So, as probably every poor sod on CC knows by now I'm soon moving away from a fantastic city where pretty much every trip is done by bike (shopping, commuting, social when our dear leader allows) to a grotty rural backwater where everything's sodding miles away.
In the city my longest utility journey is typically 10 miles there and back on urban roads and cycle / tow paths, with decent supermarkets being a sub-2-mile round trip. Once back in the village the nearest supermarket will be a 12 mile round trip on fast, horrible A-roads and 18 miles on more tolerable rural backroads.
In the city my Raleigh Routier has done me proud as the perfect utility hack - useable but a little tatty and practically worthless. It's rarely let me down but I'm a bit dubious of using it for longer, more isolated trips in future. I'd usually cover these sorts of routes on my CdF, but I'm not going to leave that locked up outside the supermarket..
So, we have 10 relatively high gears, crap brakes, non-QR wheels and fairly fat tyres that make getting the rear off in the event of a puncture a bit of a swine. I guess no show stoppers really (providing I can get up some of the hills with the gearing) but I'm still hesitant - what else should I be looking at to improve / address to set my mind at rest?
In the city my longest utility journey is typically 10 miles there and back on urban roads and cycle / tow paths, with decent supermarkets being a sub-2-mile round trip. Once back in the village the nearest supermarket will be a 12 mile round trip on fast, horrible A-roads and 18 miles on more tolerable rural backroads.
In the city my Raleigh Routier has done me proud as the perfect utility hack - useable but a little tatty and practically worthless. It's rarely let me down but I'm a bit dubious of using it for longer, more isolated trips in future. I'd usually cover these sorts of routes on my CdF, but I'm not going to leave that locked up outside the supermarket..
So, we have 10 relatively high gears, crap brakes, non-QR wheels and fairly fat tyres that make getting the rear off in the event of a puncture a bit of a swine. I guess no show stoppers really (providing I can get up some of the hills with the gearing) but I'm still hesitant - what else should I be looking at to improve / address to set my mind at rest?