I might have to give an AF gin a go. It always seems wrong paying £20 for something that’s in effect a posh cordial?!

Are we all still on board? We’re nearly half way there …

I lived in Sheffield for 11 years but recently moved to Dronfield.

It’s worth considering – it feels like a separate town to Sheffield but is virtually part of it, house prices are far more reasonable yet it’s generally nice and has very good schools.

Another consideration is that it’s a bit quicker to get to the M1 (about 15 mins via chesterfield).

Dronfield Woodhouse side of Dronfield is pleasant but very housing estatey. The other parts have more character.

Dronfield is also very close to the edge of the peaks – MTB rides on the doorstep and a quick hours road spin out to Bakewell.

Just a thought ..

I’d strongly recommend giving Aldi’s new AF beer a go – the rheinbacker one is a lot better than becks (imo) and only £2.50 for 6 bottles.

The french one (sold in larger bottles) is better still and a relative bargain at 89p a bottle.

I’ve found this weekend tough for some reason (pathetic really) but am holding on.

I’m still here, and horribly sober.

How are we all doing? I got back late last night and as usual the knackeredness had me sorely tempted. I refrained and supped a erm “refreshing” glass of tonic water instead..

Ghost ship is definitely one of the better ones.

The erdinger blue is pretty good too if you like wheat beer 🍺

The cheaper Thule carriers are only £60 so it’s perhaps worth stretching to the extra if you can?

Halfords exodus roof bars are definitely made by Thule but I’m not sure about the carriers.

Yep. Still going ..

I’ve been tested though – neighbour gave me a nice bottle of red as thanks for doing a few odd jobs.

As the garage door is hanging off it’s now in the kitchen wine rack rather than garage … looking all curvy and seductive…

Cool @ roach and lesgrandepotato

Turns out the new Aldi fun-free lager isn’t actually that bad.

I might try some of the other new low fun options

Mister-P .. keep strong my friend 😃

For those who’ve done it before – did you find it altered your drinking habits at all?

I did it last year but was surprised how quickly I fell back into the old routine.

I really just want to get myself to the point where I’m happy drinking just a bit rather than more than recommended limits each week …

Soooooooo

It’s that (miserable) time of year again.

The dwindling malt whisky supplies have been exiled to the back of the garage and I’ll be exploring Aldi’s new range of fun-free beer and cider over the next month.

Anyone else joining me 🍺?

12 years in the mega corporate world. Jacked it in to go back to Uni for 4 years, accrue £16k debt and then start work again on approx half what I was earning (well, I will in another 2 years).

Starting Uni again at 38 was ahem.. interesting 🤔 but I’m into the swing of it now.

For me it was the thought of looking back at retirement – would I have been happy saying “that was what I did?”

So the car is a Mundane-o with 118cm Cruz bars and currently one Thule proride 598.

I’ll probably buy more 598’s I expect.

So when people say bars straight do they mean as usual or untightened and aligned to the direction of the frame?

It hadn’t occurred to me to put bikes in opposite directions – any issues with the rack going backwards?!

Thanks but I’m not. Alas I’ve paid full price and let mr Halfords have his wicked way with me 😢

The Motoring organisation presumably?

🤔

Mundano of 2010 would be by choice. I’ve the 1.8TDCI (truly the dullest car in the world, much pokey-er models are available)

Picked mine up in immaculate condition, FSH, timing belt done, 95k miles for under £3k and that was 2 years ago. It’s needed an only an engine mount and tyres in that time (and 23k miles)

It’s economical, comfy, relatively cheap to fix . Also, the ones pre 2011 I believe don’t have DPF (mine doesn’t anyway), this something to consider as £££ to replace from what I’ve read.

My previous car (before I became a student again) was a 2012 BMW 320D. Whilst the mundan-o is obviously completely different to drive, it’s not caused me to sob quietly into my corn flakes as much as I thought it would.

How about camping in a bothy. Check out national trust bothys – we stayed at peppercombe bothy in north Devon- feels entirely remote yet not far at all from things (beach is 1/4 mile away)

Weirdly , the Cruz bars are 120cm (as per roofbox website) as opposed to Thule 135cm..

So, I bought the skewers above but unfortunately they arrived in poor condition and a bit broken.

Then wimped out and decided the bars are too short for me to feel entirely happy.

I then realised my 750 footpack had bent plate things anyway..

Then bought a brand new 754 foot pack with the intention of buying fittings for my car and a Thule bar. Then realised it’s a lot cheaper to buy a Cruz aero bar set for £20 secondhand and the adapters for my car (£26). 754 adapter now on fleabay .. ho hum

Sooo… can someone explain how tightening the bolts on the 750 foot pack pulls the bar onto the bar? It seems to just move the feet side to side on the bar which I guess would wedge the feet into the fixed car adapters?

Also, does anyone happen to have a 750 instruction manual? It would probably help quite a lot and google has failed me..

Hi Nicklouse. Sort my roof rack, there’s a good chap.

(I’m also wondering if I got the block work and smashing holes bits done, how much of the rest is DIY-able e.g. dry lining, suspended floor etc ??

Hmmm. The garage door doesn’t have a lintel as there’s nothing above it apart
From aluminium boarding and then the roof.

Our neighbour (has next but one) is the one pictured so it’s hard to imagine the council would have a big issue with it. Parking isn’t an issue as we all have private drives leading into a shared area.

Re cost – I’m really just wondering about the bricking up and installing internal door at the moment, as we’re not ready to do a full conversion yet.

Thanks all

Thanks, I’m wondering more about building regs (fire, insulation etc) than planning which I think is ok.

The wall is solid block and has a stud wall above it, but I’ve no idea if it’s considered load bearing :-S

I should probably add that the Thule bars are also sold as halfords exodus bars and actually came with an exodus foot pack that relied on just being tightened with a Long Torx key through the end caps.

I could attempt to find the exodus foot pack I guess but it’s not clear what I’d need and also.. if the bars are still too short?

^^ thanks

I’m still quite unsure about whether I’d need the extra end Alan key bits the right shape to fit an aero bar? Presumably all they do is remain in the bolt in a fixed position so they can’t undo themselves? I don’t want to spend more cash if what I’m doing is inherently dodgy … 🤔

Thanks, tbh even I buy the skewer end pack things I’m still a little worried that they’re too short really. There is no room for manoeuvre at all.

Ah ok, that makes a bit more sense now.

Hmmm, what to do then. They do seem a bit short. I’ve also bid on the car specific adapters on fleabay.

There’s some 150cm aero bars and 754 foot pack on FB marketplace near me.. 150 seems a bit wide / overhanging

.. would the 1445 car adapters for the 754 foot pack? I *think* they might?

^^

Well I’ve not yet got the car specific adapters that bolt into the foot pack.

If the above is true, ie I need aero bar end caps to tighten it, then why do the bars currents only have cosmetic end caps? I’m very confused about how the whole thing should go work?!

Ta

If I bought some longer wing bars for example, wouldn’t they fit exactly the same way to the 750 feet?

So, first pic is end cap of bars.

2nd is 750 foot with its clicky down lock thing on the inside.

3rd is the end caps that came with pack for use with SQUARE bars.

So, end cap on oval bars is purely cosmetic/noise reducing. However, if I clamp foot onto rail, the Allen bolt appears only to adjust spacing along the rail rather than tighten. The clicky down lever thing seems to tighten foot onto bar.

(I’m not trying to get away with a badly fitted rack btw. I’m pretty skint what with being a student and was hoping to be able to get something sorted. If there’s any doubt in my mind as to the safety of it, I won’t fit it. I just value other people’s knowledge and experience).

Hmmm, I’m a tad confused.

So the 750 foot pack came with the long Allen key bolt things that would usually fit on the end of a SQUARE bar.

Playing around with it, it seems that I can open the end caps , tighten the feet with the Allen key and push down the lever bit that locks it.

Why isn’t that secure?

Thanks for all the info

Nobeer- thanks, kind of you but I’m in north Derbyshire.

Also it seems my car shouldn’t take a boot rack .. assume the window implodes or could be because there’s only a glass lip to attach to not metal?

Thanks

Well, I had a job when I bought the bike 4yrs ago now am a skint (mature) stoodent, hence needing something reasonably cheap!

What’s the difference between the Yakima high road and front loader, apart from £40? They both seem out of stock anyway.

Is the Thule 598 considered ok to clamp carbon frames?

^^ yep, that’s what I’ve been doing but has resulted in ahem a few stick nails
:-S

Soo…. I’ve begun stuffing them down with what I estimate is a 3mm gap (a nails width).

However, what I’ve noticed is that none of the boards seem to be straight – if I butt up one end against my nail I have a 3/4 inch gap the other end? Is that normal? They’re 3.7M lengths so I suppose that’s not a crazy amount over the length?!

Sooo confused – so will they expand or shrink in the LONG term?! 🤔

Grooves appear 7mm at their widest..

Next question – I’ve lugged all my timber from the garage to the garden and have laid one board.

If it starts raining do I need to hoik it all back into the dry or leave it and hope it dries evenly tomorrow?

Why can’t wood be more like metal or ummm IT?