Cycling UK Forum

Without knowing the bike I can't say if it's suitable, but what about one of teh lightweight front racks (Velo Orange randonneur or similar), then mount the light on that in front of the bag.
Yes it's more weight but gives the bag some support and on the right bike it looks good

Bright sunshine here at the moment, rain approaching and due to hit just when I'll be heading home.
Mrs T currently has a job doing plant surveys for the RSPB, in the coldest May this century according to the Camb University weather station. That'll teach here for getting a proper job

There's also the Circe Morpheus https://www.circecycles.com/products/morpheus/
We're giving one a test run over the bank holiday weekend

jo' bo wrote: ↑11 May 2021, 11:26am
what sighs exactly would have made any difference to their decision, cyclist do seem to have a talent fOr ignoring signs and barriers, these are normally signs that effect the safety of others, perhaps it's this desensitization to signs in general that lead to them ignoring signs that are really just their for their safety .

Again not just cyclists. The road was closed on a fairly busy commute recently (burst water main and repairs). I could get past by being a pedestrian for 10m or so (and the signed diversion was definitely not bike friendly). The drivers that were having to practice their three point turns had ignored at least three signs warning them the road was shut

It's not just cyclists. Near us there is a permanent ford with gates on either side so police/highways can close it when the level is too deep. Drivers have been known to go onto the verge to bypass the gate.
They often have plenty of time to reflect on their actions
(photo from Daily Mail).
On our christmas day ride this year it was impassible even using the footbridge, which was out of the water, just not long enough on one side to clear the flood. On foot fine, but I don't normally cycle in wellies.

We were given a chance to play with a (for want of a better word) industrial log splitter when we were volunteering with NT once. It could take rounds that you could barely lift and go through them almost like butter. Total overkill for our use but incredible fun to have a go at. That did have a lot of safety features mind, shield that had to be in place, dual triggers because if you did get your hand in the way it wouldn't even notice.

Which brings me right back to the question I made earlier, "have I really been dicing with death over the last >50 years"?

Mrs T is the chainsaw expert in the family, having done it for work and passed the small tree qualification, and there are times she winces when she sees some people at work. The week she took the course someone in Leicester got it wrong (terminally) and since she passed someone she knew who was trained and worked for Leicester City Council made a mistake and won't make another

Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑19 Apr 2021, 9:55am

domnortheast wrote: ↑18 Apr 2021, 7:59pm The second occasion was using the bag loops on a Brooks Cambium to carry the bag. These are forged as an integral part of the aluminium cantle of the saddle and the weight of my kit and repeated jolting (more roughstuff tracks) caused the loops to distort out of shape though they didn't break. I don't think this would've happened on the steel loops of a B17 or similar.

Hmm, might have to look out for this. The Cambium is so comfy!

I used a cambium with a classic saddlebag rack and the saddle loops gave up after a few years. It was carrying a nelson longflap and sometimes up to (and probably over- I've certainly never weighed it) the recommended weight limit. I don't know if the metal tabs on the bag support accelerated the decline or if it was always fated to break

thirdcrank wrote: ↑14 Apr 2021, 10:43am I see they now advertise direct funerals - straight from undertaker to crem with no faffing. That would be my choice but survivors might not like it.

That's how my mother is going (and would have been anyway even without all the Covid restrictions on funerals). We're just waiting for them to work out cause of death and release the body

Tangled Metal wrote: ↑12 Apr 2021, 4:35pm Which is more important to you, going to the pub or getting your hair professionally cut?

This does not apply to mickf of course.

I'm at the other extreme to MickF and my last haircut that I actually paid for was almost 20 year ago, but it's now 5 pm, I've planned my commute home to pass a couple of hostelries, at least one of which I know will be open, the sun is shining and I'll have a tailwind

markjohnobrien wrote: ↑10 Apr 2021, 8:22am
I’d love to pay £3.60 a pint in most pubs. Last time I was in a pub in Hampstead, London, last year, it was £6 a pint (wince). Other craft beer places in the centre are £8 and upwards (far too expensive).

Part of that is the London mark up of course, but some of it is the beer itself. There are some special beers out there and some of them use expensive ingredients and/or time so why shouldn't good brewers get the price they deserve. Don't get me wrong I will quite happily buy a £3.80 pint when the pubs open but when I can I'll also be happy to go to de Molen in the Netherlands and spend £10+ (or rather €5 for a metric half pint) of one of their excellent imperial stouts.

markjohnobrien wrote: ↑10 Apr 2021, 8:22am That’s why I prefer good old Sam Smiths, an oasis of good and cheap (for London) beer and Old Brewery bitter, Taddy Porter, and Oatmeal Stout are amazing. And the one next to Trafalgar Square has tables outside

I quite like Sam Smiths beers but I'm afraid my dislike of Sir Humphrey Smith and his almost feudal control of his pub estate means I don't go in anymore

Mick F wrote:
Home via Cochin (India), Bahrein (Persian Gulf) and Mombassa where I flew home as my year was up and carried on with my apprenticeship. Achilles went via the same route back to Devonport and was away for 15months in total.

You tell the children of today all that, and they wouldn't believe you!

Father was on I think it was Hermes (but might have been Bulwark) on a world tour back when there was trouble in Aden (plus ca change). I can't remember how long the tour took but they would get so far down the East coast of Africa then get diverted back to Aden several times before finally getting free.

Back to the subject at hand- where the wood grows can have an effect as well- birch is fast growing over here, burns well but no good for anything else really. In Finland it grows much slower and is quite a bit denser and makes pretty good timber.
And nobody's mentioned box yet as a hard wood? Mrs T has a beetle made of box which has lasted well over 10 years and many thousands of tent pegs etc

thirdcrank wrote:
In short up and down tracks - or rather down and up - would be a change from track riders going round and round.

I don't know- surely you can Everest in a velodrome? You just need a line on the banking that you have to go above each circuit. You could then have the longest pursuit race in the world. keeping the crowd cheering throughout could be a challenge.

I wonder if anyone's ever Everested on a track bike? The descents could be 'interesting'

661-Pete wrote:No end of phone calls telling me my Amazon Prime account is .... (whatever: that's where I hang up).

I always just put the phone down and carry on with what I was doing and then hang up in a few minutes. I suspect the amount of computer/call time it costs them is minuscule, but it feels like I'm doing something to disrupt them

Cambridge to York one spring. Not a very strong head wind, but a head wind nonetheless, cold but certainly not freezing, grey drizzling and across the fens. Miles of absolutely nothing to see except cabbages, the gps was a featureless straight line.
I can remember spotting a leylandii hedge around a house from a couple of miles away and just staring at it fixedly as I rolled towards it.

Also getting close to max tide and a strong onshore wind around Dawlish atm.