Cycling UK Forum

Ladies and Gentlemen, please accept my gratitude for all your kind sentiments and advice.
Mr, or Ms Porpoise(!)......not sure what you mean by 'Chamois Butter'...is this a generic term or an actual product?
I've tried Assos,Velochampion,Proshield Plus,Calendula and Lignocaine, all applied to the skin with only slight improvement.
I'll write again....more to say re cancer diagnosis.
Cheers, Mike.

A year ago I was diagnosed with Prostate cancer and after a biopsy was treated with External Beam Radiotherapy and hormones.
My current concern is saddle soreness after about 10 miles and I've not managed more than 35 miles/day this season.
I've tried all the usual remedies....double paddedshorts, various ointments,different saddles and the saddle in every conceivable position,but to no avail.
Could this discomfort be caused by the biopsy, where 20 or so needles are stuck in the relavent area,although it's not now tender to touch, or the radiation?.
Or just me getting old...69y?
Are there any fellow ca.prostate victims out there with a cure!
Hopefully,Mike.

This is a note I sent to Herts Highways Department recently:

'Message from user: Re:1. The Old Coach Road, Cole Green to Hertingfordbury.
2. Panshanger Lane, B1000 to A 414
Yesterday I rode both these roads.
Whereas one week ago both roads were in excellent condition, in need of neither repair nor re surfacing, they have now been covered in 2 miles worth of loose gravel at, presumably, enormous expense and are dangerous to motor and cycle traffic.
Can you tell me why you have wasted large sums of money on completely unnecessary work.
You do of course have a history of similar actions, the A1057 comes to mind,parts of this road having been relaid on several occasions for no obvious reason.
The stretch of this road that actually needs work, outside the Wickes store, has naturally been neglected'.
x x x

Has anyone else encountered similar 'Repairs'?
Both roads, in the Hertford-Hatfield area, carry 1 car about every 10-15 minutes.
I did once shout at the workers on the A1057 who were engaged on this work, 'There's nothing wrong with this Bxxxx road' and was rewarded with a smirk.

Thanks all for the info.
Logically, Jdsk's 'fork' is correct I believe, but illogically I, like drossall also find myself referring to 'forks'.
Each to his own ...WTH!
Mike

Photo didn't make it. I'll try again.............

I bought this chromed fork, or forks, the other day and I'd like to know who is the maker.
Does anyone recognise the logo?
While I'm here, a dinner fork or a fork in the road are counted as singlar, but a bicycle is usually described as having 'forks', pleural.
For a cycle,which is correct?
Mike.

James- thanks for the info, I'm in Barnet, might have a look when, or if, C19 finishes.
Biketips/Rogerzilla - Yes, is this a reference to Spa Cycles by any chance? I bought some chainrings there years ago with no problem but their current feedback is not encouraging. The bloke there sounds well practised in annoying his customers. My own Mr Rude has 'Ratners Syndrome'- remember Ratners jewellers?- business built up by Mr Ratner, then taken over by son who, having never worked for anything in his life, proceeds to destroy it by announcing that 'They sell crap'!!
Sounds familiar.

Nope...North London. Is there a similar bike shop in Harrogate?
Maybe a competition could be organised, with suitable prizes.............!
If these parts are fake, shouldn't trading standards get involved?
It clearly states 'Made in Japan' on the packaging shown if not on the actual item.

I bought a pair of Shimano SM-SH51 SPD shoe plates at a shop 5 miles away and for my trouble was charged £17.99 by a rude shop assistant who pointed out he was very rich and didn't need to sell anything and what a shame I had a rubbish bike- which I'd previously bought at the same shop!
Obviously the next pair will be bought on the internet.
Question--the set shown here from a UK address on EBay are described as 'Genuine' but they don't have the type no. stamped on and have an embossed Star motif. I've also seen these advertised as sent from China.
Anyone know if these are bogus copies or the real thing??
Mike.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for your input here. Rather than spend time with gluing welding or hammering, none of which have been needed on other makes, I've ditched the offending SunRace article and put on a 1 year old Shimano which has cured the problem. I suspect that whatever tightening methods I might come up with would be inferior to the MegaNewton- Metre tightener they used at the factory- and it still came loose even then.
As rogerzilla says: ' Freewheels are fairly cheap, so I'd buy something that works, rather than risk being stuck miles from home.' Absolutely, the question is....what works best?
Cycle tramp- When tightened by me, virtually no play in the bearing and yes clunking sounds from somewhere, only on pedalling, maybe nothing for 15 miles, then with a vengeance, worse on the smaller sprockets, then disappears! I'd replaced virtually all the transmission piece by piece before I sussed it. With hindsight all is clear- the lockring is repeatedly loosening under load (why?) then screwing up on freewheeling.I estimate 5 balls had escaped which would sensibly make 36 originally in the outer race. So, 'A close run thing' (to walking 15 miles home) as the Duke of Wellington nearly said!
I did not mention that the 1 years previous trouble free useage of this freewheel was (with the same wheel) in a different frame, now at the painters. The wheel fitted the stand in frame, the chain alignment is good, it didn't seem relevant. But having read rjb's experience with a Shimano on his tandem, who knows?
I've not heard of IRD but if they cost £60 you'd be annoyed if they have problems.They certainly look pretty and are offered in a huge range incuding 5 speed.
What's the latest on them?
KBO,
Mike.

Thanks rjb, but as far as I can gather the complaint voiced previously was regarding the sprockets and lockring detaching from the freewheel body whereas it's my body itself that's coming apart! Fortunately when freewheeling, the cone/lockring ie the bit with 2 shallow holes in it tends to screw back on, otherwise there'd be 71 1/8'' balls in the road-yes I did count them- and an awful noise from my rear end.
My interpretation- a new manufacturer, they don't really know what they are doing, the screw thread they've used is too coarse and eventually works loose.Regina, Maillard and, dare I say it-TDC (look it up) would have known better, but where are they now?
Surprising no previous on this. So looks like I AM alone!! (Violins here!).
MikeS

For a year now I've been using a screw on SunRace freewheel with no problems.
Now, all of a sudden it's started unscrewing itself on the road- that's the LH threaded cone/lockring coming loose, not the sprockets.
I've re tightened it, as much as i can , several times using a Park Tool tool- that's the thing like a big steel hairgrip- but it re loosens on the road everytme.
Has anyone else had this problem with this make?
Mike.

Thanks Brucey, at least I stuck it on the right way round!
There seem to be at least 4 types of patch available, all constructed differently and all under the 'Weldtite' banner- and that's just the 'glue- ons'.
As with most things in the bicycle world, I much prefer the one they stopped making 10 years ago.
Mike.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have two strips of rubber bicycle inner tube patches in front of me, both marked 'CURE-C-CURE' and marketed by Weldtite.Both for use with vulcanising rubber solution.
One strip has the rubber sandwiched between a metal foil and a thin paper layer. In use the foil is easily removed, the patch cemented to the tube and when dry the backing paper pinched or creased and peeled off from the centre. This procedure is decades-if not centuries- old.
The other, presumably newer version has, instead of paper, a film of clear, almost indestructable plastic.The other side is a metallised plastic. In use:
1 It is very difficult to separate the two plastic layers when new, even indoors with a good light.
2.On separation, the patch sticks equally well to either side and can be damaged in the process. It is unclear on which side the cement goes.
3. Having stuck down the patch, I'm guessing with the textured side outwards,the plastic film, unlike paper, is impossble to remove without lifting the edges of the patch, assuming one is not carrying a scalpel, tweezers or scissors on the road.
Could someone advise me on the correct prodedure when using these wretched things and suggest why an excellent design was replaced with something almost unuseable and plastic 'unfriendly'?

I have tried to contact Weldtite with no success.
Mike