Ahh – forgot to say – it will be used to run some software that is Windows-only, and I will need to use the built in WIndows VPN…. so Win7 or Win8 machines only.

A few lonely flakes blowing in the breeze here in the badlands of Yate

The range in the hub combined with (lack of) range up front will mean the crossover will be huge?? Fair enough on limiting faff by not changing cranks, but why not set it up on one or other of the rings and leave it there as a half-way-to-faffage-house ‘solution’?

Edit : Just had a gander at their site and it claims they’re anodised so it’s all go for the Aerotracks. Lighter than the Open Pros, too, apparently (realworld weights).

Most of the colours are anodised…. mine are white, which given the thickness of it, I am pretty sure is a powdercoat or paint.

You are right about the Open Pro’s – have a pair of rims that are well over 10 years old, have outlived two sets of hubs and, because they have only ever been used disc-only, look pretty much as they did on day one.

How about a Van Nic Amazon with the slotted Rohloff dropout option?

TBH, when I priced this up a while a go it was nearly cheaper to go fully custom with Burls.

Custom Ti – Burls maybe? I want a Pompetamine-featured frame with my Airbourne Carpe Diem geometry…. I’ll split the design cost with you 😉

I built mine though, novatec hubs, halo aerotrack rims.

I’ve been looking at those particular rims. What kind of terrain are you riding on and how are they holding up…?

Using Aerotack’s on the Alfine commuter – ~7000k and no issues on a mix of road and cyclepaths. The spoke holes are not reinforced and the powder coating has crazed there (probably from oxidation of the rim), but as I say, no issues.

Got a pair of SpeedCity’s, as Mountain Mutant, and a pair of Open Pro on XT’s (both cente lock) for my commuter. SpeedCity’s feel faster and stiffer, but the Open Pros are marginally lighter and the XT hubs are better sealed so I swap between the two for summer/winter. Both seem equally bombproof.

What IHN said – if it’s going to be uncontested, all arrangements made and over 2 years you’d be a loon not to DIY it and only have to stump up for the court fees.

Currently under £900 – gawd bless the low interest rates!

If you are exclusively on the road, and so don’t need the ‘tread’ of the Marathon, then I have found that Durano Plus is just about as bombproof and rolls a lot better.

No one is looking to avoid paying tax on income or any sort of elaborate tax avoidance but it doesn’t feel right to pay tax on a loss…

Am I missing something, or are you simply not charging enough then?

If you are looking at it purely from a business perspective, you’re clearly stating you’re income is not enough to cover costs. Purely in in those terms then you should stop doing it, keep the dogs as pets and take up golf. If on the other hand you are saying you work the dogs for the love of it, would do it any way and that getting some cash provides some kind of subsidy to your overall costs which you would cover anyway out of your own pocket then you are still getting that, but at a much reduced rate.

Anyone in the South West do it??

Bike UK in Bristol do my 11-spd – I’m sure the must do 8-spd as well.

+whatever for the 7dayshop 2900mAh AA’s
+2 for the BC700 charger.

The in-laws recently had their consumer unit replaced and that was around £500 IIRC supply/fit to give you some frame of reference.

RE: footflaps – Yep, agreed, some of it can be dull – though most of it is genuinely interesting as we are not aligned with any particular industry.

Currently modelling a chocolate bar, some big oilfield structures, various bits of military hardware, and three patents have just been approved and licensed with a multi-national so the company should be secure for a few years 😉

Sorry to hear that fella – what’s yer skills set and location?

If you happen to be a finite element analyst in the Bristol area, pref with a PhD and experience of Abaqus, I have a job waiting!! (well, at least an interview – really struggling to find someone….)

As TooTall says, if not popular then park in the pay+display by it. Can probably park in Queen’s Square as well – think its £1.60 after 7 on those meters.

That AC/DC gig was only a tenner a ticket as well IIRC..

Yep – ended up in the front row upstairs (so seated). Looked like mayhem downstairs and it was f’ing loud, even by their standards, in such a small venue….

Got one from ELC last year for our daughter – forget the name, it was red and yellow. Has some built in games as well and has so far proved ‘rugged’. 1 year one and she’s still using it on a daily basis!

though unless i’m being particularly dim, does that not prevent you from running a disc brake on the back and hence negate the point of having a pompetamine in the first place?

Kind of – yes it’s disc-only, but a fixed gear counts as a braking mechanism so it’s not a deal-breaker. I think I’ll be a pansy and want a brake as well….

Just use a Velosolo 6 bolt fixed sprocket on the disc mount

Doable, but not neat – and overall the same price as a fixed converter – if all your casette hubs are centrelock….

Asked a similar thing a while back- http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-hub

Not had a chance to give it a go, but ‘Plan A’ was to get a fixed converter for an existing cassette hub, give it a go like that first and then go from there…..

superglue works more as a temp fix out on a ride as it’s too brittle for a long term fix

This. I used to routinely go round and glue up cuts when removing flints with superglue – but a few simple experiments proved it to be a complete waste of time as a) the glue is much stiffer than the rubber and b) much more brittle. So, after a very short time, the cut reopens, either because rubber has failed adjacent to the glue or the cured glue has simply crushed and broken up. If there is a better glue out there, I’m all ears……

OK – thanks TBC.

the strap however looks a trickier beast

IIRC, the strap just pushes out of the holder attached to the shoe. The tension in the strap holds it in when it is done up. It’s a doddle to change.

Thanks TBC – is that ‘black is out of stock and we have some again soon’, or ‘black is out of stock and may never be seen again’? As above, the silver set may look a bit odd.

Still works though doesn’t it ?

Well, yes, kinda – and yes, the rattle is tres annoying, hence the need for a fix.

A little more Googling suggests there is a universal buckle set that fits this shoe…. but only in grey and white.

Same experience as jimc101 – +1 for the Durano Plus. Almost as puncture proof as a Marathon Plus, weighs a lot less and rolls a lot faster.

Good frined of mine has recently sunk ~£4k on a fully restored Mk3(IIRC) Escort RS1600i, just because he always wanted one as now has space in the garage. Proper 80’s chav chic.

The conversation with his wife went something like ‘..if I won something on Ebay and I had to head off to pick it up before the kids are up and won’t get back until after they’ve gone to bed, which day this week would be best for you?…’ I think the swearing started from there….. 😉

I’ll have it – 96Gb in my number-crunching-Linux-box and it ain’t enough….

Bump for the afternoon crowd….

I’ve done a bit of prior research, and what you suggest is possible, but:

– my 2900 mAh AA’s are going to take a looooonnnnng time to charge from the garden solar light panels (unless I buy loads and then it becomes uneconomic)
– The circuit needs modifying with a diode to stop the batteries discharging as soon as the sun goes down
– Something of comparable cost can be had ready to go http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ECO-FRIENDLY-SOLAR-BATTERY-CHARGER-8-AA-AAA-NIMH-RECHARGEABLE-BATTERIES-/360499230300?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Battery_Chargers&hash=item53ef6db65c

The problem with the above is, by their calcs, my 2900 mAh AA’s are going to take more than 50 hours to charge from that 0.75W panel. I guess I’m therefore looking for something with a 1.5W panel (at least)…. which probably puts me into the the range of a separate panel and charger arrangement, which isn’t as neat as an integrated unit, but I could live with if it was better and (again) didn’t cost the earth.

Charge retention shouldn’t be an issue, though point noted – I primarily want them for some secondary lights over the winter, so it should be a case of: charge overhight > in light till flat (a couple of days) > back to charger > repeat.

Thanks Drac – that’s really good value and a +1 to boot! 😉

OK, Revo/RedEye it is then. Just need to confirm the mouting options with Exposure…..

go on ebay, and spend £30 on something very bright and rechargeable from China.

We’re still taking about lights here, right? 😉

The AA requirement restricts you a bit

Agreed, and also agreed the EL520 is a poor (used to run two, picked them up on sale at a silly price years ago, which was better), but them’s the rules ;-)…..

That Hope is a bit old now and is a bit outclassed by other stuff around

Proabaly true, but what ‘other stuff’ should I be looking at which is betterer?

I’d go for the new B&M IQ2 Luxos

Trying to go away form B+M, only as most of their rear lights are designed around rack mount (which I don’t have/want) – with Exposure I can use the RedEye, or Supernova’s rear light is very compact and post mountable…… but if I got and E3 triple, I fear I’d always be thinking about the Revo while, ahem, using it….

I’ve had the alu version of this for years. The Ti upgrade is very tempting!!!

Likewise…. just had it poweder coated though and the 56 is the ‘pricey’ one….

Must…. not….. check…. this…. out…..