@mrmonkfinger
Because we already have more viable options like this jaunty little effort:

Many years ago I took one of those for a trial flight. There was no illusion of safety, like you get in a real small plane with a whole 1mm of solid aluminium between you and disaster. :)

@fasthaggis

Thanks. That’s what I was looking for.

Last time I was at North Berwick they had fat tyre wheelchairs available for use on the beach.
Don’t know who you’d have to contact to access one, but I’m sure Google is your friend to find that out.

The trouble with custom built lugged steel frames is the amount of hand labour that goes into them, so they’re going to be expensive.

And then there’s the simple fact that if you already own a quality lugged steel frame that you may have picked up secondhand for £100, then you’re just a paintjob away from something as good as a brandnew one. And right now the Baby Boomers are dying off, so there’s stashes of lugged frames coming on the market as their ignorant descendants haul them off to the dump, charity shop, or possibly eBay. (That’s the fate I expect for my collection :) )

How about inviting the Romans back?
Their roads seem to have held up well…

Forget all the derailleur nonsense with its consumable parts.

For a commuter all you need is singlespeed or 3 speed Sturmey-Archer hub and you’ll not have to worry about drivetrains for another decade or so.

There’s 100 years or so of evidence that that worked for previous generations. (TIC :) )

When making the environmental comparison between steel and titanium, is the environmental cost of the paint process on the steel bike considered?

Ask for an extra blanket.
Roll it up and fold it to a useful pillow shape. (Can stuff it into 2 Buffs if you want to be fancy)
Job done, no need to cart an otherwise useless accessory around.

Last time (many years ago) I was in a union it was infested with future politicians rather than shop floor types.

Their primary interest was a future in politics rather than benefitting the members. A successful strike, or its opposite, depending on political allegiance could be a major coup.

Not upsetting possible future donors is also important to future politicians.

A cynic might think a union rep with a political science or law degree has higher aims than union delegate.

Follow the money…

SSSS

…The solos entries spaces are still available, even this morning. Normally would sell out in minutes. Theres 113 solos entries at mo.

I think it used to be 50 solo places, so this is an improvement.

Ideally it would be solo only then there wouldn’t be loads of demoralising fresh team riders overtaking us at warp speed at stupid o’clock :)

A good spray with a tin of Mr Sheen is pretty effective and cheap.

BruceWee
…What is it about Humza Yousef that makes you feel the need to question his faith?

I’m not questioning his faith, I’m wondering why his appears to be irrelevant when so much attention is being paid to Kate Forbes’s faith.

It’s a jolly good idea if you accidentally buy a pack of undies one size two small. The resulting shrinkage of your gentleman’s accessories means the undies will now fit.

On the other hand it may be cheaper to buy undies that fit. :)

On yet another hand, if you ride a bike in the Highlands regularly, an ice bath may be seen as a good way to warm up…

Three things;
1. Her decision was made as a child.
2. Allowing a govt to remove nationality is giving them a weapon they’re going to misuse at some point.
3. She was groomed by professional seducers.

Whether she’s a bad one or not is irrelevant.

Humza Yousaf is not being put under the same pressure by the media as Kate Forbes regarding religion. I wonder why?

What the Scottish Asian community thinks of Humza Yousaf:

THE INDIAN COUNCIL OF SCOTLAND.
“The Indian community in Scotland would live in fear if Humza Yousaf becomes First Minister.”
“Neil Lal, Chairman and President of The Indian Council, stated:
“We as a community do not feel safe with Humza Yousaf as the First Minister in Scotland. The Indian community – which is a community of all faiths that includes Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, and Judaism – would not feel safe with Humza Yousaf as First Minister.
Our community is law-abiding, hard-working, and proud of our country. Humza Yousaf attacked a nursery publicly and has now walked away without apology. Surely his integrity must be called into question? He has stoked up racial tensions in the Indian Hindu community, and this is not acceptable.”
The Indian community of all faiths live in fear, dreading Mr Yousaf becoming First Minister. Many of the Indian community are now thinking of moving out of Scotland should it happen.
Humza Yousaf has been incompetent in every role that he served in from Justice to Transport and now Health. If he was the First Minister it would be an economic disaster for Scotland, as he also has been economical with the truth in the past. How can we have such a person as First Minister?”

Then there’s this:

THE MUSLIM COUNCIL OF UK.
If it is good enough for Kate Forbes and Ash Regan, for Ash will be asked when she launches her campaign, then it is certainly right that Mr Yousaf answers the same question.
“Mr Wasif Ahmad, Chairman of The Muslim Council of the UK, stated:
“Humza Yousaf is not the right person for the role. We trust Ash Regan or Kate Forbes as First Minister and urge people to vote for one of them, who would heal the damage and be better for Scotland. Humza Yousaf is not competent. We stand with the Indian community and agree with their concerns.”
We call for Humza Yousaf to be asked the same questions as Kate Forbes:
1. Are trans women women?
2. Are children outside marriage allowed?
3. Is sex before marriage allowed?
Anything less is giving Humza Yousaf more favourable treatment in the SNP leadership contest and treating the women candidates of different beliefs at a disadvantage.”

I notice there’s been quite a lot of emphasis on Kate Forbes’s fundamental Presbyterian religion.

I wonder if the same commentators would care to express the same disquiet about the Muslim religion of the candidate who is also running for the leadership.

Just a thought, and unlikely seeing who has posted the query: have you checked that all the calliper bolts are all tight? Also the QR?

Or check for a shiny patch on the disc rim in case it’s slightly out of concentric. I’ve seen that on some Avid disks. A skinny washer under the calliper bolts to fractionally raise the calliper fixed that.

If you spend a lot of time on your own in difficult to reach places then obey a very simple rule.

Dress for the mountain, not the bike.

I learned an addendum one time when I had an accident after hitting sheet ice hidden under an inch of snow. My body started chilling down right away.

I was dressed lightly to minimise sweating but I was carrying my Buffalo shirt. The trouble was it was a pullover one, and my shoulder was buggered. I couldn’t get it on because of the pain which backs up Pieface’s warning.

The lesson was make sure you can put on your warm gear while somewhat handicapped.

My pal Gemma absolutely smashed the female solo’s with 16 laps, singlespeed too

@swavis Didn’t she win the fastest lap for a female too? Or maybe I misheard. Brilliant effort!

Congrats to your boy.

The wrong bike in the wrong place at the wrong time can be loads more fun.

There is no such thing as too many bikes, just an insufficiency of sheds.

Big mudguards and a decent cycling cape is the road to warmth and dryness in foul weather.

@Epicyclo is the local (as in has ridden home and built a different bike mid race local)

But he hasn’t been on here in months.

Been off the bike suffering from leg problems for most of year, then compounded by injuring the knee in that leg. Found that riding my singlespeed on steep hills exacerbated the problem so reverted to running (a speedy shuffling style).

Found I could run the course twice no problem without stopping and got a wee bit excited that maybe I could manage the ‘Puffer on a bike after all.

Those who know me will be astonished that I made a sensible decision and built up a lovely light titanium bike with gears (Rohloff),

At the last minute I found myself unable to countenance such a descent into degeneracy and decided that I’d prefer to punt around the ‘Puffer on a grossly heavy singlespeed fatbike with drum brakes and excessive mudguards.

The race started well. Grabbed my bike and started running up the hill pushing the bike because it was faster than trying to weave through the throng of spectators. Jumped on after about 200 metres when the mob thinned out. I was feeling very pleased with myself for actually overtaking people on the course and hopeful for a decent result.

All was ok until after the Loch na Crann section when the knee on my knackered leg started to twinge in an eye-watering fashion.

“Pain? I can handle that,” I whimpered quietly to myself. By a stroke of good luck I had a working leg on the other side.

Unfortunately excessive use of that sent my heartrate into overdrive (also might be something to do with my AF) and much of the lap was spent doubled up over the bike gasping.

Fortunately I’m good at multi-tasking and discovered I could walk and gasp at the same time.

The irony was that I was on a deliberately slow lap so I could keep an eye on my young friend, a lad of only 54 who (also on a ss fatbike) had a TIA 2 weeks ago. He ended up keeping an eye on me.

And that was my ‘Puffer. One effing lap, a very embarrassing result, which means that I’ll have to do it again next year to make up for it.

The only consolation? I was 11th in the SS class. We won’t mention there were only 11 riding. :)

Oh, and to heap the embarrassment on I actually got a nice trophy for being oldest rider so I had to climb on to the podium (kind of difficult with a dodgy knee) and be an object of curiousity for the multitude.

Surely a proper Alpha doesn’t give a shit that there’s a category and rides a singlespeed…

@joshvegas
Real men do it in tents.

Real men don’t stop, so they don’t need a tent.

(I take a tent :) )

Is the point of bedding spikes in on the road that it gets them hot and that it may help ‘glue’ them to the tyre? That’s the only reason I can think of doing it if the spikes are already correctly inserted.

There are huge quantities of spikes littering the ‘Puffer course after a race, usually on the rocky downhill bits where a bit of braking is called for, or in the places where the rider has to put in a bit of grunt to get over a tough bit.

@squirrelking – Proper bike, singlespeed :)

Rear hub is a drum brake. I found the chain tends to fling itself off with a coaster because there’s so much flex in the frame. (Rear brake not yet functional – I need to make up an extra long cable)

@ElShamilo – You got it right, it’s a cod piece cunningly disguised as a frame bag but up here we call them sporrans.

@kiwijohn “I’ve raced XC on my Dyno Glide.
It was… interesting.”

That’s the point. Interesting is much more fun than cruising around on a bike that can handle anything you throw it at, isn’t it? :)

@aide It’s two and a bit chains long.

@mattsccm The frame is contemporary with the KH500, and like that, the way to get a long wheelbase bike round corners is to get the weight up front and let the rear slide. So controllable. :)

@dovebiker in a few weeks I’ll post it again after a few more mods and after I’ve taken it around the ‘Puffer track. Note the sophisticated suspension stem -always said I’d get suspension when I get old and frail.

BTW yes, I’ll be doing the ‘Puffer solo again but my advancing decrepitude means I may need to resort to gears this time. Luckily I have a S-A 3 speed hub I can fit. :)

bedmaker
…My theory is that a fair percentage of the ‘drag’ is psychosomatic due to the noise….

I think you’re right, but it still feels like drag.

Trying hard to love mine. I figure now I’m getting old and frail I might need a few gears, but I think I still prefer my 3 speed Sturmey-Archer. Less gears to confuse me (when I remember to change them). :)

Davesport
That would be a Bond Minicar. I knew someone that had one. e-start but also had a kickstart under the bonnet. Chain drive to the front wheel :o) Utterly brilliant !

I had Bond Minicar convertible when I was a teenager. Underpowered with 197cc Villiers, 3 speed. It had a pullstart lever in the cockpit, and a perspex windscreen. The engine turned with the front wheel. There was no front brake, no rear suspension, and no doors. It weighed just over 300lbs.
The clutch plates were warped and it used to burn out frequently so I carried a bag of corks. It was ok one up, but two up needed a push start. I went through a period of selecting girlfriends for their sturdy legs and sprint ability rather than looks or other attributes. Fortunately it also had a hand throttle so we could start it with the throttle locked open (early cruise control?) and leap in.
My party trick was driving along on two wheels which led to its demise. I rolled it with my mate in it, then it caught fire while we were under it. As bulletproof teenagers that seemed hilarious to us.
My mate was so impressed he bought the remains, and he had a heap of fun in it too.

Two unicyclists did the first ‘Puffer 24 hour.

Never saw them at subsequent ones though.

Anywhere between 32/17 to 32/20 will work perfectly fine if you were happy on 32/16 on a 26″ bike.

You rarely have the perfect ratio on a singlespeed anyway.

The important thing is that to remember is you can rarely find another ounce of grunt, but you can usually find a few more rpm when necessary.

It is difficult to compare like with like.

I’ve never seen a 2″ tyre built to the same spec as a 28mm ‘fast’ tyre, there’s far thicker sidewalls, coarser tread etc. I suspect that is where the drag comes from.

AJT
That central derailleur DH is an abortion on wheels.

It’s far more sensible to place it there on an offroad bike than have it dangling in the mud and vulnerable to trail damage.

martin hutch
I’m still cringing about the BBC fronting Dershowitz, sans context, to pour scorn on one of the victims. Did no-one on the useless production team even google him?

Wouldn’t it be interesting if the person on the production team turned out to have had a connection with the BBC’s celebrity paedophiles?

These look very non-hideous…

I ride the ‘Puffer in sandals, SealSkinz and plastic flats. Keeps my feet warmer than boots.
If feet feel cold, walking a few hundred yards helps.

The advice about keeping the rest of your body warm is good.
Also insulation is useless if your body is not producing heat. Eat and hydrate – the latter is more important than most people realise.

cookeaa

Ta Da!*

(* Out of stock/probably not enough range/probably not quite what you had in mind).

That’s what I’m adding to my retro gravel bike to give enough range for an old frail person like myself to ride offroad and Rough Stuff in the Highlands, so surely it’s enough for all the superbly honed hard riding heroes of STW? :).

Cedric is to be congratulated. He looks to have overcome most of the disadvantages of the derailleur while maintaining its main advantage, efficiency compared to other gear systems.

There’s just one more thing needed.

Full enclosure so that the transmission lasts the life of the bike. That requires a quick detach wheel that leaves the freehub and cassette attached to the frame.

Substitute cyclist on a narrow road for that bollard, and there’s no sympathy for those drivers.

Take their licences from them, they’re not fit to drive.

The forum is just about unusable now on my computer. MacOS 10.11.6

I keep getting security warnings, or an outright refusal of my computer to go to the site.

Safari, it’s a no go at all. Nor with vanilla Brave. I’m here with Brave using Tor.

aberdeenlune
Must have been a fair bit of walking doing that route on a single speed…

Mainly the start up Craig Dunain, but I’ve seen plenty people on geared bikes walking that too.

What sticks in my memory more is that there were a couple of slightly sketchy bits with the wee wheels and skinny tyres. Recent rain had made it a bit slidey.