Touring frames, road bikes & wheel - Hewitt Cycles

12TH APRIL 2000

JOE CROUGHAN-SOUTHPORT R.C.C.

DEAR PAUL,

I THOUGHT YOU WILL LIKE TO KNOW THAT SINCE THE SESSION WHEN YOU SORTED OUT MY SADDLE POSITION ON MY AUDAX BIKE. THAT IT HAS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE, IT FELT PECULIAR TO BEGIN WITH, BUT I FELT A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE WHEN RIDING ON THE DROPS, SOMETHING I RARELY DID BEFORE!

I NOW FIND THAT THE PROBLEM WITH" NUMB NUTS" HAS ALMOST DISAPPEARED I ON MY FIRST RIDE IT FELT LIKE I WAS LOSING POWER NEVER HAVING HAD MY SEAT SO LOW, BUT I SOON REALISED HOW MUCH MORE RELAXED I FELT AND SO I STUCK WITH IT AND I SOON STARTED TO FEEL THE BENEFIT

ALSO I CAN NOW CONFIDENTLY RIDE WITH MY HANDS OFF THE BARS SOMETHING I ALWAYS FELT VERY NERVOUS TO DO ON THIS BIKE.

I HAVE NOW SOLD MY FIXED WHEEL WINTER BIKE AND MY STIFF ALUMINIUM COYOTE RACING BIKE TO REDUCE/AVOID, ANY MORE PROBLEMS WITH MY PROSTATE .

I HAVE DECIDED THAT WHEN ALL THIS PROBLEM HAS FINALLY CLEARED UP {I HAVE HAD TO CANCEL MY ALPINE RAID TRIP THIS YEAR!!) I AM GOING TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOU AND SELECT/BUILD THE RIGHT RACING BIKE FOR ME, USING YOUR ADVICE ON FRAME MATERIAL AND THE MAGIC MEASUREMENTS.

IN HIND SITE I COULD HAVE SAVED A LOT TIME, MONEY AND "PAIN" IF I HAD DONE THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE INSTEAD OF MESSING AROUND ON MY OWN I HAVE PASSED THIS MESSAGE ON TO A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE CLUB WHO HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS AS ME OR CONCERNS ON POSITION ETC,

FORTUNATELY FOR ME MY ENLARGED PROSTATE HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE CAUSED BY A BLADDER INFECTION PROBLEM WHICH THEY CAN TREAT WITH DRUGS AND ONCE THIS CLEARS UP MY PROSTATE WILL REDUCE AND MORE IMPORTANTLY I WILL NOT REQUIRE SURGERY!!

MY CONSULTANT IS CONVINCED THAT THIS IS ALL DUE TO THE EFFECT FROM" NUMB NUTS" OVER A LONG PERIOD AND WISHES EVERYONE WENT TO AN EXPERT TO SET UP A BIKE PROPERLY WHICH WILL AVOID ALL THESE PROBLEMS.

PAUL I KNOW THIS LETTER IS A BIT LONG WINDED, BUT I AM VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE TIME WE SPENT IN SORTING THIS OUT,

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

YOURS SINCERELY- JOE CROUGHAN

Our "Millennium Bike Ride" from John O Groats to Lands End in July 2000.

On a cold, wet, windy day in early July, Jan and John Wilkinson from Wigan, set off from John O Groats, in Scotland, to cycle the 915 miles to Lands End, in Cornwall. This journey took 12 full days, through a variety of scenery and changing landscapes, as well as weather conditions.

The bikes Jan and John used had been built to specification by Paul Hewitt of Leyland. Jan and John, cycle very regularly, had been using these bikes since last Christmas, but this was their first "tour". The perfprmance of their bikes throughout their "epic" bike ride was excellent. Their daily average was 76 miles, they only had one puncture and they managed to cycle up all but one of the many they encountered.

This was a bike ride we will never forget and we are very pleased to have been able to achieve it. Thank you Paul and Gethin for all your encouragement and support.

Jan & John

P.S. The enclosed photo was taken outside Paul's shop on Thursday, 13th, July, whilst on our way to Lands End.

Paul, Just to let you know that we ( 2 of us ) completed cycling from L.E. to J.O.G. in 12 days with no problems at all with the bike. The bike was perfect and handled all the hills with fully loaded panniers. I didn’t have a single puncture in the 1009 miles and felt fine at the end with no aches or pains we will have raised about £1000.00 for cancer research. Thanks for a great bike.

All the best Stephen Clements.

To Paul Hewitt, From Steve Fleming ( Clitheroe )

I rode my first time trial on Levens “10” course Saturday evening.
The bike and the set-up was fantastic. I beat my personal best by almost 2 minutes.

Many Thanks. Steve Fleming.

My Bike : Paul Hewitt 26 inch wheel " Prize Special " Audax Bike

One morning in May, Cycling Plus dropped through the letterbox and remained untouched until I managed a quick flip through the pages whilst cooking supper. There I saw " Congratulations to Anthea Truby. You have won a Paul Hewitt Frameset," I read the paragraph three times, not believing what I had read. Then I rushed excitedly to tell my husband the good news. We rang Paul Hewitt to arrange a meeting and to discuss what sort of frame I would like.

Eventually we drove down to his neat, well stocked and busy shop in Leyland, spending a couple of hours being measured on the jig and discussing what equipment I would like fitted. I had decided I wanted the bike for fast day rides and Audax events. The frame therefore needed to be small and light and to include 26" wheels which I have on my touring bike. The main difference here would be a narrow rim with narrow tyres. I chose a TA chainset as short cranks are my preference for smaller riders ( around 5'6" and under ). I also wanted a wide gear range to enable me to comfortably climb the many steep hills we have in and near Cumbria. Paul's advice led me to choose a Shimano 11-32 bl;ock with Campagnolo Veloce Ergo levers. I have had major surgery on my back which has left me rather stiff in the lumber region, giving me pain with excessive stretching, so I need a frame with shortish top tube, steep seat angle and reasonable headtube height. This design I have found comfortable on my tourer, built for me four years ago by Vernon Barker of Dronfield to my specification, now generally as expedition bikes.

Finally the bike was ready and we arrived at Pauls shop on 31st of July to see a gleaming dark blue and silver bicycle waiting on the workstand. It looked really well proportioned. Paul did some final adjustments to ensure it fitted me correctly before I christened it with a week at the CTC Birthday rides at Nantwich. For the uninitiated this is a week long bonanza of cycling to celebrate the formation of the Cyclists Touring Club. There are several rides of different standards ranging from 25 to 100 miles each and every day. I rode the new Hewitt on a 30 mile family ride on the first day for a preliminary check and the following day enjoyed riding an Audax in comfort on a light lively machine. The quality of the build and paintwork is excellent and so are the wheels. For me, Paul Hewitt has lived up to his reputation as an exceptionally fine wheel-builder.

So a big thank you to Cycling Plus and to Paul Hewitt for a bike which is not just beautiful to look at but is a delight to ride.

Regards Anthea.

Paul

Iam very pleased with my Hewitt Alpine Ultegra T. On the return home from my holiday, I had a 75 mile run on the Sunday & have not altered any of the setup of the bike so you have a walking, talking & cycling advert in the west of Scotland.

I would like to say thanks very much for the service & the quality of the bike, you have one very pleased customer.

Yours faithfully
Cambell Crombie,

P.S. Thanks for your help.

Touring South East Asia

We are a husband and wife team from Wigan, Lancashire; and our names are “John” and “Jan”. We bought our first touring cycles from Paul Hewitt in December 1999 and then used them to cycle 915 miles from John O' Groats to Lands End in July 2000, about which we have already written on Paul's website.

Cycling being our major hobby and pastime, we have now had these cycles converted to “fixed wheels” and use them every day for local rides, which keeps us fit. (At least we hope so!)

In December, 2005 we bought our second touring cycles from Paul and, in January 2006, we cycled from Singapore to West Malaysia and did a tour of 1,500 miles. We enjoyed the experience of cycling in South East Asia so much that we decided to return to Singapore in January, this year.

The people there are very friendly and hospitable, the climate is very welcome during our winter time and the food delicious. It is also very cheap to live there :£50 a week is sufficient for food and accommodation!

We have recently returned, having cycled over 2,000 miles from Singapore, through Malaysia around Southern Thailand and back to Singapore. Not once did we have a puncture and our bicycles have proved very reliable and comfortable, enabling us to average 80 miles a day throughout our tour.

We travelled very light in South East Asia; but in New Zealand we needed more warm clothing and we also carried camping equipment proving the versatility of these cycles for carrying different loads. What can we say? Next time we plan to cycle around Southern India, on our present cycles, hopefully! What is more, we would rather have our Paul Hewitt bicycles than a Rolls Royce!