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The current issue is Issue 16. The next issue is out early March 2005.
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Packed Velo Vision Issue 13 coming up
Contents will include tests of the Greenspeed GT3, Orbit Andromeda suspended tandem, the new Sturmey-Archer 8-speed hub gear (yes, for real) and much more...
Just a sneak early preview...
Issue 13 is filling out quite nicely. On the non-technical side we have a feature about some innovative Swiss cycling art, described eloquently by Claude Marthaler, plus a number of other features yet to be definitely confirmed :-).
Then there's a test on the new, folding GT3 trike from Greenspeed, which arrived fortuitously just before York's roads became covered in snow and ice. It's seen here (in front of York's Terrys' chocolate factory :-) with an Arkel recumbent-specific pannier from Canada:
And soon after, an Andromeda tandem arrived from Orbit Cycles - this is a full-suspension model which could be used off-road - but I'll be mainly testing it out as a beginner-friendly, super-comfortable road machine. It'll also be a test-bed for a number of interesting accessories which have come our way recently...
Finally, a couple of days ago a sample of the new Sturmey-Archer 8-speed hub gear arrived. It's currently being built into a wheel by the fine folks at York Cycleworks and will then take the place of the trusty Nexus 4-speed in my hard-working town bike. I'll just have time to get some miles on trike, tandem and hub gear before the late-Feb deadline for VV13, out first week in March.
We also have a user review of a recent production Redmount Roller trike (we tested a pre-production machine back in Velo Vision Issue 2), some potentially Ortlieb-killing panniers from Arkel in Canada, Mike Burrows' new(ish) 20"-wheeled town bike and much more...
This issue's Buyer's Guide will cover family cycling - if you're using some particularly useful and perhaps less-well-known equipment to transport young 'uns or just to get around as a family please do get in touch, and I'll try to include your experiences in the Guide.
Posted on 03 February 2004
Your comments ...| From: John Shackford ([email protected]) on 04 February 2004 |
I am the first to say..anything!
John. |
| From: syd (sydiam@home) on 04 February 2004 |
| Yes, you are John. But I'd much rather here about the progress of Claude Marthaler's much promised book. |
| From: Peter Eland ([email protected]) on 04 February 2004 |
| Claude's book is now available in German as well as the original French if that helps: the title is 'Durchgedreht' and ISBN 3896623052. Unfortunately I don't believe he's yet found a publisher to translate it into English, but he's still hoping to do so. |
| From: S (etc) on 04 February 2004 |
| You know, if that trike had a rear brake you could do some great handbrake turns in the snow;-) |
| From: andy scaife (bike_rescue@odds tith the worl) on 05 February 2004 |
| The baby Brox has 4 hope discs, and you can!!! Even in the wet. Just carry lots of spokes. Having a kid with a KMX gives you lots of practice changing them. |
| From: S (etc) on 05 February 2004 |
| We did that with Pete's extremely lont tandem trike at Cyclefest a few years back. The next day he discovered that a 'substantial' number of spokes had snapped in the back wheel |
| From: Mike Armstrong ([email protected]) on 09 February 2004 |
The baby brox is great in the snow....
Last year's saw me doing hand brake turns in the snow with no loss of spokes!!
Mike
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| From: Bill Phelps ([email protected]) on 25 February 2004 |
Snow + three wheels + spokes = my most embarrassing moment.
Indian rickshaw, July 16 2001, thick snow at top of Grand St Bernard Pass.
Having struggled up to top, crossed the Italian border (where guards seemed very suspicious of all this white powdery stuff all over the rickshaw), we now faced the most dangerous bit - 100kg of rickshaw with laughable rod brake on front, squeaky overheating drum brake on back axle, and experimental disc brake on the other (freewheeling) rear wheel. And 2km of height to lose.
Brainwave! - that 18" of snow left by the snowplough and piled up at the edge of the road might make an excellent emergency 4th brake? I did an experiment at about 6mph, running into it with right-hand rear wheel. Unfortunately, a bit too successful: rickshaw stopped instantly, and popped 3 spokes - on the *left* wheel! Not a great way to maximise safety.
The wobble made the descent even more exilarating. 10 miles of joy/terror, interrupted only by pauses to empty my water bottle over the disc and drum.
(Interestingly, the next day - on a flat bit - the cable to the disc brake snapped.) |
| From: andy_scaife ([email protected]) on 26 February 2004 |
You mean it was a CABLE brake???!!! Yikes. Your rickshaw's 'sister' still languishes in a York lock-up after I accelerated away from a traffic light and sheared the sprocket off the adapted Sturmey used as a mid-drive. It amazes me how the riders keep them going in their native habitats.
I did find though, that if you ignore the shuddering the standard rear brake (a foot pedal pulling a cable operating a leather strap, tightening around a wooden block on the axle) works surprisingly well. The Alps wouls probably have turned the block to charcoal vey quickly. |
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