My gas usage has rocketed since having a Worcester Bosch combi fitted after everyone told me my 20 year old boiler was inefficient. Going to have to contact WB and ask them what is going on especially given that this winter has been much warmer than last.

I don’t have Paypal and have bought lots of stuff with bank transfer but I do check seller history and check comments from previous buyers in those threads.

However, anything over £30 I would prefer to pick up if it’s localish, or not bother.

Saying that, I happily bank transferred a bigger sum to Northwind for some wheels as he has a very good user history, I had already bought a low ticket item from him previously and he knows a few folk I do. No guarantee I know but ‘do your homework’.

I also ride on those very same roads.

And what is your solution?

Have had 2 Banshees and had to return for manufacturing faults.

Would put me off buying Vango again although the design seemed really good.

You do know you’re supposed to give cyclists 3 metres overtaking room don’t you so you would need to move to the other side of the road to overtake

On half the roads I drive on you’d have to move to the other side of the hedges or drive along people’s front gardens.

If you have the gold alloy freehub then a cheap cog will cut into it. Best to get a wide based cog.

Aye. It’s beer I need now more than owt. And my tea. :D

In summary (and ignoring road bikes which do something different again) you can have:

Internal diameter of (I think) 34mm which is for external headsets with 1 and 1/18 steerer forks.

xx44 with 44mm internal diameter top and bottom which will allow 1 and 1/8th steerers fir internal headsets, tapered steerers with upper internal headset and lower external headset or 1.5 inch steerers with upper and lower external headsets.

50mm internal diameter headtubes will allow all 3 steerer types to be used with the appropriate cups.

Then there are 2 types of tapered headset (E2 and Scott/Lappiere) which allow tapered to be used with internal headsets, I and 1/8th steerers with an insert into the bottom cup.

Glad we have a headset standard to make sure it’s not really difficult.

EDIT: In respect of the Piglet I don’t think it will make loads of difference and I am still pondering what to buy. I want it to be as future proof as possible but they will probably change everything again as soon as I buy something.

But you have to use an external cup on xx44 head tubes to fit a tapered fork.

Zero stack cup will only work with 1 and 1/8 steerer’s on xx44.

Frames with a tapered headtube are 50mm internal diameter rather than the 44mm ones on bikes like the Piglet.

I really must spend much more time on here so I can be aware of everything that’s ever been posted.

Use the same technique as on your Marin :D

What baffles me is the lack of compatibility.

Eg Ragley Piglet recommended needs a 120mm fork if using tapered steerer or a 1 and 1/8th fork for 140mm.

Most 120mm forks are lightweight cross country models and decent 1 and 1/1/8 forks are almost non – existent.

vondally – can you drop me an email?

Ta.

Not offended at all. Just a reflection of how much we (as a group of hobbyists) spend on bikes.

I have a wife and 2 teenage lads who ride as well so have a lot of bikes to keep rolling.

When the boys leave I am going to live it up and have a dream bike. :D

I fancy the 456 as I liked the SS geometry but no good for tapered steerer.

Piglet looks tempting for the geometry as well.

Lol at ‘spare parts’ bike. I don’t earn enough for anything else.

:D

Soul’s (and BFe) seem steep though. Last hardtail I had was a Summer Season and I quite liked how slack it was.

Ooops Matt – still not sent that stuff for the kids.

Privee Shan

-in my dreams where I have a lot more money in the bank than I have now.

Not thought of alloy bikes. Used to riding steel hardtails – food for thought.

I am still getting a security warning when logging into STW –

Although this page is encrypted, the information you have entered is to be sent over an unencrypted connection and could easily be read by a third party.

Are you sure you want to continue sending this information?

Never used to get this until the past week or so. Not computer savvy really. Is this related to the current problem or something else?

I would get the 45650b as it has 44mm headtube that means it can take tapered forks for some reason on the EVO 2 Brant kept the old straight steerer size.

Bugger, isn’t it? I have shedloads of 26 inch wheels/tyres/tubes/tubeless kit and quite fancied getting a 456 frame but need a frame that takes tapered.

Toyed with the idea of running 26 inch wheels on a 45650b but thought better of it.

saw a big black guy riding along the river the other week wearing full-on lederhosen complete with ankle socks and frilly shirt. made me smile.

Useless without pics.

Why aren’t the government jumping in with offers of shed loads of tax payers money?

How do they ware safety hats on a building site??

Totters crash turbans, obviously

It’s alright for them, they have soft bones.

If I fall off everything snaps.

You weren’t there, man.

The bearings I can cope with sourcing but the mounting bolts seem Cube specific and you have to buy whole kits to get one little bolt if it breaks.

I have fallen lucky getting one off someone but would have had to buy a whole kit otherwise or settle for a bodge job.

Mind you, I think devash is currently winning.

Rat poison?

Ah.

Is this why I have been getting a security warning popup from Windows when using the STW login and search functions for the past few weeks?

Pace Service Centre at Dalby Forest will take your shock off, stick one of theirs on and then service your shock while you have a blat round the red prior to refitting the original.

Inspired service I reckon.

Will be booking mine in for that in the near future and will report back.

Might I be so bold as to apply my idea of hunting with dogs the people responsible for this?

Now there’s a thought. :D

1. The bike industry changing standards for everything so that I can actually replace a part of my bike without having to replace most of the other bits of it at the same time.

2. ………………………….Nope, that’ll do for now.

TBH Black Jacks are not a high spec tyre with a poor compound so most tyres will be an upgrade.

Something like this will be worlds apart from the Black Sharks: better tread, better sidewalls, better compound but do not have the puncture protection of the Sharks. –

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/TYSCNNFT/schwalbe-nobby-nic-folding-tyre

Not recently but hitchhiked, camped and slept rough around Europe for a few months in my younger days.

Managed France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Italy, Denmark and Belgium.

Very brief stay in the then Yugoslavia as my paperwork was wrong (bloody British Embassy in Paris) so was deported; arrested for (I think – Italian very poor) vagrancy while visiting Pisa but released without charge and got off with a lass in Venice who actually only lived 4 miles from me back home.

Not one night indoors for the whole trip, used to wander out into woods on the outskirts of towns to camp or hide at the back of the massive railway goods yards that seem to exist in many European cities/towns.

Not long after, I got married and had kids, they are getting older now and my wanderlust is returning. This summer we are taking nearly a month off and taking the van, tent and kids around the Alps.

Very nice looking bike and I do fancy one. However, given the economy and my public sector job I cannot see me ever buying a new bike again.

Triggers broom and predominantly second hand for me.

*Sits waiting for the influx of second hand Codeines in 12 months time*

There is always a beard at the root of the worlds problems.

Pah! I’ve sold my soul to Santa.

I stand to be corrected but I don’t think there is a new width 2.5 Minion.

My understanding is that there’s an old width 2.35 which is the smallest, then the new 2.3 which is bigger, then the old 2.5 which is a touch bigger again.

The advantage of the new 2.3 is it’s tubeless ready rather than ghetto.

I have a new 2.3 on a Bontrager tubeless rim that’s gone up and held it’s pressure without sealant for 3 weeks so pretty well constructed.

twitter says the bike was under the front wheels of the lorry.

Cyclist could have been just in front of the truck.

Don’t be silly, it’s already been decided (by some on here) that the cyclist went up the inside of the lorry.

I remember Teetosugars, with 2.5 Minion supertackies, on the last 2 slightly downhill road miles of a ride having to pedal like a loon to keep up with the rest of us freewheeling.

Was a very warm day too so the roads were steaming hot.

It sounded like someone peeling velcro for the whole 2 miles.

The Minion 2.3 tlr exo looks good from nextdaytyres, the 3c is dear but the 60a for the back is relatively cheap. Seems about the same size as the old 2.5, tubeless ready, lighter than a dual ply but seems to be a thicker sidewall than a normal exo.

Given that we don’t know what happened it is off to speculate that this was the cyclist’s fault.

For all we know the cyclist could have arrived at the junction well in advance of the lorry then been hit as a result of the drivers inattention.