Not really answering the question, but it may not be the LBS's fault.

I've noticed a lot of suppliers/distributors have a variable pricing system based on the amount you order. i.e. if you are a larger shop/online retailer you get a preferential trade price for buying more.

Add to this suggestions that the larger companies deal in 'grey' imports and sell 'OE' kit and it's a wonder any small LBS stays in business. The fact that the headset is more expensive there may be because it costs them more and they need to charge that price to survive.

I often heard it said that you could become very busy if you sold things at the right price but not actually cover any of your costs (and therefore stay in business very long).

Where the LBS wins is the ability to get something done then and there as said above (although reports are that a shortage of bike mechanics is putting paid to that) and the fact you can ask questions, get advice and physically look at the products.

It wasn't too bad in Leeds this morning, an early start (6:30am) because I wanted to go to the gym and the realisation that I should have pumped my back tyre up halfway there were worse than the cold.

Pair of thinsulate gloves over my cycling gloves and two pairs of socks, plus the buff pulled up over my nose/ears kept me warm. Could feel it was colder than yesterday on my exposed shins though.

Riding an mtb for the second time this year on Sunday…wish me luck! 😉

@mick what's it like to ride?

Based on the companies that have released their 2010 prices lists already they'll go up.

http://www.freshtripe.co.uk/Freshtripe/Pauls%20Bits.html

Only got 1 31.8mm in stock currently.

Potentially unpopular moan about my fellow pedestrians, but….

…I'm crossing the road earlier in a busy shopping area and everyone is crossing at the pedestrian crossing on red becuase there are no cars. A guy comes up the hill pretty fast on his Gary Fisher mountain bike and the pedestrians are paying him no attention. Now being a cyclist, motorist and a pedestrian I safely crossed the road ahead of him, but the crux of it was he had to skid to stop before he ploughed into a group of people behind me who just acted like he didn't exist much to his annoyance. Afterwards I heard some people saying how rude he was…yet they were the ones who stepped out in front of him!

Solarider most people are retards, roll with the punches.
(…and no one is catergorically 'right' in any situation)

I always assumed (correctly from what's been said so far) that they are closer to the sort of GPS you get in a boat than 'Satnav'.

At least you don't have to allow for the tide on a bike 😉

This?

I'm a lot more careful these days…I really wasn't going that fast but it's better to be safe than sorry.

+1 for;

A Buff
and Smart 1/2 Watt light (the rear one).

Decent chain oil?
(I couldn't find a link to the stuff I use but in the summer I was quite impressed when Tom put a bit of this on my chain, was actually really good (on the road mind).

Off topic but I'd like to know how Merlin are selling Deore rear mechs that cheap?!?

RRP is £50 so I reckon the trade price can't be much below £25.

I've never connected with the boot.

One door aged about 15 on a Claud Butler Kylama, the bike was fine not a scratch. The person who's car it was pretty annoyed even though they had pulled out in front of me.

One bonnet, last year on my tricross when someone 'was let out' of a road to turn right across two lanes of traffic. I (coming down the outside) couldn't see him behind the truck letting him out. Ended up sat on his bonnet with a large bruise on my leg from the end of my drop bars and a slightly bent brake lever/shifter. I'd completely knocked his front bumper off though and he was very irate claiming (like the person above) that it was my fault – which I hold my hands up and say it might have been, not sure on legally who was in the right.

I miss my garage at the old flat even though I ended up working on bikes by candlelight at times.

I think I'm going to put shed/garage as a definite requirement for the next house in January pulling my bike out of the basement is a real disincentive to ride it.

I have a Gore Bike Wear jacket but can't for the life of me remember the model name. It's only Windstopper fabric but it'll definitely keep out most rain, except a prolonged downpour. The fit is not uber-road tight but also not really baggy.

The negative points? A year on I don't like how the zips are starting to sound/feel and for some reason there is a strip on the top of the arms which is a different material which isn't as wind/waterproof so you feel slighly colder here and it'll be the first place to get wet in that prolonged downpour.

On the whole though it's a decent peice of kit…sorry I can't remember the model name. 🙁

Yes.

I've found my Lezyne mini-pump unscrews them! 🙁

@cookeaa

Roads most of the time
Cycle lanes occasionally
Pavements very occasionally where there is no other safe way to navigate to the destination.

I never jump red lights, although I must confess to being an 'amber gambler' on occasion which is probably worse.

@bombadillo you do? Awesome maybe we should go for a ride.

Okay exhibit A then, the big roundabout under the A58M with the cycle lane/pavement bit through the centre…if you follow it and cross at the dual crossings, when you get to the Premier Inn/TGI Friday's where the hell are you supposed to go next?!?
(I actually ignore all the cycling facilities on that roundabout anyway because it takes about 3 times as long to get anywhere)

Exhibit B, the cycle path in city square, if you turn on it from the loop road (fun in itself) do you have to stay between the lines, even though the turn is impossible if you doing over 0 mph, which you really don't want to be doing as you've just come off the 3 laned main loop road. So you hit it too fast and stray off line…instant fine?

Bombadilo and Atlaz come to Leeds and lets go for a ride…it's nigh on impossible to work out what pavements you are or aren't allowed to ride on. The council's half arsed attempts at cycling provision are so bad that if you followed the rule that it must be marked as such to be dual use you end up stranded in the middle of the road with nowhere to go.

In theory I would be fined (if caught) every single day even though I ride on the road 98%+ of the time because it just isn't clear where you are allowed to ride. You can't start penalising people if it unclear whether they are actually breaking the law.

What Crash…test…Rider said…the more time you spend on it generally the better the end result.

Having some way to support the bike whilst you do it that enables you to get all the way round the bike is important too.

Spa Cycles don't stock them (only the 26" version) but I reckon they can probably order them for you pretty easily and will most likely sell them to you cheaper than most other mail order places (the 26" are cheaper on their site than elsewhere). Give them a ring and ask if they would order them?

Stick a spare chain in your pack then?

stress/life

On the bike I'm the one totally in control.

SRAM PC48

This is my hack.

umming and ahhing about mudguards/fenders/wheelbrows currently.

When I've destroy those tyres, Schwalbe marathons are definitely on the shopping list.

HG73 is a 9 speed chain and therefore won't work on the 8 speed block.

Actually they're not too bad sweat wise…and you did say winter.

Buff?

I'm an idiot the PE would be the same – d'oh.

I think the 'roadie' rationale is that it's easier to remove weight from the person (i.e. 10 of lbs) than the bike 1 or 2lbs.

In your question/example if you were on a road logically the person on the lighter bike should climb better (same strength and therefore power but less weight to shift up the hill against gravity) and the person on the heavier bike descend faster (same power but more potential energy).

On a loose or rough surface then all sorts of variables come into play surely. Does the heavier person put more weight down onto the back wheel which equals better grip on a loose surface for example?

The 'roadie' view as far as I can see is that if you can maintain the same (or close to the same) power output and lose weight then this will give you a bigger gain than shaving a bit of weight off your bike…and it will probably be cheaper too.

wwaswas you might be right, I may have the 'wrong' canti's.

I'm reliably informed some Tektro CR720's and a Kona style uphanger may give me a better setup.

Glad to hear they've sorted the brakes on the 2010 model though, they're a good frame/bike.

Oh…and whilst I'm here ctznsmith…are you sure you've got dual pivot callipers on your ss commuter? Your description sounds very much like a set of cantilever drakes…

Yes.

Description of canti's was on the Tricross.

wwaswas – what 'year' is your Tricross? e.g. '08 or '09

compared to most road bikes they're ace.

Not really, the dual pivot calipers on my singlespeed commuter build are great…I switched to a set of cantis from the v's and I still can't get them set up to give consistent stopping power without having to pull the lever almost all the way to the bar (which could be me being crap I know). I'm wondering whether to switch back to the v's with a 'travel agent' or get a more adjustable straddle cable (rather than the standard shimano one) in order to increase the mechanical advantage.

I like my Tricross it's a pretty good do anything bike. The brakes are rubbish though…I'm still working on getting a good set up.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-materials.html

"selling cheap but good quality stuff that would either be too old for the big retailers or just a sideline"

A lot of bike shops survive through this, supporting the 'older' models/types of gear/parts that still works fine if you can get replacement bits.

Worth noting the 'Puncture protection' on the twin rails isn't up to much in my experience. (this is from using the 700c x 24 'courier' ones though, which I guess would be a higher PSI than the 26"-ers).

Look good though 😉

Schwalbe Marathon or Marathon Plus?

What do you reckon you should look for in a donor bike to add a free radical to?