Do people really consider an 11 year old car old?!

Get used to replacing wishbones. Uppers aren’t too costly but the lowers are more ££ as the sub frame has to be dropped. And OE only as pattern parts are even weaker.

If you like replacing suspension bit then try a Jag S-type. There are so many opportunities to experience squeaks, rattles, clonks and tea trolley handling!

I’m wary of the chop. The way it was explained to me is that once they are off it kind of stops the clock on parts of the dogs development. So if they are, for example, timid/scared at the time of the chop then they may never get over that. I can’t say for sure but the theory makes sense to me. Either way I certainly wouldn’t see it as a cure for all and any acting out and would never consider it for a dog that’s still growing.

My complete German Shepherd is 19 months now and still very puppy like. He’s not aggressive or domineering in any way but does gets up in other dogs faces and wants nothing more than to just play. Most are fine with it but older or more timid dogs do find him a bit much and have snapped at him before. He does hate to be dragged away from new friends  but will settle down once they’re out of sight or a little distance away. He doesn’t seem to understand (or just ignores) the signs that he’s not welcome but is getting better, certainly seems more perceptive than a few months ago anyway.

I’d say give it some time, he nowt but a nipper now.

Buying car parts on eBay.

Suspension bushes, front hub and track rods all knackered in less than 5k miles, total shat the lot.

Still in use by my eldest (in the photo – now 15)

He’s going to be sooo pleased that you posted that picture of him!

I’ll never sell my old Marin. I’ve had it since 2000, I think it’s 92/93.

But for now my favourite bike has to be this;

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It’s a Dave Hinde something or other. I don’t know why I like it so much I just do, it’s not like I’m even into the sort of riding it’s best for.

(I’m not responsible for the paint job)

One of the best things about this forum design is the visual simplicity. Avatars add nothing of value, so I’m hoping the answer is ‘no’

Me too. The only thing I think the forum could have done with is a little marker by the name of the OP throughout the thread. Makes it easy to track answers/questions etc. at a glance.

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My car began clunking and squeaking very loudly from the o/s/r last night so I whipped the wheel off only to find one of the set of suspension arm bushes I fitted in July has completely failed! They’re a real sod to change as well.

I was planning to start cycling to work but not until it was light at either end of the day, started early..

My Dad insured his old Volvo after it had been off the road to have the hot engine he’d built for it and all the associated kit fitted.

“Who did the work?” asked the insurance company.

“I did”.

“Oh I see, and are you qualified to do that sort of thing?”

“Yes I’ve got a City & Guilds qualification.”

“Oh that’ll be fine sir.”

Yeah a C&G in carpentry..

I’ve found that using a Land Rover purely on the road and maintaining it properly is a perfectly good way to destroy them, bloody things.

Saying that I wouldn’t mind a Henry with the motor powered brush, they’re pretty damn good.

There are actually lots of different Henry’s. They look pretty much the same but the switches, motors and top casings changed over the years. Mine is the really basic single speed, non-recoil cable version. The motor armature died at about ten years and I bodged a Panasonic motor into it as it was available for a fiver, tuned it up to 1400w yo! All of them can be fixed pretty cheaply though, there just isn’t much in there to go wrong.

Having worked on many Dysons I’d not have one. Noisy, cheaply made crap in my opinion.

I swear half the kids round here are birthed solely for the extra benefit payments..

I was in care at 11 and back with them after school ended, I was glad to get a job.

There are many shitty people in the world, lots of them have children.

My mother said to my missus not long after we’d met “You know sometimes you can have a child and you just don’t gel with them”. I was in the room..

I don’t have any children and likely never will, have always been “alone” and am quite happy with it. Not especially close with my parents either.

But even so I know that there will be a sudden and overwhelming sense of isolation when they’re gone. It really will become a game of two halves and although I hope to be older and wiser by that time I fear my reaction is  going to be a bit OTT.

Is the (understandable) uneasiness caused by a new relationship acting as a catalyst for anxiety over another issue?

If you can’t see forward look sideways.

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Have they got the Doppio Air spring?</span>   (how do you do quotes with this newfangled system?)

Yes they’re the Doppio system. I’m still fiddling with pressures most times I go out just to get a feel for how they work. I haven’t been inside them yet and the damping knob on the bottom of one leg is broken so I see a rebuild looming. I fear they maybe a little more complicated inside than the usual Bombers I’m used to servicing. Definitely worth it though, they’re a great fork.

Here are some other Bombers in the collection, both on the same bike at different times.

98/99 Jr T’s. Had them since 2003. My first real suspension forks! (Chilli’s just don’t count). I love these forks and am really happy to have them back on a bike after a few years laying dormant.[/url]

2003 Dirt Jumper 3 130mm. The last year of the alloy stanchions, way lighter than the later steel versions. Strangely the tyre clearance is worse than on the T’s above.

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My newest forks a set of 2007 Z1 SL. They’re lovely and light, so I stuck a big ‘un hub in them..

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Does anyone remember the spaddock from Dirt magazine? It was was a mattock with the end of a spade welded on it, an amazing tool apparently.

WTB Volt

My mates got one and so far it’d be my second favourite to the Spoon, maybe equal.

I’ve never tried the Scoop but have the evergreen Spoon on both the bikes that are ridden sitting down. The gnar bikes have whatever’s laying about with deep sides so they don’t dig into the legs too much.

To me the up-sweep at the tail on the Spoon makes them feel bigger than other saddles which is nice when you want to move about. They seem to last pretty well though I did bend the rails badly on one when I crashed and landed on it with my considerable gut..

Yes I do, as does anyone in a similar situation. Please be more proactive than I am.

Full respect to GeeTee. I couldn’t be the first to bring that up, I can only follow,

I get pushed about by my missus, not physically but there’s little I do that is not dependent on her approval. The way she “controls” me is not even a blatant thing. I love her and she’s one of the very few people whose opinion of me I care about and it’s the disapproving sounds, gestures and lack of interest in my plans that sway me. There’s also the fear, yes fear, of something she assumed me to mean/want/be hiding being brought up days/weeks/months later to try to shut me down. Yeah it sounds pathetic but our situation is an odd one. She has just started working from home after many years of me fully supporting her following a serious head injury. She still suffers from it and probably will for life and so I give her slack but it’s never enough.. I have lost my temper with her many times and did strike her once, it wasn’t for control or to establish dominance, it was pure rage at her behaviour towards me. When I do lose my rag she says she needs a man not a boy, that sorta stuff, as if an outburst is more childish than mind games.. Someone’s going to get hurt and I need to prevent that. But I can’t chuck her out, she’s not a citizen and can’t support herself neither physically or financially. It is up to me though, one of the few things that feel like they are.

Someone above mentioned maintenance. You may not think it that important for a electric saw but knowing how to keep the brake, bar and chain in good nick is essential. A blunt or badly sharpened chain is dangerous. Take your time and learn how to sharpen them properly and make sure you have plenty of new spare ones while you learn.

Before you pull the trigger ask yourself what would happen if someone came and gave you a shove. Would you fall over? If so move until you’re stable.

Oh and use an RCD..

Can’t believe no ones mentioned ‘The Wrong/Right Clothes’ yet.

Even a nice outfit won’t change attitudes this morose..

To be fair I’ve got a tree to cut down a fence to put up today and I just can’t bring myself to get dressed to do it. For me the really dispiriting weather is the grey, slightly wet, just a little cold sort that goes on for a week. It’s like the lurgy that’s just bad enough to make you feel rough but drags on for ages. Give me two days of puking and get it over with!

I’ve been supporting my virtually house bound missus for nearly ten years now since she got cranial nerve damage. We have round and round in circles with every person she gets referred to either disagreeing with the diagnosis (but not offering a new one) and/or referring her back to someone she’s already seen. I saved up and got her some consultations privately but you just end up seeing people from the NHS in a different building..

The lack of willingness to actually get to the bottom of the problem is astounding. They can’t even be bothered to look back and see who she’s already seen and what treatment has been tried, which has amounted to sod all really. This a condition that has and is treated successfully by surgery in not only America, Japan, Germany but North Korea, Bangladesh and several other countries which we’re led to believe are backwards. But the NHS refuse to acknowledge anything of the sort can be done.

If we go in ready to listen she seems to get palmed off and if we go in with loads of info and research she gets labeled as wanting to have a problem. I don’t know how the hell you’re supposed to get anywhere with a problem which isn’t common and easy to fix to be honest. So I don’t know what the best approach would be, I think it boils down to finding someone in the NHS who is determined to get it sorted even if it’s not their field of work. At least they may be able to push to get it looked at.

I wish them all the best with treatment.

I can see Devon, a land free from the tyranny of Cornwall County Council.

Eating fish n chips and drinking the first of several beers. Very rarely don’t cook myself but am knackered after the first week of a new job and it seemed a good excuse.

That’s a lot to lose! I got up to 17st last year from injury and being off work, exercise etc. for 18 months and would be over the moon to get down near that sort of figure. Been cycling hard for 6 months now and have just started a physical job but I need to do more before I make much of a dent on it.

It’s sounds to me like you think of it as a bit of a hollow victory what with having having all those other problems; But less weight for your body to deal with will no doubt help with them not to mention everything else. Some people may say that the positive attitude is a bit sappy but I reckon there’s nothing wrong with looking for the good so as long as you watch out for the bad.
Good on you, best of luck.

My younger brother’s rebuilding an old CG125 and discovered that standard to his expense!

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I like it.

Spoiler! Lol

What else would you expect from A BIG hitter?

I hate to be a car geek party pooper, but the Maclaren F1 used wing mirrors from a VW Corrado,
So that story seems a little unlikely

I thought it was just TVR who used Corrado mirrors.

The bike doesn’t look very stable either..

I had Spectrum 128k and with it came a music player programme, on tape.. Yes you would load up this programme from a perfectly good audio type tape only to be assaulted with inferior sounding music to what could have been recorded onto said tape off Atlantic 252, with a period Binatone tape deck.

Rainbow Islands was tops though.

That brace truly is a thing of awesomeness.

99ish Stratos MX6 not a bad fork but heavy and easily twisted with a total loss lubrication system. Unlikely to be used again.

Ha ha! My brother’s got a set of these complete with the total loss system. He ended running veg oil in (or out of) them while he saved up for some 888’s.

I remember getting his bike out the car, absent mindlessly turning it upside down to put the wheel in and him panicking ‘cos all the oil was escaping.

He ended up “rigidifying” them for a drift trike project so he could use a Hope 6 pot on it..

massively improved with the black spire brace.

I’m intrigued.

Brace added…..what do we think? Still a flaming ball of death?

That’ll be great, for going backwards.

I can’t help thinking that any force strong enough to damage the dropout/bracket would open up that clip like a tin of sardines.

Just a pad to push against the back edge of the seat stay would probably resist movement better.

I’m no fan of unnecessary complication in a car or of a car that’s too big. But mine does have electrically folding mirrors which are very handy for the narrow lanes round here because of the cars’ excessive size, oh bugger..

If your gonna watch Deathproof you really should watch Planet Terror the same night as well.

My newest forks are 2007 Marzocchi Z1 SL, the ones with about 20 air valves to tune fiddle with. They’re on a 456 built up on the burly side and, once fiddled with properly, are great.

The oldest set I use regularly are some 1999 Jnr T’s. These are on a little single speed hardtail I use for DH typr stuff, albeit nothing massive. I have no qualms about really leaning on them despite the quick release and skinny legs.

I’m not ignorant to fork performance but honestly I don’t feel held back by any lack of stiffness or damping with the T’s. I’ve been riding them hard for years and see no reason to stop. The only thing that bothers me is the very thin casting around the caliper mount, I think I best take off the 8″ rotor..