Cycling UK Forum

Exactly!
My point was to underscore the mess we’re in here in Britain. While it is true that our manufacturing is doing well. its also true that the bulk of our trade, both domestic and abroad, is bound tightly to the vehicle sector, which currently is in the middle of a battle with regard to the move away from ice to battery power. My suspicion is that the move from ice as part of the move to net zero, will be fraught with difficulties., if not impossible.
This is quite apart from two other factors that raise significant friction points, First there is simply a limit to the number of vehicles you can pour into a fixed road estate. We see signs that we’re near that limit, for example the friction that results from pavement parking and close passes, perceived light sentences handed down to dangerous drivers etc etc.
Second, the continuing expansion of domestic credit that’s used to finance the vehicle sector. Mr Micawber would not be impressed by today's car buying arrangements... It can't last. It's a castle built on sand. Even Volvo is Chinese owned.

Those really interested in their metabolism could do a lot worse than consider the Zoe app (the company's website here).

If I was going to enclose anything, it would be a good quality well oiled chain. Less bother, last for aaaaaages… Job done.

Politeness prevents me from completing the humorous query, to wit:- did you hear about the constipated mathematician…?

I think that's right - we need to regain a sense of identity and common purpose that has somehow got lost in an ugly splurge of deregulation and free market opportunitism. That concept is hugely abstract and I don’t know how you conjure it up. I recall something along those lines, back during the 2012 Olympics but it slipped away like sand through our fingers…

I’m currently plodding my way gloomily through Catastrophe and Systemic Change: Learning from the Grenfell Tower Fire and Other Disasters (Perspectives) by Gill Kernick, a journalist who used to live in the tower, in which we learn that under the current arrangements at least, this sort of ghastly mess and the awful treatment of ordinary people in pursuit of maximum profit, will continue unabated…

…see the pop up vid. bottom R. - Im quite happy with my nano, thanks

There’s a ton of other articles that describe China’s ‘near monopoly’ - whatever that is… in rare earth elements and how it might become critical in the development of all sorts of important technologies. See below for duckduckgo search, filtered for UK / last 30 days.

According to a study from the prestigious Brooking’s Institution, China presently produces some 60% of the world’s rare earth elements and processes 85% of them.

Quote from article in Forbes - see here and another article here…

Lettuce Liz hoisted by the petard she so adored.. That is a super irony, isn’t it?!
But as I’ve pointed out previously, we’re entering a wholey new and different era, where circumstances that are completely beyond our control have become the most significant factors in shaping our economy, both UK and abroad… and most are direct or indirect consequences of climate change.
Examples are: the escalating cost of insurance claims (and therefore premiums) affecting all sorts of essential infrastructure like the cost of food, building projects and travel arrangements. It wont be long till ordinary people won't be able to afford insurance. This has already begun!
The escalating and increasingly unpredictable cost of food due to crop failure. The UK’s farmers and food production are heading for an unprecedented crisis. This has already begun!
The awkward fact that China has a near monopoly of the elements essential for electric car production. We recall that the UK’s busy - some say thriving! manufacturing sector is closely linked to conventional ice vehicle production and the nearer to a deadline for Bev-only, the worse it will be for us… this has already begun…
And that's just for starters. Turn This Ship Around… don't make me laugh!!

Plus 1 for not required. Surely the main advantage of an enclosed chain is that the inherently sticky lubricant it depends on for smooth running is kept free of debris (and trousers...). I don't recall thinking I should have an enclosure when I ran a belt.

And that is not an unreasonable thought… I have a Brompton, also with a nano conversion, and as other Brompton riders will recognise, their shifters are always on the left, along with the bell. I wanted to keep the layout the same across both cycles.
However, I’ve been out on the Moulton today and may have drawn some useful conclusions…

Thanks g. The solution pictured appeals - just a shame that the 11x variant isn't available. I guess the hub just needs too much cable pull.

Good Shout - I’ve not heard of that product, however I see that Shimano make them for practically every gear they’ve ever made - except for the 11x Alfine…!

In my experience, the best shifters for Shimano’s Alfine igh range are from themselves. The jtek lever from SJS is nicely made but is best as originally intended, ie as a bar end shifter on drops and I’m now using flat bars.
So I’m about to fit my shiny new North Road bars & I’m struggling with my options as I really want to move the shifter to the left bar, the space on the R, where it has lived happily for a couple of years being ear-marked for the nano conversion’s thumb throttle.
So today’s $64 Q. is this: does anyone have any experience of moving Shimano’s SL S700 dual trigger shifter from R side to L…?