There are some suggestions from an old post here, it covers the same question.

The one in front of me has a ‘made in China’ sticker on it

What electronic kit isn’t made in China now? Had one for about 4 years now, not perfect, but cycling isn’t it’s primary market, so is being asked to do something it was not designed exclusively for, but has great aftermarket support / service from the manufacture who are a UK company, and are based in Leatherhead Surrey.

Got a few months (Winter 2010 / spring 2011) out of my first XT, have had it’s replacement an XTR on since with no issues, also using a Raceface on my winter bike, and just can’t seem to get it to wear out

Another Mobi user here (V17), had a Mobi version which lasted a year before the power connections corroded, and replaced with a Clas Ohlson version, which is the V17 with a green reservoir as opposed to the blue of the Mobi, it also has a better spray gun, and warranty, and is a lot cheaper when they have it on promo every couple of months (paid £39.99).

I have some 2001 Z2’s and they use the current IS standard, been running it with 160mm XTR discs for years with no issues,

Try this Lenni Spoke Length Caculator[/url] and use the manual entry, or go to the bike shop you are going to get your spokes from, and ask them.

10 years old isn’t current, it’s just old, and is a long way from being vintage, you need another 5-10 years to even start that.

For you brakes, what do you have now? if rim, you need new wheels, brakes & shifters, would look at total cost vs replacement bike, it may be cheaper to buy a new one; a few parts can add up very quickly to the cost of a new bike.

If you already have discs, and price concious, would just go for M596 Deore.

Brakes, 180f/160r is nice for XC

Disc mounts have been Post as standard for years now, most were back in 2002, all are now, IS adaptors are available to convert Post to IS, with different ones being needed for different rotor sizes.

For your shifter question, what do you have now? guessing as you have STI’s, are they rim brakes? if so, back to the cost of a replacement bike vs upgrades; unless you have DCL’s (M535) then you will still need separate shifters / brake levers if you change the brake type.

Skoda make an internal bike mount, which is OK (been using it for 2 years now in a Roomster), and mounts the bikes (front wheel off) length ways, which would probably give you more space than having the bike mounted diagonally.

There aren’t any really bad bike out there, but for £750 (new) you will be looking at a Alu frame with carbon forks, going the new route you will be lucky to get 105 at that price point, but as the 2013 range is coming in, there are bargains to be had, 2nd hand will get you carbon, but no warranty.

Shimano road groups move in the same type of cycle as MTB groups, so old can = obsolete, most of the current range is compatible with the previous generation but there are exceptions, also road riding does wear parts out, so factor this into any 2nd hand purchase

The sweet spot for road bike pricing has been £999 for several years now, due to the Cycle to Work cutoff, with nice bikes being available for that price.

Racer vs Sportive, not a lot of difference depending on brand, maybe slightly longer stays & headtube, and possible mounts for mudguards

Shimano RC55C3, stock pads on 5700’s up, not found anything better value for money yet.

Schwalbe Marathon Dureme – I had a pair for a while and they were great. Last forever too.

They are very quick as well, very please with mine.

Conti Grand Prix 4 Seasons are nice, but expensive and not everlasting, wore a rear to the threads in just under a year. no punctures till the threads went though, used Gatorskins a few years ago, found then to be OK, but nothing special, and plenty of punctures.

Currently using Michelin Lithion 2’s mainly because they were free when I got a pair of Pro4’s, although haven’t put nearly enough distance on them to know what they are really like.

Used Stelvios in the past with no issues, the name seems to have been changed / replaced by Durano now.

It’s relative crank spindle to the BB width. For HT2 road bikes are 68mm, MTB’s are 73mm.

Look at the Tech Docs for the spacers needed for the crank / BB you are going to fit Shimano Tech Docs

Try Software4students[/url], always had good prices / quick service from them.

Still cost’s £80 for MS Office Pro 2010, but you will struggle to get a legal version for less.

No problem with bikes on the District/Circle lines.

What about going to Southfields / Wimbledon Park, and riding from there over / via the common

Any good bike shop should be able to do this, would be walking away if they can’t.

What about Red Kite in Shirley, Bicicielo in B2 or even Evans in B2

Plenty of how toos around, found this one the other day which is pretty comprehensive, it’s about XTR’s, but the same principles apply for M665/666 SLX brakes.

By bleeding the brakes, you are effectively changing the oil. When you push the oil through using a syringe, you will normally get an air bubble at the start, by the time that has appeared at the other end (lever reservoir), you have both bled and changed the oil at the same time.

There are 2 different version of SLX brakes, you need to be specific in what you are talking about, M666 or M675.

If it’s M675, get the Funnel, which includes instructions.

If paying via ebay payment system, no problems, as you are protected by the buyer protection, if requesting outside wouldn’t go there.

What has happened to your original payment? has the seller been able to access this to refund you so you can send to the correct account? If they can access this, why do they need to send to a new account as they can access it? For the seller, no reason they can’t have multiple addresses linked to the same paypal account.

Looks like a ’95 from the spec / colour.

For if it’s worth upgrading, difficult to say, the frame is nice, good rim brakes can be hard to find / expensive; XT / XTR v brakes can go for a lot on ebay, Magura HS33’s are another good option.

The geometry / feel of the ride will be different to a modern bike, but it will still ride well.

Would head over to retrobike, as this is something to ask over there.

Can’t see why they would be dodgy, but as bigdug notes there is the import duty, vat and couriers cut to take into account.

Also what about warranty? if these have any issues, doubt the seller will be interested, and the UK importer has no reason do anything for non UK purchased forks.

If looking to buy a set of these would go for the Merlin ones, you can also you can get cashback via Quidco, Topcashback etc

Just get the chain line right with the correct BB length, and you should be good to go.

Take it that this is for a tourer?

Lots of options, but most aren’t cheap

Ortlieb, very common for a reason, very good quality, but expensive (use a pair of Sport Packer Classics lots)
Vaude very similar and just as good as Ortleib, similar price (have use a pair of Aqua Back for several years, very good)
Arkel hard to get in the UK, very expensive (never used)
Carridice, traditional, still expensive (never used)
Altura, cheaper (never used)
Edinburgh bike do some in their Revolution series, Wiggle DHB used to have the same ones; used the DHB ones, were good for the money, but cost half what Edinburgh now want.

The only problem is getting 8 speed STI’s even Sora is now 9 speed, if looking at new, it will be NOS parts which could be hard to find.

If you went 9 speed, parts are much easier to find.

Not the bikes, but as a shop, have used several times, and always first class service, if you contact them via e-mail they reply in perfect English, I had to warranty a light through them, easy as a UK seller, got a new replacement after about a week, no questions asked.

With any mail order bike, are you good at setting up, fixing any minor issues, as these will be harder to sort out as quickly as a LBS would, but that’s the price to pay for getting the bike cheaper in the first place.

The bikes do appear to be very good value for money and always seem to get good reviews.

DON’T USE HOT WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!

I learned that the hard way. Old Eye Jackets now with delaminates lenses. Can’t get replacements.

Have you contacted Oakley UK for an warranty / out of warranty replacement, they are normally really good for this.

It’s more the case of people forgetting to switch of their device after a ride which causes these anomalous results.

What would the point in having a version for motorbikes be? (were talking KOM here) unless your looking at track racing, it would just encourage road racing, which will all end in tears.

RealMan, Why no good for tri-cross?

brakes are in the wrong place / wrong type, it has caliper brakes, for CX you use canti’s, mini-v’s or discs, not calipers

As with others, is it Campagnolo/SRAM/Shimano/other, 8/9/10/11 speed?

Giant dealer?

SKS Airbase Pro EVA Track Pump .. best pump I have ever used.

Agree with this, although the steel main tube of mine perforated at the base after 4 years 11 months of use, covered by 5 year warranty, and received a new one a week ago.

You haven’t said where / what type of riding you are doing, if hilly, then a 11-28 or 12-30 makes sense, as you have low gears, and the ratios aren’t too spread out, also you can use a short cage mech, a 11-32 gives an even lower gear but will require a GS mech and has some big jumps in the ratios; unless you are going up really steep inclines, carrying excess weigh, would leave this for tourers.

If flat land riding, a 11-25 /12-25 or 12-27 make more sense as they have closer ratios, and will give a nice smooth transition in the ride.

My 10 year old Blackburn died last week as well now they are posed to have a “lifetime no quibble warrenty ” but i dont hold out much hope as my LBS said Madsion are not the best at warrentys etc

Would take it to your LBS for warranty, I had an old Blackburn mini pump which died a few months ago, must have been about 10 years old, no receipt, can’t remember when I bought it from, but Madison via my LBS sent a new Airstick as replacement. Great warranty service from them.

As aracer say, just keep pedalling, your on a road bike, not an MTB, and you shouldn’t be freewheeling.

As for what cassette to have, mixing Shimano & Campagnolo can be done, but it is always a messy solution, and just sticking with one system is the best solution.

With wheels from Fulcrum, American Classics and a few others you can swap the freehubs from Shimano to Campagnolo, and you can buy some cassettes with Shimano splines & Campagnolo spacing (Ambrosio), but which ever way you do it, it will almost always cost more than just getting the regular Campagnolo parts in the first place

If you like Fizik saddles, find a local dealer who carries the pink demo range, and give them all a try till you find the one you like, and buy that model from them. As S_Shep, it’s fit, not Road or MTB that matters.

I heard that British Cycling membership had increased by 50,000 since TDF

Well they did have a great offer of £10 membership; having been riding for 25+ years and never been a member before, seemed like a good deal to take up.

Was riding there yesterday, and will be again on Sunday, thought the roads were in pretty good condition compared to a lot, was coming from Sabden/Read thru Whalley, and the back roads there were in way worse condition than the Trough of Bowland

Go to a bike shop who stock the brands you are interested in, try on, find the ones which fit best, and then buy them. Everyone’s feet are different, until you find the brand / size with you like, buying mail order will be harder than trying on in-store.

Shimano R55C3 (stock Ultegra pads), in ordering from Germany, are a third the cost of Swissstop, and just as good performance.

If you had Tektro pads, anything will be better than the stock pads in them.

Wouldn’t bother with 9 speed as it’s now just about obsolete, and it would be far more cost effective changing to 10 speed now than 9.

If you were looking at changing to 9 speed, you would need new shifters, cassette, crank, chain and mechs; even if just going for a compact crank which may or may not give you an easier ride will be around the third the cost of a 4600 Tiagra groupset

If you currently have 8 speed and want to stick with it, why not just get a wider ratio cassette + chain, if you have Shimano, there are lots of options from Shimano, SRAM, BBB ad others with ratios like 13-26 or 11-28 which give loads of range, if you have Campagnolo, the options are much more limited with only Campag and 13-26.

For the seatpost, you need to measure it, this goes for any bike seatpost, get yourself to a LBS or buy some vernier calipers for this.
Does the current one not have the measurements printed on it?

For the crank, you need to know the BCD, this will determine what alternate chainrings you can put on it, for the sprockets, how many speed / freewheel or cassette will determine what can be done.

If you need to replace the gears, would look at the cost of a complete bike as it will probably be cheaper to just buy a complete 2nd hand one / basic new from Halfords / Decatholon than fix an old one.