Just cos some bloke called shiggy rants about it on the internet doesn’t make it so

Nevertheless, they do seem to work quite well, especially when decending.

How did you calculate those figures Dave? My Astra was a 2006 1.6 and I could only coax it to 34mpg at best.

I don’t use a trip computer but do the calculations based on fuel used and distance covered. If I get less than 140 miles out of the 1st quarter of a tank I feel I haven’t been trying hard enough.

I think my style of driving has been a big factor in the MPG figures I can get. I always coast down hills in as high a gear as possible (I live in North Devon so very easy) and try not to loose too much speed through the corners (of course the cost in tyre wear may well be higher than the amount of money saved on petrol).

I’ve always been quite light on the throttle and I tend to do a lot of A road and motorway driving for work which really helps to even out the average MPG figures. I’ve also stopped hurrying to get anywhere, it makes a huge difference and most of the meetings I go to are boring so why rush?.

I’ve monitored my fuel consumption since I got the car 3 years ago and I’ve steadily been able to figure out what driving style gives the best results.

My car also has the Twin Port engine modification. Never been too sure what it means but I think it helps with economy around town.

2005 1.2 Fiat Panda : 53mpg around town and on slightly longer runs.
2006 1.6 Astra SXI: 44 – 46mpg on a long run. I’ve managed to get the mpg as high as 51mpg but that was pretty exceptional.

Driving the Astra economically requires a gentle touch on the throttle and an even gentler one on the brakes. Oh, and sticking to the speed limit and not driving like a complete tool helps.

Having a BBQ in the snow sounds like a gloriously mad and fun thing to do for some reason. I may well try it if we do get snow this year.

Still got a stash of unused grit from last year and some snow studs for my shoes (highly effective last year). Bought a new snow shovel today as Asda had some decent looking ones. Purchased some studded tyres for my Cross Check just in case the need arises but I shan’t bother getting winter tyres for the car; my employer prefers me to use hire cars for business mileage and if there is ice on the roads I’ll happily run the risk of bending somebody elses car out of shape. Mine can stay on the driveway.

Mine’s geared. I’m very happy with it. I also have a SS but I won’t be SSing my Swift – it’s too versatile to hobble it like that

+1

I initially ran my Swift as a single speed but it is such a good frame I felt that I wasn’t getting the best out of it so I stuck a 1X9 drivetrain on it. Feel much happier with it in its current set up.

Alternatively you could just wait until your neighbours are in bed and the dogs locked up and spend half an hour running round their garden with your kids, digging holes in the lawn, ripping up plants, screaming at the top of your voice and crapping on the patio.

I’m a dog owner and one thing you always have to be aware of if you have a dog is that not everybody likes dogs and what you may think of as harmless may be very annoying or even scary behaviour to others. Sounds like your neighbours don’t have a clue or give a ****.

If you have tried to reason with your neighbours and they are failing to take responsibility getting the authorities involved may be the only option available. Might be worth pointing out to your neighbours that just one bitten child will result in the offending dog being destroyed and the RSPCA getting involved.

Oh, and I wouldn’t bother with an electric fence in the short term. Just string some barbed wire along the affected boundary. Cheaper and easier and a more obvious sign of intent.

+1 for DHB stuff.

Wouldn’t you be better off just strapping the car to the back of your bike?

what tyres for the Italian legal system?

The weather was lovely but a snapped chain on Saturday lead to an ‘off’ on a particularly rocky section of trail and my road ride on Sunday was cut short by a sore knee :(

It was at least an exuse to swear at random bicycle parts do some bike fettling in the garage.

I was TUPE’d last year. Some of my colleagues signed up to new T&C’s I have resisted so far and have had no problems as a result. My new employers will have to pay me more to go away under my old contract so I’m sticking to that. The pensions question is a tricky one as I was transferred to a company with a less lucrative pension set up. Wasn’t much that could be done about that at the end of the day; glad to still have a job and a pension.

The main problem I had with the whole TUPE issue is that I am now working for a company that is in a greater financial mess than the one I used to work for. Sign of the times I guess…

Got a Swift and a Karate Monkey. They are both excellent but if you ever feel like adding guards and possibly a rack to your setup the KM would be the easier bike to work with. In single speed mode the KM has stupidly massive tyre clearances.

Quote of the day: “a ladies gun, and not a pleasant lady at that” :D

This is the thing, what some (not all, but most of the ones in this thread) lycra wearers are really saying is ‘look at me, look at me, I’m a SERIOUS cyclist, not like those other guys’

To be fair there are quite a few MAMILs out there who think wearing the latest team strip will give them a couple of extra MPH but they annoy even us lycra wearing types.

They always seem annoyed when a rotund bloke in ill fitting lycra on an old touring bike passes them on an uphill section of road…

Aye, but picture a Saturday night, kids just chucked into bed, beer cracked open, nothing sorted for tea dinner (sorry, my wife is trying to make me posherer) and picking up a phone is easier – then I can swig my beer and relaaaaxxxx….

Being the typically well nourished, fit and healthy STWer that I am I have a stack of pizzas in the freezer :wink:

Forward planning my man, thats all it takes.

I just buy my pizzas from the supermarket, somehow seems easier and cheaper. Also means I don’t have to wait for some pillock on a moped to deliver my dinner.

BMW envy (well any nice car really but BMW seem to suffer from it the most) is a curious thing in this country

Does it really exist? Seems to me people from all walks of life drive them these days. Same with Mercs and Audis. True, they used to be seen as exotic and even my dad aspired to own a 3 series but I don’t think that is the case these days.

What do you think you look like? A finely tuned athlete?

I know I look quite the opposite but cycling round in baggy shorts that flap around just seems rather stupid when on a bike.

I run a 2006 Astra for work. I park it next to big flash beemers and mercs in motorway services and business park carparks feeling rather smug with the knowledge that I own it and that its a damn sight cheaper to fix when it does go wrong.

A lot of people I know who run beemers do it under a lease deal. knew a guy who ran an Audi TT that way.

Cars a car. If somebody wants to waste money to look flash good luck to them. BMWs are nice cars, don’t get me wrong but for work? Nope, I’d rather have something cheap, a beemer will wear out all the same as something thats lower in value.I’d rather spend £250 a month on sorting the house out.

Been a while since I shouted encouragement at the telly. Feel totally knackered after watching that.

Makes me glad I work mostly from home these days.

Or is it my colleagues who are glad I work mostly from home?…

My work HTC runs Windows and it is the very worst kind of temperamental sh!te imaginable. I have never known a mobile phone to crash before. The situation is so bad our IT bods are about to change our phones over to Android ones.

Depression is a horrible thing to suffer from. I’ve had a pretty awful last 18 months which have encompassed health problems, work problems, trouble at home and the death of a parent and since the start of the year I’ve struggled with depression myself. It has only just started to lift in the last few weeks. It is only now I’m feeling more interested in taking control of my life again.

Depression is a tricky thing to deal with. For me the key has been to keep chipping away at the things I enjoy and the things that matter most to me, even when there have been days where my confidence and motivation has left me. It can be difficult to try and be spontaneous and just hop on your bike for a ‘pick-me-up’ ride; depression tends to suck all the joy of doing such things out of your life.

What I did was try to set aside times of the day when I would do certain things, gardening, exercise like walking or cycling, sorting though stuff in the garage (I work from home so have a bit of flexibility). At least if I had a time set aside in the day for these things I felt I was gaining some form of control over the situation, even if the resultant bike rides were slow and painful. Slowly but surely I began to feel the benefit of this approach and got more enjoyment from the resultant bike rides and walks.

If you are having trouble feeling motivated to ride why not consider new but complimentary activities? I’ve started getting back into photography and the more I have experimented with my camera the more I’ve thought of riding out to differen places to take a few photos. Its the little things that can make a big difference and sometimes all you need is to view a familiar situation from a fresh angle.

Good luck with your situation. As said above, the Samaritans are there to help all sorts of people experiencing all sorts of problems and you might find a chat to somebody new really useful. Keep bugging your doctor for help. You have recognised there is a problem that needs dealing with. That is a positive first step but it sounds like you may need a formal course of treatment to help with your recovery. I’d ring the surgery and see if they have sorted anything out and see if they can offer any advice on services you can access through the NHS.

Hang on in there, it does get better.

The 3 shims are in case you get play

Thats what I meant to say.

There are three shims provided so you can get the set up of the headset just right. I think I only used one on the Hope headset I fitted to my bike.

Hope headsets are a great bit of kit by the way.

Bloody hell, thats incredible.

Great news.

Hmm, the Dell optiplex is an interesting option. Morgan Computers have a few and having bought from them before I know their stuff is pretty good. Plus the optiplex is small enough to lob in the bin when it finally wears out!

Fair comment about buying a desktop instead. Not seem much I like so far.

Sheldon on ankling:

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_an-z.html#ankling

he wasn’t keen.

Ankling tends to aggravate an old tendon injury in my left ankle so I’ve had to make a concious effort to try and keep my feet fairly level when pedalling. With clipless pedals I don’t actually see the point in ankling.

Snowbike frame price is good. Snowbike frame parts are expensive. Going to see what we can do a complete snow bike for.

Its the cost of parts that has always put me off in the past. If the frame could run 29er wheels when not in fat mode it would be quite attractive. My Swift tends to sink on the beach, even with massive tyres on it and I end up looking even more stupid than usual :cry:

Polite
Tolerant
Irreverent
Loyal
Aggresive
Pompous
Intoxicated

<<snowbike pics>> – That’s only exasperating things

Damn, and there was me convinced I didn’t need a fatbike. That frame looks interesting.

Anymore you can tell us?

I stick my qualifications after my name on my business card and on my work email signature purely because I work in an industry where that sort of thing is expected. Besides, a lot of effort and money went into achieving them so why be coy?

I’ve always believed that round shapes are more aerodynamic :D

Besides, I can get up the steepest hills with the best of them and when it comes to going downhill I can use gravity to my advantage.

I actually quite liked it. It got panned by the critics which always makes me a little more interested in seeing a film.

Its an OK film as long as you can suspend your disbelief. It actually made me want to read the graphic novel which, believe me, is far more indulgent and long winded than the film. I think the film is a pretty good adaptation.

As for the ending, well thats how the story ended in the comic so the film makers were kind of stuck with including it. I think they did it quite well and made it a bit sharper.

My petrol engined astra is giving me all sorts of grief at 80,000 miles. My advice is walk away and buy something japanese or with a Skoda badge on the front.

Pretty happy with my bikes:

1X9 swift – (currently in bits to make space. Need to get it put back together really)
Cross Check – Timeless and reliable. Ridden the most
Karate Monkey – ugly mess of a bike and always being fiddled with as it isn’t quite sorted yet. Ridden quite a lot, usually slowly and with a frown as I try to figure out where various creaks are coming from.
Dahon folding bike – not used much at the moment. Great little bike for when I’m travelling or taking the car in for a service.
Thorn Sherpa tourer – buried at the back of the garage and in need of an airing.
Old alloy Bianchi frame – kept for sentimental reasons.

My problem is I like building new bikes. I have a hankering for either a Fargo or a Troll but have neither the space or need for them. I really need a cheap beater of a bike to go to the shops on but have no idea where I would keep it. The garage is full and I have other more important things to spend my money on :(

For some reason I don’t have a photo of mine. I’m running it geared, with drops and V brakes. I’ve run a range of tyres on it from 2.4″ big apples, to 2″ knobblies and it is currently running 38mm trekking tyres.

Got some spare wheels and discs to go on when I get bored with the current set up.

Its actually quite a horror show to look at so maybe I won’t take a photo of it :D