I have one of these:

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FSMI5000R/minoura-5000r-alloy-rear-pannier-rack

Think it was even cheaper when I bought it – may have been £6. It’s basic (not in any significant way adjustable) but well made, tough, light and cheap.

I had a pair on my old steel GT and I really liked how they felt and looked. I was put off a bit by the amount they bend when braking and by the odd scare story on other forums, but they didn’t fail in the few months I was using them.

Still not sure whether to use them again, they’re still sitting in the garage doing nowt.

In summary, then, using a 440mm fork probably won’t destroy my bike but might feel… what? A bit weird? But wouldn’t destroy my head tube?

Aye, trailer is definitely what we want and the Winthers seem universally liked. They turn up second hand pretty infrequently so even though it’s expensive I’m inclined to pounce on this one.

they come with levers it says in the description

It doesn’t say they come with levers in the description. It says “To be used in conjunction with Shimano hydraulic brake levers” in the description.

(so thanks for resolving that ambiguity).

I don’t need them so this time I’m going to resist buying them just because they’re cheap.

I was confused by this first time round and still am.

They say:
“To be used in conjunction with Shimano hydraulic brake levers”
but then give the hose lengths and specify left as front.

Do they come with levers or not?

I’d be up for just a front one, as my bike only has disc tabs on the fork, not the frame, but if the levers aren’t turn upside-down-able, they’re probably not much use unless I get both front and rear and swap levers.

Pretty sure that photo has Win Hill in the distance, and is probably taken from somewhere between Derwent and Strines, so in Derbyshire, but only just.

Not that that has anything to do with anything.

I’m sure that I or someone else on here could sort you out with a square taper crank arm. There’s 2 things you should check though – the length, centre to centre of the holes, and the angle of the square hole compared to the arm. Shimano and Suntour are 45 degrees off from each other, like so:

I bet you could buy cheaper than that(or find in a skip) a PC with an XP COA on it.

How about this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Iridium-D400P-Laptop-Hard-Drive-Plastic-Base-Cover-/181018331750?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item2a25888a66

I’m considering something similar at some point – the finish on my Trek 4300 frame would have been pretty unpleasant even if it was intact, which it isn’t, and my old steel GT Tequesta is fine in yellow but a bit tatty, and being steel, it would be sensible to sort it out.

Anybody know anywhere in Sheffield where I could get it done?

Also, getting glasses helped. It’s only when I couldn’t lean forwards to get closer to computer monitors that I realised just how bad my eyesight was. My posture’s loads better now I wear specs 🙂

I agree with Bonesetter about avoiding sofas. I’m pretty sure that posture was what caused my problems more than anything else.

I had a prolapsed disc in my lower back nearly 3 years ago. Woke up one morning and couldn’t get out of bed, across the room, down the stairs – took about half an hour. I got a bit of physio, improved my posture, had a few weeks off work and things got a lot better, to the point where I was camping, walking up mountains and booking train tickets to take my bike to the alps. Then it went really wrong.

I made one bad movement and the disc ruptured. The pain and immobility were far worse than before – basically I had 6 months off life. Couldn’t go to work at all – fortunately I could do a lot of my work from home so spent a lot of time lying on my front propped up with pillows in front of a laptop. I couldn’t do any journeys in cars that were more than a few minutes or anything that wasn’t standing up straight or lying down. Sitting wasn’t an option. My left leg was numb with regular agonising spasms, so I could only walk for a few seconds at a time.

That was 2 years ago. Now, I cycle just as much as I ever did, play badminton, dance, work, swim (do I sound like a tampon advert?), all with no adverse effects. The thing that aggravates it most is slouching in a sofa, but I can get away with the odd hour of it. It got better very slowly and still twinges occasionally but I know what to do about it when it does.

What I did have to do is get a shorter frame – moved from a 19″ rockhopper to an 18.5″ trek and raised my handlebars a lot(I posted a pic of my bike on here once and people were horrified, but that doesn’t take much tbh). But I can cycle for more than 5 hours a day for weeks at a time without any pain.

It’s different for everyone, of course, but don’t write anything off. Look after yourself and there’s a very good chance you’ll be able to do everything (or if not then almost everything) you could before.

Ah, not to worry. J E James do have one, apparently, and my housemate has offered to pick it up for me so it’s all going to be grand.

Ah I see.

Blimey, that’s a huge thread. I can probably get the gist from the first 5 posts (generally the case when a thread goes to 3 pages).

What’s “snobby” got to do with it?

I understand you disagree with the guy, but aren’t wild flowers (what with being wild and all) everybody’s business?

I shall answer my own question, having been all around town today handing out descriptions: they said they’ll call the police and try to keep the bike and the sellers there until they arrive.

Ta, I’ve now asked to join that group. I’ll post it on Sheffield Forum too, but that’s not working at the moment.

If I give Cash Converters the details, will they hold the bike if someone tries to sell them it? Or just turn the seller away?

Aye, I’ll check out all the Cash Converters and suchlike later this week. I’ll google for other forums and post it there. Dunno what the chances are of ever getting it back – slim, I suspect. Bah. Motherflipping bastoids.

This is the only bike forum I’ve ever posted on – I’m wondering whether there’s anywhere else I should post it?

Also, if anyone has any bits that they want to sell me, I guess I’ll be building a replacement, so I’m in the market. The main requirement is for a relatively short frame, as I have back problems that prompted me to get rid of the Rockhopper frame I had before. I’m looking for basically everything, as bog standard as you like. I do about 75% road riding, 25% zooming round the peaks.

I put the forks on this morning. They worked great! Then someone stole my bike this evening.

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This is the bike before I replaced the brake levers, forks, saddle and added the bell.

Aye, I think it makes sense. I couldn’t see how to get to the lower damper seal properly to remove / examine / replace it, but as far as I could see, it looked ok. As in, no obvious splits.

I know what you mean about pulling it straight – it’s inevitably going to go at a bit of an angle when it’s not installed, I suppose. It’s not actually leaking while just standing there, it’s only getting wet when I pull the rod out of the stanchion, so it might be ok.

Thanks for that. Thanks to the whole bloody forum, actually. I doubt I’d have got anywhere near this far without all the advice, and now I understand a lot more about how suspension forks work, what can go wrong with them and how to fix them when it does. Which is a big deal.

If you use disc brakes, don’t let him chop his fingers off in them.

Hope this helps.

I think calling copyright contravention or copying something “theft” is a bit daft. You don’t steal something when you duplicate it. Nor are you “stealing” money from artists by listening to music on YouTube just because you could might have otherwise spent money on it. I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying that calling it theft is over simplistic.

I can’t work out where I stand on it morally, though. I buy CDs and videos second hand, which seems just as immoral as listening to stuff on YouTube, since the artist doesn’t profit from it. I know there’s an argument that buying second hand makes people more likely to buy stuff new because they know they can resell it, but I think that’s nonsense. I’d be no less likely to buy new media if I thought there wasn’t a second hand market for it. But I’ve never heard anyone bollocking charity shops for selling second hand CDs, nor their customers for buying them.

Bump, methinks, then if no-one says otherwise, I’ll finish putting them back together tomorrow and see what happens.

Next question for the experts:

I’ve installed the new damper and poured in 145ml of 5wt oil. If I push the damper up into the stanchion (squelch squelch) then pull it down out of the bottom again, it comes down oily. Is this inevitable (to some degree) or a sign of a bad O-ring in the bottom of the stanchion?

Also, when you turn the key in the bottom of the old one, it just keeps turning. When you turn it in the new one, it’s stiff and after about 180 degrees, it stops turning. The old damper is definitely not right.

It’s starting to make more sense.

Found some posts on another forum: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12634360

And looking at the new (left) vs the old (new) damper, the black plastic bit on the old one has slid down the shaft significantly – it’s almost at the slot:

So looks like the old one was faulty (though I suspect I could have made it behave via some bodge or other).

So, I spoke to Robin on Thursday and he convinced me I needed a new damper thingy. I now have this, and have taken the forks apart.

Here is the old one, which is supposed to be faulty:

Should it be obviously broken? Have I been a fool buying a new one? Or might it be visually fine but actually leaky? If so, I’ll put it back together (with the 5wt oil – I got a litre from a motorbike shop for £9, having established that buying 440ml from a bicycle shop would have cost me twice as much).

All the rubber seals look fine – I understand these are the O-rings, which were the other suspected culprits.

I sold a dead car to a guy in Devon (I live in Sheffield) called Radek. It had been off road for about a year, and was described very thoroughly as well as loads of photos.

After I sold it, I got the message:

ok ok i have several small question :

First one it is the passenger door its not close?
This car don’t have mot and tax?
Where are you live? Send me you poscode and name Town and street.I have day of next Tuesday from me works. Is it ok for you in order to received the car on Tuesday?
I give you 120 pounds car + radio. Are you happy ?I give you a small deposit of 20 pounds lest wait until Tuesday

Of course, I said in the item’s description where it was, that it had no MOT or tax and I posted photos and descriptions of the damage. Oh well.

When I told him my address:

But to resign because it is very far 300mil. It’s not about the money because the price is ok. Only this is a long way

And then finally, after he’s decided he doesn’t want it after all:

I’m sorry but this is very very far. Auto Demand for 130 pounds in total, including those arising comes just 500 pounds. I do not see your address when it tendered because the first email I asked you where you live

Grr.

I didn’t buy them from a shop. I bought them off a bloke.

I’d say blue.

I dunno whether to go with replacing the damper or trying something cheaper first. Is the O-ring the blue bit on the damper?

Also, replacement oil: where’s a good place to get it?

Ah, excellent. We went to the one in Sheffield about a month ago (which was on the radio last week) – it was a proper live show, really good atmosphere, dead informal and participatory and not too much emphasis on making a radio show. Two 50 minute sets that they somehow cut down to under 30 mins in editing. Lots of stuff that was unbroadcastable, too. He’s quite a sweary lovely bloke.

Assuming we’re talking about the same thing, that is.

Unfortunately “be stuck with the Conservatives for ever more” and “get a government that more accurately reflects their voters preference” would seem to be approximately equivalent.

I should know better than to join in a discussion about politics. Asking for trouble, innit…

So I should contact Loco to ask for the part rather than buying any of the kits off their website?

Whichever of you is right, I agree it makes sense to replace the cheap bits first, then the expensive bits if that doesn’t help.

If Scotland gets independence then the English and Welsh will be stuck with the Conservatives for ever more.

I’m happy for Scotland to get independence as long as it’s as part of the People’s Republic of Scotland and South Yorkshire.

So despite the fact that the UK punches a long way above its weight in many ways, people still say “Ah but we used to punch even harder”

I just wish we’d stop punching everyone.

TJ: the oil came from the bottom of the right leg.

Robin: if you’re convinced it’s what I need (and it does sound consistent with my problem), then feel free to (ie: please do) link me to the item(s) I need. You sound like the kind of guy who might be able to do that, Mr Suspension Centre.

Now then.

http://locotuning.co.uk/rockshox-spare-parts.html

Would I be looking at the 2nd one down on that page (item no. 4308.850.000)? Or the top ones from http://www.tftunedshox.com/Catalogue/Shop-RockShox/RockShox/Tora-Parts

Neither of these come with “circlips/crush washers etc” as far I can tell.

I suppose it’s proportionate distances that make the difference. If you’re 10m from the subject and the background is 5m behind them (1.5x the distance to the subject) it’s going to be less out of focus than if the subject it 5m away with the background 5m away (2x the distance of the subject).

Etc.