When I was fixing up a second hand Spesh Hotrock 12 for my lad I took the stripped frame into Halfords to colour match it. Once I had a short list I sprayed each colour onto the frame wiping it off quick before it dried to get a perfect match…turned out to be VW Mars Red.

There’s nothing “wrong” with Elixir brakes but they aren’t the easiest to bleed and do seem to be sensitive to any air in the system. The SRAM manual and youtube video pretty much covers what to do but I found the video guide on Pinkbike to explain it the best

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/tech-tuesday-bleeding-avid-brakes-2010.html

Also some more info on degassing oil…

Cougar is right. I’ve got the BC900 which is pretty much the same and has now been replaced with the BC1000 (http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-i-charger.asp) It’s definitely worth the money. Also Sanyo Eneloop batteries perform much better than normal high capacity batteries and are also the best low self discharge batteries, I don’t use anything else and with a house full of kids toys I have a lot!

Jordans Frusli bars every hour or so, higher protein, cheaper and nicer than most other bars. Jelly Beans as and when. High5 Zero tab in the CamelBak.

Suntour forks are usually pretty cheap so it may not be cost effective paying someone to service them. You could contact TFtuned or LoCo or try your local bike shop, alternatively undo the foot nuts to remove the lowers so you can clean them and put some oil in each leg before reassembling.

Definitely the shoelace flugelbinders hitting the cranks

Slightly O/T but has anyone bought the cheaper o-ring sets off ebay for an air service. Any good or is it worthwhile buying official?

Yep and it works perfectly, the o-rings will be the same as in the official set so no point spending 3 times as much on it.

I use runmeter but just downloaded strava to try.
Does it automatically store your rides for others to see or do you have to specially request that?

Yep, you can see anyone’s rides and follow anyone rather send a friend request so its a bit more public than Endomondo. It’s a good idea to set a 100m radius from your home address to hide any of your routes within it for privacy and security.

Pretty much what everyone else has said but…

My wife and I got our bikes and a kiddie seat (Hamax Smiley) 3 years ago when sprog one was 15 months old so that we could all do some exercise together as we hadn’t been to the gym in a very long time due to less time, tiredness and the usual new parent reasons. Sprog two arrived last December and we got a kiddie trailer for him which also went behind my bike as the missus isn’t too confident on two wheels and I like the idea of being the daddy train plus it’s good resistance training. Family rides are all well and good but it’s not the same as doing a proper ride although we did do the blue at Llandegala a couple of times with sprog one. My wife and I decided we needed to start being a bit more selfish and occasionally do our own thing of a weekend so every few weeks I have a day in Wales or similar bombing up and down mountains and she’ll go for a long run or go for a day out with her mates. It’s great having kids but you still need to do stuff for yourself as well. Apart from the fun days out most of my riding is squeezed in when I can after they’ve gone to bed or a quick blast of a weekend morning.

Just a bit of a hijack………do you need a pc to use strave or can it all be done on android phone like MyTracks? I’m only asking as I will be using work PC which can cause ‘problems’!

Thanks

Strava saves the ride over air (3G or wifi) to the Strava website so you don’t need to physically connect the phone to a PC for it to work. Most of the ride info is still stored and viewable on the phone though (distance, elevation gain, average speed, max speed, map, segments and achievements)

and the first ride on my new to me FB road bike!

Don’t forget to add your bike in the gear section on the website then :-)

I was tracking with Endomondo but have now switched to Strava, the segments on Strava will really motivate you to push yourself on the climbs…and the descents :D. The elevation on Endomondo was always wrong with loads of false zero heights meaning ridiculous total height climbed. Strava seems to get the elevation right and is consistent plus it seems to use more regular waypoints which is better for the twisty bits. I still like the Endomondo website though so I export the GPX from Strava and import it into Endomondo.

I completely stripped and serviced my Reba’s recently and TBH it was a piece of piss, even doing it for the first time. Just taking the lowers off to clean and change the splash bath oil will be very easy so I don’t see a problem doing this every 50 hours riding. I’ve noted on Strava when I did the service under “front shock” so know I’ve ridden 206km which is approx 10 hours ridding time, the next service should be due the end of June then.

Brilliant set up, good work.

I wouldn’t worry about the radiator too much, sheds and garages get incredibly hot in summer.

I’ve been doing one hour night road rides a couple of times a week since it got dark. Not ideal but getting fitter keeps me motivated. I’ve got two 500 lumen torches on the bars and two RSP Astrum lights on the back plus hi-vis vest, look like a tool but it reduces the number of knobs trying to drive into me.

Giyo pump upto to 300psi from ebay, £13ish

What lumen and run time is it, can it be helmet mounted…without beam shots I’m not convinced.

AK bearings seem to be cheap, if you can afford it get the INA bearings

61903-2RS http://www.akbearings.co.uk/search.asp?strKeywords=61903&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

61902-2RS http://www.akbearings.co.uk/search.asp?strKeywords=61902&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

I’m 5’10” and was 102kg this time last year, I’m now 88kg due to putting many miles in on the bike (1,065km since I started tracking in June) and cutting out the pasty garnish at lunch everyday.

Have at look at this link for pointers for the next time you’re out.

http://www.ibike.org/education/teaching-kids.htm

Patience will be the best thing you can exercise while he’s starting off, my eldest is 4 years old and isn’t too interested in putting the work in with the bike so it’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll be carrying the bike for a large part of each trip to the park but there are plenty of other dads doing the same so it’s quite common.

Lizard Skin Charger at the moment, I love them but would probably go with the big Superstars ones next time.

It looks to me like part of the bladder is damaged, it looks like the small piece of rubber left in the body matches up with the part of the bladder I’ve circled below.

Also I found this photo which may help you understand what’s going on inside, I’ve got the same brakes which is why I’m interested.

You would need the bleed kit eventually anyway and DOT fluid is pretty cheap if you buy it from Halfords but maybe you could ask the seller to reimburse you the cost of the master cylinder refurb kit as a gesture of good will?

The pinkbike guide helped me more than all the other info > http://www.pinkbike.com/news/tech-tuesday-bleeding-avid-brakes-2010.html

Also make sure both tube clamps are open and the brake lever isn’t pulled back to the bar.

Nice one…I don’t really like milk on it’s own so only have it in coffee which might explain a few things about me 8O I’ll have to get some chocolate milk which should make it bearable.

Bitty?

So is milk a good recovery drink or what?

Nealy, the 2010’s have called and Rotor want to sell you what road teams have been using for years.

Well you learn something new everyday, that’s me owned :lol:

Dude, the 90’s have phoned and want their chainrings back ;)

Where you hoping for something more goatse?

Eh?

I’ll explain……….

I’m looking for something called Motorex Supergliss 100K, to use in my DT forks. It’s a ‘slideway’ oil and the viscosity measure is 100K. So I’m trying to find an oil of equivalent weight.

If it’s just for the semi-bath in the lowers it doesn’t matter what weight it is as it’s not being used for damping, if the fork is open bath and it is being used for damping then I guess it does matter.

From what decipherecifer from the below google translated page it is just for lubrication in which case you can use another suitable oil such as good quality fully synthetic engine oil (e.g. Mobil 1)

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foromtb.com%2Fshowthread.php%2F731370-MOTOREX-SUPERGLISS-100K

£25 from B&Q http://www.diy.com/nav/build/motoring-workshop-tools/workshop-tools/handtools/-specificproducttype-ratchet___wrenches/Torq-1-4Inch-Torque-Wrench-11377946

RS 5wt is 16.1 cSt @40C so you need something close to that and as Red Line is some of the best suspension fluid you can get I recommend their Lightweight fluid which I’ve just used in my Reba’s damper > http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60183-red-line-lightweight-suspension-fluid.aspx

If the 15wt is just for lubrication then use what ever fork oil you can get or fully synthetic engine oil like Mobil 1

The XML-U2 LED is 10% more efficient than the XML-T6 LED so if your torches take the P60 drop in then you could get these for £7.62 each > http://www.lightmalls.com/cree-xm-l-u2-1a-1000-lumen-3-7v-4-2v-5-mode-led-lamp-xml-drop-in

Or just get a whole new torch with the U2 LED for £10.73 > http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501b-cree-xml-u2-1300-lumen-5-mode-led-flashlight-1-18650

With any of these torches it’s a good idea to wrap the drop in with aluminium foil until it is a tight fit in the head of the torch to help with heat sinking.

^ What he said :-)

I bought my Xtar 2600mAh batteries from Torchy’s (big f d d) ebay shop when he had them in stock and would buy from him again.

Also I bought my Xtar charger from an ebay seller in China and that arrived in a couple of weeks when a 501b torch ordered from DX at the same time took 7 weeks to arrive but that was just after the nights were drawing in so it may be better now…or worse ;)

It looks exactly the same website as DX?

They look totally different to me and they are definitely different companies. Another alternative to DX which also ships quicker is Manafont.com

Yep, fine for uk delivery and quicker than DX but still coming from China so not the same as ordering from uk supplier. Pay with PayPal and use a unique password for your account on any Chinese retail websites.

It’s true that leaving them fully charged for long periods does reduce their capacity compared to storing them at 40% charge although if you’ll be using the batteries in the near future I don’t think it makes a significant difference. The way I understand it is using the battery (discharging and charging) reduces the capacity but completely discharging and charging reduces it more, there may be an ideal discharge and charge percentage but it’s too much effort to work that out and adhere to all the time. Basically they’re far from perfect so do your best to look after them and just replace them when they wear out.

I went down the torch route rather than the specific bike lights as it’s easy and cheap to have multiple torches so you don’t have one point of failure, you can choose decent batteries & chargers and properly control their charging plus you’ve got an awesome bright torch come bonfire night :D

Dealextreme take ages to deliver so my recommendations are…

Torch: OP Reflector Ultrafire 501B Cree XML U2 1300 Lumen 5-Mode LED Flashlight (1*18650)
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501b-cree-xml-u2-1300-lumen-5-mode-led-flashlight-1-18650

Batteries: TrustFire Protected 18650 3.7V True 2400mAh (Flame) Rechargeable Lithium Batteries (1 pair)
http://www.lightmalls.com/trustfire-protected-18650-3-7v-true-2400mah-rechargeable-lithium-batteries-1-pair

Charger: XTAR WP2II
http://www.lightmalls.com/xtar-wp2-charger-for-14500-14650-17670-18500-18650-18700-battery-279

Mount: The below looks pretty decent although I don’t have it so can’t confirm it’ll be ok.
http://www.lightmalls.com/2-75-practical-metal-flashlight-mount-holder-clamp-with-a-installation-tool-for-bicycl-black
I got this mount from DX which is OKish . http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-bicycle-mount-22mm-32-8mm-15342

An alternative and better battery is the XTAR 18700 2600mAh 3.7v SANYO Protected but you can’t get it from Lightmalls so either get it at the below link or find them on eBay from a UK supplier.
http://www.qualitychinagoods.com/xtar-18700-2600mah-sanyo-protected-battery-batteries-p-1943.html?osCsid=d2e0fa1407554b824c02d5dc6197dc74

You should charge them after ever use even if they aren’t fully discharged. The below is an extract from the below links so read them to get a better understanding of how to look after them.

A partial discharge reduces stress and prolongs battery life. Elevated temperature and high currents also affect cycle life.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

I was at The Marin last Saturday and it was fine if you kept your eye out for the few patches of ice in exposed sections. I’d go again this weekend if I had the time.