Wibbly-Wobbly Wings

Thank you for your excellent review of the Airframe.You have certainly identified the most important features of the bike – the aluminium frame not only gives exceptional light weight but also an enjoyable sporty ride.When you combine this with the structure, you have a very comfortable ride and a bike that can indeed be ridden over drains and manhole covers with no shock to the system.

However, as the cliche goes, you cannot ‘have your cake and eat it’, and the modulus of elasticity of aluminium is one third that of steel.Would you complain when boarding an aeroplane that the wings are ‘wibbly-wobbly’ (Mole, A to B 32)? Of course not; if they didn’t flex, you would disembark rapidly.

Naturally, a relatively elastic frame gives some loss of efficiency, but this is more than compensated for by the increase in acceleration due to the lighter weight of the bike.There are three points that need correcting in your review: 1) The vertical adjustment of the handlebars is actually 50mm; 2) There will be two saddle columns to cater for riders from five foot to six foot three inches; 3) The handlebar stem has been meticulously tested by an independent materials laboratory and found to be completely satisfactory.

Colin Jarrett
Silkmead Tubular Ltd, Dunstable

More Italian Technology

The ‘retention toilets’ on Virgin’s new Cross- Country Voyagers not only shut down and lock themselves when the water runs out, or the tanks fill up with effluent, but there is no facility to top up with water en route.The good old ‘dump on the track’ loos were often given a quick top-up, and High Speed Train sets were given water bowsers at all major stations.

On one recent train (crammed with over 200 people, after collecting passengers from the broken-down train in front) only one of the three toilets was working, and that on a wing and a prayer. Even three is barely adequate for four carriages – we used to have two per carriage. If that one toilet had shut down, we’d either have had riots, or people would have been forced to relieve themselves in the gangway between the coaches, with accomplices holding modesty screens across the doors.

Dave Holladay
Glasgow

Lots of complaints about the new Voyager – they’re also unreliable, too small, too noisy, lacking in luggage and bike space, and mobile phones don’t work in them.We stick by our view that British Rail’s High Speed Train was (and remains) one of the finest trains ever built. (Eds)

Cards on the Table

Are you a commuter magazine? Or a folder and electric bike magazine? If you are a commuter/utility mag, then please include some full-size wheel commuter/utility bikes (Dutch preferably).

In the last three years cycling to work, I have seen just one Brompton and one unknown folder – everything else is a ‘Mountain Bike’, or the most popular bike of all – the BMX. If, of course, you are a specialist folder/electric bike magazine, then you’re doing an excellent job.

M Griffiths
Maidstone, Kent

This is a tricky issue – we’d love to do more on utility bikes (we reviewed them briefly in A to B 25), but we feel this sort of machine is more within the remit of the CTC magazine, ‘Cycle Touring & Campaigning’, or ‘London Cyclist’. However, they aren’t testing them – for whatever reason – so we will definitely return to ‘proper bikes’ at some stage. People ride the most extraordinary bicycles in this country, and the blame lies largely with cycle magazines and cycle shops. If people aren’t shown proper bicycles, they’ll never discover how wonderful they can be. (Eds)

Use Those Paths!

Thanks to the sterling efforts of Sustrans and other lobbyists over the years, we now have a half decent network of cycle paths throughout the country. Yet wherever I venture, I see cyclists riding on the road, oblivious to these facilities – sense, self-preservation and reason cast to the wind. It would come as no surprise to me if the government decided to suspend future provision as a waste of public funds, and who do we have to blame but the selfish antics of those who can’t be bothered to slow down to negotiate the odd pavement crossing.

Geoff Green
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire

As we understand it, the government provides very little money, thus cycle paths tend to be designed for local leisure use, rather than commuting. Few motorists would opt for a new road bypass if it ran twice round the local beauty spot, through a series of gates, and ended in a sea of broken glass. At night, there can be personal safety issues too. Off-road cycle provision is useful, but what we really need is safer roads. (Eds)

Are They Related?

Congratulations on an exceptional Issue 32. I was fascinated to read about the Giant EZB. However, I cannot believe that you did not notice the Giant’s remarkable resemblance to the Riese and Müller Equinox, even down to the fine detail of the chain concealed in the rear fork?

All of the frame members and unusual angles are almost identical, also the suspension, the seat, rear deck, hub gears, chainguard, etc. If the Giant was yellow, it would be difficult to tell them apart! Is this a coincidence, or just a straight copy?

It would have been interesting to compare the newcomer with the bike it appears to have been cloned from. Or at least to acknowledge that the Giant is not quite ‘A brand new concept’ or ‘a completely new sort of bicycle’.

Michael Roberts
Cirencester, Gloucestershire

The general layout is bound to share a few angles, just as conventional bikes do. Incidentally, we didn’t mean to imply that we saw the EZB as a brand new concept, rather that this was Giant’s view. Giant denies any link accidental or otherwise between the designs, and points out that the R&M bike costs £1,080-£1,330 while the EZB costs £595-£975. (Eds)

Better Bike Book

Just a quick reply to the queries on page 16 of A to B 32 about a good manual for bicycle repair (and the review of what sounds like a dreadful one on page 10), I find Ben Searle’s book Bicycle Maintenance is comprehensive and written by someone who really knows his subject and communicates it well. He deals with both Sachs and Sturmey Archer hub gears. The book costs £18 including UK p&p directly from Ben Searle, 77 Strathmore Road, Horfield, Bristol BS7 9QH. For overseas postage rates, contact Ben on 0117 9879894 or by email at: bensearle@onetel.net.uk

James Greig
Birmingham

For Sturmey See Tony

In response to the queries about instructions for maintaining hub gears Letters, A to B 32), my website has copies of the original documentation for virtually every Sturmey (and BSA) hub produced.There are instructions for more than 40 hubs, from 1902 until 2000.These are presented in PDF format, making the drawings zoomable (typically up to 800%) and easily printed out on a page-by-page basis.

Tony Hadland
Coventry

Our apologies to Tony, who is much too self-effacing to mention that he is also the author of ‘The Sturmey Archer Story’, which includes some invaluable tips. See also page 37 of this issue. (Eds)

More Goo

Regarding instant puncture repairs (A to B 29). If your readers are near to a branch of Decathlon they can buy small cans for puncture repairs at £3.These claim to fix one MTB tube and comes with schraeder and presta adaptors. Can’t tell if it works in practice, but it’s got to be better than wrestling with the tyres on my Moulton at the roadside!

Steve Cray
Birmingham

Zap those Lights!

Many thanks for all the words of elegance, wit and wisdom I glean from your matchless pages every issue. Could I seek direct enlightenment about two matters, please? I’m about to fit a Zap motor (probably the SX model from a UK supplier) to my conventional roadster to coset a grumbling knee on my daily, far- from-flat, six mile commute.

I’m wondering which 26″ x 1.75″ tyre to fit with the Zap.There are plenty of low-tread styles at my favourite local suppliers, but blank looks at the mention of the Primo, which is regularly lauded in A to B. Should I hold out for this brand, or is it favoured more for its high-pressure, small(er) wheel benefits?

Short of importing Zap’s own lighting products (assuming they can still supply), where nearer home might one purchase 12 volt cycle lights to fully exploit the power source? Much of my route is delightful by day but hazardous at night, so in the darker months I expect that the beefier lamps would be as much a boon as the assisted hill climbing.

Anthony Foard
Wirral, Cheshire

Following financial problems, Zap appears to have ceased manufacture of its motor, so if you have one, hold on to it.The Zap uses a large 12 volt lead-acid battery – an excellent candidate for powering a headlight.When we were using a Zap, we fitted twin headlamps with 6 volt 3 watt halogen bulbs and wired the pair in series, feeding directly off the battery.The result was enough light to give safe passage along the most miserable country lanes and convince motorists that the bike was something bigger, resulting in the sort of courtesy cyclists rarely see.The lights increased the drain on the battery by only 4% – hardly enough to measure. As for the tyre, it doesn’t need to be a slick, but must have a central tread-free area to contact the Zap friction roller. (Eds)

Brompton Map Holder

I eagerly look forward to each new issue of the magazine – a brilliant read!

I am hoping that you can help as I imagine that somebody has solved this problem before. I use a Brompton for surveying possible cycle routes and frequently need to refer to a map. Can you suggest a suitable map holder which does not interfere with folding the bike?

Alan Couchman
Redditch,Worcestershire

Two proprietary map-holders are said to work on the Brompton.The Zefal, which Velcros to the Brompton bag frame (mail-order from Avon Valley Cyclery), and the Mini Map Holder (mail-order from St John Street Cycles). St John Street says this will just fit the standard handlebars, but works better on the Brompton handlebar upgrade brace.We have no experience with these map holders, but will endeavour to compare them before the next issue. (Eds)

Greetings from Belgium

Congratulations on your excellent magazine. Am I the only subscriber in Belgium?

1. It would be nice if you could add a link to your web page directing us to a few extra (colour) pictures of the items you test.
2. Please keep in mind your readers from out of Britain. I can live with the ‘railway’ section, but I am not at all interested in several pages on the history of the M1 (as I can imagine that you would not be interested in reading anything on the E40 or the E17 that cut through Belgium either!!)
3. I agree that the Brompton is a quality tool. Outside Britain however, with prices that are sometimes 50% higher, the superiority over other constructors is not always so evident!

Filip Decock
Avelgem, Belgium

An opportunity for some statistics! Our European subscription base is pitifully small – 7 in The Netherlands, 7 in Belgium and 16 in Germany.This compares with 150 in the United States, and a total of 2,100, mainly from the UK.The print run is now 2,500. 1). Despite a few niggles, our epage experiment seems to have worked, and we think colour pictures are an excellent idea. See ‘A to B Gallery’ at www.atob.org.uk 2) We’d love to hear about the E40, provided it covers as much historical ground as the A5! 3) Around 75% of our (mainly British) readers own a Brompton – obviously our choice of articles tends to reflect this. (Eds)

The Final Word

In which you get your say… briefly

A standard others can only admire . A breath of fresh air . A splendid magazine .The best cycling magazine available . Honest, factual and practical . Fascinating . Always readable Essential reading . Very good throughout . Should be twice as thick and twice as frequent A consistent top-quality read . Good reading – good value . Like the bike/public transport mix Excellent coverage of wide topics and intelligent reviews . Slightly whacky style makes A to B a pleasure to read . £12 is cheap for good independent advice . Helpful and informative Please emphasise the environmental and health aspects of pedal power . Fewer battery bikes please! Our main interest is electric machines . More about restoration Hoping to read about tricycles . Too much about trains and not enough anti-car bile More long-term tests of Birdy and Brompton . More trip planning and multi-modal transport Occasionally anti-car (I don’t own a car, and am not pro-car) . A beam of light in a grim world An island of sanity in a country going slowly mad . Invariably accurate, occasionally caustic – rather good . A bit blokey and sexist, but otherwise rather good