I’ve got slx, xt and xtr and prefer the more expensive ones. I guess you just adapt tho!

I dont know if this is directly related – but got a new bike last month with slx 10 speed shifters and mech and didnt like them at all (felt plasticy / loose for some reason so took all the 10 speed stuff off the back and put the old xtr 9sp shifter / slx mech mish mash back on.

I guess you get used to everything – and whether its better spending extra on a shifter or putting the saving towards a weekend away (or whatever) is up to you!

Done.

Weird. No mention of chainsaws, axes, knives, Audi’s, Thatcher, Lefties….

Pretty unrelated to here overall!

Well done for knowing that it’s potentially serious!

Last year in the snow we had an age to wait for the RAC to turn up and when he did his previous call was a young person who had slid in the snow and whacked a kerb. Shorty afterwards “a light that looked like a gravy boat with some drops at the end came on – I didnt know what it was so I just carried on”. Apparently new engine in a nearly new car time.

Otherwise – for you hopefully nothing. Possibly suspension damage, damaged / dinged alloys. Scraped sills. Steering slightly off kilter.

Hopefully none of the above. Just keep an eye on the oil level!

I’ve only been once. I was terrified in advance! Really it’s well suited to anyone with common sense and the common courtesy to ask at the LBS / rental place.

We stayed in a 2 centre Swiss deal and got the lifts up a few days and did XC type stuff for the downs. Still proper knackered – but getting a lift for 2000m climbs was proper luxury. There were LOTS of XC type routes down (down still invloves lots and lots of pedalling!). And stunning views! What we did always seemed to take a whole day – downhillish.

On other days we mixed it up a lot with walking and picnics (my missus isnt as keen as I on the MTB).

Go for it – it doesnt have to be mental!

Did I mention the views! PS my good lady cant wait to go back!

It’s expensive mind!

parcel2go and interparcel are both fine until the subcontracted company doesnt turn up on the day chosen for collection – then it goes to pot big time.

They cant / wont deal with problems at all (well they do as little as possible to help) and will NEVER refund the cost even if you have to organise a separate courier to get the goods delivered.

I use both for work – 80% of the time its ok, but the 20% of late collections boils my ****.

For a bike – personally – I’d use Paisley or Parcelforce.

Well for running and biking a Forerunner is great. Wear on wrist or quick switch to bar mounted.

I’ve a few Forerunner 305’s. Old tech really – but great at everything apart from navigating. About £100. Newer versions are available.

#Edit – That £100 includes a HRM. Cadence is about £35 extra. Navigation is “breadcrumb trail” stuff – I used it a few times – not ideal but useful for new routes. It’s a big watch for running though.

What do you want it for? Just recording routes/info? Or Navigating? And heart rate / cadence etc?

Jeez – it takes me 53 minutes of general faffing about in the car park, getting past the bike shop, the cafe…

I like the times for Spooky and Berm Baby though – I’m not last at somethings!

No, you do the math!

Once my jaw gets off the floor! I’m proper envious and all – I was just curious about the Brit comparison. I thought it was ironic tbh.

Gotcha. So we’re more frugal than Canadians – go figure!

mrgibbons – sounds like you’re on the ball but I’m just curious – what does

I just live like a Brit

mean to you Canadians?

As said above. You’ve missed the stop on the mech against the stop on the hanger.

As a shortcut you can unscrew the mech 80% then turn the whole mech clockwise by around 90 degrees, then tighten up the bolt 90% and lastly turn the mech back anti clockwise – the two stops will meet each other.

there is some talk of ‘T’ shaped engineers being desirable atm, that is a breadth of knowledge with a depth of specialism. some cultures produce ‘-‘ or dash shaped engineers, broad but no specialism, a third culture produce ‘I’ shaped engineers; specialism without breadth.

this might go some way to explain why you learn lots of stuff that doesn’t seem relevant.

stick it out – I use less and less stuff from my degree every day, however there would be no way i’d be in my job without it.

Never heard it all described that way but it’s not far off the mark!

As Pogo says

As for qualifications, they’re not the be all and end all,

But having changed careers – a half relevant degree just shows prospective employers that you can knuckle down and learn / do some stuff that is outside your comfort zone.

Again – dont quit in year 1!

#Edit – mikewsmith – you posted since I started typing – I agree with all that too!

Paddy – how long is the course? 1 / 2… years?

or someone like me without a numerical sciences background, the engineering modules are overwhelming to say the least.

In year one – go and talk to your favourite tutor – they have seen lots of their mates back in the day go through the same thing.

Oh- Maths are great if you have an interest. Otherwise they can be a PITA.

Paddy – IME you are better getting a degree in something – even if it ends up in a totally / radically different field.

A degree just proves that you can learn new stuff / ideas. That itself opens a world of doors.

If you can think of something else that “will float your boat” then that’s a great idea if you can change. Otherwise stick with it.

BTW – For me after a lot of years post grad in computer science I needed a change. The (now irrelevant) degree paved / eased a lot of paths into other areas.

My 2p worth – dont quit in year 1.

Coca Cola now own “Innocent smoothies”.

Since they sold out they’ve reduced their carton size, and noticably dont nearly fill the smaller cartons. Still taste nice etc – apparently its due to Coke needing a better image for their London 2012 sponsorship or something.

Own brand stuff can be good and bad – a recent Which report did blind tests on own brand stuff and found that the number 1 selling (57 variety one) tomato ketchup was one of the worst rated in the blind test. Some own brands did way better.

Also own brand Lidl washing powders / dishwashing were amonst the best. Big supermarket washing stuff was amongst the worst.

So sometimes you just got to try it yourself and make your own mind up!

Could it be something as obvious as the belt’s slipping? But you should hear that squeal.

Post 41 disappeared again 🙁

Jimmy – I cant believe that.

Are you able to sell them on ebay, write off the loss and not take it personal like?

I’ve had nothing but positive experiences – buying and selling here. But I will be more careful after reading that £10-silence thread.

My gripe is with ebayers who sell obvious tat and when challenged say “Oh I never noticed” or “I bought it a month ago and never used it so didnt know it was fubar” and then refund the money in return for no neg feedback. Tossers!

So with the engine running it’s showing 11.6v (would indicate an alternator problem – should be 13.5 – 15 ish). Is the alternator warning light lit on the dash?

Or is that when the starter is engaged its 11.6v?

Front and back are independent as said. If this has all worked before but suddenly went wrong there are some options. If it gradually deteriorated then some others.

In the middle chainring you should just about be able to get all 9 gears with no rubbing. In the biggest ring you will get rubbing on the biggest sprocket and v.v.

The falling off inside is due to the L screw.

If you’re still stuck then post back.

Glad it helps!

Once the seal head was removed I didnt have to take it apart. It was clear on mine the the o-ring on the other end of the shaft was leaking. It does look like there is a pretty strong spring inside the assembly though!

I forgot to mention you’ll need a long piece of coat hanger or similar to push the assemebly (out of the post through the small hole where the shaft was) once its unscrewed all the way.

As for orings – no problem. My email is in my profile. I cant remember exactly which one I used but I’ll send you a couple of each. The o-ring kit was from LIDL / ALDI (branded powerfix).

how many shaves do you get with each blade?

3 usually for me too. Maybe 4.

The cheapo Boots DE is pretty crap tbf. Its really light weight which means you have to use pressure which is not a good idea.

If you’re on a budget then I guess (but I’ve not done it personally) a good bet would be to buy one of the popular merkur DE razors (with the free sample blades), try it for a week or two and if it’s not for you then sell it on. Ebay prices for nearly new 34c, 38c, progresses / futurs arent far off new prices (in some cases exceed new prices!).

Or another bargain is the Parker 99r from shaving shack; now £15 for a long handled parker clone of the 34c (ie a clone of the 38c).

My only tip – start using them on a weekend – or a day you’re not in a rush. Stick with it for at least a week. At the very least you should learn that a good brush and bowl improves a wet shave 10x the canned stuff. If you end up back on a disposable – the brush and bowl is still a huge improvement.

I’ve shagged worse…

Well that’s made me laugh! Cheers

Wow – lots of responses since my last! Cheers!

I’ve had the mech from new. All for a double and bash (all M660 spec sheet stuff). Then everthing got swapped to the new bike – I’ve never had to touch the mech.

What gets me is how much bloody force it would take to turn that race inside out – and honestly – I never noticed a thing.

Hi Haggis – I ride the same old all the time (I’m lucky!)

Mech was taken off a double and bash bouncy bike that had done a few months of GT / Inners with no issues. I never stripped it. There is now major jouging on the lower jockey wheel.

What gets me is usual stuff- perfect shifting – 30 secs later it’s fubar.

Where is your stop / stopover?

IME the first legs (ex EU) are great for service / entertainment / sockets etc then after you get past Dubai – you get to remember what airlines used to be like. You’ll be knackered by then though.

Not business class for you then?

OK I’ve checked – and yep frame and wheels are “normal QR” – they just fit in to each other and the spec’s agree.

Was the axle too short?

– #Mmmm. New bike was for 135 (god I better double / triple check that) before I fitted my old wheels.

I do have two very large cheques waiting to clear, but that’s something else.

What bank are you with?

Anyway I hope this attempt to enlighten oldgit doesnt infer to the OP that his cash isn’t his, nor safe. This is about something different – why didnt oldgit’s payment go FP?

Broadly – what kind of food – spicy / trad / …. for the adults and the Jnr? There’s a good few options within walking distance of the station.

oldgit – sorry – I missed the really obvious one here: is either account a business account? Or is your (or the recepients personal) account tied / linked to a business account? If so you are probably in a different league – the slow league sadly and the payment goes through traditional channels.

Oldgit – that does sound like an exception. There are probably still some banks / account types that dont support FPS or there could be other reasons about your account (eg you’re waiting for a large cheque to clear) or something the recepient account or their systems, and also general reasons (including limits as Nothwind sugguests).

But just to reiterate for the OP – the acid test as a recepient is – did the money arrive the same day it was sent.

If so then IMO it’s done and dusted – both banks agree with the FPS rules. Safe as.

oldgit – how’d you send it? Cheque, savings stamps, cash? By post?

If the payment was done via “faster payments” (ie the payment arrived same day its sent) it is not reversible unless both parties agree. Bear that in mind if you ever accidentally send money to the wrong account. Otherwise its safer than paypal IMO.

I used to work on the LINK system that supports it. Happy days.

#Edit – details of the banks using it etc are here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faster_Payments_Service

jim – yep its me. My email is in profile.

I’ve owned a few vans over a lot of years, and if paying the bills yourself it’s hard to argue with a transit / it’s derivatives.

Currenty we’ve got a Connect LWB (high roof) which has been the cheapest to own. All sorts of configs for passengers / loads.

A bit noisy tbf. But cheap (easy 45 mpg), reliable- a starter after 95K – £260. I’d reckon 6 bikes in the back easy min.

Why – walk around in the back – slightly hunched (in LWB). Cheap repairs. You could camp in the back if you had to.

Did I mention cheap?

OTOH asking for pics suggests that the poster hasn’t included any… And if they haven’t, yet have the capacity to, then they’re obviously a damn fool.

Dibs is for ****. Selling stuff with no pictures is for idiots.

A perfect match.

If someone says “dibs” to me – that means – pre pubesent idiot. They go to the bottom of any queue I might imagine.

Cheers Leku! Appreciated.

I get the vibe that you REALLY love your new bike!