Since fitting a Thudbuster suspension seatpost to my bike I can’t shift the saddle forward enough to achieve a comfortable kneecap-over-pedal axle position. Can you recommend a comfortable, reasonably priced replacement saddle with a longer rail adjustment to the rear (3cm extra on the existing 6cm) to give me that extra forward movement?
JT, Cornwall
The Bodyfit Tourlite (cyclestore.co.uk, £17.99) has rails that are 9cm long, and most who use it find it a very comfortable saddle.
You need to try to fit one to see if it changes your position sufficiently to ease your knee pain, however. So, I suggest you resist the cash saving of buying online and find a bike shop where you can at least have a look at one first.
My father-in-law did a lot of cycle touring before and immediately after the second world war. He can’t ride now and I would like to buy him a book for his 90th birthday that might transport him back to those times. Any ideas?
BP, Worcestershire
James Arnold’s Joyous Wheel (1940) is one of the most evocative accounts of touring during that period. Copies turn up on abebooks.co.uk for £40-£50. Also worth seeking out are Vagabond’s Notebook (1908) and Kuklos Files (1927) by William Wray, who, under the byline Kuklos, wrote a weekly newspaper column about cycling for more than 40 years. Copies generally cost between £20 and £40. Bywayman’s Call of the Road (1939) is an enjoyable collection of magazine pieces costing about £30.
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