Messages

16

Routes / Re: Gt Divide N to S open from?

« on: September 29, 2010, 04:39:51 pm »

Hi Phil
I am also interested in doing the Great Divide route, but not until 2012 or even 2013, and I also live in England. I am new to touring (but not cycling) and as the GDMBR is a mammoth route through wilderness areas, I will be looking for a group to ride with.  The prospect of coming unstuck when on my own (I am female) scares me witless.  I'd be interested to read the responses to your questions and wish you luck with your trip.  Keep me posted.   Gill.

17

General Discussion / Re: International flying with bikes

« on: September 22, 2010, 07:56:29 pm »

Found this web-site the other day.  Scroll down the page for a list of airlines and their regs for bikes

tonupgilly
 
http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/bagregs.htm

18

Gear Talk / Re: Has anyone had experience of a Thorn Nomad with S & S couplers??

« on: September 21, 2010, 07:40:29 pm »

Thanks Tourista.  I phoned up and ordered it yesterday, without the couplers.  Can't wait for it to arrive.  Might be able to get some mini-tours in before the bad weather sets in.  I live on the English Channel, so France is only a one and a half hour boat ride away - and it's easy to take a bike.  Its nice to hear that someone else has and loves a Thorn.  I agree,  they are very helpful at SJS - and their 100 day money back guarantee is a good persuader.

Happy pedalling

Tonupgilly

19

Gear Talk / Re: Has anyone had experience of a Thorn Nomad with S & S couplers??

« on: September 20, 2010, 08:27:34 am »

Just to let you all know - I have made my decision.  I am ordering a Thorn today - without couplers.  Having taken into consideration everyones' points and experiences, I can't justify the cost of the S & S couplers, and in my case "money" wins out against "practicality" in an equation - I wouldn't recoup it in savings.

Many thanks to you all for your comments.

Kind regards
Tonupgilly 

20

Gear Talk / Re: Has anyone had experience of a Thorn Nomad with S & S couplers??

« on: September 17, 2010, 04:04:13 pm »

Also - what mountain bike did you get?  There are options out there for racks, even for full suspension bikes, and I thought you could put a BOB trailer on anything.   Are you really sure you can't make it work?

I'm afraid the mountain bike I've got won't work.   See  " Topic: What trailer??? "  in Gear Talk.  It's a Fuel Ex 8.  I love it to bits and have great pleasure riding trails with it -but it's not to be.

I take all your points on board.  At the moment I think I'm inclined not to get couplers.  I really don't want to be lumbered with finding a temporary home for the hard case, or having to lug the soft case with me.  I think I'm going to have enough to think about as it is.  It is a lot of money for what could turn out to be a small saving.  

21

Gear Talk / Re: Has anyone had experience of a Thorn Nomad with S & S couplers??

« on: September 17, 2010, 12:18:19 pm »

I don't really know what your plans are for the Thorn you're considering. 

I'm completely new to touring (though not new to cycling), but decided a few months ago that I would ultimately like to ride the Great Divide and bought a mountain bike recommended to me (I knew nothing about mountain bikes then).  It turns out I cannot load this bike in any way, or take a trailer.  Since retiring, I have done plenty of trail riding on this bike, loving it, but realise I also want to tour both on road and trails. So I have decided to get myself a decent tourer that will do on or off road.  I will be doing plenty of European tours where transport is not an issue, but I also plan to visit the USA for lots of tours in the future, starting, I hope, next year with an educational tour.  The question for me is Couplers or no couplers? At a £400 price tag plus £299 for the recommended case (although I'm sure I could purchase one for less elsewhere), I have to know that the couplers are suitable and will be worthwhile.  The more opinions and information I can get, the easier my decision will be.

22

Gear Talk / Re: Has anyone had experience of a Thorn Nomad with S & S couplers??

« on: September 17, 2010, 06:15:11 am »

Thanks for your information.

It is heartening to hear that the bike can actually be fitted into the recommended size case.  I was given the impression that it would be a major feat, and whilst (as a 20+ year member of a racing club) I can manage basic bike mechanics, i.e. removing pedals, tyres, seat etc, I didn't want to start doing a major disassembly and rebuild when on my own ( I'm retired and female) in somewhere foreign.

I visited the manufacturer yesterday and saw the couplers, but just need to make a decision now.  I have no-one here to bounce ideas off - so any recommendations, advice etc will be most gratefully received.

Regards,

Gill

23

Gear Talk / Has anyone had experience of a Thorn Nomad with S & S couplers??

« on: September 16, 2010, 05:03:22 pm »

I'm in a dilemma.   

I've been looking for a touring bike for some time, suitable for riding a trail such as the great divide or riding roads.  My problem is transport.  Living in the UK means transporting to the USA by air.  I thought I had found the ideal when I read about the S & S couplers, as used by Thorn and some other manufacturers.  However, I have been given the impression that even with the couplers, it is difficult to reduce the size of the bike sufficiently to fit inside the case recommended for the job, unless you are a bike mechanic with all the tools to hand.  I understand that Thorn (whose bike I am most interested in) produce a rucksack that will take the dismantled bike, allowing you to carry it with a handle for ease of transporting by air (as baggage).  The rucksack than apparently folds to normal ruck sack size and can either be worn or carried in panniers.  My question is - does anyone have experience of the S & S system, with any bike, but more specifically with the Thorn Nomad.  The couplers are a £400 extra, so I need to work out whether or not I can justify buying them.  Any comments would be appreciated.

24

Gear Talk / Re: What trailer???

« on: August 10, 2010, 06:31:22 pm »

Thank you Tourista, for the excellent and detailed information.  You have given me much to think about and investigate further.  Yes I would very much like to use my Trek for the ride on the GDR.  Obviously I also have to consider travel costs.  I am realising that air transport with bikes and trailers is not that cheap and also transport across the states can be awkward - although I suspect the cheapest way for me to do that would be to hire a vehicle with drop off at the airport before flying home.

Interesting stats on the Burley Nomad.  I shall look into it.  Nice to hear positive reviews about SJS - always good to know you are dealing with a tried and trusted company, and I certainly will pass on your warmest regards.

I have much to investigate now.  Thanks again for your input. 

Kind regards,  Gill

25

Gear Talk / Re: Gunnar frames - are they any good????

« on: August 09, 2010, 03:40:50 pm »

Hi Tony,

I'm in Broadstairs in Kent.  About as far East as you can go without getting wet.  No canals near us I'm afraid.  My sister has travelled them in the past - had a great time - very relaxing.  I used to come out your way to Calshot - taking groups of A level students on field studies.

I'm in a real dilemma about what to do about a bike as it doesn't look as if I'm going to be able to use the Trek now so I am looking at all options.  Never heard of Gunnar frames.  Have looked into Thorn, so will probably now look into Gunnar too.  Let me know if you have any further thoughts on them.

Hope you have a good trip.

Regards, Gill

26

Gear Talk / Re: Gunnar frames - are they any good????

« on: August 09, 2010, 02:57:05 pm »

Anyone know if there are any Gunnar dealers in the UK?

27

Gear Talk / Re: What trailer???

« on: August 09, 2010, 02:51:00 pm »

Hi Tourista and Tony.  I'm back - been away for a few days.  Interesting stuff.  Would a two wheeled trailer be ok for the GDR.  I was under the impression, perhaps mistakenly, that it would be best to have a single wheel.  I have also been looking at Thorn cycles with couplers - you are right - very expensive but possibly cost effective long term.  Their shop is only half a days drive away from me, so might just visit them and have a looksee.
Regards, Gill

28

Gear Talk / Re: What trailer???

« on: August 04, 2010, 05:10:58 pm »

Thanks for the information everyone - I've gone away to think about it for a while.  It is a bit of a bummer though.

29

Gear Talk / Re: What trailer???

« on: July 30, 2010, 07:10:17 pm »

WHAT?!  I find this very hard to believe. I think Trek might be playing it conservatively.  If they say, "Yes, this bike can do [x]," they can open themselves to liability if things go badly.  

What model of Trek is your bike?  I used a BOB with my 145mm tandem.  Yes, I had to flex the trailer yoke arms a little, but it worked great. 

I used a BOB with my 145mm tandem.

There were lots of people on the tandem forum who used BOBs on their tandems, and I'm sure some of them had 160mm rear dropout spacing.  (I got off that email list forum a few years ago, so it's not practical to verify it at this point.)   We put a rear rack on our tandem too, which has 145mm dropout spacing, 10mm more than mountain bikes and 15mm more than the road standard, and the dropouts are probably thicker too.

It's a Trek Fuel Ex 8.  I also e-mailed a bike shop who stocks both the model of bike and BOB trailers.  They told me it wouldn't work because you can't change the rear skewer for the special ones required on this bike (sorry - it's not the width that's the problem - my mistake).  The response from Trek themselves was "Sorry but I do not know of any way to carry luggage with this bike, that just wasn't really a design concern when we set out to build it I'm afraid.  .......  Sorry I can't help you with the gear carrying issue, I wish I had a solution but I just am not aware of one at this time."

I am a total amateur as far as mountain bikes go - so I am totally at sea with this.  If anyone has a Trek fuel Ex 8 and has managed to carry luggage I would love to hear from them.  Apparently I can load the front, but I wouldn't want to do this unless I can load the back too.

30

Gear Talk / Re: What trailer???

« on: July 30, 2010, 08:22:41 am »

Since I posted this topic, I have come across a big problem.  It seems that the bike I was going to use is unable to carry any sort of luggage - I even e-mailed Trek to ask them.   It appears that I cannot put a BOB trailer on it, or any trailer that fits the rear spindle because it is too wide for any known make of trailer.  I am also unable to put any sort of panniers - even Old Man Mountain - for the same reason.  This is very disappointing as I bought the bike as a cross-country trail bike - and if I can't carry luggage - it is no use for longer trips.  One option would be the Aevon (seatpost mounted) trailer - but they are very expensive and I would still have to transport it by air.  So I have decided to start again and get a new bike and have been looking at Thorn cycles (SJS Cycles).  They have an option to have S & S couplings to allow the bike to be dismantled and packed in a suitcase for travel, Rohloff hub gears etc.  Lotsa money, but could be worth it if it saves transport costs every time.  I would probably still look at getting a BOB trailer though.  Thanks for the information - I'll take a look at the stuff on the GDR.