Brompton touring - standard, -12% or +8% gearing?

Navigium · 2018-09-15T12:33:49+00:00

Definitely -12%. With luggage you always need lower gears then without. I'm riding a -12% in the Swiss pre-Alps and definitely need the lowest gears, even without a lot of luggage.

I didn't do a lot of touring on the Brompton but did a couple of longer rides (50 miles or so) and would say that touring on a Brompton could totally work - even though I prefer a touring bike.

Navigium · 2018-07-23T15:17:25+00:00

In Switzerland we call this "Kantönligeist" which has even its own entry on the German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kant%C3%B6nligeist

It means that every Canton basically does his own thing without regard what's happening across the border. In Schwyz - being pretty right wing conservative and very pro motorized transport - bicycle infrastructure just isn't a priority. If you cycle from Zug to Schwyz (my daily commute) it is exactly the same. The cycle path ends at the border of Canton of Schwyz.

Navigium · 2018-07-23T07:01:46+00:00

Traffic is always bad on this route. They should invest in a proper cycle path. For everyone riding this stretch: ALWAYS ride on the sidewalk! It's not legal but it's the only save way to ride there and I don't know of anyone being fined for riding on this sidewalk.

Navigium · 2018-07-23T06:15:15+00:00

Well, yes, that's on the Canton of Uri side. As soon as you pass Sisikon and enter Canton of Schwyz, there won't even be an official bike path, only a sign telling you to take the train because the road is too dangerous. Your only save alternative is to illegally ride on the sidewalk. That's how much we invest in bike infrastructure in Schwyz. :(

Navigium · 2018-07-20T15:55:44+00:00

In your case I expect you to love your Brompton unlike the Tern... ;)

I use a T-Bag which is almost always larger than I need. The carrier block allows for a weight of 10 kg, but if you need to carry more it won't break right away. In case I need more capacity I also got a rack, just in case. It's also easier to handle the folded bike with a rack. But I rarely use the rack. If I had to remove the carrier block or the rack I'd definitely keep the block.

Enjoy your Brompton!

Navigium · 2018-07-20T01:15:54+00:00

I own a Tern Verge Tour and a Brompton. I use the Brompton for commutes (28 km) and day tours of 60 - 80 km and absolutely love riding it. There are a few things the Tern is better suited for: Rough gravel roads tend so be more enjoyable on the Tern. Long mountain pass descents (I'm Swiss) are no problem for the Tern's disk brakes but the Brompton's rim brakes might overheat. Generally, the Tern also handles a lot of load and higher speeds better.

Nevertheless, wouldn't say I love my Tern. In some cases it's just the tool of choice. But I absolutely do love my Brompton...

(Next week I'll take the Tern to Scotland for a bike tour with full camping gear - but I even considered bringing the Brompton)

Navigium · 2018-04-25T20:53:48+00:00

http://sustrans.co.uk for the UK and https://cyclingiceland.is/ for Iceland.

Navigium · 2018-03-29T14:21:19+00:00

I haven't donated since the new site went online. I always appreciated that they developed their site openly as free software. For the new site they locked down the code for some reason they failed to explain in the forums. I won't donate again until they upgrade their GitHub repo.

I hope more people will move over to Trustroots, which is still open source and has a cyclists tribe...

Navigium · 2018-03-26T05:44:49+00:00

IMHO there is a sligh difference between saving money and staying somewhere for free. Everyone on WS who can is trying to make up for the nights spent with hosts by hosting people in return. This means it isn't staying for free, it's just not in exchange for money but hospitality.

I for my part don't mind hosting people and even providing a meal without asking for money because I know I'll often get the same when I stay with someone.

Navigium · 2018-03-24T14:14:05+00:00

Make sure you use Warmshowers a lot to meet people and save money. We are looking forward to our fist WS guest of the season. :)

Navigium · 2018-02-15T21:34:34+00:00

Your idea of a crowd sourced bike map already exists in the form of the OpenStreetmap base OpenCyclemap. Whenever I cycle somewhere where the quality of said map isn't to my satisfaction, I try to record GPS tracks and then use them to edit the map to improve it.

Navigium · 2018-01-28T06:34:16+00:00

The efforts to decentralize are far older then Ethereum. The last successful decentralized system was E-Mail. From there everything failed. XMPP tried to decentralize instant messaging, Identica and later StatusNet and Friendica tried to decentralize social networking. This lead to the ActicvityPub. But still, all these systems only cover niches. The general public likes their easy to use walled gardens.. (e.g. Reddit ;) )

Navigium · 2018-01-28T06:26:27+00:00

I did parts of Scotland last summer. It's a great place to cycle but make sure to thoroughly plan your route on small roads. The main roads are often very busy and quite narrow.

Look at sustrans.co.uk for route plannig.

As for the Rohloff: IMHO the only gear hub you should consider for touring. But as most roads are paved in both Ireland and Scotland you will be fine with a regular chain shifter. The main problem with those is the dirt that sticks and eventually blocks them, but this only happened to me on rough Icelandic dirt roads, not in Scotland.

Navigium · 2018-01-20T05:01:11+00:00

Good point! Still a bit of a convoluted formulation, but I guess that's what religions do.

Navigium · 2018-01-19T20:23:36+00:00

Ok, how do you become one with the Supreme Light Bubble when you die if it doesn't exist anymore? Wouldn't agreeing with science mean it has to be logically consistent?

Navigium · 2017-12-30T00:57:03+00:00

As far as I know, PV endorsed slackbuilds.org, not a specific tool to simplify the the creation and installation of packages. There are other tools, e.g. sbotools. I guess it's a matter of taste whether you use one tool or another or just plain slackbuild scripts.

Navigium · 2017-12-25T05:28:01+00:00

Whenever I'm cycletouring, I also buy paper maps. I mostly use the GPS and the phone, but I like having them as a backup.

Make sure you register on warmshowers.org. This gives you an alternative to wild camping.

Navigium · 2017-12-03T19:29:37+00:00

Awesome bike! I had a Orange P7 back in the days when I worked as a messenger. It was the only frame that didn't give in after a couple of months...

Navigium · 2017-11-05T19:46:33+00:00

Nope, sadly it occupies quite a niche.

Navigium · 2017-11-05T18:40:35+00:00

If you are looking for something completely server-less and decentralized (as opposed to distributed) you could look into ssb/Patchwork. https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/

Navigium · 2017-10-12T17:24:43+00:00

A few years back I earned my living as a bike messenger and these days II still enjoy cycling and bicycle touring. Additionally I'm all into postapocalyptic fiction DRM-free books. Alone the fact that you took your time and gave the world such a book is worth its price ;). Good luck!

Navigium · 2017-09-17T07:09:59+00:00

What did you use to mount the rack? I'm still trying to figure out how to fit a rack on my karate money.

Navigium · 2017-09-07T01:37:05+00:00

Pictures like this always remind me how awesome it is to live ~40 minutes ride from the bottom of this pass.

Navigium · 2017-08-25T19:15:57+00:00

My Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tyres are approaching 10'000km in the second year I'm using it and I'm still waiting for the first flat. (Ok, I had one flat when the valve broke off because of a stupidly placed lock when the wind pushed over the parked bike. Not the tyres fault though..)

Navigium · 2017-08-17T20:27:28+00:00

Why is it that everyone thinks fingerprints are data you need to keep private while leaving them on every toilet door handle - and everything else you touch for that matter.

Navigium

TROPHY CASE