but…
1.Orange Clockwork was steel
2.It had a wishbone seat stay
3.It had eyelets etc. to take a rack for that ‘all round’ approach
‘nuf said

Alcatel one touch 903 – basic and cheap as chips.
You can email and tweet dead easy on it and at the moment 3 will do it for £20 a month with 500 mins, 5000 txts and unlimited and unrestricted internet access/data

I predict this will turn into 3 pages of mickey taking

??? Can someone enlighten me ? I don’t get the point been made ?

Not sure about Sandersons been rare but I love my ‘Life’ in the original grey.

You just need a bike realy.

new Crud Guard fits pretty close and has an unobtrusive clamp. The original rear guard was better though

Helped a guy to fix a broken rear mech at last years Three Peaks Cyclo Cross – “Cheers mate! You’ve just helped the second oldest bloke in the race….74”

And some of these fellas The Autumn Tints Cycling Comrades have seen a summer or two.

https://www.surface-clothing.com/Shop/Snugflex-Hoodie

having commuted to work by bicycle for most of my adult life and having used the following, mtb with slicks + rucksac, road bike with courier bag and tourer with panniers – I would highly recommend using a touring bike with full guards and panniers. You wont break any land speed records, but you’ll be comfortable, and always surprised at how much you can carry and how well it will handle under load. Fit some proper all round touring tyres and you’ll also be able to ride all but the gnarliest of tracks too.

if its just for when you pop in and out of shops, you could go with a pair of proper handcuffs.

Went in for a magazine to read on train home and came out with a Lezyne light and a brass bell [?]

Maybe it will be capable of smoothing out all the bumps so you won’t even be able to tell if your riding off road or on smooth tarmac.