Speaking from experience, don’t forget about getting a POA.
My mum just passed away, and while I managed without it, if I had one it would’ve been less hassle/stress if I had one. People don’t just get old and die, sometimes their brain goes and then everything gets harder to organise as you have no access to any of their personal stuff like bank accounts to pay bills etc…

No commentary, from 93km to go if any one wants to watch.

I bought some of these a few weeks ago and they’re great for seeing how temp and humidity are changing throughout the day – ThermoPro TP357

Back in the day when I didn’t have much, I had to rely on my Yuba Mundo cargo bike for a lot of things, it was mostly for collecting wood for my open fire…

https://imgur.com/yYyPWoh

https://imgur.com/ZD0qlia

https://imgur.com/vDC1SiE

https://imgur.com/giUP8qD

and 25kg gas bottles…

https://imgur.com/LF6GYOd

Taking fridge/freezer to recycling…

https://imgur.com/TBfnBIp

transporting bikes…

https://imgur.com/8Svvj0i

https://imgur.com/xYq12xU

and in training mode, it was 100kgs…

https://imgur.com/32msetH

Sorry, it wont let me upload images or I don’t know how to do it!

People using Stoplocks forget that the steering wheel is soft metal and very easy to cut, which would make removing the lock take a few seconds! The full disclock lock takes about 3 mins with a grinder.
I think the lockbox over the pedals is more of a pain for thieves, get the ones without exposed locks/padlocks.

I had what I thought was just a really bad cold a few weeks ago, didn’t bother doing a test as “its just a cold”, tested positive when I decided to do a test just to prove to my girlfriend that it was just a bad cold!
I’m mostly back to normal now, but breathing is sometimes strange, hopefully that’ll eventually get better.

I’ve just did my loft and used Loft Stilts – https://www.loftstilts.co.uk
Took a fair bit of time to put them all in place, but solid once the boards were down.
I’m not that into DIY, so I’m not sure if that’s of any help to you!

I use a fat bike track pump, I find the 12v things very noisy and take forever.

Thanks.
Yeah, I have been reading lots of reviews, mostly positive.
I really need it to be reliable in all weathers, as its going to be no fun at all if it fails on the way to work into what is usually a head wind and up hill a lot of the way.

tjagain
Full Member
Thats certainly posible. My local road club are notorious for bad riding. ERC

You never get your 1.5m space when they overtake and they never warn you they are about to. One day I’LL wobble as they blast past inches from my bars and take the whole group down.

My experience is that All chaingangs are horrible to share roads with

Really!
You’ll find the only ERC group ride is a beginners ride, and they don’t go very fast at all.
Just because ERC are easily spottable in a group because their kit isn’t black like lots of other clubs, it doesn’t mean its their ride. The groups are made up of lots of different clubs and some people who aren’t in clubs too.

I have never really like riding with the fast group as there are usually more people sitting on than working!, but occasionally I do for a bit, then I drop back and join one of the smaller better working groups, none of which are group rides organised by any club.

If you want to see the number of different clubs that ride around east lothian, just check out the ERC organised TT, you’ll find only 7 out of the 26 riders that rode yesterday were ERC, leaving around a dozen different clubs, all of which probably go on the chaingangs too.

Depends how bad and where its cracked.
I’ve repaired a couple off rims for friends and they have been fine.
There might be a repair specialist near you that you could take it too.

Toms not as fit as last year, but last years results are pretty impressive I would say especially for someone his size –
2021
1st Brabantse Pijl
2nd Amstel Gold Race
3rd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
5th Strade Bianche
6th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
6th La Flèche Wallonne
2022
3rd Dwars door Vlaanderen

You should be looking at something like Bont as they actually make shoes which are the shape of feet, not the pointy crap that most manufactures make.
People have been conditioned to buy shoes that supposedly look good, but are not really suitable for 99% of the population.
Or, as said above, you could get mesh shoes so that the mesh can stretch with your feet instead of being restricted like most shoes.
You could also just get the Stanley knife out and cut holes/slits in you shoes where you are feeling it tight, Im sure it was Sean Yates who used to cut holes around his toes to make them comfy.

Also, mid sole cleats is something you may want to try, as that splits all the pressure between the ball and heal.
My latest pair of mid soles were made out of track sprint shoes with mesh upper and they are the comfiest shoes I own now. I can either wear thin summer socks or the thickest pair of winter woolly socks and they’re only as tight as I decide to make them with the laces.
Here is a link to how I made them – https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=164289&p=1632893#p1632893

A company now sell adaptors for mid soles cleats if you want to try – https://mid-foot-cycling.com

This to take the freewheel off – https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185321563908

Just to clear things up, I guess I should’ve said the 210kg was for partial squats.
I was using The Cyclist’s Training Bible at the time and Joe Friel recommend partial squats as full can put too much stress on knees as you’re a cyclist, not a powerlifter.

Here is a good article about them –
https://powerliftingtechnique.com/partial-squats/

I got a huge amount of strength from doing it that way and I got some good results because of it, so it worked for me.

You don’t need extra weight, you just need to slow the reps down. Its safer doing that than adding lots more weight and possibly injuring yourself.
When I used to go to the gym, I decided to up my squat to 210kg (I was 68kg), my legs could handle it, but being a roadie and not a trackie, my upper body did not like it, so I did not do that much again.
When I was doing squats in my house, all I had was 156kg, so thats when I started slowing the reps down. I was taking around 5 seconds to come back up, and its much safer doing it that way and you’ll still get stronger.
Try it, you’ll be surprised how hard it is when you slow it down.

For strength, I would do 3-5 reps, for endurance, I would do around 20 reps.

Gym work really helps get good leg strength and if you’re doing it 1-2 times per week, you should be able to get pretty strong legs which you can then transfer over to the bike, which will also help massively with your endurance.
You don’t need to use massive weights either, just slow the reps down, that way there is less chance of injuries.
Squats, leg press and hamstring curls is what I concentrate on in the gym, while also core work in between sets.
Big gear hill reps will also build strength and are good to do after a gym session.

£10-£15 DFF set around 100c.
Putoline is clean, you just need to let it drip/wipe it down when its still warm, and then for the next few rides, I wipe mine with a rag sprayed with WD40 or similar, you do NOT need any wax on the outside of the chain.

Just give it a go, for £17 what have you got to lose!
I did mine a few years ago, similar stuff.
My doors are flat, so easy enough, just give them a good clean before you start, I took mine of to do them. Spray plenty water over the doors so you can move the vinyl about until you have it where you want, then squeegee the excess water out, I used a bank card.
Trim the excess with a sharp blade and that’s it.

That reminds me of the trump book quote –

“No one on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team thought Trump would actually become president—and they didn’t really want him to either, according to excerpts from Michael Wolff’s book published Wednesday in New York magazine.

Now-President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Donald Trump Jr., campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and first lady Melania Trump were all reportedly left dumbfounded and afraid on the night of the election in 2016, the book claims. Shortly after 8 on election night, it became clear that Trump had a real shot of becoming president. Wolff wrote that Don Jr. said his father “looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears—and not of joy.” Steve Bannon, who helped run the Trump campaign and helped Trump’s team through the transition, said he saw Trump morph from “a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump.”

Boris is our Trump!

https://road.cc/content/news/thieves-use-angle-grinder-take-trek-bicycle-287619

It was in the news, there were 4 of them, not just 2, and the guy thought better of it in case they were carrying other weapons, can’t really say I blame him or anyone else.

Its only inside the rollers that need lube, so always wipe the chain down when you’ve finished lubing it, the chain should not be sticky.
Spray a cloth with WD40 or similar and wipe, never spray onto the chain.

Thanks markwsf, I gave that a try and it didn’t work.

Cougar, I managed to put Mint on a usb and did what you suggested, and yep, it seems there is an issue with the battery and not the update, for once!
What can I do to get the battery going again?
Its still showing up on the taskbar and showing charged, its still there on the battery report and HWMonitor, so I don’t really know what has happened. There was no issue with it when I was using it the day before, and no signs that anything was wrong!

All you need is to make the hole smaller for the sealant to work, so a bit of cloth poked in there should work for the short term.

I use two chains and have just changed the whole lot (1×10) after I got a wee bit of a skip on one sprocket, that was 9800 miles on those two, usually swapping when each needed re-lubed (putoline) after around 300-500 miles.
I could’ve left them on for another few thousands miles if I was happy with a bit of skipping.
As above though, for me, its about 70% on road to get to trails, so I guess that’s why I get more miles instead of someone who purely rides off road.
Chains were KMC and Ultegra, about £25-£30.
My other bike is at 5800 miles using just the one chain, its a bit sloppy, but no skipping yet. Strava says I put that chain on on Feb 2016.

Get a pair of these – https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402744013145?var=672991619536
I having been using them on my light weight bike for about 4 years now. Very light, cheap, simple and use BB5 pads.
Never bled mine, but had to add a wee bit of mineral oil to top it up over time, simple to do.
I am actually thinking of getting another pair to put on my GF’s commuter bike to replace the crappy cable ones.

The repeated attempts in one session just to gain the KOM has no explanation aside from behavioural.

Yeah, definitely behavioural. These three stole my KOM by constantly going up and down the same hill, plus they weren’t content with that, they did the same on several hills in my area and probably other peoples areas too, losers the three off them… https://www.strava.com/segments/13080181?filter=overall

Don’t make the DFF too hot, 120c is all you need. Making it too hot just means a thinner application due to it running off the hot chain.
The chain is ready when the air bubbles stop coming up, I usually turn off the DFF when the bubbles stop and let the chain sit with the lid up for maybe 10/20 mins before bringing the basket up and letting it drain a bit before taking it out to cool slightly, then wipe it down.
On my all weather bike (the one that doesn’t get cleaned as much), I tend to leave the chain in the cooling wax longer and don’t wipe it down (still let it drain though) so that there is more wax on the outside of the chain, that way after a wet ride, I can just put it away without worrying to much about it going rusty or getting stiff links.

It’s always better having a rotation of chains, so that the freshly waxed one is just ready to go on and you can wax the one thats just come off whenever you have time.

A DFF is better than a pan (I started with a pan too) as any dirt on the chain just falls through the basket to the bottom and doesn’t get back on the chain like it does in a pan.
I am getting between 300-1000 miles on a chain, obviously depending on conditions.
I did get 1500 miles out of the road bike chain because I forgot to check when I last did it, but it didn’t sound like it needed done, plus it only really got used in the dry.

I have a poor commuting bike that sits out in the garden in all weathers, its not been used that much over the last year, but the chain is as smooth as when I first waxed it, can’t say that for the gear and brake cables though!

I just bought a Fujitsu U904 here for £240 from their ebay page.
They regularly get new laptops in – https://www.edinburghremakery.org.uk/buy/refurbished-computers/#1528800506360-5d2d25be-9c8d

I just got a Imalent DM70, one of the brightest EDC lights you can get.
Works great as a hand warmer too!
I use it on the bike all the time, and used it the other day to melt some heat shrink!

My latest project I just finished might be of interest to you if you like a bit of DIY – https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=164289

I need a wide toe box too and have find most shoes are too tight, so picking a shoe that fits you well and turning it into something you can use for cycling is the way forward, for me anyway.

I’ve just upgraded to this one – https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xiaomi-Mijia-1C-2-in-1-Smart-Robot-Vacuum-Cleaner-Mop-Visual-Dynamic-Navigation/184351557443

We couldn’t live without one now.
No carpets in our house, so the mop stays on the bottom all the time, you can take it off if you want.
There is an app that lets you control 4x vacuum strengths and 3x water dropping flow for the mopping.
Apparently there are more functions on the app now, but I’ve not bothered to check them out as it does everything I need.
It usually gets used every day and it will get a surprising amount of dust every time too!
Plenty of review for the Mijia if you want to know more about it.
Spare filters and mops cost very little, I can’t recommend this one enough as it does everything I need, so don’t see the point in spending more.
Very comprehensive review – https://smartrobotreviews.com/reviews/xiaomi-mijia-1c-review.html
Straight forward short video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIsBVW6X3cY

The only thing you need to remember, look after it by cleaning it, it gets dusty. A lot of people buy things like bagless vacuums and throw them away because they break because they never clean filters etc..!

I use Imgur to find out the latest news on whats going on, it seems Trump has finally openly admitted to trying to wreck the USPS to stop people voting.
He just recently sacked lots of long term workers/managers and replaced them with his own people to destroy the USPS!

When the supervillain explains their evil plan

If you support him at this point you’re just an authoritarian.

I’ve had one for years and its never shown the correct time in summer no matter what I tried.
I wouldn’t waste anymore time trying to fix it, its not really worth the effort.
Oh, and Bryton have next to no customer service :/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Putoline-boil-Chain-Wax-Lube-1Kg-/253457714407?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10

I use a 10sp XTR mech & Zee shifter with a 11/28 & 11/40 cassette and never had any issues, just remember to adjust the limit screw when changing cassette or it’ll not shift well.

They’re cheap for a reason.
The batteries are usually the cheapest they can get or just batteries out of old laptops.
The Chinese lie about everything, from the light output to the battery capacity.
The light/head unit itself might be okay, but buy a battery pack from someone trustworthy, like MTB batteries or Tourchythebatteryboy.

May not be 100% what you’re after, but I use Endomondo (it has live tracking) so my partner can follow me on rides.

That’s my club 10, well done.
That’s a good time for your first try on that course, 11 seconds off my pb fat bike time 😉

https://edinburghrc.co.uk/about/race-results/erc-midweek-tt-series-week-8-results?fbclid=IwAR3__nWq2kGIzPNgVYN5RNO6rRjNsZCIZzKat91HR-_un0MCzv3aKGim4nQ

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP-W82XK6-a4vGzRoMw1XepWJIl39Wf2pwsSAiH_cksYYLii6kTUj41axUbaEweUQ?key=dmFFOTBDaFdNZ0hhYlEtcGxRZVFkYkFPNnRjT0ZB