You’re quite right and you’ve been very patient and reasonable in your arguements.

Hence I predict this will not be a very long thread.

The grub screw can clearly be seen as the black blob on the right end cap in this photo.

The smooth curved side should be on the outside.

A couple of years ago I went to see my GP about something. While I was there I said “how come my legs feel like they’re on fire when I climb just a couple of flights of stairs?

Try doing the stairs straight after a ride when you’re properly warmed up. Hopefully it’ll feel a lot easier then.

Dead easy. The end caps are held on with grub screws and after they’re off the axle can be tapped out from either side, bringing the opposite side’s bearing with it. New bearings should obtainable for a fiver each or thereabouts and should be tapped or pressed in with care.

If you’re not confident about dong it without butchering it take it to a reputable bike shop. If it came though my door I’d expect you to leave with change from £20.

elzorillo – Member

I just dont get how peoples need for the latest fad can overide their basic grip of home finance.

If you look back a couple of pages it appears that finding ways of persuading people to do just that is one of our larger exports.

Used to spend a lot of time there 9 or 10 years ago when I was in conventional employment but now I’m in the bike trade I only have much time in the winter and somehow this is where I usually wash up.

Link to interview with Ready Player One author Ernest Cline including Delorean give-away and Top Gear style challenge.

Kok and Tvatt: Through Scandinavia on a Tandem by Neil Gander.
“There were two doors in the service block on the campsite at Kukkola. On the left door was written the word ‘Kök’, and on the right it said ‘Tvätt’. This meant ‘Kitchen’and ‘Laundry’, and not, as we had concluded, ‘Gents’ and ‘Ladies.'”

Also highly recommend ‘Ready Player One’ by Ernest Cline.
As soon as I finished it I went straight back to the start and read it again.

Ride singlespeed everywhere and have a beer or two.
Straight out of the pub I managed to hold 20mph for a mile and half on 36:17 when my mates thought it would be fun to try and leave me behind on their geared bikes.

Pigface – Member
I must protest most vigorously about a Renault 4 being in a thread about uncool cars.

I thought my Dad was very uncool for buying a new one sometime in the seventies as our main family transport. He didn’t keep it very long but didn’t trade it for anything much better.

scaredypants – Member
Blimey, if he still rides as much as he used to that’ll halve the amount of cycling that gets done round here in the next few weeks

Not quite, these days, but there’s a few local pubs that’ll notice the drop in cider sales.

It was a bl00dy good gig though.

cinnamon_girl – Member
Trail centres are ten a penny

In Wales and the far north, yes, but not in the south of England. There’s an aweful lot of us with work and family commitments who measure our time off in hours or even minutes rather than days. These people can only very rarely justify driving more than an hour to ride but a lot of them live within an hour of Swinley. A trail centre is like a track day is for the petrol-heads. I’ve enjoyed Rowan’s trails in Wales and I think he’d do a good job at Swinley. If usage is going to increase then one way traffic is a must.

Many years ago was the last time I bought one. It was piggin cold day and in a act of bravado (or an attempt to justify myself) I said to the woman serving me, “that’ll help me warm up when I get home”.
I got a laugh out of her.

They look like they may be fun in the winter on the snowy school run..

You’ll need far more space to have fun than you’re likely to find on the school run.

I remember Clarkson recounting how he bought a Ferrari after loving it on the Top Gear track…….and selling it a couple of years later with under 1500 miles on the clock. I think the mileage in the ad tells a tale.

That about This one?

Well if that model was mine the mileage wouldn’t be anywhere near as low as the OP.

If you’re middle aged it’ll be seen as a sign that you’re having a crisis. Otherwise, I’d say you’ve got all the negatives of a motorbike (cold and unable to carry much) and none of the positives (fun and easy to park).

Done too but I’m lumped in with the up to 55s now 🙁

Those with bike shops who have replied to this…..

how much technical bike knowledge did you have before opening the bike shop?
Could you pretty much repair anything before setting up? Or did you go on courses/learn from a friend to get the knowledge needed?

I’m not thinking of opening a bike shop, but do have another idea at the back of my mind.
I can get by doing certain repairs currently, but also use the LBS for repairs, partly because some things I don’t know how to do, partly because I’m not spending x amount on a tool that’ll get used once.

Most bikes out there aren’t very technical but if your business is based primarily on repairs then product knowledge to make a quick diagnosis plus investment in tools to enable the work to be done quickly are essential to allow a commercially viable work rate.

In addition to the market research any prospective LBS owner should prepare polite answers to the following:

“£80 to fix it? But that’s a quality bike, I paid nearly £300 for it”
(Customer whose teenage son has just trashed his 6 month old bike)

“What do you mean, ‘it’s worn out’? Can’t you just adjust something”.
(Customer with chain so worn it’s slipping over the tops of the teeth on the sprockets)

“I could buy a car for that”.

“Some of my mates are going to Wales. I’m going with them and I need a new bike. What have you got for £200”.

“Why can’t you do it in the next half hour? I’m a paying customer”.
(Customer who has just spent ten minutes trying to haggle down the price of a repair and there’s a dozen bikes already in the workshop queue.)

+1 for repairs being the future for LBSs. Down here most of my work is on bikes that originated from Argos/Tesco/Toys-R-Us etc. That’s actually quite satisfying as I can often make those bikes work far better than they did when new which regularly prompts a lot of gratitude from customers.

It appears that appealling to all sectors of the market just isn’t possible, but I still feel a little disappointed when people turn up on nice bikes, look through the window at the hybrids and retros I’ve got and then roll on obviously having decided that it’s ‘not their kind of shop’.

It does feel that I’m spending my life thrashing along in second gear at times but in a tough economic climate I do appear have built myself a reliable income and for that I am very grateful.

I can freely admit that I know bog all about wine so I’ve been letting Laithwaites do the choosing for several years now. I’ve no idea how they compare on price either but it always tastes nice and supermarket wine tastes cack by comparison.

I sold one of the fixie variants (of the above Viking) to a local 18 year old and expected it to come back trashed very quickly. It actually held up to him following his mates about on their MTBs very well. The wheels only went out of true when he upset some other lads and they jumped up and down on it. A lot.

A few of the components such as brake levers and chain adjusters were very low rent but the basics were done properly.

You’ll make a neater job next time!

Tektro Aurigas are good at the budget end.

haven’t heard anyone losing them as a result of cycling in cold weather

On a bad day with the wrong choice of kit it can feel like you’ve lost them. That’s not nice.

Third sock has worked for me in the past

OR

wear a pair of baggies over the top and ride fast enough that the fashion police won’t catch you.

A little bit late to report back, but I did it and here’s a quick summary.

Friday:
Got soaked riding to Bournemouth.
Put wet riding kit back on to leave Carcassonne in late afternoon.
Headed north out of Carcassonne.
Climbed to a col at 890m, getting dark.
Found that Viamichelin wanted me to go down a dirt track. With smooth tyres and panniers in the dark — no thanks.
Back down to 600m then up to another col at 880m and roll down to Albine — glad I took my Ayups.
Found a B&B, La Charmante, run by Elaine from Ireland, very warm welcome.
60 miles

Saturday:
Ride to Millau.
Up in the clouds anywhere over 600m.
Torrential rain for 6 hours in the afternoon.
Ride the last 15 miles into Millau on roads closed for the Millau 100km run.
Stop at the visitor centre under the bridge and drip — a lot.
Buy a cheesy fridge magnet as it’s the only souvenir that I can be sure of getting home undamaged.
Find a hotel on the edge of town and spread wet kit all over my room.
After dinner walk to the finish line in the centre of town and cheer in runners who have been going 12hours plus
90 miles

Sunday:
Steady ride back south via a different route, weather quite pleasant at lower altitudes.
Chain dry and noisy so lube it with a dribble of diesel from a closed filling station.
Get back to Elaine’s place and am invited to eat with her and her friends — cracking evening.
95 miles

Monday:
Pleasant ride back to Carcassonne and have time to look round the town and old Citadel — one of the larger collections I’ve ever found of shops selling tourist tat. Pretty from a distance though.
Ride back to the airport and sit out in the sun unntil I’m told off by the girl at check in for being late.
Back to Bournemouth and a strong tail wind all the way home.
65 miles.

BIG thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread with advice.

At 9 my boy was coping quite happily with up to 15 miles off road rides. At that age be wary of overdoing it though. Too many cold wet miserable rides could put her off. Keeping her just a little bit hungry for more could be better in the long term.

You could probably fling 20+ boxed bikes in a normal sized Transit. Perhaps more.

Ten would be pushing it. To shift that many bikes quickly the scum would have needed either
a) a similar sized vehicle
b) lots of vehicles
c) a very close lock-up or six

First day of going home in the dark 🙁
I’d wondered about hthe original post too.

I’ve got Wildgripper 2.25s as rears on a couple of bikes. They blow up very fat, more like a 2.4 and work well in loose sandy, sloppy conditions. I prefer something with more side tread on the front though.

An angle grinder is quick and easy but stop frequently to let the heat subside or you’ll melt/burn the soles of the shoes.

I’ve had some very enjoyable off road motorbike rides so I won’t be supporting a ban either. I can’t personally see the attraction of taking a four wheerer down trails like that, but each to their own.

Maybe a 25mph limit on unsurfaced roads would satisfy the ‘be seen to be doing something’ requirement where there’s conflict between different groups without unduly affecting legitimate and responsible off-roaders?

Bike wise, I’d take something you are comfortable riding for sustained distances and reasonably efficient, reliable and with robust wheels over an out and out road bike.

This should do. It got me through 323 miles in 4 days on the French trip last month. Singlespeed, naturally.

“There were two doors in the service block on the campsite at Kukkola. On the left door was written the word ‘Kök’, and on the right it said ‘Tvätt’. This meant ‘Kitchen’and ‘Laundry’, and not, as we had concluded, ‘Gents’ and ‘Ladies.'”

Thanks Neil, I’ll be buying that book.

Teacake and Bajsyckel, thanks, loads there for a Googling and map searching session.

Just been doing a bit of investigation into flights. It looks like London to Lulea and back from Hammerfest could be had for between £350 and £400 in July next year. There’s an airport at Honningsvag, closer to Nordkapp, but coming back from there would add another £100.
Another option would be to fly into Tromso in Norway and ride up the coast to Nordkapp which would be a bit over 300 miles. More scenery but less achievement at the end?

I’m thinking that the leather outer of that helmet could have more friction in a sliding impact and twist the head causing neck injury?

Slightbreeze, thanks for the offer, I hope your trip goes well. How long are you expecting to take? I’m guessing that you’ll have at least a month’s riding.

River crossings wouldn’t be a problem as this would be a road tour.
I’m assuming that polar bears don’t venture that far south, unless anyone knows otherwise?