The latest Aldi ones appear to be closer in design to the Moon Nebula. They come with three attachments, a belt clip, a saddle rail clamp, and a rubber strap type for bars and seatposts.

I’m planning to attach mine to my helmet after having seen how effective similar lights are on other riders helmets. Will probably combine the belt clip with a Velcro strap through the rear helmet vents.

Plan to have one light on seatpost, one further up on backpack and one on helmet. If Drivers can’t see that etc…

Here is a link to the Aldi copy of the Moon rear light, which is £12.99: https://www.aldi.co.uk/high-performance-bike-lights-rear/p/080231184023401 . Available in store only now.

Bought one yesterday and the quality is good, comparing favourably with the Moon Nebula that I already have. Plenty of brightness settings so you can dial it in to your preference.

I’ve been using Osram Nightbreaker H7s for a few years now, and they are noticeably brighter than the old school halogen types, and produce a whiter light. The only downside I’ve noticed – apart from the cost – is that they have a shorter life.

Re Screwdrivers I had some Park ones which were poor, but have since bought a Wera set which are excellent by comparison and a JIS screwdriver by Vessel which properly fits Shimano gear adjustment screws.

Known that Richmond Park has issues with Lyme disease bearing ticks. The deer are carriers of the disease apparently and the ticks transfer it from deer to humans when they bite. There are signs about the risk of Lymes Disease posted in the Park.

Before you start bending the discs, worth checking for any lateral play in the wheel bearings. This would make the whole wheel move slightly from side to side as you’re riding and cause the disc to rub against the caliper.

I had this once on a Shimano cup and cone rear bearing. Initially I tried to cure the disc rubbing by realigning the caliper (many times to no avail) and even tried bending the disc, before I realised the problem was caused by play in the wheel bearing.

As per Slowster’s post stick with the Shimano UN55. If you don’t have anything suitable to drive the Weldtite tool’s 32mm then the cheapest option is probably a 32mm socket such as this one which is £1.72 from B&Q:
http://www.diy.com/departments/mac-allister-1/2-drive-socket-32mm/674069_BQ.prd

This does of course assume that you have a 1/2″ drive ratchet or similar already. If not then a spanner is probably a cheaper option.

Re tools, as Slowster says there are cheaper versions than Park, so you may wish to save yourself a few quid particularly as you’ll be using the tools very infrequently. The following two tools should be of sufficient quality for the job and come in at a fraction under £10, including free postage if you buy them together

CRC sell a Weldtite version of the Shimano bottom bracket fit/removal tool for £5.99:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/weldtite-shimano-bottom-bracket-cartridge-tool/rp-prod86711

…and CRC also sell an X-Tools version of the crank puller for £3.99:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/x-tools-crank-extractor/rp-prod10181

I ordered a load of Fox suspension service bits from them last month and had no problems.

You can also fit small emergency items inside the handlebar: zip ties, chain links, small section of chain, spare gear cable (folded), tyre boots and patches. All taped to a long zip tie or a bit of string that you pull out of the end of the bar. Works best with lock on grips which remove easily for access.

For the rest, multi tool in shorts pocket (Topeak Hexus which incorporates a chain tool and tyre levers), small pump on frame with clips that attach to the bottle cage, and spare tube taped under the saddle

Shimano XT 3×9 on two bikes here and plenty of spares to carry on for a good while. Works very well, I like the close ratios, chainlines not too twisty, and I like the range of gears on offer. In partiular the top gear (44t I think) for the faster tarmac bits which I think I would miss with other set ups.

One of the things I would look for if I were buying a new shock pump is the ability for it not to allow air to escape from the shock as you unscrew it. I recall this was the claim once made by Topeak for one/some of its shock pumps (or at least to minimise the pressure loss on removal).

I currently have a Specialized one which is about 10 years old and this pressure loss is the main annoyance for me. I’ve just stuck with the pump but over-inflate then use a pressure gauge to release a air and set the final pressure when I want to be super accurate and need a repeatable figure.

It’s good having a very accurate gauge on the pump but if it all goes to pot when you remove the pump from the valve it’s a bit of a waste of money if you’re paying a premium for it.

Madness on wheels by the BBC: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xty1w4_bbc-madness-on-wheels-rallying-s-craziest-years_shortfilms

A great one hour documentary on the Group B years of the eighties.

I use an old iPhone 4. It’s in a Quad Lock case and mount bought used off eBay. Works very well for my needs and I wouldn’t be too distraught if it broke in a crash compared to using my main phone.

The key issue is battery life of the phone which is nowhere near as good as dedicated GPS units so you’ll need to add a supplementary USB power supply. I use one of the Gum+ ones but there are plenty of others makes out there like Anker etc.

It’s a good way to make use of something that would lie disregarded in a drawer. Plenty of cycling GPS apps out there depending on phone and operating system vintage.

Hermes are very poor indeed. Recently had a delivery which took over a week, when they advertise a 2 day service. Tracking showed package sat at senders local Hermes depot for seven days. In the end they delivered it to the wrong address when I was in and waiting. Tracking showed it had b en delivered to my address and had been signed for. I got it the next day when it was dropped off by a neighbour.

Contacting them is like bashing your head against a brick wall. All you are told is to wait another 24hrs for the tracking to update. Complete disconnect fbetween their ‘agents’ taking questions and what is happening on the ground. i had six different delivery dates from the online tracking while waiting. Made it very difficult to make arrangements to take delivery. Package had also taken a beating in transit.

In future I will check with sender which delivery service they intend to use and if it’s Hermes then I’ll give it a miss unless they can provide a better operator. Parcel force or DPD seem to be the ones to go for. You get what you pay for.

Thanks OP – shorts ordered.

You may get some people coming on here recommending a Topeak Hexus.

I’ll get in first with a +1

Hermes tracking has just put my delivery back a further day to Tuesday.

This is supposed to be a two day service. They’ve had the package since Wednesday and had already put it back from Friday to Monday.

The delay is bad enough, but it’s the shifting date which is causing real problems re making arrangements for someone to be in to accept delivery.

Avoid.

Waiting for a Hermes delivery which this morning was showing online as due today (in line with their two day service) but on checking just now it’s been put back to Monday.

Hermes, you’re an absolute shower.

If you’re after the same lightness as when eating pizza out, one of the key advantages they have is a very high cooking temperature. Most domestic ovens max out at around 250C, so do not even start to approach commercial pizza ovens which exceed 350C, or traditional wood fired ovens.

When you couple this lower cooking temperature with lots of soggy ingredients and maybe oil in the dough this can lead to a denser more chewy experience, which has its merits imo but is not the proper article.

Don’t get me started on the pizza dipping heathens on the other thread :-)

See my post from a couple of hours ago here:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/skipping-drivetrain

EDIT – Aha! I see you mention checked alignment. As you were…

Once you’ve tried the sugestions above, and if you still find you have issues, a common problem is a bent mech hanger. If this is the case even if you replace the entire gearset and follow the indexing instructions to the letter it still won’t shift properly.

You can get the hanger realigned in a bike shop or buy a hanger realignment tool like these and do it yourself:

X- Tools £31.99 – http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/x-tools-pro-gear-hanger-alignment-tool/rp-prod122319

Park Tool £54.99 – http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/park-tool-derailleur-hanger-alignment-gauge-2-2/rp-prod149800

Video on how to use them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0oOwyqubh4

Bent mech hangers are quite common and occur even with brand new out of the box bikes. Some of the better shops will automatically check gear hangers when they assemble all new bikes for customers.

I use an old Iphone 4 with a Quad Lock mount. Plenty of apps that will do the navigation job you want in addition to Google maps. The issue with using a phone of any sort as a sat nav and having the screen on full time is short battery life. Garmin devices are designed to last ages on a charge.

I have a USB power pack plugged in to the phone to extend battery life and it’s good enough for all day rides. It’s a Gum one but there are plenty of others of varying sizes on the market, which you can secrete anywhere on the bike that’s convenient and out of the way with a suitable length cable into the phone.

These were all things I had lying about already, apart from the Quad Lock mount which was a second hand ebay purchase.

For the bike: a quality set of hex/allen keys with ball ends, that don’t round out the bolt heads.

General tools: a circular saw with a guide – like this:
https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Festool-Hk55-Ebq-Plus-Fs-4014549256121-240V-Circular-Saw-And-Guide-Rail-In-Systainer

Saw locks into the guide rail and you can get very accurate cuts, even accurately shaving off slivers when you need to take off a milimetre or two.

Haven’t heard from the OP for a while….

Has anyone tried out of date goose fat? There’s a lot of it about apparently :-)

How out of date is it and is the date ‘best before’ or ‘use by’?

If it’s ‘best before’ and only a few weeks out then go for it.

They seem to take Apple Pay: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/other-methods-of-contactless-payment/apple-pay?cid=applepay

Could be what you’re after. Don’t use it myself so can’t advise.

You can use a bog standard contactless credit card as a pay as you go on Underground and buses. Has the same daily cap arrangements as an Oyster.

You need to pay a deposit for an Oyster card and load it up with sufficient funds. With a credit card you just use it as you need it with no deposit or prepayment/loading required. No need to register the credit card either.

NB don’t forget to tap out at destination station even if the gates are open or you’ll be charged the top fare for the route.

From what I recall a fair amount of Wimbledon Common’s paths/tracks are off limits to cyclists – enough for me to not bother going there again.

Richmond and Bushy Parks are better bets imo. Possible to link all three in a day by using the Thames Path to link Richmond and Bushy parks, and by leaving Richmond Park at Robin Hood Gate and crossing the A3 (there is a traffic light controlled crossing by the Robin Hood exit) straight into Wimbledon Common.

EDIT – There is also the Thames Path itself which can be a nice all-dayer. Thames Path Westbound: Putney > Barnes > Kew > Richmond > Teddington > Kingston > Hampton Court > Sunbury > Walton > Shepperton > Chertsey > Laleham > Staines > Runnymeade > Windsor.

Seamus – :-o
Freester – any contributions welcome

Carbon fibre assembly paste 10g for £3.89 (free p&p):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/weldtite-TF2-Carbon-Fibre-Gripper-Paste-Carbon-Fiber-10g-pack-/152292435284?hash=item2375562554:g:0qsAAOSw4DJYgj0o

Larger tubes are better value in the long run however (£6.49 for a 50g tube on CRC).

For the sake if a few quid you have peace of mind…

We all speak like that down south ;-)

Was having some issues with inconsistent shifting performance, and playing around with cable tension etc to no avail led to plenty of head scratching. After reading this post decided to invest in a Park alignment gauge and it’s done the trick. The hanger wasn’t out by much so couldn’t really notice the problem before.

Gear hangers can get knocked about when transporting in the car as well as when riding so I see this as a good long term investment (at least that’s what I’m telling myself).

One of the problems with rechargeable lights is that water gets past the small rubber flap that covers and seals the USB charging port.

You may wish to apply some silicone grease on this area to help the flap seal properly and keep the water out. Not too much – avoid getting it on the USB socket contacts. The stuff I use is in a tube from Maplin and is very sticky so helps the flap stay shut.

Why take a chance with the Heath Robisnon methods and risk ruining your new frame? Buy a proper press if you think you’re going to get some future use out of it or take it to a bike shop where they will fit it for you for a nominal fee.

Here are some user experiences of the A2Z mount which will give you an idea of what to look out for when fitting:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/a2z-retrofit-disc-brake-adapters
http://forums.mtbr.com/brake-time/a2z-universal-adapter-problem-experienced-solutions-548968.html

Looks like you may need to do some fettling depending on the shape of your dropout, particularly if it isn’t flat. Looks like a handy solution though.

This one comes with a full set of bits. Will do everything you need at the lower torque range (2-24NM):
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essential-torque-wrench-set/

I’ve had one for a few years and built up a few bikes with various carbon components.

How old is the battery OP?

If it’s over 4 years old (depending on the type of battery) I’d put my money on it having reached the end of its useful life. They ususally throw in the towel in these cold winter temperatures.

Even if you get it going with a jump start or similar it will soon let you down again as it’s lost the ability to hold charge. Best change it asap.

As others have said you might wish to check it over with a multi-meter to be sure.

+1 for Auto Glym car glass polish.

I wouldn’t risk it with my car bodywork polish or T-cut, which are designed for paint. Could ruin the glass.