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by mjr
27 Mar 2024, 9:42am
Forum: Using the Forum - request help : report difficulties
Topic: Whether to split the thread 'Cycling using trains (in UK and EU)'
Replies: 10
Views: 429

Re: Cycling using trains (in UK and EU)

mattheus wrote: 5 Mar 2024, 4:10pm Very little you learn about German trains is of relevance to UK trains.
That depends where you are travelling in the UK. The Siemens Desiro is used around the Midlands, on the Transpennine Express and some routes out of St Pancras and Waterloo, but is also widespread in Belgium, Austria and of course Germany ( all with fairly good bike access). Eurostar's Siemens Velaro is also Germany's ICE3 and some of Spain's high speed trains (all with pretty poor bike access).

The rules may differ, but they differ between UK operators. The on train accommodation is rarely unique to the UK. I'd say keep train discussion across Europe as one.
by mjr
26 Mar 2024, 10:38pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: how slow do they get?
Replies: 17
Views: 1103

Re: how slow do they get?

plancashire wrote: 26 Mar 2024, 10:27pm
mjr wrote: 26 Mar 2024, 10:14pm
plancashire wrote: 26 Mar 2024, 9:55pm Woods/Dunlop/Blitz are the devil's work. ... People keep unscrewing the retaining ring accidentally so it leaks slowly.
How do people accidentally unscrew that? There's no need to touch it in normal use.
...
I don't know. They don't know. My guess is when unscrewing the dust cover. These things are tiny. You grab it and your fingertips extend down to the ring.
??? Mine are about the size of a Presta cap. This might be like when some complain that there's not enough valve for a pump to grip, that they've some annoying short valve. Not all Woods are like that. It's not an inherent fault of the type any more that ejecting the core is inherent to all Presta, just because Continentals easily do.
[...] but then the pump needs a lever-operated pin to open the valve. Sigh!
Only if the pump can't open it by pressure alone, but that discussion's been done to death before.
by mjr
26 Mar 2024, 10:14pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: how slow do they get?
Replies: 17
Views: 1103

Re: how slow do they get?

plancashire wrote: 26 Mar 2024, 9:55pm Woods/Dunlop/Blitz are the devil's work. Fitting them takes longer as you have to remove the valve to push the stem through the rim, screw back in, then partly inflate. People keep unscrewing the retaining ring accidentally so it leaks slowly.
How do people accidentally unscrew that? There's no need to touch it in normal use.

It's slightly fiddlier to fit but I've good tyres and generally repair what few punctures remain without removing the whole tube, so that doesn't negate the benefits of a real valve that holds air for weeks between small top ups, for me. YMMV, especially if you're the sort who rips the wheel and tube out for the tiniest pin prick.
by mjr
26 Mar 2024, 6:27pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: how slow do they get?
Replies: 17
Views: 1103

Re: how slow do they get?

Galactic wrote: 19 Mar 2024, 2:49pm I appreciate the OP didn't say which valve his inner tube has, but I am triggered by the very thought of a Woods/Dunlop/Blitz valve. They seem to regularly develop slow leaks that are practically impossible to source or prevent. Now any inner tubes with that kind of valve get no second chances from me. Whip 'em out and replace with a tube sporting a 'proper' French/Presta/Sclaverand valve.
You're doing it wrong somehow. Woods are the only true cycle tyre valve in widespread use. All others let air out along the same path it entered, which isn't really a valve: "an automatic device allowing movement in one direction only".

Avoid the rubber pipe ones IMO. I was surprised some are still sold, branded Giant.
by mjr
26 Mar 2024, 11:11am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Heat in the home
Replies: 2297
Views: 134354

Re: Heat in the home

simonineaston wrote: 26 Mar 2024, 7:35am 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”
Why is this the power providers' fault? Isn't the fault with the smart meter licensed monopoly, the DCC, who seem to have grossly overestimated mobile signal strength in ground floor meter cupboards? Some providers seem to be developing their own smart meter measurement relays (the octopus mini and octopus home pro, for example) that use the customer's wifi to send readings back, bypassing the unreliable DCC, but they're not yet allowed to use those readings for billing, as I understand it.
by mjr
25 Mar 2024, 8:35am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Air Pollution - Will They Act Now?
Replies: 151
Views: 8952

Re: Air Pollution - Will They Act Now?

pwa wrote: 23 Mar 2024, 6:11am Open fires don't give off much heat, either, so I don't get why anyone would want one.
You don't know anyone building the fire right, then. I'm not in favour, but they can give off a real glow, although loads of heat goes straight up the chimney.
by mjr
25 Mar 2024, 8:21am
Forum: On the road
Topic: Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist
Replies: 244
Views: 15319

Re: Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist

Valbrona wrote: 25 Mar 2024, 3:36am As tragic as it was, I can't think of any crime that the defendant committed.
Assault. If not, why not?
by mjr
24 Mar 2024, 6:12pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist
Replies: 244
Views: 15319

Re: Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist

cycle tramp wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 1:45pm The one thing which appears to have been forgotten is whether this was a shared use path - if it was shared use then there was no reason for the defendant to swear or gesticulate... indeed doing so may have been a criminal offence in itself.
It was shared use and signed as such in the typical half hearted way usually done by Cambridgeshire outside of their two largest cities. Near Cambridge, there's usually dashed white lines by the kerbs, but I don't recall seeing that in Fenland or Huntingdon. Only the blue signs and not even full sets of those. It's not unusual to cross side roads and not have a confirmation blue sign, then arrive at a Toucan, which implies the path was still a cycleway.
by mjr
24 Mar 2024, 6:04pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist
Replies: 244
Views: 15319

Re: Huntingdon: Angry pedestrian guilty of killing cyclist

Jdsk wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 9:48am
Bonefishblues wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 9:43am
cycle tramp wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 9:40am We know I'm not skewing anything. This group of solicitors isn't about justice or fairness or the truth, but rather the publicity and the advertising if they win....
You believe so, we do not. It's for others to look at this and determine their own pov.
I don't know anything about their motivation. But *justice depends on everyone having access to legal representation.
Yes, even if it is from a firm of Mr Loopholes trying to advertise their services to bike-hating motorists.
by mjr
23 Mar 2024, 6:52pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Clevedon Seafront - Cycle track removal - Active Travel England
Replies: 15
Views: 664

Re: Clevedon Seafront - Cycle track removal - Active Travel England

Jdsk wrote: 23 Mar 2024, 6:11pm Is there a local cycling or campaigning group with which you could work?
If he's still going, Steve Kinsella would probably welcome the help.

Good luck. Such misuse of cycle funding for car park resurfacing should be called out whenever it happens.
by mjr
21 Mar 2024, 9:50am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Yaw Know About Solar Chargers?
Replies: 77
Views: 4088

Re: Yaw Know About Solar Chargers?

Jdsk wrote: 21 Mar 2024, 8:19am As above USB will always be regulated. For ordinary USB charging standards it's 5 V and a maximum of 2.1 A, and you'll get that from better mains chargers.
No, the voltage drops on many cheap USB solar panels once the current falls too low. I've seen as low as 3.5v.
by mjr
17 Mar 2024, 3:13pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Holland - Short Tour
Replies: 38
Views: 1216

Re: Holland - Short Tour

In France, keep an eye out for Pizza-minute, Distribpain and similar vending machines, the likes of which we rarely see in England.
by mjr
16 Mar 2024, 10:27pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Holland - Short Tour
Replies: 38
Views: 1216

Re: Holland - Short Tour

Dupont wrote: 16 Mar 2024, 4:57pm
mjr wrote: 16 Mar 2024, 3:17pm
Dupont wrote: 16 Mar 2024, 2:50pm
Thanks. Does the Dutch hostel system have a website do you know?
https://www.stayokay.com/en

They're OK. Only criticism is the cafeteria offerings tend to be samey and uninspiring.
Thanks.

They are quite pricey too. I guess that is just the way it is now. I haven't been to Holland for a while.

Now I am wondering whether France would be a cheaper option. 🤔
Everywhere is more expensive than it used to be. Inflation and the mighty great british peso :-(
by mjr
16 Mar 2024, 3:17pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Holland - Short Tour
Replies: 38
Views: 1216

Re: Holland - Short Tour

Dupont wrote: 16 Mar 2024, 2:50pm
Thanks. Does the Dutch hostel system have a website do you know?
https://www.stayokay.com/en

They're OK. Only criticism is the cafeteria offerings tend to be samey and uninspiring.
by mjr
15 Mar 2024, 10:47pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Non-standard Bikes on Trains
Replies: 32
Views: 1394

Re: Non-standard Bikes on Trains

Psamathe wrote: 15 Mar 2024, 12:45pm
Ayseven wrote: 15 Mar 2024, 2:22am Not very helpful, but at least you are allowed to take your bike on the trains, unlike in my country.
What country is that?
Canada, if my search is correct.