A Crete bike tour is a ride by bicycle around Crete, an island of Greece. This page is part of the Greece tours collection. It looks at bicycle touring, the electric bicycle, mountain biking, gears, the disc brake, the tire and the EuroVelo network, then ends with four short answers. Hard words are explained, and each fact comes from a reference article.
What does a Crete bike tour mean?
A Crete bike tour is a ride by bicycle around Crete, an island of Greece. Bicycle touring is taking self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy not sport or commuting. Autonomy means freedom to decide for oneself. Self-contained means carrying what is needed.
Bicycle touring ranges from single-day trips to extended travels. Extended means longer. Tours can be planned by participants or organized by a tourism business, club or charity. A Crete bike tour is only a plain name for a ride by bicycle. By 1878, British recreational cycling led to the founding of the Bicycle Touring Club.
The Cyclists’ Touring Club is the oldest national tourism organisation in the world. The League of American Wheelmen was founded in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1880. Frenchman Paul de Vivie coined the French word cyclo-tourisme. Wheelmen means cyclists. A Crete bike tour shares this old idea of travel by bicycle.
Membership inspired Paul de Vivie to found what became Fédération Française de Cyclotourisme, the world’s largest cycling association. The 1976 ride ran from Astoria, Oregon, to Yorktown, Virginia. The Bikecentennial route is still in use as the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. A Crete bike tour has no link to these routes or to their long distances.
Lightweight touring is informally called credit-card touring, because riders rely on paid places to sleep. Expedition touring loads the bicycle with food, spares, tools and camping equipment. Specialist touring bikes are built to carry appropriate loads and ride comfortably over long distances. A Crete bike tour can sit at either end of this range.
- Meaning: Bicycle touring is taking self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy.
- Range: Bicycle touring ranges from single-day trips to extended travels, planned by riders or by groups.
- Gear: Expedition touring loads the bicycle with food, spares, tools and camping equipment.
Bicycle touring is travel by bicycle, from a single day to long journeys. A Crete bike tour is a plain name for that kind of ride on one island. The next sections look at electric bikes, mountain bikes, gears, brakes, tires and routes.
On a Crete bike tour, what does the electric bicycle add?
A Crete bike tour brings up the electric bicycle. An e-bike is a bicycle fitted with its own electric motor that helps to move it. With the motor, riders reach farther places and take steeper hills at less effort. Assist means to help.
E-bikes use rechargeable batteries in addition to electric motors and a controller. A controller is the unit that manages the power sent to the motor. For brushless hub motors, the bicycle wheel hub is the motor itself. A hub is the centre of a wheel. A Crete bike tour is only a plain name here.
E-bikes fall into two broad categories: pedelecs and bikes with a motor throttle. The term pedelec comes from pedal electric cycle and refers to an e-bike with mandatory pedalling. A throttle is a handle or switch that sets the power. Pedelecs are legally classed as bicycles rather than low-powered motorcycles or mopeds.
Ogden Bolton Jr. was granted a patent for a battery-powered bicycle on 31 December 1895. Hosea W. Libbey of Boston invented an electric bicycle in 1897, propelled by a double electric motor. Granted a patent means given sole rights to an invention. A Crete bike tour shares this long line of invention.
Japan introduced e-bikes under a new pedelec law, the PAS system, in 1994. In April 2019, China introduced new e-bike standards covering weight, maximum speed and nominal voltage. Nominal voltage is the stated working level of a battery. A Crete bike tour meets these rules only as background for the machine itself.
- Motor: An e-bike’s electric motor helps riders cover greater distances and steeper hills with less effort.
- Battery: E-bikes use rechargeable batteries in addition to electric motors and a controller.
- Class: Pedelecs are legally classed as bicycles rather than low-powered motorcycles or mopeds.
The electric bicycle adds a motor, a battery and a controller to the plain bike. A Crete bike tour meets it as a type of machine, not as a promise of any ride. The next section turns to mountain biking and its bikes.
On a Crete bike tour, what does mountain biking add?
A Crete bike tour brings up mountain biking, the sport of riding bicycles off-road over rough terrain. The bikes are mountain bikes. The sport splits into cross country, trail, all mountain, enduro, downhill and freeride. Terrain is the lie of the land.
Mountain bikers ride off-road trails such as singletrack, back-country roads and fire roads. Singletrack is a path just wide enough for one bike. A fire road is a wide dirt track. Mountain bike tires come in 26, 27.5 or 29-inch diameters. A Crete bike tour does not name a trail or a hill.
Joe Breeze is normally credited with introducing the first purpose-built mountain bike in 1978. The sport originated in California on Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais. The first organized downhill race series in Fairfax, California, was known as Repack Races. Purpose-built means made for one use. A Crete bike tour meets this history as a story only.
Cross-country is the only mountain biking discipline in the Summer Olympic Games. Enduro races link timed downhill descents, called stages, with climbing sections. The Laguna Rads have held the longest-running downhill race once a year since 1986. A descent is a ride downhill. A Crete bike tour is not a race.
Dirt jumping is the practice of riding bikes over shaped mounds of dirt and becoming airborne. Trials riding means hopping and jumping bikes over obstacles without touching a foot to the ground. Airborne means off the ground. A Crete bike tour takes only the plain idea of off-road riding from it, nothing more.
- Origin: The sport originated in California on Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais in the United States.
- Olympics: Cross-country is the only mountain biking discipline in the Summer Olympic Games.
- Tires: Mountain bike tires come in 26, 27.5 or 29-inch diameters, between 1.7 and 2.8 inches wide.
Mountain biking is a sport of rough ground, tough bikes and a range of styles. A Crete bike tour meets it as a family of ideas, from wheels to trails. The next section turns to the gears that help a rider on hills or roads.
On a Crete bike tour, what does bicycle gearing add?
A Crete bike tour brings up bicycle gearing. Bicycle gearing sets the relation between how fast the rider pedals and how fast the drive wheel turns. A lower gear means faster pedalling with less force. A gear is a toothed wheel that passes on motion.
A higher gear gives more speed at the same cadence but needs greater pedalling force. Cadence means the number of pedal turns each minute. On derailleur bicycles, the gear ratio depends on crankset teeth compared with rear sprocket teeth. A sprocket is a toothed wheel for a chain. A Crete bike tour only names gears.
On hub-geared bicycles, the gear ratio depends on planetary gears inside the hub. Gear change mechanisms come in two main types: derailleurs and hub gears. Derailleurs use a moveable chain mover operated remotely by a Bowden cable. Hub gears come in between 2 and 14 speeds. A Bowden cable is a wire inside a sleeve.
At the same pedalling speed, a 3:1 range gives top gear three times bottom gear’s speed. Three chainrings and an 8-sprocket cogset provide 3 overlapping ranges of 7, 8 and 7 ratios. A chainring is a toothed wheel at the pedals. A cogset is the stack of toothed wheels on the rear hub.
Adult single-speed bicycles have a gear ratio of 55 to 75 gear inches. A gear inch figure matches the main wheel diameter of a penny-farthing with equivalent gearing. Patents for these gear systems appeared as early as 1890. A penny-farthing is an old bicycle with one huge front wheel and a tiny rear one.
- Types: A Crete bike tour meets two gear types: derailleurs and hub gears.
- Hub: Hub gears come in between 2 and 14 speeds of gearing.
- Ratio: A 3:1 range gives top gear three times the speed of bottom gear.
Gearing lets a rider pick an easier or a faster turn of the pedals. A Crete bike tour meets gears as numbers and parts, not as a ride plan. The next section turns to the disc brake, a part that slows the wheel.
On a Crete bike tour, what does the disc brake add?
A Crete bike tour brings up the disc brake. A disc brake uses calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc. The braking action slows a rotating shaft, such as a vehicle axle, or holds it still. A caliper is a clamp.
Braking converts the energy of motion into heat that must be released to the environment. The components include the disc, master cylinder and caliper. Two brake pads sit on both sides of the rotating disc. A master cylinder is the part that pushes the fluid. A Crete bike tour meets brakes only as parts.
The brake disc is made of gray iron, a form of cast iron. Slotted discs have shallow channels cut into the disc to remove dust and gas. A channel is a narrow groove. Cast iron discs rust in the rain and become unsightly. Cast iron is a hard metal poured into a mould when hot.
Disc brakes provide better stopping than drum brakes because they cool more effectively. Disc brakes have no self-servo action, so braking force is proportional to applied pressure. Self-servo means a brake that boosts its own grip. Bike disc brakes sit in the airstream, which gives them optimum cooling. Airstream means air flowing past.
Frederick William Lanchester patented the first caliper-type automobile disc brake in 1902. An automobile is a motor car. The German Tiger heavy tank, introduced in 1942, had a 55 cm disc on each drive shaft. A Crete bike tour meets the disc brake as a modern bike part.
- Parts: The components of a disc brake include the disc, master cylinder and caliper.
- Cooling: Bike disc brakes sit in the airstream, which gives them optimum cooling.
- Pads: Two brake pads sit on both sides of the rotating disc of a disc brake.
The disc brake turns the energy of motion into heat, and that heat must be released. A Crete bike tour meets it as a part with a history of more than a century. The next section turns to the tire, the part on the ground.
On a Crete bike tour, what does the bicycle tire add?
A Crete bike tour brings up the bicycle tire. A bicycle tire is a tire that fits on the wheel of a bicycle. It has a rubber-impregnated cloth casing, also called the carcass, and a tread. The tread touches the ground to give grip.
The tread also protects the casing from wear. Bicycle tires also fit unicycles, tricycles, tandem bicycles, bicycle trailers and wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are chairs on wheels. A tandem is a bicycle for two riders. A casing is the soft shell of the tire. A Crete bike tour has no tire named here, only the parts.
Clincher tires have a steel wire or Kevlar bead that interlocks with flanges inside the rim. Kevlar is a very strong fibre. A bead is the stiff edge of the tire. A flange is a raised lip on a rim. Modern bicycle tire sizes are defined by the international standard ISO 5775.
Tire diameters range from 910 mm for touring unicycles down to 125 mm for roller skiing. Tire widths range from 18 mm to 119 mm. A millimetre is one thousandth of a metre. Roller skiing is training on wheeled skis. A Crete bike tour meets these sizes only as numbers.
Clément Ader was granted the first patent for rubberized wheels in 1868. John Boyd Dunlop made the first practical pneumatic tire in 1887 for his son’s bicycle. Pneumatic means filled with air. Airless tires appeared on velocipedes by 1869, before pneumatic tires were developed. A velocipede is an early bicycle, built before the pneumatic tire.
- Parts: A bicycle tire has a rubber-impregnated cloth casing, also called the carcass, and a tread.
- Sizes: Modern bicycle tire sizes are defined by the international standard ISO 5775.
- Firsts: John Boyd Dunlop made the first practical pneumatic tire in 1887 for his son’s bicycle.
The tread is the part of the tire that touches the ground and grips it. A Crete bike tour meets tires as casing, tread and size, nothing more. The next section turns to EuroVelo, a network of long cycling routes across Europe.
On a Crete bike tour, what does EuroVelo add?
A Crete bike tour brings up EuroVelo, a network of 17 long-distance cycling routes across Europe. When the network is completed, its total length will be almost 60,875 km. As of 2023, more than 56,000 km of the network was in place.
EuroVelo is a project of the European Cyclists’ Federation. Since August 2007, the ECF has had full responsibility for the project. The idea of a Europe-wide network of international cycle routes began in 1995. The original plan was to create 12 long-distance cycling routes. A Crete bike tour is tied to none of them.
EuroVelo routes can be used for touring across Europe and for short local trips. The routes use existing general purpose roads, plus new cycle stretches linking them. A cycle stretch is a path built for bikes. General purpose roads are roads open to all traffic. Touring means travelling for pleasure, as on a long ride.
EV12 appears in a record book as the longest unbroken signposted cycling route. EV13 follows the old Iron Curtain, the divided borders of Europe during the Cold War. A signposted route has signs along the way. Unbroken means without a gap. A Crete bike tour meets these routes only as facts.
EV8 follows the European Mediterranean coastline, running from Spain to Athens. EV19, about 1,050 km long, is the newest and shortest EuroVelo route. A coastline is the edge of a land beside the sea. Newest means added last. A Crete bike tour is a separate thing from these routes and their numbers.
- Network: EuroVelo is a network of 17 long-distance cycling routes across Europe.
- Length: When completed, the network will have a total length of almost 60,875 km.
- Newest: EV19, about 1,050 km long, is the newest and shortest EuroVelo route.
EuroVelo joins long cycling routes across Europe into one network. A Crete bike tour meets EuroVelo as a fact about cycling in Europe. Each answer comes from a reference article of its own. Four short questions about a Crete bike tour end the page.
Which four questions come up before a Crete bike tour, and what are the answers?
A Crete bike tour raises four small questions about season, a plateau, a monastery and a mountain village. Reference articles supply all four answers, one for each question. The answers cover Crete and Greece as a whole, not one particular ride on any given day.
Which season suits a Crete bike tour?
The Climate Atlas of Greece names the Mediterranean climate as the leading one. Sunny, dry weather is the usual summer pattern. Xerokampos records the lowest average annual rainfall in Greece, at 219 mm. Rainfall means water that drops from clouds. They promise nothing for any one ride.
Which plateau lies in the hills behind a Crete bike tour?
The Lasithi Plateau stretches 11 km east to west and 6 km north to south. Its average altitude is 840 m above sea level. A tunnel of 3.5 km takes floodwater away to the Aposelemis Dam. The dam holds a reservoir, an artificial lake for water supply.
Which monastery stands in the east behind a Crete bike tour?
Toplou Monastery was first called Panagia Akrotiriani, Lady of the Cape. In 1704 it gained special protection privileges from the Patriarch. The nearest settlements are Sitia to the west and Palaikastro to the southeast. A patriarch is a senior church leader. Privileges are special rights given by a ruler.
Which mountain village lies in the hills behind a Crete bike tour?
Anogeia is a municipality of Crete, within the Rethymno regional unit. Its population was 2,240 at the 2021 census. Inside the church of Saint John are remains of Byzantine wall drawings from the 11th century. A municipality here means a district governed by a council.