plebs

tea leaves brewed in a pot every time in this house

I wouldn't discount fat as an energy source on long rides. If the ride is long enough at a reasonable intensity then the body should be able to metabolise fats as an energy source. At least that is what I have been led to believe.

your hair should get wet if you are doing breaststoke properly:

If you are after something you can eat on the move I would avoid peanuts as there are risks associated with inhaling peanut dust / crumbs.

In the past I have wrapped up small cubes of cheese in cling film and stuck them in a jersey pocket. They are easy to get to, can be popped in the mouth, are easy to chew, taste nice and have lots of fat, therefore lots of calories. They make a nice change to energy bars etc.

If you are stopping to eat then I would second any of the suggestions along the lines of a sarnie / pie.

Does this count?

No – I didn't bellyflop!

I would agree with the comments about the quality of Shimano shifting.

If you opt to pay a minor weight penalty and use Shimano steel chainrings for middle and inner then the longevity is much better than for their alloy offerings.

Everything in life has risk attached. Cycling to work is no different. I doubt that assessment of risk plays a part in the majority of day to day decisions i.e. we don't make choices based on statistical evidence of associated risk.

It sounds like your wife has an overinflated sense of the danger of cycle commuting based on her experience 25 years ago. This is not to be discounted as it will be very real to her.

I would suggest that a reasoned discussion about the choices that we make in life and the enjoyment we get from things might help her to see things from your perspective. You could explain the health benefits and how much more enjoyable your commute will be and how these need to be offset against the risk.

I can't see that offering a statistic to 'trump' hers will get her to see your point of view. Given that she has a view that cycle commuting is dangerous based on a 25 year old experience it is unlikely she will changer her mind in the face of one statistic gleaned off STW:)

Talk to her, ask her to let you try it. Explain that you don't want to be a statistic and you are just as concerned for your own safety as she is etc.

And finally, ask yourself who wears the trousers (tounge firmly in cheek at this point)

I had a similar problem which occurred after about 4 years of trouble free riding.

The non drive crank came off and consequently the plastic cap was destroyed. I went into my LBS for a replacement and they claimed that even though it is a only a plastic preload cap, that cranks do have a habit of coming off if is removed.

I have since reinstalled the cranks with a new preload cap and done everything up as tight as it should be with no further problems.

(Mine is an older HT2 crank without the plastic spacer)

I hope that you get it sorted – definitely make sure you tighten up the bolts evenly on each side. Overtightening one bolt will remove the tension in the other as mentioned by Hallsy

Here you go odannyboy

I remember seeing Paul Daniels ride one of these on his TV show.

I have tried riding loads of them but never got very far: no hands = too hard to set off, reverse hands = too dangerous, just going for it = fall off faster.

The theory is to make big adjustments to the steering and waddle all over the place rather than try and keep it in a straight line. I guess it like riding a unicycle – seems impossible at first but then you start to get a feel for it.

I used to commute on one of these for about 3 years.

There is one at Honister slate mine. The climb that it goes up could fairly easily be done without any ropes etc. but you do get some stunning views on the way up / at the top (providing the weather is decent).

Like many of these things it is the quality of the guide that can make all the difference. We had a super guide who knew a lot about the mines and their history which made the experience a good one even though the via ferrata was not that exciting.

The guy who runs the slate mine has a plan to run a zip wire from the top of Fleetwith Pike back down to the visitor centre – that should be fun if it gets the go ahead.

If you are after thrills I would suggest the Go Ape at either Whinlatter of Grizedale as a better option (and you can get to do some biking while you are there as well:) )

This is another good one – it is more balanced as it takes the pish out of both sexes???
men's brains / women's brains

Sunday – Fred Whitton

A bit heavier than you are after but has a wonderfully large porch area. We love ours.
Big Fat Frog

In reply to andrewh:

Roadies use whatever kit is available to them. Suppliers tend to produce kit to meet the needs of pro teams. Pro teams can only use whatever is sanctioned by the UCI. Hence road bikes have cable operated rim brakes 🙁

There is a huge difference between rim brakes and disk brakes but let's not forget that road bikes have a much smaller contact point with the road. It could also be argued that there is less need to have such dramatic stopping power on a road bike – but this is a point of opinion.

There is also a difference in the quality of road brakes I have some frog leg cantis on my commuting bike and DA brakes on my other bike. I find that the DA brakes are better.

Brake pad compounds make a big difference as well. Softer equals better.

If descending in the wet it can be helpful to drag the brakes slightly to keep the brakes 'primed' for the corners etc when they will be needed.

So, in answer to the OP: first step (and cheapest) – try some different pads. If that doesn't help then try changing your no name calipers for branded ones. Beyond that you are perhaps expecting disk brake performance from something that can't deliver it.

Hi Swalsey – fair point!

I don't know what your budget is but it is possible to pick up a reasonable rigid MTB off ebay or this forum for £100 or so. Often a pair of slicks and a new set of cables can turn these into reasonable tourers.

I did something similar with a 10year old Saracen that has done me very well on a number of tours loaded with barbag, rear panniers and BOB (for the tent and food for all the family). It even coped reasonably well with some off road tracks in the Hebrides as well.

I appreciate that this might not be possible on your budget or might not be the kind of touring that you have in mind but might be worth considering. Another advantage is that you won't be paranoid about the security of your best bike while on tour.

Hi

I am afraid that I can't comment on their likely impact on light frames in great detail but I can confirm that they rest on the QR and do not exert a clamping force on the dropouts. As the previous poster said if you are out of the saddle, they will generate a twisting force.

Do you mind me asking your reasons for wanting to use one with such a light frame / bike? In my experience of touring, once you have loaded the bike / trailer up then the weight of the bike becomes less significant. Consequently, I have been happy to have a heavier but more robust bike when using a BOB (with panniers as well).

I like Chrome for its synched bookmarks – handy if you use a number of different computers.
I also like some of the new add ons for example the ad blocker and the IE tab tool which is particularly useful for my work webmail system which only allows full featured access via IE

Basically, try a few alternatives and see which you like best. I am sure that you will find all of them better than IE

I'm surprised that Mark Datz hasn't been on to suggest putting sum duk down fethers in wiv the oil

I recently replaced my XT granny and middle rings with cheapo steel ones from SJS cycles website. The steel one were loads cheaper than an XT replacement and I am hoping they will last longer.

They have the benefit of Shimano quality shifting without too much of a weight penalty.

For info: 1350m of climbing this year (compared to 1650m last year)

I'm not too confident with Google docs but hopefully this link:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ap4vMf-dBFTkdEVjbEJ5c0VfY1RPclY1eV92LWw0Z0E&hl=en

will take you to a spreadsheet version of the full enduro results (only showing finishers) that you can copy and paste into Excel and then analyse to your hearts content 😀

dickydutch

good points:)

I did like the way that the blog made me wonder if it bothered me that Mark had a huge amount of financial support behind him (not really). It also made me question what an 'adventure' really is.

I didn't like the way that he seemed very negative about everything.

dickydutch – I don't really know too much about him. I was just interested in reading a different perspective.

Personally, I think what Mark did was amazing and it must have taken massive amounts of dedication and devotion to achieve his record. I did feel that he came across as privelidged when I saw him speak, but that is certainly no reason to think less of his achievement.

My understanding of the blog I linked to is that the writer wanted to prove that you can set world records without having to have support from large corporations and that it is possible to do these sorts of adventures without them being for charity. He is clearly an angry person and has a bit of an axe to grind with Mark.

I don't agree with all of his points but I do like to read alternative perspectives. It made me think hard about my own views about Mark's ride.

As I understand it, he has beaten Mark's record but is waiting for the record to be confirmed by Guiness.

Saw him at Keswick last year and really enjoyed it, although I didn't think that his talk / presentation was as good as Graham O'Bree's (who was on before him)

For a different perspective of what he did try reading this.[/url]

I have always thought I didn't need a torque wrench, but reading this article changed my mind.

you need to become friends with Mapmyride[/url]

Did you like the Bonty Racelites? If so, why not just buy another pair?

I am not sure if I have had the same problems as you. The threads in my frame mounted cable stops were slightly too big meaning that I could make fine adjustments but after a few shifts or a rough descent then the barrel would have moved back to its original position.

I cured it by taking the threaded barrel adjuster out of the frame stop and putting a small nut on it before rethreading in. I now use this as a lock nut and have not had any problems at all.

If your problem is with the frame stops then this would be one solution. If your problem is with the cable clamp at the shifter then I would suggest checking that you have the cable in correctly positioned in the clamp.

Oggles – that's the MPB mentality (must pass bike)

I am constantly mystified by drivers who pass me without pulling out at all even if there are no other cars on the road and there is good visibility. It is almost like they cannot be bothered to steer round me.

I read somewhere that frequent looking over your shoulder indicates to car drivers that you are aware of their presence and the result is that they will give you more room when they pass. Not sure if it works but I have started doing it more often. (Mind you my commute means that this is possible as I don't have a constant stream of cars passing me)

Some mates did a 260 mile loop of Cumbria in under 24 hours a few years ago. (I think it is a waymarked ride but I can't remember the name of it now)

They are not slouches on bikes and have some sub 7 hour Fred Whitton times to their credit.

My views are that it is the tiredness that mounts up that is the issue for most folk who have not trained specifically for endurance riding. Someone has already mentioned how much harder the second hundred miles is.

Having said all that, I have promised myself that I will try and do BPB for my 50th …

I thought from the thread title you were planning on giving your bike a Brazilian 😯

Ordered some stuff from the US (Kill Hannah CD and merchandise) on 26th October. Delivery was attempted on 11th November. Not bad I thought.

However, I queried the size of the customs charge and asked for it to be returned to customs in London for reassessment.

It eventually arrived on 1st Feb! To add insult to injury (well a long period of waiting) the customs charge was correct 🙁 It just looked big because the £11 charge was made up of £3 from customs and £8 (yes £8) admin charge from the Royal Mail 🙄

I have successfully removed armpit smells from base layers by soaking in vinegar before washing. The acid in the vinegar kills the bacteria.

No, it doesn't ruin your clothes
No, it doesn't make them smell
No, it doesn't affect your washing machine:)

+1 for AnalogueAndy's response

Surely on a website that is home to so many ardent singlespeeders you just need one middle sized driver to do all your golfing needs:)

I forgot to buy a crate of Hawkshead Gold when I was at Wheelbase earlier today so am having to make do with a 750ml bottle of Leffe.

IMHO they do smooth the ride a bit. However, if you are used to riding a MTB then anything with a narrower tyre pumped up hard without suspension is going to feel harsher.

What tyre pressure are you running? There is balance that can be struck between efficiency and comfort which might help you.

Have you considered which grips are fitted? I assume your bike has flat bars. It might be possible to fit something a bit more shock absorbing.

Finally, my silly suggestion, look on ebay for a Girvin Flexstem

I have done so in the past without major problems.