North Coast 500

A place to discuss any upcoming meets, club rallies and general get togethers.

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Will You be attending

Yes
2
15%
Maybe
6
46%
No
5
38%
 
Total votes: 13

elma
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by elma »

Snowdonia sounds good, I'm a fairly good guide up there as well.
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by CitroJim »

elma wrote:Snowdonia sounds good, I'm a fairly good guide up there as well.
Excellent :D You are to Snowdonia what I am around Minehead...
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by CitroJim »

I'm starting to see adverts for the North Coast 500 in cycling magazines now... Bike it over 7 days departing 13 May or 16 September and fully supported...

That equates to 74 miles of riding per day...

http://www.pedal-nation.co.uk/cycle-the-north-coast-500

Cost is nearly £900 per person!
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by KennyW »

Since purchasing the house in France, awaiting planning, I'm planning to do Mount Ventoux. But my fitness level will definitely need to improve.

My bike's in bed at the moment as Jan and Feb was the time I usually had my accidents caused by slippery roads and gravel.

Jim you are also welcome to come to France and stay, tour time would be a great time. If travelling by car I would recommend 2stop trip but the good thing at the moment a large portion of the motorway is toll free approximately 250 miles.

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Re: North Coast 500

Post by CitroJim »

I so want to do Mont Ventoux Kenny and cling to a hope that one day I might but as I've said in other threads on the subject I fear my ability to cross the channel may yet scupper it...

Mind you, the thought of riding up it with a fellow forum member might just be the kick I need to try and overcome my travel difficulties ;)

Right now I'm busy planning epic bike rides in the UK.. LEJOG keeps on suggesting itself to me...
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by elma »

I always wanted to do LEJOG, looks a great ride but I never managed to have long enough. C2C and Lon Las Cymru (North to South Wales) are the best I've managed.
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by CitroJim »

C2C is another one I'm keen to look at James. In fact, a bit of cycling around Northumberland looks like it might be a winner...
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by elma »

C2C is a stunning ride, it's not as long or difficult as it sounds so it's worth tenting to make it a proper challenge.

The Spa Cycles Audax I quite fancy is perfect for leisurely road rides and this sort of thing. I will test ride one next time I visit Yorkshire, which is quite often as I have family there. I don't think it's a bad weight at 10.2kg for a reynolds 725 frame, thats heavy chromoly steel to non cyclists. It's not a terrible price either but will double by the time it's got racks, panniers, pedals, shoes etc as will the weight.
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by CitroJim »

I'm getting very keen on doing C2C James... I'm going to look further into it later this evening and over the coming days...
elma wrote: The Spa Cycles Audax I quite fancy is perfect for leisurely road rides and this sort of thing.
That's one good looking bike James, ideal for C2C and well-specced for the price too...

Almost double the weight of my best bike though...

I was considering a Ti bike but to be honest they all weigh too much. I've found with me that I can't effectively ride a bike above about 8Kg. It must be to do with my own size and weight... For me, the lighter the better...

I'll be interested to hear how your test ride goes...
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by elma »

They do it in titanium as well, it saves 0.5kg for £600 :shock: . I've not looked at the spec but I think it's the same so the weight probably comes out of the frame.

It is a heavyweight compared to one of your road bikes. I'm a mountain biker by nature so I am used to 9kg+. It'll be more than 10.2kg in use though with a rack and basic tools. I'd look second hand anyway and have no problem with buying just a frame and fork then gradually building it as I acquire parts. I'd probably get a slightly better weight from my wheel and group set choices.

I've had quite a few road bikes but I never gel with them as much as cycle cross and audax bikes. They feel a bit more similar to what I'm used to with the wider tyres and slightly more upright position. I've never had a full on tourer, would love to take one to Iceland and spend a month bumbling around.
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by CitroJim »

That's still an excellent price for a Ti framed bike James...

0.5Kg saving is not enough for me...

Sadly, the C2C is out for me now as inspection of the formal routes are seen to have off-road sections that my bikes cannot traverse...

I'll need to devise an all on-road route...
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by elma »

All this bike talk has got me looking on ebay, I'm really tempted to get something like this ribble soon. I will only get out for short 30-60minute rides due to walking Kelvin being my main exercise but I miss 2 wheels a lot. I'm going to bide my time, I'll keep looking for the next couple of months as I want a complete bargain.
I'd almost not drive if I had that, I'm doing about 30miles a week at the moment and half of that would get transferred to the bicycle.
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by CitroJim »

elma wrote:I'm really tempted to get something like this ribble soon.
That looks a good one James, well appointed for the price too... Love to know how much it weighs...

I'd miss my bike exercise terribly if I could not do it for any reason. In fact I'm feeling very guilty today having driven Gabriel to work this morning. I'm under the impression it might be a bit wild this afternoon weather-wise so hopefully I've made the right decision... If it stays dry this afternoon I'll be really unhappy...

To make up for it I did run 4K and swim a K this morning before work...
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by elma »

The Ribbles hard to get a weight on due to not having a standard spec. I believe a 54cm with full 105, including wheels comes in at 9.8Kg but it's hard to confirm. I will probably be looking to make about 9-10kg with sturdy hubs and rims on 28c tyres for under £500 when I get stuck into biking again so the Ribbles a realistic option as is a Kinesis at 9.9kg. I've given all weights for a 54cm as thats the easiest to find but I ride 56cm. The weights given are usually not all that accurate and don'r reflect at all on where the weight is, you can feel weight in the rims a lot more than the chain set for example.

I think I'll keep an eye out for a bargain audax frame and fork, bearing in mind the Ribble is £165 new for F+F it should be peanuts. Then it's just a case of buying a Brookes B17 (£35), waiting for a group set sale at Merlin or such like and the rest will be sourced second hand except maybe the wheels. I'm not sure what group set to go for, ideally a compact I think for what I'll be doing but I'd like a triple for those loaded up adventures as well. Probably get a triple and live with the bad chain line to avoid having to do all that messy swapping and resetting front mechs. Brand is up in the air as well Shimano is smooth but wears fast, SRAM I don't know about and I like Campag but they focus on proper road bikes rather than adventurists.

I'll have to dig through my container in March as well, potentially theres half the parts I need in there. I cannot remember what didn't get sold when I was clearing out.
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Re: North Coast 500

Post by CitroJim »

Now, that's the way to do it James, build your very own custom bike from parts... I'd love to do that one of thse days..

For road I find full Shimano Ultegra really great but have found it take a while to run-in or bed-down... It takes at least 500 miles

My other bike has full Dura-Ace and that's still in the process of bedding-in so can't make a great comment on it yet apart from it being very light... I hope in 500 miles time it'll be magnificent...
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