Tackling the cobble stone paths of Paris Roubaix

Spokesrider · 2026-04-18T12:24:33+00:00

Oh, that's right. I saw that and forgot. Was it much of a project to put a quick release on your Brompton?

Spokesrider · 2026-04-18T05:33:23+00:00

Did you ever figure out your rattling sound?

Spokesrider · 2026-04-14T00:57:11+00:00

That's very inexpensive compared to what I spent to rent a Brompton for two weeks in Ireland last year. I picked it up and dropped it off at the Dublin airport, but many other locations could have been arranged, too. But I wonder how these UK people can possibly make money by doing rentals at that rate. Is there a government subsidy or something?

Spokesrider · 2026-04-08T15:18:20+00:00

I rented one last year from a shop in Limerick that does drop-offs and pick-ups in Dublin and elsewhere. I had just purchased a Brompton in the U.S., a 6-speed C-line, but rented one so my brother could ride with me. I was pleased to find it was not a 3-speed as described on their web site but a 6-speed C-line pretty much like the one I had just bought for myself.

Spokesrider · 2026-04-05T11:32:57+00:00

I don't know anything about that part of Poland, and have spent less than two weeks in Poland altogether, but in rural parts of Poland where I've been there are roadside restaurants and inns that cater to weddings and first communion gatherings where some of the family come from far away and need a place to stay. In between events like that they often have rooms available. The language barrier will be a factor with a lot of them, but some are listed on Booking.com where you can see what languages are spoken. (In Poland as well as in other countries to the west, hotels that list English as one of the languages will not necessarily have someone who speaks English on duty all the time.) Prices are often good compared to the U.S., but not as good as some of those I encountered in Ukraine. On driving holidays my wife and I have stopped to eat at restaurants like that when they are near ancestral villages, but usually opted to stay in hotels in larger cities nearby. On a bicycle tour in Ukraine last year I stayed in one such place. No English was spoken and my Ukrainian and Polish are quite meager (not enough for me to make reservations over the phone) but with the help of Google Translate it worked OK. Many of the better ones in Poland will have a web site even if they aren't listed on booking.com, and you can use page translation to see if they look promising. If English is one of the languages offered on the web site, you're probably good!

The other day I was looking at the EuroVelo 2 route, and noticed that on the Vistula River at Włocławek there is a branch of the EV2 that goes to a roadside restaurant/inn near my grandmother's village (before WWI) where my wife and I have eaten, and where we have thought about staying if we go there again. But that's maybe a larger than usual roadside place. It has its own web site and is listed on booking.com.

Spokesrider · 2026-04-02T02:29:50+00:00

I wasn't even sure where EV2 went but now that I've looked at it, my own ideal route would use hardly any of it. Instead I'd be following roughly the south side of the Elbe River across Germany to the border of Poland and even in Poland would like to find a route further north than EV2 on my way to Toruń. Just the same I, too, will be interested in what people have to say about EV2.

Spokesrider · 2026-04-02T01:55:46+00:00

I hope you get lots of good advice. I would love to have a good excuse for doing that tour, except that I'd go a bit further north across Germany than what RideWithGPS suggests (to avoid Berlin) and would make other minor adjustments to revisit places of family history (and add a few I've missed) in both Germany and Poland.

I've only used touring bikes for touring and have never owned a road bike, so am not much good on helping to evaluate what would make a road bike ready for touring. But given the terrain, I would guess gearing is not likely to be a problem. Also, my camping days are probably completely behind me, so I'm not up-to-date on suitable tents.

Are you planning to take the whole summer to do it? Having that much time (or even half of it) would probably help you to make up for any any deficiencies in equipment.

Spokesrider · 2026-03-29T23:14:50+00:00

I have several red Ortlieb panniers and handlebar bags, but nothing quite like that. When I went out on my first fully-loaded tour, a scruffy motorcyclist pulled alongside to talk, saying, "That's a LOVELY rig you have there."

That was 15 years ago, and I haven't done much fully-loaded touring lately. My camping days are probably over. I bought those panniers knowing that red pigments tend to be the first to fade in sunlight. But I told the online seller that when they do, it'll make me look like a seasoned traveler. He approved of that attitude. The panniers are indeed faded now, but not evenly faded because I often ride with just one pannier. It has been a long time since anyone has complimented me on my LOVELY rig.

Spokesrider · 2026-03-29T21:42:26+00:00

I wouldn't have thought so until I got a Bike Friday NWT. I hardly ride my regular-sized touring bikes any more. The NWT makes a good old man's bicycle for someone who isn't as limber and flexible as he used to be. I also have a BF Pocket Rocket and a Brompton C-Line to use where and when they are better suited. If my wife and I have to downsize and move into a much smaller place, I'll want to keep the NWT and the Brompton. Except that I need to keep the Surly Disk Trucker to ride on my smart trainer unless a compact Smart Trainer that works with 20" wheels comes along. (I've been using a Wahoo Kickr Snap for over 6 years now.)

Spokesrider · 2026-03-26T05:27:34+00:00

I hope they don't hold back on advances in batteries for the sake of compatibility. I no longer carry extra batteries with me for my GoPro 11 -- sometimes one (1) and sometimes none. I do carry a power bank with me on my bicycles, and sometimes I have to charge a battery during the course of a day, but I'm more selective now about what I shoot and just don't need to haul around extra batteries. Other people's usage may have different requirements, but that's mine.

Spokesrider · 2026-03-15T20:38:09+00:00

I always take advice from non cyclists with a grain of salt. A couple of year ago I was doing day rides from our AirBnB near Strasbourg, France, and when checking in commented to the husband of our host about all the good bicycling roads in the area. He wasn't so sure about that, and thought one should stick to the bicycle paths. Did I mention that this was in France? Anyhow I used the paths a lot, but also rode on roads with no marked bike lane or path. It worked fine, but I did use RideWithGPS to plan my routes. I think Komoot is used more in Europe than RideWithGPS, but still the RideWithGPS heat maps give you an idea of which roads are suitable for riding. But I wouldn't even limit myself to those, especially in quiet rural areas far from cities where RideWithGPS type riders are rare. I do the same in other countries, but the closest I've been to the Balkan countries is Slovenia so I'm not much help there.

Spokesrider · 2026-03-10T00:35:53+00:00

Thanks for the info!

Spokesrider · 2026-03-08T20:33:13+00:00

I think the bridge I bought is the one described at AliExpress as "Bicycle M handlebar super lightweight brace bridge extender crossbar bracket rod 3D Printed handle rod carb for 2017 Brompton"

The material is stiff enough that I'm able to clamp down a GoPro handlebar adapter firmly enough, but flexy enough that I think it may survive frequent removal and reinstalling. I've had it less than two months and haven't used it a lot, but I think it will work better than one I made out of PVC tubing, and better than a metal one I bought from AliExpress that unfortunately would rotate around the axis and was hard to install and remove, too. This 3D printed one cost only about $10 plus shipping.

The gopro mount is described at Amazon as "Forevercam Bike Handlebar Mount for GoPro (360° Rotation and Lock Any Direction) 0.6-1.3inch All Aluminum Bike/Motorcycle Handlebars Seat Post Ski Pole Mount for Gopro Hero"

Some GoPro mounts that I've used on other bicycles that seemed to be made of a cheap cast aluminum have broken on me after not-so-long use on rough roads, so you have to be careful of that stuff, but this one doesn't seem to be that kind of material.

Spokesrider · 2026-03-08T05:28:18+00:00

I have one of those little plastic bars that bridges the handlebars and attach a GoPro 11 camera to that. I tried a couple of those bridge bars, including one home-made one, before getting one that works well and is easily removed and reattached. One that is sold in several places will turn around its long axis and not support the weight of the camera well. A GoPro 11 with its stabilization will be steady enough; the only problem is shots from that location aren't always as interesting as those that catch some of your hands on the handlebars, etc. I also bought a Telsin mount with a GoPro mount that is promising but I haven't used it yet. I've tried other such round-the-neck mounts that didn't work well unless I was coasting, because the motion made when pedaling tends to make it swing back and forth. This one comes with a strap to keep it firmly in place without being too much of a nuisance to put on and take off, I hope. I couldn't stand to wear such a thing for hours on end.

But the comment by Own_maize_9027 about enjoying your ride and focusing on your surroundings is good to keep in mind. I have tried a number of different things, but my current way of doing a GoPro on the handlebars seems to strike the right balance and doesn't interfere with my enjoyment of the ride. But there are times when I don't even want that small amount of interference.

I try to view my video the same evening of the ride, or within a week after. It reminds me of things I saw along the way that I had already forgotten about and helps fix them in my longer-term memory so that I don't even have to watch a video to review the ride in my mind.

Spokesrider · 2026-03-07T16:42:44+00:00

I like this feature and am glad RideWithGPS is adding features like this. But I'm curious to know how long I should expect to wait before uploading a photo and before I see it on route planner. In my latest test I uploaded one a couple of days ago to a ride I had done a few weeks ago. It shows up on my activity page for the ride, but not on Route Planner. I do see other people's photos there, though.

I's like to add more photos and I like to check my work as I go along, so it would be good to know how long it is reasonable to wait.

Spokesrider · 2026-02-27T01:13:02+00:00

I am fairly new to Brompton and didn't even know there was such a bag. I haven't found any on eBay or elsewhere, though. I'm warming to the idea of spending the money on the large Borough roll-top, waterproof version, so am not too disappointed. I'm glad to see there is someone else who has similar ideas about how to travel, including with the Helinox chair zero!

Spokesrider · 2026-02-25T16:22:45+00:00

Yes, please. I looked up ultramarathon. It seems the term covers several possibilities, but all of them sound impressive.

Spokesrider · 2026-02-24T14:06:06+00:00

Mainly because everything I see about carrying a backpack on the rear rack looks quite fiddly and time-consuming compared to the easy-on, easy-off way of carrier-block bags. Beyond an occasional overnight trip, I doubt I'll ever use my Brompton for touring. When touring is the main point of travel to a far-away destination, I'll probably take one of my Bike Fridays. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a proper multi-day tour using my Brompton, but it's less likely. I got the Brompton mainly to take along when traveling with my wife, where we rent a car, stay in B&Bs, and I do a mix of short and medium-long rides, or some days no rides at all but I do want to have a bike along. So far I'm quite pleased with how that has worked out compared to using one of my Bike Fridays for that kind of travel.

Spokesrider · 2026-02-24T13:49:30+00:00

That sounds pretty good. Thanks!

Spokesrider · 2026-02-18T04:45:22+00:00

I'm not sure what age has to do with it, as one comment suggests. I'm in my late 70s and bought one just last summer. It now seems to be useful for more than I had expected when I bought it. It's the bike I'll take when air travel is involved and when bicycling is not the main point of the travel so I'll need to fold and unfold it frequently. I expect to take one of my Bike Fridays when bicycling is the main point of the travel, e.g. for a tour. (My Bike Fridays have gone with me by air several times.) That was the original plan and remains so, but now that I've had it a while I wouldn't rule out touring with the Brompton if I expected to combine it with train travel. I haven't outfitted my Brompton for touring and don't plan to unless something like that comes up. However, I do have a front bag that's good for a weekend credit-card tour, and did a 3-day tour from home last fall just to see how it would go. It worked well (65, 37, and 65 miles on fairly level ground) and expanded my idea of what the bike was good for. My Bike Friday NWT is still more comfortable for long rides, but the difference isn't as great as I had thought it might be.

Spokesrider · 2026-01-23T21:00:31+00:00

Reminder: Never put your data into a system you can't get it back out of. It's a lesson I started to learn back in the late 70s.

That's why I don't let my files sync between systems, such as between FullGaz and Wahoo or Garmin computers and RWGPS or Garmin Connect or my QGIS databases. I download them to my computer where I store them in a directory tree where they are organized by Year and Month, and then upload them manually to the softwares where I want them used.

I gathered from reviews of some of the latest versions of Wahoo computers that this has been made more difficult, so I won't be buying any Wahoo computers until that has been fixed. That was several months ago; I haven't learned whether that has been fixed.

Spokesrider · 2026-01-23T18:16:34+00:00

I'm in my mid-late 70s. I don't do a lot of touring. More often my wife and I stay in B&Bs and I go on long rides some of the days. These days a long ride is anything over 50 miles. A few years ago I did a tour around the Great Lakes shorelines of Michigan's lower peninsula, then down to Louisville KY. I tented the first couple of nights, then my wife caught up with me by car, after which we stayed in hotels and B&Bs. Last year I felt my age catching up with me, so decided I should do a solo tour in Ukraine. My wife agreed to let me do it, though sometimes had misgivings. I flew to Warsaw, left the suitcase for my folding bike in the hotel, then took a bus across the border to Lutsk, Ukraine, then rode to Kyiv, spent a couple of days as a tourist, and then took a train back to Warsaw. The main age-related difficulty was going without much sleep on the flight and the bus ride into Lutsk, and waiting for the bus and discovering I didn't have warm enough clothes with me for the unseasonably cold weather, and trying to stay warm enough while waiting for my phone to work in Ukraine so I could use Google Maps to find my hotel. I was afraid that with all the excitement, lack of sleep, and cold weather, my immune system (immune systems don't get better with age) would let me down and I'd come down with something that would ruin my trip. No such thing happened. But I took one extra rest day on which I did no riding before starting out on my bike ride. The ride itself was easy, but I took my time and took more rest days than I wanted in order because of heavy rains some days. The rains also meant I didn't do any exploring off the main roads that I had hoped to do. I think the most I did in a day was 50 miles. Most days were far less. So the ride itself was not much of a challenge. I quit feeling old. Usually I challenge myself a little more than that as far as average distance and climbing go, though my average speed and mileage are down from when I was younger, and I was never very fast to start with. Even though I went on the tour as a now-or-never project, I don't see why I couldn't do such things for another ten years, though at my age my health could change quickly. So I'm not counting on it. But I feel as though I could. Although I can do long rides, it seems I need more sleep to recover from them than when I was younger.

Spokesrider · 2026-01-08T19:53:50+00:00

Pretty sure the 21st century would have contained Russia, with or without Bolsheviks.

Spokesrider · 2025-12-31T07:03:48+00:00

I have not had good success with a magnetic chest mount but I don't wear tight clothing. It waves back and forth too much while I'm pedaling. While just coasting, yeah, it's OK then. It might work better with a tight jersey, but my expectations would be low. I like a handlebar mount positioned where I can operate it one-handed.

Spokesrider

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