Camelbak Podium 610ml and BBB side entry bottle cage. Perfectly sized for a very tight fit in the middle of my Superlight frame.

Enables backpack free riding in the summer.

A rare demonstration of STW unanimity!

Avoid – not worth the risk.

On my B5.5 saloon there was a part of the locking mechanism that mechanically links an electric actuator/motor (a sort of servo) with the mechanical latch release – it’s located inside the boot lid under the trim. It’s essentially a length of what looks like bike brake cable about 2 inches long with fittings either end. This snapped due to wear so the motor/actuator would move but as it wasn’t attached to the latch it would stay shut. The remedy was that I crawled inside the boot, removed the carpet-like trim from the inside of the bootlid, and removed the above broken cable bit with some bird nose pliers and a screwdriver. Went to VW dealer and ordered a replacement which cost less than £10. Attached it to the locking mechanism (push fit and hook) and restored full functionality. Could be a similar fix on the estate.

If when you try to open the boot lid you hear the motor whirr/actuate inside the lid but it remains shut then it could be the same thing. If on the other hand there is no motor noise at all then I would look towards the electrics and in particular make sure the unit that controls the alarm and central locking which is located under the carpet in the front passenger footwell is dry. It’s a 5 minute job to pull up the carpet by removing the trim below the door to gain access. Hope this helps if you go down the DIY route.

Agree with thatscold about Citizen. I’ve had one of their Promaster Carbons for about 5 years. Atomic timekeeping synchronisation, Eco drive solar powered, 200m waterproof. Worn daily and haven’t had to make any adjustments since I got it. Keeps time to the second and will never need a battery. 6 month power reserve if no light available.

The link in skids post is the one I bought – it was on offer from Argos which reduced it by a fiver. Mrs Super and I have been really impressed with it. Has all the programmes you list OP.

Got a NowTV box at Christmas for exactly this purpose. Cost was £14.99 for the box and 3 months of the ‘entertainment package’ included (also included an HDMI cable). Entertainment package includes amongst others Sky 1 and Sky Atlantic and you can access the catch up services for these channels. Also includes quite a few box sets. Renewal will be £6.99 per month when initial package expires in March. No contract so opt in or out whenever you want to. Output is HD 720p so a decent picture quality. Works by connecting to the internet wirelessly and streaming to your tv, so you already need to have an unlimited broadband deal.

Thomson seatposts and stems – superbly made with a bulletproof finish. Strength and lack of any flex. Super reliable and always look good.

Shimano gears – Well made and tough as old boots. Great shifting, ergonomic and easy to work on when required. Plenty of spares availability.

Shimano brakes – reliable, plenty of power, easy to bleed and no nasty DOT fluid to contend with. Price is also surprisingly good when compared to some other (arguably lesser) competitors.

ODI Grips – Original and best. Squidgy Ruffian prefered for all day rides. Excellent spares availability too.

POWA Dfender front mudguard – superbly made to measure for Fox and RS forks. Fit like a glove and they just work. Well thought out compared to some of the Heath Robinson contraptions with zip ties and elastic bands.

Specialized Saddles – they fit my (ample) derriere very well. The search for a comfortable saddle stopped here with me.

I have a Logitech Squeezebox Duet streamer and this has affected me too.

I found this workaround for Logitech equipment which allows BBC radio live streaming via another route: http://forums.logitech.com/t5/MySqueezebox-com-Squeezebox/Squeezebox-and-Smart-Radio-support-for-BBC/m-p/1366605

Not sure if it’ll help the OP, but hopefully this may be of use to someone on here.

I don’t want to be drip fed. I want to binge.
Change is rubbish.

Wow jamesfts, that pic of your Giulia Super takes me back to a family holiday in summer 1971. We drove to Sicily and back, stopping over at relatives living near Turin.

It was in a Giulia Super 1600 in a similar colour to yours. Stock except for the roof rack with tarp covered luggage (all the rage in those days!). We were four up, three adults and a kid (me). Stonking car which was more than a match for the journey, it didn’t miss a beat.

Recall that some of roads were quite poor compared to the route today. Most of the time it was sweltering (no air con) apart from the alpine bit when it turned cold and wet, and the climbs/descents were quite treacherous.

Always had a soft spot for the Giulia Super after that experience.

I had a few Shimano brakes to do and decided to invest in a Jagwire needle driver and one of their hose cutters. Takes out all the faffing with a hammer, ensures a clean cut, and avoids issues such as those experienced by letmetalktomark. Of course it’s possible to do the job without these tools but they do remove plenty of the risk of things going wrong if you are a bit heavy/cack-handed like me. Needle driver is About £19 from Amazon* and cutter is £11.

I followed the Epic instructions closely using one of their bleed kits (hose, syringes and Shimano fluid) and it went okay.

Review of both Jagwire tools here: http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/01/05/review-ja/ .
Video of needle driver in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-030kPzvwJE

*other vendors are of course available…

Re Webasto /eberspacher – roughly how much does it cost to retrofit to a car?

@johndoh: ‘Utter rubbish – spray comes out in a trickle, needs loads to actually melt the ice and left my hands bloody freezing.’

The aerosol de-icers are rubbish if they get really cold (e.g. they’ve been left in the car overnight) as the propellant doesn’t work properly when it’s very cold and the spray becomes weak. The trigger spray ones are the best in this respect.

I find the auto glym de icer works well, though not as good as a heated front screen, which I don’t have but have seen used to great effect on a friend’s Land Rover Discovery.

I try to secrete as much ’emergency’ stuff on the bike as possible. So pump is on frame and I use a small seat pack for multitool, tyre levers patches, tube, spare derailleur hanger etc. I strap things under the saddle in a small self seal bag, keep a length of chain in the seatpost together with chain links, and I keep a gear cable and zip ties inside the handlebar (lock on grips allow easy access).

For stuff in seatpost and hadlebar bar I use a suitably sized plastic bag with string and tab securely attached so I can pull things out easily.

If I need a backpack I keep it as small as possible. The larger it is the more it will encourage me to pack inside.

Powa Dfender on the front and mudhugger on rear here. Work very well and keep the mud at bay.

You will need to remove Dfender before putting in the car with the wheel off. It screws on/off with a supplied thumbwheel. No annoying zip ties. You need to buy the model made specifically for your fork.

Details: http://www.powa-products.com/

Torygraph running with reprint of full Facbook exchange between the two mums: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11355215/Childs-birthday-party-no-show-fee-Parents-Facebook-row-in-full.html .Amazing lack of self awareness on both parts.

It’s the most viewed story on the T’s website. I can’t disagree with anyone that says that this shouldn’t be front page news, but also find myself strangely drawn to it as it develops, to see where it will go.

Might make an interesting case study on a journalism course idc.

Edit – Also the most read and shared story on the BBC website!

Just seen this comment posted on BBC website:

‘1134.Del – VAT will have been applied to the original invoice for the party. Unless the parent is VAT registered or the invoice was issued through a VAT registered company (My Son’s Birthday Party Ltd for example) then VAT is not applicable to the attempted recovery of £15.95, assuming the party was arrangned through said company.’

The mill appears to be overflowing with grist.

Looks like there may have been some existing animosity between the mums which explains a lot: ‘His mother told Apex News, “Julie Lawrence and I weren’t friends, we didn’t talk to each other at school..’

Taken from Guardian’s coverage: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/19/five-year-old-misses-friends-birthday-party-and-has-to-pay-1595

It never surprises me how people can be so awful, and yet so entertaining.

Thanks everyone that’s really helpful. I understand it’s a sensor dryer which monitors the humidity of the clothing. Looks like the low temp issue is a real thing.

I may try to troubleshoot further to confirm, by heating up the ambient air temperature to see if it makes a difference.

BBB Sidecage in aluminium

Choice of right opening:
http://bbbcycling.com/accessories/bottle-cages/BBC-35R
…or left opening:
http://bbbcycling.com/accessories/bottle-cages/BBC-35L

Both types available in black. Have one on my SC Superlight 26″ (which has a very tight area for in-frame bottle mounting), and has proved tough and secure.

Popped in to see Mamma Superleggera and mentioned the discussion about stove top coffee pots, and asked her how many she has. She kindly obliged with the following array of Bialettis:

…then she made us both a cup of coffee.

I’m 5’9″ with a 42″ chest and I have one in Large. Clingy fit as they should be, and arm length and back length good for bike riding position. Hope this helps.

Bialetti are the classic option but there are now plenty of others out there.

If you are a keen coffee drinker and intend use often then I would recommend that you get one for which it is easy to source the spare rubber gaskets, as these will eventually need replacing over time, depending on use. For the Bialettis, the plastic handles and lid knobs will eventually give out as they are the only other non metal parts. I speak having grown up in an Italian household where stove top Bialettis were used regularly and often to destruction.

Moshimonster, you have proved the old cliche : so accurate you can set your watch by it!

Just seen your post OP:

Have seen a solar G Shock for £67. If I left it in a drawer and it went totally flat what would you do then?
Is it best then to leave it on a window sill?
I wear a watch about 4 times a year. Not often but it’s a pain when it’s not there.

Wearing it just four times a year should be fine. Despite the variable performance of other solar powered devices, these watches are incredibly efficient and don’t need that much light to function and hold their ‘charge’ for ages. They will also draw power from artificial light as well as sunlight.

Might be worth checking what the power reserve is on the Casio. I’m guessing it’ll probably be about 6 months like my watch. Doesn’t necessarily need to be on a window sill in full sunlight. Best stored out of a drawer though, preferably in relatively bright room I would suggest.

In answer to your question about what happens if in the unlikely event the watch goes flat, if it has radio controlled timekeeping (see my earlier post on this) as well as solar power, as it charges up again it will reset itself with the correct time and date.

+1 for solar powered radio controlled watches.

I’ve been wearing a Citizen divers style one for the last five years and it’s been faultless. Citizen uses the terms ‘Eco Drive’ to denote the watch is solar powered, and ‘Atomic’ to denote radio controlled timekeeping capability.

It has a 6 month power reserve and the radio controlled bit means it corrects itself by automatically picking up a radio time signal broadcast from an atomic clock and synchronising to maintain accuracy. It also automatically goes an hour forwards/backwards when the clocks change for summer/winter time. Haven’t had to make any adjustments since the day I bought it and it’s still accurate to the second.

In summary:
– no battery
– no maintenance
– self powering (through solar panel in watch face)
– long power reserve (6 months)
– sets itself
– always accurate (to the second)

As well as Citizen, Seiko and Casio do similar types of watches so there’s plenty of choice re styles and prices. Plenty of discounts too if you hunt around.

Cateye TL-LD1100 – If you really want to be seen then I recommend one of these: http://www.bikelightsreview.com/reviews/cateye/tl-ld1100/

Been using one for a while and it’s got a very good battery life running 2AAs operating what are essentially two independent lighting circuits. Also referred to elsewhere on this forum as the ‘holy hand grenade’. Blimmin bright!

The internet is failing, it’s the beginning of the end. Forget Skynet it’s the hoardes of bargain hunting wombles* looking for cheap cr@p they don’t need that is about to bring society to it’s knees! As well as the online shoppers look at the near riots overnight as stores opened for Black Friday. We’re doomed!

[*myself included]

You can get them from CRC for the same price as Amazon (£99.99 delivered) if you use their Black Friday code at checkout which gives £15 off £99+. This offer appears to end 4pm on Tuesday 2nd December, so not just for today – which is confusing as they’ve called it a Black Friday offer…

Anyway there is a choice for those looking for an alternative to Amazon for the same price. There may of course be others but I’m not aware.

OP you mention that you haven’t had any crashes or mishandling. From my experience I suggest something to consider and eliminate from the equation before focussing fully on rotor truing and caliper alignment is the wheel bearings. Check that there is no lateral play in the wheel bearings. Evan a small amount of wheel bearing play will make it look like the rotor and caliper are out of alignment, and you will spend hours fiddling with them without realising that it was the wheel bearings making the wheel spin out of true and causing rotor rub.

While it’s on the bike grab the wheel tyre/rim and see if there is much lateral play which is enough to move the rotor within the caliper and cause rubbing. Definitely worth a try if only to eliminate this possibility.

+1 for the Lumenator.

For road use it’s good on the low setting and dipped, with really long run times. For offroad use it has plenty of grunt in the higher settings and a decent beam pattern. Have used it recently in some pretty torrential conditions and it’s been fine. Cabling (particularly the coupling) appears water tight and problem free so far.

IMHO best combined with a Hope universal bar mount instead of the supplied o-rings as it allows you to adjust the light angle left and right: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/hope-universal-handlebar-mount/rp-prod23533?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom&gs=1 (you’ll need to replace supplied screw with a M4x10mm screw to fit the Hope mount to the Luminator body).

Received my Lumenator on Saturday – thanks to Smudge for a speedy service. Quality of the light appears good and though I haven’t had a chance to try it in anger yet, light output is something else compared to previous lights I have had. It’s also a decent beam pattern with a good spread of light. The light unit is very compact.

I’ve mounted the light unit on the handlebars and the battery pack, after a bit of shopping around, in an extra small Topeak saddle bag (with the battery removed from it’s OEM woven nylon bag): http://www.evanscycles.com/products/topeak/aero-wedge-with-straps-extra-small-ec008237 . It’s very neatly strapped tight up under the saddle. The straps have decent buckles fixing it to the saddle rails rather than velcro, which is a bonus. For anyone that needs to know the battery pack is 7.5cm x 6cm x 4cm. Pack is rubber coated and cable exits through a sealed grommet in the end. It appears to be very water resistant.

I’ve handlebar mounted light unit with a Hope Universal Handlebar Mount which means I can position the light where my handlebar starts to kink near the stem without any problems: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/hope-universal-handlebar-mount/rp-prod23533. The screw that comes with the Hope mount is too big for the Lumenator, as others have said, and the size it needs to be replaced with is M4 x 10mm.

The cable length between the light unit and the battery is about 125cm. I’ve run the light cable attached to brake and gear cables under the top tube. I want to be able to remove the light and battery quickly and easily so instead of the ubiquitous zip ties I am using 5 black coated wire ties. I’ve also used one of these M:Part adhesive cable guides I had lying around on the side of the frame just below the seat post to help run the cable vertically for the last bit to the seat pack: http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/m:part-self-adhesive-cable-guides-3m-pack-of-3-prod13059/ . Fortunately the light cable clips into the jaws of the cable guide quite nicely without the need for a cable tie.

All in all a very neat light and what turned out to be a very neat install.

Cheers Nobby – that’s really helpful.

I feel a purchase coming on…

What’s the total cord length for the Lumenator, and also Torchy’s BK2200? Thinking of light unit on bar and mounting the battery pack under the saddle in a large saddle pack (e.g. a Topeak one), as frame mounting is awkward.

Has anyone done this?

Views from light owners on pros and pitfalls of an under saddle battery set up welcome.

Suggest no more than 4nmn at the stem (spec for Thomson stem for example) and use carbon assembly paste (Finish Line, Tacx etc). Also use carbon paste for lock on grips and controls. Use a fair amount and wipe off excess with a damp rag.

What you don’t want is for dry clamped areas to slip, rotate and score the carbon with a nice cut line creating a possible weakness and leading to eventual fracture. I suspect that most cases of carbon bar failure are a result of this sort of line scoring or just plain overtightening.

A big thanks to OP from me for this PSA. I received mine this morning and they are quality (come in an Easton box with literature etc), and an absolute bargain at £40. 711mm is just right for my riding.

Had a quick look on the Easton website and it appears that they are increasing the width in the latest season’s Haven carbon bars from 711mm to 740mm so I assume these are now ‘old stock’ and being run out.

Stock is still showing on Chain Reaction site…

Hardtail is a 2003 Kinesis Maxlight XC Pro, with 2009 Rockshox Reba 100mm forks, and Shimano M775 wheels also from 2009 (bearings checked and serviced regularly!).

It’s fitted with ‘old school rules’ square taper BB, and period Deore crankset. Frame has both rim and disc brake fittings which made it seemingly futureproof at the time, and is currently fitted with M596 Deore discs.

Most of the rest has been upgraded/replaced over the years and now includes a Thomson stem and seatpost and USE carbon handlebars. Still ride it regularly. It’s a really good fit and just feels right which is why I haven’t changed it.

Just bought a Topeak Race Rocket for £20 from Evans, which appears to be the going rate at the moment. Quite compact and looks like it will do the job. Also comes with the all important few inches of rubber hose to connect to the valve which makes life a lot easier.

Pics and specs here, including a pic of it mounted on a bike:
http://www.topeak.com/products/Pumps/racerocket_black

If you are worried about inserting the needle into the hose properly then Jagwire do an excellent needle insertion tool which is idiot proof (eg me) at £17.73:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jagwire-Needle-Driver-2-0-Black/dp/B003RLJFZU/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt . Review and more info here: http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/01/05/review-ja/

I’ve also got their hose cutter which is excellent too: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jagwire-Spaceage-Hydraulic-Hose-Cutter/dp/B003RLCB3S/ref=pd_sim_sg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C0P1BPN6MW0VCAHBMPZ . Though the epic one looks like it’ll do just as good a job.

I’ve done quite a few Shimano brakes and can vouch for the Jagwire tools.