Cycling UK Forum

Of course one alternative would be to go for the non-wicking route. I've never been fond of tight-fitting clothing which is a requirement for efficient wicking. For me at least I like loose-fitting, open weave clothing which is light, comfortable and quick-drying. Something that can be washed and dried easily and quickly. I camp/tour in France every summer for a couple of months and find that the old style Rohan collarless tops made from a poly/cotton mix (Airlight) are ideal for this.

You can still use a chain tool on any chain up to 8 speed without problems. It's the 9 speed and 10 speed that using a chain tool is verboten. That said it's usually possible to free up a stiff link by grasping a section of the chain using a cloth and then twisting it to and fro a few times.

Terry T wrote:Am I the only one here who deliberately avoids anything written by CJ?

I make a point in looking for anything written by him. You do know that he will not be influenced by the latest fashion and that his opinion on technical matters is backed by a sound engineering background.
Why you should hold such a view is a mystery to me and I do hope that you're in a minority here.

Using this small programme may help in that it’s pretty straightforward and easy to use.
IrfanView can be downloaded at http://www.irfanview.com/

Once downloaded simply click on the open file icon or the “open” contained in the “file” tab.
You will now see a window from which you can select the image you want to upload.
Double-click on this and it will appear on screen.
Now choose "image" from the tab. On the drop-down list presented, choose “resize/resample”
On clicking on this, a window appears which allows several options.
One can now choose to resize by using pixels, centimeters or inches or can choose from several set values.


When rescaling is complete go to the “file” tab and then “save” or “save as” as usual and the image will be saved to a place of your choice.

PW wrote:Another vote for the winged wheel. The logo's a sad bit of modern marketing garbage.

+1

These are quite popular with American cycle-tourers. You do need a wind shield though to make it even half-way efficient. Why bother I ask when there are so many ready-made stoves using every type of fuel that work really well.

Whether large flange hubs gave a stiffer wheel or not, I do miss them. Campag Chorus large flange hubs were things of beauty.

Very good post Paul.
My problem is that after learning to build wheels the time gap between having to do so means that I've forgotten everything when the time comes. As I remember the cost for a Mavic MA 40 rim and Mavic 501 hubs plus spokes, was higher buying these than it was for having them built by a good wheel-builder. It seemed daft therefore to build them myself.

I heard various people comment that the Rohloff hub had too large gaps between the gears and I'm at a loss to understand why. It was not the case with mine. I understand it works out to around 14% and I found this perfect for loaded touring.

Can I make a plea for posters giving very long URLS links to use Shrunkurl.

It gets tiresome having to move the window from side to side. Ta!

Bought these and I'm delighted with them. They have insulated inserts at the knees which are great and very comfortable. Love them! Not too dear also and I escaped the import duty.

http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product-d ... ON-SHO.htm

[quote="JohnW"]
If a framebuilder was doubtful about widening by 6mm (although granted that he may have been conservative in his thinking and a little over-cautious), 15mm needs thinking about.

To widen by 6mm means that each side needs to move 3mm. Not much really, and many people would not cold set at all but be content to pull the stays apart in order to fit a wheel with a wider hub.

These are, in my opinion, directly aimed at the American market which is very vulnerable to being influenced by nostalgia for Brooks products. Brooks have made a grand job with their advertising copy and packaging, of underlining their cycling heritage to good effect. I understand that in fact they are made overseas and not by Brooks, but appear well made. A bit on the small side perhaps.

JohnW wrote:
Incidentally, isn't 120mm up to 135mm a bit far to cold set? Any framebuilders or technical chaps out there to answer that? Doesn't cold setting crack the paint?
JohnW


Not really when you think that this means 7.5 mill for each chainstay. 531 should easily tolerate that amount of cold-setting. I've used Sheldon's method and it worked fine. I never noticed any problems with the paint either. It's important to make sure the alignment is still right after doing this.

By the way the spelling is wrong in your link. i.e. "Federation".