Handcent

I’ve had a couple of experiences recently.. 1 guard who wasn’t bothered as long as the bikes were stacked so we didn’t cause an obstruction (nice guard) and a jobsworth who insisted on ‘only 2 bikes allowed’. We dismantled 2 of them and stuffed the frames in a blue ikea bag and carried the wheels… No bikes here mister, just parts! (nasty guard)

+1 for the Pinnacle Arkose… Picked up lasts year 4 model with some 105 and hydraulic discs for under a grand. Very versatile for commuting, canal towpath, and touring

Find a copy of Roger Musson’s practical guide to wheelbuilding… No nonsense, clear and easy to follow

The trainline for the Titfield Thunderbolt ran through my school (although it’d long since been taken up by Mr Beeching and turned into a gravel track to the rugby pitches)

Definitely helps to be on a train line into Leeds if your working in town/uni. Traffic commuting in is horrendous.

Edit: Sorry, no biking advice there. John has it covered

There’s several ‘friends of buck wood’s notice boards around with no mention of any restrictions

Stayed here a few times… On the outskirts of the Peak, but good facilities, large play field for kids and a pub 5 minutes down the road.

http://www.commonendfarmcampsite.co.uk/

Colleague got done on the M62 when they had them near Leeds. Had to explain to him in very simple terms how distance equals speed over time. Muppet was just slowing down at the cameras!

Thanks Monkeyboy… I have a feeling they’ll be an arse, so it may as you say be better to hand it back and buy second-hand… Just have to strip all the upgrades off 😉

We’ll see how it goes tomorrow when hr find out!!

Owayo… Once you get over 10 tops

Shimla Pinks on the London Road. Seriously the best curry I’ve had in ages and we live in Bradford!

10 days… Although a 50km ride in the Dales as a starter wasn’t ideal… A little sore afterwards!!

Just acquired a T4 with what is says is 178k of the clock from a mate (although changing the dials at 130k ish means there’s about 20k missing!)… ex-aa, battered and loving it 🙂

Backcountrynavigator… Paid for app (but not very much money) and you can load gpx in as a track

Jameso, you’re a legend. Bookmarked for when mine need replacing! Same size in the rear??

I’ve used a Park Tools one… Which is ace, although I’ve always been tempted to build a Roger Musson one (Google it)

Had a kaffenback… indestructible but heavy and slightly joyless to ride. Sold it and replaced with an Arkose. So much better as a commuter, as I now actually look forward to going to work (sort of!)

I use Co-Pilot sat-nav installed on my phone (which is a purchased app… but not more that £25 from memory) which has maps installed on the phone.

Backcountrynavigator (only on Android) is good for downloading maps on the the SD card – (esp. OS maps in the UK – I know that’s not relevant) and I used it for biking in the Loire in the summer – doesn’t do nav though.

Thanks VH… the van already has seats in the back (but on different types of bolt) and has the seat belts already fitted for the outside 2 seats – but just a lap belt to the central seat.

Am I right in thinking from your comment that the forces from the middle belt as a three point harness are then all taken on the floor (which seems obvious from my simple mechanical brain) and this is the main issue? I had wondered if it was possible to weld a bracing bar across the underside of the floor (from side to side) to reinforce the bolts.

It’s taken me a 3 day ‘autodesk’ approved training session, and then a month of intermittent use (I’m a senior architect so mostly should be doing other stuff!) to be able to produce drawings… although getting them to look like my autocad stuff is hard. I’m very competent in autocad, but going to take a while to get to the same point in revit.

Revit rely so heavily on pre made objects without them it’d be harder

Don’t go into reasons or whatever, just the fact you’re going.

This… MrsSheeps has just toned down my resignation letter (that my boss will be getting this morning) removing all the emotion, and reasons why I’m going and what management changes precipitated the move.

Just simply, I resign, I have 3 months notice, this identifies the start of it*

*I am soooooo hoping for gardening leave but equally sooooo unlikely!!

We do a quid a week for tidy bedrooms – strangely their piggy banks are fairly empty!!

Guy at work has an inversion table – which he reckons has done wonders for his back. Slightly odd as he has it in the office – and he spends the first 10 minutes of every day hung upside down!!

He had previously owned a door opening thingy which he said never really worked – but the current one is easy to swing over, and thus gets used far more (you start in a standing (upright) position

Couple of hours before drinking, pour carefully with light behind to see the sediment in the neck, filter the remainder with proper wine filters

Like bearnecessities i find it cathartic on a Sunday evening and makes the F1 grand prix that MrsSheeps insists on watching bearable! Having said that, a bunch of Charles Truwitt non iron shirts purchased recently seems to be doing as advertised

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/is-this-completely-knackered-cheap-shimano-hub-content

Yep, they can implode ?

Shortarse 6′ here riding a L superlight 29er (and before that a L superlight 26)

around 50kmh

Nah, the h is superfluous… Around 50km before it collapses in a heap of junk!

Another vote for backcountry navigator… Any os maps offline for less than a tenner

Had a 96 zaskar le, which is still around, although it has spent the last couple of years hung up in the cellar after a few years service as a commuter. Battered but bombproof. Might sell it one day if the need for pennies arises, or wait until the kids are old enough for 26″ bikes!

I’ve got a Planet X/On-One tensioner (with a spring) which you can alter the position of the guide jockey wheel to suit the chainline. Don’t remember it being very expensive and it’s been a fit and forget item!

*edit: exactly the one that Shermer75 has linked to!!

That cricket rules picture brings back memories… My dad had one as a tea towel.

Oh and the sse ad… Apparently to do with the environment. We love orangutans, so don’t hate us for selling you environment screwing energy!

Yep… Means the MIL never calls as an added bonus!

DaveyBoyWonder – bit harsh.. I live along the route! Whilst the construction is going on, I’m avoiding it both on the bike and in the car – not enough space for bikes and too many queues in the car.

I agree with the CRAP segregated bit though… fine on the straight bit, but as soon as you get to a junction it looks like your going to be back fighting with the cars again – classic case of the ‘too hard light’ coming on! Confident cycles will hate it, and the novices are going to be given too much of a false sense of security – and then come a cropper being side-swiped by cars at junctions.

I’ve got them all lined up on the shelf – from picking the first one up (and subscribing) at a trailquest/Polaris in Kielder Forest during the foot and mouth countryside shut-down. Mark & Chipps (I think) were manning their stall with a slight air of desperation – what have we done launching a bike mag at a time when no-one can go biking?!

Sony M4

Feeling quite smug about booking Portsmouth – Caen – little difference in travel time from up north (M40/A34 etc. rather than M1/M25/M20). Granted the ferry crossing is looooong with 3 small kids, and if you want to go east is not much use but still, there were no delays on Monday*

*Jinxed myself now, and the crossing back is going to be poop isn’t it?!

We’re heading out for 6 weeks in the Loire soon (family) and I’m taking my road bike.. the terrain is lovely for long rolling days in the saddle. The one time I took my mountain bike, even with local knowledge I was fairly disappointed.

bigyinn… i thought that i might be able to, but trying an old one a few minutes ago it didn’t sit right. new hub it is then