Can you borrow a bike that will fit her?

Basics for starting to learn.

Start with the saddle set so that both feet are just flat on the ground when seated.

Cover the brakes at all times.

Apply brakes to get on the bike, and at all times when not moving. It makes the bike seem much more stable and inspires confidence.

Having previously set the bike up in a nice low gear, she gets used to bringing the starting pedal to a 10 o’clock position.

Aim for setting off and just getting the other foot on the other pedal. So half a pedal stroke from the starting position, a gentle incline can help, as above. Then coast, gently apply brakes to a controlled stop.

Do this a few times, no need to rush. You walk alongside to offer advice (“Cover the brakes”) and support.

As soon as she stops remind her to get ready to go again, brakes stay on, pedal to 10 o’clock.

Then gradually increase the distance and number of pedal revolutions. Until you get to jogging pace (“Cover the brakes”) and the bike starts to self stabilise. Practice coasting with the starting pedal at 10 o’clock so when she stops, she is ready to start again without have to adjust anything.

She should now be able to ride. Tennis courts are good, just enough space for her to ride around you so that you can offer advice (“Cover the brakes”) on what to do.

Complete beginners tend to steer away when they start to lose their balance. Walk with the bike and show her how when you lean the bike, what happens when you steer into or away from the lean.

They also tend to target fixate, “Look were you want to go, not at the (Insert object, lamp post for example).” Something like tennis courts are good as they have the line markings to follow and nets to avoid.

Explain gears off the bike not while she is riding.

As confidence grows, adjust the saddle height to a more efficient position.

Have fun.

When I was working for the council, we had a pool of bikes to use for this, various size hybrids to suit all.

I’m in North London, if you’re local and can’t find anyone, I’m happy to offer a couple of lessons to get her started.

If you have to ask it’s probably not a good idea.

Assuming the arm is aluminium then you will have more chance if you apply heat direct to the outside of the housing. Hot air gun is the best bet, you still need to be organised with a puller of some sort.

Your local council may or may not offer free instruction for adults depending on budget and cuts.

If there’s nothing available I can offer you some tips, I used to work as an instructor.

I’ve just built a franken-bike myself, pretty much just for towpath mileage.

Old cross frame and wheelset now built up with bull horns and aero bars. Selcof on sale from Planet X.

I went for bar end shifters as running V brakes which were going spare, 10 speed shifter on an old 9 speed XT GS mech that was also in the spare parts bin.

52-36 semi-compact road chainset, 12-28 cassette.

On-one BSC Gravel Road tyres, 700 x 33 or 40 tyres were £15 each for, nice light mixed use tyre. 33 fitted as using Mavic Open Pro rims.

All I can see is:

Blah, blah, blah.

Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Blah, blah.

When he says ‘Hi!’ to you next week, ignore him. Stare straight through him, like he’s a ghost.

All done and seems fine. Thanks all.

My partner had loads of problems with Yosemite and lost a lot of contacts from her phone too.

As I don’t know how to fix these kind of issues, ‘proceed with extreme caution’ seems to work well for me.

Thanks Rachel.

I’ll go for the upgrade.

Thanks all.

I have an issue with iphoto crashing, within a second or two of opening. I was hoping an upgrade would fix this.

It might be that you are getting poor quality sleep.

There’s a few different things, like apnoea which obstructs the airways, so this results in lack of oxygen and mental stress while asleep.

The big risk is infection, so clean the wound as much as possible. Go to a chemist and get stuff if you don’t have first aid kit.

The ache will be from the pressure of the bite, expect some swelling.

If you go to A&E they will clean and dress only, not close the wound.

I am not a nurse or doctor.

1. No
2. It will affect the damping if the viscosity is different.
3. There’s not enough oil in the damper, it needs to be the correct amount for the model that you have.

It could be lots of things, fair or unfair, maybe they are having a crack down on absenteeism.

Wait for the letter to arrive, see if what’s written agrees with what has been said so far.

Make a decision from there, in the mean time try not to let it bug you both too much.

Tapas or Meze/Greek.

Lots of bread, and get gluten free too. A big rice and vegetable dish and a big salad.

Do as much prep as you can before hand. Work out a cooking order and make a list of what can be pre-cooked and reheated, plan a few flashy dishes to deliver straight out of the pan.

Yes, those levers will work with any caliper brake.

Thanks Rich TF. Rings a bell, I used to have some Tempos.

Cheers Jonba, looks like I’ll be needing a 45 Wide, I also need slippers that I can walk in with SPD cleats fitted.

As above, is the chain too long?

Do you have a clutch mech? Is it adjusted and working properly?

If all of the above is right then you have too much Gnarr.

I have a Blackspire Dually up for sale of you are interested.

As above, I love wrapping bars.

What goes wrong when you do it?

It can be done.

Thin galvanised sheet over the external face, bonded with adhesive on to wooden door. Thin angle around edge so you can’t get a lever under, fix the angle into the edge of the door with long screws and bonded under with something like Sikaflex EBT or CT-1. If fixing on the face fill the heads with JB Weld or use security screws.

Upgrade the hinges if needed, fit hinge bolts. Fit flat steel strip on inside of both door and frame on all sides where there are either hinges or locks fitted, both bonded and screwed into door. Like a London Door Bar, google it. The strip bolsters the wood and should prevent the wood from splitting.

EDIT – In that case just block it up, as above.

Which ever it is, it’s only going to get better if you are kinder to your body.

Could be lots of issues, the ones which have bugged me personally, saddle too far back and twisting the knee too much when getting out of using road clipless pedals.

Photo of you on the bike or it didn’t happen!

Only joking, well done, enjoy the ride.

Hello Rich TF, what type of Mavic shoes do you have?

I have some Mavic lace ups, Alpine and Alpine XL, which fit well.

If you’re looking at mixed use, I recommend those On One BSC Gravel road tyres, light and decent, I’ve ridden a few cross tyres and you won’t get better at that price. Had a few rides now and all good, pretty much towpath use only, no puncture protection. The 33c measures at 30mm across the carcass, 32mm with the side knobs.

They probably have long drop brakes on there. Have a trawl through the ‘Deals’ section too. You need £50+ for free postage but there is also a discount code on the home page for extra 40% off some items.

Thanks Monksie. I’m a 9.5 with wide feet so usually go up to a 10 in lace up shoes.

If you have a bike you ride now you could adjust the shifters parallel with the brake levers and have a test ride, see how you get on. I made a compromise between the two when first fitting I-spec, as in brake and shifters were both realigned to somewhere between the positions when mounted separately.

I-spec 2 has some rotational adjustment but that’s only on the 11 speed I think.

You could sell on the I-spec B shifters and buy some clamp on versions instead. I have a bike with SLX groupset, but fitted XT shifters as they are the only part that warrants spending anything extra IMO. Most 10 speed parts seem to be on sale somewhere.

Nice eggs.

Just got a Shimano discount code for Ribble on my email.

£10 off if spending £100+

SHIM10

Valid until Wednesday.

I’m not too sure on road stuff, I don’t look at it much but just done a similar thing to what you are doing. I started to read the thread, saw it was 3 weeks old and skipped to the end.

On One/Planet X might be worth a look too. Just got some cheap bars and tyres from them. The BSC gravel own brand tyres in a 33 or 40 width. Running with tubes currently but going to try them tubeless.

Stay away from Octolink if at all possible. You will not get a BB included with a road crankset, I went for an Uberbike HT2 BB, a bit more cost but better lifespan than standard Shimano part. Good luck with the build.

I recently bought a reasonable chainset from Ribble, I went for the 5 bolt 110BCD so not tied into any of the asymmetric designs when needing to replace rings.

Apart from CRC/Wiggle then Merlin are usually worth a look. PBK used to do deals but I haven’t looked there for a while.

Ben – Does that price include the bungee cord?

I like the look of the Tern too, forgot about that bike.
Instead of drops, another option is bullhorns and some clip on aero bars.

How do you actually breed dogs to look like that? I don’t understand the practicalities of it. Do they get two dos with slightly slopping back to breed to have puppies with very slopping backs?

There’s a fair chance that those two dogs will be put together, breeding more disabled animals with the owners making a massive amount of money from other shallow, mentally pathetic people who want to do the same.

Another with a friend with Airnimal. I’ve had a ride, highly recommended.

Just let them soak for a bit, maybe a few days, if you twist off the stub you’re stuck. You do want to use mole grips really.

As a last resort you can cut the insole and then glue it back in place after. The level of waterproof success will depend on your cutting and gluing skills.

After fitting the new cleats fill the rest of the slots with a soft sealant so that water can’t get up behind the cleat plate.

It’s just a bunch of narcissists parading their toys in front of each other.

How do you all get on with office based work? Stand at the desk or kneel?

Personally I don’t spend much time at a desk, but when I do I use a Japanese style kneeling chair.

I-spec B will bolt straight on to your brake levers. There will be in-out adjustment on your shifters but no rotational adjustment separate from the brakes.
When I first started to use I-spec, it meant that I had to run the shifters at a flatter angle than before and took a little while to get used to.

SGS long cage is what Shimano specify for this gear range, but a GS medium cage will work equally well. It just means the lower jockey wheel will be a bit closer to the ground, so slightly increased chance of snagging it. As a positive, it does give you the capacity to go up to a larger size cassette or use an extender sprocket with the double ring chainset in the future.

Get a second opinion.

Anything that stretches my back works for me, sitting down is the worst option, for me.

Core strength exercises, might be best to start under professional instruction. I had a course from an NHS physio.
Yoga should help with both physical and mental stress, I have just started myself.

esher shore- is that using a mains powered angle grinder? Have you tried it with a battery powered portable one? Would be interesting to see the results.

The new battery powered grinders with a fresh battery are just as powerful as a mains powered machine. A lot is in the choice of cutting disc and skill of the user, the right disc and an experienced user will give the same results of 30 seconds or less for a D lock.

Your level of security needs to match the location and the cost of the bike. If you’re feeling the need to ask, then I would say use both.