1st 4 floors down in the basement of my offices.

2nd 3.5 miles away in the basement of my house.

Bike theives…1.2.3…go! 😉

In the office today it's pretty much a ghost town, which is good as I plan to spend some time today tying up loose ends for my imminent house move. 🙂

I'm working from home today…only another hour to go.

It hasn't been without it's trials and hardships. 😉

@PJ266 Maybe it's for insurance purposes?

if i have semi-horizontal drop outs, as is common on really cheap frames (as this is) would this allow enough adjustment to not need a tensioner?

Maybe but it depends how much room you have to play with (up and back I assume). A half-link or a half-link chain might make it more do-able/easier without a tensioner.

In Leeds all the pavements are still frozen whilst most of the main roads are gritted/clear. Therefore if I can make it from my house to a main road without coming off (like I did yesterday morning…I now have a bruised arse) then it's probably safer to ride than walk! 🙂

I was going to say yes, but the real reason I am riding my cheap bike over the 'expensive' one is more location than cost.

The cheap one is easily accesible outside whilst the more expensive one is in the basement with the wheels off which doesn't encourage me to drag it out and ride it.

(Hopefully the new house will change that)

I don't get an xmas bonus, however the missus is getting some 'relocation expenses' in january…chance of her letting me have some for a bike are pretty much zero I would think though. 🙁

What do we need a fridge/freezer, washing machine or hoover for! 😉

http://www.bustedcarbon.com/ is always an interesting read a mixture of random failures vs crash damage (including no carbon wednesdays!).

I'm not pro or anti-carbon. I don't necessarily think it's the 'holy grail' material bike manufacturers seem to promote it as for some applications but when invovled in a crash it will break just the same as alloy/steel/ti etc. depending on the forces involved.

Is it easier/cheaper to repair or replace a steel frame than a carbon one though?

What Njee20 said, I stand corrected, wrong axle length though.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=6861&src=froogle

I think these days the only way you'll find a bottom bracket for cottered pins is if you find one on a bike.

How much is the bike worth? You can get a singlespeed chainset and bottom bracket for under £30.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s109p1695

and

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s110p1933

Halfway to work my back brake decided to stop working which was quite fun at times. Bar the road I live in and the road into the car park at work it's was just a case of avoiding the piles of grey slush and the cars who hadn't cleared their windscreens properly!

Off road?

Yeh

He's not kidding, I've seen the madness with my very eyes. Not far off my bloomin commute gear, that.[/quote]

Bloody hell, my commute gear is 42×17!

42:18 for me

.

Off road?

Who and/or where is your lbs…no point praising them if you're not going to name them! 😉

Buy/build a moutain bike and ride it/improve my skills on one.

RAB – which I'm in two minds about pros: a nice 'easy' supported entry to multiple day distance cycling/touring. cons: expensive and possibly sharing said journey with people I don't get on with.

Maybe a late summer sportive as well.

Got to get the hassle/expense of moving out of the way in the new year first though. 🙁

Would an insulated bottle that keeps cold/cold and warm/warm also keep cold/unfrozen?

Like this. (sorry for the lack of picture on that).

I rode a Charge 8 the other week and found the range of gears pretty good on the Alfine hub. Had no trouble keeping up or outpacing my friend on his Prince Albert on the fire roads.

He left me for dead on the trails though where climbing 'technique' came more into play.

Queintinfarquar how tall are you? I found I was a bit 'hunched up' on the 20" Charge though as I'm 6"4 could have done with a bit more top tube/stem. (beggars can't be choosers though ;))

This morning there was a police car parked in the bike lane. Perfectly legal but damn stupid considering there was a lay-by 20 metres further up the road.

Everyday cars will overtake me more than once only for me to then overtake them when they get stuck in the next batch of traffic.

NiteRider MiNewt USB for the commute.

I am proper jealous of that green pompy. Goes off to stroke baby blue pompy so it doesn't feel left out.

I much prefer the old pompy colour…and yet now when they're horrid brown and green I think about getting one. 🙁

highs.
Getting on a mountain bike after 8years.
Stoke tour ride
Conquering most of the hills i've tried
Marshalling the weekender, good vibe and fun to watch
Working saturdays in a bike shop

Lows.
Dnf at the dragon ride through knee pain
Not conquering langbar
Fear stopping me too much on the two occassions i went on a mtb, must get confidence and balls
The geared bike spending far too much of the last 3 months in the cellar

I just wear the same merino baselayer 5 days a week…works fine for me! 😉

I reckon you can never have too many pairs of shorts, as you never know when they'll rip or wear out.

Fingers crossed just a leisurley spin out on the road from Leeds to the Yorkshire Sculpture park on Sunday.

Rolhoff plus vertical dropout = need tensioner (unless I assume you have an EBB)

http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/speedhub/chain_tensioner/index.html

Mine went down by £300 this year…but then I've only had a car for 3 years.

In response to the OP doesn't your no claims discount cap at 5 years with most insurers so you won't get a better deal for having 6 or more years claim free?

@gusamc – the only problem with C is that if you physically get pulled over by the cops you'll get a pretty hefty fine would you not? (Or the car impounded/crushed as it doesn't belong to you and is un-taxed)

@alpin blimey! …when does a shed stop being a shed and need planning permission/building regs?

I like the way Carradice bags haven't changed in almost 16 years 🙂

I wonder if Machine = electric drill/screwdriver?

I've got a basement again in the new house. 🙁

But it's a better basement with a tiled floor and a radiator (and all the space is mine). Just need to work out if I can fit me on a bike/turbo under the low ceiling!

I long for my own shed/garage.

This thread is making my possible future 25mile each way commute 2/3 times a week seem much more feasible!.

I reckon 1hr20 door to door with bike->train->bike so 1hr40 or 1hr50 just on the bike with no stress of having to cram on a train might be worth it! 🙂

These if you want something cheap.

These if you want 'extra' puncture protection

Not the lightest or fastest tyres but good if you don't want punctures, I think they only go down to 700×25 size wise.

Not helpful and slightly off topic but is there a website that tells you this stuff?

Cable pull, ratio etc.

Not just for Sram stuff but all brands.

@blobonastick/ben thanks! Thats the route i'd be using. i'm not at the uni so need my bike at the other end and then for 'training' rides home 🙂

Rush hour 🙁
(7:17 or 7:51 from Foregate street and 16:55 or 17:25 from Uni of Birmingham I would have thought)

On the plus side probably not everyday.

I believe Gore are one of the few companies that actually owns it's own factories in the far east. I'm very happy with my windstopper. 🙂

Can you send it to me please benny_boy35 at hotmail.com

A London bike shop charging over rrp isn't that much of a suprise as they 'probably' have higher overheads. It is 'recommended' retail price after all.

£20 to fit two tyres does sound a bit like they are taking the piss if it was only £15 to fit a headset!

Spesh long fingered cycling gloves + Peter Storm Thinsulate fleece gloves on top = toasty hands 🙂