A pal living in France recommended last year some sort of fabric cover that goes over the tyre and can stand short stretches of tarmac. He said it was most impressive gripwise and much easier to fit than chains. I can’t remember the name now but he said they were very inexpensive. A search will probably find them.

Maybe it was the guy I saw later on cycling near the Gyle on an expensive looking dark grey “hybrid” (ie not a BSO) with the forks on backwards?

“Other items” aren’t very extensive are they?

There was a great to do in the media when the requirement to make cameras highly visible came in. When that law was changed abslutely nothing seemed to be said. I only found out about the change by chance when reading something. So watch out for a wheelie bin near you now housing a camera (they’ve been known in horse boxes).

SV 650

Whatever you do don’t use Rain-X. I thought I had scored when Halfords gave me a part empty bottle free but within a month my scratchproof visor was ruined – it seems to remove the microcoating on these (well recorded by others too)so won’t do riding glasses any favours. £40 was an expensive free gift.

“Camping below sea level with the sea only 200m away really unsettled me – I did not like it at all.”

Anybody see Oil City Confidential? Wilco Johnson saying, about Canvey Island, “I was born below sea level” – big stare – “It affects the psyche”.

Magic.

I thought a hub gear would be ideal for a hire centre but the fleet, when I looked this year, seems to have gone back to derailleur. Perhaps they had a job selling on the hub gear bikes and reverted for that reason?

Whilst feeding after an event once we were reminiscing about Alf Tupper when one of the guys asked if he was the one with the sister Gertie. I nearly choked on my roll.

Car gearbox oil. I even used a splash in my SRAM 3 speed hub.

I got something like the Morningstar tool many years ago off a stall at, I think, the Birthday Rides for about four pounds if I remember right. It just has a nipple to accept a plastic tube to squirt oil through. If you use grease it will be too thick and prevent the pawls working (in my opinion).

I can’t stand noisy freewheels so use gearbox oil to lubricate and silence them. No problems so far.

I imagine any problem short of physical breakage of components will be solved as far as it can be by flushing and lubricating.

I wouldn’t fancy stripping one (I once did an old fashioned screw-on freewheel), as they say, you can’t get the sh1t back in to the seagull.

I got a solar powered shed light for a tenner at one of those “cheapie” shops but can’t remember which. Seems to work OK for getting stuff in and out but I wouldn’t be carrying out intricate metalworking with it.

I’d blame it on the meat being off personally.

Don’t think you’ll make the chippy. Both in Peebles shut at nine (but often a bit before). Penicuik (the small one)about half past but the big one there opens a bit later I believe.

“It costs you money, makes you stink and kills you.”

Whilst, as a non-smoker, I might share this sentiment there are those who would, reasonably in their view, apply this comment to cycling.

“The only reason I would choose a bike is if my route to work involved very expensive parking at my place of work.”

Edinburgh in other words.

As an old fart (in my day a good clubman racing machine had about 45 bhp) I feel that too many people follow the marketing and overbike. The best way to me to describe a good rideable bike is that it should be nimble, which seems to cover weight and power combination.

I always liked the editorial by Peter Egan in Cycle World discussing the ideal bike where he said “I don’t trust a bike I can’t see through”. Sums up quite a lot really.

From memory of my brother’s Doplo there is one single seat and one double seat in the back. I think they can be removed separately but seem to recall that the seat belt mount for one depends on the other being there but I didn’t look closely and that was a while ago so I may well be wrong on that. Doplo is longer by about 6″ than the earlier Berlingo Multispace (which is effectively longer inside than the van version as it does not have the load guard behind the seats).

If it's a steerer clamp bolt then can you not drill it right through and fit a top hat sleeve from the far side if helicoiling is not feasible. A cruder way would just be to use a longer bolt with a nut on the far side.

I'm surprised, like others, that the bolt snapped before the alloy stripped. But, yes, we've all done something similar at one time.

Aye, the letters BBC obviously don't have the same cachet they once did.

A soundproof fence six feet high?

Bear in mind that scooters are (unless you get an old Lambretta or Vespa) all automatic so if you pass your test on one you are stuck with automatics only. Limits the choice a bit.

The Road to McCarthy by the late Pete McCarthy. The first few chapters had me laughing in a way I have not done for years.

Oh yes, Pies and Prejudice by Stewart Maconie, also his Cider with Roadies (you can see how his mind works can't you).

Various bushes and links in suspension/steering tend to go. Look for the rear wheels being off the vertical. A poor design means an entire new beam is required (not cheap).

Normally aspirated 1.9 diesel seems to be OK (mid 40s mpg but a bit flat – you get used to it, belt to be done at 45,000).

Rear wiper mechanism (not motor) siezed up due to water leak (screenwash passes through the spindle – poor design/execution). I just disconnected it after the second fix)

Otherwise great car for a cyclist – takes two solos and a tandem no bother or three people and three bikes inside.

You're right and I could never understand English chippies not opening on a Sunday (or even Saturday in one case near Darlington).

Keep them all to the one bike.

It does reduce overall wear in my experience (both cycle and motorcycle).

I have kept it in the jar of diesel I use to clean it – no corrosion, safer than petrol and it comes out lubed, to a degree.

I'll second Bains but the bridies are even better as they have onion in too.

Stephen's steak bridies if you are in the Rosyth/Inverkeithing area.

You must have been down sharp to get the chippies open, they always seem to shut early when I want to go.

I prefer Big Ebs but they were closed last time we went, so round to the one on the main street, which looked to be shut and they were bringing in the giant ice cream cone.

"Are you still open?"

"Oh yes, come in, come in."

"Two bags of chips please."

"We've no chips."

And we only just caught the one in Penicuik.

I've always been puzzled by the Scottish tourist industry – a tourist town like Peebles and the chip shop shuts at nine (or earlier). Still I suppose they must know their market.

My main concerns are:

1.Water

No 1 concern is not water but midgies. Skin So Soft comes recommended.

Pannier security really should not be a problem in most places.

Can't beat porridge for breakfast and could even microwave it on many campsites (if you intend not to rough camp).

Take spare shorts and hope the washed ones will dry as you travel. You can put them in one of those washing machine net bags on top of your luggage then you don't look like you are flaunting your knickers.

Awkward. So there's probably not enough meat to do what I suggested.

However…………..it sounds like the piston may be partially out which means that you could (carefully) drill a hole through it without hitting the back of the caliper. Screw a self tapper in to the hole, or cut a thread in it and screw in a bolt, then pull this to extract piston.

Failing that try drilling lots of small holes in it until the centre falls apart so you can get an angled tool in to pull it. Any hammer activity might end up damaging the caliper.

May I hijack this to ask something. One of the mountainbike mags recently had an item about what I would call a screw together cafetiere powered by 12v from a car dash. This had been bought in Italy by a staffer but I have not been able to find anything on the internet. Does anyone know where these can be obtained?

Thanks

"There aren't that many ways a Rohloff can fail and leave you with nothing. In fact there is only one that I have heard of actually happening and that is shearing the nylon shear pins – although if you do that it is likely because you're using the hub outside of its specification, those pins are designed to shear in order to protect the hub."

A broken spoke flange won't take long to leave you with nothing – I know someone who has had this happen twice.

Drill blind holes in the inner circumference of the recessed part of the piston sufficient to insert a spike then lever it out gradually?

How does one snap a piston if it's still in situ?

If you don't want the suspension for efficiency reasons rather than appearance could you not just replace the spring with a tube and convert the forks to rigid?

"That looks amazing mate. lookiing at riding around Loch Lomond in Feb. i can wait now. "

Don't make the mistake of thinking that it will be anything like that up the Ben in February. Potentially a much more serious proposition altogether in the likely conditions. You won't see any midgies though!

Had both a 5 and a Strange (the new ST4?) out on the Glentress red at Hawaii Tweed on Wed and didn't notice any disadvantage with the Strange, it felt lighter though. Don't know how that compares with the going you normally use.

I was about to go for a Flux until I saw the ads for the 661 Recon due soon. Looks like it might address some of the (small) problems folks report with the Flux.

A good programme but strange that the author did not seem to give credit to Kirkpatrick McMillan (recognised inventor of the bike) or Robert Thomson (inventor of the pneumatic tyre).

Thought you guys would have been going for the scoff at Hawaii Tweed?

I wonder how much they had to pay to get that special bike with the transmission on the left hand side.