…though I will admit, the prospect of a cable free existence does appeal!

Recently bought a second hand arcam receiver – playing through some Mission bookshelf speakers. Stunned by how good it makes my music collection. Sometimes I’m planning to do something in an evening but just get distracted listening to albums instead. It’s genuinely beautiful to listen to. Feeding it through a raspberry pi (and a hi-fi berry) with all my music on a usb stick (Flac). Can then control it via my phone so no messing about with CDs etc. Will probably add a zone 2 so I can repeat listening in the kitchen.

Genuinely baffled at people who spend lots on music equipment then stream really low quality stuff from the t’internet

Good question. Not much I guess… not loads of tyre clearance or super heavy duty. Do they have different geometry?

I accept by choosing not to do myself I’m paying overmuch anyway, but I more want to know what others who pay, pay

Thanks all

Slightly cheeky to email and say ‘I’m looking for islabikes on ebay, what size do I want’ ;-)

But knowing the old cnoc 14 is the same size as the now cnoc 14 large means I can check if she’s big enough. I haven’t seen many cnoc 14 small on ebay as they are pretty new, I think (2017?)

Osprey poco plus or premium.  Get one second hand cause usually they are hardly used.  We tried lots; by far the most comfy and best design by miles.

Tried a little life one and asked to see the (optional rain cover).  It comes in pieces like a really complicated 70’s test.  Shop assistant faffed with it for about 10 minutes before giving up and saying weakly…’it’s very easy, really’.  We didn’t buy that one…

@bigfoot – yes, I think that’s what I’m trying to avoid – more water than I need on a short ride but no space for stuff…

What’s with the slightly odd whitewall tyres on them? Is this a roadie trend I’m behind on? It all looks a bit 1980s to me…

How old a road bike? You could always look out for touring bike forks (Dawes galaxy or similar…)

Seems a pretty specific criteria for a bike frame.

yeah, maybe. But I’ve got a hankering for the look of stainless and I just like steel frames. Call me old fashioned…

If I’d said it had to be 531 forty years ago no-one would have thought it strange…

There’s plenty of steel frames around for a grand though.

Plenty of 953 frames? Where?

I know. I’ve emailed the guy and he was really helpful. But it would be nice to know someone who’s actually got one

Osprey poco. If you want a laugh, go to a shop and ask the shop assistant to put the rain cover up on a little life. Total pain! Osprey it just pops out and it’s brilliant. Buy used though, as they aren’t used that much before kids are too heavy for them…

thanks – that’s pretty nearby

why don’t you just buy them some lego? A lot simpler to work out and will last approx 10x as long…

@stoner – good spelling tip :oops:

Hmm. Thanks for the tips! I’d planned for second hand and had a budget of about £100. Am I being to optimistic? There seem to be thule ones second hand…but can’t see any alteras.

Drove round the local supermarket car park underground with a hire van a few weeks. Low beams buzzed on the roof aerial every 50 yards. Cue me panicking that it was going to get just 5cm lower. ‘No the excess waiver doesn’t cover the roof sir.’

do we not call it a colorway these days anyway?

Has it got out of plaice?

bohnanza. Awesome and works well for 2-7 players + fun trading.

Any hand dryer apart from air blades. Who signed of the design?
‘Does it work?’
‘Oh yes’
‘but my hands aren’t dry’
‘erm’

It’s the sound that’s just quite disturbing…

I went out. Ice. I fell over. Broke my rear mech. Ripped my jacket. Got a lift home :-( Not my best saturday ride ever…

osmand – but only works on road. Not sure about Europe but great in UK

carry on riding your singlespeed commuting hack after the handlebars have snapped and you’re riding along steering with the left hand and braking with a dangling half handlebar held on by the brake cable in the right hand. Not a lot of control…

freezing = no push or tools required ;-) Drops in as easy as anything

did this just last week. Picking up a tip from others – all that you need to do is pop the rubber bits in the freezer and they shrink. Then you can just slot them in. It was far far easier than I was expecting :-)

thanks parkesie, no reliability issues then?

Garage is a good bet.

Funniest group test ever…

http://road.cc/content/feature/12692-scrapheap-challenge

@DoctorRad

Ahah. Clever. Good luck then mechmonkey. Perhaps one of these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Extension-Ring-Tube-for-18650-Battery-/271100273631?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item3f1ed5e3df

Although TBH if you’ve spent £10 on a torch it seems daft to spend another £5 just to use another battery…

Bit of an odd question, but why bother?

Max mAh for 3 x AAA is 3 x 1100 mAh = 3300 mAh. For an 18650 battery it’s between 2400 – 3000 mAh, usually. AAA rechargeable are nominally 1.2v and an 18650 is nominally 3.7v.

So it seems like energy stored and voltage would be about the same?

I may be missing something, but would you see any real benefit? Perhaps someone may be able to explain this to me!

thanks very much – be interesting to see if there is any difference in brightness (at least initially) between 1.2v rechargeable and 1.5v not rechargeable…

that’s standard rechargeable 1.2 volt rechargeables right?

Has anyone tried the AAA torches with 1.2v std rechargeable batteries? Do they work?

as long as the 18650 batteries fit… let us know!

ebay one suggest 18650 should fit – voltage they say is 3.6-4.2v so should be ok. Has any tried an 18650 or two in an ebay one?

top tip for removing stuck freewheel. Put the freewheel tool in the wheel, then clamp the tool also in the vice. Turn the wheel around the stationary tool = lots of leverage!

ps don’t forget to turn the right way, otherwise you won’t get anywhere!

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3946#Shimano is all the fun you need!