I am thinking it might be easier to either lighten his current bike a bit or just sell it all and buy a completely new bike. I just don’t know how much he’d get for his bike.

The Shand is just too expensive I’m afraid.

Just had a look at Bob Jackson frames but they don’t do one with decent clearances. :-(

Disc or canti options – option to use discs or cantis, the Shand does not do this. I think the Rohloff hub he has isn’t a disc one so if the frame is not disc compatible that might be ok.

I have no idea what Rohloffs need as far as cables and stuff. Remember I said it’s not my bike but my friend trusts me to make a decent decision for him. All I know is that the Rohloff needs special mounts for the box thing at the rear hub and would need different cable mounts.

Unless there are any really nice bolt ons for the Rohloff cables I think specific Rohloff cable braze ons would be better.

Is there any benefit/problems in using a chain tensioner rather than a sliding dropout/eccentric BB setup, apart from the ease of getting the wheel out? Is a chain tensioner ok with the hub itself?

I am hoping I could buy the frameset for the same price I could sell his Thorn nomad frameset for but I realise this might not work.

Thorn Mercury no good as it doesn’t have v brake mounts.
The Shand is nice but again no v brake mounts and it looks a bit too racy really.

LSN every time. Worth the trip to Castleford to get it done there, had 3 bikes done now.

Amazing finish that most people swear blind is paint….

Metallic silver powder coat on my 94 Kilauea. £40 for frame forks and 2 quill stems.

Gloss baby blue 1997 DMR Trailstar.

Gloss white on a 96 Kona

White is hard for powder coaters to get 100% but the 2 frames LSN have done white for me have been perfect bar 1 tiny defect on 1 frame.

The PCS 9 and 10 are very good if you have an uneven floor as they have 3 legs. My cellar floor is no good for the 4 legged/footed variety. Worth thinking about.

That does look good – the frame size makes it look like a 26″ wheel bike!

I have a PCS9 and I love it. Very sturdy even with my 33lb AM bike on it. I’d pay the extra for the 10 as I think it has a QR clamp IIRC which mine hasn’t.
There will be plenty of people who will say a cheaper one is as good but Park stands are excellent quality and I think mine will last decades.

Ah, sigh. Those Z-Max tyres were so good at picking up mud.

Not z-Max’s, those tyres are Tioga Farmer Johns. (Might be the nephew one?)

Joking aside – when I went to the USA I got a normal seat in economy. I’m only 5’7″ with short legs and I was amazed that anyone over 6′ could bear to go on a long haul flight in economy, must be torture. I was not comfortable at all after a while and I had some space between my knees and the seat in front.

My church has hosted the local elections a bit back and is doing the general election count this year. The security and checking and and double checking is something amazing – it costs a lot because it’s complicated and rigorously run.

There’s a lot of countries in this world where people would be glad to pay £3 each for a fair and honest election process like we have.

It’s a bargain IMHO.

Can’t be arsed with all that shit, bitch! Quit stressing fam, bitch is doin me

8O

Did she really say that?????

My niece is in the care of my aunt and uncle in nearby.

That’s the best news so far. At least she is safe.

Well I read it exactly the same way Dragon did.

I reckon they are as good as Deore too – the levers probably better than Deore.

Bought this set recently for a friends bike and they are ace:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/clarks-v-brake-calipers-set/rp-prod71560

All metal, easy to set up, nice levers. I really don’t think you could get anything better for the price.

I’m not anti drop bar. I have shared a pic of my drop bar bike!

What I am against is people saying you can’t possibly do something when clearly you can. And also perpetuating the myth that the drop bar is the best and if someone says they want to change its because they haven’t set it up right.

Cheers everyone … Interesting points

I suppose I don’t use the drop section cos I mainly ride solo so no drafting required … And coming from mtb it just feels a bit cramped. I get the aerodynamics reasoning but as my rides are not competitive, just charity type sportives then not really going for fast times etc…. It’s just that when climbing I find myself pulling on the shifters like bar ends and similar when just cruising ….. Probably doing it all wrong

There’s absolutely nothing “wrong” with what you are doing. Don’t think you need to fit into the rules like all the other sheep – ride how you want to! Sounds like you’re having fun which is more important than anything else.

Robdob- of course you need a different frame size (or a longer stem, but if your stem is already at 120mm then your handling will go to pot). A drop bar extends much further forward than a flat bar- if you spent most of your time on the hoods then swapping to flats will put your hands several inches further back.

Need? No I don’t, as already proved. If you put flats on the grip width will be wider than the tops position on a drop bar which will mean that for the same length stem your weight will be further forwards – no longer stem needed. If you want to replicate the reach of the hoods position you could put a slightly longer stem on but most people will run bar ends which make your hands even further out so again it isn’t needed.

Yes I do know how the bars are different, I do have eyes. :roll:

If people will pull their heads out of their butts they will realise that some people want to be comfortable and don’t give a crap about fitting into the drop bar clique. It’s advice like the above, making people think they need drops and couldn’t possibly convert their current bike, that keeps people riding uncomfortable bikes with weird setups of drops/brifters that get laughed at anyway by followers of “the rules”.

Handling “will go to pot”?? Errr no, sorry it won’t. And you don’t need to change anything anyway.

People think that changing things around and fitting different stuff attracts disaster. No it doesn’t.

19″ Kona built for a lady who is 5’9″ with very long legs and arms. 50mm stem, risers, forks the wrong length for the original frame (seat is not set right in this photo). Works brilliantly, everyone who has ridden it loves it. Just wish i could more of these frames for 99p!

94 Kilauea fitted with a stem 4 cm shorter than original. Handles fantastically. No one has died.

Anyway the bikes gone back and got a very partial refund.

How much? I hope he’s not been done over in that respect…

I provided the tiles when I redid my bathroom and it cost £150 for a ruler to put them up with them providing grout etc.

£2k+ is crazy! If you’ve done all the above then fitting the bath/sink/bog is easy. Then you can employ a ticket to finish off.

Maybe the people who quoted are subbing the tiling and making a few £££ out of that too??

A pic of my TDF to annoy the fashion victims. ;)

And my drop bar bike just to show I don’t hate drops…. ;)

Wow there is some crap spouted on here sometimes! Why on earth would you need a different size frame with a change of bars? The bars are in the same position pretty much! Cost isn’t an issue as you can generally sell a set of road STI’s for way more than a set of new levers/shifter and some flat bars will cost.

So many people buy drop bar bikes nowadays because that’s what the pros have but for many it just isn’t necessary or desirable. Yeah if you’re chasing speed it might be important to get that drop position right but most people want to go out and have a nice ride around the countryside and flat bars do that very well indeed.

I’ve converted 2 bikes to flat bars and much preferred them, a Kaffenbak and my TDF. Both are the right size for me with drops and I haven’t noticed any crazy handling or short cockpits or death with the flat bars.

If you want a more upright position then a lot of folk mess around with their drops at weird angles and the shifters pointing to the sky rather than getting flats as they want to stay looking cool rather than just being concerned about being comfortable and riding a bike that suits their riding.

Only advice I would give is that the flat bars you use shouldn’t be wide ones 580 is plenty wide enough for road use. I use 600 on the tourer as it gives more space for attachments. I once put bar ends inboard of the controls which worked well for headwinds and was really comfortable but I don’t do it now and don’t miss it.

I’d wonder why he decided on a Tour De Fer so assuredly but then was so easily swayed to a Croix De Fer? Every bit of spiel about the TDF says it’s different from the CDF.
Mind you, a lot of people are happy using th CDF for touring so could it be him not being used to more modern sharper geometry? Dunno.

All the steel CDF abd TDF forks were recalled, hence the delay in getting them. I think the TDF’s are in very short supply anyway

The reason why they have failed is because they have a hole somewhere so drilling a new one probably won’t make things any better.

Try finding someone local who makes replacment DB glass to order. I got a 900 by 500 12mm unit made to order for £12 and the place I got it from gave me loads of good advice on how to fit it.

My proper road bike is a Kinesis T2! You can do light touring on it as you can fit a rear rack but you’re limited to skinnier tyres with mudguards really. It isn’t a bike you can really take off the roads onto gravel paths or anything. I have the carbon forks and carbon bars and it’s still a bit of a harsh ride compared to a decent steel bike.

My Genesis Tour De Fer is lovely. I wouldn’t say it’s fast as such as its meant to be a tourer so it’s a bit heavier than a CDF but my oh my is it comfy. I have a bad neck and need a upright but efficient position and this is perfect. You could build one up from a frameset with a lighter spec if you wanted I suppose. I just saved 370g per wheel changing my standard Marathon tyres so that should pep things up a bit.

You seem to sit “in” the bike rather than perched on top which feels lovely. Handling is stable but not dull, it’s exactly the kind of bike I would prefer to be riding a whole day on.

My dad was an engineer and he got me a load from his works about 20+ years ago. I still have the odd one of them and they still look brand new. I have no idea what they are made of or who made them but I’ve never used any better since!

Well it says this in that link you sent….
Seems pretty clear! Ask them if her travel is “authorised”. If they say yes then she can claim!

Travel and Subsistence Allowance
When you use your car or bicycle for authorised business purposes, mileage will be reimbursed at the HMRC (Inland Revenue) rate. The Council has available pool vehicles for business use.

I drive home from Leeds centre to hudds, thanks for the heads up – took me 70mins to get home via Bretton and Emley rather than the 2hrs plus that Google was advising!! Phew!

Second the above comments. If you want to go up from a basic set don’t scrimp – get the best you can now and if you look after them you’ll never have to buy again and you’ll be able to rely on them. A high quality set doesn’t cost much more than an average set and isn’t much at all when you compare it to the price of a new rear mech or similar.

I have also found that the T handle ones aren’t as useful in the smaller sizes – larger sizes are very useful but the smaller ones I find can be a bit big and cumbersome for getting to a lot of small bolts.

My Pitch would look great with skinwalls, been considering some myself.

MM – that’s awful. So many people think smoking and eating that stuff is harmless but it sounds like you’re experiencing the real effect it can have – the saddest thing is that it’s affecting an innocent child, not just the drug user themselves. I hope and pray that the situation gets better. :-(

I used to sell all this sort of stuff, the only time I sold lining paper was to people trying to cover crappy walls. I’d do it properly and get it skimmed. You won’t regret it.

I did like Tenby but it’s a long long drive from Leeds. Awesome beaches in that area.

I like Filey as its understated and calmer than its neighbours. Maybe look at the seaside places on the Welsh west coast, go for somewhere like Harlech and you’ve got loads of biking too! Or the Llyn Peninsula in Wales too, gorgeous beaches and no one there!

Looks like a very sudden crash which meant you didn’t have time to reach your arms out before you hit the floor.
Maybe a little slick area of Tarmac just as you put the power down? Front wheel just goes from under you and milliseconds later you’re on the floor.
Could have been much worse – Glad you’re ok!

Some sort of WoW cosplay hooker

I am not typing THAT into Google while at work, I can tell you…

Ahhh so it’s not the fibre service then just a crappy phone line service. We can only get 1.5mb if we are lucky at our house so I feel for you, it just simply isn’t fast enough nowadays.
Probably not virgins fault unless you had faster speeds previously. They only rent the line off someone else then sell it you I think.