FatMog

I had a sprint a few years ago and I did manage to fit this type of framelock, but only to the outside of the rear seatstay so it wasn't trapped within the rear triangle: axa click lock The defender type are too big to fit between the battery and the wheel.

Thanks for the link, v.interesting. I want to put some wider tyres on my (non-electric) batavus bike; it currently has 37-622 tyres on it. Unfortunately I cannot find any indication on the rims themselves as to sizing, so I'm going by the link which suggests it would have a 19c rim. As I understand the document I can stick more or less anything I like on it up to 62mm wide, subject to frame and mudguard clearance. Does this sound right? Seems unusually accommodating to me!

Sorry tepol, I misunderstood - I thought you were trying to convert presta to schrader. But you think you have schrader? In which case the pump you linked to will work without an adapter. Compare your bike tyre valve to a car valve, if it's the same it's schrader!

Are you sure you're doing it right? I have a bike with woods valves and use an adapter just like that and it works fine. I must admit, I thought the same adapter did for both woods and presta valves, but I bow to flecc's superior knowledge... either way, when you get the correct adapter it just screws onto the valve with the knurled bit to the bottom, leaving the threaded section on top for plugging into the pump. But don't presta valves need to be unscrewed first to open them before you can inflate the tyre? Found this how to use a presta adapter which might help? ps: most bike pumps come with their own adapter for the pump attachment bit which converts from presta to schrader and back again. I just have the schrader adapter so I can use a car footpump!

For those who live in Bracknell Forest(if there are any!), this form works wonders highway damage form I used after all that snow this winter when potholes were such a problem here, and it was like having your personal pothole-SWAT team. Report it one day, filled in by the next. Fab!

Hi bob_about, I'm with you - When my horse was young and unco-ordinated he occasionally used to over-reach and step on his front heel with his hind foot and cause a fairly nasty wound. But I always used a sanitary pad as a dressing, stuck on with lashings of electrical tape. Worked very well, being clean and absorbent and the "one-way dry-weave topsheet" used to keep any gunge inside so it didn't stick to the wound. We also used contact lens saline as a sterile wound wash, especially for punture wounds and it always seemed fine, unless anyone can tell me otherwise? Try and find the ones without preservative or anything nasty in them. The chemical cold packs (where you pop an internal pouch and mix to generate chill) can be very useful too. But maybe the latter two are a bit cumbersome?

In my opinion, if you don't ask you don't get , and I don't think I've ever offended anyone by suggesting politely that since I was spending a shedload of cash a discount would be very welcome. Some immediately offer a reduced price, some merely say that alas, they cannot. In the latter case it's then up to me to purchase or not as I choose. Obviously it tends to work best on widely available items with a high markup (anything from a jewellers, even high street chains will give you a discount without blinking if you point out there are 3 other shops in town selling the same item, so why should you buy it from them?) but small independent shops are good too especially if you catch them at a slow sales time. February is usually quite dead. On the other hand if you buy something with a limited distribution and a restricted availability (I'm thinking my new dutch pushbike here) there was no sense when in the shop that haggling would work so I didn't even try. I buy software for my company reasonably often and I always ask for a discount due to our charitable status, and I always get it! But I'm sure you know all this already - maybe try for a discount on a 2009 model if you're not fussed about the latest tech?

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the initial sale, the bike in those photos is filthy - it's obviously been ridden. Doesn't this mean that vassilis has de facto accepted the bike? I can't imagine any retailer would accept it back in that state, surely he should have left it in 'as new' condition as soon as he realised it wasn't the model he wanted?

Thanks for checking, James.

slight thread hijack! My lovely new bike arrived today - being dutch it too has nominal '28 inch' wheels with woods valves. It says on the tyres 37-622 28x1.40 and 700x35C. I plan to run it with the woods valves until I get punctures and/or lose patience with them, but I'll get some inner tubes in ready, with nice schrader valves. In my innocence I thought tyres only came in about 3 sizes but a spot of googling reveals the full horror, further compounded by the new bike's continental origins. Anyhow, I'm hoping I've got my head round it, but would someone mind checking if these are the things? Thanks

Thanks for the link, Pete - I've read this before and I feel it's not completely objective. It is, after all, a digest prepared by one man and is coloured by his opinions, although he does strive to be fair. Which is not to say that it doesn't make for interesting and thought-provoking reading, however. And it's the moost comprehensive roundup I've seen so far.

I find it odd that this topic never fails to inspire heated debate . In Britain, as things stand, wearing a cycle helmet is purely a matter of individual choice - I choose to wear one, you might not and that's entirely your business. But I do wish that there was some sound scientific evidence setting out the benefits and disadvantages, and hence a properly designed and publicised standard that we could feel confident offered real protection. Then we could all make an informed choice based a personal risk assessment. Because right now I keep looking at my lightweight (but multi-standard compliant) horse-riding hat and thinking I'd probably be better off in that. Or would I? Who knows? At least in the horse world I know the major differences between the various helmet standards and I know why my hat fails to meet one standard - it's because the air-vents are too big and therefore there is a theoretical risk of impalement injury. This is a risk I choose to take for the sake of a cooler head - but my point is, at least it's an informed choice.

Thanks for the info guys. As to weight, the heaviest thing by miles on my bike is ME! Hence the FatMog.... A few extra kilos is really a drop in the lard-bucket in the overall scheme of things!

I have finally ordered my new bicycle (non-leccy this time, sorry :o ) and am eagerly awaiting it's arrival. But this was a pricey beast so I need a new lock to ensure it stays with me! Being a modern dutch bike it comes with a frame-fitted rear wheel lock for which I can purchase a plug-in chain or cable to secure the front wheel and for use in low risk environments, but I need a new u-lock for leaving it at the station or in town. I was all set to buy this Abus granit X Plus when I started thinking about alarmed locks. I found this Xena XUL210 Bullett u-lock alarm which I thought looked pretty good. Anyone got any experience of bike alarms in general or this in particular? Useful or PITA? Waste of cash or wise investment? Anyone got any favourites to recommend? Thanks in advance...

Recently I sold my e-bike because I couldn't justify the cost of a new battery, but I enjoyed it a lot and it's inspired me to take up conventional cycling with a renewed will. I have to say, I am rather preferring the human-powered bike for a whole variety of reasons (smugness is one!), but the main reason is that I now ride on the cycle paths. My short (7 mile round trip) journey can be undertaken entirely on pedestrian-and-bike paths if I choose, but on the electric bike I moved too fast for these. The pedestrians were a hazard and I got completely frustrated by having to stop and cross a side road every few minutes. So I rode on the road. And it was much better, but on almost every trip I would suffer some form of abuse or intimidation. I reviewed my riiding style but I really couldn't see that I was doing anything wrong other than just being there. And I wouldn't go out at rush hour because it was just no fun. So now I puff along slowly on my push bike, on the cycle path, not minding the brief pause at junctions and enjoying the ambiance on the more rustic parts of my route. And I can go out at whatever time I please, even in the dark. I'm not knocking e-bikes, not at all, I loved mine while I had it, I just think they compound the problems experienced by all cyclists on the road since they move too fast for cycle paths and not fast enough for road traffic. And I cycle purely for fun and exercise, I can afford to take my time or swap into a car whenever I don't feel like it. Obviously others don't have that option - for daily travel there isn't much alternative to the road, and all road users deserve to be safe.