Cyclists

Its funny Andy that a few messages before you said you preferred the trekking bicycle for your kind of rides and now you're considering a road bike. If the bicycle sticks with me a few years, I will too get a road one.
I tried the tires the other day: I went for a ride on regular asphalt street trying to go as fast as I can. Then took a small path next to the beach which was full of sand. With gravel and rocks the bicycle did fine. With a bit of sand, it did also ok with slow and careful riding. There were parts though where the wheels sank in the sand that I had to walk the bicycle across.
With all that I have read about bicycles it looks like mine is bottom of the average ones. It must be really heavy compared to the good road bikes. I wonder how a bicycle like the Orbea Orca 09 would feel like...

Hi Ari, the bikes I am looking at are touring cycles.
This is a road bike,
this is a touring bike
and this is a hybrid bike.
There are distinct differences between the three. Road bikes are lighter and geared for racing, hybrids are also lighter (usually aluminium), touring bikes are heavier (usually steel) and geared for carrying loads over long distances, the frame geometry is different and they also have the necessary braze-ons for mudguards, racks etc.

The reason I am now considering a tourer is that they are strongly built and can easily cope with light off-road use. I will also be able to add panniers etc. to carry photography equipment. A hybrid would be too light-weight for off-road and a full road bike would definitely struggle off-road and would not ave the fixings for racks.

Are you selling your current bike Andy?

I am not sure. My neighbour has expressed an interest. However, my 11 year old nephew would also like it. At the moment nephew is about 4cm too short for it, but he is growing. We are going to try putting the seat all the way down to see if he can ride it. If he can it will go in his shed for a few months until he is a little taller and can safely put his feet on the ground when stopped.

Cycling gives one a good view of stuff that ends up at the side of the road, most of it is mundane trash, beer cans, bottles, etc. But sometimes there's stuff that could tell an interesting story.
What's the most interesting or weirdest, curious, funniest or even valuable thing you have encountered?
The oddest for me a piece of a rocker arm from a car engine. Car bits are pretty common, but in this case it seemed like the rest of the car should have been close by.
A close second might be the bits of clothing, especially underware, I always wonder what the story behind that would be.

This morning I passed by a burning car, completely engulfed, the fire department had not arrived yet, but heard the sirens approaching. Other than that, I've found a wrench, pliers, a sock with a rock in it, and I've passed by a variety of animal pelts.

Any Toronto folks lost a bike recently? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7581764.stm

Ordered my new bike on Thursday. Should be ready for delivery in five weeks or so. Can't wait!

hi all, i ride a specialized hardtail mountain bike. it's pretty much stock, i don't cycle as often as i probably should

Andy, post a photograph of you and your new bicycle when you get it.
Poohblah, welcome to our little corner here.
BD, what I see up close when riding a bicycle is the faces of the drivers and I look them in the eye. I must be a strange spectacle with my goggles and all.

Welcome to the group Poohblah.

Aristotelis, I have gone with my original choice, the Pashley-Moulton TSR27. I won't receive the bike for another 5 or 6 weeks or so as they are hand built to order.

That Pashley Moulton looks more like a folding bike than a touring one. The frame looks small and so do the wheel. Plus it doesn't look constructed to take a rack and fenders. Definitely a good departure from the other bike you showed us first. I looked over the "features" and didn't really get it, so Andy, go ahead and sing its praise to us less enlightened ones!

The TSR has the same geometry as a full size bike. It has 20" wheels, which are much stronger than larger wheels. The space frame design gives a stronger and stiffer frame. Many people use them for touring. They can take panniers front and rear, saddle bags, bar bags and even some luggage in between.
Here is a video someone shot of their TSR 30, (same frame and wheels as the TSR27 but different gearing and handlebar setup)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3913jIYM_4Q

Here is a video which explains how Sir Alex Moulton came to design the bike:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...2343&q=moulton

And here's a video of a TSR being used in Cyclo-cross: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...36513133&hl=en

Very impressive Andy. Be sure to give us all the details from your first experience when you get it.

Btw, a quote from a greek bicycle forum:

"I shave my legs,
I wear tight lycra,
I lubricate my crotch,
and then my ass hurts from what I did over the weekend..."

I belong to this forum: http://forum.ctc.org.uk/index.php

I belong to http://www.veloriders.co.uk forum and also belong to
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk as coach - a bit inactive these days. My club is Yasumitsu-Schlapp :-) Various piles of bikes lurk all over the house - the tandem in the back porch. Eve my partner is former World Masters Pursuit champ in 2006 and has just arrived home after cycling back along the coast home. Yes, we are cyclists.

Aristotelis, here is a pdf which describes the bike better than I can: www.tsr.uk.com/_docs/TSRcatalogue.pdf

Schlapp and the rest of the Schlappers a hearty CONGRATULATIONS!!

I joined, because I want to hear about AndyK's Moulton. These are really beautiful bikes. I've been riding a Brompton folding bike for the past several years (before that I had an aluminum frame Raleigh Technium set up as a touring bike), and occasionally, before folders became particularly popular in the US, some of the NYC folder riders would get together occasionally for group rides, and sometimes there would be a few Moultons as well, not necessarily folders, but as small-wheeled bikes, they have a certain affinity with folders.

Anyway, I find the Brompton perfect for getting around New York City. It's all pretty flat, so three speeds cover pretty much any situation (though I could get more, if I wanted them). It folds in about 20 seconds, so it's easy to switch between subway and cycle, and it doesn't take up much space in the apartment. I've gotten a few upgrades to what was the basic Brompton when I bought it around 1998--lighter titanium seatpost and Terry TFI Liberator saddle, racing wheels and Primo Comet tires, front V-brakes (the original Brompton brakes weren't so great, but they've been improved on current models), and a few other things from Len Rubin, who is obsessed with perfecting the Brompton.

UK Brompton website-- http://www.brompton.co.uk/

US Brompton website-- http://www.foldabikes.com/

Len Rubin's site-- http://homepage.mac.com/lenrubin/PhotoAlbum1.html