"This is a footpath, you shouldn't be cycling here"

It's not the chain tension I'm bothered about on the rear,it's the angle of the cable. Maybe I should have fitted it before taking the picture.
Imagine the outer cable coming in from the left in that picture above.
As the inner exits on the right, it then bends immediately down by 45 degrees to the clamp.
Surely that will wear a groove in the ferrule and then the aluminium derailleur body, as well as making it stiff to operate as it gets dragged over a sharp edge.

I can run the front cable directly from the guide on the frame to the clamp on the front derailleur from the top. Again,it will exit at an angle, but not as sharp as the rear one, so I guess it will work OK.

"No you don't! or you'd know exactly why"

Well, I don't know why. Maybe you've got a different idea of "riding pretty hard" to me.
100kg and top third solo at Hit the North, Bristol & Cheddar Bike Fests, Set2Rise, several Merida marathons etc. on a hard tail, so I don't think my wheels and tyres have got the easiest of lives.
Ghetto tubeless and no punctures and no buckled wheels.

Come to think of it though, in 25 years of driving Land Rovers, I've never had a random stop and document check.
Get a Land Rover and don't bother with the insurance.
As long as you can avoid crashing, and smear some mud on the number plates so the ANPR cameras don't spot you, you should get away with it.
Even if you get caught the fine will probably be less than the insurance would have cost.

I had a couple of lessons with these guys.

http://www.wyreforestcanoeclub.co.uk/

I think it was £3 a lesson plus another £3 to hire all the kit up to a maximum of three lessons.
After that I think it was about £25 a year membership plus the £3 kit hire until you buy your own boat, paddle, lifejacket etc.
They meet at the School in Bewdley and paddle on the Severn just downstream of Bewdley bridge in the summer and at Kidderminster swimming pool in the winter.

I couldn't commit to going regularly as I work shifts and they meet on a Friday evening which makes it awkward if I'm going away for a weekend, so I gave up.
When the shifts alter again at work, which may still be a few months away, I'll probably give it another go.

Chrome is just so last year.

Polished aluminium is where it's at these days.

I could take an "independent objective look at your issues" for you.
That doesn't mean that my suggestions for what you should do about them would be any more valid than your own or anyone else's.

Why do you think going tubeless would make you more likely to buckle the rims ?

I was going to suggest a Land Rover, but after the mention of £5000 above, maybe that's not a good idea.

Classic car insurance can be cheap, but some of them insist on you having a main use vehicle as well to get the cheap rate on the classic car.

"…fast lane…" :roll:

3 hours on bridleways without getting out of the saddle ? No chance round here.
I rode longer than that today linking up the bridleways with bits of road and had to get off to open about 20 gates.

Nothing compares to you. Sinead O'Connor.

Well, I phoned Worcester Cycle Centre and they only stock Specialized shoes and at the same price as everywhere else, so it wasn't worth driving down there.
Called in at Stourport Specialist Cycles on the off chance they might have something, it's only a small place and they don't keep a lot of stock in compared to the big city shops.
They had a pair of Sidi Dominators in 46. Tried them on and they were right for me, so that's what I've got now.

OK, no need to shout. It's not something I've ever looked in to before, so I just assumed that if something I bought failed during its warranty period I had the choice of refund or replacement.
So it's not really that straightforward then and manufacturers can put whatever warranty they want on an item with no intention of honouring it ?

Solo

They've definitely never been in the washing machine.
I don't know what the difference is between All Mountain and Lightweight Cross Country, I just get on my bike and ride it. To work & back, on trailquests, on marathons, up & down Sustrans Route 45 or round the local bridleways.

Anyway, back to my original questions.
What's my next step when an item of sports equipment I have bought fails within its warranty period while being used for its intended sport ?
I think I'll try the CAB on Monday, unless anyone's got a better idea.

Sidi seem to be getting the best reviews so far then.
I'll see what they've got in Worcester today then. If I don't do any good there, I'll take a chance on the size mail order.

Incidentally, that wasn't me talking to myself four posts up. It looks like I left Mrs MTQG's computer logged in as me again.

The shoes have never been near a fire.
I've got no central heating at home, just a log burner, so they have never been on a radiator either.
I never put any of my shoes near the fire to dry, I always use the stuffing them with old newspaper method.

Have a look on here MTQ – http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/rangeViewer.asp?categoryID=218

Carrying a spare pair of socks is what I do now.
It's not too much of an inconvenience except that I then have to carry the wet socks home from work in my backpack or allow them to accumulate in my locker until I bring them all home in one go on a day when I drive in.

Hmmm, you're putting me off buying them mail order now.
I was hoping to wear them at SITS next weekend, so I haven't really got time to send them back and try another size if they don't fit. Especially if I want to wear them for a couple of days beforehand to make sure they are comfortable.
I'll try Worcester Cycle Centre tomorrow.
They haven't got much information on their website, but they're the only shop round here that's big enough to be likely to have a decent selection of shoes in stock.

What do you reckon to the sizing ?
45 in both Northwave and Specialized seem about right for me.
Are Sidi the same ? I'll probably get them mail order so it would be nice to get it right first time.

I've only been in the shop a couple of times before and found them helpful enough. One time I mentioned their 10% on line discount and straight away he gave me 10% discount on the shop price.

I was just surprised that he was so adamant that a sole coming unglued was down to fair wear and tear.
I thought it was the one fault with a shoe that definitely couldn't be put down to misuse or accidental damage and could only be caused by faulty materials or workmanship.
Twice he mentioned that the shoes looked like they had had a lot of use or had had a hard life as if I was asking too much, expecting of a pair of £85 mountain bike shoes with a two year warranty to last two years of mountain biking.

Doesn't work for me. :(

"I agree that beating someone who doesn't know they're racing you is a bit of a hollow victory."

If they're not racing, they shouldn't be on a bike.
All victories count.

Why do women like to "go shopping"
Shopping is what you have to do as an alternative to having no food to eat and no clothes to wear.
It is not an activity in itself.

Is it really so hard to start a conversation with someone who obviously shares a common interest ?
How about something along the lines of "Do you just commute by bike or do you ride at weekends as well ?"
A fairly neutral question to ask someone you meet regularly and a bit less socially awkward than asking her out directly.
Gives her the opportunity to say "Yes, with my boyfriend" or "No, I've got no one to go with".
Take it from there.

OK, thanks. I like to leave my food and drink out easily accessible. I like to have my spare wheels and other valuables locked away, but not miles away in a distant car park

Can we park right alongside the course then if we get there early enough ?

http://www.yeoldenewinn.co.uk/about-us.html

"How about bigger front tyre…"

Good idea. I'd recommend about 3" bigger on the diameter. :wink:

I use Nut Forts.

They work.
The squirrels climb all over them and will scavenge the spillage that collects in the tray at the bottom between the inner and outer cages, but they can't get in to the inner cage.
Their only weakness is that if I don't screw the top on tight, the squirrels will turn the whole thing until it comes unscrewed from the hook and drops on the floor. They still can't get inside though.

I've done 12 hour solos on cheap Halfords fingerless gloves, the same ones I was commuting in every day.
I recently upgraded to some Fox fingerless gloves simply because there was one pair of size 12 (XXL, I think) left in the bargain bin on one of the trade stands at Mountain Mayhem.
The Fox velcro seems a bit better, other than that, there's not much in it.

I've got a Gary Fisher, a Lynskey and a Robin Mather.
Do I win ?

They're a bit heavier than the DT Swiss 470s on my other pair of 29er wheels, but other than that, they're just rims. They do what they're supposed to and I haven't broken them yet.

They do look good in white though. 8)

Actually, now you ask, maybe it's not MM that gives that option, maybe it's my printer, an HP 1200.

When I print I tick the Print Preview option.
On the Preview page there is a Document Properties button.
Click that, Click Finishing.
Select Tiling.
Select 2×2, 3×3 etc.
You can then Select Tiles and delete some to end up with a 2×1 or 1×2 or whatever you need to print your map over several A4 pages.

Having just checked all that, I'm sure it is on the printer set up, not on MM itself.
If you haven't got that facility on your printer, then that's one place that TL does beat MM.

Apparently, there's a saying amongst hospital staff, "There's no such thing as a minor chainsaw injury". :D

Peanut butter here too.
I've found it works better than anything else.
I use the classic Tom & Jerry spring traps and chuck them out in the garden afterwards.
They're always gone in a day or so. Probably the crows taking them.

Hey, you're both right you know, you can add text boxes in Memory Map.
How did I miss that ? :roll:

I was going to say that TL is better because it allows me to print over more than one page, but I just worked out how to do that in MM as well.

All in all, the two are very similar. There's slight differences in the way they work, but overall, there's nothing much to choose between them.

Banana coloured steel.