Used them plenty of times. We have a few at work for additional storage about the campus.. mate lived in one for a month (in Iraq) a few years ago..

Not sure I’d want one at home though.. ugly as..

J

Pups are great! Not without challenges (I wasn’t fan of the razor sharp teeth phase) but stick with it.
Then..
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Now..
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After almost breaking me in the first 3 nights, with our pup sleeping in her cage in the bedroom I put her in the kitchen with the cage open and fitted a baby gate (we’re semi open plan) to keep her limited to the lino. Left paper out away from her cage and let her do her business whenever she felt the need and we never looked back.

Pretty much full nights sleep ever since and pup never soiled her crate.

J

I’m surprised you’ve had issues with minions.. They are usually pretty reliable. I managed to rip a high roller off the rim years ago but that was due to running silly low pressures (sub 20) as I was too lazy to put air in. Could be historic damage to the bead?

I find all maxis tyres can be tricky to first seat onto the bead.. but once up they are fine.

I ride a warranty replacement 2010 XL.. and I love it. I wouldn’t touch anything pre 2010 though.
There are cheap 2011 and 2012 frames available direct from the commencal store.. 400 euro for 2011.

Don’t think the frames changed at all from 2010 to 2012.

Jeff

I have a Softie 6 which is super compact but not warm enough for cooler uk conditions unless you’re wearing a few layers below.. Has done me for -5 temps on occasion, but I was freezing my nuts off. Would go for a 9 or 12 if I was buying again now.

Good bags and still work ok once damp. They dry really fast too and survive washing well.

J

My Springer has Beta Puppy.. which she seems to get on well with. As she’s almost 10 months now she has two meals a day and half a can of wet pedigree food in it too for a bit of interest. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert but we’ve had very few issues with upset tummy so I’d recommend it. If you’re feeding dry food (like Beta puppy) it can be worth adding a little hot water to it.. Mine likes a bit of gravy (like her dad!) with meals.
Never managed to get her on to strict meal times.. she’s a social eater and tends to eat when we’re pottering around the kitchen doing stuff rather than when the bowl hits the floor.

Hope this works.. first time trying to add pics!
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Tyne – the pup

Springers are ace!
My pup Tyne is almost 10 months.. She’s my first dog and I wouldn’t be without her.. She’s at home from around 9 until 5, but is out for at least an hour mid day with a dog walker if one of us isn’t home. She’s been absolutely fine with that and just sleeps!

If you get a puppy they will chew things (laptop chargers.. cables.. shoes..) but Tyne grew out of that quickly once her puppy teeth dropped out.

She does have a crate, but other than when she was very small we haven’t used it much unless she’s sleeping away from home (friends / hotels etc)

We made a massive effort to socialise her with people, dogs, kids as soon as she was vaccinated and I think it’s worked well… she’s never shown aggression to anyone – default reaction to other dogs is “come play!”

Jeff

Short answer.. for that budget.. yes..
You can save some hassle by going for a bundle package of components.. Choose one from here[/url] from CCL as a start. Reuse your case.. assuming it’s not some odd small form factor. Budget for a new PSU and 40 quid for a bigger SATA hard disk and you’re sorted.
If you can’t move your existing OS licence to the new machine then this will seriously eat into your budget though (assuming you want a legit install..)

Regards

J

Bimbler.. while it’s tempting to recommend you get yourself a copy of Dreamweaver it sounds like that would be massive overkill.. Many hosting solutions have basic site builder tools that will probably do all you need. Companies like “123 Reg” (who I use for domain registration) will offer all that for next to nowt.

I have a small NAS box with RAID.. then a removable disk to back that up.. which covers me for hardware failure… or accidental deletion.
I’d still be susceptible to fire / theft. I suppose although most important stuff is backed up to dropbox and the like too.

Jeff

The existing “ceiling” timbers is the bottom section of a roof truss.. Please don’t remove it (unless you want the front and rear walls to be pushed out by the roof spreading)

You can work out the size of timber section required from here…

Work out how much your insulation and boarding is going to weigh (in kN) to determine correct section and joist centre for your span – as a guide.. the lowest rating there of .25kN is equivalent to 25kg per m²

Jeff

A pipe cutter of the correct size would make the best cut, but it’s not a difficult job with a half decent hacksaw. I used some masking tape to mark the position and guide the initial cut. Once you get started it’s easy.

Measure twice.. cut once!

Jeff

Just to add (nothing) to this thread, I’ve used UK Bike Store before and they were fine.. I am also (I discovered this after I bought from them) only about 2 miles away from their warehouse. I can confirm that there was a shed load of snow falling on Fri and I’d be very surprised if this didn’t effect the dispatch… We had about 90% of staff miss work that day.

Just bought some RX Tunes from http://www.bike-discount.de/ (RX’s with adjustable lever position and pad position) – Some good bargains on there for Formula stuff..

Have run Oro K18’s for 4 years and loved them.. but the lure of the shiny shiny got to me so they’ll be going on to my spare bike..

Jeff

What gets me is those who take.. and possibly even make phone calls in the bog.. Whist I’ll admit to the odd game of angry birds whilst enthroned, but my phone is always on silent..

Our students (I work at a Uni) however seem to think nothing of taking a waz one handed whilst gassing away with phone in other hand..

Jeff

Selkirk was an excellent event.. A real shame.

Okey.. let’s clarify a few things.

One pipe system – Water flows around each rad in turn before heading back through the boiler for reheating. Therefore rads at the end of the system will be significantly cooler.

Two pipe system. Water enters rad, then flows into second circuit back to boiler – not via other rads. Hot water can therefore get to all rads more evenly.. but system must be balanced to ensure water doesn’t go “path of least resistance” and just go through one.

Rads have a power output- measured in Watts, or BTU’s and the boiler should be capable of powering the total rad wattage if you want to maintain the target radiator temp. If your boiler is underpowered for the size of house, no increase in radiator size will work as you’ll just end up with cooler, but larger rads.

Single / Double / Double plus
This is the number of panels the rad has – double ones are twice (ish) as powerful for a given size, but are of course fatter. The plus bit will be a metal fin system between the panels. Increases output without making them bigger.

If the rads are old and corroded, then measure the distance between the valves and choose something that’s as close as possible as a replacement. You’ll therefore have minimal pipe alterations to do. Replacing valves is recommended too to give better control!

Jeff

mogrim

If you have a combi boiler then after you’ve bled them you may have to recharge / repressure the boiler. This usually isn’t hard and is just a case of opening a valve or two on the boiler for a min and watching the pressure increase on a gauge, however find out how to do this BEFORE you bleed the rads as if it drops down too low the heating won’t kick in.

Jeff

Memory Map? I use it on my iphone and there’s an android version.

OP.. I was in your position 5 years ago.. I met up with a girl at Christmas time who I’d been good friends with for 25 years.. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in Aug and we’re very happy. Being friends is certainly no barrier to love and happiness but you’ll never know unless one of you makes the move.

Jeff

@nealglover
Interesting link that.. There’s actually some good info mixed with outrageous simplification and bs. Quite true though that electrical damp meters don’t actually measure damp. To get an accurate reading I’d be doing a calcium carbine, or “speedy” test.. but as this required removal of plaster and drilling into the brickwork, it’s not a usual test on a potential purchase.

@thebunk
It doesn’t sound right to me.. but without actually looking myself I’d be reluctant to call it. If you really want the property then I’d recommend a qualified surveyor look at it – either as part of a full survey or what I would have called (if I still worked in private practice) a specific defect inspection. I’d be charging you 300 quid plus vat for an inspection and report. If it’s nothing, you’ve wasted 300 quid, if it is then it’s evidence to either beat the vendor with, or walk away.

Regards
Jeff (Not the Jeff from that website!)

Don’t bother with a damp meter. The salts will give a false reading anyway. There’s been some good advice already here. He wall sounds damp and you would need to rectify where this is coming from, is it a solid or cavity wall? Check pointing, blocked gutters spilling onto wall face etc.

Rising damp isn’t a myth, but it is over stated. Damp won’t usually rise more than 1m above ground level, so if it’s damp above this, look elsewhere for explanation.
If he walls are damp, look at the floor too, damp timber floors lead to wet / dry rot conditions, if they are timber and you can’t get to inspect them due to carpets / laminate, have a good bounce on them to see if there’s undue movement.

Jeff (Building Surveyor)

My Formula Oros were perfect for 3 years. Excellent power and modulation. Would buy Formula again without a problem.

I have the 143ps engine in my Seat Exeo (Audi A4 old shape in drag!) and get the same sort of mpg you’re experiencing. Will get 50mpg on a long motorway run if I keep it to 70, but as soon as you start pushing it hard it drops to low 40s. Commuting 13 miles each way a day gives me 38.

Car is a 6 speed manual with 18″ wheels and I think bridgestone non eco tyres.

I assume this is only an issue when you’re running without a bash guard.. I have an e13 bash and the stinger roller just touches, it shouldn’t be able to move in that scenario.

I’m sure she’s sitting on a huge Scrooge McDuck sized pile of money laughing her head off and enjoying life.. I know I would be.

I recently overhauled my K18s with new pistons and seals. They are now fantastic again. Had to drill the old pistons out though as they were well stuck (drilled a small hold in one diagonally the used some small needle nosed pliers to get it out).
Took a couple of attempts to get all the air out afterwards but they are good as new now! Much cheaper than new brakes.

Muke, yes, they run quite a large percentage of military catering facilities. They’re also the caterer here at my work (a University)

The electric shower will be unaffected. This just takes cold water and heats it (incoming water is colder in winter, therefore it can’t heat it as quick to a given temp, so the flow is reduced.

Do you actually have a power shower (ie, gravity fed to a pump) A power shower isn’t really compatible with a combi, but it shouldn’t be needed.. what you need is a standard mixer taking the now high pressure cold and hot feeds. If you’ve got a separate pump on the power shower then it may just need bypassing.. if it’s a one box on the wall job then you will need to replace it.

I’ve just installed a Mira Combiforce mixer shower on our combi and it kicks the arse of the power shower I had in my old place.

Jeff

There is one on CRC that is popular..
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=38267
25 squid, cane creek bearings, funky colours.

winston

I am a surveyor and it’s rare to find a property with a suspended timber floor that does have “adequate ventilation.” He/she as a minimum should have checked the perimeter with an electronic moisture meter and with the vendors permission, peeled back a few corners of carpets to check the boards. I’d also bounce test (jump up and down on!) a few likely corners to check for excessive bounce / deflection which may indicate decay to joist ends.

Of course the surveyor is limited to what they can do.. if it’s wall to wall laminate floor then it’s impossible to check the floor boards.

Personally, if they’ve found no evidence of damp then I wouldn’t worry too much.

Had a 2009 which cracked.. replaced with 2010 which I still ride and love! I’ll echo what others have said, they are fantastic on the downs, and pretty good up hill too. No “bob” problems, never bother with the propedal. Fitted a shorter stem but still run with the stock bars.

I’d have another without hesitation.

J

I’ve been without tubes now for about 18 months, I certainly wouldn’t go back. It’s not without issues though and getting tires to initially seat is the main difficulty.

To answer queries above, yes single ply high rollers work fine, used them both with a joes noflats kit on sun rims and on my flow rims with just the yellow tape. They stay up fine and seal up fast.

I generally use a CO2 inflater with tricky tires to get them initially on the bead. Do all the soapy water stuff as others have mentioned, then squirt the CO2 while pressing down on the tyre (pushing it into the rim).

With the flows you can seat new tyres using a tube, then deflate and remove the tube by removing one bead of the tyre only. Install the valve and you can generally get them up first time with a track pump.

Choice of tyre really does make a difference. Most Maxxis ones are pretty easy to get inflated however for ultimate ease the 2bliss ones from specialized are simples!

ffej