Panniers & 26" Wheels

[Not Responding] wrote: <snip>

Quoted message said:

When I do start riding to work again, I will need to carry
a suit. In the last 6 months any fitness I may once have
had has evaporated and I'm sure I will sweat like a
motorist climbing stairs if I try to cycle in working rig.

Is it necessary for you to take a different suit every day?
If not, you could make one last, sentimental trip to work by
car to deliver a set of things which can be left there
permanently. I have a jacket and a pair of shoes which live
in my room at work. I take a clean pair of trousers on
Mondays and bring them home on Fridays, then for the rest of
the week I only need to carry a rolled up shirt <mumble> and
some thingies </mumble>. I have a selection of ties and
belts in a drawer which can be used when required.

This leaves loads of room in the panniers for as many inner
tubes as you can carry (This prevents punctures from
happening), puncture outfits and a fair selection of tools
(which prevents mechanical problems from happening). Oh,
almost forgot, leaves room for the lunch box.

Wear as little as possible when cycling, it's amazing how
warm you get after a few hundred yards.

Most of all enjoy the experience and bask in the admiration
of your workmates who will be amazed that you cycle to work
in spite of "all that traffic".

Terry Duckmanton

"[Not Responding]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of buying a 26" wheeled bike for a change. I
much prefer 700c but I want something cheapish with hub
gears as a purely utilitarian hack.

I'm looking at a Carrera Subway 8 from Halfords. Don't
laugh; it fills the criteria.

My question is; do 26" bikes give less heel clearance for
panniers than 700c bikes? I have a suit carrier from
Altura that had OK clearance on my Ridgeback Meteor but I
wouldn't want it much tighter as it's a big bag.

OK, it might be a while before I actually do any utility
cycling and use panniers but I want to buy a bike I can
ultimately use as well as (re-)learn on.

When I do start riding to work again, I will need to carry
a suit. In the last 6 months any fitness I may once have
had has evaporated and I'm sure I will sweat like a
motorist climbing stairs if I try to cycle in working rig.

I have both 26inch & 700c wheeled bikes and find no problems
with panniers. What length are the chainstays on your
proposed bike?

John

Terry D said:

[Not Responding] wrote: <snip>

Quoted message said:

When I do start riding to work again, I will need to
carry a suit. In the last 6 months any fitness I may
once have had has evaporated and I'm sure I will sweat
like a motorist climbing stairs if I try to cycle in
working rig.

Is it necessary for you to take a different suit every day?

I have 3 offices and evening stuff that also involves suit
wearing. The logistics of leaving a suits, shoes etc in all
locations has proved beyond me in the past.

Quoted message said:

If not, you could make one last, sentimental trip to work
by car to deliver a set of things which can be left there
permanently.

But I don't have a car. I sold it.

I suppose I could use some of the 500ukp saved every month
for taxi trips but it's still too logisticaly complicated.

Quoted message said:

I have a jacket and a pair of shoes which live in my room
at work. I take a clean pair of trousers on Mondays and
bring them home on Fridays, then for the rest of the week I
only need to carry a rolled up shirt <mumble> and some
thingies </mumble>. I have a selection of ties and belts in
a drawer which can be used when required.

This leaves loads of room in the panniers for as many inner
tubes as you can carry (This prevents punctures from
happening), puncture outfits and a fair selection of tools
(which prevents mechanical problems from happening). Oh,
almost forgot, leaves room for the lunch box.

Wear as little as possible when cycling, it's amazing how
warm you get after a few hundred yards.

When I returned to cycle commuting, I had a simple life with
only one place of work. I was also a bit unfit so getting
changed for riding was both possible and necessary.

A few years ago I switched to cycling in normal clothes; my
trips being short and flat. I never had a problem
overheating; I just went slower. I suppose I did miss the
sporting aspect of cycle commuting.

Quoted message said:

Most of all enjoy the experience and bask in the admiration
of your workmates who will be amazed that you cycle to work
in spite of "all that traffic".

Terry Duckmanton

On Sat, 5 Jun 2004 14:20:08 +0100, "John" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"[Not Responding]" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of buying a 26" wheeled bike for a change. I
much prefer 700c but I want something cheapish with hub
gears as a purely utilitarian hack.

I'm looking at a Carrera Subway 8 from Halfords. Don't
laugh; it fills the criteria.

My question is; do 26" bikes give less heel clearance for
panniers than 700c bikes? I have a suit carrier from
Altura that had OK clearance on my Ridgeback Meteor but I
wouldn't want it much tighter as it's a big bag.

OK, it might be a while before I actually do any utility
cycling and use panniers but I want to buy a bike I can
ultimately use as well as (re-)learn on.

When I do start riding to work again, I will need to
carry a suit. In the last 6 months any fitness I may
once have had has evaporated and I'm sure I will sweat
like a motorist climbing stairs if I try to cycle in
working rig.

I have both 26inch & 700c wheeled bikes and find no
problems with panniers. What length are the chainstays on
your proposed bike?

John

Pass; it's one of these

halfords.comopd product details.aspOpen ↗
pe=0&cat=144

What is considered short and what is roomy?

Not Responding said:

I'm thinking of buying a 26" wheeled bike for a change.

Quoted message said:

My question is; do 26" bikes give less heel clearance for
panniers than 700c bikes

It's not the wheel size that governs heel clearance. I use
ordinary panniers on my Bike Friday on a standard rack and
that has 20inch wheels.

Rack design, pannier design, chainstay length and of course
shoe size all play importnat parts.

John B

Not Responding said:

I'm thinking of buying a 26" wheeled bike for a change. I
much prefer 700c but I want something cheapish with hub
gears as a purely utilitarian hack.

I'm looking at a Carrera Subway 8 from Halfords. Don't
laugh; it fills the criteria.

My question is; do 26" bikes give less heel clearance for
panniers than 700c bikes? I have a suit carrier from
Altura that had OK clearance on my Ridgeback Meteor but I
wouldn't want it much tighter as it's a big bag.

OK, it might be a while before I actually do any utility
cycling and use panniers but I want to buy a bike I can
ultimately use as well as (re-)learn on.

When I do start riding to work again, I will need to carry
a suit. In the last 6 months any fitness I may once have
had has evaporated and I'm sure I will sweat like a
motorist climbing stairs if I try to cycle in working rig.

Panniers are fine on 26" wheels. You might need to adjust
the position of the rack - check that the rack has the
appropriate adjusters.

For commuting 26" / hybrid is much better than 700c / drops
which tend to force you into a riding position that reduces
manoevrability. Hybrids give better alround viewing which
you need for dealing with traffic.

--

J u l i a n

__o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

Not Responding said:

Terry D said:

[Not Responding] wrote: <snip>

Quoted message said:

When I do start riding to work again, I will need to
carry a suit. In the last 6 months any fitness I may
once have had has evaporated and I'm sure I will sweat
like a motorist climbing stairs if I try to cycle in
working rig.

Is it necessary for you to take a different suit
every day?

I have 3 offices and evening stuff that also involves suit
wearing. The logistics of leaving a suits, shoes etc in
all locations has proved beyond me in the past.

Quoted message said:

If not, you could make one last, sentimental trip to work
by car to deliver a set of things which can be left there
permanently.

But I don't have a car. I sold it.

That can only be A Good Thing.

Quoted message said:

I suppose I could use some of the 500ukp saved every month
for taxi trips but it's still too logisticaly complicated.

I can't see the complication here. If you are saving 500
pounds per month (presumably from not using/owning a car or
from no longer using public transport/taxis) then you could
probably afford to buy two more suits and two more pairs of
shoes and leave them at your various offices.

If that really can't be done, then you are either left with
the option of using a very large suit bag or of learning to
roll up a suit so that it remains uncreased, but will fit
into normal panniers.

Terry Duckmanton (Now running out of helpful ideas)

Julian Symondson [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

For commuting 26" / hybrid is much better than 700c /
drops which tend to force you into a riding position that
reduces manoevrability. Hybrids give better alround
viewing which you need for dealing with traffic.

Not necesaarily true. I can manoeuvre just fine on my drop
handle-barred fixer, and the narrow bars (38 / 40cm vs
somewhere around 50+ for ATBs) means that I can get
through gaps that would challenge some ATBs. I have no
problem with viewing surrounding traffic (or the
countryside for that matter).

I would suggest that bar style is nothing more than a matter
of personal preference.

Jon

Not Responding said:

My question is; do 26" bikes give less heel clearance for
panniers than 700c bikes? I have a suit carrier from
Altura that had OK clearance on my Ridgeback Meteor but I
wouldn't want it much tighter as it's a big bag.

The thing to do is take the panniers and try them on the
bike and rack before you buy, and that way you'll know.

Quoted message said:

When I do start riding to work again, I will need to carry
a suit. In the last 6 months any fitness I may once have
had has evaporated and I'm sure I will sweat like a
motorist climbing stairs if I try to cycle in working rig.

If it's the right suit (if that isn't an oxymoron...) then
no reason you should. Select a light one and the trousers
should be breathable and comfortable, and by leaving the
jacket undone you can get plenty of ventilation.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

In article opr843znbelihyoj@left said:

For commuting 26" / hybrid is much better than 700c / drops
which tend to force you into a riding position that reduces
manoevrability. Hybrids give better alround viewing which
you need for dealing with traffic.

You can get 26" wheel drop bar bikes, and you can also get
700c wheel straight bar bikes.