99% of corners are built using this bond so that 1/2 bond is created

On the pier thing, lots of ‘piers’ in garages are built like this on large sites because a) its quick and easy, b) lots of site brickies dont know how to do it correctly c) nor do plenty of forman/site agents and d) it looks ‘better’ from the face side as there are no tying in blocks showing on the outside.

Not my image, but like this

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blocks[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Those piers aren’t bonded at all. I’ll have a sniff around for my memory stick for my blockwork lesson powerpoint and see if i can dig up an image or two.

Minimum overlap when bonding blockwork is 100mm which he just has. On a run like this though there is no need/excuse for anything other than half bond.

Presumably the piers are ‘tied in’ by hanging a few wallties out. This is structurally incorrect as he should have tied them in by bonding alternate courses by laying two blocks flat spanning the full 215mm of wall and pier.
Having seen a ‘pier’ fall over and land on a car when the garage door was shut (seriously, and NO i didn’t build it!) i would be pretty concerned about this.

Serious question.

Where are you and do you want it doing properly?

Also, the general idea is that the piers hold the wall up, not the other way around. Oh dear.

Sod it, i said i was going to stay out of this one.

….alternatively he could have bonded the blockwork properly 😯

Think i’d better stay out of this thread!

Rusty, Bricklayer, Lecturer in Brickwork, NVQ Assessor.

……might get a giggle and a lesson or two out of it though ; )

2001 Gold Avensis of Doom and a rusty T4 van i got for free when my dad died.

Living the dream 🙂

Old Harry rocks Simon?

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holmo bike chop[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img]This photo has just appeared on my facebook page.

1991, somewhere near Farnborough. Me on the right on Alpinestars cro-mega DX, Giro lid, AXO boots, Trek gloves.
The pirate on the left is my mate Steve on his Raleigh (navigator?) that weighed about a ton.

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holmo bike[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img]

In defence of the slow run time, it was at 2 days notice from the charity and i hadn’t run AT ALL for about 10 years….and it was hot….and i’m a bit fat. 😕

Riding, surfing, running and teaching

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mtb[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
surf4[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
surf[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
cross[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
run[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
kid[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img]

CX, MTB, BMX (mid 90s), 91 Alpinstars, 1980 with mum dad and sister, this year road ss.

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cx1[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
Video 63 00m 43s[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
bmx[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
old skool[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
family bike[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
IMAG0590[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img]

New Forest roads tomorrow. Summer holidays over so hoping for quieter roads than lately.

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wrist[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Dislocated and smashed wrist. End snapped of ulner, shattered radius, bone graft from hip, 9 months off work, change of career needed (trowel is now rusty!). Broke other elbow at same time just for good measure.
It’s numb most mornings and doesn’t rotate much, but i can ride with it ok 😕

Run a bel air on the mtb.

Got a 143 spesh alias on the road bike at the moment which is firm but comfy and a 143 spesh bg comp on the ss road bike which is cheap but even more comfy. Had a spesh avatar for a while with gel bits, which was super comfy for about 40 miles then started to niggle.

Got a spoon on cx bike at present that i had on the road bike for a while but didn’t really get on with over 40 miles either.

Ran a San Marco Regal for a couple of years (one of the suede ones) and this was fairly good but a little too rounded on top (looked ace though) 🙂

Had a Selle Italia XR for a short while too which was brutal and is now on the race bmx.

Campag 1×10
Centaur ultratorque chainset (road compact)
BBG outer ring/bashguard/chainguide thing
Stronglight 38T chainring
N-stop chain catcher
12-28 cassette

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IMAG0480[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
IMAG0481[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img][/url]
IMAG0482[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img]

If it is too small, just lob a long stem and seat post on it and pretend you are a pro, as they often ride smaller more flickable frames 😀

p.s. good luck pulling this one off if you’ve got a beer belly, baggy shorts and a peaked helmet!

“As for the shaving legs thing do amateur roadies really shave their legs if they don’t compete?”

Yes, it’s one of the added bonuses of riding 😉 Sooo soft….erm

Sod the price, you don’t have to buy it to sit on it or scrounge a test ride (especially if it’s not a shop you use regularly) 😉

Being a dad and a teacher generally seem to keep me busy enough.

Road riding, cross country running, watching the tour on telly seem to be enough for me at the moment.

“as i can actually try that and am struggling to think of anything ‘new’ in my budget and within a distance i could realistically travel to view.”

Blimey where do you live, Outer Mongolia? There are bike shops all over the place around here!

With regards the jersey, you’ve got a thumbs up from me, as it’s not a ‘tour’ yellow jersey, just a bianchi jersey which happens to be yellow.

Mind you, you shouldn’t need the approval of a bunch of numptys on the interweb to help you choose what to wear 🙂

If C to C top tube length is under 54CM then you’re in trouble at that height unless you’ve got really short arms. If you’ve got long arms it’ll want to be longer than that.
You can always shove the seatpost up a bit, but you don’t want to be bunging a 150mm stem on it!

Depends how long your arms are. Top tube length is more crucial than seat tube/top tube height.

You can get pretty short 58s and pretty long 56s. Maybe even a 54 if it’s long enough or youve got short arms.

I’m 5’10” with short legs and monkey arms on a MediumLong Lynskey with a 120mm stem.

Definetely bib, wouldn’t wear anything else for road or mtb. Might shove baggies over the top for mtb if i’m feeling shy or RAD! 🙂

Moors valley would be ok if you’ve only got a couple of hours. Only 10 minutes ride from Ringwood to avoid car parking. Easy but fun manmade singletrack loop. New Forest is much more suited to road riding than MTB.

Pop in and see Martin and the boys in The Forge bike shop, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Second hand stuff is plentiful at that budget and you could get something seriously good and hardly used.
Plenty of folk with to much money go and blow 2.5K on a carbon wonder bike, use it twice and bung it in the garage for 6 months before shipping it on.
Even regularly used kit will still usually be good value, as road stuff doesn’t wear out at anywhere near the rate of mtbs.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Planet-X-Superlite-Pro-Carbon-Road-Bike-with-campagnolo-athena-11-speed-groupset-/190701338021?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item2c66af7da5

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Giant-TCR-road-racing-bike-bicycle-/110912971851?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item19d2eda44b

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Planet-X-SL-Pro-Carbon-Road-Bike-Immaculate-/170879043076?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item27c92f4604

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Look-585-Full-Carbon-Road-Racing-Bike-/280922051880?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4168425528

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lapierre-Sensium-300-2012-Carbon-road-bike-/150856496525?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item231fbf758d

As regards comfort, don’t be put off by aluminium.
My alu Langster with a skinny carbon post (with zertz insert) is more comfortable than my ti Lynskey Cooper.

Then again, the alu BMC hardtail i had was brutally stiff for general xc work and i got shot of it pretty quickly.

Cannondales Caad frames are supposed to be quite comfy, but still super efficient.

From my experience, the low end groups aren’t all that, but the higher end stuff is lovely.
Got Chorus carbon 11 speed on my posh bike and its spot on and pretty 🙂
CX bike has Centaur 10 speed chainset (ultra torque) and cheap mirage shifters and rear mech.
The new ergo lever hoods are much better than the previous ones which i find a bit too small.

Had a play with some SRAM double tap levers on a mates bike and quite liked them, but not really a fan of the shimano 2 lever set up however smooth the changing might be.

“So is the little lever on the site of the shifter accessible from the drops?”

As long as you dont have your levers set too high then yes.
Ideal for banging down multiple gears when sprinting/coming out of corners on the drops.
Note, this only works on the higher end kit as low end stuff only allows one gear at a time with the thumb shifter (like cheap shimano).

THE classic race cruiser

http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/51670/SE_Racing_Floval_Flyer_24Inch_2012_Bike

Something lovely

http://www.dialledbikes.com/products/bmx/mx24r.php

This’ll do the job

http://www.all-about-the-home.co.uk/stolen-saint-2012-24-cruiser-bmx-black-or-silver—fully-assembled-6243-p.asp

Not bad

https://www.housemakers.co.uk/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/2839/

If you’re feeling rich

http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/46710/Redline_Flight_Pro_24_24Inch_2012_BMX_Bike

21.25″ TT, spot on for my 5’10” with long arms.
Top tube length makes a big difference. 21″ would be fine for me for street/park, 20.5″ feels tiny.

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brew1[/url] by bmclynskey1[/url], on Flickr[/img]

@PissedJamesBond @shitmydadsays @Moaning_C*** (the last one uses the letters not stars and is definetely not for the sensitive)

Get to a good LBS would be my advice. Sit on loads, ride a few, talk a lot and learn what you want/need.
I got a ti Lynskey Cooper built up with an unused (taken off another bike) carbon chorus 11 groupset and decent kit for £2k. Another £500 on posher wheels would have made it even better.
No better or worse than a factory carbon bike probably, but proves you can get something you want on a budget if you look about.

“if it moves **** it, if it don’t move, **** it ’til it does” 😉

“if you can’t cut it in half with a hammer and bolster, i’m not interested” My dad RIP

Yep, according to twitter he bottled it. 🙂

The state of the weather down here, i’m not surprised.

Holding steady in the front half of the pack in 20th.
@TweeterSagan doing me proud, but lost Danielson today 🙁