Defo make sure the seats other than the drivers seat are comfortable for long journeys.

Hired a transit custom crew cab and the passenger seats were all bolt up right and horrible to sit in.

Had a Hyundai Iload previously and it was good as gold.

I use a bit of Muc-off helmet foam fresh.

IF they get really minging then they go in the washing machine

One thing i would do 100% is not show them the bike in the garage / shed.

I always take the bike in the house and show them in the kitchen or whatever.

If they don’t come in a car don’t let them ride it!

No door number until they arrive in the street.

I have 3 tubes one 6ft and two 4ft.

The one above the work bench has a metal guard round it to stop me whacking it with bits of bike etc.

May have to move the centre one as i plan on popping in a auto closer at some point.

My brother David is called Trigger after Dave, which stuck largely due to an incident where he wandered home from North Weald market with an air rifle, went on to a garage forecourt to put a bottle in the bin and the guy called the police, he wandered on a bit further and got picked up by my mum, about 10mins later there was armed response knocking on the front door. She declined to call Trigger up the stairs!

for the love of cars anyone??

http://www.deckheadsscooters.co.uk/tsg-evolution—dark-cyan-2198-p.asp

this one.

I am using a large as the small size is a bit narrow front to back.

Another issue i came up against was the seat clamp to rail measurement when it was lowered was considerably larger than most of the hydraulic posts.

Depending on your frame size and riding style this may be an issue for you.

brake cleaner when the block is warm

Then you want the one with the downward facing cable

I had one and couldn’t wait to upgrade to a reverb.

Mine was the newer revised type.

It is very clunky but then it is clunky money tbh.

Having broken my ankle in late december last year i have now taken up some intermediate sports specific cover.
I was off work for 3 weeks which had to come out of my holiday for the year.

I am covered for “mountain biking” specifically on my life insurance and income protection policy but they don’t kick in until 60 days.

This can put a fair bit of strain on the wallet in that time.

I don’t get paid sick pay at work so i chose to take up a low cost policy with
“Totally sports insurance” it costs about £10 a month and covers me for a number of accidents to varying degrees depending on what i break.

This allows me the buffer before the income protection kicks in.

Call them and have a chat its non committal.

Have you tried Continental Gator skins?

Since changing mine and my partners to these we haven’t had any punctures.

/i use a glass protector i bought on group on and it has been great

Also be warned be prompt with your post ride shower! i had a nice 4 hour drive home soaking in sweat as the staff shut the showers at 17:45!

back the bolts out put a touch of grease on each and pop them back in.

I went to B&Q and bought a kitchen work top for £30 and then fitted it to the wall with a few 4×2 battens and two supports under the front.
My work top is 2.5m wide across the end of my garage.

Will hold a vice and most other stuff.

Certainly sufficient for my cycle tinkering.

Have you considered the Hyundai I800 Crew cab?

We hired one recently to go to Swinley and then over to Bike Park wales

4 of us with 4 all mountain bikes on board plus kit.

Loads of room to have the bikes in the back with just the front wheels off.

Passenger space was more than big enough and very quiet due to the bulkhead to the load area.

The 2.5 engine made light work of motorway cruising at 80-90mph

A real joy to drive and a huge surprise.

I bought a Kansi 3Twenty after trying a brompton.
The larger wheels really maximise the comfort with only a 1KG penalty on the weight.

I paid £300 for the Kansi

I got these with my last purchase of shimano pedals.

I took them off for a bit but then started doing a few pub runs so i leave them on now as they weigh next to nothing and on a road ride you only clip in once or twice its no stress.

why not call machine mart or similar and see if they do it?

i have a stash of Metro newspapers i picked up at the station to stuff trainers with to stop any lingering smells or dampness, otherwise i am lucky we have a rail in the bathroom area.

Maybe ask the boss if you can put up a hook or rail in the bathroom to dry stuff?

I have a set of Five ten danny mac’s which i have been wearing pretty much daily for 18 months to commute in as well as mtb riding on Vaults and they are the best shoes i have bought period.

I love them so much i went to buy another pair for when they wear out only to discover that they don’t have them in stock anywhere in the uk so i bought them off German Amazon.

They are about the most sensible looking ones they do also.

I don’t want stormtrooper shoes

sliding / Auto door, wide enough for 780mm bars.

sheltered hoops outside and somewhere inside to store bikes.

Somewhere inside to rest the bike if it is being moved through to the workshop as there is always some dad trying to haggle over a £99 BSO while you are trying to get your wheel trued/brakes bled

Pump for customers inside and outside (similar to the sort found at major stations) with Allen keys for those quick nip up jobs

space to walk around
space to see the bikes preferably not just at ground level

Store tyres etc overhead

Changing room

Stock cheap, mid and expensive of all items. Lots of stores jump from £12.99 – £49.99

Visible work shop

dream bike in the window

Mirror next to the Helmet display

heat

Lights

Open late, no one goes to the bike shop at 9am so open at 10 a few days and stay open till 18:30 – 19:00 a couple of days.
Also do the sunday morning life saver shift and open 10-13:00

SPD friendly flooring!

a stool for a customer

wireless card machine

160 – 160 Lapierre Spicy.

Goes up and down, i much prefer to go down than up though so it has an offset bush in one end of the shock

I ordered those grommets in to Evans but they were way too small to be of use.

Does anyone have any internal cable grommet part numbers or suggestions of potential sources?

Thanks Alex, i could only find the grommets on Ebay for about £12.

With that code i have found them for £3.99 that will do for a trial.

i have mine on horizontal wall brackets as they take up the least space this way round.

The vertical ones are no good as the bars stick out into the useable space

http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/1371105/products/gear-up-crank-it-up-stand—single-bike-stand.aspx

what about a Specialized Pitch they are quite cheap now

I have run Muddy marys and didn’t feel as confident as i was on Maxxis minion DHF and HR2 out back.

I think it will come down to how you expect your tyres to behave.

I much prefer the chunky squared off side tread of the maxxis to the schwable rounded style.

if you take the front wheel off they will most likely topple backwards as they will be too heavy toward the rear?

plus i’d be wary of visitors squeezing a lever with no disc in place.

Depending on how long your hallway is you could get two stands and put the bikes as high up as possible so you walk under the bars?

Jedi all day long! http://www.ukbikeskills.co.uk

main thing to worry about at aston is the weather.

if it is wet it is very very slippery, in the dry it is a dream

cwmcarn and bpw are both made out of rock so have no issue when it rains.

Aston is Chalk and roots…

i always keep mine in sight, or a cable lock if they are not.

Having a boot rack negates any sort of security anyway as they can just take the whole thing when ever they want.

if its just me the bike lives in the car, nothing a tarpaulin can’t cover!

XT cassette and ZEE shifter arrived, can’t wait to complete my 1 x 10 set up :)

i would defo recommend using a single speed if you don’t have any big hills, keep it nice and simple.

Worth noting that if she can’t hack holding 14kg then get one which can be wheeled.

I keep my chain pretty dry as it will inevitably touch clothing at some point or another and it will wreck your clothes.

Get slick high pressure tyres to keep the speed up and a bell!

I use a Philips promenade which cost me about £30 initially off ebay there are some bargains about and it is faster to unfold than a brompton.