I spent a fortune trying to avoid a poo brown Scott Foil bike. Ended up buying the premium edition frameset and building it up from parts. Looks as good as an XXL road bike can get.

That being said, why do people think there are so many stories of spokes breaking? Are Pillar spokes weak, are the wheels poorly built, or just too light for the use people are putting them to?

In my case the cause of spoke breakages was due to a sharp angle between the spoke and nipple on the rear non-drive side. The nipples near enough exited the spoke holes at 90°, whereas the spokes come in at much more of an angle. This created stress at the end of the nipple and that’s where all my spokes snapped. The replacement wheel didn’t have this problem, the nipples exit the spoke holes at the same angle as the spokes.

My wheel suffered three spoke breakages, but Hunt refunded the cost to replace them without quibble. After the third spoke went (within a year) it seemed apparent there was something fundamentally wrong, so they sent me a whole new wheel…. to Australia! It arrived in 3 days thanks to DHL.

Maybe they do break a bit more often than other brands, but I am happy to pay the extra few £ over Chinese wheels to get that customer service.

It’s a pretty stern punishment to lose your car for 28 days, but considering your speed I think it’s fair.

I’ve not been in Australia (Perth) long, but generally most people seem to stick roughly to the limits. Doing 125kph would seem fast in a 110kph zone, but in an 80kph zone you’d be a rarity. You could probably have jumped enough cars by nudging up to 90-100kph and got where you want to go.

Hopefully you can de-stress and reflect. There’s not much justification for the amount of speed you were doing.

I reversed into my own garage wall once. I thought it was going to be an expensive fix, so started the claim on the insurance. When the bill came in it was surprisingly low so decided to pay direct. The insurance company still logged it though and the ‘incident’ followed me around for years through various insurers.

Hindsight, I wouldn’t have mentioned it to anyone. Insurance companies don’t deserve our honesty.

Hunt customer services have been amazing. They paid for two spokes to be replaced and when it became clear after the 3rd spoke broke that there wasn’t something quite right they sent me a whole new wheel free of charge – to Australia.

Noisy hubs – if that’s your thing.

Following reading the unanimous recommendations on here I got the De’Longhi Magnifica S. It seems the design hasn’t changed in many years, except for a slight shrinking in size, which tells me they’ve hit on a winning formula. The reports on here suggest it is reliable, even in a office kitchen environment. I’ve only had it 2 months, but am happy so far. I like the coffee compared to the Nespresso we had previously, although the wife preferred the quantity of crema the Nespresso made on Americano sized coffees.

I picked mine up off the De’Longhi refurb store for AUD 479. Currently out of stock though.
https://www.delonghi.com/en-au/factory-seconds/seconds-shop/shop/coffee-makers

This very funny. I had the same experience! All I wanted was a quote to build the wheels to my exact specification. They were intended as lightweight climbing wheels to go with a Cervelo R3 road bike. He spent at least half an hour lecturing me on why I was wrong and should have box section rims with hundreds of (silver) spokes. It was clear he wasn’t going to a) get off the phone, and b) build my wheels for me. Lovely bloke though. I mean a splendid fella to listen to.

I think maybe there’s a balance to be struck somewhere between the two tbh

^ this.

Having worked in Paris for 2 years I can tell you that striking season is not fun if you actually want to get around. Even the Parisians readily admit that the reasons for a strike can be pretty flimsy, so long as it coincides with some nice weather for the people on strike to head for the beach.

On the flip side, their social welfare system is amazing. Nobody seems to worry about unemployment or retirement. It appears to be more funded by corporation tax rather than income tax (compared to UK), so the general public don’t immediately see the cost of all of this.

Report him to the police and ask mods to take this down.

The guy knows where you work (or at least knows where you cycle) so if the police wanted to find you they could. Then a quick google of some relevant words and they have a handy confession nicely typed up.

You may be in the right here, but I’d still be shitting myself if I were you.

Lacquer on raw metal might be a bit fragile. With all the heating and cooling I wonder if it would just flake off over time…..? I bought a brushed steel filing cabinet off etsy that was lacquered and it flaked off immediately – sent it back and they waxed it instead (which would be no good on a towel rail).

Fix your steps and get on friendly terms with your neighbours. Over time you might get to like them and have no objections to their shortcut.

In my house we have a gate in the garden that opens up to a footpath to the primary school. It probably knocks 5 minutes off the walk and avoids crossing any roads. The neighbours’ kids are free to go through if they wish, although the latest set of neighbours don’t. Either way it doesn’t make any impact on my daily life and contributes to the general community feel we have on our cul-de-sac.

Are you at a main dealer or just a garage that sells Fords?

It’s a very small dealer – Ford branded.

you need to push to get the regional technical specialist, my galaxy did this a 2010 model ended up being very expensive 1600 pounds, the service guy said that the tech specialist has access to more kit he sorted it out in half a day after the service team changed the PCM and then continued to change other modules for four weeks and were still scratching their heads. it can be fixed but needs to have all the software wiped and the vehicle rebuilt to factory standard

Stig – can you provide me with more detail please? I have had the regional technical specialist (Scotland) look at it three times now, also with the assistance of a technical specialist in Dublin remote connecting to his laptop. What region are you in? If I can connect the dots within Ford then I may actually get somewhere!

Resurrecting my own post.

So the dealer has had my Ford Galaxy for over 4 months now and it still isn’t fixed. They have to be fair done their best and engaged all the support from Ford customer support, technical specialists, including calling out a field engineer on a few occasions. We’ve tried software updates and two new PCMs but the car just won’t start. This is a mystery to all involved as this isn’t actually the fault it went in for since with the old PCM it just cut out sporadically – failing to now start seems to be an issue with the ‘handshake’ process that a new PCM has to go through to introduce itself to the existing components in the car.

Long story short – what on earth can I do? I’ve got a ~£12,000 car that currently won’t even turn on! Ford haven’t given up just yet, but at some point I will need a functioning family car. The only offer Ford have made is a £2000 goodwill gesture off the price of a new Ford.

To answer my own question, there’s more detail on another website:

An investigation found that while Mr Hall’s rear light, which was operated by a dynamo and did not flash, was compliant with road safety laws, it would have been difficult for the driver to see.

It also found that the continuous light could have been misinterpreted by a driver for the static red reflectors on the road’s guideposts.

The design of the road and its shoulder rendered it unsuitable for cyclists, particularly at night, the investigators said.

The inquest heard that Mr Hall had been wearing dark clothing with reflective panels, although the items were not dealt with in accordance with normal police procedures for retaining evidence so their reflective properties could not be tested.

I’m confused. So the coroner had no evidence of what he was wearing or his equipment? But then proceeded to say:

Dr Boss said the incident should provide a “catalyst” for better safety rules, making six recommendations – including calling for a review of local road intersections.
She also recommended that Australia consider making it mandatory for all cyclists to have flashing rear lights when riding at night.

Thanks for the suggestion Duncan – I’ll see with Ford about a possible PX.

The Ford dealer have been nice enough to me so far. It’s not the same dealer I bought it off. They’ve given me a Focus to drive around in the last 2 months, but it’s not exactly suitable for a family of 5.

What is it the makes her female though? I guess we don’t know her biology as a certainty, but how many of these traits can someone have and still be considered female for sporting purposes?

XY chromosomes
Testes
No ovaries/uterus
Male levels of testosterone

As far as I understand it, what makes DSD people veer away from the above pointers of their sex is high/low levels of hormones. So why do hormones trump the four (more obvious – in my opinion) ways of determining which category they should be competing in sport?

I did it. There was a moulding void in the centre that I had to fill with Araldite, but other than that it was no problem. Just make sure you don a neat job.

When I say Italy, I mean South Tyrol. The German speaking bit. 2.5 hours from Munich. But further from Aberdeen.

An extra 2.5hrs won’t kill us. My wife is googling it right now. Do you have any specific towns to recommend?

Living in Bavaria I personally wouldn’t bother for a holiday.

The riding is good if you know where to go. Road biking is pants. No proper climbs.

However, the weather is not that reliable. Facilities for a family/entertainment are a bit thin on the ground and a villa for a week won’t be cheap.

Lived in Lindau, too. Definitely not a cheap option. Better riding in the other side of the lake.

I would rather drive a few hours further south and over the main chain of the alps into Italy. Better weather, food, coffee and riding.

Hmmm. Thanks for the honest appraisal. Not sure if Italy is a bit too far south though – considering we’re starting off in Aberdeen. How long does it take to get to say Como from the German border?

Update from OP. Ford have offered to pay £1000 of the repair, so I’m chuffed. Hopefully it fixes the issues.

So far everyone has been pleasant to deal with, including me. No money has changed hands yet, so I’ll take the advice to ask nicely to Ford and/or dealer and see where that gets me.

Yes, both garages plugged it into the diagnostic machine. Unfortunately the error code is very vague. To be fair to the Ford dealer, his logic for diagnosing the fuel pump sensor seemed logical to my untrained ears. But I am untrained – if he got it wrong and the Ford expert online chap got it right (yet to be confirmed) then it seems to me that it was a lack of knowledge that has cost me £650.

8 is too young, but not uncommon.

If it’s a iPhone then the new screen time function is good. You can limit how much time they spend on it, plus the parent has to approve every app they download, restricts adult content, etc. All our kids have some sort of Apple device and we find this feature stops them turning into zombies.

Me and my mother sent back tepid soup last month – just needed putting back in the microwave for a bit longer.

Usually I say nothing and just never go back again. Then I tell all my friends the story (not in a mean way – just through general chit chat). Before you know it nobody in the village goes there anymore. It must be a stressful life owning a pub/cafe/restaurant when one false move can ruin your business.

Outlook.com still had my name available when I signed up a few years ago. It’s basically hotmail under a different name. Works fine over the web, iphone, Mac and PC.

First up – I can’t answer your question. I only have Bose (they are great).

I would recommend in-ear ones. If you want to sleep on a plane or anywhere you’ll inevitably lean on your side at some point, which would be impossible with on-ear ones.

The grey hairs on my chest are so wiry that they stick out and make my cycling jersey puff out. I took the clippers to them the other week. Won’t be doing that again. Oh the itching!!!!

Try cleaning off all the soapy solution you were using. I had issues like you and by process of elimination I found that the Fairy liquid was not helping. I think it was two-fold. One: it was unsticking the tape. Two: it was dissolving the sealant in the rain, so fixed punctures started leaking again. I might be wrong, but both tyres now seem to be holding.

I’m with the OP.

I also don’t buy the pricing structure argument (R&D costs etc). All cost for a shock should be spread over the cost off ALL parts equally. In this case it seems they choose to load a large portion of non-manufacturing costs onto three bits of plastic. Imagine the outcry if someone chose to charge that sort of markup on headset spacers.

I needed a smaller one on mine, so took a hacksaw to it.

Ok imagine the valve exiting the rim. Then put the wheel in the bath and the bubbles are coming out between the knurled nut and the rim.

I had that. In the end I figured out it was just bubbles coming out of the rim cavity as it filled with water.

In my segment (subsea pipelines) seeing huge amount of projects in 2019. No more redundancies*, but a frazzled and discontent workforce. Need the operators to stop squeezing the supply chain so that a little bit of profit can be shared.

*that’s not true actually. Hereema will make 350 redundant.

I bought some QC headphones in the USA and they warrantied them in the UK with no questions asked.

I bought a Soundtouch Portable (speaker thingy) and it was a pile of shite. Bose warrantied it half a dozen times. Eventually I gave up sending it back and asked for my money back from John Lewis – who refused – not even a partial refund. So Bose stepped in and sent me a different model instead.

I was thinking the £50 bag from Decathlon packed with bubble wrap and some metal struts for support.

I wouldn’t bother. I tried something similar and it lacked rigidity – a faff to carry. The cardboard box was much better. I now have a really expensive case (thule) and the first time I used it my bike got damaged.

Don’t drink coffee? Are you sure? I find a double shot gives me the kick I need.

I am getting back to putting in the miles. Same routine every spring. Usual 90km Sunday ride and maybe 60km worth of cycle commutes during the week. I’ll get back to mid pack by June. But the inevitable struggle to get there every year is a real chore. I wouldn’t mind if everyone seemed to drop off at the same rate as me, but even my own identical twin brother stopped cycling for 18 months (injury) and is now posting Strava times that make me wince.

I must have a parasite or something.

Sorry for leaving my own thread to die. I posted and then a hectic day at work got in the way.

A few things you have said have rung true. I do eat a bit too much sugar outside of cycling. My sleep is ok, but not brilliant. I know swimming isn’t really a help for cycling. I also agree that it might be physiological to some extent – I’m waiting for the bonk.

And it is usually a bonk. First 40km (road riding) I’m fine. Keep my heart rate to a sensible level (160 bpm for me is ok normally). But then we hit the coffee stop and all power goes. My heart rate seems ok (it might even drop to 140 bpm), but my legs won’t turn. Every ride since Christmas. It’s beyond a joke!

For what it’s worth, I know for sure the guys I cycle with have done nothing for 3 months. They got fat. I on the other hand get skinny when I don’t exercise. I think that’s a factor also. I loose muscle so quickly.

Thanks for the input so far. So the 158cm rule scuppers my idea of bringing a bike. And having flown with United on dozens of occasions I fully agree with the those above that I’m in for some poor service and lack of comfort. But…. it was cheap ;-)

I’m going to look into what everyone has said above and see if it ties in with the current plan Mrs fanatic278 has devised. So far it’s looking like 3 days in Palm Springs, 3 days in Yosemite, 3 days in San Fran, 3 days in LA (all very roughly).

158cm total dimensions!? That must be a mistake surely?

The rent-a-Santacruz idea sounds perfect. Then I could have the road bike available for morning rides. The itinerary isn’t set yet, but I’ve got an image in my mind of heading inland from a beach, or cruising around wine country.

I got the Thule one. Used it a fair bit. The first time the bike came loose from the internal metal frame and damaged a wheel. Possibly user error.

Prior or to this I had used a cardboard box without any issues.