Retrobike Touring.

Re: Retro MTB Touring.

SilverSurfer":31nthhdf said:
Very inspiring stuff there, you've got another tight-fisted South Yorkshire person thinking now. Nice pics as well, was on the trail there this aft.
That's right silver surfer
 
Re: Retro MTB Touring.

Jezmellors":hr38tvu1 said:
Pleased you had a good time mate, and made it back okay. Hope I can come next time.

Name your weekend.... ball's in your court mate. I'll gladly arrange the next one around your shifts and working hours.

SLM Racing is wanting to tag along and Nige may come along again......

:)
 
Re: Retro MTB Touring.

Great to see you did it and had a good time!
If you lower the straddle cable yoke about 1 cm and retighten, then shorten the straddle cable to suit, I reckon you will have the front brake sorted. Most of the weakness is the lack of mechanical advantage, not flex in the brakes. Cantis are so tetchy to set up.
 
Re: Retro MTB Touring.

hamster":qdsl7c1x said:
Great to see you did it and had a good time!
If you lower the straddle cable yoke about 1 cm and retighten, then shorten the straddle cable to suit, I reckon you will have the front brake sorted. Most of the weakness is the lack of mechanical advantage, not flex in the brakes. Cantis are so tetchy to set up.

I'll give this a try, I'll admit I have spent a little more time than I normally would 'Tweaking' these canties, I usually take about 5 minutes to have a set dialled in, these are a little annoying so far.
 
Re: Retro MTB Touring.

A little update from me. After much deliberation I decided to take back the two Soloista tents and buy myself a Vango Banshee 200: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/vango-bansh ... tAodMSUAPA

A bit more expensive than the Soloista but believe me, in the long run it will be worth it. The Vango weighs a little more but when you think about the additional storage and cooking space provided by the two man tent over the smaller one man tent you soon see that it's worth spending more. The build quality is on another level altogether and the tent has an 'Outer First' erection process therefore the inner is kept dry during set up. This can be further enhanced by leaving the inner unit fitted so when the outer is popped up the inner is all ready to jump into. Imagine it's pouring with rain and all you have to do is throw the tent down and insert two poles to get shelter, perfect.

The other change to the standard kit is another quite extravagant investment. Again after much research I decided to buy a set or Ortlieb Back Roller Classic Panniers: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221243108470? ... 1439.l2649

The cheaper £8.50 panniers I bought for the initial 'Tight Budget' set up were 'Ok' on the day but were lacking in space and waterproofing. The Ortlieb's will last 10-20 years and will provide a great return on investment. They will also retain some value if re sold. Go look at the Ortlieb reviews, cracking kit if a little expensive.

Ok, that's it for now. I have another two day bike / camping / tour planned, this time it will follow the Trans Pennine Train South to Chesterfield, then West to a campsite on the edge of the Peak District.

Over and Out.

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Re: Retro MTB Touring.

Superb stuff this.

I've done (and continue to) some 2-3 day touring/camping.

Never try to do more than about 40 miles per day, meaning you can get plenty of time to take in scenery, take photos etc. Some times I only get 10-20 miles done. Favourite trip is round the isle of wight, loads of campsites, and plenty of on & off road routes.

I carry a pretty comprehensive set of gear but again generally cheap & light. I pack 2 medium size panniers on an alloy rack (again, cheap and cheerful but with good altura rain covers which have proven their worth!)

tent is a sub 2kg Vango I got for £35, and splits into a top sheet and inner - so taken out of its bag, and packed in the panniers separately. Poles strap on the top of the rack.

sleeping bag is a £30 coleman superthin - only really good when it's above 6-7 degrees. Sleep mat is a cheap inflatable - packs really small and goes in the panniers : http://www.simplyhike.co.uk/products/Mu ... eBlue.aspx

Cooking duties are down to my 25 year old Trangia, but I make most of the space in the trangia pack to put little things like lighter, paracord, small vials of shower gel & shampoo, folding toothbrush etc.

Microfibre towel in large size fits in too, and dries in minutes in the sun.

Just underwear and a spare top usually does the job.

Will try and dig out some pics of my last trip, on a budget build Kona Hahanna with rigid forks....
 
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