out of interest, was this for aesthetic reasons or do you get less distortion/fishbowl etc from them?

Yeah – one eye needs a more powerful lens, so it’s a combination of aethetics/weight/’because I can’. The thinner you want, the more distortion is introduced at the edges of the compound ultra-thin lenses, so you pay more for thinness and even more to reduce the distortion at the edges. I have the Oakley’s with ‘very-thin-but-moderate-distortion’ for wearing at home with the kids and keep a pair of rimless with ‘very-thin-minimum-distortion’ lenses at work – both came out at about the same please-can-I-have-a-little-sit-down price overall.

VE say they can’t give this out because of liability issues which is probably b*llocks and just a way of making it difficult shopping elsewhere for specs.

That’s bobbins – they’ve always been happy to give me a full prescription summary whenever asked.

Sitting here wearing Oakley Drill Bits from Vision Express. I bought them as a friend recommended the frames as being bombproof, and they have indeed laughed in the face of the ‘…grab daddy’s glasses…’ phase from my daughter. Aftercare from FE has been surprisingly good – beats the local guys I was with hands down. Defo not cheap, esp as I wanted uber-thin lenses (not Oakley, as noted above)….

Perhaps not ‘throwing away’, just swapping out – if you CBA to sharpen it in the middle of a job.

You should be able to do a ‘good enough’ sharpen to carry on on-site in a couple of mins….. or as long as it takes to change the chain. Alternatively get one of those power sharpener things and do it in 30 secs….. or just plan your cutting so all the ground cuts, where the soild/dirt will dull the teeth in seconds, are done last. If your just logging up on a horse the chain should stay sharp for ages and ages.

Also, hand sharpening is a good excuse to check the bar/rest of the saw over at the same time….

re: chains: new ones for my saw are itro £15 if you don’t like resharpening (about every 15hrs of use before it’s noticably blunter) ime.

Are you advocating throwing away a chain everytime its blunt….. rather than investing in a £10 sharpening kit? 😯

Thanks for the replies. I am very concious of the safety factor, steel toed boots are on the list anyway as I need some for other stuff. Looking into occasional use courses in the area.

Taking on board comments I’m thinking I can stick with bow saw for felling, and get a cheapo small one for logging. Electric vs. petrol. Less raw pure in electric I’m guessing. Worth bothering with?

If you think you can get away with just some steel toed boots, please at least talk to someone who knows what they are doing and get them to recommend specific boots/chaps/jacket/gloves/helmet for the power/speed of saw you get. To buy a full set of safety clothing (even if you shop around for deals) is going to cost you more than the even a modest quality saw.

I’ve got an electric Husqvarna 321 just for logging up and not pee’ing off the neighbours too much first thing on a sunday morning and it is a glorious thing to use compared to a petrol one in this environment – light weight, quiet(ish) and enough power for a full 16″ cut.

I tend to aim to arrive two and a half hours before a trans-Atlantic flight, but again, once through security I hit the lounge!

So about 15 mins should do it for us plebs back in cattle-class then… 😉

Off, initialy, to Houston for a day, then up to Ohio for a day, then back to Houston for two more days, then overnight flight back to UK for a meeting Oop Narth next Friday. I have been quietly not looking forward to this for some time…. 😉

I have found travelling to Houston to be a breeze compared to going through NY – likewise the folks up in Ohio are about as helpful as they come.

Yep, will be flying BA – whats security like at T5 at the moment? Want to leave enough time….. but not have to get up at silly-AM.

As is the way of these things…… I’ve just had an automatic email to say we are both approved to travel. Panic over – thanks all.

Bike…. check. Stove…. check. Sledgehammer…. check. All present and correct, nothing to see here, move along.

AWSUMS!!!

1 in 19 years…. but not in this country! 20kph over the limit in a camper van in NZ. Middle of nowhere on the south island, ~5am. Slowing down at the end of a long straight, cop car comes round the corner the other way, banged to rights there and then. No complaints – nicest telling off I’ve ever had, he even recommened a top place to stop of brekky.

Di2 Alfine will be available in 8 and 11 speed but it is not retro fittable on non-electronic hubs.

Balls 🙁 Clearly misread the road.cc article from earlier in the year… When is Di2 ALfine 11 due to land/rough price for hub/shifter/harness/battery?

Lucy Garner just won the Junior Womans RR champs!!

…again!!!

Have children – problem will go away one way or another 😉

Dirty disco looks great

Pretty sure that’s not drilled for guards/rack (…as in, if it was, I would have bought one by now! 😉

Electronic Alfine shifters were announced a few weeks ago by Shimano. Assume both for 8 & 11

Retro-fittable too – can’t wait, my Versa-11’s are feeling a bit tired already…..

That Versa is your lot, unless you want to go for bar end shifters with the correct pull ratio (J-Tek etc).

EDIT: or convert the pull ratio yourself…. 😉

When I looked closer..as you say wires everywhere

Well something has to try and bring the centre of gravity forward of the rear axle!! I count a phone, light(?) and control box (maybe??) on the bars, presumably there for the same reason?

I have a compact, and I don’t like the massive jump between the front rings.

Likewise – I’ve kinda solved that by going compact, but with 50/38 rings and 12/25 cassette. It’s a pretty even spread across the rings/block. No, bottom gear isn’t massively low (could be solved with a 37 or 36 ring) but for me, just bimbling along to work, it was more about smoothing the hills a little more whilst swapping the massive top gears of 53/11 for a more even spread.

Global also have widgets you can buy to ensure the knife is sharpened to the ideal angle, if you are struggling then they could be a big help.

The widget and stone set is pricey but great for taking the skill out of honing a razor sharp edge. We only need to do ours every 18 months or so, hence any ‘technique’ is lost between intervals.

Bristolbiker, that is the other thing, do i really want the job?

Turn it around – do you really want out of your current job? You have an offer in your hands for more money/better conditions (nominally – only you know the details). At the very least you are in a position to call the bluff of your current boss, and if he folds first, move on. Even if you only stay at the new place while you “seriously” search for a job, at least you’ve got something to go to which is ‘better’ than where you are now.

I realise this is an almost unrealistically shiney-and-good scenario in a multitude of possible outcomes for which we don’t have the information to predict, but why not look on the bright side 😉

oh, and one final detail recently been told the house that i rent is being sold, in theory sitting tenants, be nice to put an offer in but new job…..

Is this not another case of a ‘comfort zone’, as mentioned above? Other houses are available, they might even be better 😉 The money, ‘commute’ and new challenge would have nailed it for me. You clearly have what people are looking for if you have a 100% success in the job market from a speculative enquiry!

With solemn regret, and a degree of confusion….

….Binners +1, especially

The most depressing thing about the whole thing is the virtual silence and total impotence from the utterly pathetic Millibean led Labour party. They’re a disgrace, not worthy of the name ‘opposition’

I’ve been using chromplastics for years and they seem fine.

Same here.

16’s Aztec West – if you’re going in there at peak time, give yourself some margin. Plus there are major roadworks all around the Almondsbury interchange, narrow lanes, 50mph average cameras etc. It’s actually not been that bad recently, but sods law and all that 😉

I think the trickle down of Di2 shifting will open things up. It’s a lot easier to make a brake lever with a couple of buttons rather than trying to squeeze in cable shifter and hydraulic brake.

IMO, this is what ‘everyone’ is waiting for – and if a standard arrangement emerges from it aftermarket calipers will follow. Until then BB7/BB7 SL/BB7 Ultimate will eb the defacto cable caliper standard.

Nice one Njee, much appreciated

+1 – Very interesting read….

Made mine out of 2″ box, welded up into three frames. It’s got to fit into a very tight U-shape position, so the two side went in first, then the centre section slide in. Top and shelves from (IIRC) 3/4″ marine ply cut to shape and rests on top (can’t move in any direction because of the walls. When the top looks tired/is covered in paint, oil etc just take it off and buy a new sheet 😉

If it’s 56cm (or maybe a 58, but I would need to check sizing) then we need to talk! 😉

Pics and details to gshort AT eatec DOT co DOT uk. Won’t be logged in again until Monday.

if I were him the worry of the board at merc summarily pulling the plug would be too much.

As I understand it, the Mercedes team is (currently) entirely funded by sponsorship, with Mercedes oversee resourcing relative t othe that funding and underwrite any shortfalls/investing further cash as necessary. How they deal with engines to their customer/sponsored teams I don’t know…. but Mclaren are going to be paying for their engines (customer or enhanced spec?) next year, os that may influence Hamiltons decision to go to the ‘works’ team….

I designed my own diamond truing lathe for electric motors as all the ones I had used had problems.

RC car/plane motors by any chance? 😉

One more bump then that’s it – I promise! 😉

All what they said – also check if you are in a smoke control zone and then start looking for an apprpriate stove.

You do realise the path you are embarking on here….. 😉

Good stuff – thanks

I suspect the real issue will be to get the Gov money spent on other stuff – so long as it is earmarked for BRT schemes, BCC will be desperate to spend it (the jobs! the infrastructure!).

As well intentioned as BCC might be in that respect, ‘…the road to hell is paved with good intentions…’ 😉

The candidates were asked from the floor whether they supported the route, known as BRT2.

Mr Murphy had responded by saying: “Yes, without reservations.”

But afterwards he said that he was against the bendy bus system and therefore should have said “No”.

FFS – never mind what he thinks of BRT2, does he understand the basic concepts of I-ask-you-a-question-and-you-tell-me-the-answer?!?!

@noteeth – who was the BRT2-sceptic then, as in ‘I do not, cannot and will not support this shower of sh!te’? Be good to start marking some cards for voting time 😉

Pretty much addicted to the Yeo Valley Greek-style with Honey….. though I will slum it with the blackcurrent one if needs-must 😉

Well even if it ends up being tucked down a side street there will still be plenty of demand for it

Agreed – to a point. If it’s in a visible location, then there will be more ‘general’ footfall to the cafe from the wider pulic with cash in their pocket (if it was in The Centre, say), which will help subsidise the rest of the work it does and bring in people from outside of the usual pool of people who will know about it. If it’s tucked too far away from the madding crowd, you are relying on it being sought out and used by (predominately) cyclists. This isn’t in itself a bad thing, but is kind of missing a trick for ‘mass communication’/inclusion and (I imagine – just thinking out loud) will make it harder to sustain footfall in the long term.

I know all of the above is obvious stuff, which they are clearly thinking of, and that has to be accomidated within whatever budget can be raised…. and I still think it’s a cracking idea!

What they all said – the SS Great Britain ticket gets you into the adjacent Brunel museum, onto The Matthew and (I think – though I have not tried this) into the Bloodhound SSC display (if that’s you’re thing)

…the more choice they’ll have and the more central and visible it can be

I think this is what I was getting at/the key issue.

Good idea that – any idea where it will be, or is that TBC/subject to funding?

As they’ve said ^^^^ Tarmac and Crud’s if it’s defo going to be a one-bike-all-year-round deal. Be prepared for it not to look shiney and new pretty quickly if you ride it hard/lots during the winter and keep an eye on the drivetrain wear/check the spec of the hub sealing if really are going to do lots of long rides in the rain.