Ford Galaxy is your solution (or the VW/Seat equivalents).

7 Seats that can be used by adults. You can remove 3 seats and carry four people and their bikes (both wheels off admittedly). You can get changed in the back and they often come with tinted rear windows. You can remove all the rear seats and it’s then almost a van. You can carry shed loads and even sleep in the back if you wanted.

2.5K and this is yours:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201501110095364/sort/default/make/ford/radius/1500/model/galaxy/postcode/yo104nb/page/2/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/usedcars/seller-type/private_adverts?logcode=p

Thanks for all the responses.

A sheet of ply it is!

Cheers for all the responses.

Sounds like Alp specific footwear isn’t a must have.

My 12 year old Specialized comps are finally falling to pieces, so it’s time to invest in some new footwear. I can’t really afford some special shoes just for the Alps, so think I’ll look into getting some sturdy cross country replacements that I’ll be able to use once we get back.

The next challenge – finding some broad fitting size 12’s!!!!

I find a malt loaf (slow release carbs) before hand , topped up with Nature Valley bars on the ride works for me.

Same week as me then Also driving.

Look forward to seeing you out there!

We’ll be driving down from York, so planning to leave Friday morning. Plan is an easy trip to Kent, channel crossing, a bit of driving and then a stop over somewhere. Up early to get there in good time.

Did find some short term car insurance, but car owner happy to drive if we stay in hotels both ways.

Looking at 3 of us and 2 bikes in the golf. Friends are going in a van, so may be able to carry bikes for us.

As for getting back if the driver breaks something? Hoping the travel insurance/car breakdown will cover that!

[/quote]Same week as me then Also driving.

Look forward to seeing you out there!

We’ll be driving down from York, so planning to leave Friday morning. Plan is an easy trip to Kent, channel crossing, a bit of driving and then a stop over somewhere. Up early to get there in good time.

Did find some short term car insurance, but car owner happy to drive if we stay in hotels both ways.

Looking at 3 of us and 2 bikes in the golf. Friends are going in a van, so may be able to carry bikes for us.

As for getting back if the driver breaks something? Hoping the travel insurance/car breakdown will cover that!

he owns a large people carrier, he just wants his mate to drive

Busted! 😮

We’re going 12-19 July.

The Galaxy would be a great option in many ways – take some of the back seats out and it’s virtually a van. I’ve done 30,000 in it and it’s not broken down yet, so no reason to suspect it should give up the ghost on this particular journey!

The attraction of the company car is only having to pay for fuel (also very efficient compared to mine), should be reliable (Golf) and no wear and tear costs (Galaxy tyres are £100+ a corner!).

I did wonder about buying some extra insurance – will look into that. And I’ll also check out the VE103 form.

Thanks for the responses.

Good advice about checking my car insurance and whether I’m covered in Europe.

I could take the family car, but not confident it would make it (1999 Ford Galaxy)!

Need to see if we can convince the owner to drive all the way… 🙂

Thanks for the replies. 🙂

Although I have an anchor in the garage, I want to stop the bug*ers getting in.

MTBIdle – Is that really you? Watched the video earier! Could I fit one vertically so it bolts into the concrete floor?

cheers

Sean

Weird.

Removed the wheel and cleaned up the cable shifting mechanism. This didn’t solve it.

After lots of head scratching, moving the cable etc, I loosended the shifter and put it in another position. It now works as it was before???

Maybe the brake lever and shifter bodies were tight together which was causing the problem? All I know is moving the shifter on the bar sorted it.

Happy. 😀

Thanks for the responses.

I’ve just fitted the brakes and they’ve only seen some action in the street when I’ve bedded in the pads. No crashes yet! 🙂

So squirt some WD40 on the pivot and where the ‘wave’ cam is? I presume the seals won’t be affected?

Cheers

Try some counselling?

I just have and it’s changed my perspective on life, I now appreciate what’s important. Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees and need a little help from someone outside.

There’s still a stigma around such things, but I (and my family) found it very worthwhile. I got it free through work, which was stressing me out. I’d happily pay for it – cheaper than a divorce (or even a big night down the pub!) and the improved levels of all round happiness are priceless. 🙂

Thanks everyone for the help, tips and heads up about Ceeway – never heard of them!

I’ll give it a go and post up how I get on. Even if I mess it up I’m no worse off! 🙂

One thing is puzzling me. When building up fillets, what stops the smaller fillet from melting? I’m guessing that the trick is not to over heat the fillet?

Common fault with pomps. I know of quite a few that have failed there

I’m not that surprised to hear that. I’ve had nothing but problems with this bike. Not going to be buying an On-One again in a hurry.

I much prefer to have a go myself – more satisfying! 🙂

I did metal work at school and know the basics of welding/brazing, but wouldn’t claim to be proficient. I have access to oxy-A.

I presume it’s a case of:
– throughly clean the area to be brazed
– flux up the area
– fire up the oxy
– heat the area
– feed in the brazing rod
– continue to heat the area for a short time
– rotate the frame and do the brazing in sections
– leave the frame to cool (or quench in water?)

Any major concerns about the above approach?

I’ve just emailed a local frame builder to see if he’d oblige with a repair…

Sean

That would be great if I could get another seven out of it – it’s far too young to retire off!

I brazed a new drop out onto a frame 20+ years ago following an intraction between the derailleur and back wheel. Seemed to go ok, but any advice you can give would be greatly aprreciated Ray!

Picture here – CRACK

The crack goes almost all the way around.

Where am I likely to find someone with a tig welder – car garage?

How would that cause a crack in the weld on the seatube?

Maybe not? My reasoning is that any water will collect in this area, and the weld is the weak point? Willing to be convinced otherwise. 🙂

Picture of crack

I have approached On-One. I’ve had the bike seven years, so it’s out of their two year warranty period. They have offered me 10% off a new frame (currently £200). But as they don’t make a 135mm spaced frame at the moment, I’ll also need a new wheelset (so a £300 fix).

I’ve been keeping my eye out for a second hand frame, but no 135mm large or extra large have come up.

-1 about fixies on ice.

Fell off badly on sheet ice before Christmas. Never happened on any of my other bikes in similar conditions (ps – been riding fixed for several years). At least on a freewheel you can stop pedalling if things start going wobbly and either catch your balance or get your foot down and save your ass. 🙂

Now sorted – thanks.

Thought it was my lucky day, but it didn’t work!

Thanks anyway!

Cheers everyone, there's some great suggestions there. The idea of a custom from 18 bikes is very tempting, but probably out of my price range (those Rohloff's are expensive!!!).

Trail_rat – what do you think of the Raven?