Search found 163 matches

by RRSODL
7 Jul 2022, 2:27am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: If you buy a factory built wheel and true it...
Replies: 15
Views: 1002

Re: If you buy a factory built wheel and true it...

531colin wrote: 6 Jul 2022, 6:30pm
Manc33 wrote: 6 Jul 2022, 5:35pm If you buy a factory built wheel and tension the spokes yourself (................) then haven't you essentially got the equivalent of a hand built wheel?...............
Well, I would .....
get the wheel
improve the spoke line
stress relieve
take up to final tension
then the final repeating cycle...."stress the wheel, true the wheel, balance the tension"....repeat, repeat....until you get a wheel thats completely stable (ie it doesn't move when stressed) with an acceptable balance between even tension and absolute trueness.

.....I think maybe I'm fussy....
Not at all, that's how it should be done IMHO.

I bought my wife a bike from Decathlon and after seen what happened to a similar bike, before the bike was ridden at all, I loosened up the spokes before adding tension - stress relieve and so on.

The wheels have been good enough for off road trails.
by RRSODL
1 Feb 2022, 4:57pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: On tour with my Enigma
Replies: 120
Views: 10806

Re: On tour with my Enigma

sussex cyclist wrote: 1 Feb 2022, 1:31pm Dear mod: I know this may not be the right board to post this, but it's a little unusual. To my way of thinking this is a tour. Of course I completely understand if you move it, and apologise in advance for the bother. Permission granted ;)


Just because my Enigma is no longer rideable, doesn't mean we can't keep going places.

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They say every beauty has a flaw. See if you can spot it above on the shingle beach in Hastings.

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I call that one Brokebottombracket Mountain.

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Hang 'Em High. You may detect a bit of photoshopping.

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As long as we're in the trees. And B&W is so arty.

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Don't worry, I'm not really throwing you away. Recycling is good.

to be continued
No warranty with Enigma frames?
by RRSODL
26 Dec 2021, 12:25am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Obesity, a modern problem?
Replies: 124
Views: 4565

Re: Obesity, a modern problem?

simonineaston wrote: 20 Dec 2021, 12:27pm I've been interested in food and the way it's made and distributed within nations and have read a ton of stuff over the years. It's fascinating stuff. I completely agree that contempory images from say the 50s show a very different picture to nowadays. So what's changed? Well, an awful lot! From the way we get about (mechanised), the way we work for a living (mainly sedentary), the way our food is made for us, the way we're brought up to think about and access food, the way advertising is used to sell food, etc. etc. etc.
If I had to pick one area which annoys me more than any other, it's the power and pervasivness of the processed food industry. Their motives are profit and the industry as a whole will stop at nothing to develop more and more ways to push us towards consuming factory-processed food, in which the nutritous ingredients are eked out further and further and additives form a key part of ensuring we feel we want more and more, so that we consume their products in quantities that are waaay beyond normal healthy requirements.
Over-all, it's not as simple as that, of course, but let's put it this way, if we all lived in some fabulous fairy-land, where we were all taught at school how to prepare and cook decent meals from scatch and if journies to and from school were all conducted by foot or by bike, then Pooof!! obesity would disappear overnight...
However, the more I learn about the problem of obesity, the more I realise it is very multi-factorial and one thing's for sure, it's absolutley no help at all for us lucky enough to look like a piece of wet string to blame folks who do not, for the way they are.
What a bloody good post, I couldn't put it better myself.

It's the nature of these processed foods / high in carbs and insulin that make you craving for more food. You eat these foods and they spike your blood glucose so the pancreas must be quick to release lots of insulin to bring that blood glucose to a safe range but in practice the insulin tends to overshoot and then the body feels there's not enough glucose so you feel hungry again.... normally after 2 hours.

I grew up in the 60s without cereals / energy bars, snacks, sugary drinks, fast foods, etc. I remember having 1 or 2 from eggs, butter, full fat milk, avocado, ham, tea, coffee, etc for breakfasts and go to school and I didn't have anything till lunch.... 3 meals a day. In my 20s the fast food boom caught up with me and the cereals and the sugary stuff... then it was breakfasts, mid morning snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack, dinner and an evening snack so 6 meals a day.... with that amount of food going in it is impossible not to put on weight if you don't spend hours exercising too.

I've gone to my old ways and food no longer controls me.
by RRSODL
18 Dec 2021, 11:15am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: DropBox are selling our data!
Replies: 31
Views: 5168

Re: DropBox are selling our data!

The topic brings back old memories.

Going back 12 years or more I registered with Dropbox using a unique disposable email address Dropbox......@something.com. this is a standard practice for me to see who is selling my email address. Sometime after me registering with Dropbox I began receiving spam from different sources on that unique email address. I contacted Dropbox and of course they denied any responsibility, they suggested, malware, virus, etc on my computer was the culprit but if that was the case I thought I would be getting spam on dozens of other unique addresses.
In the end somebody from Dropbox said they had suffered a security breach on one of their servers but still didn't accept any responsibility.

I never used Dropbox again.
by RRSODL
31 Oct 2021, 9:03pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Pre-diabetic and raised cholesterol
Replies: 31
Views: 2616

Re: Pre-diabetic and raised cholesterol

mjr wrote: 25 Oct 2021, 10:55am
RRSODL wrote: 19 Oct 2021, 5:37pm
Oldjohnw wrote: 19 Oct 2021, 7:57am I eat loads of veg, limited red meat, brown bread only, oatcakes, brown pasta (I can’t stand brown rice).
There is your problem controling your glucose levels. Cut down carbohydrates, eat your green leafy salads, adds more fat to your diet in the form of extra virgin olive oil, grass fed butter, oily fish like salmon, mackerel, olives, avocado.

Stress will rase your glucose levels, [...]
If your ratio of total cholesterol to LDL is below 3 then you are OK.
Total cholesterol and even LDL measurements from NHS tests are crude and not the whole story but it's not a bad rough rule.

People differ and adding fat will work for some people but others will find their body reacts by increasing cholesterol production. It's all about finding the right balance for oneself but current tests don't really help to do that. NHS tests are either crude or too expensive to do often, whereas home tests are even cruder.

On diet, I'd suggest adding leafy dark greens, pulses and handful of nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews seem good), and try to switch from high salt oatcakes to porridge, especially if you can make it with high oatbran for the beta-glucan which seems to help lower cholesterol. I don't recall anyone suffering a downside from it except a few where it was fairly obvious ;)

Another problem with worrying about diet or frequent testing is that stress never seems to help, as several posts above correctly say.
I'm only posting because you quoted me.

Don't be fooled by the "healthy" options like brown bread or brown pasta, they might have more nutrients / slightly lower GI but they are still carbs.Oatmeal is another food that I love but sadly it spikes my glucose big time.

Adding fat to the diet doesn't raise your glucose much at all, hence the suggestion. Fat does increase HDL but not all HDL is bad, in fact HDL is necessary for the inmune system, sex hormones, etc, however, oxidized HDL is bad and blame glucose for that. By the way, the human body makes HDL.

Almonds and cashews are rather high in carbs, a better choice is macademia and pecans.

I was going to say something on the 'high salt' but this video explains it much better than I could https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kXZo0hSHDoY

And this on HDL https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cH_tk6Bn0 ... Mg&index=1 this doctor is a fellow cyclist and inspired by Chris Frome.
by RRSODL
19 Oct 2021, 5:37pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Pre-diabetic and raised cholesterol
Replies: 31
Views: 2616

Re: Pre-diabetic and raised cholesterol

Oldjohnw wrote: 19 Oct 2021, 7:57am I am one point below pre-diabetic ( I have been there before but pulled it back) and despite statins my cholesterol level has gone from 6.4 to 7.4. I could increase the statin dosage but don’t want to yet.



I eat loads of veg, limited red meat, brown bread only, oatcakes, brown pasta (I can’t stand brown rice).

You are told to get low fat. Which is, of course, in order to make it palatable, stuffed with sugar. I like Alpro but Mrs Ojw doesn’t. But I don’t want it every day and it goes off quickly and they don’t do smaller tubs.

What is a growing lad to do?

I am hoping it is a mere blip following a challenging house move involving some temporary bad habits and reduced exercise.
There is your problem controling your glucose levels. Cut down carbohydrates, eat your green leafy salads, adds more fat to your diet in the form of extra virgin olive oil, grass fed butter, oily fish like salmon, mackerel, olives, avocado.

Stress will rase your glucose levels, your body releases cortisol under stress, cortisol is a hormone that deposits glucose that is stored in your body, into the bloodstream, and since you are very likely to be resistance to insulin, your pancreas can't produce sufficient insuline to deal with the extra glucose so your glucose meter reads higher levels or it's shown in A1c test over a longer period.

If your ratio of total cholesterol to LDL is below 3 then you are OK.
by RRSODL
13 Jul 2021, 9:36am
Forum: Cycle Camping sub-forum
Topic: Campsite Pricing
Replies: 41
Views: 2788

Re: Campsite Pricing

Today I booked with https://www.burnbake.com/, The Purbeck in Poole, normal rate for a car and one person is £20 and a bunch of extras, however, for cyclists is £14.
by RRSODL
11 May 2021, 7:52am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Velocé 10 speed ergos
Replies: 47
Views: 2165

Re: Velocé 10 speed ergos

pq wrote: 5 May 2021, 6:25pm Thanks. Buying something of better quality is always my preferred option - I'm a bit horrified how quickly these levers have died and it would be very annoying to have them give up mid tour. So is this what you mean? https://www.bikeinn.com/cyclisme/campag ... 136661626/

Do you have any idea about the whole normal/QS/powershift thing? It's to work with racing triple mechs from around 10 years ago.
I just found this thread, if you are changing the RHS shifter only then you don't have to worry about the QS. As far as I can remember QS was only left shifter + front derailleur thing that proved to be very unpopular. In 2009 I bought my first set of Campagnolo shifters and I remember that I was strongly adviced to stay away from the QS stuff that was still readily available. Powershift/ Ultrashift are something completely different that apply to the RHS shifter though.
by RRSODL
27 Mar 2021, 10:38pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Best wishes for Brucey
Replies: 613
Views: 73498

Re: Best wishes for Brucey

This is great news!!! Wishing a full recovery to our much respected fellow forum member.
by RRSODL
24 Mar 2021, 10:14pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Best wishes for Brucey
Replies: 613
Views: 73498

Re: Best wishes for Brucey

cycle tramp wrote:[moderator note: the news was posted further down the thread that Brucey has had a stroke viewtopic.php?f=5&t=144659&start=105#p1589775 for more information]


Brucey's a bit of a regular on this particular page, but there's not been any thing from him since about the 11th March.

Wherever you are Brucey - I hope you're okay.



I'd like to add my get well wishes to Brucey. I have always searched for his name among the answers on threads that interest me.

I hope Brucey makes a full recovery.
by RRSODL
22 Dec 2020, 8:05pm
Forum: Health and fitness
Topic: Type 2 diabetes and an older rider
Replies: 73
Views: 20424

Re: Diabetes & Cycling

Billy007 wrote:
Jdsk wrote:
Billy007 wrote:Just want to point out type 2 diabetes is a result of poor lifestyle and nutrition choices, eating far too much sugar.

This is a gross overstatement. There are many factors that are beyond the individual's control including age, sex, ethnicity, genetics, intrauterine environment, therapeutic drugs, and some endocrine diseases.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_2_diabetes#Causes

Jonathan


No it isn't. Do you understand what causes diabetes, diabetes type 2? It is a high blood sugar level and insulin resistance. How do you get a high blood sugar and insulin resistance? By eating too much sugar and too many carbs. Age, sex, ethnicity, genetics, etc are all secondary factors generally used as excuses by people who do not understand how the body metabolises food and stores the various food groups. Many doctors don't understand either as they have very little training on nutrition bar telling patients to stop smoking, drinking and do some exercise. If you did NOT eat any sugar or carbs then your insulin levels would be extremely low and your body would burn fat, but if you are constantly filling your face with carbs and sugar your body does not get a chance to burn fat as it burns carbs instead, the ones you are filling your face with and then stores the remainder as fat so fat people get even fatter. Type 2 diabetes is totally different from type 1. I have every sympathy with and respect for people who have type 1 diabetes as their bodies cannot produce insulin so they have to manually regulate their blood sugar levels. It is not optional. Every day is a school day don't you think?

We have an NHS which is over burden with fat people because they don't understand basic nutrition. And this is just the staff!!! For decades the mantra of the NHS and medical profession has been to eat low fat foods, fat is BAD which is totally wrong. It is a hidden scandal. Just because you eat fat does NOT mean you become fat. So fat people become morbidly obese. They present themselves to their doctor who trots out the above excuses you have given and typically prescribes metaformin to trick the body into producing even more insulin to lower blood sugar levels meaning they store even more fat. It keeps the doctors and drugs companies happy. It keeps the food companies happy as fat people will still consume industrial quantities of processed sugar and carb laden foods that are labelled as LOW FAT or FAT free. It is a scandal and something most people should wake up to.

Cut out sugar and carbs from your diet or only eat a minimal amount of them and obtain them from natural organic foods that have not been processed or had sugar added such as dextrose, maltose, high fructose corn sugar (HFCS), artificial sweeteners of any sort, canola and vegetable oils, margarine, msg, aspartame, orange juice, breakfast cereals, bread, cake, crisps, pizzas, sugary fizzy drinks, biscuits, ready meals, etc., etc.

Learn to cook. Eat natural fats, avocados, nuts, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, brazil nuts, olive oils, cook with olive oils, butter, organic veg, especially cruciferous veg, organic pasture raised eggs and meat, wild caught salmon and trout, sardines. The weight will literally fall off and blood sugar levels will plummet and so will insulin and no need to continue taking metaformin or other drugs maintaining insulin resistance. Get your life back. Be slim, fit and healthy.



Absolutely correct!!!

I have reversed diabetes twice, first time was about 10 years ago when first diagnosed. I admit that I never understood and pretty much ignored my doctor's advice other than losing weight and more exercise would help. I upped my mileage considrably to sometimes 250 miles a week and cutting down bread, rice and pasta, besides that my diet was OK, plenty of vegetables and perhaps too much fruit though. In 4 months I came off medication and maintained it like that for 6 years, although I was only doing a single 40 or 50 miles ride on a Saturday and sometimes a 15 or 20 miler midweek... but my weight crept up.... I didn't know about insuline resistance and certainly didn't understand the real mechanisms of developing IR and diabetes. After 6 years I was diagnosed with a heart condition and I was advised to stop cycling while they investigated and diabetes came back soon after. For the last 4 years I have been unable to revert diabetes like I did the first time and I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong, the truth is the medication was making me worse. My March checkup was cancelled due to Covid and in August I was happy that I had lost 4 kilos and I expected a little better results but to my surprise my diabetes was so bad, 135mmol/L that the doctor rang me and asked me to come in to the surgery right away, by the end of tge week I was on 6 tablets a day and one month later he insinuated I should start injecting insuline.... I tried really hard but my daily glucose reading weren't as good as I wanted to.... I that point I began to investigate and I came across doctors saying the complete opposite my doctor had been telling me for years..... I called two cousins who are doctors and they both gave me the same advise that my GP was giving.... the question that came to mind.... can my doctor be so wrong and equality wrong my two cousins across the world? But what the doctors on YouTube said really made sence to me and their view of the problem is 180° from my GP. Anyway I'll have a go and in 3 weeks I was free of tablets.... one by one... I had to drop them or my glucose level would drop too low and I felt terrible.
I've come to the conclusion that if I only understood of the long time danger of snacking all the times, a single biscuit, an apple, or whatever.... how bad can it be? Well, everytime you eat something your pancreas releases insuline and after 40 years I became insuline resistant and 10 years later diabetic. The medicines treat the symptoms not the problem....it's like treating alcoholism with whisky lol. So I began to follow the advice "intermittent fasting" first, stopped any snack between dinner and bed time. Then I missed breakfast for a couple of days then I missed lunch for 4 days and then I started on one meal a day.... a big meal but I can't eat enough to eat the same number of calories that I would eat in 3 meals so it's a diet after all but instead of 6 small meals a day and releasing insuline 6 times I do it once a day..... After about 10 days I noticed I was less and less hungry which meant my body was using my stored fat for energy. The hardest part of all this has been to convince my wife that this fasting is not going to kill me lol and she only began to buy into it when I began to do all the little jobs around the house....somehow I had the energy to do them not just think about it :) 3 bathroom's floor done, front porch painted, two flights of stairs painted :-) still, I can now go back to two meals a day but I want to revert IR so I'll keep on one meal a day and once every 3 months fast for 3 days.... I've done that once and it was surprisingly easy.

I had my HBA1C done about 2 weeks ago and the doctor called me to congratulate me, you are now 48mmol/l and then he said "how many tablets are you taking? I said "I'm not taking any" I immediately noticed he wasn't happy.... and he said "so I'll take all these off the repeat prescriptions" I said that's fine, just leave whatever I need to monitor my blood sugar daily and his reply was "I can't do that... you are not longer diabetic so you aren't entitled to get the strips on free prescription" I replied if you had given them to me before you did I would have never been with a glucose level of 135mmol/l .... a lot cheaper for the NHS. .... my guess is that he wanted to take credit for the last 2 tablets he added to the treatment :-) Some people say on the net that pharmaceutical companies make huge profits selling medications for diabetes.

I'd like to explain what is insulin resistance but my post would be far too long and it's information readily available on the internet
.
My apologies for the long post....hopefully someone that is going through what I was going through just a few weeks ago can find the same information on YouTube and act on it.
by RRSODL
29 Nov 2020, 10:00pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Converting a Surly Troll to Disc Brakes
Replies: 12
Views: 803

Re: Converting a Surly Troll to Disc Brakes

I fitted disc brakes on my Ogre (troll's big brother) and I remember that the frame came with a braket to be used instead of the bracket supplied with the brakes, for the rear brake. I opted for BB7 and I have no regrets so far. I also opted for using an axle to make it easier aligning the rotor between the brake pads after fixing a flat and I'm glad I did that.

I hope that helps.
by RRSODL
18 Oct 2020, 11:20am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Brooks B17 Versus their Flyer / 67
Replies: 21
Views: 2423

Re: Brooks B17 Versus their Flyer / 67

Saddles are a very personal thing, having said that, I have owned all 3 saddles at one time or another.

The B67 was my least favorite, too big, too bulky and I didn't like the leather particularly.

B17 ( I had the special version with copper rivets) it was very nice and I regret selling it.

Flyer, just like the B17, I don't think the springs achieve much, I don't feel any difference with the B17....and I'm heavy enough. I still have it but I opted for a suspension seat post instead and a plastic saddle.

I guess you'll be fine with a B17
by RRSODL
10 Sep 2020, 9:45pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Cut Throat Razors
Replies: 35
Views: 1642

Re: Cut Throat Razors

philvantwo wrote:Surprising how different blades perform, I used a Parker 99R razor for years with Derby Extra blades, the odd nick every so often but nothing much.
Treated myself to a Merkur futur and Derby Extra blades are terrible to use, Personna, Dorco, Wilkinson Sword aren't much better. Astra blades in the green packet seem to be the best so far so I bought 200.
Make sure you dry the styptic pencil after everytime you use it, Prorada sell a gel but not tried it.
The only place to buy stuff now is on Ebay!


The Merkur Future is an aggressive razor so you need a sharp blade, at the very least a sharper blade than the Derby that is one of the mildest blades I know. I had the same experience years ago with the Muhle R41 and a Derby blade.... later, same razor with a Gillette Silver Blue, Permasharp or Polsilver the shaves were smooth and efficient.
by RRSODL
7 Sep 2020, 10:23pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Cut Throat Razors
Replies: 35
Views: 1642

Re: Cut Throat Razors

mercalia wrote:For some reason i got thinking of all the disposable razors ending in land fills I must have used during my life and wondered well what about a cut throat razor - not the silly ones that use separate blades but the real mcoy. I see Ebay you can still get them. SO any one here use one or have used one? DO they do a good job? And how on earth do those leather strips sharpen the blade - dont make sense to me


I use a cut throat razor (straight razor) daily. It's already been explained what a strop it's for. I use a finishing stone to refresh the blade every so often.

I also use what you call "silly ones" they are called shavette. I own a Feather Artist Club SS and a DX and I love them both.... you do have to buy the blades but you get 10 to 15 shaves per blade so between 3 to 5 pence per shave.

It takes about 100 shaves to master a straight razor, after the first 20 shaves you might be able to get good shaves but a little slow.

I'd suggest a straight razor if you want to learn straight razor shaving. Be aware that some of those sold on ebay are useless, it's better to look for old ones in good condition and shave ready.