non relevant pic but I was using shimano pedals so in STW/internet rules its a serious bit of evidence

I’d be interested in the next few pics… !

The ability to clip back in after a ‘dab’ is good. I find the M530s are excellent. I suppose practice makes perfect. I fell out of love with Crank Bros pedals after a ruined set of shoes and several lock-ins. The Shimano pedals use the cleat for most of the support, Crank Bros rely on shoe sole contact too mush IMHO.

Shimano M530s. The ‘disposable’ pedal. At £20 a go, you literally can’t go wrong.

My belief in clipless goes like this: If you think you need to clip out for a technical section you WILL most likely fall off. Staying clipped in will give you a better chance of clearing the section. If you do fall, the cleats will release. I have never had a lock-in experience with Shimano. The key to unclipping (voluntarily) is to press down as you twist out. Pulling up as you twist out will make it harder to release. (Many sessions of training girlfriends to use SPDs have resulted in these conclusions!). The only thing a pedal needs apart from the cleat retainer is a small platform to aid flipping the pedal to clip in. Hence the M530 and the other similar XT and XTR versions. Shimano are best at 2 things: making crank arms and clipless pedals.

DPD seem to have it sorted. I was waiting in for a delivery last week as I knew the timeslot. Timeslot came and went but no delivery. An update on the tracking website showed ‘card left’ and a photograph of what door they had posted the card through. It was the wrong door. Turns out it was a relief driver that didn’t know the weird street layout. It’s not the problem, it’s the response when a problem happens.

Parcel force have more than one level of service. The ones that use my email address to update me constantly as to the status of my incoming parcel is the reassuring one. They even say which is the delivering depot.

Use 4 or more of them, maybe make one of those ‘adult’ swings…

How about ghetto rim strips for larger wheel diameters?

Ought to work, the Stans fluid would seal any punctures.

I use this on non-Stans rims, needs 20″ Schwalbe (has threaded metal stem for Schrader) inner tube.

I use mine in the back of my car, loop hitched over the grab handles, one each side. Holds bikes upright in cars that only require front wheel removal to fit in upright (people carriers etc). The other end over the frame and over a pedal etc.

I hit a full sized German Shepherd dog while going at speed on a canal towpath. It was daylight and I wasn’t going to slow down to see if it was going to lick or bite me. I accelerated, hit the dog ‘amidships’ and it bounced off my front tyre into the undergrowth. The owners were nearby. As they were a group of at least 5 ‘Pikeys’ currently burning insulation off a large pile of copper wire at the time, I didn’t stop to see if the dog was ok as I wasn’t currently wearing a stabvest!

Moral: go faster and the dogs will bounce off…
I was on my old 26 inch wheel bike. Now, I have a 29er so I expect even greater protection.

My front tyre was attacked last year by an out of control Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I had made the mistake of slowing down…
I regularly get chased by a loose dog on a local ride. I make a point of staying just out of reach for as long as possible in order to lead it as far from it’s home as I can.
I don’t like dogs. I regard all dogs that come towards me unsolicited as I would a mugger approaching with a drawn knife. In my opinion, effectively, they are armed with similar weapons.
Yes, I have been bitten. I was a meter reader many years ago.

Pedros levers – never snapped one! I still have an original Milk lever in my toolbox as well.

But as just demonstrated, some items of comedy are timeless classics that permeate our society.
(That was a deliberate ‘feed’ btw! I expected that response. But I didn’t expect…)
Someone will post in a mo saying they just didn’t ‘get’ Life of Brian. That’s the way of the world.

It’s pretty obvious that humour is very individual and subjective. Everyone is unique. We’re all individuals!

On R4 6.30 slot: John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme (similar kind of sketch comedy as Mitchell and Webb)

I can hardly wait for the new series of Bluestone 42

What’s the first rule?

Paramo smock, used with Merino zip roll neck long sleeve underneath. Never lets me down. Vents allow heat and moisture to escape. Can be used from under 5 deg C to about 15 deg C. Breathable shells are usually no good for hard exercise, they can’t cope with the sheer volume of moisture.

My mountaineering shell jacket is an old Chiemsee snowboard jacket with insulation layer removed via keyhole surgery. Technical fabric is Entrant Dermizax. I inspected it recently to check for loose taping etc. I was surprised after 14 winters of use as a general coat to find ABSOLUTELY NO DAMAGE! So after this winter it’s off to the repairers to get new zip and professional refurbishment. For reasonably strenuous hill walking etc it is totally breathable.

Us old ####s have to stick together.I remember it taking 3 people to mount a Ground Control S onto an MA40!

I remember having to run about 60 psi in my Ground Control S’s to stop the tyre falling over on the rim and to prevent snakebite punctures as I was paranoid about having to get the tyre off the rim on my own!

My wheels were hand built by Cliff Pratt in Hull. The rims lasted until about 2008 when I tacoed the rear. The MA40s were pretty well unrideable until V brakes appeared. I remember hooking a canti under the rim during the time trial stage of the Boltby Bash. It’s amazing what feats of strength one is capable of when against the clock! I managed to wrench the canti back out and finished the last half mile with the rear brake disconnected.

The frame reminds me of my MK1 Nukeproof Mega…

I shortened the hoses on mine and they bled perfect first time. The brakes feel great. Power and modulation are excellent.

Method is the same as old Juicy. I used my old bleed kit.

I’m none the wiser.

I’ve given up trying to find out if I can attach a HRM to my s4 mini and create Strava compatible GPS/HRM files. I’ll hand the baton to someone else now.

No doubt I’ll get loads of suggestions for what I should buy. I haven’t got £300 to spend on a Garmin whatever but if it’s less than £100 all-in…

I’ll buy anyone’s unwanted size L for £35 shipped…

UPS or try Collectplus deliver to door (Yodel). Yodel is ok if it’s a commercial address and the recipient is going to be in all day.

I’m on the cusp of L/XL at 6’3″ so yes, XL for anyone taller than me with correspondingly chimp-like arms!

Nowhere near you BUT I demoed mine from my local dealer. They can usually get the demo model sent from Silverfish.

I’m 6’3″ and ride a Large with 720mm bars and 65mm stem and a Reverb. 175mm cranks. 150mm Pikes.
I could ride an XL as there is almost the same standover, just longer top tube. If and when I get my next Yeti, it’ll be an XL and I’ll run a 40mm stem.

I was thinking of going carbon but I worry about stone strike etc. My SB95 is looking very scuffed so may just get it resprayed. I have no complaints about it’s ride quality. The bearings have held up perfectly (one main pivot bearing/bushing replacement and 3 sets of the small swingarm bearing from inside the blue switch device). My Strava summary for 2014 was 2000km and 47000 metres of ascent. I got the bike in June 2013 so there’s another summer of riding to add to that. Get 150mm Pikes and choose tyres wisely. Get one!

+1 Willow Koerber (Mrs Rockwell) NSFW!

I got the silver collar. The post seems a bit slow to return, I’m going to check the air pressure when I get home.

My UPS shipment left Glasgow at 6.15 this morning. Day off work tomorrow, the bike’s gonna get a clean before fitting and I may even do a seal and fluid service on the Pikes!

Buy a soldering iron?

it’s the connector mating surfaces, they just stop working. Hope lights are good but not 8x as good.

This looks like a cheap version of a Hope R8 but with XMLs
Singfire light on DX

I decided to try this one. Theoretically it is twice the power of the R8… according to the specs on the Cree website.

While we’re on the subject of lights: Where can I buy new and higher quality electrical connectors for these lighting systems? I have got 3 sets of the Hope R4 ‘homage’ lights sitting at home doing nothing due to the connectors failing.

Got a tracking number! Woooo! Their ordering system is very efficient and informative. I’ve had an email at every stage of processing.

Seat tube is 40cms but top tube looks quite straight with no standover curve. BMC don’t put full measurements on their spec sheet.

I’ve found an XS BMC Fourstroke 29er. Any idea what kind of stand over it has got?

And me! It’s awaiting shipment via UPS.

UPDATE: full payment now taken… rubbing hands with expectation…!

My computer is packed away at the moment, I’m in the middle of a house move!

I’ll try and do a new drawing based on a Ducato. I can take exact measurements from the works van.

Anybody got a shipping email yet? I checked my card and I have a pending payment to Canyon for 9p.

My order confirmation email is stamped at 11:56.

Most folk I know that sleep in the van are freezing!

I will have an Eberspacher 7kw diesel heater running on red diesel. Switchable between the underfloor heating system, hot water tank heating and then connecting to the van engine coolant system for engine pre-heating.
Insulation will be chiller-van spec. Eliminating cold bridges will be the key to warmth and not getting condensation. I have an ingenious plan for the bathroom/shower area to keep moisture locked out of the van ‘living room’.

All I need is detailed measurements of the widest panel van interior. My works van is a recent Ducato LWB high roof so I can work on that.

Have you drawn a plan as I am intrigued?

I have a plan but it’s in Pagemaker so I can’t output easily!

When I get time, I’ll do a proper sketch. The key to the design is a wide interior space with a rear overhang of at least 3 feet (usable interior space).

Cheers Spooky, I’ll have a look around the forum.

I sold my old one for more money and it was a left hander! I too have just received confirmation. Excellent PSA OP! I think we should award PSA of the year to this one…

Ingenuous layout? I’ve done a few and it must be special to get a bed, 4 seats, bike storage and workshop into a 4.5m load space!

I think so! Don’t forget the shower and toilet!

Bed will be lengthways with a narrow gangway allowing access to the bike workshop etc without having to go outside and walk around to the rear doors. I am being rather clever if I say so myself. I’ve seen hundreds of conversions and they all follow the same basic MX van layout. I’ve decided to start from scratch and rethink the whole concept!

It will all fit in the biggest Iveco daily but I was going to try and fit it in a smaller van by having a modular bed/settee unit. Those Ivecos are HUGE! I want the girlfriend to share the driving so a smaller van may be psychologically better…

What fuel consumption for the Ivecos then? And what to look out for mechanically/bodywork on the older ones? Budget may stretch to £4.5k depending on savings to loan ratio!

What about the Boxer/Relay/Ducato family? They seem to be the widest at the top. My design hinges on the large overhang behind the rear wheels to fit the shower though so this family of vans might cause problems.
How bad are the Ivecos to drive? and why?

Check your software version. I just got the upgrade to 4.4.2 this weekend. The s4 mini was a bit late getting it’s upgrade. I’m still stumbling about in the dark so I may have got it wrong about ANT+, hence my questions…

Superstar hubs with Crests at 1600g a pair (build details published on request – sub £300). Specialized Renegade S-Works 1.95s at 500g and £30 each

Norfolk Arms at Ringinglow have a big wood burning stove and a fireplace as well I think.