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John Peel
Senior Member
- Location
- Cheshire England
Oh I see, cheers for that. Makes a lot of sense.
Cycling Around the World, Sadly had to return for major repairs
- Thread starter John Peel
- Start date
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Oh I see, cheers for that. Makes a lot of sense.
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John Peel
Senior Member
- Location
- Cheshire England
:
) I can relate to that, one day north of Madrid, it was 35c and I had been riding a rocky camino for over 7 hours and hadn't seen a sole all day. Not a house a car, nothing. I was running really low on water in that heat, and I was really hungry too, but right next to my track was a small grape vine with heaps of grapes draping off it. I reached over and snapped a bunch off, and just as I was about to eat them, a 4x4 full of people came up the hill from out of the blue, so I launched the grapes in the bushes. They looked at me through the windows, and just glared as they drove past, I didn't see another sole for the next 3 hours, I was knackered but glad to reach a crappy little campsite. I will remember that tip thanks, next breakdown, drop my trousers and wait for the crowds to turn up
) I can relate to that, one day north of Madrid, it was 35c and I had been riding a rocky camino for over 7 hours and hadn't seen a sole all day. Not a house a car, nothing. I was running really low on water in that heat, and I was really hungry too, but right next to my track was a small grape vine with heaps of grapes draping off it. I reached over and snapped a bunch off, and just as I was about to eat them, a 4x4 full of people came up the hill from out of the blue, so I launched the grapes in the bushes. They looked at me through the windows, and just glared as they drove past, I didn't see another sole for the next 3 hours, I was knackered but glad to reach a crappy little campsite. I will remember that tip thanks, next breakdown, drop my trousers and wait for the crowds to turn up 
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
There aren't many places where uncut lengths of tube go in one door and a finished bike goes out of another door.
Many brands use the word 'manufacture' when 'assembly' would be more accurate.
There's nothing wrong with assembling in this way, nearly all bikes are made up of a frame and bought-in components from the likes of Shimano.
I'm not sure who makes Thorn - or Koga - frames.
As a bicycle centric country, Holland does, or at least did, have traditional manufacturers.
At one time all Gazelle bikes were made from the ground up in their factory in Holland.
I don't know if that's still the case.
The matter is further complicated by some brands which use a mixture of ground up manufacture and bought-in frames.
I believe some Cannondales and Treks are still welded from raw tube in the USA, but other Cannondale and Trek bikes use bought-in frames.
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Bonefish Blues
Banging donk
- Location
- 52 Festive Road
Thorn frames are Far East fabricated. Stanforth and OBW frames are still UK made, in the main by a bloke in a garage just outside Cov, which is nice.
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John Peel
Senior Member
- Location
- Cheshire England
I talked recently to Stanforth over the phone, and I believe they use raw tubing. I was asking them about making a bike for me if I ditched this KOGA, and they would need my weight and planned usage so they can choose the best steel tubing for the job, which is what I like to hear. I'm sure there must be a few other throughout the UK.
- Location
- London
I think you are overthinking this john peel.
None but those with very particular requirements need a bike custom built from raw steel tubes.
I recently bought in a sale a new ridgeback expedition for £700.
With hand built wheels from the likes of Spa Cycles (and in the meantime i can use the perfectly decent standard wheels) ,there is no reason at all why it couldn't carry me or anyone else around the world.
All the best, look forward to your future reports.
None but those with very particular requirements need a bike custom built from raw steel tubes.
I recently bought in a sale a new ridgeback expedition for £700.
With hand built wheels from the likes of Spa Cycles (and in the meantime i can use the perfectly decent standard wheels) ,there is no reason at all why it couldn't carry me or anyone else around the world.
All the best, look forward to your future reports.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Rourke springs immediately to mind.
They are in Stoke, which is handier for you.
@Fab Foodie has a Rourke made to his preferred geometry.
http://www.rourke.biz/about.shtml
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John Peel
Senior Member
- Location
- Cheshire England
Thanks. Yes I know what you mean, I guess it was because when I first set out, the total weight including the bike, me, all the kit, was 206kg (454lb). Me being 151kg at the time. I know right
. That's like 8 racing snakes plus their bikes, and a large grapefruit. I am now 132kg by the way, it fell off on the first part of my tour. I'm a big guy, not belly, and I was surprised to watch the shoulder, chest and the muscles in my arms fall away as the weeks went by. I'm back at the gym for a while now thank god. I have a friend who cycle tours and he weighs only half my weight, and of course with that clothing has less material too He gets away with any old frame and wheels.
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Wow! Just seen this thread and that's about all I can say - wow 
I do actually have one thought. I spend a fair bit of my time in Bangkok (my wife is Thai and we have a house there). I've no idea if I'll be there if/when you're passing through that way (especially as I expect you have no idea when you might be there either).
But if we happen to be there at the same time, I'd be happy to offer you a place to stay.
Alan
I do actually have one thought. I spend a fair bit of my time in Bangkok (my wife is Thai and we have a house there). I've no idea if I'll be there if/when you're passing through that way (especially as I expect you have no idea when you might be there either).
But if we happen to be there at the same time, I'd be happy to offer you a place to stay.
Alan
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John Peel
Senior Member
- Location
- Cheshire England
Wow! Just seen this thread and that's about all I can say - wow
I do actually have one thought. I spend a fair bit of my time in Bangkok (my wife is Thai and we have a house there). I've no idea if I'll be there if/when you're passing through that way (especially as I expect you have no idea when you might be there either).
But if we happen to be there at the same time, I'd be happy to offer you a place to stay.
Alan
Hi Alan, that is really nice of you, and much appreciated thank you. At the beginning of January 18, I am getting my visas sorted for Turkey, India, and Thailand, and making sure that I can start to use each one with in 12 months of them being issued. Doing this from the UK it will much easier for me to get 6 months for Indian, as I want to cycle from Mumbai to Trivandrum. I have been to Southern India a couple of times and love it, and have driven on the roads too so know what to expect. I will then fly out to Thailand. I would take you up on that offer Alan if I am there when you are. Cheers. Steve
Steve Thorn bike are a great i had the Sherpa built like a tank great bike sold it to a guy in the UK (im from Ireland) i now ride a thorn audax no good for your style riding, but the sherpa or the beastthe Nomad would go around the planet no bother.mind you the koga is a good bike now that you have it sorted.
I traveled across the North of India in 1991 (mostly by rail), covering a route that took in Mumbai, Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Calcutta and Darjeeling - had a wonderful time.
As for visas, I'm pretty sure I've only ever had single-entry Thai visas valid for three months from the date of issue, even back when I was getting business visas. My last dual-entry one was valid for six months, so the more entries you pay for the longer the validity - but I don't know if you can get one with enough entries to last a full year. Maybe contact the Thai consulate in Liverpool, who have been helpful to me in the past - as well as applications by post you can do a face-to-face application for a little extra cost. But Thai visas are easy to get just about anywhere - I got one at the consulate in Calcutta, and I think I only had to wait 48 hours for it (though I did feel a bit nervous wandering round Calcutta with no passport in my possession). And even without a visa, UK citizens still get a 30-day visa-free stay - you'll need longer, presumably, but it's worth knowing in case of emergency.
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John Peel
Senior Member
- Location
- Cheshire England
I nearly bought the Nomad, I even had a phone conversation with Thorn about it. KOGA one it on looks and having front and rear kick stands, that was it. That was how close it was
Oh well hey, but like you say, hopefully I will be good now it is being sorted. Rohloff have serviced and changed the oil in the hub and sent the wheel with cogs and other parts over to my dealer in Leeds. KOGA have sent a few parts over to my dealer too, and my dealer is going to put everything together and also lovingly do other bits like a new bottom bracket, new Schawlbe Marathon evo and tubes on, and a good service, so yes, it will no doubt come back as good as new, and I have high hopes this time that it will do the job. My dealer - Cyclesense is doing all he can to get things sorted for me and get me back on the road, can't fault is effort at all.
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John Peel
Senior Member
- Location
- Cheshire England
I will look into the Liverpool application, being as I am in Liverpool now. I didn't realise I could get a 3 month visa for Thailand, that's more than enough as I hadn't really planned on staying that long there. I did plan to cycle into Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam though. I thought that if I applied for an e-visa online, I would only get 30 days, and maybe that's what you are saying. Getting a visa other than an e-visa will give you a longer stay, much like I am doing for my India visa, although it will take me less than 3 months to cycle from Mumbai to Trivandrum, I want the extra on the visa in case I decide to stay a little longer.
What I meant was the standard (stamped in your passport) tourist visa for Thailand must be used within 90 days of issue, and you can stay for 60 days - you used to be able to extend it for a further 30 days while in the country (and I presume you still can). I don't know about the e-visa, but for a 30-day stay in Thailand you don't need any visa at all, you just need to turn up with a British passport - I last did that in July/August this year.
