‘Austin Healey in talking cobblers shocker’

Nobody takes him seriously, do they?

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I didn’t consider a torx socket. My local tool shop supplies them in individual sizes. Seeing as I rounded the 8mm bolt (and the allen key was undamaged) maybe a 9mm torx is the way to go?

So, I have a plan of attack:

1. Try hammering a torx socket into the rounded bolt and give it some welly with the socket spanner

2. Break out the drill and get a bolt extractor on the go

3. Find a friendly welder to mig weld an allen key to the bolt

4. Break out the saw (and the credit card).

The thing is, I’m diligent about greasing bolts. I suppose the logical answer is I overtightened it in the first place. Hmmm, you live and learn.

Ha! I think welding is a bit beyond my scope. I’m fairly certain the bolt has a right-hand thread so a bolt extractor might work. If not, it’s time to get the saw out and start shopping for new cranks.

Aaaaaaaarrrrgh.

Sorry. I feel better now.

Thanks. I think a bolt extractor is the way to go. I don’t think a screwdriver will do it since a large p-handled 8mm allen key didn’t do the job.

I have the Iodines – they have the same hub/freewheel internals. The pawl carrier split after 6 months and was replaced under warranty. Have had no issues with it since.

The freehub sealing is not good though and so in the rainy season (October – June :-)) I now strip the freehub and clean regrease every few rides. Doesn’t take long but is a pain in the neck.

Am off to Edinburgh for the weekend with friends to watch the Italy game. 8)

Any recommendations for somewhere in central Edinburgh to watch the 2 later games? Food & beer & view of telly required.

With regard to the 3 matches this past weekend, it was great to see Italy turn over France but I fear a wounded beast when the boys travel to Paris to face Les Bleus. The Wales-Ireland game could have gone either way, regardless of the controversial try. England-Scotland was low on quality but compelling viewing nonetheless. Has the error count across the tournament been high this year? Seems so.

Bullfighting – Bull + Bike = Bikefighting ?

Take this job and shove it

Yep. Been using them for around 6 months. Doddle to set-up. But then again, so are Shimano HTII cranks.

I became so disillusioned with the behaviour of drivers and cyclists on my commute that I changed my route completely. I now have a mellow pootle with minimal traffic of any kind. I think jimbobrighton sums it up though. There’s no accounting for fools.

Good beer & good food, reasonbly priced, less than 5 minutes walk from the Academy[/url]

Get a glass of water.

Take 5 quick sips without breathing in between sips.

If that doesn’t work, take 10 quick sips without breathing in between sips.

If that doesn’t work, take 15 quick sips without breathing in between sips.

If that doesn’t work, good luck.

Halfords do a bolt-on seat rack for £25. It’ll take 10kg no probs – I use one on my hardtail.

linky

When my Celsius are very muddy post-ride, once the bike is clean, I hose and brush them down in the garden. Hadn’t considered putting them in the machine though. Maybe a 30 degree spin with some tech wash would do it? I’d probably put them in a knotted pillow case first.

Just glad someone else got the reference.

Suddenly from the right, a sausage impaled on both knife and fork flies across the canteen…

Hello Darlin’

Backing up to an external HDD with the JB7 is easy. I left mine to run overnight (600 CDs worth of data). You don’t necessarily need to update the database – it’s just a convenient way of avoiding typing in the artist/album/track details for new releases.

Ipods & JB7s do not have the same functionality other than the fact that they both play MP3s.

Cinnabar moth caterpillar feeding on ragwort?

Hard drives are, well, they are hard drives. I’m pretty sure they all have roughly the same failure rate. It’s a lot smaller than a PC though…

I don’t listen to music on the move so an iPod or similar doesn’t interest me. What it does give me is a quick, simple way of ripping my latest CD purchase.

Yep. Bought some forks from them a few months back. Took about a week to arrive. Parcel (DHL) was trackable all the way. Would use them again.

I have one. Bought it around 18 months ago. I love it. I am neither smug nor curly haired.

I usually just play it on random. It constantly reminds me of some of the fantastic/awful/weird/forgotten stuff I’ve bought over the years.

1. Electromagnet

then

2. Sledgehammer

I’ve got a pair of hardly-used 2.35″ HR LUST hanging about in the garage. Email in profile if you’re interested.

Yes it is. Not been there for a couple of years though. Always used to take a break atop the cliffs and admire the view.

The big pros for me are modulation and adjustability. I did end up replacing the front Tech X2 with a Tech M4 though as I felt the X2 was a little underpowered for hooning downhill (I’m 14st though).

They’ve performed flawlessly for 12 months. Support from the manufacturer is great (I am told, but not had to use it so far).
My only other experience of Hope brakes is the original Mini, and they were pretty good too.

I run them with XTR M970 shifters with no issues.

Used to pootle round Mousehold Heath in the early 90s on my Pine Mountain. UEA campus is nice for a walk around the lake if the weather is fine. Can’t believe it’s 20 years since I was fresher there!

I’ve actually changed my Bristol commute route due to the increasingly bad behaviour of other cyclists. Do some people need an Advanced Advanced Stop Line?

Rather then a congested, stop-start, 3-mile scramble (which includes 31 traffic lights/pedestrian crossings), I now take a slight detour using cycles paths, side streets and only 1 set of traffic lights.

Much better for stress levels, and babyfish gets a safer and more pleasant commute to nursery too.

What do you call a dog with 2 arseholes?
NDubz

OK. Ta.

Headphones and a selection of CDs. That’s what I use to block out the eejits.

Si, are we still talking end of this month for delivery?

My 17 month old has rotavirus. We have spent 3 days cleaning up vomit and diahorrea. The stench is unbelievable. I am not bored. I wish I was bored.

Stickman has friends then. It’s just a game. They build ’em. We un-build ’em.

No idea. Trails were clear last weekend. Just unblock them. It’s probably just stickman up to his old tricks.

As the saying goes, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. I’m not convinced that the 50-acre wood trails dry out quicker these days. An inevitable consequence of some of the trails disappearing may be that the remaining trails are used more, and hence require more maintenance? I’m sure with the fullness of time though that more offshoots from the main runs will be established.

I, for one, like the challenge of a rooty, muddy, rutted slog fest. Obviously, I am weird. I’ve been riding these trails for 20+ years and they have evolved quite well. However, I suppose that change is inevitable. £400k will not go a long way though. The mud will prevail eventually, just give it a season or two. I just hope that Leigh Woods doesn’t get ’50-acre-wooded’. i.e. turned into a scene from the Somme, with most of the woodland felled and the cheeky trails destroyed.

Urban pedestrians often step into the road without looking if they can’t hear an engine. Since I started taking babyfish to nursery on my bike, I fitted a bell and use it in earnest. I don’t want her to hear my colourful language…

If electric cars do ever become more prevalent, there’s going to be a few more squished pedestrians methinks.

Ordered a Yukon from them a couple of years ago. It took 7 or 8 days, if remember correctly.