Good luck!

I still have the Cross Check you sold me and some of your stickers on my bikes. I would happily buy more along the lines of “I brake for cake” and “Education is important, but getting rad is importanter”.

My vote would be a bolt with a couple of wing nuts and washers so less risk of over tightening.

Looks like they changed the lower supports to be tightened via a turn knob, the upper one has also been changed to add tool holders. Not convinced it make it more robust or if the extra features add a lot of value.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/park-tool-park-tool-pcs-10.3-deluxe-home-mechanic-repair-stand

As a slightly overly earnest teenager who wanted to be “individual, just like everyone else” I put my name down for a home design shop prize draw for a store called Utility in Liverpool.

Only thing I ever won, also likely the only person who entered on their website way back in 2002.

I won a copy of “Fresh Fruits” Japanese street fashion photography collection. Nice coffee table book but not what I was really interested in.

Gave it to charity last year when clearing my stuff at my parents and they are selling for £120 online second hand apparently 😢

I’ve got a couple of tough built c700 folding metal saw horses, jobsite table from a couple of pieces of 2×4 and a 1/4 sheet of 18mm plywood. Bomb proof and easy to clamp things on the edges.

These Von Haus look fairly similar, but a fair bit cheaper.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385777585227?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=oe6xs8hjq_q&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=KCTQI5spQ7e&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I think they are well over priced and whilst I’m sure it’s a nice tamper it’s not the size most people go for when buying them!

I am a coffee snob though, slightly disappointed their chief caffeine officer do not know all the cool kids have 58.5mm diameter tampers for better edges/reducing channeling.

Admittedly this did make me giggle and thing of the varying bike headset/bb/hub standard wars… 🤔

You will need an SG length rear derailleur in this case, the longer cage SGS won’t clear the large cassette ring.

I couldn’t get it to work when I tried with an SGS, but a roadlink or extender might do the trick.

Thanks for the replies, definitely want to address the underlying problem.

Skirtings on the floor in the extension are showing as 15%. Any wood 30cm over floor level is showing as less than 10%.

The area with rot came up as 25-40% on that section, bottom of the door frame by the rot was 18-20%.

The single story flat roof did leak ~5 years ago, had the pointing fixed and area by the joint sealed. Can’t spot any wet patches on the ceiling and upper walls are dry.

There is a shared chimney above it on the main roof that had damp patches on the plastered chimney breast, we hopefully had it fixed when the roof was redone recently.

@mattyfez – Fair point about calming down, it did come up at exactly the wrong time. I was looking to resign next week, work stress and redundancies mean I need a change.

@spooky_b329 – I do have a two pronged moisture meter, so will do some comparative readings again around the house.

The two we chose are not free surveys so paid, which might help a bit. Will also contact a local builder we are friendly with.

Boxed in section has the hot, cold and rad pipes for the bathroom running along the wall.

A bit of an update, all going well so far actually! Thanks for the pointers.

She really liked her new bike, enjoyed riding it and after a few goes decided the seat was too low as it made her legs feel cramped. So she asked me to raise it and has now adapted how she gets on/off it so doesn’t have to have a foot on the floor each time.

So I’m counting this as a win, as she is keen to do some exploring around the Lee Valley and Epping Forrest trails next week when we are both on holiday 🤞

Personally I would only get one with discs and through axles if I had to buy a new one.

Really in terms of future proofing more than anything, I would guess Shimano is going to be phasing cable brakes and QR hubs in their  road ranges over time like they are with their MTB/trekking groups.

I know you are likely able to get either super cheap or very expensive stuff, but likely risk losing the middle ground that a lot of people have gotten used to.

How about rhubarb? Ours is in the shady patch and is super low maintenance. Great crumbles and gin a few times a year.

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/karate_monkey

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/krampus

Says 521mm fork length on the KM geometry listing when I checked, Krampus is 483mm listed and meant to be the same fork 🤷‍♂️

I don’t know which is right unfortunately.

Karate Monkey/Krampus steel fork, which is 521mm and boost?

I know it’s the other way in terms of longer, as the KM can work with a 130-140mm suspension fork.

Edit: looks to be a mismatch on the KM bike listing and separate Krampus fork. Will need to check with a tape measure to be sure.

Also have an Ergon women’s saddle knocking around with quite a short nose.

So, spoke to my wife again after work today.

She’s keen for me to not spend any more money right now and would like some time trying it out. She wouldn’t want a dropper as it’s something else for me to fix/maintain, but could be more open to changing how she rides.

After watching all the other cyclists in her group ride yesterday she is open to trying out different ways of getting on and off. She could see how standing whilst braking or being able to get off on rough ground easily could help her.

She wants to have a try out in our local park with me at the weekend and even mentioned being keen to try and roll the little pump track of all things as long as I watched her 😂

So a bit of a win, which might help make things easier in the future.

I have been pretty tempted myself! 😅

https://surlybikes.com/uploads/downloads/15924_SUR_Bike_Sizing_Chart_OL_VF.pdf

Surly says Small 5’4”-5’8”, Medium 5’7”-6’0”

My wife is 5’8” and wears 32” leg jeans.

Stock Karate Monkey comes with a 70mm stem so the 60mm I got is only a bit smaller than the one the complete bikes ship with. There is almost no inside frame space on a small for bottles or a frame bag, which makes it worse for bike packing.

I added up the stem lengths and effective top tubes for both and they are very similar as her LHT has a 120mm stem with flat bars.

Problem is she wanted to be the same distance from the floor whilst in the saddle. However the bottom bracket and wheel centres are higher on the new bike. This was only achievable by putting the saddle “too low”, which meant her knees were more bent at bottom of pedal stroke than ideal.

Now adjusted again as a compromise, she can just about get a toe on the ground but is in a less good pedaling position. Will see how she gets on before trying to fix/buy more stuff.

Messy shed pic as it currently has half our loft in it. Two good handfuls of seatpost showing so I think a small would not be a better choice.

She has joined “velociposse” recently, I hope she has fun with the other women and they can do all the top tips/training suggestions etc. as or when required.

A lot of replies, hopefully haven’t missed too much.

Thanks for dropper and lever recommendations. She does follow Katie Kookaburra already, partly what inspired her.

Good call on the cycling coach, she has had some training plans from someone locally so worth a shot.

@mudfish – Super kind of you to offer, I’m in London so just too far as we don’t have a car right now. But much appreciated.

@chevychase – No way I can take that approach, would kill the joy of trying something new that I have been playing the long game on for a while and be very counter productive. Glad you got a good result though! 😂

@qwerty – She has a 120mm stem on her 54cm LHT, I put a 60mm stem on the Karate Monkey so it should just about even out the much longer effective top tube. She’s 5’8” so same height as me but has longer legs.

She can’t put both feet on the floor currently, just leans over to put her left toe on the floor each time (took a lot of subtle “twits like” adjusting 3mm higher until she rumbled me and asked for slightly lower).

@qwerty – I couldn’t say it like that as it would come across as mansplaining.

@stwhannah – Thanks, any recommendations and one that isn’t limited to <50kg flyweights?

@Rubber_Buccaneer – Will be fine, rear rack to use with a dry bag means no issues.

Thanks, hadn’t considered one actually. Might be too faffy though as she is definitely “I just want to ride it” type person and worry she would break it and get embarrassed.

Options I can see;
1 – Compromise by lowering the saddle hugely and hope her knees are OK 🫣
2 – Skill training/confidence building to get used to not starting/stopping in the saddle
3 – Order a 27.5” wheel set with new 2.25” tyres so axles are ~20mm lower?

@ton – I really like the D’Tour I bought from Spa, does all the stuff I wanted from it and was cheaper than an equivalent Surly.

Tube set comparison with my wife’s old 26”LHT, the 725 D’Tour has smaller OD tubes that sounded thinner when flicked and has more tactical reinforcement gussets on it.

The LHT seems to use burlier tubing overall, whilst the design of the D’Tour seems a bit more thought out. Both ride really well, no downside I can see at all from the D’Tour handling or frame stiffness being impacted as the design/geometry are nice.

What about Ben Cooper at Kinetics?

I think I saw an old thread ages ago where he replaced a broken down tube on a forum users bike (Somafunk maybe?). looked like he did a great job even with the to tube detached from the head tube as well.

https://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/category/frame-repairs/

@ton – Woolly hat shop rebranded a while back, as it think it was a bit too obscure if a good name!

They are legit and still good for spares and OEM parts etc.

@spaniardclimber – That makes more sense now! 😂

Some ideas from this website for 1920-30s styles.

http://edwardian-fireplaces.co.uk/content/hampstead-tiled-fireplace-insert

When our old Baxi back boiler finally dies we will get it and the ugly 80s marble hearth pulled out as well. Likely going to have it blocked up and similar tiles to these Victorian ones laid in a metro pattern instead. Might be worth considering something similar as they are likely a sympathetic match?

https://firetile.co.uk/shop/victorian-wall-tiles/

Are you sure the fireplaces and tiles are all original?

The block work is more modern and doesn’t seem line up properly with the metro tiles or overall opening.

We have a 1911 London terraced house with the original fireplaces removed but some metro tile hearths under the carpet. Chimney breasts in front and back rooms would have had larger fireplaces in for show, only smaller fireplaces upstairs for the bedrooms. At a guess ours would have been more like this.

Cast iron Victorian style fires with painted tile diagonal sides might have gone out of fashion at that point, arts and crafts or art deco could have been more common.

@temudgin – How about a Surly Ogre for flat bar options? All the mounting points you could want and with two sets of tyres could easily do you full year round whatever the weather.

Edit: not used them but they do cycle to work etc

Surly Ogre 

Yes it’s been great to commute on this week so far, started the day with a big smile!

Well worth it for no more toe overlap and the handling is super controlled. Just what I was after really, but had to also make it less flash with some tactical black electrical tape.

I think they aren’t bad value for a heat treated butted cromo frame, hand built wheels, fully kitted with accessories, decent tyres and assembled properly.

Also some sizing advice from someone who knows their stuff is a welcome change from most bike shops I go into 😂

New bike day has arrived! Checked it over and just what I wanted, our cat Tilly also approves.

Some tweaks made after this, saddle up a couple of inches and bars dropped further etc. Rides well and is nicely stable, discs are getting better with a bit of use as they definitely need some bedding in.

Also first time I’ve had thumb shifters since I was 11 years off of in my Raleigh Lizard! 😂

@matt_outandabout – Alternative suggestion is an expedition touring bike like the Spa Wayfarer?

They do a long geometry option that looks better for flat/alt bars, 47mm tyre clearance with mudguards.

I believe they are designed with a longer front centre to avoid toe overlap. Worth checking as they can tell you for sure, all custom builds so can go for the spec you want.

https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s225p3866/SPA-CYCLES-Wayfarer-9spd-Cable-Disc

Think that counts as a result!

Glad you sorted it out without too much bother and got to make a friend happy in the process 👍

@twonks – this is the tool I used when replacing the 7 speed freewheel on my wife’s Dahon espresso years ago.

I ended up having her sit on and hold the tyre of the wheel whilst I used an extension bar on a massive spanner. Nearly tacoed the rim with the force needed, I swore never again and upgraded her wheel! 😂

The video you had I think is a work, no way is it that easy to come off.

If I can find it I could post the tool out to you to borrow if you would like, just send me a PM with your details etc?

Park Tool FR-1.3 – Freewheel Remover: Shimano Uniglide

Eurggghhh, not what I had hoped to hear just after ordering a Shimano Sora 9-speed touring bike with a triple! 🙄

At least I opted for disc brakes this time. I do have some spare hubs, derailleurs and levers just in case though and will likely keep my eye out for any discounted parts.

Any views on whether the hubs are going to be front 100mm and rear 135mm OLD compatible for the TC500 / QC500 range?

All my double/triple chainsets are still chugging along with 9 or 10 speed and had no need to upgrade.

I was mistaken, I’m not that familiar with the Shimano direct mount system I had assumed the bolts attached the chain ring to a crank arm mounted spider. So the spider and chainring are a single part on some models, rather than just the chain ring getting swapped out.

https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/80664/shimano-slx-direct-mount-chainring-spider-bolts-are-they-available

@tthew – I could be mistaken, or I have much lower standards for BSOs than you! 😂

I will have a scout round as I’m sure I remember seeing a few Shimano models where that was the case.

Admittedly it’s not all single ring cranks, as that would be madness especially given the price of some of them.

Grease ports/nipples for pedals, hubs and linkages that don’t used sealed bearings.

I know a bit “old fashioned” but can make your kit go on almost forever by flushing out any contaminants and reducing the need to disassemble things.

Also replaceable chainrings, no idea why some of the modern single ring stuff means you have to buy a whole new crank when it’s worn out.

@dyna-ti – technically only three times, once when built  and the two replacements. Never needed truing in between.

I used a Park Tool spoke gauge when built up, using a “known good” wheel from a builder for reference with the same rims/spoke. I know they aren’t super accurate but are alright for relative comparisons.

Other half has not fessed up to doing anything to break it recently, so I’ve swapped in a cheapo spare one to tide her over until the new one from Spa arrives in a few weeks.