I bought a brand new car just under a year ago and have just bought 3 years GAP insurance from Ala GAP for £185. My car insurance would pay for a new car only if it was a total loss in the first year.

Finance is all paid up but the reason I got the GAP was a guy at work had the same model nicked recently(Focus ST)

I also paid a local detailer to apply a ceramic coating and protect the interior. Was quite expensive but the dealers prices are pretty high as well. My guy took 2 days to do the car.

My mate is an agent for Legend bikes and they look really nice!

Doctor D (Rohan) is a great guy as well.

http://doctord.co.uk/tales-from-the-attic

Home

I have been running a Middleburn X-type uno for years with the direct mount ring. Last time I changed the ring it was cheaper to buy a 4 bolt spider and fit a hope ring. So now I have a big choice of chainrings.

Why do they have the “fast and loud” type of intro where they show everything that’s going to happen in the episode? 👿

Cheers. Reckon its S6903 2RS. Had the wheels for 18 months.

Merlin only sell bearing kits with no info. I emailed them and they said they don’t have a kit for that hub talk to Hope.

So just bought a pair from Biketart via Ebay.

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/driver-who-fatally-struck-motorcyclist-13741715

This is on my route home from work and is regularly congested at going home time. Motorcyclist on wrong side of road hit by car turning right out of car park. I must admit it made me think a lot about the situation.

For sure you need a set of tyres are that are matched perfect and staggered special. 🙂

it’s a complete rip-off – buy a car at full list price because it is being sold on the scrappage scheme and no other offers are valid as opposed to buying the same car via CarWow for £x less and selling your old motor elsewhere.

My mate has ordered a new Ford through Drive the Deal and I was very surprised when he got a big discount and the scrappage for his old car as well.

Lock the bike in a Ford Transit. 8)

Seriously, is there anywhere better at work you can put it? Tell them you’ve had bits nicked and they may find somewhere.

Had a similar problem with my Skoda Octavia at 2 years old. Software update fixed it. Reckon it was just the software over compensating for components ageing over time.

I got a strava KOM at mountain mayhem this year on my singlespeed 😀

Don’t think Princess Anne will be beating it!

I use a on-one phart as it’s not mental bright for the guys behind.

For the road bike I was thinking of one of these, but worried it maybe too bright as well.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-lights/bike-lights/moon-comet-x-rear-bike-light

Traser H3 Watch Outdoor Pioneer Nato

I have a Titanium Traser Commander and love it. Tough as well.

The Cricketers. They are a bit handy in a fight apparently 😯

I looked at my Dad’s new Mazda CX3 and I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the inside. Didn’t seem to me much thought about where the switches go. Touch screen up high and volume control and rotary dial thing down the bottom. What’s the point of a rotary dial thing if you have a touchscreen?

Quite a few bits of odd plastic in the dash as well.

I’m biased but my new Focus ST is nicer.

I went through a period of waking up at night and going round the house turning things off to track down a weird noise. In the end decided it is probably tinnitus? When it is quiet your brain ramps up the gain and you start hearing stuff.

Way back in 2006 I was offered 0.49% tracker above the base rate for the life of the mortgage. Even if rates start going up now I think I will still be better off for a good while. Also, saved a load of time and stress in the last 11 years.

Barley Mow in Epsom also does a quiz on Monday

Try the Rifleman in Epsom. Really nice pub and home cooked burgers/wraps etc. Think they do a quiz on the first Wednesday of the month.

Our Wednesday evening group rides tend to avoid the Dukes Head as we all find the quiz guys voice really annoying! 😀

My old DIY book had a section on wiring faults. There was a set of pictures of wiring and the reader was asked to identify the faults.

I got all of them apart from the last one. There was a picture of the inside of a junction box as the lid had been removed. I spent ages looking at the wiring and I could not see anything wrong with it at all. After a while I gave up and looked at the answer.

Answer was “No lid on junction box”!

I have used KMC Z610HX chains for about 5 years and never had a problem. But I have noticed that the joining link/speed link/missing link is now non-reusable according to KMC.

http://www.kmcchain.eu/chain-KMC_Z610_HX_Silver-touring_city-narrow

http://www.kmcchain.eu/connector-KMC_MissingLink_1_Z610HX_Z1HX_Narrow_7_8mm_non%E2%80%93reusable-touring_city-narrow

Very easy to clean a singlespeed chain on a bike. I use muc-off and a really stick scrubbing brush. I also use Finish Line 1-step which cleans and lubricates in err 1 step 😉

Pliers to open and close the links are very useful

http://www.kmcchain.eu/Tools

Did a bit of loop 2 but bailed early and went to the Conwy Falls cafe 🙂
There was a rocky section of stone slabs that was very slippery in the rain.

Rode Penmachno for the first time last week and it was wet!
Was staying in a holiday cottage within sight of it and the wetness was the only downside really. Good fun.

Dai Alti I think was the really wet bit that went on for ages.

Did I say it was wet? 🙂

My wife has one! 😀
She’s a gardener and it is perfect for transporting all the tools, lawnmower etc.

It is a 1.3 GL from 2003.
Very bumpy ride on small wheels close together.
Red paint has faded really badly but had no rust problems mentioned on MOT.
Some people have complained that the roof leaks where the rails are fitted but no problem for us. To be honest, very dirty inside now so we probably wouldn’t notice it.

We bought it in 2009 and it was 6 years old and had only done 11,000 miles.

Had the cam belt done and tyres replaced as they were just old. Now done 30,000 miles. Had the air bag recall done a few years ago.

One downside is the road tax is £190 quid a year which is more than my car!

It looked easy when the coach did it! 8)

Well I have had a 29C in the past and it is faster than the Payoff. However, the Payoff virtually encourages you to manual over stuff and launch off ramps. Never quite felt the same about the 29C. Also feel more confident on the steeper stuff on the Payoff so attempt to ride more things.

I went over the back a few months ago and landed on my arse 😕
Was quite sore for a few weeks.

Had some coaching recently and the coach said to try again with flat pedals then I can just step off as mentioned above.

I bought an Onza Payoff complete bike on ebay a few months ago. Loving it. Totally different ride to my singlespeed Singular Swift.

New ones are very good value.

The leather Recaro seats in my ST3 are excellent but maybe because I am a racing snake 😀

A friend of mine is a freelance bike mechanic and after 3 trips in mine has just ordered an ST3 estate in Tangerine Scream 😯

Unfortunately I can’t get the oil burner either until next year. FFS how can it take 5 months to get a new ford?

Sorry Gary, I waited from August last year until end of February to get mine 😀

Really? I was standing next to both and the Octavia was visually a bigger car.

Boot in Focus is wide and flat with no wheel intrusion at all.

I have an 2017 Petrol ST3 estate and it is a big improvement over the pre 2015 ones.
SYNC 3 is very good.

Done 4000 miles and now averaging 35 mpg.

Great car and they hold their value really well.

Guy at work bought a 2012 model for £15K last year to replace his mk 2 octavia VRS.

Another Onza Payoff owner here. Rides really well and I have had lots of people comment on how nice it looks. Good value as well.

I unscrewed the nut and released the black curvy pipe attached to the horn thing.

I then fitted an old track pump hose by wrapping it in PTFE tape and pushing it in and doing the nut up again.

It all worked fine at first but then the hose tended to blow out of the nut. Got fed up of wrapping the PTFE tape around it so now just hold it in place with my hand.

I ended up cutting the hose head off as it was knackered and now just push the hose over the tubeless valve. Much better flow.

So all I have now is a short bit of hose in place of the black curved pipe in your picture. Other end of the hose just pushes direct onto the tubeless valve.

That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, cheers servo. That sounds more positive. ST looks good but I’m old and need luxury so looking at the titanium x spec.

My previous car was a 1.6 ecoboost Titanium X estate 2013 and it was a good car. The face lift ones are nicer cars and the new Sync 3 is very good.

Mine was the 180 bhp one which I think must be similar to the new 1.5 litre one. Good power and good fuel economy, never saw less than 40 mpg, mostly 42.

My ST3 has similar stuff to Titanium X but has full leather seats while the old one was part leather. I don’t have front sensors or auto park. Suspension is a bit firmer though.

I am not a spring chicken myself but my wife and I really like the ST 🙂

On my 2nd one. Wide, flat boot opening with no wheel intrusions so fairly big things just go in.

My FS 29er goes in without taking the wheels off.

The back seat bases lift up and the backs then fold flat. But you lose some length.

You can buy a nifty double sided mat with rubber on one side and carpet on the other. It is normally folded over to show carpet but unfold it and it reaches to back of front seats and can be clipped on.

FS 29er didn’t fit in the my Octavia estate as the wheel arches intrude. Struggled even with a road bike.

Road bike goes straight in the Focus estate.

Now have an ST estate 😈

Quintana has bulked up a bit 😀

Have enjoyed Ticket to Ride and played Sagrada last weekend which was good.

Time Atacs definitely wear out the shoes, especially I think if you don’t replace worn cleats.

Just got a new pair of Giro Privateer R shoes so looking for some extra protection.

I’d buy a set as well.

I had a 1.6 ecoboost focus estate 2013 and it was a really good car with a strong engine. MPG was mid 40’s if I was careful and higher on long trips. Nice bit of boost for overtaking.

Now have a Focus ST estate with the 2.0 litre ecoboost.

Very good internal space arrangement. Flat boot opening and square sides so getting a bike in is easy.

Don’t need to have the cam belt changed until 100,000 miles unlike VAG cars which a 13/14 plate will probably need doing.

Many years ago I was hit by a car on the way to work and ended up with a buckled front wheel. Driver was really apologetic and offered to drive me to the local bike shop.

Luckily my LBS was about 2 miles away and she drove me there. I was sponsored by the shop and rode for their team so knew the owner, Jason, really well.

Somehow, Jason twigged the situation very quickly and we gave no impression that we knew each other. Driver was charged absolute full whack for a open pro on ultegra front wheel to replace my really worn out and cheap one. Didn’t want her to benefit from my discount.

Maybe I should have claimed extra but it was all done and dusted there and then.

So I was glad the LBS had wheels in stock 🙂