Also if an alloy says it is load rated for a t5 is that going to be good enough for a camper van.

I think that might be the problem. When we bought the van it was not converted so the bmw were probably fine. Didnt think about the wheels when we got it converted. They don’t look as good but maybe vw oem wheels are the way to go. Question is are all vw van wheels ok for converted campers and the extra weight.

Well I do use it as my every day car so it looks like 17″ wheels might be the way to go. Not massive fan of the steel wheels so maybe some oem alloys might be the way to go.

I did wonder if the tyres might be a bit of a boy racer profile as they are BMW wheels. What profile would be better suited to a camper van?

Pressure gauge is accurate as I have checked in a couple of garages. Current tyres have a max pressure of 49psi so currently can’t go any higher.

The plate in the van gives pressures around 40 to 45 psi but for different tyre profiles. I will have a look at what they are but none are for 18″ wheels. they are also for the T5 as a van and not a camper van which is quite a lot heavier.

I also needed to get tyres in a hurry and out of 10 garages I rang all said my current profile of 235/50 R18 W was rare and they would have to order them in. Luckily one place had some. As it is a camper I would much prefer to have a standard profile so if I ever need one in the far flung parts of the UK or Europe I am not stuck waiting.

Personally I have always found the various hook methods a pain in the arse as bikes always seem to clash each other even when you stagger the height or top and tail them. I saw these

on Kickstarter a few months back and as they kick the wheel and bars to the side look they might be a goer. Very expensive and the project didn’t get funding but I am thinking of copying the design a bit and seeing if I can make a few up for the new shed.

I would think that a 15 stone person bouncing up and down on a Reverb in all manner of directions as they hurtle down a hill would put far more strain on a seatpost than any crossbar and force by fitting it to a car rack. I can’t believe the the 2 forces would even be in the same ball park.

New boiler fitting is a complete rip off. They always install in a day so at most labour should be £250 ( that’s a good day rate ). God knows why it is always nearer £1000. We paid £2300 for local plumber to fit a decent sized boiler for 4 bedroom house.

See it’s people buying 30 frames that will cause a flag on their system or just when they go to ship them the packing staff will question the order. When does anyone order 30 frame from Halfords.

Sorry I should say the axle just wont go through the bearings.

Hi all thanks for the info. I thought as much. They certainly don’t make things easy to upgrade without spending a ton. Surprised there are no 3rd party alternatives yet as £17 for a cable and £60 far a charger really is taking the p*ss.

13thfloormonk Funny really as I would never buy cup and cone wheels as I have spent far to many hours as a youth adjusting the bloody things and ripping my knuckles to bits.

Ok so apart from the marketing, branding, geekiness, diminishing returns, bold new graphics etc. etc. elements

The extra cost of say a set of Carbon Enve wheels if for stiffness and aero. Apart from stupidly expensive forks that Fox invented, wheels seem to be one of the only other parts whose price has skyrocketed in the last few years. Maybe I need to ride a set of super stiff wheels to see the difference over a standard set. I always thought with wheels that weight was the killer thing along with the right durability for your weight.

How about a toaster that doesn’t burn or that actually fits bread you slice at home?

Oh also, it hacks me off all the people that expect free content and complain that they can’t afford it. Oh but they have the latest iPhone, designer bags, sky tv, beers out with the lads, latest clothes, summer holiday abroad, new car, etc, etc. If you can’t afford it then you can’t have it, thats life!! It is not a human right to be able to watch TV

We probably could get away without paying for a licence but CBeebies is a life saver and other radio and TV BBC content is generally bloody amazing. Happy to pay for a license as we use it so much and when you stop and think abut it, it is certainly worth the money. Compare it to 12 month sky subscription fee. Licence fee is a bargain.

Whats the online banking like with coop?

Bloody awful, like from the 1990’s. I am with the Coop and would switch if I could be bothered. Again it all depends on what you are going to use it for. We do lots of currency transactions and would love to have a $ account with internet banking alongside our other accounts but this seem a technology marvel for most banks.

Price wise they all rip you off at every point they can. Coop are one of the cheapest along with Santander and few other ex building societies.

Funnily enough I was searching my emails yesterday for this as I am sure I had an email from them a few weeks ago. However can’t find any reference. May be I saw an ad in an old magazine.

Should say, slightly skewed as I have used Tesco club card points at Evans so the Caad12 has only cost £1300 + I should get another £60 cashback through Quidco

Now the question is how much is a Shimano BR785/505 Hydraulic Disc and shifter setup with 105 mechs worth?

Cheers all, I have plumped for the Cannondale Caad12 disc 105 as I love my Caad10 frame and it fits brilliantly. All in it should hopefully not costs me much following the upgrade and the sale of the bits I take off and the sell. (Well thats the plan) Have to say it shows there are some cracking deals out there.

Not bothered about guard mounts as I use SKS Raceblades which work brilliantly. I want discs as calliper brakes and rain just don’t mix and are bloody terrible in my option. Got a hydro disc Di2 groupset at a good price and want to try all the latest kit and tech.

Those Bowman bikes look really good and well thought out.

I should have been clearer I have Ultegra Di2 and the 785 STIs with the hydraulic reservoirs. So all should be fine. Thanks for checking davosaurusrex

Yes I have a full Di2 hydro groupset with shifters. Should then be able to upgrade and sell the 105 hydro groupset. Thats the plan

That Focus looks pretty tidy!!

What gas fire is it as I might be interested?

It’s like a Big Mac. If you eat them once in a while then it is fine, Its the nobs that eat them every day and wonder why they get fat. Coke might have loads of sugar in but then so does lots of so called healthy drinks like fruit juice. The big problem is that people are just so thick now and do not seem to have any common sense when it comes to food and drink.

I had a Cannondale itch a few years back as have never owned one and ended up buying a Caad10 road bike. I think it is the best bike I have ever owned and I have had a fair few. It just feels and fits right.

Guys, this is bullshit bingo not a political discussion, go to the other thread for that. Don’t just slag people off as we all have certain views and likes and dislikes. Show me the BULLSHIT!!

We have been burgled a few times and now I think well placed CCTV is the answer as it gives the police at least something to go on. When we were burgled the police had a fair idea of who would have been involved. Basically they know all the criminals in an area and just need evidence to arrest them. CCTV gives them that.

CCTV is cheap now and so are basic DIY alarms. Pisser that you have to have any of this in the first place.

P.S. Could I have a completely unbiased view of the reasons for the dispute.

After listening to hours of news reports and reading the papers over the last few months, I still don’t understand what the dispute is all about.

To me what the government says it wants to do all makes sense, i.e. their aims. Apart from the bit that they want services 7 days a week but on the same budget. I guess spreading services over 7 days and not 5 is possible as the demand is the same but you treat patients over more days, however I am sure its si not as simple as that. In addition the doctors are only one tiny part of the NHS and actually you need all the nurses, X ray staff, lab tech, etc to be working 7 days and the costs associated with that.

What I don’t really get is the the BMA side. They say its is all about patient safety but if that is the case why is not every other person in the NHS striking as well. Would it not also effect the consultants the nurses, etc, etc. If it really is all about safety then wouldn’t it be the duty of any and every professional person in the NHS to strike as well.

To me on the outside it really does just look like doctors not wanting or liking to be told what to do and wrapping it up in the patient safety argument. If not why are all the other NHS staff not supporting them as well and as equally alarmed about patient safety.

To be honest Wiggle are good for road bike stuff and crap for mountain bike, whereas Chain Reaction are good for mountain but crap for road. Not sure why. Maybe by combining they can turn into a real world wide force.

The big shame is that somewhere lots of people will be losing their jobs. They won’t be keeping two warehouse structures in place for long. If so much of their business is overseas then it will be the Northern Ireland business closing as Wiggles new warehouse is much closer to international airports and therefore cheaper shipping rates.

Bloody annoying. I am after a CAAD10 Disc frame. Really excited when I saw the Evans deal, bargain. What size do I need 60cm, what is the only size they don’t have 60cm !!!! Argh Have a Di2 disc groups ready to go on a frame and that would have been perfect.

To be fair to them, look at the helmet on the banner ad to the left and top of your screen for issue 103 of Singletrack. The HeadKayse has a ton more ventilation than that white helmet. I don’t think it would make a good serious helmet but then thats not what it’s designed for. The folding aspect I think is just an result of the design but I would actually find the folding part quite handy for commuting.

Its more that when I commute my helmet gets knocked about all day as I am out and about taking it on and off between meetings. There have been a couple of times when I have had to chuck helmets that have developed cracks in the polystyrene without any noticeable crashes or hits. Just long term damage from day to day use. My view changed after a crash a couple of years ago at fairly low speed where my newish helmet was smashed to pieces. Dread to think what would have happened if it’s strength was compromised in some way.

Can’t you just use a bluetooth receiver like this for £12

http://www.amazon.co.uk/JUSTOP-BTR006-Bluetooth-Wireless-Universal/dp/B005NDDEVQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1454942098&sr=8-7&keywords=amazon+bluetooth+receiver

This would plug into your line in which you iPod is currently using, but could you not just transfer all you iPod music to your phone. It would then be powered from the USB port.

To me this sounds to simple so am I missing something?

There aren’t any aftermarket versions due to the magsafe plug patent. I have tried a couple of eBay ones and they were terrible. Truly a fire waiting to happen.

5thElefant – Member
If they paid more tax they’d pass the bill on to me. And you.

Totally disagree as the if they increased prices then they would have to pay more tax. In addition the price of a product is defined by the market and that is made up of onshore and offshore companies. If the likes of Starbucks put up their prices then people would buy more coffee at Costa.

I agree that the tax system is stupidly complicated and should be simplified.

What I really hate is how aggressively HRMC goes after the little man but not the big boys.

The other really interesting phenomenon is how we all despise what Google, Facebook, Starbucks, Twitter, Apple, Amazon, etc are doing by not paying enough tax, but we still buy their products and services at ever increasing levels.

Just think how many more hospital beds, police officers, teachers, etc we could have if all these multinationals paid the same level of tax that you and I do. We know this but we still buy their products. If everyone in the UK boycotted Amazon for a week or probably even a day they would very swiftly change their company setup and pay more tax.

At the end of the day Google and the other multinationals are never going to pay more than they have to. Why would they. In the same way I employ an accountant to do my company tax. The issue really is that it has been clear or should have been clear to HMRC and therefore the government, for a long time that some very large companies were doing a lot of business in the UK and then not paying much tax.

The government has had years and years and years to try and sort this out and if needed get any international agreements. Funny how David Cameron can renegotiate the terms of our EU membership in the space of a year but this tax issue has dragged on for for so long.

HMRC should have a team of people whose only job is to monitor how society and business is changing and whether the tax rules need to change. This should be reported to government on a regular basis so any changes can be made to the law. This is not rocket science and it is the type of things that business do all day long. Fundamentally we are a rich country and HMRC want an easily life. They are not incentivised to gather as much tax as possible so why make life difficult by chasing big companies that have teams of the best accountants and lawyers.

Personally I think all of this is not the fault of companies like Google but the incompetence of HMRC and successive governments.

I have always found it odd in this country that we pay estate agents (professionals) to sell our house but don’t use a professional when we are buying. Largest financial outlay ever and no professional help. When we make any other financial decision such as a pension, isa, etc we are always told to see a professional.

If you can fix a puncture on your bike or connect up a tv to PS3, etc then a washing machine is easy. For some reason there is a long run perception that a plumber is needed for a washing machine like they are some complicated thing. My mum is moving house and adamant she needs a plumber. As long as the pipe work is in place then takes 15 minutes including having a cup of tea.