I notice too what appears to be a clutch kit at £12
Has anyone experience of these?
Search found 7673 matches
- 1 Apr 2024, 3:46pm
- Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
- Topic: Brompton / nano motor replacement
- Replies: 1
- Views: 81
- 1 Apr 2024, 3:32pm
- Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
- Topic: Brompton / nano motor replacement
- Replies: 1
- Views: 81
Brompton / nano motor replacement
After 8 years of fairly regular use, the clutch in my ‘leccy Brompton motor (converted by nano) has failed. I’ve considered several options and one that’s tempting is to buy an inexpensive replacement off of AliExpress. Does anyone have experience of such motors? I see there’s several that’d suit the Brompton and its fork. See example pictured
- 31 Mar 2024, 6:33pm
- Forum: The Tea Shop
- Topic: Ever changing building reg.s
- Replies: 5
- Views: 264
Re: Ever changing building reg.s
Thanks.
- 31 Mar 2024, 8:35am
- Forum: The Tea Shop
- Topic: Ever changing building reg.s
- Replies: 5
- Views: 264
Re: Ever changing building reg.s
Actually, I think I’ve just answered my own Q. ie the boiler is of the ‘room sealed, fan assisted’ type and as such, if correctly installed, gets all the air it needs from outside, via a two way duct. I’ll tell me neighbour - I’m sure he’ll be pleased
- 31 Mar 2024, 8:15am
- Forum: The Tea Shop
- Topic: Ever changing building reg.s
- Replies: 5
- Views: 264
Ever changing building reg.s
Simple Q for those in the know. The condensing gas boilers in our modern apartment block (went up in 2013) are all situated in a hallway cupboard in each of our flats. My neighbour insists that the cupboard doors should all have a vent, whereas I see the fact that none of them do as proof that he’s probably wrong. But I can see his point… unless the boilers use a two way duct. is there anyone out there who happens to know why we have no vents?
- 30 Mar 2024, 8:49pm
- Forum: Health and fitness
- Topic: Of mice and men
- Replies: 3
- Views: 258
Re: Of mice and men
Blessed are the Meek for they shall Inherit the Earth. Squeak squeak…
- 30 Mar 2024, 12:10pm
- Forum: Cycling Goods & Services - Your Reviews
- Topic: Leatherman skeletool
- Replies: 3
- Views: 392
Re: Leatherman skeletool
Yes, the Topeak is hard to beat for everyday carry.
- 28 Mar 2024, 8:05am
- Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
- Topic: Custom Storage
- Replies: 15
- Views: 744
Re: Custom Storage
I bought a Sheffield stand and cemented it the garden, however much depends on the levels of bike crime in your neighbourhood, I suppose… In my wanderings round town, I’ve seen all sorts of small garden bike sheds, some obviously home made and others, mostly metal, that look shop bought.
- 26 Mar 2024, 7:35pm
- Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
- Topic: "Why is the right at war with cyclists?... "
- Replies: 27
- Views: 1639
Re: "Why is the right at war with cyclists?... "
I’m sure it should be possible to weight the two groups using some sort of scoring method, that takes everything into account to produce an overall Goodness Score you know, concrete things like damage to road infrastructure, cost to NHS, carbon footprint, days benefitting employers due to fitness and well-being - all the metrics we’ve read about over the years, as well as things harder to measure, like happiness and positivity.
And we all know that the poor old motorist will score very badly indeed with the exception of a handful of measures, such as contributing to gdp due to millions of pounds of vehicle sales, keeping the finance industry afloat on account of ditto and maybe, just maybe, range of individual journies - potentially hundreds of miles per journey, roadworks allowing .
So perhaps they hate us so ‘cos they are sore losers?
And we all know that the poor old motorist will score very badly indeed with the exception of a handful of measures, such as contributing to gdp due to millions of pounds of vehicle sales, keeping the finance industry afloat on account of ditto and maybe, just maybe, range of individual journies - potentially hundreds of miles per journey, roadworks allowing .
So perhaps they hate us so ‘cos they are sore losers?
- 26 Mar 2024, 3:34pm
- Forum: The Tea Shop
- Topic: Heat in the home
- Replies: 2297
- Views: 134889
Re: Heat in the home
I can see why you might infer that I apportion ‘blame, or ‘fault’ but the situation is perhaps more complex than I managed to describe, thus far. If we unpack it all a bit, my point may become clearer.
It’s a simple statement of fact that private companies are in business to make profit, by definition. PPI & PFI arrangements do nothing to change this basic tenet. Modern business forces have resulted in large corporations dominating certain markets. Power suppliers are a notable example. The Big Six are multi-nationals, with complex ownership, often overseas - EDF UK for example is wholely owned by the French state.
As is common knowledge, in the case of those private companies that took the place of public utilities, the risk that these companies would act largely in favour of their business beneficiaries - their executives and shareholders, as opposed to their customers - was supposed to be managed by so-called regulators, Ofthis, Ofthat & Oftheother… however it's generally accepted that this doesn't work properly.
Once we accept that power supply companies are, literally, in business to maximise their profits for the benefit of their shareholders & board, we can see that they might - indeed must - pursue practices which further that aim. Thus, it makes little sense to roll out a metering system that risks their customers saving money, ie being charged less for the same product. Far better to continue to distribute a system that has weaknesses and may not work to deliver the promised and profit-threatening dynamic billing.
Now I’m not for a moment suggesting this was a deliberate policy, but rather a symptom of weak legislation and/or regulation. The fact is that the technology behind the sundry iterations of smart metering was known to be insufficiently reliable for years - the first examples didn't even manage to provide signal continuity if the customer 'switched' - and let's recall that switching was something we're supposedly encourged to consider... The numbers of faulty meters installed in domestic homes since the start of the project has been steadily rising, year on year. The whole industry has known about that since the get go. From a business point of view, there's zero incentive for the companies to fix the situation and all but no reaction from the regulator.
So, to return to your question - who to blame? Well, here’s a selection of potential culprits for your consideration... Successive governments, for drawing up inadequate legislation, perhaps… OfGem for being lily-livered, maybe? Thinkers like Hayek and Rand for planting the seeds of the ludicrous punt that private business could be trusted to act in the interest of public customers?
In many ways, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that we're unlikely to see a change to a more equitable system until we move away from private ownership, where the profits are drained away from benefiting the nation and its citizens and instead, disappear forever, often overseas. The final irony being of course that in the case of EDF, the wonga all disappears out of the UK, never to be seen again and straight into the bank accounts of the nationalised French power industry!!!
It’s a simple statement of fact that private companies are in business to make profit, by definition. PPI & PFI arrangements do nothing to change this basic tenet. Modern business forces have resulted in large corporations dominating certain markets. Power suppliers are a notable example. The Big Six are multi-nationals, with complex ownership, often overseas - EDF UK for example is wholely owned by the French state.
As is common knowledge, in the case of those private companies that took the place of public utilities, the risk that these companies would act largely in favour of their business beneficiaries - their executives and shareholders, as opposed to their customers - was supposed to be managed by so-called regulators, Ofthis, Ofthat & Oftheother… however it's generally accepted that this doesn't work properly.
Once we accept that power supply companies are, literally, in business to maximise their profits for the benefit of their shareholders & board, we can see that they might - indeed must - pursue practices which further that aim. Thus, it makes little sense to roll out a metering system that risks their customers saving money, ie being charged less for the same product. Far better to continue to distribute a system that has weaknesses and may not work to deliver the promised and profit-threatening dynamic billing.
Now I’m not for a moment suggesting this was a deliberate policy, but rather a symptom of weak legislation and/or regulation. The fact is that the technology behind the sundry iterations of smart metering was known to be insufficiently reliable for years - the first examples didn't even manage to provide signal continuity if the customer 'switched' - and let's recall that switching was something we're supposedly encourged to consider... The numbers of faulty meters installed in domestic homes since the start of the project has been steadily rising, year on year. The whole industry has known about that since the get go. From a business point of view, there's zero incentive for the companies to fix the situation and all but no reaction from the regulator.
So, to return to your question - who to blame? Well, here’s a selection of potential culprits for your consideration... Successive governments, for drawing up inadequate legislation, perhaps… OfGem for being lily-livered, maybe? Thinkers like Hayek and Rand for planting the seeds of the ludicrous punt that private business could be trusted to act in the interest of public customers?
In many ways, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that we're unlikely to see a change to a more equitable system until we move away from private ownership, where the profits are drained away from benefiting the nation and its citizens and instead, disappear forever, often overseas. The final irony being of course that in the case of EDF, the wonga all disappears out of the UK, never to be seen again and straight into the bank accounts of the nationalised French power industry!!!
- 26 Mar 2024, 10:41am
- Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
- Topic: Not pedalling
- Replies: 48
- Views: 3009
Re: Not pedalling
Some observations on this topic.
I’ve chatted to lots of the delivery guys. Many speak English as a second language, some are living & working (hard!) here without the right paperwork. I’m not judging them - my interest is in the state of e-bike legislation.
Lots of them are rented their bikes by a local boss. Lots of them even rent the phones, with the necessary app on it. This combination of circumstances is ripe for exploitation. Lots of them operate under difficult working conditions (which is putting it mildly). The number of drops is key to them and their bosses being able to make money, thus it's a given that the cycle’s motor & battery systems are hacked for power. This all makes for a high risk working environment one way and another.
And yet at the same time, police services have limited resources and have to cut their coats to suit the cloth. Food delivery is booming and seen by those who benefit as an important cog in the economy. Business elements don't want the boat rocked. While reported numbers of accidents stay lowish, there’s no leverage to address legislation or tighten up policing. The poor folks who stand to lose most ie the guys out in all weathers, working long hours for rubbish money, on the knackered e-bikes which they pay LOTS to use, are politically invisible. They are in many cases, virtually slave labour…
So think of that next time you’re tempted to order a burger on deliveroo.
I’ve chatted to lots of the delivery guys. Many speak English as a second language, some are living & working (hard!) here without the right paperwork. I’m not judging them - my interest is in the state of e-bike legislation.
Lots of them are rented their bikes by a local boss. Lots of them even rent the phones, with the necessary app on it. This combination of circumstances is ripe for exploitation. Lots of them operate under difficult working conditions (which is putting it mildly). The number of drops is key to them and their bosses being able to make money, thus it's a given that the cycle’s motor & battery systems are hacked for power. This all makes for a high risk working environment one way and another.
And yet at the same time, police services have limited resources and have to cut their coats to suit the cloth. Food delivery is booming and seen by those who benefit as an important cog in the economy. Business elements don't want the boat rocked. While reported numbers of accidents stay lowish, there’s no leverage to address legislation or tighten up policing. The poor folks who stand to lose most ie the guys out in all weathers, working long hours for rubbish money, on the knackered e-bikes which they pay LOTS to use, are politically invisible. They are in many cases, virtually slave labour…
So think of that next time you’re tempted to order a burger on deliveroo.
- 26 Mar 2024, 7:35am
- Forum: The Tea Shop
- Topic: Heat in the home
- Replies: 2297
- Views: 134889
Re: Heat in the home
Re dynamic billing, for which a so-called smart meter is a requisite, today we learn that there are 4 million defective smart meters across the UK… the reason this is significant is because the power providers that should be called to account by a properly functioning regulatory system will claim that they've "done their bit” ie roll out the smart meters to households, then they and the toothless regulator will bleat that the meters are faulty for reasons quite beyond their control.
The consequence will be that the government and the industry can claim that they’ve done their best to implement cost saving measures but they will continue to maximise their revenues at the same time as stoutly denying that they are misleading and taking advantage of customers.
This is yet another example of the deliberate and abusive nature of the relationship between customers and the current private industry service providers. It has to stop.
The consequence will be that the government and the industry can claim that they’ve done their best to implement cost saving measures but they will continue to maximise their revenues at the same time as stoutly denying that they are misleading and taking advantage of customers.
This is yet another example of the deliberate and abusive nature of the relationship between customers and the current private industry service providers. It has to stop.
- 25 Mar 2024, 3:42pm
- Forum: The Tea Shop
- Topic: Just how long will it take to turn this ship around?
- Replies: 103
- Views: 3053
Re: Just how long will it take to turn this ship around?
What most voters don't realise is the all-pervasive influence of the neoliberal hard right. Most have us have been turned into cash cows and are, apparently, content to watch our hard earned disappear without trace into the wallets of a handful of conglomerates, never to be seen again. Until their grip is broken Britain will remain the disintegrating disgrace it's become…
Anybody who gripes about this party or that is missing the point. Traditional demcocracy is over, modern politicians are ineffective.
Anybody who gripes about this party or that is missing the point. Traditional demcocracy is over, modern politicians are ineffective.
- 25 Mar 2024, 10:24am
- Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
- Topic: Escooter trial to start
- Replies: 351
- Views: 37868
Re: Escooter trial to start
The only trial I know of here in Bristol is the one where they see how many Tier bikes they can heave into the river Frome...
- 25 Mar 2024, 10:16am
- Forum: Cycling Goods & Services - Your Reviews
- Topic: Leatherman skeletool
- Replies: 3
- Views: 392
Leatherman skeletool
Just a few lines on the subject of this lightweight multitool... We cyclists are always on the lookout for items that can lighten the load. The perfect multitool might weigh under 100g and contain everything we need to complete any sort of road trip - a complete set of Allen, torx and traditional screwdrivers, spanners, unbreakable tyre levers, a chain splitter, a bottle opener, a kitchen knife and a tiny tiny spare battery for phone or our bike motor.. but of course, it doesn't exist!
I thought I'd try Leatherman's newish skeletool to see if it combines light weight with useful features. In summary, it's a pair of nicely made light duty pliers / wire cutters on comfortable, slightly curved and perforated handles, a good folding&locking blade and a bit holder on the other end. That's it, apart from the combined carabiner / bottle opener.
So the task of versatility is very much down to the bit holder. It accepts Leatherman's proprietry bits and comes with 2 reversable bits, one slot head, the other cross head meaning you get 4 drivers. One bit sits in the holder, the other stows in the handle. Nice & neat, if rather minimal.
Where things start to get interesting is if you splash the cash (itro £20...) for the accessory bit kit, which gets you 20 more bits (including a useful micro driver just right for the very small screws you get on yer spex...) and thus an array of over 40 various tools - see below. And yt has several videos showing clever and fairly straightforward ways to expand the skeletool to use both 1/4 & 1/8 inch bits, as well as saws & files. Now we're talking!
However, I have to say that the light weight comes with a drawback in that it's less sturdy than my Topeak multitool, which feels bomb proof and shows no sign of any wear, even after a couple of decades of use. I tried out the skeletool with the large 6mm allen bit which fits the big frame bolt on my Moulton and found that I wasn't able to apply enough torque to undo the bolt without the skeletool flexing alarmingly in my hand... not a good start although on the other hand, the makers are sufficiently confident to give the tool their 25 year warranty. It's worth remarking that the Topeak tool will achieve this task with no sign of flex at all. I can heave all I like on the Topeak!
So, the $64 Q. - will the skeletool replace the Topeak as my essential carry when out on my bike? Answer - no. On the other hand, it's now in my knapsack that goes with me every day, when out and about walking. In other words, it's a bit of a curate's egg, I suppose... the search for that ultimate Do It All multitool continues.
The Last Word is a warning - I learn that Royal Mail ( and possibly all other carriers) will no longer accept bladed items for delivery, starting next month!
I thought I'd try Leatherman's newish skeletool to see if it combines light weight with useful features. In summary, it's a pair of nicely made light duty pliers / wire cutters on comfortable, slightly curved and perforated handles, a good folding&locking blade and a bit holder on the other end. That's it, apart from the combined carabiner / bottle opener.
So the task of versatility is very much down to the bit holder. It accepts Leatherman's proprietry bits and comes with 2 reversable bits, one slot head, the other cross head meaning you get 4 drivers. One bit sits in the holder, the other stows in the handle. Nice & neat, if rather minimal.
Where things start to get interesting is if you splash the cash (itro £20...) for the accessory bit kit, which gets you 20 more bits (including a useful micro driver just right for the very small screws you get on yer spex...) and thus an array of over 40 various tools - see below. And yt has several videos showing clever and fairly straightforward ways to expand the skeletool to use both 1/4 & 1/8 inch bits, as well as saws & files. Now we're talking!
However, I have to say that the light weight comes with a drawback in that it's less sturdy than my Topeak multitool, which feels bomb proof and shows no sign of any wear, even after a couple of decades of use. I tried out the skeletool with the large 6mm allen bit which fits the big frame bolt on my Moulton and found that I wasn't able to apply enough torque to undo the bolt without the skeletool flexing alarmingly in my hand... not a good start although on the other hand, the makers are sufficiently confident to give the tool their 25 year warranty. It's worth remarking that the Topeak tool will achieve this task with no sign of flex at all. I can heave all I like on the Topeak!
So, the $64 Q. - will the skeletool replace the Topeak as my essential carry when out on my bike? Answer - no. On the other hand, it's now in my knapsack that goes with me every day, when out and about walking. In other words, it's a bit of a curate's egg, I suppose... the search for that ultimate Do It All multitool continues.
The Last Word is a warning - I learn that Royal Mail ( and possibly all other carriers) will no longer accept bladed items for delivery, starting next month!