@ianc “Very much agree, I only went for the towbar as I have, amongst other bikes, 2 e-bikes, so lifting onto roof carriers is a crippling experience”

What roof carrier are you using for ebikes? I have struggled to find one suitable.

I think sadly ‘trail centres’ have been exposed as a bit of a failed experiment. The usual issue this country has of capital being easier to raise than revenue means that they can’t self-sustain and a decline in people who ride those kind of cross country trails in favour of uplift type centres means there’s very little desire to throw funding at them.

What would be considered ‘big miles’ for an EV? There seems to be plenty of ioniq for under 12k with around 85,000 miles on them, is that going to have resulted in a significant loss of battery capacity?

“I think that’ll depend on where you live”

D’oh! Newcastle upon Tyne.

Bikes in the back isn’t a massive issue until they’re covered in mud and grime so would prefer if rear seats folded right down enough to lie a bike down fully (with the front wheel taken out).

On the contrary I’m about to shorten mine because the reach is too long for me and I’m getting pain between the shoulders and in the breast bone.

I’ve ridden a 100mm stem off road for gravel duties for three years on that bike and handling wise no issues, so from that point of view I can’t see a reason for you not to go for longer.

EV second hand prices seem to have tumbled and I’m in the market potentially for a replacement to my 2015 Passat diesel.

What can I get for around 12k that can transport two bikes (one of them an ebike so has to go in the boot or a towbar rack) and can do at least a trip to Leeds and back without charging?

Edit: from Newcastle upon Tyne 🙂

We tried to get CityFibre but they kept promising to come out and fit the cable but kept hitting blockages then just straight up not turning up. My current contract ended and they were messing me around with changing dates so just told them to forget it and went back to virgin.

If they can come put a cable in for me without me needing to sign up first so it’s ready for when my current contract does end then I’ll entertain it again.

I ended my contract a few weeks ago and it got cut off last Wednesday then I rang them a day later said I’d like to come back what could you do and got it down from 68 to 17 quid a month for 250gb.

I have however had three or four emails with different prices in them which are all pre contract information, then an actual contract with £0 a month on it?

So god knows what I’ll actually be charged.

It must be nice living in your perfect world nickfrog.

@Aidy sorry but you don’t know what you’re talking about. Being unroadworthy is related solely to a dangerous condition, not having an adblue system connected or functioning isn’t dangerous so isn’t unroadworthy and an insurer couldn’t refuse to pay out unless a claim directly arose from the disconnection of the system – considering all it does is spray piss into the last part of the exhaust I can’t see what claim could arise from this not functioning.

This is a classic example of blaming the little guy rather than the giant corporation who designed and fitted this piece of shit system.

Out of curiosity what do you drive?

If you were one of the big known brands you’d be lobbying MPs to get dodgy imports stopped at customs. It must be massively damaging to their business model to have this sort of negative publicity about ‘ebikes’ as they all get lumped together.

Banning then from public transport is very short sighted with net zero targets and all that.

It annoys me that we have a 15mph speed limit for them as well because the kind of people that will use an ebike dangerously at normal road speeds (i.e. 30mph) will derestrict them anyway. Having a limit half the speed of normal traffic is surely more dangerous for the rider than being able to keep up with traffic.

It’s always a cheap shite one that causes these fires. I get adverts for them all the time on facebook, generic sounding companies like ‘Ebikedirect’ or ‘electricbikesale’ and a price tag of 500 or 600 pound for a complete bike with an Alixpress battery and motor fitted.

Or people who buy chargers off ebay that aren’t made for that specific battery, or batteries with no in-built protection etc etc.

Needs massively regulated and checked by trading standards and customs, these devices shouldn’t even make it into the country in the first place.

Eliminates poor cable routing by manufacturers which is surprisingly common, but at a big cost. When the mech needs replaced and it will eventually it’s not a small price to pay.

“Or a trip down to the concept store at Harrogate”

Ah, didn’t realise there was one there. That’s not too far really.

8 and 9 speed systems were peak mechanical shifting for me. The ‘distance’ between shifts was big enough to tolerate a lot of crap setup, cable stretch and poor routing.

It’s better to live your life blissfully unaware of ‘research’ like this.

It’s right up there with the ‘a glass of wine a day is good for you’ and ‘red meat gives you cancer’. Possibly true, but not stuff to go planning your life around or obsessing over.

Just take it to an independent garage not a Ford main dealer. Probably the fuel pump but unless you’re going to change stuff yourself with a parts cannon don’t faff about and pay someone who knows what they’re doing.

Avoiding Shimano leaky brakes can only be a good thing in my eyes. I like their drivetrain stuff but they’re behind the times a bit with the electronic offering which lets face it is all consumers want to buy now on a brand new bike.

The riders asked for it.

Let’s just see how it goes. If it’s better, keep it for next time. If it isn’t, just go back to how it was.

You never know unless you give it a try and see the results at least once.

Yep, 14 tears of Tory government will do that to a man.

Yeah, but it’s a fact that in a lot of workplaces the second upper management learns you’re in a union you can kiss goodbye to any future promotions. At which point why bother staying at that workplace anyway, defeating the point of joining.

I’m sure it’s useful if you’re going to be sacked and need some help ensuring it’s not done unfairly but nobody really gets sacked these days unless they’re genuinely shite.

Not really much use being in a union if you’re the only one, they only really work through strength in numbers. They can help ensure due process but you can just clue yourself up anyway it’s all simple stuff.

Don’t get me wrong I’m big in support of unions both practically and in principle but it’s incorrect to assume they are relevant in every job (at least currently).

Meh, life’s too short, either be blunt about it with them and try and get them to pay you to go away, but don’t expect much, or just leave as soon as you can and move on with your life.

Would avoid personally, there are a lot of closures and the diversion signage is poor, we ended up pretty frustrated last November.

Are the cranks fully torqued to spec?

How old are the pedals?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/130-bcd-5-arm/

My road bike is a 500 quid decathlon one, once the wheels die and the groupset needs replaced it’ll cost 80% of the original purchase price to replace those elements, or I could just replace the whole bike and take advantage of every component being new for slightly more money which makes a lot more sense.

My full suspension bike has had new wheels, a new drivetrain, suspension rebuilds, new brakes, new rotors, several dropper posts, and the the rear shock is a size that basically isn’t available anymore. The forks are non-boost spacing 180mm fox forks which also don’t seem available now either new or used, and even if they are they’re close to £1,000.00 so the bike will likely get replaced at that point.

Does that explain?

I’m not sure what the link to April fools day is.

Also, I’m not sure many people are buying a bike for the reason he thinks, generally it’s because they become uneconomical to repair so get replaced due to our throwaway culture, or we just fancy a change or something new and shiny. Is it ever really just because you think it’ll make you faster? Nobody I know buys a bike for that reason, especially not mountain bikers.

First time on drop bars after years of flat bars is bound to feel odd, and with your head more facing down and further forward I do find your special awareness for cars around you takes some adjusting to.

Don’t do work on your day off no matter how important it may seem, in three to four weeks nobody but you and your family will remember you worked that day.

The lad who lives opposite us has all that gear, 20 quid Meguiars buckets and shit. Spends about 2 hour’s hoovering his car every weekend then another two hours cleaning and waxing the outside and unfortunately it still comes out looking like a Ford Fiesta when he’s done.

I did all that stuff on my previous car including carefully hand applying proper wax and everything, the paint on the roof still blistered eventually, people still opened their doors into it in car parks then it was crashed into and written off.

I don’t bother anymore.

122,000 miles on our 2.0L Passat 2015 and I think it’s just at the point of needing a clutch, DMF and clutch master cylinder. DPF has 40% life remaining still (you can check with an app) and it’s needed a new rear caliper as one was seized (£400 plus another £400 to replace the pads and discs).

I’ll stick to my mechanical setup I think

Assuming you’ve done the basics correctly, something has possibly shifted or cables stretched in so try setting up from scratch again i.e. release and reclamp the cable with the shifter in the correct gear and barrel adjuster somewhere in the middle etc.

Did you change the cranks and if so did you choose the right one i.e. boost or non boost? Is the chain brand new and is it a 12 speed one?

All I use wd40 for is to help get water off the chain after washing the bike down, once it has flashed off I add my chain lube.

Rarely have to use any actual degreaser, I use a fairly clean running lube and washing the bike with muc off and a brush gets the crud off. I think muc off is a detergent rather than a degreaser but could be wrong.

I had a specialized enduro Evo that felt like that, far too short and nervous on technical features despite being slack angled. Sold it to a mate after about 6 months because life is too short.

Being an aimless drifter is under rated.

True, it can sometimes feel like not having an identity though. Bikes have been the one consistent thing through my adult life but the way cycling culture is these days is far from what I knew for most of that time.

You… can’t replace him until you are actually replacing him?

It made sense to her, apparently…

Though obviously what you need here is a cat.

Been told we can’t have a cat until OHs cat who lives with her parents dies because she’d feel like she was replacing him.

Is it possible for a third of life crisis? I’m 31 and after finally getting on the property ladder and gaining seniority in my career I find myself at a loss as to what my goals are in life now.

We don’t want children or a dog so it seems all there is left is to work until I can retire then die, whilst trying to pass the time with nonsense in between?