Cycling UK Forum

You know the feeling,that crunching grinding sound of a ball bearing being ground to bits.Happened to me last week on my shimano 105 FH5700 rear hub,mangling drive side bearings.Solution,new freehub ,cone and balls at a cost of £40 +.Eventaully found new,complete 105 hub with freehub ,shop soiled items at Evans for £32,a real bargain,even if yours hasn,t gone yet.

Sorry, just read your post more closely,discs would be a problem if you wanted rear rack

Firstly,forget cheap and new,heavy,nasty,rubbish.Go on ebay,look for older,retro,well maintained,mountain bike.I have a "holiday bike",a cannondale F900sl,with semi slick tyres which is ok on road and ok offroad,not ideal for either but,nevertheless ideal as an allrounder.Must be 15yrs old,has road type forks,albeit with some suspension(fatty headshoks)which take some sting off the trails.Disc brakes a must,low maintenance,8 or 9 spd triple giving loads of options and cheap replacement cassettes etc.I reckon 250 quid will get you something decent,try and take an experienced friend with you---good luck.

I use a small local wood for some easy offroad when its icy or too windy for the road.Unfortunately,gorse has taken hold,notoriously difficult to eradicate.Vicious spines caused a spate of punctures so I injected tyres with "slime" and havn,t had any since.I even did my wheelbarrow as I collect "sticks"(as they call logs in this part of the country).Road tyres would be rather heavy after such treatment however.

I,ve used a small,.5ltr tesco s/s flask for a few winters but found I had to put it in the carradice wedge bag to keep it warm enough

Thankyou for your suggestions,opinions,ideas,wisdom and knowledge.I have come to a decision with the help of these.I,m not ruining a perfectly good jacket,I am going orange,I will be using a gilet,well ,a bib actually.I bought a packet of these in a charity shop and they,ve been buried in a draw.They will do just fine..I,m off now............................................................................................................................can you still see me.

My mate with whom I ride is an idle swine,he is invariably 50,100,150yds off my back wheel.As I ride with a mirror,I find I,m using it as much to see where idleswine is as anything else and guess what I spot first;his yellow jersey or hi vis jacket,way back in the distance.The simple fact is,despite statistics,studies etc if a driver spots you earlier,then their is less chance of an accident.

I can only go on experience of driving and what brings a cyclist or runner into vision the quickest which is yellow or hi vis.Too many bikers are wearing black,doesn,t make sense.Also,a totally yellow top is ,in my opinion,better than a gilet.Agreed,paint,even fabric paint seems a bit outlandish so will look at a dye.Thanks

I,ve had this Nike winter jacket for years.It,s still good but I,d like to dye/paint it yellow as its a mid blue.Has anyone done this,particularly paint?

I,m not an expert,just a long time on/off road biker ,having used most brake designs including,I think,yours which sound like V brakes with the small grub screw used to tension or back off spring tension to even out brake pad to rim clearance.These can be screwed into plastic which,eventually,strips the threads.Replace with any V brake,Shimano,Tektro,spring to mind.They can,t be repaired.

Yes,it has got chrome,in fact it seems to have been chromed then painted.The chrome has survived quite well .Of more interest is the fact that someone else has knowledge of one.Did you have one or knew someone?

I,ve just rebuilt an old 6o,s frame which,incidentally,is a surprisingly good ride,not a world away from my latter day giant tcr.Anyway,the point its I was given this frame from a Belgian man who was given it by an Italian.It,s obviously good quality however I can,t find any info on the frame.It,s made by "Maurizio"(not Maurizio Fondriest)It,s a "Fausto Coppi" model whose initials are stamped in several places,including a serial number.It could even be late 50,s .Any ideas about this frame anyone?

Thanks for feedback.Re. walking,I use mtb shoes for all bikes.Sound idea from brucey re.spd with integral platform for longer rides,will invest in a set when the next time ataks give up the ghost.

Ever since switching to clipless 20 years ago,I,ve used time ataks on all my bikes.All my badly worn pedals have been left side but I,ve still had to buy a new set,now £35+.Decided to gradually replace with shimano spd,cost £15 a set.Initial impressions are good,a Fred Whitton ride last week being a good test with only slight discomfort in the last few miles.Anybody else use spd,s?

Yes,I can see your point,there is in fact very little to gain in terms of longevity and that it could be dangerous,therefore will abandon the idea.thanks.