Thanks @Thrustyjust. Unsubscribe link doesn’t display on my Mac. Looking at the source code of the email I can see the unsubscribe link should show up just after their address. I copied the URL and pasted it into my web browser. Hopefully I’m off the list now!

I guess he means this, or similar: Gear Up Grandstand Single Bike Floor Stand[/url]

Thanks for that MrFannay. Yes, I keep looking at them and thinking how small they look. But from the side you can see that the boot is the thick end of the wedge. Nice design.

Bit of research reveals that I like the 2006 – 2011 8th generation FK / FN chasis. Seems it is a bit shorter than the super-capacious EP3, but still good. Has the same fold flat seats and hidden boot floor storage.

Cheers chaps. Oh, and I won’t be buying a new one!

Edit: Ah, I mean I won’t be buying a new new one. I am, however, thinking of the old new one with the split rear screen, and not the old old one.

Well that is very suggestive, but there isn’t zero doubt. You could have keylogger malware on your PC.

Never send credit card details by email. It is not secure. It is like writing them on a postcard and posting it.

Why can’t he just ride properly?

When I looked at the Thorn Raven it's tyre clearance wasn't very good, but they may have changed the design since then.

They are neater than HT2. Since the connector is in the middle of the BB, making them narrower at the BB, giving better ankle clearance.

Easy to do on a fixie, but you're unscrewing the sprocket with your pedalling force, so you're relying on the lock ring to keep it on (which is probably a bigger problem than the pedal threads mentioned above).

Sheldon Brown did it on one of his bikes, I think.

Just building up my first Campagnolo darkside machine, and noticed that the splines on a Campag freehub are much deeper. Apparently they don't get notched.

The information is here on bikeforall.net on their very useful web page on cycling and the law. Here are the relevant paragraphs:

On 1st August 1999, new legislation came into force to allow a fixed penalty notice to be served on anyone who is guilty of cycling on a footway. However the Home Office issued guidance on how the new legislation should be applied, indicating that they should only be used where a cyclist is riding in a manner that may endanger others. At the time Home Office Minister Paul Boateng issued a letter stating that:

"The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required."

Almost identical advice has since been issued by the Home Office with regards the use of fixed penalty notices by 'Community Support Officers' and wardens.

"CSOs and accredited persons will be accountable in the same way as police officers. They will be under the direction and control of the chief officer, supervised on a daily basis by the local community beat officer and will be subject to the same police complaints system. The Government have included provision in the Anti Social Behaviour Bill to enable CSOs and accredited persons to stop those cycling irresponsibly on the pavement in order to issue a fixed penalty notice.

I should stress that the issue is about inconsiderate cycling on the pavements. The new provisions are not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of the traffic, and who show consideration to other road users when doing so. Chief officers recognise that the fixed penalty needs to be used with a considerable degree of discretion and it cannot be issued to anyone under the age of 16. (Letter to Mr H. Peel from John Crozier of The Home Office, reference T5080/4, 23 February 2004)

poppa said: I remember hearing that decaf coffee is carcinogenic from somewhere, but I can't remember where – that's why I tend to avoid it. Anyone confirm?

Dichloromethane was a solvent used for decaffeination in the 1970s, but its use was suspended since it is a suspected human carcinogen.

These days coffee is decaffeinated by either the "Swiss Water Process", or by using supercritical carbon dioxide (which is better since it affects the coffee less). Neither is carcinogenic.

Boardman CX Pro – has rack and mudguard fittings.

I'd rather this wasn't mentioned in the news. It will give people ideas.

I'm addicted to merino. I find a merino top is fine for a week (200 km) of commuting without a wash.

If you find merino itchy, you've bought cheap stuff.

Your cranks are 170mm, compared to a 311mm radius wheel, which is 1.8 times the leverage. Then you're going through a gearing system, say if you're using a 70 inch gear, that's another 2.5 times the leverage. Using the wheel as a lever, you'd have a total of 4.6 times the amount of force. Are your legs really capable of applying 4 and a half times as much force as your arms? That may be true, although I'm not 100% sure of it. Using your arms would have a bonus in that it would be a nice smooth application of force, so you're much less likely to break things either – like when you use a scaffold pipe to remove stuck cranks, it always seems much less bad for them than using a hammer on the allen key.

I think the 70 inch gear = 2.5 times the leverage bit is wrong. You need a smaller chainring to get more torque. A bigger gear amplifies distance travelled, not force.

I'm pretty sure that the rider on rollers on a fixie would not be able to turn the wheel if someone is holding it. But the rider will be able to stand on the pedal and get his whole weight on it, so will have more force than you can get through your arms. Someone needs to test it!

I friend of mine said that the Kenda Small block 8 are ment to be really good.

But don't consider them unless it is bone dry. I haven't had a puncture yet on my (tubed) Ralphs, but had 3 punctures during one ride with Small Block 8s. Mud sticks to the Small Block 8s, then flints get pushed through since they have no puncture protection.

Classic has a shoulder pad for a courier bag. I think it is more suited for city riding.

I'm plenty warm enough in a lightweight with a merino wool baselayer all through the winter.

I bought a couple of the early editions, but was disappointed with the quality of some of the photos, which were like they had printed using the low-res on screen DTP preview.

If your new headset develops a bit of play, it is likely that the bearings have just bedded in and re-adjusting the tension will fix it permanently.

If, on the other hand, your headset keeps coming loose, then there is something wrong!

I love mine – on an Inbred with Rohloff specific sliding dropouts. On steep ascents I find it much easier to hunt up and down through the gears than with a derailleur setup. There is no chain-slap on descents.

I think some of the "drag" is psychological. You have gear teeth meshing together inside the hub, which you don't have in a derailleur system, and which can give an unfamiliar "rubbing" sensation through the pedals. Yes, gear 7 is less efficient. But I found a German website where efficiency was compared to a (clean) 27 speed derailleur setup, and it varies with the ratios as to whether the Roholoff or derailleur is more efficient (since the derailleur gets less efficient when the chain is more crossed). Gear 4 is very efficient, and is a great climbing gear on my bike with 38×16.

Oh, and I find the gaps between the gears are fine. I always know that when the going gets tough, the next gear down will make it easier.

And it is the one gear system which actually gets better with use!

You could be too fit. As I get fitter my blood pressure drops, so I feel light headed if I get up suddenly.

Carrera Subway a bit heavy and pedestrian, I think.

Marin Corte Madera might be an option. Was thinking of 26″ wheels because clearance for fat tyres is more likely to be possible, and they are a bit stronger than 700c.

Yes, cyclo-cross bike an option, but I’m not aware of any flat barred ones in the price bracket.

Thanks, I had checked the Decathlon range, but they all have cheap + heavy suspension forks.

So it seems to me that what I’m describing is an old-skool mountain bike. There are a few “urban MTBs” which are similar. There is the Revolution Courier Womens – which is £200 below budget. There is the Canondale Bad Boy – but it doesn’t have rack mounts and probably doesn’t come small enough. Marin Muirwoods looks good, but I don’t know if the 17″ frame will be small enough.

Maybe I should find a second hand MTB frame and build it up? But might be tricky to find in the right size.

Plunge hands one after the other into a tray of heated sand. Saw that in a Bruce Lee film, so it must work.

Mine are the right way up, and almost flat. My saddle is higher than the bars though – you probably want to angle them further back as the bars get higher relative to the saddle.

Light weight rack and a very nice Arkel rack-top-bag. Can take enough supplies for a long ride unsupported.

I’d like to buy a fancier road bike, but 99.9999% of them don’t have rack mounts.

If he wins an insane number of stages then he’ll get the green jersey…

I have read that unlike clinchers, and like tubulars, road tubeless deflates slower when punctured and stays on the rim.

There’s practically no choice of road tubeless tyres at the moment. Two models from Hutchinson are available to buy (Fusion-2 and Atom). Their Intensive 700×28 model, as used at Paris Roubaix, is not in the shops.

Ah, OK. Yes, I was thinking that the force clamping the wheel in place would bend the dropout in one direction and hold it there. So, yes, a different mechanism to a bent axle.

Looks to me like the diameter of the nut on the hub was larger than the flat area of the dropout. This could exert a twisting force on the dropout causing fatigue and failure in the same way brant suggested if the axle was bent.

I have 100 mm Odurs. I wanted forks that would work and last with minimal faff. I think they’re great.

(MrNutt – you can’t use any air in them – they are a coil fork.)

I love Mary Bars. As I grasp my handgrips my wrists do not flex left or right. When riding I don’t think about them at all.

I’m very comfy on my 58 cm wide On-One Midges!

Van Halen: in some instances it can be dangerous for kids to cycle and this is not the only school to take this stance.

without knowing the school and the road and access problems you cant really comment.

Looking on Google Maps it doesn’t look that bad. Even appears to be a stretch of decent cycle path nearby.

Why doesn’t he just lock his bike up outside the school gates?

I cut through a carbon steerer tube with the help of a cutting guide.

Wrapping tape round it, which you then cut through, could be useful.

I don’t think there is much danger of causing delamination. There is plenty of filler in seatposts and steerer tubes between the fibres. I bought the hacksaw blade with the highest TPI in my local hardware shop, which should also help. And there was very little dust, which didn’t get suspended in the air. It is not like using a power tool.

I finished by smoothing the cut end with some emery paper.