I use Paul Lister at Mastertech services in Halifax (booth town)

07809 688742

He’s an ex master technician from vw that went self employed a few years ago and specialises in German cars but far cheaper than vw!

The only problem with him is he’s always busy so you have to book in advance.

AliExpress, Temu, ebay & Amazon sellers are all cutting out the middle man, planet-x, Polaris & im sure many more ‘respectable’ brands have just been rebadging this studf for years. 

Its either buying direct from a catalogue and adding your branding

or

spending money on R&D and quality control, getting a company to make it and then they blatently steel your design and start selling it at half the cost as they have no R&D costs and don’t care about quality control. Sometimes they use cheaper materials. So although they look the same, they aren’t the same. 

Tyres are maybe the only thing I do notice.

Suspension goes up and down and to me it’s all the same but good  tyres makes all the difference. There are some tyres I just don’t get on with.

Good Road tyres I can’t really tell the difference

Have a watch of Trace Velo on Youtube; he’s done lots of videos on the different chinese groupsets

He swopped the calipers out for some “better ones” that were bright green and more powerful.

I think it’s early days, lots of bugs etc. Quality issues. Early adopters are beta testing it.

Trace velos broke and they warrantied it.
If you do go for it, buy mechanical and not electric.

Its the same stuff on ebay. I keep toying with the idea of buying them just for the mounts. If you do buy them let us know what they are like 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335068032451?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kcftgz3_qwo&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=XQz0tf3FQJC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I must be more important than you as my V.I.P code gets me 25% gets off 😉

Im not going to use it. Not sure if it will work for anyone else or if its linked to my account. 

YOUR VIP-CODE: VIP-Y1SCF

I’ve given up using a washing machine for cleaning and re proofing technical jackets. It always seems to destroy the seam sealing.

I now just sponge it down with nikwax cleaner, then sponge it with nikwax proofer a couple of times especially on the shoulders.

I still use a gentle tumble dryer as that seems to make it work better.

I remember onza bar ends being the height of fashion! 

What’s your budget?

Its sometimes cheaper to buy a new Chainset and sell your old one than buy a chainring.

Do you have a link?
How much are they.?
What a2c length do you need?

These will be in a sale sooner or later

Selcof Carbon 27.5+ or 29er Fork

Just rechecked my op – £12+ socks aren’t cheap for day to day wear for me

But if you never have to buy a pair of socks ever again then they are!

I gave up on the on one merino wool socks. I was fed up of them developing holes, thin spots or just ripping when I put them on. Buy cheap, buy twice.

I’m currently wearing some trespass socks I bought in the sale that have been excellent. I like them that much that I stock up everytime they are on offer.

I am however, interested in the darn tough socks linked above. I might add them to my Christmas wish list. Fed up of being bought cheap thin socks with a bike on them. Got loads of them that I’ve never even taken out of the packaging.

I was given a balance bike for my lad. It was cheap and heavy but he wasn’t that interested so we used it.

Went out with a friend and picked up his balance bike. It was so light it made a big difference. I’m sure it was a vitus

It wasn’t this one but it is cheap and would make a good donor.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/vitus-nippy-superlight-balance-bike

The best part of a light bike is when you have to carry it around when they’ve had enough of playing on it.

Good luck.

Ps will the parents understand that you took a perfectly fine bike and made a wooden one yourself?

Produktinformationen VELO BORDNETZ

Been chatting with their support team. This was their reply regarding off road bike packing speeds charging a phone, wahoo efc.

Hi,

I’m worried that you’ll need a lot of energy and riding at a slow speed will not produce much.

Our system need to run at around 20km/h to be able to have on the USB output 0,5A/5V.

I’m sorry but I have to say our system will not suit your requirements.

Regards,

Julien Bazoge

—

VELOGICAL – engineering GmbH

Energy Solutions for Cyclists

Jan-Wellem-Str. 23

D-51065 Köln-Mülheim

Germany

http://www.velogical.eu

team@velogical.eu

M +49 (0)177 78 20 849

Geschäftszeiten / Business hours:

Mo-Fr 10.00 – 18.00 Uhr

Termine nach Absprache / Appointment on request

I have a very bog standard bank account with very little money in it for anything online.

If I need to buy anything I need to put money into it first.
I always think if anyone gets hold of it the worst that can happen is a couple of hundred quid.

My main bank accounts etc never get used online and never get shared.

My mother in law made me laugh when she said she didn’t want to give her bank details out but she was happy to send a cheque. When I pointed out her cheque had all her bank details on she was amazed 🤣

There was once a council that had a bank account for people to pay council tax into. Someone used it to get money out. After that the local authorities all changed to an incoming only a account.

I accept bacs transfers but only after I’ve seen them in person.  They get filmed by my cctv which includes their number plate just in case.

I’ve had a scandal since they were first released. It was meant to be a winter hack but it’s so good that it got upgraded and I use it more than all my other bikes. 

I’ve used it for gravel, mtb, commuting and Bikepacking. It’s carried a lot of weight and done some pretty hard riding.

For the money it’s an absolute bargain. If it had a santa cruz logo on it, you would ad a zero to the price tag. 

If it is to charge your phone so you can use it to take photos then why not buy a compact camera? Battery on that will last weeks

I get the logic here but I would never use it. My photos upload to my Google account.

Tbh, I just like the idea of being self reliant.

It would be cheaper to buy a couple of the carbon fibre batteries linked above but where would the fun be in that. Sometimes it’s nice to experiment and try new things out.

The research, the chatting, the shopping etc. Then the testing and hoping it’s not a complete failure. 🤣

Well, that’s the first time one of my posts has been stealthly edited by the mods.

It wasn’t even controversial, well I didn’t think so.

If you do edit someone’s post, at least have the decency to add a note to say you have done so and send me a message explaining why you’ve done it!

Personally, I like Neil’s input, it’s interesting to read and it’s got this thread firing on all cylinders.

Anyway, back on topic,  On my browser it says this forum is powered by chain reaction 😮

Right, off to read Hannahs article.

They would also be crap offroad if there was any mud.

I guess if your bike packing and not going for koms you navigate around the worst mud pools to a certain degree.

That’s the main problem with dynamos off-road, their output tends to be good at 20kph or more but it depends on the hub. On tricky ground off-road when you need the light output to be high the system can be lacking power unless you use a cache battery in between the dynamo and light, something like a K-Lite system.

I think they do different versions according to the bear Jones review. Red being sport, silver middle and blue for slower speeds.

Thanks @longdog for the link. I can’t seem to find any long term reviews or follow ups to this initial thoughts review.

BearbonesnormNovember 17, 2017 at 11:42 PM
It can Nobby. As you say, it just needs a regulator such as a Sinewave, Cycle2Charge or similar and it’ll supply a 5V DC supply to whatever you like.

Can someone explain to me what full set up you need with one of these if you want to charge for example a 5000 mah cache battery that will then charge a phone and a wahoo.

Links to things I need to buy are appreciated.

I’ve seen the stem, top cap interfaced batteries and outputs which I like but my fork is a trek 1120 carbon fork with aluminium steerer and has a star nut fitted so does that mean I can’t use that set up?

I feel out of my depth and on a steep learning curve!

Thanks

It was this article that got me interested in them.

Rim Dynamos Can Now Generate 70% MORE Power Than Hub Dynamos

Guess it depends on what sort of stuff you buy

My ten pence worth.
I usually know what I want so Ill Google it. Due to cookies etc crc/wiggle usually shows up with a good price so I’ll click it. It’s then either out of stock or it will have two prices. The cheaper price is either for a really bad colour or a silly size. The one I want, if it’s in stock will be more expensive than the competition.

From time to time I’ll see something I want. The other day I was trying to bring the basket up to £100 to use a code but couldn’t find anything else I wanted.

I had a look last night to see if there was anything I wanted. Looked at shorts, they had 111 variations of shorts but again, when I clicked on ones I liked the cheaper price was either bright red or xxxxl. I gave up in the end. Just couldn’t be bothered.

I hope they find some capital or a new buyer and they continue. I wish them well. Like most of us, I’ve used them a lot over the years but less so recently.

If they do go under it will be interesting to see how the market reacts and how it will change everything. I suspect prices will go up if they are not around anymore as the competition fill in the gaps.

Mrdestructo buys bike frame not designed to be ridden hard. It’s not looking good!

I might be a million miles off but my first impression of that after over 25 years working for the government……..

That sounds more like a jegs excercise to me. Job evaluation grading. Making sure you are not acting out of grade.

Back in the mid 2000s there was a landmark case where dinner ladies demonstrated that they were the same grade as refuge collectors who were mainly men. Then there was a further case where retired workers got back pay etc. I think this is the correct link.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-city-council-workers-win-263289

Since then there’s been loads of cases taken out against employers. The mainly female tesco cashiers vs mainly male factory workers.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/07/tesco-equal-pay-claim-could-cost-supermarket-up-to-4bn

Ever since then government departments routinely make sure the grades of staff are correct but as your team is so new they probably don’t have the data so are asking you to provide it.

The good news is it must have been jegged prior to advertising so it probably won’t go down. If it does I think your pay is protected for 3 years.

Chances are the role has developed from what it was first envisaged so with a bit of imagination and over egging the pudding you might get a regrade.

Personally, I’d speak to my local union rep and then speak to a HR representative to clarify the situation before I completed anything. Just to understand the request properly.

If it is a jegs excercise I would be pretty upset with the poor communication from your manager and asking why he isn’t completing it in conjunction with you.

upgrade the fork from the RockShox 35 Gold RL DebonAir 29″ BOOST Fork to the RockShox Pike Select 29″ BOOST Fork – 130mm / 15 x 110mm / Gloss Black & Crown Adjust for an additional £115.

That sounds like an absolute bargain!

Maybe things have improved now, but there were rumblings of some riders using TPU tubes as their emergency spares, only to discover upon getting a puncture, that their spare instantly failed.

You can’t blame the inner tube for user error.
The problem with running tubeless tyres is you pick up loads of thorns, glass etc and it seals.
The you rip the tyre and put a tube in and spend 30 minutes pushing thornes and glass out and pray you haven’t missed any.
If I have to run a tube, usually because it’s on a cheap non tubeless tyre I put sealant in the inner tube. I hate changing inner tubes.

I haven’t compared but I run tubeless to stop punctures and carry a tpu tube as a spare as they’re much lighter and smaller than butyl.

Currently riding tubeless on both mtb and road and always carry a normal spare tube and patches and worms.

When I do longer rides I carry two tubes just in case. Now I carry 1 of each.

Bought some of these as they are a massive weight and space saver. Haven’t needed to use them yet. I still take the normal tube, haven’t got round to removing the zip tie and swopping them. I’m probably a little hesitatant to be honest.

Looking forward to hearing about your real world experiences. Maybe give me the confidence to switch.

What @scotroutes said. I always pay via PayPal. It’s easier, secure and I keep a copy of the transaction and only PayPal know my card details.

I’m devistated because mini D is now too big to ride the mac ride. I’ve had some of the best rides ever with him sat up front.
He’s now on his own bike with a tow rope but he’s not into cycling as much as I’d hoped.
He is into climbing, geocaching and computer games though so can’t complain too much.
Cough, stealth ad for a mac ride, cough, based in West yorks, cough 🙂

It’s lighter than I thought. 

Your current merlin bike must be heavy then 🤣

I really wanted to like the vagabond but it was just heavy and I felt that ruined the ride.  In it’s defence, it was a stick bike with heavy wheels and tyres and inner tubes. 

Looking forward to the pictures and seeing what changes you make to it.

Are you keeping the drop bars? Or converting to something else? 

Copper slip and make sure before you try and remove them that you dig out all the mud so the Allen key can fully engage.

Most times when they round it’s because they didn’t clean it and the Allen key was only half way in.

might be the time for a change to something a bit more refined.

Go test ride the alternatives and then realise you prefer the van and you don’t need to change it. 

Do you have parking sensors / reversing camera installed on the van? Upgraded stereo? 

Just spend a bit if cash on the van and make it more refined

Sorry @matt_outandabout I know amazon are evil but they are cheap, their deliveries are quick and the returns are easy. Saves me having to go shopping where I always spend more money.

Limited-time deal for Prime Members: Flexible Garden Hose Pipe 100FT, 3 Times Expanding Flexible Magic Lightweight Watering Hose Pipe with 8 Function Spray Gun/Solid Brass Fittings/Anti-Leakage Easy to use https://amzn.eu/d/a8gXmYw

Currently  £22 but there’s a £10 off voucher. It’s being delivered tomorrow.

Had one now for about 5 years. I’ve repaired the hose a few times where its snapped but it’s still going strong. This one will take over next time it blows.

I really like them. Packs up small and pushes all the water out so even in the depths of winter I can still use it as it doesn’t freeze solid like my traditional hosepipe.

Small pumps are great until you need to use them.

In my experience if you are running tubeless and need to repair a tyre the you need a more capable pump.

For shorter rides I take a small lightweight pump knowing I can phone a friend to get rescued or get a taxi.

For longer rides the topeak morph guage.

All have been highly problematic: the first two caned the phone battery

If I’m doing a local ride I connect my phone to the wahoo and leave it. It sends out live tracking. I see text messages and calls appear on the screen.

If I’m touring my phone goes in aeroplane mode and I don’t connect it. The wahoo lasts 15 hours or more following a route and recording it.

I think the app is the best thing about the wahoo. The wahoo brings up a code on the screen that you scan in the app and then it does everything for you. You dint need to search for nearby devices.

Setting the screens is done in the app too so if you want to display speed, time, cadence, ft climbed etc, just click on them in the app and they appear.

what’s the main differences between the Roam and Bolt? I’m struggling to understand the main differences and uses between two seemingly similar units

The difference between the bolt v1 and roam v1 is the size of the unit and mapping. The roam can navigate without an app by clicking on the screen and go to. It will also re route automatically while riding and bring up a blue route to get me back on track.

Coming from a Garmin to a bolt I struggled but I love the roam. No idea about v2 units

do you have to buy a map of the area you are riding in ?

No, not on a wahoo but you do have to download it to the unit. You go to settings, select tge region and download.

I can’t remember what maps you got for free on a Garmin

I sold my Garmin and bought a wahoo but still use Garmin connect for planning my rides. I use it on my phone.

Heat maps is an option you need to tick. Sometimes if you zoom out too far it disappears