@lucien – yes, but you know who Hannah Barnes is. The object of my obsession enquiry is unknown to me, which makes it all the sadder more intriguing…

@woody2000 – i’d say mid to late twenties, long blond(ish) hair, quite small too judging by the frame size.

It’s your wife, isn’t it…??

Quite possibly the worst piece of journalism regarding the 2014 TdF that you will ever see – HERE[/url]

I’ll get my coat…

Sorry, no can do – I only seem to see her when I’m driving. Possibly she’s staying off the roads when I’m out on my bike…

this could be fun

He he, I know – that’s why I posted it!! :lol:

Looks like Spielberg to me…

Volvo diesels are generally Audi motors. Not a big fan of the current crop (I prefer pre-Ford Volvos) but for long-distance driving comfort and reliability you’ll go a long way before you’ll find anything to better it. Perhaps not as practical space-wise as a V70 but a good car nonetheless.

Sounds like it is cylinder glass

Not doubting your wisdom, but would it not just be unevenly flat rather than curved if it was cylinder glass? I thought that the cylinder was split and then flattened out?

The other possibility is “bulls-eye” glass which may have a very slight curve to it.

Not a parent, youth worker, or teacher. I am a first aider though, FWIW.

In this instance, 999 all the way. No one has mentioned it yet, but there was a complication, whether you like it or not. It’s called “shock” – it can’t be avoided and if left untreated it can be fatal.

This is one of those incidents where procedure seems to have overtaken common sense. If it had been me, an ambulance would have been summoned first, parents contacted second (and kept updated, every ten minutes or so) and the child taken to hospital whether the parents agreed to it or not.

Banjo the fecker. Flex-cuff him, in the boot of the car, up on the moors. Strip him naked. Leave him. Tell him to make his own way home.

And whoever said “all 16 year olds are like this” – no they aren’t. I certainly never was, and most of my peers never were. And neither are their kids. But then, we are of a generation where if we behaved like this we got in the sh!t with the law, and in even more sh!t from our (non-absent) fathers.

From my point of view, I STILL haven’t heard a convincing argument as to why 29″ or 27,5″ is better than 26″.

Yes, I understand the theory – bigger wheels roll faster; they take more effort to accelerate but maintain momentum for longer; they’re slower to steer because of the greater gyroscopic forces generated. But that’s two positives and two negatives as far as I can see – which in theory cancel each other out.

Mountain bikes in the UK have had 26″ wheels for nearly 25 years. They’ve worked fine in that period. Why change what isn’t broken, unless it’s because you’re running out of original ideas and (no pun intended) you have to reinvent the wheel to give your flagging sales a boost?

I’m neither for nor against 29″ or 27,5″ over 26″; but until someone comes up with a cogent argument as to why I should change and not some marketing bullshit that has no scientific basis whatsoever, I’m sticking with 26″.

In this day and age I can’t understand why anyone would want a large (i.e. 2.5l plus) petrol engine if you do mileage? 22mpg is inexcusable these days unless you’re a member of the Omani Royal Family.

If you don’t like Ford diesels, look at something else – VAG and Volvo spring to mind (and most of Volvo’s diesels are built by Audi).

And I’m sorry OP – but an X-type saloon? As a biking car? Surely an estate would have been better, the boots are microscopic on the saloons! That’s why I didn’t get one!!

Autumn/early Spring – padded 3/4 lengths with baggies over the top.

Winter – bibshorts with Endura Windtex bibtights, baggies over the top.

Toasty.

FWIW I’m running an RP23 on my 2010 model, Float 36s and Continental Mountain King II 2,4 folders which are a claimed 680 grams.

The shock and forks are the original spec, and despite what they nay-sayers claim I don’t find that the tyres have compromised performance. I prefer them over the OE spec High Rollers that it came with, which I found very draggy especially when climbing.

Eat more pies.

Wheels is the place to start. You can save a stack of weight changing the tyres and with it being rotating weight it makes a whole load of difference.

Go 1 x 10 – you’ll get rid of a front mech, its associated cable, one chainring and a shifter (use a clutch rear mech to obviate the need for a chain device.)

Carbon fibre bars/seatpost.

Lightweight saddle? Charge Spoon/Scoop?

Replace non-load bearing screws with aluminium ones.

My 2010 Alpine weighs almost cock-on 30lbs with an RP23 shock (which it came specced with and does the job as far as I’m concerned)

+1 for Oblivion

Prometheus did it for me. A lot of people panned it and said it leaves more questions than answers, but that’s the whole point. But then I am an Aliens whore.

Crap where I am. The ball and chain was using them when I met her, she’s now on Orange and it’s a bazillion times better.

Gelert used to do some fairly reasonable ones for not much wonga. The only problem I found with them was that the bite valves used to split and leak. But they were interchangable with Camlebak ones anyway.

Honestly, if you can stretch to a CamelBak, you won’t regret it!

Didn’t realize the local bridleways were being properly upgraded as well rather than the usual “chuck some gravel on it” approach.

Well if they are, it’s to be hoped that they aren’t going to be sanitised to the point of ruination, as seems to be the trend.

I’ve been toying with this idea. I get a hankering for old-school steel now and again…but I love my FS too much…

So, timidwheeler, what do you know that I don’t?

He knows irony bullshit when he sees it.

We all rode much bigger frames than now.

Really? I still have my mum’s 1957 Claude Butler which is a 23″ frame. It feels minute next to my road bike which is a 58cm (22.8″) frame, yet technically they are (almost) the same size.

One benefit of that is that dropbars are more comfortable for all day riding because they are mounted higher.

Hmm. I changed the position of my bars by adding headset spacers and a higher rise stem, not by buying a bigger frame. Back in the day, if you wanted your bars higher, you moved the (quill) stem up in the steerer tube…

The wheels were also slightly larger.

Barely. 27″ rims were 630mm diameter. 700c rims are 622mm.

See if there are any fluid power suppliers in your area – Google “hydraulic” or “pneumatic” and if they have a trade counter, go and see if you can blag an offcut of hose.

I have a Sudafed nasal spray from the chemist – works wonders. You’ll have to ask for it though.

He’s Australian. Did you expect anything else?

since the Olympic boost, the weather has not been too bad,

Eh? It pissed it down constantly from August 2012 to April this year!!*

(* slight exaggeration a possibility)

Actually, having said that – no-one’s actually asked if your brakes work properly, despite the howling?

Mine squeal like a pig just after I wash the bike and degrease everything, but they work just peachy.

Totally normal. Remember, the correct number of bikes to covet/own is n+1, where n=number of bikes already covetted/owned.

Oil refinery workers where due to strike in Scotland, but called it off, so management still close down the refinery for a while,possibly to make sure they show who is in charge.

Shows how much you know – it takes a week or more to shut a refinery the size of Grangemouth down.

Ineos had initialised shut-down procedures as a contingency in case Unite decided to strike. As it happens, they’ve called it off but not before the point of no return in the shut-down procedure had been reached.

So it’s nothing to do with Ineos showing who’s in charge – it’s the muppets in Unite playing their silly little pseudo-communist games.

Winter of Discontent (note spelling)? Yeah right, get back to your Daily Fail…

Ground source heat pump?

Linky

I’m very happy to live in Scotland where we are partially sheltered from the effects of successive right-wing UK governments.

Eh? How does that work?

Last time I looked Scotland was still in the UK (and will remain so); and we’ve only had one right-wing government in the last 16 years…unless you were being ironic…

If you’ve got fluid on the pads, they’re fubarred. Replace. Clean discs with IPA or propietory brake disc cleaner beforehand.

Professor Brian Cox. First Class bell end.

football/soccer, and anything to do with it, the pundits, the advertising, the wages, the players, the tv coverage, the idiotic moronic gang following of it.

So I’m an idiot moron now? Charming.

Ultimately it’s a niche sport, populated by people with a healthy dose of disposable income or handy credit ratings. Much akin to Golf, Tennis & Horse Riding.

I’d hardly call golf, tennis or equestrianism “niche” – if you look at the numbers who participate regularly, as against cycling, it’s mind-boggling.

It’s also been mentioned that golf is elitist – again I disagree. It is certainly perceived as elitist in some sectors, but I would suspect the large number of working-class people who play would also disagree. Again, it’s like any sport – it’s only elitist if you want it to be. A full set of clubs from Sports Direct (albeit cheap as chips ones) is about £75; box of balls £5; packet of tees £2. Head to your local municipal course (many towns have them, especially in Scotland) and you’re looking at about £6 for a round.

Golf is one of my other passions, and I am a member of a club, but there are people from every walk of life there – from “lad and dad” pairings up to the fanatics. Everyone is made welcome, no-one is treated with any deference (except the club officers) and everyone helps each other to get along. In fact, golf is often cited as about the only sport where the man in the street can compete (theoritically) with the pros.

I’m using solidworks and I have the parts modelled as sheet metal so they flatten. The problem is I can’t find anyone to make them without a fully dimensioned drawing which will slow things down.

Sounds more like they can’t be arsed because it’s a one off.

This is my bread and butter as a designer. As has already been said, all you need is a 1:1 DXF for a laser/waterjet profile. That said, you may also need to provide a detail drawing which show fold lines, overall sizes etc, or else how will the folder/fabricator know whether the finished article is correct?

Yes. The only difference between a 9 speed and 10 speed chain is that the 10 speed has thinner side plates and shorter rivets. The rollers (and hence the gap between the plates) are the same.

The only caveat is that depending upon how worn your chainrings are, you may experience chain suck or slippage with a new chain.

It’s worrying that £350 can be considered a small amount of money on here! And how many poorer working class families have gym membership?!!

Who needs a subscription? Most local councils (if not all) provide free access to sport and exercise equipment and classes.

The cost of a season ticket to a football team can be above 1000UKP, that’s an annual cost before you even consider travel etc…

I think that the issue we’re discussing is not accessibility as a spectator but as a competitor/participant.

If you play football, the absolute bare minimum you need to start off (say, boots, shin pads, training strip, tracksuit) can be bought brand new for well under £100.

In my experience, the most under-represented group in cycling has to be Asian women. Some of the reasons for this are really quite disturbing.

It’s not just cycling. You very rarely see them taking part in ANY physical activity which involves mixing with other groups and ethnicities. I don’t think that this has anything to do with accesibility, more cultural peculiarities.