PS – re modern cars & ECUs – as you are disturbing the wiring (as fronts have wear sensors) & can throw up fault codes it’s best to disconnect the battery (ensuring you have your radio code) and re-connect it when all is done.

Generally what’s been said. It’s always best to loosen the wheel nuts when the car is still on the ground & do the final tighten when it’s back on the ground too.

You don’t need to change the discs (don’t believe all you read) unless the pads have worn down to metal & the discs are scored up. Or unless they are so badly worn they are too thin – they do have a minimum thickness which will be in the manual. It’s always good to look at the braking area to ensure the pads are making full contact. You might also have to lever the calliper off past the discs if they are worn as the wear leaves a lip on the outside of the disc.

Also – as has been said – a G clamp is useful to push the Pistons back to enable the new discs to be fitted – but do keep an eye on the master cylinder as it will fill up with the displaced fluid & some may need to be drawn off.

I actually did cars before bikes – cos bikes just didn’t have hydraulic brakes – in the day……….

How do you tell if canvas is still waterproof??

I re-proofed my tent every 2-3 years (and I now do the same with the canvas on my campervan pop-top) with Grangers Fabsil. If you buy a lage container (5L?) it’s much cheaper than smaller amounts & aerosols & paint it on with a brush it will last you 2-3 applications.

I wouldn’t chance second hand canvas being waterproof!

I had one (an Andre Jamet French one) when the children were small & they loved it. It was good too to get up off the ground with decent mattresses. The best ones were made by Conway – and the most expensive.

It was pretty easy to erect with 2 hinged leaves folding out from the trailor for the beds & a front frame & canvas to attach. It’s good to carry the kit in too as it takes the pressure off the car. The only downside is having somewhere to store it – ideally inside to avoid the damp – and a towing speed limit of 60mph on motorways.

You can probably get a good one for reasonable money on eBay – often with additional kit – but the prices will rise with summer coming on.

In Letchworth Garden City here – we’ve had ‘The Worlds End’ with Simon Pegg & bits of Top Gear filmed around the streets. We do actually have UKs first roundabout – not a lot of people know that………

5th Gear has been running on – perhaps not still though – on some obscure channel that I caught accessionally. Tiff Nedell, Jason Plato and others presented it. It was infinitely more watchable & grown up than Top Gear!! But maybe that was its weakness…………..

My son had a good present for one of these sessions at Silverstone. He had an off road session (30 mins or 60 mins – can’t remember) in a Land Rover that was excellent. I sat in the back going up & down 45 degree hills & sideways at the same. This was then followed by being driven around the race track in a Lotus 7.

Not sure how much it cost but it was certainly a memorable present.

Yes I use Rudy Project Rydons with insets & am pretty happy with them. The insert frames were quite expensive & I got the rimless ones which are less conspicuous. I mainly use impact X – impact resistant lenses – Photophromatic lenses which change very quickly – but can change then to racing red or night time yellow.

I saw a very inexpensive Range Rover on eBay a while ago that was being sold after being seized by the Police – a bit too pimped for me (and not really a bike carrier or what I would drive) but I thought a new number plate was a definite!

I send stuff through Parcel Monkey – they seem to be the gateway for lots of other couriers including Parcelforce. Others may also be available – but they seem OK to me.

Setting tappets on the OHV car engines – change bucket shims too…..
Setting points clearance & adjusting timing with a strobe timing light.
Changing clutches (on rear wheel drive cars)
Building bikes; doing your own servicing & setting up gears properly……. But I’m sure we all still do this – donr we?

I got mine done at 60k mi – not worth the risk going beyond this. Get the water pump & thermostat done too. My thermostat failed recently & the van overheated. Luckily I stopped & had it recovered without any lasting damage.

61 this year – am I winning?
I have a few issues – often think of the sketches Les Dawson used to do as 2 old ladies exchanging their medical conditions – but they don’t stop me from being fit & active.

I play hard games of Squash about 3 times a week – often against those 1/3 of my age – & get out on the bike about twice. Once today on the road bike for about an hour and a regular Sunday morning off road for about 2-3 hours in the mud fest we call Hertfordshire.

I’ve managed to keep reasonably slim & still have my hair – so not all bad……..

It’s worth getting a socket set if you don’t have one – BUT what you really need is a spark plug socket. These are longer than ordinary sockets & often have some soft insert to hold the spark plug when you are putting it in or taking it out. There are a couple of different sizes – but if you ensure you get the right size spark plugs for your car (either use the Halfords look-up cards or ask a salesperson – then get one to fit. They may come in with a socket set or not depending on the set & the size of plug you need.

Also be careful not to over tighten spark plugs when you put them in. A bit of copper grease on the threads to prevent seizures & a torque wrench is useful and knowing the correct torque to be on the safe side.

I’m having the same problem too and it’s pi$$ing me off to – Bigtime! Initionally it did have the ‘x’ at the top & could be cancelled – bit for the past few days is just filling the screen without the ‘x”.

SG6 – Here

Hi thanks for the responses. An A3 is a bit smaller than i would like & I think I will stick with diesel. Yes Jambalaya – I’ve had 2 A6s 2.5 TDis (2008 & 2003) & they were great cars – great v6s, very stable, comfortable & capable of good speeds all day. 1st got 220k on the clock before I sold it, second had to have a gearbox rebuild (CVT ugh!) at 100k that cost £2k. I believe the Quattros – of the same age had Tiptronic boxes – so not the same problems.

I crashed the A6 a while back – silly low speed crash – but enough to write it off and I have a VW T5 camper now – again with the VAG 1.9 TDI lump.

Same as TiRed – Rudy Project Rydons with Photophromatic Impact-X lenses & RX inserts with varifocal lenses. They were an expensive outlay – but got the lenses cheapish online. I’ve had them several years now & also use them for windsurfing (with neoprene strap) but they do float too……

I’ve got them for all the cars in the family – as an emergency measure. A few years ago when the snow was really bad I had an Audi A6 auto with low profile tyres that slid all over the place. I only tested a set out last year for a short distance & they seemed pretty good. The YouTube vids etc showing cars even towing others with snow socks on are pretty impressive…… I’ve just got a set for my VW T5 camper!

Had a frozen shoulder some years ago. It lasted for about 18 months & was incredibly painful if my arm got jolted or I had to move it suddenly. Went to the doc who sent me to physio – which did v little as I couldn’t move it above my shoulder & no end of treatment improved this. Was eventually revered for an op under general anaesthetic to manipulate it. It worked! I tok up weekly swimming which kept it mobile & it came back to 100% usage.

Shoulder joints must be the poorest piece of mechanical design – ever…..

Another one for Neilson here. Done about 6 of their holidays now – excellent mountain biking (even took my own bike last 2 times) with v good guides. Very expensive in the summer holidays (I was a teacher so unavoidable) but much more reasonable earlier / later in the season. Fantastic food / excellent beach clubs / brilliant children’s clubs & very good staff.

I only use BikeRadar to post up our local rides in Hitchin Herts & don’t really find it of any other interest……. Now if Singletrack had a similar forum for local MTB rides………..

Too many variables I would think. As has been said the cooler water will try to reduce the temp in the room. How is the ambient temp maintained? Is it allowed to drop? What material is the uninsulated bucket? Metal / plastic which will have effect on the heat transfer. How large is the room? The smaller volume will potentially drop in temp more than a larger volume – if the ambient temp is not maintained.

I’m not a physicist but I think you would have to get the answer by practical experiment – empirical?

PayPal costs the seller about 4% of the purchase price so many sellers insist on NO paypal – just cash on collection. I have used cash on many sales for the above reason & have been lucky to have decent buyers who paid the price without haggling or argument – but I do list very honestly.

When I have paid cash I also make sure it’s exactly as described before I hand over the cash – which has also generally gone well with the exception of one bike which was an absolute dog in the ‘flesh’ that I did have to walk away from. My defence was that it wasn’t ‘as described’.

I was in ‘Vas’ a few years ago on a Neilson Windsurfing & MTB activity holiday. It has fantastic wind ( too strong +++for me) and excellent mountain biking. The 2 MTB guides were excellent taking an advanced & intermediate ride out each morning for between 3-5hrs….

Sorry know nothing about CTFs but a Junior ISA would be worth thinking about – they probably have some of the best interest rates at the mo – 3.25% tax free. Check out Martin Lewis’s MoneySavingExpert.com for more information & other ideas.

Just bought the wife a Garmin forerunner 15 watch for Xmas which will upload to the Garmin connect website – and I assume strava. She has it for running but can also be fitted to the bike with a handlebar mount. It was £107 + I fleabayed a new strap for £21. I have an edge 705 (getting a bit on now) & both can import the GPS to a computer OS map system I have – Mapyx Quo.

I’ve used a Garmin heart rate strap with my Edge 705 for many years & it has lasted well & works fine. I believe the soft ones weren’t as good as the more rigid plastic ones (as I have) & I have just bought one for the wife’s Garmin watch she got for Christmas on fleabay. New for £22 – a good win!

Hi – I have a 1.9 full camper T5.
I would check out the T4/t5 forum on the net as there is lots on there about the DSG and all other variants. It’s sometimes best to search google with ‘T5’ in the key words as the Forum search facility is not great. Good luck with your searching. Mine in manual – but I have an auto Audi & it’s a much more relaxed style of driving…….

Yea – I have this problem when I fit my reverb – which I only do when going on hols to do some real down hill stuff – otherwise for normal XC I just use a fixed post.

It doesn’t insert enough & I have to play with it to get a suitable ‘up’ adjustment. Last time I used it I put a zip tie thro the saddle rails & top of the frame by the seat which stopped it going any higher than the ‘right’ height. The loopy zip tie was a bit of a pain at times with the post dropped – but it’s a solution……

Thanks Bikebouy – the mystery thickens………
I can see the list of my rides in classic view in the Dashboard tab view – with the map in the small window & some data under the window.
When I then click on a single ride it opens up on the – Analyze – tab with all the detailed data on the left but no map & empty graph windows…..

If you want one the same you could buy a new one from the Spares desk at car dealers or search out on the ‘bay a spare one for your make / model of car – although take care to ensure its not buckled / cracked allow etc…

Ordered one as I don’t have one that goes down that low. Many thanks for posting

I’ve just bought a set off evilbay – search & you will find them. They are a bit of a pain to drift out and fit & mine lasted less than one year with little use. In future I will stick with Hope which have lasted much, much longer…..

Just put my Fireline Ti Evi Ltd 20″ frame in the For Sale section if anyone is interested. Link here: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-titus-ti-fireline-evo-ltd-29er-20%e2%80%9d-frame

Great bike – a real work of art – but little used as I preferred my FS Titus FTM…….

John

Hi -I posted one last night. 7 days left unless it’s been used.

Look under my name.

Hi – I use Mappx Quo & upload all of my maps to my PC where I have a range of tiles 1:25k that covers my local riding area. As I use a Garmin I also upload it to the Garmin Connect website where you can filter the rides under headings like distance, heart rate, av speed etc.

I’m not sure if you can use it on the phone though – I’ve never had the need…..

Just aborted 2 – 3 hour off road this morning as ‘severe’ weather was due at 8.00am by the local BBC forecast. That has now changed to 9.00 – but the rain hasn’t arrived yet! It was bad enough sideways riding through several inched of mud – even with mid tyres on – last week but don’t get any enjoyment doing that with rain like stair rods coming down.

Roll on some sunshine!

TAKE GREAT CARE!,

The link above of top gear transmissions looks very much like the place on Watchdog a while ago that ripped off loads of people – unless there are 2 gearbox automatic specialists in Cleckheaton Bradford.

I may be mistaken but I suggest you google them……

Put a set of them on my 29er hope / crests – one went up no problem with a track pump & the other I tried to get up by putting a tube in & seating one side – but had to resort to a compressor!