Search found 755 matches

by Airsporter1st
27 Mar 2024, 3:07pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Anyone ordered anything from Decathlon lately?
Replies: 13
Views: 824

Re: Anyone ordered anything from Decathlon lately?

borisface wrote: 25 Mar 2024, 1:54pm I live in Portugal. My local decathlon is about 25 miles away. If they have stuff in stock it's fine but when I order stuff to be collected from the store or delivered here, they are pretty slow maybe a week. Before the pandemic, it was next day. They are also quite a bit cheaper than the UK, particularly for bikes as they only attract VAT at 6%.

This bike below for example is 1399 euros, about £1200. In the UK, its £1600.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike ... R-p-332106

And this one is 3699 euros or about £3,200. In the UK, its £4500!

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike ... R-p-341573
I remember when there was all the fuss over car tax and grey imports. The CEO of one of the big Scandinavian manufacturers was asked why their cars were so much more expensive in the UK. His response - not verbatim - “Because that’s what you are prepared to pay”.
by Airsporter1st
26 Mar 2024, 6:46am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: "Why is the right at war with cyclists?... "
Replies: 26
Views: 1341

Re: "Why is the right at war with cyclists?... "

I would hazard a guess that the author of that piece lives in or around London, where the majority of cyclists, especially commuters and delivery riders, seem to behave in such a way as to invite the negativity.
by Airsporter1st
25 Mar 2024, 3:15pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Broken Chain! I’m a complete amateur
Replies: 17
Views: 1016

Re: Broken Chain! I’m a complete amateur

Fixing it yourself is relatively easy, but that’s curing the symptoms and not necessarily the disease. You need to know why it snapped and take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
by Airsporter1st
23 Mar 2024, 12:05pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: ...a safe way to turn a bike over
Replies: 34
Views: 1609

Re: ...a safe way to turn a bike over

a.twiddler wrote: 20 Mar 2024, 4:34pm
Airsporter1st wrote: 20 Mar 2024, 2:09pm A mirror on a stick?
That would work, but when it comes to reading letters and numbers they would be reversed. A prism on a stick?
I wouldn’t think it beyond the wit of the majority to read reversed numbers and/or letters. Probably a bigger problem if the serial number is obscured as in the previous photos.
by Airsporter1st
20 Mar 2024, 2:22pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: SKS Chainbow?
Replies: 26
Views: 1654

Re: SKS Chainbow?

rjb wrote: 20 Mar 2024, 11:54am I'm a convert to waxing chains. I use a slow cooker to boil them up in a home brew mix of candle wax, moly paste and PTFE grease.
I just wipe the old chain and place in the cooker. I do this every 500 miles on the tandem using a pair of chains in rotation. :wink:
Surely the moly paste will stain the OP’s clothes far worse than regular chain lube?
by Airsporter1st
20 Mar 2024, 2:09pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: ...a safe way to turn a bike over
Replies: 34
Views: 1609

Re: ...a safe way to turn a bike over

A mirror on a stick?
by Airsporter1st
11 Mar 2024, 11:04am
Forum: On the road
Topic: Knee protection please
Replies: 39
Views: 1951

Re: Knee protection please

This guy has it cracked - nice low CofG and fully protected.
IMG_1456.jpeg
by Airsporter1st
3 Mar 2024, 10:48am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Where can I get a cleaning brush
Replies: 27
Views: 1384

Re: Where can I get a cleaning brush

Jdsk wrote: 3 Mar 2024, 9:33am Can anyone recommend a brush for cleaning that green brush?

Thanks

Jonathan
That should be good for another two pages of posts!
by Airsporter1st
19 Feb 2024, 12:03pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: Mahle X35 malfunction
Replies: 5
Views: 626

Re: Mahle X35 malfunction

The first thing I would be checking is the connector (alongside the chain-stay in my case). Thereafter, with a bit more work, I’d be checking all other connections.
by Airsporter1st
2 Feb 2024, 6:57pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: The Joy of E-Bike
Replies: 40
Views: 2952

Re: The Joy of E-Bike

rareposter wrote: 2 Feb 2024, 12:55pm
Cowsham wrote: 2 Feb 2024, 12:09am Doll is not a derogatory term here -- it just means woman. Is it not the same in Scotland ?
I know you didn't mean it as derogatory but it certainly comes across that way.
What might be OK in speech in a local context doesn't come across the same on a forum which can potentially be read anywhere in the world, it reads as sexist and insulting.

Sorry - I know you didn't mean any offence but "the author" or "this journalist" would have been 1000x better than "this doll here..."
Most online dictionaries define a doll as a woman. None of those I’ve looked at so far state that the term is sexist or insulting.
by Airsporter1st
2 Feb 2024, 6:43pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Halfords Cycle2work
Replies: 38
Views: 1761

Re: Halfords Cycle2work

pete75 wrote: 2 Feb 2024, 5:43pm
rjb wrote: 2 Feb 2024, 5:07pm It can also reduce your works pension when you retire. Cant remember the details but it was pointed out to mrs rjb when she enquired about the scheme. She didn't take it up in the end. The saving wasn't that great and the extra hassle wasn't justified.
Salary sacrifice means your pensionable contributions based upon your salary may be reduced because of it. :(
I'm no expert on this. Any accountants here.
I was told that, but found it doesn't make any difference. Pension payments are usually based on how many years you've been paying in and your final salary when you retire. I suppose if you used the scheme in the last year of work it might make a difference, but not otherwise.
Its pretty rare to find a final salary scheme these days, especially in the private sector.
by Airsporter1st
2 Feb 2024, 8:18am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Halfords Cycle2work
Replies: 38
Views: 1761

Re: Halfords Cycle2work

AnnaStravard wrote: 2 Feb 2024, 8:09am I just got an email from Halfords about the c2w scheme I joined at work asking me to pick 1 of 3 options - extend the hire free of charge

Hand the bike back

Or buy it?

I thought I owned it anyway?
I guess you have already clicked on the sender (at the top) and verified their full email address is correct? (To ensure it is not a phishing email.)

Here is Halford’s description of how the scheme operates - see point 7 in particular- “End of Scheme/Ownership” Seems like if you extend the hire, you will own it eventually.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/expert ... 2work.html
by Airsporter1st
25 Jan 2024, 3:53pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: The name of the warning gadget
Replies: 78
Views: 4362

Re: The name of the warning gadget

cycle tramp wrote: 25 Jan 2024, 8:52am
Airsporter1st wrote: 24 Jan 2024, 12:05pm
cycle tramp wrote: 24 Jan 2024, 7:11am

...yeah, I'm not going to disagree with you, but I am also going to include helmets, lyrca and cycling tops with sponsorship logos in the ''other such paraphernalia ' bracket...
Are we good now?
Still good. I wear/use none of the above and, miraculously it seems, I’m still alive.
That's interesting - as you would appear to be a normal person riding a bike, rather than dressed as a cyclist, do you feel you get more respect or less respect from other road users?
In all honesty, I’ve never really thought about it, I just get on with enjoying the ride.
by Airsporter1st
24 Jan 2024, 12:13pm
Forum: Electrically assisted pedal cycles
Topic: The Joy of E-Bike
Replies: 40
Views: 2952

Re: The Joy of E-Bike

pjclinch wrote: 24 Jan 2024, 11:44am
Airsporter1st wrote: 22 Jan 2024, 11:52am ... Especially those with a rear hub motor and disc brakes, with an internal battery and meeting legal UK requirements, are almost
indistinguishable from a regular cycle
It's worth noting that the ones that look just like an acoustic bike tend to be relatively unusual on the roads because they're at the premium end of the offerings and thus cost Real Money™, so as well as being harder to spot because they "don't look like e-bikes", they're also harder to spot because they're relatively rare.

I say relatively, and of course everything's relative... If you go to an MTB trail centre like Glen Tress where very expensive bikes are common, very expensive e-bikes are also common, but on the road one tends to get a bigger share of "e-bikes that look like e-bikes". The usual easy way to spot any e-bike isn't by what it looks like but whether it chugs past you at a steady 15 mph while you're working up a hill or into a headwind (seemingly most of the time, that is) at rather less.

Pete.
I understand and agree with all but your last sentence. The bike pictured and many similar use the Mahle system and won’t be ‘chugging’ past you at any time. The rider will simply not be working quite as hard as you are.
by Airsporter1st
24 Jan 2024, 12:05pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: The name of the warning gadget
Replies: 78
Views: 4362

Re: The name of the warning gadget

cycle tramp wrote: 24 Jan 2024, 7:11am
Airsporter1st wrote: 24 Jan 2024, 5:04am
To paraphrase Martin Clunes in Harry Enfield’s show, the lollipops and other such paraphernalia certainly makes riders look like something beginning with a small “c”.
...yeah, I'm not going to disagree with you, but I am also going to include helmets, lyrca and cycling tops with sponsorship logos in the ''other such paraphernalia ' bracket...
Are we good now?
Still good. I wear/use none of the above and, miraculously it seems, I’m still alive.