Jeff Mowatt

I can vouch for the 8 speed hub on the Kalkhoff which seems problem free. I've shredded one or two derailleurs over the years and there's no gear change urgency in the kind of cycling I do. I've read here that the Kalkhoff impulse has a firmware upgrade which improves hill climbing performance but other than taking mine to Loughborough, haven't been able to get a response on how to get the upgrade from 50 Cycles.

Hi All, I took delivery of my Agattu C8 HS in March 2012 from 50 Cycles Reading Tim's account of the firmware upgrade in May, leads me to think that this is something that hasn't been done on my bike. If not, how can it be done? Jeff

For my 2012 Agattu, the velcro attached pannier from Lidl was satisfactory for me. Jeff

Thanks guys for the info, As I was in the local town today I took the wheel with me and they found me a Kenda which was more suitable as an off road tyre. At 700 x 38c a little wider than the original.and surprising good uphill on damp grass I just discovered.

According to the Kalkhoff website, the wheel size is 28" for this bike, a C8 Impulse HS That's all it says.

Thanks both, There are several widths I notice with 700c tyres, going up to 40c. Can you tell me which is suitable for the Agattu and can a wider tyre fit the same rim?

I've been thinking of changing them since delivery. For some of the grit and stone tracks here in the Forest of Dean they're not entirely suited. I was a little disappointed on delivery that they were so narrow for such a sturdy bike. Had an inner tube burst on me today on rough ground and I was wondering if anyone could advise on somethin more robust with more grip on the treads. I think the rims are 700c. Jeff

Thanks flecc and funkylyn, This big German bike reminds me of my own 'Inbetweeners' holidays. People would walk up to me, with my red face and start conversations in German, to the amusement of friends. The bike should suit my image.

The brakes are very good Before buying, given my weight of 110kg, I felt that a bike like this should have disc brakes and was deterred from buying until realising that the hydraulic brakes fitted were far superior to what I'd been used to with cable brakes on my budget priced Schwinn mountain bike. A couple of years ago, it was riding this old bike which made me realised something was wrong. Cycling about 4 miles uphill I'd needed to rest repeatedly and eventually realised that my health was failing. I was diagnosed with leukaemia a few days later. Fortunately there are some excellent treatments nowadays and within a few weeks I was able to get back in the saddle, though recently a relapse means I have to change from the drug I'd been. So the pedelec is for me, something of a distraction that will give the opportunity to get outdoors, away from inward thoughts. Something for my mental as well as physical well being. Given the current circumstances, I won't be testing the bike to the limits of its range but no local hill, so far, has defeated it. At 6ft 1in I chose the 55cm frame. It's big. I had to lower the saddle to be able to reach the ground comfortably and it won't go lower. So trying for size would be a good idea, if in doubt.

Yes, on Impulse :-) Though a long considered impulse. The battery showed full charge in less than two hours. I just took it for a short spin to get the feel. Very quiet I thought on the power assist.

The sight of a TNT van made me a little apprehensive, but it was unharmed as far as I can see. Its the Agattu 8C HS to be specific and with 5 lights on the battery I guess I'm ready to go. Looks pretty sturdy and well put together.

This is a question about cycling in general. The area in which I live has a great number of tracks, some are are part of a designated cycle route and a considerable amount of funding has been put into developing these. The problem is that while this serves tourism well, the locals who have need for a safe cycle route to the nearest town have been somewhat neglected. There is a railway track but this one is used by a historic railway organisation, mostly in summer and on weekends but with few journeys overall. Clearly there's a safety issue if shared use was possible, no doubt requiring fencing. The railway however have taken a non-cooperation stance, which is to say that it's against rail regulations. OTOH, they've recently received a sizeable grant from RDPE via the local council who are asking them to produce the evidence of these regulations. I'd like to know from anyone out there if there's a precedent anywhere for shared use of the space alongside railway track. Jeff

On being blackballed You are right Alex as I know from personal experience. I run a business which uses profit to fund humanitarian projects, a social enterprise and our work focusses on Eastern Europe where we began challenging corruption with an article about children in institutions. Ukraine: Death Camps, for Children [July 1 UPDATE] | Maidan Howls of denial were followed by ID impersonation and claims of drug abuse and child molestation. A smear campaign has been hosted on Google for the last 4 years claiming we aim to steal aid funds by hoaxing an humanitarian crisis. We've made progress however, in spite of the smokescreen.

Petitions to 10 Downing Street A reasonable idea Hermit if I hadn't had a bad experience At the risk of going off topic on my own thread, here's what I petitioned a while ago, before the credit crisis Petition to: Pay on Time. | Number10.gov.uk Clearly I did request something and it seemed a rather strange response, until I read of a new scheme from Lord Mandelson shortly after, which as we now know didn't work. Jeff

GPSies site Another more complex site which seems to have the ability to plot one's own off road routes: GPSies.com - GPS, Tracks, Strecken, Touren, Konverter: Wandern - Walking - Laufen - Inline-Skating - Cross-Skating - Handbike - Fahrradtour - Rennrad - Mountainbike - Motorrad - Enduro/Quad - Cabriolet - Auto - Skilanglauf - Ski alpin - Skitour - Sch