What I'd like to read is something interesting, engaging and different. Something that the writer had the creativity and initiative to come up with himself. Something that didn't read like it was written by someone who's so desperate for attention that he needs to ask an Internet forum which hand he should use to wipe his arse.

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Yes, best not to mix them but DOT fluid is made to a standard; if you're buying a fresh bottle, might as well buy DOT 5 (higher quality, higher boiling point), but make sure you flush the system through properly.

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Carrera – Halfords?

If it's under warranty, as long as the failure is deemed to be caused by "normal usage" then you should be entitled to repair, replace or refund, at the seller's choice.

Read the T&Cs of the extended repair plan carefully, sadly they're usually not worth the paper they're written on because of all the weaselly-worded clauses, but if you're covered, see what you're entitled to.

At the very least, you should end up with a working bike or all your money back. Accept nothing less.

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Like the sentiment. However I'd feel a bit silly wearing it unless I lost about two stone and was whippet-like and underweight.

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Mine's in the car, about to leave for Beastway. I'll try and get a photo when I'm done.

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The accounts in the article are scary, along the lines of "I was crying because I was so scared, I don't even know how to ride a bike, but everyone says you have to do it so I did it."

I doubt it would be a problem for most STW'ers, most of us have ridden really dangerous stuff but most of us also have learnt how to handle a bike. But if you're going to throw completely inexperienced young try-anything thrill-seeker follow-the-crowd backpacker n00bs down a sketchy track and tell them to "overcome their fear" it's pretty much a recipe for disaster.

IMO.

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I've got a pair of these and they've got great sound quality and have lasted three years so far. The only wear they're showing is the silver effect on the plastic bit where the two ear wires join into one.

(and that seems like a really good deal on amazon atm!)

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Louise Ward, prosecuting, said post-accident analysis showed McKay had been doing up to 60mph on the unclassified Grange Road, Dunfermline, which has a limit of 40mph.
Sheriff Craig McSherry told him: "Had you been driving at a reckless speed you would be facing a charge of reckless driving."

This bit puzzles me – so he was doing 1.5 times the speed limit on the road, but that in itself doesn't count as reckless?

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Oh man, I wish I hadn't seen this thread.

I did it last year and got up to about 68-ish before going on holiday and abandoning it.

Really should get back on it again…

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The Moultoneers[/url] is the fan club I was talking about…

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I can't tell much from the video, but you can often get little bits of swarf rattling round inside the rim. They tend to be left around the edges of the nipple drillings and may be attached when the rim leaves the factory but rattle loose. The usual way to get them out is to take the tyre, inner tube and rim tape off and shake the rim around. You'll probably find small curled bits of loose metal fall out. Then the rim shouldn't rattle.

HTH.

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How about a Mezzo, Talkemada? They're nice little bikes (designed by Jon Whyte), take standard kit and fold up small. Their frames are alu and I found the riding position easier than a Brompton (they didn't have as much of that Brompton twitchiness you have to get used to). And although they do have a sliding stem, it's for height adjustment rather than being an integral part of the folding mechanism so will last a lot longer.

There's an I-4 on eBay atm.

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…and if you're still not sure, I think most Easton oversize stems come with an Easton-specific shim so that you can use them with a standard size handlebar. Otherwise it's best not to mix the two sizes.

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Just in case you were tempted to try and avoid the effort in future, don't even think of using a standard star nut as its replacement! I know this is basic stuff, but there was a classic thread on here a few years ago where someone had hammered a standard star-fangled-nut into their carbon steerer… :roll:

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I've found http://www.interparcel.com pretty useful – you can compare a few different carriers.

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Wow, they have gone up in price. But they're worth it (IMO). They also hold their value incredibly well – look at the second-hand prices on eBay.

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P.S. no I don't work for Brompton, never have, but I've worked on probably hundreds of them…

Oversize (31.8mm) stem/handlebar combinations are generally meant to be stiffer and potentially stronger. I've never found good quality standard-size (25.4mm) stuff wanting, but then I've got a Thomson stem on the mountain bike I use most. If you're going for budget stuff, cheap oversize bits will probably be stiffer than cheap standard size.

How it looks, well , that's a different discussion!

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I'd also point out that anything with a sliding stem that locks in place (like that Decathlon, most Dahons and most budget folders)is not going to stand up to daily folding and unfolding for very long. That's a problem I've seen with lots of other bikes. It's a common feature on a lot of folders because there are only so many easy-to-make folding bike designs and some of them are patented.

It's not a bad thing if you're not going to fold and unfold the bike a lot. But if you're folding and unfolding several times a day (cycle to train, fold, unfold to cycle through city, fold to store under desk, unfold to cycle to train, fold, unfold to cycle home, for example) that telescoping tube design is subjected to a lot of wear, particularly if it's a notched tube and a retaining stud design. Even when kept greased, I've seen lots of folding bikes get very sloppy in this area within their first year and all you can do is further tighten the quick release, which is often inadequate and made of cheap metal, which then over-stresses the clamp area.

The steerer/stem is not a part of the bike that you want to be loose, sloppy or un-straight IMO!

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Having spent a few years working in London bike shops, I've worked on quite a lot of folding bikes.

I own a Brompton. Because they're well-designed and generally reliable – a lot of people treat like them like crap and ride them into the ground, but that's mostly because they can take the abuse for a long time. Most of the parts are well-made and pretty resilient. All components are designed to be retro-compatible where possible and all new ones come with a little plastic clip to hold the rear end in place. I disagree with Talkemada over his opinions on them, but they're his opinions and the above are mine. (As someone else has said, run Schwalbe Marathon Ultras, keep them at 100psi and you're incredibly unlikely to get a puncture)

I _really_ dislike Dahons. Over the years they've had so many horrible design flaws from stems that won't stay tight (or straight), hinges that break, cracking frames, silly wheel choices, poor braze-ons and bizarre gear arrangements, I will never own or recommend one. I had Fisher's warranty department on speed dial in one of my workshops because I had to call them so many times, and they were rarely speedy about sorting out the many warranties. (Although they've since either been dropped by Fisher or gone self-distributing, so I have no idea what that situation is like now).

Mezzo make quirky, expensive, but good quality bikes that fold almost as small as, and are lighter than, Bromptons. In various shop-floor-training-session races, I've seen people fold and unfold Mezzos faster than Bromptons, and most of the parts on a Mezzo are more generic than a Brompton so easier to replace.

Airnimal make some fantastically expensive, very light, very fast bikes (there was a TT record set on one) but also use some awkward wheel / tyre / tube combinations that aren't the easiest to get spares for. Also, I've seen a couple of cracked frames, although their warranty department are very helpful people.

Moultons are amusingly complicated and have an _incredibly_ devoted following, they've been making good quality British bikes for a lot of years and they're good at it. There are people who tour countries and continents on them.

I'm sure there are brands I haven't mentioned. A lot of lower-end folding bikes are fairly similar in style and build; like with many other things, you tend to get what you pay for. The best _cheap_ folding bike I rode was a Raleigh – I think it was around £130 worth, single speed, V-brakes, not light but simple and straightforward.

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AAHH I see well that explains it then. Stupendous!!!

*sigh* – I ought to point out, FWIW, that the post I answered said something along the lines of "There are too many factors so the question is null and void!!!" which kaesae then edited to the above italics.

Dick.

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kaesae, that's not the way to answer a theoretical physics problem.

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Nevertheless, if you did this on the moon (assuming no atmosphere so no drag), the fired bullet and the dropped bullet would hit the surface at the same time?

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Nice idea.

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Inflate them to about 10psi. Then disconnect the pump, pick up the wheel and make sure that the bead is evenly seated; there should be a ridged band visible just next to the rim. When the tyre is only at 10psi you can pull it about to make sure that it's evenly visible all the way round – do both sides, check, check again then reattach the pump and inflate as normal.

You can always pump up to stupidly high pressures, but if the tyre is badly seated there is a risk this will blow the tyre off the rim and howitzer your tube. And it makes a _really_ loud bang, which is fun unless you're standing right next to it.

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I really, really want to build one…

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http://www.ugliesttattoos.com

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Are you using a wireless router? If so, connect to that (on mine it's http://192.168.0.1 in a browser window) and check that nobody else is connecting to your network and rinsing it.

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New clutch at 40k?

Make sure the garage checks for oil leaks near the clutch – my friend's old Mondeo started having clutch problems at around 30k and it turned out there had been a slow oil leak somewhere near the clutch housing, into the clutch housing, and the plates were contaminated and had to be replaced. It was only because his friend runs an independent garage that they spent a while finding the source of the leak, his friend said a Ford garage would probably just have replaced the clutch, for it to oil up and fail in another 30k miles or so…

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Use a thin screwdriver or an old spoke _carefully_ to lift up the edge of the old grip and try and squirt some water or GT85 under there. Wriggle the loose bit of grip around and you should find that the fluid you've squirted in there spreads around a bit and loosens the whole grip.

That, or carefully slice through it with a Stanley knife taking care not to go into the carbon.

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(oh don't let us get started on bearings again…)

paralysis? spinal injury? avoided by wearing a helmet??

Helmet absorbs some of the impact force; spinal injury can be caused by the impact force being transferred down the spine from head impact. A helmet wouldn't have protected his back, but they can help mitigate _some_ level of some injury.

That's why I wear one and advise other people to. It's their choice whether they do or not.

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Looks interesting – may order one for the road bike.

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The Flying Ox, I helped a friend set up his bike shop a couple of years ago and when we were trying to choose a name, that was the one that kept coming up. We decided against it because he'd probably get too many bricks through the window. Shame though, it's eminently memorable…

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Have a chat with Charlie the Bike Monger at shop@charliethebikemonger.com

The grammar pedant in me wants to point out it's "one car fewer", but it's far too late now… ;)

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This is not a helpful post for you, for which I'm sorry.

I've got a couple of bikes. To insure them would be very expensive (at least a couple of hundred per bike per year). Apart from when they live in my cellar, I've found it much more useful to spend my money on really good locks and looking up how best to lock up a bike (big sturdy lock through frame, rear wheel and solid object fixed to ground that you can't lift bike off, possibly cable extension round front wheel and saddle).

If someone's determined to steal your bikes from your house, they'll do it (although if they're only in a shed, it's worth investing in a good ground anchor and a noisy alarm system). If someone's determined to steal all they can from your bike when it's locked up, you can't protect against a multitool. Your best defence is either obscurity (make your bike look pretty crap), obviousness (in a high-traffic, CCTV-monitored, cyclist-friendly area) or great big locks (like the lion thing – you don't necessarily have to be able to outrun the lion trying to eat you, you just have to be able to outrun the other guy the lion's trying to catch) – if your bike's securely locked up and looks a bit scruffy and it's next to something more showy and badly locked, a lot of the time the average bike thief won't touch your bike.

HTH.

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Fair point, that is a big bike.

And it's quite clear that nowhere on the description of any of the kit does it say "water resistant" or "waterproof"…

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That Klein is flippin' fantastic. Really nicely done.

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pfft. If your chain comes with a grease that's been thoroughly installed by the manufacturer, I see no reason to remove it. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html …and Sheldon Brown agrees. Efficiency is an irrelevant consideration in this instance. Lube the chain as best you can, clean it regularly (GT85, rag to wipe out the dirt, green lube then another rag to take off the excess), keep the crap out.

The Park Tool drop-in (stamped steel) chain checker is still one of the best and most reliable chain stretch tools I've come across. Simple, just drop it in and see the result.
http://parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=5&item=CC-3

Most manufacturers recommend replacing the chain at around 0.75% stretch – at this point you can usually replace the chain without having to replace the cassette, at least the first or just about second time. By the time you get to 1% stretch it's usually wise to replace the cassette at the same time because of chain "stretch" (see the Sheldon Brown article).

In other words, if you're careful about monitoring your chain wear and replacing your chain regularly, you can usually get through a couple of chains per cassette.

It's the sort of thing it's worth finding out about and keeping an eye on. Or finding out about and deciding that it's too much bother, and replacing your drivetrain altogether when it's all worn out.

HTH!

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A long time ago, I simply printed out a name on A4 then carefully copied in enamel paint before doing the laquer job on an ex-girlfriend's bike (while she was still my girlfriend).

…so if anyone comes across a Saracen steel frame carefully sprayed in a blue-purple fade with "project one" on the downtube, it's nicked, Leicester circa 1998. Good luck with it. I was careful with the lettering, I have a pretty steady brush hand!

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Meant to say as well – if you're riding on the road, it's best to use a road bike. They're the best tool for the job. To advise you to fit slicks to your MTB to do it would be like suggesting someone fits lumpy tyres to their Brompton in order to see whether they like the idea of mountain biking.

If road riding is "gay", then trying to ride sportives on a mountain bike with slick tyres is definitely "bisexual". Or in the closet.

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I think some mountain bikers have a prejudiced aversion to road cycling, but in a lot of cases I think it's misplaced. I've recently joined a road club (£25 for a year, not expensive) to get some training in – mainly because they have loads of years experience of where the good (quiet!) roads are, where the challenging hills are and they are sociable and some of the hardy old guys give excellent advice on how to ride roady stuff better.

However, if you're training for endurance MTB stuff then while road riding will be a good cardio workout and will help, it has its limits. You'll need to do lots of core stuff to make sure your back muscles are strong enough; you'll use your upper body more when mountain biking than when road cycling so you'll need a way to keep that in shape.

Ultimately the best preparation for enduro MTB is enduro MTB, but getting some long road rides in will be a very handy substitute and you get to play with riding really really fast as well!

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