Handsomedog.. it’s the companies bike, they can do with it what they like! You are only hiring it remember…

Also, as they have transfered ownership to CycleScheme, why can’t you do the pay £70 and extend the hire period thing as is suggested in geoffj’s email? Unless you had planned on selling the bike of course…

Nothing.. it’s a land vehicle.

I was kinda sceptical of the claims initially, but am coming round to thinking that it probably does work, although I am still waiting to hear a satisfactory explanation of why it works…

What I have gleaned so far is this:-

The wheels drive the prop, there is a ratchet mechanism that stops the prop driving the wheels.

This is not some kind of free energy machine, and it won’t move when there is no wind.

Apparently this effect has been known about since the ’60s.

At standstill, the wind pushes against the whole car, prop included, and this is enough to get the car moving slowly, at this point the prop is turning very slowly, and not really acting as a prop at all. The wind still keeps the same pressue on the car though, so it continues to accelerate slowly.

As the speed of the car increases, the prop will turn faster and faster, until at some point the prop will start to provide forward ‘lift’… at this point the car should start accelerating faster. I’d guess the limiting factor in how fast it can accelerate here would be the losses due to machanical friction in the drive train and aero drag, both by the buggy and the prop.

Now, the problem I have is working out how it still takes energy from the wind while travelling faster than the wind… I can’t quite see the mechanism for how this happens… and it’s bugging me!

Yes, you can get a cable… do a search for 4 pin ATX to 8 pin PCIE.

Just bare in mind that it will take two of the standard 4 pin ATX power connectors to be able to supply the new card.

Also, it will be worth checking to make sure that your PSU is actually man enough for the job. If the PSU can’t supply enough power then you could end up with random crashes, freezes or general weirdness…

bristolbiker… the only extra wiring that I can think might be there would be the electronic ignition.

It’s quite surprising what you can fit under the bonnet of a Mini… the 2 litre Vauxhall Eco-tec was always popular, as was one of the Honda v-tec engines as well, the 1600 I think. And then there was the guy I knew who stuck a v8 Landrover block in a Clubman… that was interesting! And I just thought, he used to be invovled with the bike racing in Kent… is it PORC? Someone on here must know Spag…

But, I haven’t heard of the Daihatsu conversion… there was talk about using the Suzuki Swift 4×4 setup though…

Well.. that depends on what you think a lot of ups and downs means… :o)

Most of the routes, even the shorter ones require a few hundred metres of climbing to get in a reasonably fun loop. However, have a look at V-Graphics Cycling in the Peak District book, it’s got some good shorter routes in, although they, for the most part, aren’t very technical.

bristolbiker… that’ll be because Metro turbos used the same engine… and it’s what was installed into the ERA mini’s. I always found the turbo’s a little disconcerting as you could change lanes on the motorway without having to steer… just put your foot down and use the torque-steer!!

nosemineb… as has been said above, you definitely need to be happy getting your hands dirty with a Mini, as they do need a reasonable amount of love and attention to keep in good nick, as is evidenced by mine which has been neglected for far too long, and is sat rusting on the drive!

But, I keep it as it was just the best car to drive… and it will one day live again…

Headset… about £60 for a Hope?
Seatpost and stem about £100 for the pair..
Bars.. can’t find a price but I’d guess about £100
Tyres.. maybe £100 if they are fancy-pants tyres or £60 for the tyres that are on there..

Pedals will be cheapie flats I would imagine, if it has any at all…

Bottom bracket comes with the chainset as it’s HTII

So, that’s £140 for grips and saddle then… oh, and some cables…

That’s all assuming that you can’t get the fork for cheaper than £1k as well… a quick google suggests it’s available for about £700.. so that’s another £300 to spend…

I’m having trouble working on their maths… as if the frame price of £1400 is correct, then I can’t seem to find £3k of extra cost in there…

The 2011 groupset seems to be coming in at about £900 or so on pre-order.

The forks are probably what, £1k at the very most.

So, that leaves about £1100 for some wheels, in this case 819s on Hope (£260), some brakes (Hope X2 Race – £300?).

So, where does about £500 go on the rest of the bits?

Wouldn’t it just be cheaper to buy the bits and build it yourself? I always thought that it was generally cheaper buying a complete bike than doing it yourself…

Harry and votchy… you can run Firefox/Chrome from a memory stick if that helps, or just download it and install it somewhere safe…

:o)

Maus?

American Splendor?

Thankfully I haven’t had to write them down for at least that long…

In fact, I’m not sure it was such a good idea to do so, it’s giving me cold sweats just thinking about it!

But Laplace and Fourier are things of beauty… and how else are you going to convert between the time and frequency domains without them?

:o)

It’s vector calculus that I never could quite get my head around… divs, grads, curls and all that!

Then I fail to see how you are ‘service matching’ in that instance…

That is all.

But then, neither did the iPhone for some time… I think it was until Android turned up with it.. ;o)

That’s fine…. now can I order it over the phone, or maybe by email? ;o)

I’m still waiting to hear how making someone wait for an item you already have in stock and then expecting them to come back and pick it up from the shop is matching the level of service they’d get from an online store which will deliver to their door…

And besides, do people really just dive in and ask about discount straight off, wouldn’t they ask if you had any in stock to begin with?

;o)

Right, so you need to install some apps… that’s hardly tinkering with ‘techie fixie stuff’ is it? I was expecting some drastic hacking by the sounds of things!

So lets see… Cougar…

I’ve got a Desire running 2.2… not sure there are any apps I have come across which don’t work. But then, I only install stuff I need.

Hacking ROM’s? Please… you only need to do that if you want to play… and there is absolutely no need for the OP to do that. A bit like jailbreaking iPhones…

Well, the PC software has always been a little hit and miss with lots of phones, but that’s hardly a fault of Android… more to do with the handset manufacturer.

So no real techie issues there… now onto Graham’s post…

I believe if someone wants to use iTunes there is at least one app that lets you do that. Granted, it’s not installed, but then neither are the apps for a lot of the things the OP wants to do… so I figure he’ll be learning how to do that anyway…

Backing up? You are right, but hey, there is an app for that… hold on, wasn’t that the tag line on an iPhone advert? ;o) But hardly a techie nightmare that only sys-admins would be able to find their way out of!

As for the OS upgrade… am not sure what’s techie about this. It’s all done over the air with Android and no need to even plug it into a computer to upgrade it. I’m not sure what your problem is there.

Both phones are good… they do slightly different things, and have slightly different strengths and weaknesses… but most people, they’ll get on just fine with both.

I guess the OP could always go for a new shiny new Windows 7 phone though… ;o)

To all the people who say

i don’t want to have to do any techie fixie stuff to make the phone work

rules out Android….

What is it that you are supposed to need to do to an Android phone to get it to work? I really am quite intrigued…

iDave… both phones will do everything that you have asked for…

don simon – Member

Show me where I said I’d offer worse service, you do understand the concept of “service match” don’t you?

So does that mean you’ll deliver it to my door as well then? Quite often the next day… and with free postage?

In that case, you should be onto a winner as it seems to work for Wiggle and CRC…

;o)

I’d guess that if you are constantly looking to be doing 4-6ft drops and the like then you’ll probably end up breaking a 5 Spot before too long, they aren’t really designed for that kind of abuse. Don’t forget that the frame was originally designed around a 125mm Fox Van.

Dave Turner has said before on MTBR that a 5 Spot would be okay doing that sort of sized drop occasionally, but if you wanted to be riding that more often, which by the sounds of it you want to as you are wanting to beef it up, then you really should be riding an RFX/6 Pack.

It’s worth bearing in mind that Turner no longer have spares for the old Horst Link rear triangles, so if you do manage to break part of that you’ll be needing to scour t’internerd to find a second hand part.

That said, a lot of the folks over on MTBR like the ride of the Pushed 5 Spot when combined with a 140 fork… Pike or Vanilla seem to be popular.

On the rear shock, are you still running the Romic? Or are you using an RP3/23?

As said above, the shock length is 7.5″x2″ or in other words 190mmx50mm.

I have an older Velez and during the winter it’s always the top I go for. It also gets used with only a t-shirt during most of the autumn and spring as well.

Yes, it can get a little toasty at times, but it does an amazing job of wicking away the sweat keeping you pretty much dry… far better than anything else I have worn.

It really is a fantastic piece of fit… and am sorely tempted by one of the new adventure light versions. I just wish they weren’t so pricey!

I’d just like to add my thanks to nbt for showing us all round, and to everyone else for making it a fun ride. I wanna do that loose descent from the golf course again… and again.. :o)

I also want to know who booked the weather and how, as I might want to employ you at a later date! Once I left and starting driving across the Peak to go home the clouds rolled in and the mist came down… it was rather grim in places and nothing like the sun which we managed to enjoy for the whole route!

Oh, and I don’t know what it is about those hills, but the ride was about the same distance I usually go in the Peak… so why do my legs hurt today???

I’d not ridden around there before, but I’ll definitely be back for more…

Cheers,

Nick
On the red Turner…

Oh, and I promise to bring cake next time too..

I’m going to experiment with the gaffa tape method on the next set of wheels I do… although I do wonder if without the rubber strip the tyres will be more likely to burp as if the bead is pressed away from the rim there is nothing to stop air escaping.

My suggestion if you are having trouble inflating the tyres is to get some nylon tape and tie it around the circumference of the tyre, pushing the centre of the tyre into the bed of the rim. This forces the bead out into the rim. The tyres inflate easily with a track pump then. You could do the same thing with a ratchet strap too I beleive…

I used this method on a couple of wheels, and managed to get them both done completely within about 15 minutes. Compared to the hour and a half I had been trying before giving this method a go!

Other options seem to be to use foam tape along the rim bed before taping the wheel up but I have not tried this method.

Good luck!

Surely a pair of normal length shorts would be 3/4 length on Jen… ;o)

I’d probably suggest, as she is a dab hand with a needle and thread, that getting some army surplus goretex trousers off ebay and then modifying them would be her best bet… and the cheapest. And she can go for the oh so fashionable camo style!

As for shop bought ones, we have Endura Superlights and Altura Attacks at home… both are just past the knee sort of length, and they both work well at keeping us dry. The Attacks are definitely on the narrower cut though and I think are more designed to be worn directly over lycra whereas the Superlights seem to be slightly baggier as if designed to be worn over baggies.

You know, this ‘ere LED stuff might actually catch on one day… I might have to design my own driver for these… *thinks*

Would having it USB programmable be a little bit overkill?

:o)

Without knowing the particulars of the driver, it’s almost impossible to say exactly, but I would expect that the 3 LEDs are currently in series (wired one after the other) so the full 675mA flows through each.

Now, adding a 4th LED in there might be a little tricky, as when you pass the current through an LED about 3V-ish is dropped across it. With them all being in series, one after the other, this voltage gets added up. So with 3 LEDs they have a combined voltage of about 9V (probably more like 10V though). Adding a 4th LED in will raise this to around 12-13V which is getting a little close to the battery voltage (14.4V for Li-Ion), or may even be above it if you are using NiMH (13.2V).

Does that make any sense?

Anyway, why not just stick with what you have and get a smaller battery?

But if you really do want more light, I’d say that you’d probably be better off going for 3 higher current LEDs (or the same LEDs you have if they can handle the extra) and driving them harder with the other driver board.

You just need to undo the end of the quick release and slide the chain tug and rear mech off the end before removing the wheel… it’s a bit more hassle, but not a huge amount.

cynic-al… I thought you meant that for Contador, and was about to point out he was only suspended… but then realised you meant loddrik up there..

:oD

Water in general, was not generally potable until relatively recently in historical terms and brewing was a way of making this water safe to drink. It’s the boiling stage or the process which kills most of the nasties and makes it safe…

Elfinsafety – Member

Lot of poncery and snobbishess surrounding beer. Ironic seeing as how it originally was the poor man’s drink in Britain.

Poor mans drink? I think you might find you are mistaken there…

Beer was originally brewed because it was unsafe to drink just normal water at the time. Whereas the brewing process killed off most of the nasties. This meant that beer was really only drunk by those who could afford it, or who worked for those who could afford it.

So no, it wasn’t originally the poor man’s drink of Britain. It’s what the toffs would drink in place of water… and blimey they used to get through the stuff!

:o)

I’ve used the DMR chain tugs with the mech hanger on my Pompino before. As above, I got mine from CRC and they work just fine.

hels.. R4 are reporting that it got into the press because Contador released a statement.

alan… firstly, a new socket in a bedroom isn’t notifiable if it’s a spur off an existing ring main.. ;o)

I would imagine that at least part of those prosecutions would be for failing to fill in their paperwork, but as you say, I think it would be very doubtful if they would prosecute purely over failing to do the paperwork.

But, the point I was trying to make, regardless of how crap the overall system is, is that not having the work signed off is technically, however minor, an offense.

Now, can you show me an insurance company who will pay out on something that has had illegal work done on it?

Without that certificate showing the work has been completed and signed off by the sparkie, in the case of a fire the immediate assumption by the insurance companies will be that the wiring was at fault and, as it’s technically been done illegally, would refuse to pay out.

Wheres your sense of adventure?

;o)

alan… well, one of the places I got that ‘not covered by insurance’ from was after I spoke to my insurance company about it, while trying to buy a house where the previous owners had work done, in the kitchen and bathroom, without it being signed off.

And yes, I am well aware of the silliness that is part p, after all, I’m allowed to sign off on train electrical wiring, but not on the wiring in my own house!

While I know there have been a number of professionals prosecuted against part p, I doubt that they would prosecute anyone for doing diy, in the same way they don’t tend to prosecute people doing diy for other breaches of the building regulations. However, that doesn’t mean that when you build you new extension without the proper sign offs that the insurance company will pay out once it falls down. It’s exactly the same for part p work, and for gas work, if you manage to burn your house down! I’d be surprised if after a house fire these aren’t some of the first certificates that are asked for by the insurance company for any recent electrical/gas works…

Oh, and isn’t adding a new spur to the CU notifiable work? ;o)

I’m still planning on popping along… rather looking forward to it as I haven’t ridden around that area before…

slowrider – Member

Hey all,

Not to start a pootle war or anything but I’m considering an overnight to snowdon to ride the rangers path on the same weekend. Loose plan would be drive down Friday, ride Saturday and then head back Saturday night or Sunday. Anyone interested?

slowrider… from this can I assume you won’t be wanting a lift now?

It might be worthwhile looking at some of the motherboard deals that are about, where you get the mobo, processor and memory all pre-built and tested.

And as said above, be aware of the power requirements, some things are very power hungry and if your PSU can’t handle it you will likely end up with instability and strange crashes…

One other thing to be aware of… check how many IDE connectors you currently use. You don’t want to end up with a mobo which has only 1, or even no, IDE connectors when you needed 2. The same with floppy connectors, not all new mobo’s come with them and you need to get a USB floppy instead.

marcus… not a sparky I’m afraid, but I do have a copy of the latest wiring regs.. :o)

Was just trying to be helpful as it seems there are far more people who are not aware of the regs than are, and seeing as it could result in someone not being covered by insurance, I’d much prefer to make someone aware of the issue.

Well, along with the boiler location (kitchen/bathroom/etc) it will also depend to a certain extent whether it’s a spur off an existing ring main or a new fused spur from the consumer unit, as to whether it needs a part p sign off.