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Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Camcart

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Posted by Piemaster on August 4, 2008 – 7:00 pm
Filed under Bikes, Reviews

Camcart is made from steel tubing, bends seem accurate and welds of a reasonable quality. Following the online step-by-step instructions on above site it went together easily, bolt holes lining up well but a proper 10mm spanner served better for assembly than the supplied stamped out steel plate multi-size thing.
Instructions are included in the box but are in German. (Product is shipped from Germany).

Very sturdy once assembled. I can’t see that the 100kg as a handcart / 40kg for cycle towing would present any problem.

Small problems I encountered. The towing ball attaches to the bike seat stem clamp, the one on my Giant Escape is quite tapered where the clamping bolt fits and a trip to my LBS soon found one that suited better (see http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryDangerousday/BikeCartPhotos ).

A bit of ‘persuasion’ with vice/hammer to close the 2 mount sides up a bit and then bolted it all together ready for its first trial. Incidentally packaging stated 12 bolts included - I only got 11 but due the clamp issue that didn’t prove a problem.

Cart does not sit horizontally on its own supporting leg (would be in the way when towing if it did) when used as a handcart.

First trip was to local tip (about a 2 mile round trip) with the sturdy plastic bin of 90 litres full of very damp (heavy) garden waste. I used luggage straps around the frame to hold on the large cardboard box the cart came in to take that away too. Towball arrangement rattles a bit over bumps, but it just served to remind me the trailer was there. It really does roll very easily with little discernible effect on bike handling.
I found to my cost you cannot drop 2 wheel trailers off curbs at anything but 90 degrees (D’oh!) when it fell over- luckily at the end of a dead end street.

I’m very pleased with it and can see it being used regularly. The optional plastic cover is a good fit (shopping? detach trailer from bike and take it straight into kitchen? Hmmm)

Supplier very friendly and apologetic over a long delivery time due to holiday periods in Germany but kept me informed, a sort of LBS type service. Also a thanks to my LBS - Cliff Pratt Cycles for help with the clamp and generally being a nice buch of folk even on a very busy saturday morning.

Review: Topeak DryBag Pannier

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Posted by Peter Bancroft on July 26, 2008 – 7:00 pm
Filed under Kit and Clothing, Reviews

Topeak DryBag

Topeak describe the DryBag thusly:-

The Pannier DryBag features a fully seam sealed 300 denier and 600 denier polyester construction with a roll top closure for maximum protection from the elements. The Topeak quick release Hook and Lock system attaches the pannier securely and makes installation and removal a snap.

The bags look sturdy, and can easily carry a great deal of kit. But looks aren’t everything, and I found them to be surprisingly fragile.

Firstly, the front strap runs underneath a small lip of plastic with the Topeak logo on it. Almost the first time the bag was tightened, this lip tore off. It’s difficult to suggest that this was purely down to manhandling, as panniers need to be fairly robust to survive on the road. That said, this is just an aesthetic issue, and didn’t really affect performance in any way.

Similarly, the bags are mounted on a plastic board, seemingly by a simple bolt and washer setup. At one point during the ride, a particular gap on the route was quite tight (this was a restrictive entry barrier onto a bridleway to prevent motorcyclists - cyclists were explicitly allowed according to the signage), and boths panniers were caught on obstructions. This was enough to partially tear one bag away from the rear boarding. The force placed against the bag is probably excessive when compared to everyday use, for let’s say commuting, but did highlight that the bags are a little weaker than they appear to be, and not robust enough for serious touring.

On more positive notes, the bags kept everything nice and dry throughout the trip, though we didn’t attempt a “bucket test.” They fitted quickly and easily to the rack. The bags are also a reasonable value for the size, ease of attachment and versatility. The reflective strips are large and were a great boon for making one’s self visible at night.

Lowest UK Price I could find: Chain Reaction Cycles

Ferry Across the Thames part II

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Posted by Catrike UK on July 24, 2008 – 9:08 am
Filed under Recumbents, Reviews, Touring

Inspired to further my report by the primordial tourer, I decided on Tuesday to take the day off and head off to Lakeside shopping park to spend my £6 Decathlon voucher, it seemed like a good excuse for a ride out and to actually use the ferry this time.

Knowing where it was made getting there a lot easier, I tried some alternative cycle lanes which were also slow, so it will be road only next time, but I did surprise myself by climbing some hills easily that I thought would be difficult, I must be getting fitter.

I covered the first 15 miles in little over an hour and arrived at the ferry dock, the ferry was on the other side, so I chatted with other people waiting while the ferry made its way across, I filmed the crossing and will provide a You Tube link at some point so its true majesty can be experienced.

Until then you will have to feast your eyes on this library shot, a truly magnificent ship of the line I am sure you will agree.

I was welcomed aboard and parked the trike on the stern deck, applied the parking brake and went to pay my £4.10 day return fair, the trike going free.

I went to look for the bar but alas in the single cabin it was conspicuous by its absence. Instead you get lockers and a few seats to sit on.

On being quizzed about where I was going I was given a route by a knowledgeable local who seemed to think I would not be riding on the roads but hey ho, I did not have the heart to correct them. We arrived after a few minutes crossing and disembarked.

The dock on the Tilbury side is significantly more grand that the Gravesend side but equally it is a long way from the town centre, I followed the signs for Grays and made good time, in total it was about 7 miles to Lakeside from the ferry dock, the road surfaces were fine and the local wildlife (chavs), were less boisterous than the Kent contingent. Drivers were much the same and afforded me plenty of room as usual with the odd (ignored) beep of a horn.

I conducted my shopping then retired to TGI Fridays for lunch and beer, the staff seemed to like the trike but had some problems getting their head around me considering a 22 mile one way cycle ride to be fun. They did give me a free beer however and I fueled up on carbs and protein, also known as cheeseburger and chips.

I returned by a slightly shorter and faster route which I will remember for next time, when I reached the ferry dock, it was on the other side (again), so I waited for it to cross, I had had about 4 hours in the magical land of Essex and was ready to return to the green hills of Kent and hopefully miss some of the traffic.

The retun home was peppered with commuting cyclists, I passed two commuters going up a hill (who said recumbents cannot climb?), I was passed by one fellow, I then decided not to be passed by the cycle I could vaguely see in my mirror, after a while I realised it was a motor scooter, it caught me at the top of a hill but I left it for dead going down and did not see it again.

In total I covered 43 miles, average speed a measly 12 mph, highest speed 35.9 mph, managed to get a bit of sunburn to.

The Primordial Tourer Pt. 3

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Posted by Peter Bancroft on July 23, 2008 – 7:00 pm
Filed under Events and Rides, Kit and Clothing, Reviews, Touring

Day Two (Saturday)

Distance: 55 Miles (Fordingbridge to Swanage)

Top Speed: 26.4mph

Early morning Saturday was gorgeous. Being an early riser, I left David snoring away, and had a wander around, and a chat with Tom, the campsite owner.

We had breakfast (rubbish croissants and ham) and left about 9.30. This was to be the real test of me and my bike. My assumption was about 38.3 miles - the stats at the top of this post make it clear just how wrong I was.

Until now, a “long ride” for me was just a little further than my commute. My ride to work is just under 12 miles, to my parents about 14 total. I thought that about 45 was my upper limit, especially with the weight that was being carried. I cannot recommend highly enough to those considering touring to do as much training in advance as possible. I thought I was prepared, but I most certainly wasn’t.

I discovered that I needed refuelling a lot as well. I had packed a number of Mars bars ready for when I bonked out. Actually, I could have done with more than this, and more water too. David had not attached a water bottle holder to his bike, so I was left carrying two. I like to think that I would have lasted a little longer than I did before resorting to pushing the bike up those final steep hills if I could have made more use of the liquid without having to share it around… but I’m possibly kidding myself.

Topeak suggest that the MTX Beam Rack is “Great for touring with full suspension” but I have to disagree. My bike is a GT Avalanche 2.0, and does not have the eyelets on the frame for a standard pannier rack. I am reliably advised that this is because the bike has disc brakes. About a year or so ago I plumped for this, assuming that I would be using the bike mostly for commuting, and by and large it does do the job. What I noticed over the weekend however was that, without fixings to the side, the rack had a tendancy to wobble, especially with the side bags on. This occasionally resulted in the rack rubbing against the rear tyre, or simply the momentum causing something of a hindrance when riding up a particularly steep hill. A much more civilised solution would have been the P Clip as recommended. I think I will investigate this now.

I also regret keeping my Bontrager Comfort tyres on for the ride. Whilst these have been perfectly fine for road use, and occasional gravel, I found that they had no traction on very wet surfaces, such as mud. Sandy ground was a similarly hard experience. I’ll hold my hands up to say this is my fault for not following Rule Three of touring and being fully aware of the projected route, but it did make things slightly tougher. In retrospect, I think I would have preferred to have left the knobbly tyres on even for the road sections for the extra grip I would have gained off road.

The campsite in Swanage, part of the Shorefield group, I found to be slightly disappointing. In truth, the facilities that it had on offer were no less than Tom’s Field, and in fact much better. However, it is a much larger site, built onto a very steep hill with only one shower/toilet block at the very bottom. Naturally we were placed at the very top, though beneficially in a quiet patch to ourselves as cars could not reach our little oasis of calm. For the price, however, I had expected a few more on-site amenities.

Swanage itself was very pleasant. Taking Sunday off as a day of rest, we spent it instead walking around the coast tiring out the other muscle groups, leaving Monday for the route home…

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