Get them re-soled – Cheshire Shoe Repairs have done mine with 5-10 rubber. They have been excellent. I always look for approach shoes now, something that can make skimming off the worn tread for re-soling easier.

Hiya – messaged you but haven’t heard back. Please let me know if you are still interested as someone else has also contacted me about the bike

I have an 18″ slot dropout inbred 29er, 1×10, front suspension, sitting unused. Happy to make it single speed. Would need to be collected from Swindon as I’m not willing to post or mess about with couriers. Email is in profile.

Also have a Surly 1×1, also 18″, also sitting idle…..

Glad you are ok. I had someone lean out of a car & try to grab my handlebars as I cycled through a town centre. Contacted the police and got a phone call a few weeks later to ask if I was happy with how my report had been dealt with. I’d heard nothing and it turned out nothing had been done. Within a couple of days I heard again – they had finally gone round to the house & spoken to the owner, but denial, no witnesses and no further action. They did say that the car was now on their radar so I’d like to think that’s true.

I don’t bother with single speed rings any more as I’ve found narrow-wide works just fine, unless…..you want an odd (33t?) Tooth count.

Loved the Waltworks-v2 article, thanks for sharing it. If I win the lottery……….

I don’t use padded shorts at all. Started off when bike packing, as I wanted stuff that was quick to dry and also packed small. I’ve gone for synthetic boxers, Rohan mens cool silver trunks work for me (the seams are brilliantly placed), Humvees or similar over the top. SDG Bel Air saddle works nicely too. It is a cheap experiment to try, and may save you loads of money in the long term.

I have two of the old Alfine 8 and have just built up (2 weeks ago) a new one.

One must be over 10years old. Faultless in all that time.

The new one ‘feels’ lower geared (I’ve dropped 2 teeth on the sprocket) and is nicer to use as it runs the trigger shifter levers the same way as every other transmission. Cable operated & ebike ready, as is the newer 11speed, so I assume it will be ‘tougher’. My 10 year old is on a Speedball, 3 cross spokes & geared 30 X 20, the other old one on a Pugsley, 2 cross spokes & geared 32 X 20.

One hour of exercise – is that in the Mail or Telegraph?

Is it a minimum time requirement?

Do we all have to be on Strava?

Needs a roadsign…..

Go Alfine 8, will swap from single speed to geared with minimal effort. And back again. Chainring, chain stay the same.
Sjs cycles have all you need. I choose single speed and alfine using same size rear sprocket.
Depending on the Gryphon year, couldn’t some take a 3″ tyre on the front? Worth checking (might be 27+).

Replaceable dropout / gear hanger bolts might need snugging up.

Am hankering after another Stooge, but need to get rid of a CrossCheck (I’m not a roadie or drop bar fan), a 1×1 that has ‘fattened’ wheels, a Bike Friday, and even a BFe frame. All are just sitting there, hardly used, but still get tinkered with when I ‘have a plan’. Would probably have sold them on the old classifieds but the new setup is just too much hassle and have been let down on it.

I once started a new build because I had a lovely, polished Kore stem…..

I’m also a serial wheel builder….

Crate of Corona for me. Not tried it before and discovered I quite like it so may get another

You are probably describing a Surly karate monkey

I’ve had the same issue. Rim true, rim clean, pads correctly aligned. Can only think there might be some residue absorbed into the braking surface although that seems unlikely.

Did this last summer and it was awesome, apart from a lack of gears and legs on my part. Had intended to stay in refugios (at altitude) but found a convenient campsite each day so didn’t need to. Used bikepacking.com website for basic route + took maps + improvised.

I started and ended in Innsbruck and rode from there. Loved it and will be back this summer.

It does change, plenty of evidence online and physical evidence in my garage.

5mm clearance at chainstays would be fine so I’d be happy with what you describe for the seat tube.

Wider rims will make the distance from tyre to seat tube larger as the outer diameter of the tyre is spread making it less bulb shaped and squarer.

£114 I could understand, could you have been accidently overcharged? Might be worth giving them a call. The ceramic ones were more expensive….. I’ve gone back to shimano

Loved this area. Drove to & started at Le Puy En Velay (lovely town and campsite) then followed the GR70 south. Stopped just before it got crazy steep and looped back. Roads were nice, off-road was great but could be very bouldery (so did short sections on roads). Got quite cold at night in summer as lots was over 1000m. Lots of volcanoes, lots of campsites, loved it (even on a fat bike).

I shortened it – missed out the ferry and carried on up the road to Otter ferry ( u think that is what it’s called). Continued onward following the eastern bank ( lovely route) and then cut across towards the top of loch Lomond via lochgoilhead (bloody steep). No gpx but easy to follow on a map.

Mrhoppy – were the 55 forks Speedball ones on Andy’s advice?

And we have it back and, thankfully, it seems ok. They ‘had to get an expert in’ to sort it out. Am guessing that they didn’t set up the fuel pump correctly, hence the noise + lack of power + huge amounts of smoke (due to excess fuel).

Thanks folks – we’ve had our for 16 years, from new, and have just started to think about a newer one. Sounds like we are the exception.

Cheers

David

2.5tdi with AJT (I think) engine.

The dealer hasn’t come back to us yet, no contact/info since last Wednesday night.

Thanks for the feedback so far folks. Neighbour (who used to work for VW) says he thinks ours may just about ok and his reasoning seems logical. If we have to claim then I would expect the VW dealer’s insurers to cover things as its their cock up.

We have a specific van in mind, converted by the people who converted our current van, hence the questions. This one has a lot of (for us) good options. a/c would be nice, but not essential (we seldom used it on our van). I’m neutral over the engine power as the power and torque figures look similar to our van. However, knowing we could chip it slightly at a later date is useful.

Cheers

David

One on a Speedball and one on a Pugsley for me – both Alfine 8.

Lots of clay here in winter. On an 18 mile, slightly hilly, commute the Speedball is almost as quick as my geared cross bike.

Go DIY – it will probably be quicker and vastly cheaper. Legal people are generally neither quick nor cheap.

My mum did this herself when my dad died following a long illness and it was all quite straightforward. It gave her something to focus on too, which she found helpful

Am disappointed that you didn’t take a clown

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49708570

I’m sure a Lezyne patch kit I had also included tyre patches. Might be worth checking if they still do.

I did similar on a cross-check – SUrly said that the tubes were substantial enough that I shouldn’t worry. Some framebuilders (Argos I think) will fill dents when they repaint, which may provide peace of mind.

I’m planning on bikepacking from Innsbruck over to Italy…..what is the 2m rule? any other restrictions I should be aware of r.e riding and wild camping?

Halo vapour 50 has worked for me (45 internal)

Yes, went in Cheltenham and both really enjoyed it. Looking forward to seeing the TV series in the summer.

No hole in the crown on my forks – ask Andy if that has changed

I have a biplane fork on my Speedball – have tried a lot of racks over the years but none will work with the braze ons and thru axle.

I’d go with a holster on the bars and two anything cages on the forks – say 5 litres per cage plus ten to 20 on the bars. The biplane does make securing the holster nice and easy

Similar problem – 3 possible solutions:
1. Sorry, narrower tyre (no, i didnt want to either and would love a 2.8 cakeater tyre in the UK)
2. Narrower rim (going from 45 to 30 internal gained me around 2mm extra clearance either side of my Knard)
3. Your best bet is a race Face cinch chainset as you can adjust chainline with spacers AND flip the chainring (Surly do this in the new Pugsley)

I have gone with options 2 & 3.

P.s. Alfine……

I have a Stooge mk 2, which has been adopted by my wife, a Stooge MK3 and recently got a steel Speedball. Have ridden the Speedball around Macc and also Scotland (both last week) and it was great. Good for bumbling, blasting, technical trail riding and commuting.

Very easy to build with no weird tolerances to worry about. Using an Aeffect chainset gives good options for playing with chainline as it is non-boost.

Downsides – it is heavy and the rear clearance is tight with a Knard on a 50mm Halo rim, rebuilt onto a halo 35mm rim and is much better.

It was this or a Krampus – I’ve made the right choice and would buy another (in titanium if I could).

27+ rear and 29+ on Stooge mk II

Was ok locally but made me really laugh out loud the first time I pointed it downhill at a trail centre. Front rolls over almost anything and rear is low and tucked in nicely around the corners.

I’ve had a few pairs of approach shoes done with 5-10 soles by Cheshire Shoe repairs, who did an excellent job on each occasion. Highly recommended.