Cycling UK Forum

Si wrote:Talking of throw away society.....somewhat annoyed by the number of inner tubes left at the sides of quiet country lanes. I'd like to give the culprits the benefit of the doubt and assumed that they'd accidentally fallen out of their bags as hurried post-p*nct*re repacking (all had p*nct*res) but I fear that that is being a little optimistic.

I will admit to leaving a tyre by the side of the road somewhere in Sufolk, but in my defense it was of the non folding variety and I couldn't make it fit in my already full pannier. I had only ridden about 400K on it

7_lives_left wrote:I will admit to leaving a tyre by the side of the road somewhere in Sufolk, but in my defense it was of the non folding variety and I couldn't make it fit in my already full pannier. I had only ridden about 400K on it

For all those who don't know how to pack a tyre, see here:- http://www.ctc-cambridge.org.uk/Tyres.html

Peter Rowell wrote:For all those who don't know how to pack a tyre, see here:- http://www.ctc-cambridge.org.uk/Tyres.html

Good link. Thank you! Lots of stuff there that I didn't know before, but I will in future.

Mick F wrote:We needed a new glass shade for our light fitting in the living room.
(Yes, it was me. I broke it!)

We hadn't had it long, so we popped into B&Q and enquired about a replacement glass bit. "Sorry," we were told, "They're imported from China and we can't supply spares." So we bought a complete new light fitting, just for the glass bit.

Cost? Only £12.98. It would've cost a tenner for the glass, if we could have got one I suppose.

This is the same with bike components. Use it, if it breaks, you can't repair it, so buy a complete new one. Chuck out the old one.

This " Throw-away Society " has only happened over the last 30yrs.

Goods are now not made to last, white goods have a specified lifespan, produced cheap and not economical to repair.

The clothing industry has gone the same, throw away clothing, dirt cheap from stores like Primark and most supermarkets.

I remember as a kid my family owned a 'Servis' twintub washing machine, it lasted 25yrs, every year the 'service' engineer would come round and grease the bearings and checked it was all OK.

In fact I own the Canon cooker (cast iron) that my parents bought in 1958 long before I was born and it's still going strong, every time a gas fitter comes round they all take a photo and talk about the old days

Quality goods will last for decades, it's about time we stopped being so wasteful, maybe society has become to affluent if we can throw away items that have years of use left in them.

In fairness all that the twintub had in it was a motor, heater and drive belt.

It does have some benefits though. At the end of the year when the kids here go home for the summer holidays, quite a few leave thier bikes behind to scrap cos' mum and dad can't squeeze them in the 4x4. Most of these bikes are little used and have plenty of life left in them.
My collection of wheels (O.K., not top quality but fine for knocking around the local tracks),brake blocks,chains etc is steadily growing.

Personally, I'd much rather re-cycle or buy quality secondand stuff than new, but I think that's probably a generation and upbringing thing.

hamster wrote:In fairness all that the twintub had in it was a motor, heater and drive belt.

and it worked perfectly well, every part was serviceable and used quality materials that lasted, even the mechanical timer unit.

They could make white goods last much longer today, they could even make the parts that do wear the most easy replaceable by the owner.

Oh, don't get me started on this!

I was at a primary school meeting last night, preparation for the Year 6 residential trip, and I brought the room to a stunned silence.

These children are going caving, rafting, abseiling, boating etc etc and when I suggested that the parents buy old trackie pants and T-shirts from charity shops they looked at me incomprehendingly!

I do nearly all my shopping from charity shops; I would rather Oxfam have my money than Tescos. (Oddly enough, the stuff I don't buy there is cycling-specific clothing ... but that's 'cos I never see it there! Extrapolate, if you please?)

And I won't let my children shop at Primark for all sorts of reasons.

And I won't let my children shop at Primark for all sorts of reasons

.

Me neither Dee - although being 21 and 18 I don't really control their spending but they do generally avoid Primark.

When my Jenny had a month's volunteering in Costa Rica last year she was also advised to get stuff from charity shops (which she did). I never had a problem getting stuff from them when the girls were little and we had very little money. My favourite one had a 10p bin and I'd buy loads of t-shirts, skirts etc from it and if the girls got them grubby, I didn't care. Jenny got a few perfectly decent t-shirts, but knowing she'd never wear them back home, she left them with her hosts to hand out amongst the villagers so they got some nice new clothes (although they did need to wash them!) and she didn't have to lug them home. Suited everyone.

I was given a good tip about charity shops though and that was to visit ones in nice areas. So I'd go to Petts Wood or West Wickham rather than Orpington and be astounded at the quality of stuff people threw away.

Jan

jan19 wrote:

I was given a good tip about charity shops though and that was to visit ones in nice areas. So I'd go to Petts Wood or West Wickham rather than Orpington and be astounded at the quality of stuff people threw away.

Jan

When I lived in London I used to go to St John's Wood or Notting Hill. Very rich pickings. Although, I did once try on a pair of Armani boots in Notting Hill; I was glad they didn't fit as they were £50! (I should think they probably retail at about £350 or more!)

And nothing like a spell in the developing world for putting all that into perspective.

UrbanManc wrote:This " Throw-away Society " has only happened over the last 30yrs.

Goods are now not made to last, white goods have a specified lifespan, produced cheap and not economical to repair.

The clothing industry has gone the same, throw away clothing, dirt cheap from stores like Primark and most supermarkets.

I remember as a kid my family owned a 'Servis' twintub washing machine, it lasted 25yrs, every year the 'service' engineer would come round and grease the bearings and checked it was all OK.

In fact I own the Canon cooker (cast iron) that my parents bought in 1958 long before I was born and it's still going strong, every time a gas fitter comes round they all take a photo and talk about the old days

Quality goods will last for decades, it's about time we stopped being so wasteful, maybe society has become to affluent if we can throw away items that have years of use left in them.

I'm not in complete agreement that things don't last like they did. If you pay equivalent money you *usually* get something that does last.

The big issue imo is that people buy because of fashion, white goods get chucked more often that not these days because a new kitchen makes them redundant not because they've failed.
TV's, computers, cars, bicycles (sometimes even animals) you name it, the vast majority are gotten rid of because people are bored with them or want the latest not because they're duff.

Well said Kwackers.

Of course, also being anti-fashion (me!), helps too.

Have you ever seen the amount of Widescreen TVs at the tip? Even if they are broken, how long must they have lasted - a couple of years. Shocking that things can have such a short life.

Talking of tips, I saw a really a really nice road bike in the scrap metal bit..I asked the man there if I could have it - he said no. I explained that it would be being recyled, in that it would no longer be in the tip and it would be being put to use, but he said once it was in the tip, it was in the tip.
What a waste.

Our local laughingly called "recycling centre" have been stopped (by the health and safety maniacs I expect) letting people take away stuff to recycle. In case they then injure themselves and make a claim against the council.(And no, you can't sign a disclaimer, I asked).
So, it's not actually recycling at all. It's just a tip, like it was before!

Couldn't make it up could you? Britain eh, what a marvellous society we live in!

everyone,
Lovely tea-shop here.
In response to Mick F's original dilemna, I am in a similar situation. One of my wall-mounted double-spotlights has lost a light. The remaining lights are not happy to accept low-energy bulbs.
I have another (very 80's) set of spotlights which are ceiling-mounted and operate from a dimmer switch. How do I future-proof these for when tungsten-filament bulbs become obsolete in year 2016?

Never mind the telly, which has probably dropped to a negative financial value...

Punk-shore