Not in the slightest bit envious of you! Can’t wait to get back out there, but don’t think it’ll be this year sadly. Saw Andy in March in Soller and really glad that they’re doing ok with the second shop in the Port. Talk about ‘living the dream’…

Blimey – good thing no-one asked him ‘how big his mitre saw was’ (see his other items). Think of the mess if he took his kit off and stood astride that… :x

PSA: Still bearing the scars here, but I read (after the event) that it’s a good idea to put your chain on the big chainring as it reduces the damage you can do to your knuckles if / when your hand slips during the undoing process – that is if you’re holding a spanner / allen key on them.

Undoubtedly, the stamping on the spanner trick with the rear brake on is the best way to use brute force, but after that it’s the chemicals / heat route I think.

is anyone able to help please? Don’t want to ride it in the morning and wreck the thing… thanks in advance.

:?

Tramuntana Tours are superb – I’ve hired Andy’s full susser before and done that Biniaraix route from Cuber reservoir that ozzo mentioned – just an awesome ride – 12km road climb to start from Fornalutx, then some great back country stuff at a relatively high (higher than Snowdon, I think!) altitude with that disc brake sizzling descent to finish. Bit shaky in parts with some very, very steep drops on a narrow path, but probably the most memorable MTB ride I’ve ever done. Just found out this afternoon that my neighbour’s offer there for 3 weeks road riding. Hrmph!

Try these – waaaaaaay more expensive than previously suggested options, but substantially less than, say, going down the Oakley route.

I have a pair and they’re not bad – not up to Oakley quality, but they look and feel like a “normal” pair of sports sunnies. Just a thought.

(mini hijack) :oops:

I’m just about to go for one as well, the slot dropout type, to run geared though (alongside my sliding dropout, singlespeed Inbred).

I know the geometry is supposed to be the same, but it’s got to feel like a different sort of bike, hasn’t it? I love the way the Inbred rides, but fancy a hardtail trail bike too…

Any thoughts / suggestions appreciated (if the OP doesn’t mind too much).

The Halfords freezy-stuff-in-a-can is pants – you may as well pee on it. I’m in the same boat, and am a bit stuck for a solution. I’ve started down the cutting-it-with-a-hacksaw-blade route, but there just must be more to life than doing that…

I’m waiting for a neighbour who’s a retired engineer and has reamers, lathes, vices etc in his garage to take it on as a project…

I’d read about Coke, ammonia, heat / chilling it – but haven’t tried them yet. Maybe CO2 canisters would work? I don’t want to shag the paint on mine, and the seatpost was shot anyway, so I don’t mind damaging that.

Best of luck.

It all seems so obvious now… :oops: I’ll give it a try at the weekend. Thanks for the advice.

Can I resurrect the bearings – or is it new bearings time / new BB time? Is there supposed to be any side to side play in the race (I mean front to back as you look at the BB in situ, side on).

(see my thread about BB’s) but I’ve been reading about installing / removing cranks recently and RaceFace say there’s no real setting for the bolt as it ‘bottom’s out’ They say:

“Tighten the RH crank bolt until the crank bottoms-out on the spindle. This is a hard stop. You will not be able to tighten the bolt further. This completes the installation.”

To me; that removes the ham-fisted home mechanic potential, and is very reassuring! I suspect though, that there’s some other thing that we could still muck up in the install procedure… :-)

hmmm – I guess it’s not exactly degree level physics then, is it? :oops:

So ok – if that’s the problem, is it shagging the bearings from the inside / out?

And how does every other b*gger wash their bike then…?! :|

I have them on the singlespeed and they are better. The cam seems smoother and the lever is a better shape, though the backside is still a bit sharp. They seem to have a more definite lock down too – closer to the kind of thing you get on a good Mavic road bike QR, where it’s very definitely closed tight shut. An improvement over the old ones – though I’ve never had any problems with them, in spite of what some people comment.

crikey – Member

Your BB fills up with the water that gets into your frame via the seatpost and the headset. The answer is to drill a hole in the BB to let the water out. Trek and Scott roadbikes have holes for this purpose…

That’s just what our old friend at SSC said to me – but I’m just not 100% about it as being the cause. I’m not a massive fan of riding in the rain – especially off road, and have the seat tube / post area packed full of grease (the Pace stuff). I do take the post out fairly frequently and there’s no evidence of the grease getting washed down inside the tube.

I hear what you say, and am aware of certain brands having the holes – and other people ‘retro fitting’ them to their frames, but isn’t it more likely that the seals on the BB just aren’t all that? If so, why on earth not? The water poured out when I took the first BB cup out last night. When I wash the bike, I use the hose on it, but pretty gently, and not directly at sensitive parts of the frame – I use the Muc Off stuff, so it doesn’t need any force to wash the mud off.

mos – Member

No, but i have just ordered one of these from the states;
http://forwardcomponents.blogspot.com/2008/12/eccentric-bottom-bracket-patent.html
Same thing, but works out a bit cheaper due to exchange rates, however, the first one i ordered 8 weeks ago got lost in transit & i’m still waiting for the replacement. So i’m not yet in a position to comment.
mos – I got mucked about a bit by Forward Components and ended up cancelling my order for one of theirs around Christmas time – supplier problems, they said, but they came up with a number of excuses for not shipping. He did refund my PayPal promptly when asked, so I’m hoping you’ll be ok even if it doesn’t turn up. It did look the better bet when compared with the Excentriker, but I have to say, I gave in in the end and bought a horizontal dropout frame, as the prospect of £150 or thereabouts on one of these two was a bit too much to take.

My way around the granny ring tab problem was to simply go for a 34T inner ring on a roadie compact chainset, rather than grinding away a triple.

I ran my Rat with 26″ and discs – just ‘cos that’s all I had available. It was absolutely fine – fast, 50psi + in the tyres (1.5″ cheapo centre ridged hybrid tyres from Halfords, then eventually some posh Conti ones) and I ran it singlespeed and 1×9. It always had discs on it – that was kind of the point of the bike, I thought, but it also allowed me to run full mudguards too. It was easy to set up, loads of clearance with those tyres on, and I can recommend it.

Not the prettiest of pictures taken a while back, but it gives you the idea…

(oh, I’ve learnt a thing or two about chain tension since then, too… ) :oops:

E:Chicken in some random chilli / piri-piri marinade on the barbie, figs, red pepper, cheese and salad.
D: 0% beer… (no comment)
M: the strains of Britain’s Got Problems from the kitchen… (no comment required either!)
R: Singlespeed’s poorly, can’t be fagged with the full susser, so I’m getting my head around a hilly, long, early road ride in the Peak. Cat & Fiddle, Buxton, Whaley – that kinda thing – and home just after brekkie in the morning. Zzzz

Ain’t summer great! :P

For all manner of reasons I wear the RoadID one – it’s comfy, light and as originally stated, you can get a lot of info on it (I have my wife’s contact details, my name, address and a couple of lines of medical stuff.) Good company and quick delivery (and the dollar’s weakened against the pound a little now too…)

Very pleased with mine – 08 GT Sport (2 litre TDI). The air con – as previously mentioned – isn’t the most sophisticated, to say the least, and I can’t get the CD player to play gapless albums, but it’s not ruining my life! You’ll enjoy it. I have the 143psi version, and to be honest couldn’t tell a massive difference between that and the more expensive / less economical 170odd psi version. You do get 2 exhaust pipes with that one though… :-)

If you value your sanity / hair / life, don’t.. what ever you do… try to use an Apple Express on your BT Home Hub. I’ve spent what seems like every waking moment this week trying to set mine up – not ‘cos I need to extend my network from my Home Hub, but to allow me to attach a hard drive / hifi to the network, but it’s a nightmare. I’ve given up for the night.

And relax. I don’t know if it’s a BTHH thing or an AE thing, but both don’t seem to love it each other very much. Best of luck.

Jase – that looks sooooooo much nicer than on the On One site – I really wasn’t sure about the red ones, but yours looks fantastic.

It’s just that it appears to have too many gears on it! :wink:

i think the T&C’s of most Evans codes are on full price items only – they don’t work on sale stuff. IIRC.

ah well – excentriker at one million pounds it is then (or slidy dropouts; as I’ve *finally* learned!)

Don’t think so – it’s some Dutch dude – Charlie lives here.

This looks interesting – a sensibly priced eccentric BB, and by the looks of it, designed for regular sized shells? Not that I need one now I have a proper SS frame, but interesting nonetheless.

You may jest, but the guy who used to run the bike dept at our Halfords (who’s sadly moved into Manc to run one of the bigger stores there) had a Voodoo Wanga built up fixed, 29er and fully rigid. To make it nicher than niche, he made it LHD as well. He even sorted the pedals on it (can’t recall what he did, but it worked). It freaked out most of their customers – as you might imagine, but it was an ace bike.

He’s just about 100% responsible for my huge enjoyment of riding singlespeed – so don’t be knocking the Halfords boys! So saying – the place is falling apart without him, so maybe you’re right. :-)

I suspect that the one in the image is a bit of page layout cockupness though – reminds me of an ad for something (not Apple) where a group of guys were sat round an old iMac, looking like they were having the time of their lives – except the thing had no mains plug in it…

The SSC HTII BB on my mountain bike lasted 1.5 rides. I’d have been happier if it had lasted 1 ride, as it collapsed halfway through the 2nd ride. The one on my road bike is still going strong, though I am acutely embarrassed that it’s on there.

Their titanium bolts were very light, but then anything made out of cottage cheese would have been. The customer service (in the broadest sense of the word) that I have received was a touch unpleasant, seemed more about aportioning blame rather than retaining a customer and rather riled me.

But then I’ve said all this before.

What’s the blue stuff above you in the last couple of pictures? Not seen anything like that this weekend in the Peak District…! :lol:

This was about half seven this morning – heading home (on the roadbike, obviously)

Not quite as spectacular as the Cevennes, but I had a nice time all the same! Cheshire was looking lovely, loads of blue bells still out, and in spite of it being a road ride, I saw more rabbits than cars, which was ace.

Update / long (boring) review ahead – look away now if your shoes fit.

Ok – so maybe it’s “problem solved” now. I went to Evans and tried the Mavic Avenir, the Shimano RO86 and the Northwave Vertigo SBS – all around the £90 mark. I wanted to try the Scotts as well, but they didn’t have them in my size as they’re closing them out, I think.

The Mavics felt snug around the toe box, but the material felt like it would give. Even so, I could feel my toes being squeezed together. They fitted well around the heel and looked like a really good shoe. The RO86 again looked like a nice shoe (these two got top marks in Cycling + last month for their ‘sub £100 shoe’ test), but as soon as I put it on, I felt my toes being squashed in. I have been wearing size 43 R085’s for a couple of years, and have decided that I need a 44, but even this still felt narrow – and narrower than the Mavics.

Evans had the non-SBS Vertigo on the shelf (the 3 velcro strap version, as opposed to the 2 strap + ratchet SBS model) and when I tried that, it was instantly obvious that there was really room to move in the toe box. It felt higher / deeper (like crikey previously suggested) as well as wider, and I could actually move my toes around. I was concerned though, as the heel felt a bit loose in it – what I didn’t want to happen was that I was gaining width in the toe and getting a wide shoe all over. However, although it wasn’t on display, the guy in Evans found the SBS version out the back, in the colourway I wanted and had seen on the web. The ratchet adjustment seemed to sort the heel holding without any undue pressure, so I handed over my cash. Their price matching makes doing your homework worthwhile – I got them for £76.49 – matching Rutland Cycling’s price – instead of the £89.99 as advertised. (That helped offset the £6 parking in the centre of Manchester, and god knows how many pairs of shoes the missus bought while I was getting mine…!)

So – I rode out this morning – just 25 miles in the sunshine, but enough to tell that whilst they’ve not totally fixed the pins and needles, my feet were more comfortable than they’ve been on a road bike for years. I might just go back and get the MTB version (which I also tried yesterday), and strongly recommend trying the Northwave shoe range if you need a wider fitting.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, most especially crikey for the Northwave idea. Oh happy feet! :D

You will love an Inbred – you can’t fail to not have fun with it (and over time, there’s plenty in the classifieds / on eBay). It’s proper, good old fashioned mountain biking. :-)

If you can use the middle ring off your triple, or even if it was a road compact double on there, the inner can be used without it looking too gash. I’ll second that KMC 610HX chain – they’re so easy to join, and if you need it, Charlie the Bikemonger does half links in 3/32 as well as 1/8th inch, though you shouldn’t need it as you’ve got the conversion kit with the tensioner. There’s not much else to it really 32:16 will be fine for most off road stuff (but you’ll have to push up some of the hills). Bigger front ring (or if you can find one, a smaller cog) will be needed to stop you spinning out on the road.

Getting your chain line striaght is important, but you should have a load of spacers in the pack – you’ll need to use the lockring off your cassette to hold the spacers and cog on. Once you’ve got it in position, look down the length of the chain from the rear and try to get it as central as possible. You’ll be able to run the doofer pushing up or down on the chain, and I’m sure if you search on here, there’s plenty of posts on which is the best way to do that.

You’ll have fun – go for it.

I never knew that, pantsonfire – thanks for the info. I’ll look at Mavic rims in a whole new light now! I’ve found that the 321s are a touch heavier and a touch cheaper than the 717, but also a little tougher – I guess that comes from the 4mm extra width (from my new found knowledge!)

It sort of reminds me of how old car reg plates used to have the 2 character code from where they were from – eh, when I were a lad.

Someone’s probably going to say they’re still like that now, and I’ll look an arse… :wink:

You could go a lot further wrong than ringing the guys at Life Cycles[/url] in Bolton up and having a natter with them. I have their wheels on both my mountain bikes, and the missus’s – and I’ve never touched them. I have two pairs of Hope hubs / Mavic 321 rims and they rebuilt my Hope Pro 3 SP’s onto some nice white Syncros rims when the cheesy DT4.2 rims from th Hoops package dented.

I’ve just checked and you’d get 321 on Hope Pro II for about £250 the pair. They’re usually good on price, and though they may not be the absolute cheapest, you’ll be more than pleased. Defo 2nd on the ‘no jetwash’ thing, though the seals on the Hope Pro II hubs are just a touch better than on the Deore / 475 ones – totally different construction.

If you want ‘fit and forget’ wheels, get them built on Pro IIs and get them built in Bolton. Reet. :-)

Just found Scott Pro shoes (as pictured above) at Evans, so might go for a wander there later as well. Thanks for the advice – I feel a bit more hopefull now! I’ll report later on what I’ve found…

It’s the toe box where I feel I need the room. My Shimanos do feel tight around there – I’m hoping to try some Mavics today, so will report back later… I did wonder about the NW ones too, so will see if I can track them down.

I can see that Wiggle do the Lake shoes – do you know how they compare for size?

retro83 – that sounds do-able to my (non mechanic) mind / hands. I’ll go give it a try. Am I putting too much air in do you think? I’m going off the chart on the fork lower, and it’s 135 – 140psi for my (13 stone odd) lump.

Yowch! I’m sure TFT’ll do a brilliant job, but I didn’t pay much more than that for them!

I’m going to have a crack at The Great Stonk’s suggestion before resorting to throwing that at them. Do your forks have the little chart with the rider weight / posi / neg pressures on them? 50psi seems quite low for the negative, AFAIR, it’s the same pressure in both chambers?

Hit up Gil at The Cycleshed.

I’ve never had any done, but have heard good things on here and was suggested that route for a very similar request that I had.

Top – thanks very much. I’ve just looked them up (and found two) on Onionring – looking forward to a good feed now!

Do you mean the other side of the road to Shere Khan then, Davey? And closer to Manchester – as you head away from the city.

Mate’s on the mend thanks – big op, so just visiting to try to cheer him up (then tell him we’re off for a curry!!)

There’s a guy selling Stronglight singlespeed chainsets on eBay that I’ve got my eye on, and they’re either 40T or 46T, so based on going for the easier end of the advice above, should I be looking for either a 19T sprocket with the 46:

46 x 27 / 19T = 66.8″

or even a 20T (63.5″)

Does that sound sensible?

It’s got brakes and they’re staying on it! It’ll be freewheel for the moment, then maybe fixed later. Thanks for all the suggestions – really helpful.