Many people just drive their cars around at low rpm. They need a bit of exercise!

Give the car an Italian tune-up (warm it up and drive along in low gear at high rpm for a sustained period, using plenty of welly), it can work wonders.

The more expensive alternative is a German tune-up, which involves driving flat-out down the autobahn as much as possible, which can produce also excellent results and a nice holiday.

Change the air filter, clean the air-flow meter and clean the EGR system.

Be happy with around 50mpg on a run, but don’t be expecting miracles.

My garage (used for bikes and motorbike, with a pad under the stand) is floored with 3 packs of the Costco inter-locking mats. A veritable bargain.

Costco

The Mk4 Mondeo ‘Edge’ and ‘Zetec’ models have enough features without the gimmicks (who needs a touch-screen in a car?) and humongous wheels/rock hard ride of the higher spec models.

As always, faults are disproportionately represented on internet forums.

-People who are happy don’t generally comment about cars.

eg. I had a Mk3 TDCI Ghia X that was fine for the 4 years (50k-100k miles) I had it as a used car. Internet forums told me that it should have destroyed its flywheel, blown its turbo, had leaky injectors, a knackered fuel pump, dodgy electrics and done 35mpg on a good day costing me £1000s.

It did none of those things and did 46-55mpg depending upon the journey….

Of course, somebody else may have suffered all of those things.

Likewise, most people probably have no problems with their Passat.

If you like driving (I do, so I personally wouldn’t really want something like a Zafira)and don’t need to show off to colleagues, then the Mondeo is great.
My Mk3 TDCI 130 was excellent. It was driven “enthusiastically” (on the back roads and extended periods of flat-out in comfort in Germany) and needed only replacement disc/pads, a turbo hose and a rear wheel bearing between 50k and 100k miles -recently replaced with a Mk4.

Maybe you need a Cycling Proficiency refresher?

Like quite a few people on here, I know you in real life…

Hora Wrote:
But your making an assumption on that (?).

er, Yes…

ps. We last met about 2 years ago (you turned up!) …I remember it as you were wearing a Flecktarn camo German army jacket -for maximum outline distortion and maximum invisibility to drivers- to cycle on the main road into Manchester when it was wet, foggy and dark… Just saying like 😉

hora – Member

Where do you make your assumptions about people?

Like quite a few people on here, I know you in real life… 8)

Somebody was talking about track days and skid pans earlier. Somebody else made further references to track days.

I’m making no claims about my skills, but I do have experience of IAM, on 2 wheels and on 4, which you presumably don’t.

IAM & Rospa are a good thing, and a starting point, if not the complete answer to everyone’s motoring dreams.

For someone who isn’t comfortable and flowing/smooth with the fundamentals of driving, and there are a lot of drivers who fit into that category, following a systematic approach (as per IAM/Rospa) can be a big help.

Skid control is very useful (look how many drivers were absolutely hopeless when it snowed during the past 2 winters), but better to first understand what gear/rpm you should be using and learn not to be a hazard on the road.

Racing lines, late braking left-foot-braking, heel-toe, hand-brake turns, drifting etc. are all great for people who are interested in driving and like to push it a bit, but not necessarily that useful for someone who doesn’t really understand the basic mechanics of the car or have an awareness of what is going on around them.

I think the expression is: Learn to walk before you learn to run.

Hora, are you a driving god?

I suspect you are not, no matter what you might think about yourself, so please just stop making irrelevant suggestions.

Attitude plays a big part in driving well, not the ability to talk a good drive and fantasise about your extreme car control skills (or even mountain bike skills)on various internet forums.

IAM/Rospa are good organisations that aim to get people to a high standard of safety whilst making reasonable progress.

I did the IAM motorbike course (and a Corporate IAM driving course) and found it worthwhile, even if I was aware of much of the content beforehand. Being observed and tested is a useful experience in itself. Some people might be afraid of what they might hear.

By all means disagree with some of their dogma/mantras, but they teach a solid, safe method of driving -If not necessarily exciting, dynamic or particularly ‘advanced’ in the sense of extreme vehicle handling.

Ps. Most motorbikers, like most mtbers, will either be incapable of riding very quickly (ie. can’t ride for toffee) or just be happy with riding slowly (ie. can’t ride for toffee 😉 )

Not everybody is “ON IT” at all times. Probably a good thing, as the green lanes of the Peak would be very noise and totally ripped to bits if every motorbiker was giving it the beans at all times.

I’ve passed motorbikes on descents on numerous occasions and I’m a 30-something weekend warrior dad with a collection of very non-special bikes, rather than an international DH champion.

I also ride a motorbike. Motorbikes are great and have advantages, but riding a motorbike (& driving a car) quickly is easier uphill than down, mostly due to having to decelerate the large mass of the vehicle. A motorbike also takes more effort to turn and change direction, as opposed to a mountain bike that weighs almost nothing.

Without wishing to appear negative, I’m not convinced that, once the “sellers’ market” conditions were over, British primary/secondary industries would have been that competitive without some fairly major changes.

I like the German approach to engineering and ‘skilled’ trades (and I like Germany in general), but I don’t think that we would necessarily have been a mirror image of them, with many prosperous mittelstand producing useful widgets, had we gone with Labour in the early 80s and stuck with union-controlled nationalised industries.

In truth, though, who knows what would have happened?

If you’ve ridden mountain trails in the UK then you’ll not be shocked by what you might find in the Alps, although as many of the hills are larger there is potential for much longer trails with more sustained difficulty/steepness -Brakes can take a lot of punishment.

If you’ve only ridden around fairly flat, non-technical trails in the Uk, then you may well be surprised by what you might find in t’Alps.

Some cars have a lot of voltage drop in the loom, and upgrading the bulbs will make very little difference (a fair few VW’s for instance)

Very easily resolved with cable and relays, and then the standard bulbs will be brighter.

I grew up in a northern (former) mining town in the 80s and I can’t bring myself to hate Margaret Thatcher. I feel that comparisons with genocidal dictatorships are a bit silly.

I’m very much in favour of primary industries/manufacturing/engineering, but I’m fairly sure that the UK before Thatcher wasn’t quite the paradise that people like to make out and the manufacturing companies and state-owned corporations weren’t quite the efficient, prosperous entities with healthy, happy workers that people like to believe they were.

Subsequent governments have carried on with ‘Thatcher-esque’ ideas and we have suffered various boom-busts (as we did before), but had we gone with a socialist agenda in 1979(when the economy was picking up prior to the Tories getting back into power) and stuck with it, would we have been in a better position than we are now???

ps. I feel fortunate to have been born British and I suspect that I would be of the same view whether or not Margaret Thatcher had been Prime Minister a quarter of a century ago -but I would have been equally fortunate to have been born in many other western European nations.

The same way as you’d pass the many, many bimbling mountain bikers?

Of course, making a point of looking casual and nodding an acknowledgement as you pass them with your wheels at their shoulder height is always warmly welcomed.

kingkongsfinger – Member

the tools who leave gel wrappers and Lucazade bottles etc. on the trails need to take their litter home, bell end’s. Loads around the trails

Llandegla has its plus points, but its popularity results in it attracting people who aren’t all 30-something, educated IT/engineering types who can ride like heroes ie. The British general public
-many of whom who think nothing of throwing litter/sh*tt*ng on their own doorstep. Idiots.

I’m not sure I’d want Paramo trousers. If I wear waterproof trousers, I wear my fairly rugged Army Surplus Gore-tex trousers with the Velez Adventure light jacket.

ps. Each to their own. Feel free to buy whatever outdoor clothing you like!

I was curious/sceptical until I got mine. It was an expensive gamble, but it has paid off so far.

I too ‘run warm’ (on the mtb I generally wear just a base layer and add a waterproof when colder -when many other riders are wearing multiple base and mid layers), but I’ve found that the Velez Adventure Light has been great. I’m not sure how it will be in hot weather, but my other jackets aren’t too great in hot weather either.

lordsalop – Member
You may want to lock away yr wives and girlfriends however!

I was curious about Paramo for many years. I eventually bought a Velez Adventure Light smock in September.

I’ve since worn it in various inclement weather (snow, sleet, hail, rain, wind) on foot and on a bike and it has kept me comfortable (far, far more-so than my shell jackets) and dry. With just a base layer underneath it works over a wide range of temperatures -opening the zips allows the jacket to work well in warmer conditions.

I really like mine, but each to their own.

lordsalop – Member

However, on checking Cirencester I can confirm the period features and quaint little lanes will really suit the Aston.
Good for drifting?

IHN – Member

Hold on, is he a posh ****t?

Think fast-living, hard-driving playboy. Like a young Prince Andrew, but with better breeding.

Be prepared to tug your forelock.

I took my first Kinesis Crosslight (on Land Cruisers) on quite a few off road rides over a couple of years. As others have said, they are fine on a lot of terrain, but rocky stuff can be tricky.

It was a challenge, but I was able to descend the Belmont(San Marino)Descent and slightly rough Ice Cream Run more quickly than some regulars from here, they know who they are, riding nice mtbs 😉

My frame’s down-tube snapped the following week…..

If you don’t ride on rocky terrain, then go for it. If you do, then prepare to replace frames.

Any more for any more?

In this case I’m looking for air forks for my light-ish hardtail.

I’m thinking used.

I have a set of Pike coils on my full suss and like them. They’re not light though.

After a long uphill slog

the climb must be about 150m, so not quite Pikes Peak…

Cragg Quarry is definitely worth the ride up.

The descent back to Lee Quarry is good too -Try to jump all of the conveniently place slabs.

I might well be up for this if I can shirk my household responsibilities.

I’m assuming that, unlike down in the lowlands, the weather is dry and glorious up there at the moment and that the trails will be dusty on Saturday?

Based on the fact that a 2:1 singlespeed can be ridden (with some heaving and grimacing) up most hills that a geared bike can, then using a 9 or 10 speed should allow most riders to ride almost anywhere.

If you have a 9 speed rear setup, I wouldn’t bother changing it for a 10 speed.

I removed my big ring from my geared mtbs a long time ago and have never missed them. 34t is plenty for me and the extra ground clearance is useful.

I did about half of my riding on a singlespeed for a few years so I know that I am capable of stomping on the pedals.

Having rationalised the fleet and becoming less fit due to a lack of riding for a while, I found that I was lacking a ‘normal’ XC/off-road commuter hardtail. I did about half of my riding on a singlespeed for a few years so I know that I am capable of stomping on the pedals so I raided my parts bin and bought some bits to install a 9 speed transmission: 34t Chainring and a 34-11t cassette. I really like it.

No, It isn’t geared for road riding, but then it isn’t a road bike.

I’m currently using an old XT mech as a ‘chain device’, but the chain does sometimes jump off on very rocky trails.

I intend to make/use something narrower and simpler as a top guide and to fit a lower roller guide.

On my fairly heavy full-susser I have kept my granny ring as it allows me to ride up steep hills whilst sat down.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2011/aug/18/retribution-for-riots-why-not

This pretty much sums up my view.

And yes, I do read the Guardian.

Will Britons rejoice when the people rise up against (riot) Queeny, her government and the bullying police?

Hyperbole? Anyway, weren’t the people rising up in support of free sports-casual-wear and large flat tvs, before celebrating the free refreshemnts on offer at the local corner shop?

ernie_lynch – Member
It is beyond comprehension for them, that anyone can recognise wrongdoing, and yet not support ridiculously excessive sentences. The whole concept is far too complex for them to get their tabloid educated heads round. They live in a hopelessly naive and simplistic world of “all, or, nothing” – no other options exist.

I suspect that some people choose to read and see only the things that they want to see whether that is left or right wing.

Yes, there should be alternatives to lots of long gaol sentences, but in the current situation a huge number of people have done a bit of opportunistic crime that has caused a lot of trouble.

The courts are making an example of criminals in order to hopefully prevent the mob from doing it again any time soon. I have no sympathy for these people as they were motivated by greed and excitement, not absolute poverty and repression. They were not protesting at anything other than having to pay for ‘luxury’ items.

Lessons should be learned and alternatives to prison should be better utilised, but at short notice it won’t be practical to arrange a fully effective community service system, although I do strongly believe that such a system should be set up soon.

And as long as that simplistic attitude prevails, we can be assured that Britain is, and will remain, fecked.

Well it isn’t ‘fecked’ as far as I am concerned, but some people enjoying saying it.

I agree.

I don’t subscribe to the flashy goods = happiness mantra myself

Unfortunately, outside of educated people discussing it, the people inclined to commit crimes such as this need a simple message, which they are now receiving.

I’d much prefer it if these folk were happy to live in a pleasant way and take part in community and sporting activities, but, as it stands, they need some urgent disincentive from ransacking the city centre next week.

It will leave many, specially young people, feeling angry and bitter that they have been unjustifiably harshly targeted, and made examples of, because they young and not very wealthy

….Or maybe, just maybe, because they were involved in theft and major public disorder or attempting to incite it?

My heart doesn’t bleed at all and I don’t see the ‘injustice’.

I’m sorry but it wasn’t just a bit of harmless theft from shops. Panicking, owning up and hoping for leniency isn’t good enough. If handing out cautions to people who confess is the only punishment, where is the disincentive for others in the future?

I don’t care if the perpetrators don’t respect the law. They won’t anyway. I want them to be afraid of the law (well, the punishment) when they are deciding whether or not to form large mobs and destroy the local town. These people were not stealing bread to feed their families, they were taking ‘consumer goods’ and just looting shops for the sake of it. Taking a crate of glorified tap water is just nonsensical, but it is still burglary and, in fact, totally unnecessary. It deserves punshment.

I’m all for engaging with people who have problems, I’m not some middle-class chap in an ivory tower who reads the Daily Mail and has never met ‘ordinary people’.

I’m also in favour of trying to enthuse people to get involved in (positive)things and improve their situation if possible.

Incidentally, I am as against our country starting illegal wars in my name as much as anyone else.

A society plagued with alienation, bitterness, and divisions – that’s what sort of society. And many young people, with no previous, have in the last few days discovered the consequences of not resisting arrest, owning up, admitting their guilt, and putting their faith in the justice system. Expect more trouble in the future, not less. You reap what you sow was never truer.

Alternatively, a load of people who had never realised before that a mob can get a load of free ‘luxury items’ have now found out that if you get caught taking part in such activities, you’ll get gaol time.

Simple folk need simple messages:
If you don’t want to end up in gaol, don’t follow a stealing, violent mob into town.

kimbers – Member

No, this is about fairly urgent crime prevention in the short-term.

really? the riots/looting stopped several days before any sentences were handed down, its just politicking now

Oh dear….

I suspect that most people in the UK would prefer not to see people trashing the place again any time soon.

Obviously, some other people are less concerned.

Individual circumstances were not extraordinary. Judge each case on its own merits.

The point is that the offences occurred because many people decided to join-in with the mob. The crimes were not isolated incidents, there was a context.

kimbers – Member

this isnt about justice

No, this is about fairly urgent crime prevention in the short-term.

Anybody who was not involved and isn’t considering looting the High St need not worry themselves about it.

This is not about infringements on civil liberties or the UK becoming a Police State.

I like living in the UK, but I’d prefer it if people did not trash it. If people do trash it, then punish them. Harshly.

don simon – Member

Woohoo! They’re brinking back the stocks! I think the ducking stool would be a good choice for the News International investigation too.

I wasn’t aware that public punishment was restricted to medieval coporal punishment and the interrogation methods of witch-finders, but there you go.

ransos – Member
The trouble is, I’m not sure that an opportunistic bit of theft fits that description. You might as well argue that a low-level speeding offence contributes to the death and serious injury we have on our roads.

Seizing the opportunity to burgle shops in the perceived safety of a mob is slightly different to deciding to travel at 80mph on the M6 at 6am on a sunny Sunday morning.

I think that individual crimes should be judged on their own individual circumstances..

I agree. The circumstances in these cases were extraordinary.

I shall spell it out for you:

Little Johnny sees that if lots of people decide to rob the High St simultaneously then they might get away with it. Ordinarily Little Johnny might not smash in the windows of JD Sports and help himself, but he decides to join the mob.

Little Chantel then sees that her friend, Little Johnny, has posted on Facebook that everyone should join the mob stealing from the High St and goes along for a look to see what ‘free stuff’ she can find etc. etc.