3 bikes, a 26″ hardtail, a road/CX type thing and a BMX.

4 guitars, a cheap left handed classical guitar, a left handed Yamaha Pacifica, a left handed Rally Les Paul copy and a right handed Yamaha RGX A2 which my dad gave me.

I’m terrible at all of them, but they do keep me out of trouble. I’m considering selling the hardtail, the classical guitar and maybe either the Rally or the Pacifica. However they’re not really worth much so I’m not fully decided.

I’ve had a look on the Toyota Owners Club forum about this (here for anyone interested[/url]), it covers 15% off most things, but 10% off bikes. It also mentions that it can be used with most promotions, but not those which explicitly state that no other discounts can be used. I’m not sure if BC would fall under the same category, but I expect it would.

It’s not bad for £12 though, I am tempted to join as I recently bought a Celica, but the forum seems a little slow.

Ah OK, I may leave them as is and see how they hold up. I can live with how it looks as long as the tyre is seated correctly.

Yeah, I got the measurement right for the internal rim width. The EN321 is 21mm internal and 28mm external apparently. As was mentioned above the kit can be used on 26, 27.5 and 29″ rims, where the strip becomes narrower as you stretch it over a bigger rim. The packaging mentions this but the CRC listing didn’t.

Thanks all. My main concern was burping all the air out of the tyre mid corner and requiring a trip to the dentist. I will trim them down and use them.

I bought one of the 661 Evo AM helmets last week from the CRC sale to replace my 7 year old Giro helmet. I have been considering replacing it for a while, so when I saw the 661 with good reviews at a good price I decided to go for it. If not I probably would have replaced it early next year.

I am not certain it needed replacing, but some manufacturers recommend you do and while I suspect some of this is market driven I didn’t fancy risking it.

My Mazda wouldn’t start with a jump start from a mates Frontera diesel, but did with a jump start from a recovery truck! I think it was due to my jump leads not being the best (although they’ve worked on numerous other cars). Diesels draw loads of power on start up. Is there any chance you could put a known good battery in your car?

I’ve seen this before on Vauxhalls when the battery starts dying, do the speedo and rev counter needles jump around too?

My old Mazda 6 diesel did this too. Now that the temperature is dropping batteries that are past their best are starting to struggle. The glow plugs on diesels draw loads of current, so there may not be enough power in the battery to heat the glow plugs and turn the starter. Can you try and get a jump start or charge the battery?

Bronze does NOT include the insurance.

Thanks, that’s what I was looking for.

I’ll check CTC and the wording of my home insurance cover too. The discount at Halfords was another reason I considered joining, but I don’t really shop that much with them, and some people have been saying that the discount was not being honored on non cycling items so it depends on the store and staff member.

Sorry to hijack, I’ve also been considering joining for insurance reasons. I know that the Ride option has insurance, but does the Race Bronze? Race Silver and Gold explicitly state that they do, bronze does not, yet claims to have all the benefits of Ride.

I am not sure if it is just badly worded and Silver and Gold contain insurance for racing too or whether Bronze does not cover insuring you to the same level that Ride does.

Can any existing members/those that know clarify?

The Bizango is currently £480, so I would take a look at that. If money did not come in to it I would take the Orange, but £480 is very cheap for what it is. It’s less with British Cycling discount too.

I really enjoyed last night, Ned came across as a really nice guy. Thanks to the STW staff too, especially for the pork pie and a pint!

Cheers babble, some of those look pretty nice.

I’m not sure I would suit 29+ as I am a short arse at 5’5″, and have never ridden a 29er MTB. I’ve only ridden BMX, 26ers and road/gravel/hybrid bikes which granted are the same wheel size, but with much smaller tyres.

I’ll give it some thought though.

Well you can fit 27.5+ or 29+ wheels on the dune if you so desired. Enough said. Buy one.

That’s true. I am giving it some serious consideration.

Firestarter, which plus bike did you get? And can you summarise the trade offs between fat and plus?

Similar to mm93 I have been considering the Dune, but am not sure if full or semi fat suits my needs best.

I currently have a 26″ 100mm xc hardtail, that I am considering replacing. The Dune and Charge Cooker midi 1 are on my list. Both are rigid ALU frames and forks and tapered steerer.

Dune has full fat with less than ideal brakes and gears but more modern geometry and wider hub spacing.

Cooker has 2.8 plus tyres with standard hub spacing but better gears and brakes.

I know that the weaknesses on the Dune can be upgraded, whereas the Cooker is better specced but the hub width can’t be changed. I am not sure which would be the best all rounder, if any?

Those that have experience with either or both, which would you go for, and why?

Cheers OP, that was worth a watch I reckon.

Sorry to hear about your lab Simmy, we had to put our collie to sleep two years ago and we still miss him.

I can recommend Maddy’s Pet Portraits[/url]

Disclaimer* Maddy is my sister in law, but she is really talented and I’d recommend her work regardless. We have bought her work before as a gift to one of our friends. She does have a waiting list at the moment though.

I’m 5’5″ on a small (16″) Charge Duster. It has a very short top tube so might be ok for someone who is 5’2″. It also has a fairly steep head angle though, especially compared to modern frame geometry. There have been a few listed on here and ebay over the last 6 months or so.

It was a cassette on mine, but mine was size 54cm so had 700c wheels. I think that they’re the same on the 650c ones. It’s worth greasing and adjusting the hubs when new as they’re a known weak point. Decathlon will sort out any problems though.

The most recent reviews for that Neet device are not very favorable.

I guess it depends on what you want to do with it. The Chromecast is more limited in its functionality, but it is currently a bit cheaper, has a power supply included and allows multi room support if you bought more than one. The biggest downside for me is that music has to me streamed, so I have had to install Plex so that I can stream my local music rather than just playing it directly. It’s a compromise I am happy to make though.

Speaker cable? That seems like everything to me.

I’ve just taken delivery of an SMSL SA-36A amp today. I also got a 2 phono to 3.5mm cable and some speaker cable to link up to an existing pair of speakers and a Chromecast Audio for the kitchen. It’s replacing a cheap wired active speaker that I was using, and sounds OK for the money.

I take it you have seen the Chromecast Audio PSA thread. If I didn’t already have 2 I would have picked up another. I opted for it over a bluetooth receiver, and it works well with the small amp footprint.

EDIT Too slow ^^

Here’s a link to wiggle which contains the geometry for each size.

I can’t help with size recommendations as my Plug 3 is a size small, which fits me fine at 5’5″. Perhaps you can cross reference the size of the Kaffenback for comparison?

I’m off the chart ^^ at 89kg + bike (100kg? for very round figures) I’ve run 28mm at 80F and 90R for years

The chart shows wheel load, so you need to take your weight + bike weight and divide it over the two wheels. It gives an example of 100kg bike and rider weight as 55% rear and 45% front, which for a 28c tyre would be about 72F and 90R. It’s only intended as a guide, but you are not far off their recommendations.

My Seiko 5 lasts about 1.5 to 2 days. No other experience with automatic watches.

I had a run out model 1998 Mk3 Golf GTI 8 valve a couple of years back and that had a cable operated clutch so I would expect this one to be cable too.

I never had a problem with mine, but I know the gear selector bushes can be problematic on these. The parts are cheap but a bit fiddly ti fit I am told. I am not sure if that’s the problem you have though. As mentioned I would change the gear box oil and go from there.

Have a good look around the sills, rear arches and the floor to make sure it’s as solid as you think it is. I’ve seen many mk3 golfs that look good at first glance but when you get underneath they are rotting away. Mine had three patches in the floor before I got it, and needed a sill after I got rid of it. I think it is still on the road now.

I’ve used Car Parts 4 Less, Euro and GSF without too much trouble. Euro and GSF are best when they have a sale on, which as has been said is most weekends at GSF and always for Euro. I believe Euro now price match too.

However I have just serviced my car with some items I bought from Trade Parts Specialists (TPS). They are part of the VAG group, and only sell genuine VAG items. They’re supposed to be trade but were willing to sell to me, and I got some discount, although not full on trade prices.

5 litres of Quantum Platinum oil 5W40 (VWs own brand fully synthetic oil made by Castrol) was about £25. I also got a pollen filter, air filter, oil filter, sump plug washer and a set of plugs for just over £36 in VAT. Comparable to Euro and GSF prices so worth considering for VAG group cars.

When I got my ’14 plug 3 it was end of season so discounted by around £300 and there were a few retailers trying to shift them.

Everyone I know that rides one comments on how nice they ride, but people get hung up on weight and the components bolted to the frames. For what the steel bikes were retailing for people could buy lighter bikes with nicer group sets, and I suspect many did, hence the change.

That said although my plug is a little hefty I knew what I was buying and chose it for the steel frame and forks with discs. I am not planning to change any time soon.

As said, Schnauzers, Poodles etc don’t shed but they do need regular grooming. Crosses you can’t guarantee what you will end up with coat wise, and many Labradoodle and Cockerpoo breeders are mixing more poodle in to the mix as they are marketed as low/non shedding dogs but many shed a lot. We have a miniature poodle who doesn’t shed, but gets clipped every three weeks (the wife does it), and bathed once a week as she absorbs smells.

Previously we had a short haired border collie, who shed like you wouldn’t believe all year round. His hair would get everywhere, but mud just fell off of him and he rarely got bathed. He was pretty much self cleaning. With the poodle everything sticks in her coat, and twigs get tangled in the coat. She needs brushing daily, and the coat mats if it isn’t brushed, the coats can tangle if left to air dry too.

I am not sure if other non shedding dogs require as much work, but it’s worth looking into to make sure you are aware of how much work is involved, and how much grooming can cost before agreeing to get a dog.

I asked about this last year, I was torn between Barro mountain or Saguaro. There were a lot of recommendations for Saguaros, but the consensus was that they are no good in mud.

I opted for Barro mountain as the tread was deeper, and I like them. I might get a Saguaro for the rear soon. Also on a 26″ 100mm hardtail.

Drewd – I’ve got one of the older Tange Infinity frames too, i think Charge made the Filter from Prestige at first but then swapped to save on costs – remember seeing a quote from them saying the weight penalty wasn’t much but can’t remember what it was exactly…

I’ve mine built up with Sram Apex, Thomson stem & post and wheels I built up on novatec hubs and Halo Aerotrack rims and mine is 25lbs, could probably knock a fair amount bit off with a lighter groupset / carbon fork etc but it rides really nicely so don’t notice the beef too much!

Thanks mcj78. I weighed mine when I got it and it was 11.7kg, which is about 25.7 lbs so fairly similar. I feel the same about the weight of mine, although the reviews mentioned the stock wheels were heavy. I’ve not weighed them though.

If you can find a good Puma they are worth considering. I was looking at getting one last year, but pretty much every one I found had rusty rear arches and/or needed the timing belt changing.

Ford used a carpet type arch liner, which soaks up the road spray and rots out the arches. Check behind the lining to see if they are rotten. You need special tools to change the timing belts apparently, and the pulleys are not keyed so can fit on in any position. I tend to do my own car servicing to keep costs down so I gave up looking and decided to keep my existing car for a bit longer.

£4 postage for that adapter

Just checked my Plug 3 and it also uses that adapter. Is there anything else you need for the build from On One/PX to justify the postage cost?

If not I’ve read that some Ultegra front mechs are top pull. Something like this might work, depending on your chain ring sizes. I’ve no first hand experience of it though, I am still using the Sora kit that came on mine.

Has anyone that has built these up weighed them? I am curious to see how much heavier mine is.

One thing you need is a front mech bottom pull converter because the front mech cable routing is from the top. That is unless you manage to find a top pull road mech or run a mtb front mech or 1x

The Plug 3 used the current Sora, and the Plug 4 the 10 speed 105 groupsets, so a front mech from either might be worth checking out.

The Plug 5 used Sram I believe, as well as having Tange Prestige tubes rather than the Tange Infinity on the 3 and 4 frames, but I expect the cable routing would be similar.

I bought one a few weeks back too. Oh well, it’s a good enough reason to try multi room audio.

I’ve used a hacksaw or a dremel. If you do use bolt croppers or similar you may want to wear some eye protection. Probably grip it with molgrips too as mentioned above.

I run 28c Kenda Kwick Tendrils on my Charge Plug 3, and use it for road and gravel type riding, but I am very light. I am considering changing them to Duranos, as I think they would cope with it, but accept that they might not be as good as a tyre with more tread on off road surfaces. Most of my mileage is on road though.

I imagine they would hold up to occasional towpath riding, but I guess it depends on how much of it you intend to do, and your weight. Marathons are recommended quite a lot for tow paths I believe. I suspect that the 28c size will be more of a limitation than the tread pattern though.

EDIT Just re read the OP. At 15 stone perhaps 32C would be a better choice for off road too? Otherwise you may need to run quite a high pressure to avoid pinch flats, which may be somewhat uncomfortable on the towpath and other off road surfaces.

I remember the guy in my LBS (a Ridgeback only stockist) trying to convince me to buy one of these about 8 years ago. They’re good commuters from what I am told.

As for tyres, if you are wanting 28c, what about Schwalbe Duranos? If you will be more on road than off i would consider them as they have some puncture proofing, good grip but roll well too.

I’ve got some Park ones as the reviews are good, but I’ve never had to use them. I’ve also tried the Bell ones from Asda, and they were terrible. They didn’t even stick to the tube, let alone hold air. Sellotape would have been more effective.

The link in my post above has the geometry information in the sizing tab. It doesn’t mention reach but does have the ETT and headtube length for each size.

Our dog is currently asleep on my lap on a chair. The wife is on the sofa. We let our dog on the furniture, and upstairs but not on the bed. She sleeps in our bedroom in her crate at night, we also have a stair gate so she only goes upstairs with us.

We’ve agreed on the rules so we both enforce them, and the dog seems happy enough too.

Don’t forget to account for the headset as well.

Good point. Just had a quick look on mine, although I didn’t disassemble it, I roughly measured from the top of the fork crown/ bottom of headset to the top of the stem. Mine is about 195 – 200mm, with 3 spacers which I think are 5mm each.

I’ve just double checked the geometry for the 2014 version which here[/url] I think this frame is. The head tube on the medium is listed at 140mm, and the small is my small is 125mm. The forks might fit, but it will be quite a close call, and the stem will probably be slammed.