I used to work as a bike mechanic in a big warehouse sports store (Olympus Sports) and in the two years i worked there we had maybe 3 bikes in for work that you’d have classed as decent. Most was exactly as described in the original post.

The really cheap stuff that we sold was awful too, you’d literally take them new out of the box and they’d be broken, wonky wheels, burred edges on the metal or the brake mounts would be at an odd angle making them virtually impossible to set up. But like someone said above, we didn’t get many back, the standard of £100 bikes don’t really encourage you to ride often enough to break them.

In the winter I doubled up as the ski tech and that was the only time I got a tip from a customer, £5 for servicing his skis while he waited rather than shoving them on the rack to do later.

Kuala Lumpur. You can see the Petronas Towers in the first frame of the clip.

60s Astral Weeks by Van Morrison

70s What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye

80s Critical Beatdown by Ultramagnetic MC’s

90s Different Class by Pulp

00s Original Pirate Material by The Streets

10s Positive Songs for Negative People by Frank Turner

The music makes it sound like they’re off to fight crime on the streets of 1970’s Chicago, was expecting them to ride through a stack of discarded cardboard boxes.

credit wefail @wefail

The Wire

Parks and Recreation

Survival by Ray Mears

Her idea of a fun is a beach holiday lying in the sun, which we do once a year for two weeks, it drives me round the bend no biking.

Try a Neilson or Mark Warner holiday, you can do as much or as little cycling as you want and so can she. We used to go on these a lot, i’d get up early for the morning ride whilst my partner had a lay in then we’d meet for breakfast do stuff together, maybe go for a ride in the evening. They were a great way of both of us getting as active as we wanted to be without placing pressure on the other to join in.

I do 5 spin classes most weeks and not once do I do press ups. Try different instructors, there’s 9 instructors at my gym, I’ve tried all their classes at one time or another and know that 3 of them are really not for me. Based on their attendance other people do enjoy them so they definitely have a place.

Yes the room lacks ventilation, is too hot and ends with a great puddle of sweat on the floor, yes the bikes are a bit chunky and the power readout’s a tad optimistic but I’m still more likely to do this regularly as the social aspect is nice and the requirement to pre book makes it feel like an appointment that you can’t really put off in the way that I tend to do with the turbo trainer.

90% of me says have nothing to do with him beyond emotional support. The remaining 10% is wondering whether to contact his sister and see what’s been going on in his life from another perspective. Has he been trying and failing to sort himself out or has he just been carrying on as if his actions can continue indefinetly? If it’s the former then I “might” be tempted to offer a little more practical assistance but even that would have conditions attached.

Well thank be to the beeb gods who have released new episodes of JOSH

Christ things must be bad.

I cant believe the band have allowed one of the best songs ever to be abused

If their fans can forgive them for breaking the United Nations cultural boycott to play Sun City in apartheid South Africa I’m sure they’ll get over a bit of advertising.

Gnumas: Anxiety is absolutely a part of the grieving process. That can take the form of anxiety in social situations or fear of the future or simply making more of odd happenings that any other time of your life you’d just brush off as inconsequential.

I dont know if there’s any faster way to overcome it other than keep reminding yourself that what you’re going through is 100% normal and will in time pass. But it can take months if not years before you start to recognise the person that you were before your loss. In the meantime keep taking it a day at a time and keep talking.

I don’t want to sound like I’m dismissing your concerns and it is certainly odd but If it’s someone dicking about or up to something nefarious, they only get any further if you allow them access, so don’t. if it’s someone genuine but technologically challenged they’ll get in touch by some other means in the future and ask why you didn’t add them at which point you can explain that you didn’t because it all looked a bit weird but that you will now.

Treat it like cold calling and spend as little time as possible on it.

WWMWD?

I’d ignore it and not give it a second thought, which is what i do with any requests from people that i don’t recognise on all social media platforms that requires acceptance to follow.

Everything I’ve got in mind at the moment fits into the chunky category so I wouldn’t be unhappy with a more agricultural finish and I am leaning towards a good mig kit as it sounds easier to get a workable result.

The mig vs tig thing is starting to look like I’ve wandered into to stw and asked “what wheel size?” I think I need to do a bit video research so that I more fully understand the differences so will do a bit more exploring on youtube.

No one has suggested it would be daft to teach myself which is encouraging and loads of good tips, so thanks to everyone that’s responded

I’d love to see a full build breakdown.

You want the illustrated booklet?

Good stuff so far, thanks.

If I’ve got this right then MIG will be easier to pick up but will always look a bit more agricultural.

TIG requires a bit more skill/learning but with practise will yield tidier results.

Budget?

I hadn’t really thought about it but I guess £500 all in seems OK. Is that a workable amount or am I way out?

Get bike serviced and gears indexed and consider, again, going to either a single speed or a 1xAlfine.

I had a chain snap on me after having it fitted for less than a week on a brand new build so servicing/newness is no guarantee of success. Was on my commute to but fortunately I didn’t fall over and managed to cushion the impact by getting my balls between me and the crossbar.

I doubt anyone’s going to trust me with a masonry chisel so the question is somewhat redundant.

A bit warmer than you were?

I doubt I’d use it if I had a choice but if I did have to use it then I expect I’d probably get off and walk or if it’s less busy than the photos I’d ride it at a pootle. It’s only short and the chances of hitting a man in a pale blue shirt seem quite high.

Springs on the quick release will have no effect so you can discount those, they exist purely to move the ends of the QR away from the dropouts once it’s undone creating a equal(ish) gap so that it’s easy to get the wheel in and out of the frame.

Also do you mean that when stationary with the brake applied the bike can be moved back and forth slightly or that the disk (the actual rotor) moves?

I had the same question. The first (a tiny amount of forward and back motion with the disc applied) is normal, the rotor moving is not normal.

The course is going to be heavily dependent on the quality of the presenters. The course I did had two instructors, both seemed to know their subject very well but the difference between them was night and day. One was entertaining and engaging, keeping people on board for the message she was trying to get across the other was tedious and condescending and pitched his sections as if they were aimed at a group of under 10’s. It was really difficult to pay attention whenever the second instructor took over.

DD is a londoner, is he not?

I’ve no idea, I’m still not 100% convinced that he’s not a performance art project.

if we’re allowed time travelling then the early 90’s Chicago Bulls.

If no time travelling allowed and it doesn’t have to be a team then the pro surfing circuit.

If no time traveling and it has to be a team (harsh rules) i’d go for pro cycling and Mitchelton–Scott. Big enough of a team that they seem well organised and competitive but not so big that they’ve taken all the fun out of the sport.

I have a RaceFace seatpost from the mid nineties that’s still in use so I may not be the best person to ask.

[edit]

I also have two thomson seatposts that are over ten years old. hadn’t crossed my mind to change them.

Also shared on facebook.

Done and thanks for the support deadlydarcy

I have no idea wtf this thread is on about?

same.

The shady bit looks pretty good but the rest consists of a brown dry mass and a few clumps of green stuff. Like Stumpy01’s garden the weeds seem to be thriving.

[edit]

That’s on no watering other than what’s fallen from the sky which is not much.

Not sure that dog’s gonna pack away much more than a sausage or two before it’s full.

The only options I can see are:

1) Accept that this is part of life and make sure you have insurance to cover it.

2) Make getting at your stuff more hassle than it’s worth.

3) Confront him in the hope that he bumps you down his mental list of soft targets.

4) Physically assault him so he thinks you’re a bit nuts and not worth annoying any further.

1 & 2 are worth doing anyway, preemptively assaulting the fella would be out of the question for me which leaves just having a word.

If i was going to do that then it would have to be very specific and clear. Telling him to “Eff off” probably just registers as a close call but one he got away with. I suspect that until he’s caught he’ll be thinking that he’s going about his business below the radar and your message to him needs to be that you have noticed him and that if anything of yours goes missing or is damaged then you’ll know who to pin the blame on. Something along the lines of “It looks like you’ve been thieving, if I get robbed then I’ll know it was you and your details are going straight to the police.” You could close that with “I’ll know who to come looking for” type comment instead of the police thing but that’s only got weight if he’s likely to be intimidated by you.

I can’t guarantee this will be effective as there’s also no telling how bothered he might be by any consequences that will eventually catch up with him but it is adding to any physical security you might add by making robbing you a little more hassle than the average punter.

If you’re going to do it, do it right. John Travoltas house:

https://www.aviationcv.com/aviation-blog/2016/john-travoltas-house

Good find, liked that and liked the fella although his weight distribution on the trailer could do with a bit of work.

Looks like a standard Iceland buffet box.

I’d do exactly what Roter Stern describes up there ^.

Would probably want to be on flat pedals though as if it goes wrong you’re going to be making a fast sideways exit.

I’d rate flat pedal chance of injury about 50/1, spd chance of injury about 2/1

If you’re happy to go 2nd hand then you might get something decent for around £300. The fairly basic but solid and very usable spin bikes at our gym (keiser M3) cost around £1,500 new but their value plummets as soon as they’re second hand and a quick search on gumtree suggests they can be had for around your budget.

If you’re decide on new then I think you’d be best to go down the the route of finding a way to make the turbo trainer usable indoors.

Was going to post Buffalo Springfield but got beaten to it so…

Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl (1967)

Never more than once a week, probably closer to once a fortnight.