To be honest I’m finding it really hard to think about buying a new bike nowadays. You have to pay a lot just to get some half decent forks and wheels on a bike and I’m fearful that everything will be out of date in 12 months with no spares.

So I just stick with my old bike. MTB seems to be very different than it was 20 or even 15 years ago, it’s whole new bikes every other year rather than upgrade a bike a bit over the years.

Will they all march up to Jarrow demanding employment?

If the estate agents I have used try this they’ll never be able to find Jarrow on a map.

plans to ban letting fees to tenants – expected to come in early next year – could dent profits even more.

Oh diddums – I am sure millions of people struggling in rented accomodation are very concerned about losing the excellent services they receive from the estate agents and are unhappy they aren’t able to pay the high fees any more.

+1 Saxonrider

unfortuantely won’t stop the bitter and twisted brigade arguing about it incessantly for a couple of months.

Although not that trendy Schwalbe Land Cruiser tyres are ace, not too heavy but pretty sturdy and will go on all sorts of terrain. I’ve put them on all sorts of bikes and they just work. Wouldn’t hesitate to use them myself as a great value do anything tyre.

If the gas and electric supplies are too far apart a sm can’t be fitted apparently. You could tell them that.

Well being as they install one for gas and one for electric that excuse won’t work.

A lot of people don’t realise how much money they are spending on energy.

Most people on here are pretty switched on and either a) already are clever enough to use energy wisely or b) earn enough money that they don’t care.

Smart meters are a good idea. When I got one a few years ago, one of those that clipped to your electricity cables it did inform me quite a bit. I’ve got a smart meter installed at my new house and I’ve used it to ascertain that my new house (quite big for the 2 of us) needs heating in a different way to our last house (very small) so i have found the most efficient way to use the heating but still be comfortable

People who have the tin foil hats on argue that they’ll be used to charge more at peak times – bring it on I say. Anything which stops people using so much energy is a good thing.

Same with water meters – I use so much less now it’s measured!!

I’ve bought a Genesis 650b frame with a QR rear end and a 44mm headtube. I’m going to put my straight 26” forks and wheels in but I’ll be able to put some tapered forks and 650b wheels in later.

£5670 and counting…… nice one STW. :)

Just quit Facebook. Result is you get a bit of your life back and work can’t hassle you. Job jobbed.

I like the idea that there’d be enough for them to have a family holiday at some point too.

Amen to that x1000. They need a family holiday more than most right now.

We all agreed she was the brightest star in the sky.

Well thats got me crying at work. Such a wonderful thing to say. Sounds like you’re a great team together.

Well that took 1 hour to raise……..

I’m just setting up a fundraising page now, give me a few mins

Nice one. I for one would not mind if we could raise more than just the practical costs, but extra to help treat the family or at least cushion the financial blows a little.

Oh no that must be awful. So sorry for your loss. Theres tears in my eyes just thinking how bad it must be right now for you.

It won’t seem like this for a while, but you’ll get through this. Why do I know this? Everyone on here who has read about your difficulties recently has noticed what a great husband and dad you are. Not just because you’ve put your family before your own interests, but because you’ve also been brave enough to share it with the rest of us. That takes real guts as guys aren’t “supposed” to talk about this sort of thing (which is changing thankfullly)

So try to stick around and let us know how things are going, even if it’s just a rant and rave about how crap things might be.  For all the petty arguments and weird things that occur on here there is a genuine caring attitude towards people who are struggling.

There’s a bloke on Retrobike who used to work for GT bikes in the USA. He was telling a story about the late 80’s, early 90’s GT’s with the multicolour splatter/splash paint jobs. Apparantely they went through the paint shop 3 or 4 times to finish those paint jobs off they were so complex – each one is unique – even on the £250 bottom end models they had the same amazing paint finishes.

I don’t know what paint they used on the GT’s but its pretty much the toughest paint I have ever found on a bike, my 92 Tequesta paint hardly has a mark on it – still shines up like new with a bit of polish.

Grove Innovations X frame….. drooooooooooooooooool…………………….

Make sure that the scrappers are a properly licenced site with the EA and DVLA  (you can check on gov.uk) rather than some dodgy guy up the road. You should receive a certificate of destruction if registered with DVLA and the EA permit will mean that they won’t be pouring the oil and other crap down the drains or into a river.

Scum. Stop apologising for them

Im not saying they are all good but I’ve dealt with a few of both types and they have been fine. Which is the same experience as other people on this thread have had. Sorry you had a bad experience but don’t tar everyone with the same brush.

Be reasonable and helpful to start off with. If they hassle you more than they should after you’ve done what you can to help them then start getting serious with them, but getting all riled up before anything has happened is never going to end well and will only increase your blood pressure and stress levels for no reason.

But they are bullies; who want to intimitade nice people into doing their work for them.

Not in my experience. Have you ever dealt with any? Doesn’t sound like it. Also there is a different between private companies collecting debt and high court appointed collection agents. The latter will have a court warrant to collect payment or seize goods to the value of the debt and that warrant may allow forcible entry. As the court has instructed them to attend the address to do that they may well have no choice and can’t take info over the phone/email.

I have dealt with similar situations and just shown documents to prove who I am and given them all the info I knew about the debtor (always a previous occupant).

Even the private debt collectors have been reasonable when I’ve called them and have always been very grateful that I rang and given them any useful info.

I can’t imagine they would offer enough to any buyer  which would make them happy and give them enough to make a profit after all the business expenses. It’s really easy to get a half decent amount of money for a bike so you’d have to be really lazy to accept even less just to let them sell for you.

Proper reclaimed sleepers from track beds I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. Covered in carcinogenic creosote? Lovely! Use them if you want but don’t plant anything next to them, sit on them, or have kids/pets in the same garden. Naaaah. Not for me thanks.

Dont use a hand saw.. you’ll end up with tendonitis (tennis elbow)

I really hope you’re joking. It’s not that hard to cut with a decent hand saw, just takes a while.

I wouldn’t touch anything with a bargepole that has a chance of flooding personally. It really just isn’t worth it.

Love country music, like all kinds of music for varying reasons. People who take the mick out of country probably haven’t listened to it much – its the same as rock or pop music – so varied within its genre there’s something for everyone.

For me….Brad Paisley, Eric Church. I’d like to know a bit more but can never remember the artists when I hear a song I like. Dwight Yoakam too.

clippers for downstairs

Errr what???

Toolstation sell some good ratchet straps at a decent price too. I bought some and have strapped 8×4 sheets of timber to my car roof so they are pretty sturdy. Just strap them so they can’t fall backwards off the rack – should be easy to do with a bike rack.

Might be best to get a couple of big army kit bags and ratchet strap them to your rack?

My wife is 4’11” and if I tried to take away her Specialized Vita I would be dead in seconds. Brilliant bike, all the contact points were perfect for her and I’ve not had to change anything. I paid full price for it and would again no problem.

Build it for yourself. Why spend all that money and compromise what you want for some hypothetical next owner? Most people don’t care about garages anyway so it won’t make a difference to value of house.

I’d put a single door on to get one car in and have the rest as a workshop.

I feel so lucky to have visited the Art School just before the first fire. My wife and I (she is an artist) love the architecture of that period and have been lots of places to seek out the best examples. I’m probably not as keen as her but when I walked into the Library at the Art School I was just speechless. There was simply no amount of pictures that could prepare you for how amazing it was, pure unfiltered design genius. How much it would cost to replicate must be mind boggling, but even if the re-creation loses half of the impact that it had on me when I saw it it would still be head and shoulders above anything else of its kind.

Oddly enough the nicest car I’ve owned is the cheapest……

Bought 24 hrs before it was due to be scrapped but had £10k spent on it in the previous 5 years.

When it was purchased new it was the most expensive Volvo you could buy, and whoever bought it ordered pretty much every extra as well…

Lots of little niggles sorted and runs 2″ lower on 17″ steels and Bilstein suspension. Shown in its Euro look with roof tray and other bits bolted on…

Its a lovely car and I can’t think of any car I’ve sat in which has seats this comfortable, they are simply astonishing. The load capacity is beyond amazing too, being a foot longer than a new Passat (but having a turning circle 3m smaller!).

Steadfastly refuses to fail MOT.

Yes, airbeds in a tent. We’ve tried those thermarest things and I think I’d get more comfort sleeping on some swept up leaves. ;)

The one thing I do have is 2 Camping Gaz stoves I picked up stupid cheap when Halfords were clearing them out.

We actually like airbeds – my wife sleeps best on one!

Good idea on some of those bits and bobs we might need.

I’ll have a look 2nd hand for a tent and other bits but I would prefer a new tent.

Was thinking around £200-300 for the tent.

Approx. 3000 asbestos related deaths a year in the UK and still a fair few years to go yet before that beigns to drop

The industry experts think that it actually may rise and we won’t see a peak for 10-20 years. Why? All the people who made asbestos in factories have pretty much died now, the deaths are coming from people who are ripping it out. Homeowners, DIYers, builders etc have been taking it out more often since the 90’s – give it 30/40 years from then and you have a peak that’s yet to come and might last a long time.

Its a shockingly awful way to go, well documented yet people risk is to save a few hundred quid.

Labour voters can be just the same. My local MP is labour and a complete moron with no social skills, things he is more important than everyone else and has no idea about his local community. He only gets in because the area I live in is a Labour heartland. However the conservative candidate I have also met and he is diplomatic, knows his community and really sorts things out well. Everyone who has met him wishes he was our MP, even long term labour voters!

Caged bearings are the work of the devil! Always always use loose ones, bit of grease will hold them in place during assembly.

I have some mid 90’s XT hubs which need building into wheels again. Done lots of miles but still feel as good as (maybe better?) than new. Soooo smooth.

I’ve got one of the original ones at home still in it’s packet somewhere. Tried to sell it just after the “new” STW keyring fiasco but I think the whole issue was a bit of a sore point so I didnt manage to sell it.

Are they all being herded onto the “B” Ark?

Hmmm yes thats what I’m thinking. Thankfully I have a place nearby that sells lime mortar mixes, but looking at their guides on how to use scares me!