I’ve been commuting all week on my normal mtb.  Will be going out on my ebike after lunch for some fun.  (remember ebike riders may also ride other bikes)

I will probably overtake a few people on hills, but its not my fault they are slow.  I would still beat them on my mtb.

One of the guys in my club uses a Shuvitt HSR for historics.

I always liked the Audi 80 and the Nissan 240RS, oh and the rear engined skoda coupe with the round headlamps.
Cant post pics at the moment

I mostly ride solo, just coz i really dont like to mess people around. I dont want to make plans with people and then on the day of the ride, back out because I cant face going out.

Also, im not very consistent, good days im fairly fast, bad days i constantly feel like im holding people up! which I dont like

1) If you think about going in deep water, extend the breathers.
2) If you get a Hi lift jack, please research its safe use before you try to use it!
3) You may already be aware, TD5s have 2 oil filters.
4) Cutting out or being hard to start + lots of noise from the in tank pump means injector reseal time. Easy job, gen parts cost a couple of quid, makes a huge difference.
5) Using a dodgy battery that takes ages to turn the engine over slowly will soon knacker the starter.

Main thing has already been mentioned. If you want to hang on to it, take security seriously.
Fit good quality headlamp guards using domed hex bolts (protects the headlamps and makes it hard to remove them)

Trade in is the easiest route.
You could sell it privately but there are a lot of timewasters, esp on ebay. If they did show up they will then try and haggle. There is also the hassle and worry of payments and them being reversed. Check cash carefully!

Like I say, trade in is easy, saves a lot of valuable time, you will get book price for the condition/mileage of your car (less than what you would retail it for because now the dealer has to try and make profit on it including the legal stuff you dont have to do as a private sale)
Honda Civics do sell reasonably well, so at least its a car the dealer will be interested in.

Yes, you can try and haggle the trade in price up a bit, it wont make any real difference as this margin will come of the deal on your new car so less movement on that.

The aftermath of last Sunday, very clogged up with mud, also had a bit of a push due to slicing the front tyre.

Belstaff are not great, they are not made the same as the old ones (and they weren’t fantastic either)

Go try some out and check out the quality, don’t buy mail order as I think you may find it a waste of time.

Excellent, thanks for the replies, I’ve got knipex cutters so should be good on that front.

Our Springer is blind, he went blind at 5, he is now 12. They adapt to things very well, losing one eye will hardly phase him, would soon get used to it.
Also, we have/had other dogs with arthritis and they hobble on a bit, but they still enjoy life.

Previous experience is that, when a dog is not happy, cant ever get comfortable enough to enjoy the things they love (even if just eating and sleeping) they change, you pick up on it and that’s the point that you have to make the horrible decision to make them comfortable again.

Spoil him rotten, do what he loves!

Anyone got a proflex?! Always wanted one of those when I was a lad.
I’m a bit of a Proflex & Girvin enthusiast.

Im on there and RB. Most of my bikes are old, even my newest one is 26 inch wheeled and triple chainset so seems to have aged quickly.
1992 Proflex
1993 Wheeler
1994 Merlin
1994 Megamo
1995 Zaskar
1996 Orange
2003 Dale Jekyl
2011 Kinesis XC3

The Proflex and Megamo are by far my favourites to ride. With the exception of a 20 mile shakedown ride, I have only ever ridden the Proflex in competition.
The Kinesis is the easiest to ride and does everything perfectly.

Its quite a long way for me, im on the Cambridgeshire/Northants border. But I plan to do whichever events I can make it to.

So, how did you get on James?

Ok, great fun, made a few mistakes and learnt a lot.
I wasn’t last!

Winnats Pass 58km/h with wet canti brakes was probably the scariest moment.

Next time I know I can pack a bit lighter.
I didnt pay attention to the contour lines on one bit that saw me climbing a wet grass field for about 20 mins.

I have a Rab down gillet, must be at least a decade old but still good and warm. Ive just bought a new one as well and they are now pertex quantum with hydrophobic down. They also fold up into a pack bag that they come with, handy to take out on those hard to predict days.

I would recommend looking at Outside.co.uk. They usually have some good deals on.

The possibilities are…

Incorrectly diagnosed the first time, easy to do if the fault was not permanent!
Its not the same fault, just the same symptom, and is unfortunate coincidence (unlikely but it does happen)
The high pressure pump was breaking up (or something caused it to malfunction), and deposited swarf in the fuel system. The replacement pump sorted things for a bit, but the accelerated wear means it now wont start.
The only way with this is flush out the system and replace pump, replace or recon injectors and fuel rail.

Really, anyone working on a fuel system like this should know to check the fuel filter contents before fitting any new part!

Oh, and watch out for the old boys, they’ll turn you inside out on the climbs!

Im not good at climbing. I live in a flat area lol. I had a 2 week holiday in the peaks last month and I really struggled with some.

I want to start doing more events though as it has been a while, so have to start somewhere, someone has to be last!

That is good to hear, thanks for the replies. it has put my mind at ease. Will enter when I get home.

Garry_lager. Good tip, will have to bodge something up.

Thanks for the reply mrjmt. The one thing that made me think twice was looking through the webpage, the compulsory equipment list.

I have mostly all the stuff on there, but I don’t think my crash helmet is ansi or bsi approved. Its an Urge Enduromatic so its a good one but do they really get that fussy about stuff.

Its a long way for me to drive if I cant take part on a technicality! I have emailed the organiser but not yet had a response.

If a bike light catches your eye half a mile away, I would say it is dark enough for lights.

So you can see the unlit bikes, ok, but if the road wasn’t straight, if there where cars driving towards you with there headlights on.

To me there is no point risking going without lights or hi vis etc.

If I find something I may be interested in with no bids, I put one on. Just incase I forget and or no one else sees it.

If I want it I will put my max on in the last 5 or so mins. If I don’t get it it wasn’t meant to happen.

If I really must have it I ask if I can make an offer or bid a lot more than its really worth.

I got my one like that from Lidle a couple of years ago, haven’t used it a huge amount but its still ok and very handy.

I cant remember where but I’ve seen some gizmo that attaches to cable levers so they can work a master cylinder so a cx can run hydraulics. Seems like quite a faff, but I didn’t realise you could get the correct shifter brake combo for the drop bars. Having said that ive only just started a bit of window shopping, nowt serious yet!

Get some aluminium tops milled and anodised. (maybe a cheeky syncros sticker too) its the only way to restore a retroladder

Just take a panel out so you bike pokes out the top!

flap_jack – Member
I would recommend a Mercedes 124 estate (the one from the 80’s and early 90’s) The 3.0 24v diesel or a 6 cylinder petrol.
Not the best on fuel but they are very reliable and will clock up 4 or 5 hundred thousand miles.

You will have to pay quite a few thousand for one but they hold there value.

I’ve got one of these. Now at 198000 miles.

30 mpg. No performance. Not as reliable as people think.

However, massive, comfortable and the most relaxing drive imaginable. We did 350 miles non-stop on the way to Morzine this year and only stopped because we needed fuel. (60 litres, BTW)

It’s fine, because when it goes wrong I borrow my wife’s Golf. Would not recommend one as your only car.

I have a 2.3 four cylinder and 3 litre 4 matic. both around 180,000 miles and around 24mpg average. Neither have let me down.
Have an old Merc V8 and its nudging 260,000 now with just a timing chain replacement. Probably the most solid cars Ive ever had (that inlcudes old Land Cruisers and Patrols)

One more suggestion for a motorbike, Yamaha GTS.

A weird looking car that you dont see much, Citroen CX. I love them old things and one day will own one (probably have to import from france where they are still loved)

Its very easy to get carried away isn’t it. When i was a nipper, i went everywhere on a £50 bmx. Then a £100 Apollo. Cheap but a huge amount of fun. In 1998 after lots of begging my dad bought me a secondhand P7. It cost a lot for a used rigid but it is still good and rideable now so good value for money.

I get annoyed when you pay good money and the product just doesn’t last.

Marabou stork is my favourite bird. It always looks a bit grumpy, like me.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Marabou_Stork_001.jpg

The car will be a huge improvement to drive, runflats are very hard, dont grip very well and wear out funny. I would recomend a spare wheel wedged in somewhere though. A squirty can of stuff is ok for a nail in the tyre but no good if you have a blow out. Also, if you fill the tyre with goop, most places wont repair it.

Regarding long warranty on these Dacia and other cars. Bear in mind if the distributor goes under, the warranty paperwork is not going to be worth the paper it is written on. Dacia have been in uk before and dissapeared, as did Hyundai in the 80’s

A warranty is not much help when you need to be somewhere and your waiting 3 hours for a truck to pick you up. I would rather have something that I trust.

I would recommend a Mercedes 124 estate (the one from the 80’s and early 90’s) The 3.0 24v diesel or a 6 cylinder petrol.

Not the best on fuel but they are very reliable and will clock up 4 or 5 hundred thousand miles.

You will have to pay quite a few thousand for one but they hold there value.

If I couldn’t have one of those, a VAG 1.9pd or old school, wouldn’t rule out a petrol.

Citroen XM diesels have quite a following and fetch a few grand. There is usually a reason older cars have a following and command reasonable money.

Petrols are not really that bad on fuel and are much more reliable than a cr diesel. Pumps and injectors have fine tollerances and wear out a lot quicker than old school diesels. 6 injectors u/s and high pressure pump could set you back a good £4k and they probably wont get to 200k miles.

My Kinesis XC3 with RS Reba forks. It does everything I want excellently and is very forgiving in tricky bits. Then put the 2.3 tyres up to 50psi and she is good on the road. LOVE IT.

Thieving scum.

Get the details etc. share on facebook.

I like Lee quarry, did the weekender ’09 and’12. Most enjoyable and would be back there a lot more if I had time.

Tape it somewhere on the bike (or yourself) with a couple of layers of duct tape, it will re stick a couple of times!

I’m sometimes very happy there are snipers on ebay, all those things I bid on when i get excited looking at the picture to only to realise its the wrong fit/size/or just the other end of the country or That in the week an auction goes on for Iv had another change of plan and just dont want them.

At the moment I drive a 1990 Merc V8. Every luxury I could want, nice big V8 but still pretty simple and reliable. Now done 230k miles but I can leave it at the airport for two weeks without it flatening the battery, it just fires up and goes.

I spent a lot of my younger years in Africa and the only cars we used where Mercedes, Toyota and Peugeout as they would go on and on through all conditions. Highest mileages have been a Merc 250D 430,000 when sold and a Land Cruiser at just over 600,000.
Me and my family still stick with these (old ones)
The new ones are not the same and these common rail diesels cost a fortune to repair.

Buy a bit of land close to you and build a trail centre? Or move Closer to a Trail centre.

I’m 2 and a bit hours from the Peak District and consider that quite good luck really.

The driving standards in the video are not good. But you can pretty much second guess whats going to happen. Its best to ease of the pedals and slow down a bit. Plan ahead and ride like you want to be alive, Its better than being in the right but dead.

I got a set of two cree led lights off ebay (about £20)for the commuter bike, swapped them onto the mountain bike as better than the Hope one I was using!
The batteries last longer and the brackets dont break every couple of weeks like the Hope ones where.