I do approx 50 each way by motorcycle currently in approx 1 hour.
I'd prefer to do it by car but very heavy traffic for half the journey prevents that.

It's not fantastic but gives me minimum 1 hour extra per day & lets me see my kids both morning & evening.

Kwak makes a funny noise (like quack) when you drink it from the chemistry set glass. :-)

There are better beers here in Flanders that we keep secret including the previously mentioned Deus… :wink:

the only difference it will make is that they lose pressure slower….
If you ensure your tyre pressures stay at or around the recommended level with regular compressed air it will have the same effect.

I really don't know if I liked it :-) but it kept me watching till the very end at some crazy hour of the morning which says a lot I guess.

Austrians :)

Now they can be British type funny.
As one of my business contacts from Austria says "we're like Germans but with a sense of humour". That in itself says a lot.

I'm in Germany almost every week & have some German mates who are funny but in a quite different way to Brits.
I can still have a giggle but have to be prepared for alternative humour.

I'm a tyre engineer by profession & love reading some of the things written about tyres…
Makes me smile

Personally I would be nervous about fitting part worn tyres just because there is so much within a tyre that you cannot see. It's a fair comment that if you buy a 2nd hand car that is what you get also but I would certainly have a thorough check of the external condition of the tyres fitted to such a car.

The Auto Express team make a pretty good tyre test (it used to be available online), as do many German car / consumer mags. How's your German? check out the website from ADAC (reifentest).

General advice is buy one of the major branded tyres if your budget stretches to it. Pirelli, Mich, Conti, Goodyear, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Firestone. Hankook & Kumho are now also quality products.
Certainly in my company our tyres are tested very thoroughly for all performances & frequently evaluated against the other premium bands.

Most important advice is to avoid the very cheapest import brands from asia. There are surprisingly big differences when it comes to life saving performances like wet braking. It may be even that the ABS calibration no longer matches the grip level of these tyres and the net effect is a huge increase is absolute stopping distance.

I read yesterday that Gios is stopping as the the old man is retiring….

Hoegaarden is an acquired taste but one I have managed to develop :)

I would never describe it as sweet though – quite the opposite.
One of the benefits of being here in Belgium is if you don't like one beer then we have a few thousand more you can choose from…

Casino Royale (or an alternative with the limitation of Tim Dalton / Sean Connery)
Nothing with Pierce Brosnan!!!

I rode with my Troutlight for the first time with company last night (and at speed).
Amazing.
I actually had my DX on the bars too & ran them both at low power settings.
Incredible illumination & if used on low setting it means the eyes get used to the dark a little more which I find helps in the situations where it's not just about lumens due to shadows etc…
The wide spread of light from underneath the lamp unit helped too when a guy in front of me dropped over the bars into a 1 meter deep ditch by accident – at least he could see how to climb back out :-)

Will move the DX up onto the lid & then I think it'll be about perfect set-up.

(Lumicycle elite bag as recommended here works perfectly too.)

Ride-on cables are outer, full length liner & inner right?

What combination are you using?
I used ride-on outers & liner with all XTR cables without problem…

It's the temperature that is worrying me.
I was riding an event last night and it was >15 deg C here in Belgium.
That is just crazy warm for mid November….(pleasant for riding but not right all the same)

I've been looking at kids bikes in the last few days for my son & have seen the shimano mega range freewheels.
I can't see so many online for 6 speed (and have no idea about compatability) but maybe if you have a net search you can find something along these lines….

http://www.dotbike.com/ProductsP5570.aspx

mine arrived yesterday thanks Chris

Damn it's small. I wasn't expecting it to be quite that tiny & light.
(oh yeah – the illumination is pretty awesome too :-))

Re-spray :)

and compensation for the 'emotional distress' by the sounds of things…

Sounds just like a stupid over optimistic E-Bay buyer..

Like mentioned above – it's not new.
If you buy from photos you take a risk… That risk can be anything from colour differences or bearings in the case of FS frames.

How would these 'issues' justify 250 quid anyway?

I would love to be able to cycle in to the office but that would be 3 hours each way at best & have no desire to move house as it suits the rest of the family perfectly (and I like it to apart the journey to work)

Next best thing is a motorbike which saves me 1 hour a day which allows me to see my kids in the morning & evening which would otherwise be impossible.

Why do you post overseas?!!!

What's that got to do with it unless of course there has been a miscommunication due to language? We've seen enough examples on here of British E-Bay tossers to realise that location isn't the issue. At least in this instance there has been a BACS transfer so there is no chance of being f*cked by PayPal & the buyer.

Hi
If I'd known you wanted some winter tyres I could have done you a deal versus the frame (by the way – it's arrived & lovely thanks) :-) You know who I work for!

Winter tyres are an absolute necessity but will not perform miracles if you are really in deep snow. In those instances you will still need snow chains but like some of the folks have already mentioned those conditions are rare (depending on where you are based).
Indeed you might have the plod give you issues if you haven't got chains.
One thing to check before buying chains is that you have sufficient clearance between tire/wheel & suspension. Some cars these days only have sufficient clearance on the narrowest tire option.

Mart

I assume your car has hydraulic PAS still?
without the pump running you are really fighting against the hydraulic cylinder that would normally be helping you.

Did you also have to try the brakes without the engine running? Just as scary……

'Girlfriend in a coma' hence I'm selling her frame….

I preferred it when it went past my house 2 years ago.

Maybe I will break my own rule & go into Brussels on a weekend….

Lance was pleasantly magnanimous about Bertie in the interviews after the press conference…

BlingBling – Member
Coolio I can pop my head out the window and watch them fly past

Whereabouts are you based BlingBling?

My SO is also a foreigner (perhaps I am also now) and she has no probs with Mr Pegg. In fact she urged me to buy the box set of Spaced last time we were in Blighty….

Blimey
This thread is all a bit firey…

I ride / have ridden all sorts but currenly have a GS Adv & Kawa ZX9R and do about 25k km per year.
I wave a hand (or a leg)to all of the bikers I see (though not perhaps the 50cc riders in the village :-)).

The bond between riders is the suffering we go through for the pleasure of riding. The crap weather / the 'moments' we experience with cars turning across us.

If they don't wave back f*ck em. It's them that are missing the point of it & it is their loss. Maybe they are weekend warriors that spend more time reading mags & polishing it than using it hence don't appreciate what makes the bond.

yes I was also stung 2 days after a purchase at well known online bike shop.
Something like $1750 was spent in the US & Canada (Walmart) on my card….
Bank were very good & sorted it all out quickly.

Any similarities with your fraud?

who ?

Probably one of the greatest cycling talents that never achieved his true potential.
He was also diagnosed later as someone suffering from depression & he could not handle the pressure of the expectation.

very sad story.

Indeed
Very sad news.
He clearly was a troubled soul but an absolute talent.

RIP Frank

200g is a porky inner tube?

Liege is a strong contender for a long set (though not in London :)) – 353 steps

Home of the Red Bull Stairway to Hell

Bike mag article[/url]

Maybe a Suzuki DR400 would be more civilised as a road bike if you want an enduro machine?

I am a big fan of the old XT500 if you find a nice one at a good price.

Harley is not my thing at all but they sure hold their value well and more non-bikers seem to appreciate their 'style' than anything else bizarrely.

I commute on a R1150GS ADV but my journey is rather longer :)

Phew…..

That says it all though! C0CK

Out of interest – where does "Anton du Beke" originate from? It doesn't sound a particulalry British name.
(I am embarassed to say it sounds kind of Belgian….)

Wish I was there :)
My favourite motorsport event of the year…

who's riding where tonight then?

If it keeps raining I'll be in the garage watching TV from my rollers :(

Brussels = moist

There are thieves everywhere? Posting is posting regardless of destination (other than cost of course)?

I'm also based overseas & have just bought a frame off here as it happens.

I think the same sensible precautions are needed.
I'm a regular on here as is the seller so hopefully that gives some confidence. Had some good clear communication with the seller with a work email address.
I'd certainly be more nervous about selling to someone without an online 'presence'.

I am still not getting this popping off issue….

A tyre bead is considerably smaller than the rim outer diameter.
Something must have to break? (a tyre bead won't stretch!)
Either the bead of the tyre or the rim no?

Was my 37th birthday last weekend so I like the the sentiment of this topic very much.
I was very late to biking (35!) so I am loving getting faster & faster all the time even though I am anxious over the time when that stops…

To be honest I think I MTB is fairly low risk? I stopped rallying & moto-x (enduro)…

the tyre popped off

What does that mean?
Something should be broken (other than his thumb) – either tyre or rim?

40 psi doesn't sound high…

Truck tyre death is quite horrible.
Fortunately they are quite rare as most tyre fitters are aware of the risk. I recall one case I came across not so long ago though where the tyre had already been mounted and the fitter was remounting the wheel on the trailer when the sidewall ruptured. Dead on the spot poor fecker :(