Nickey Line

On a holiday in June this year, myself and another participant were passed by the Google camera car... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.4182533,-3.038277,3a,75y,98.72h,97.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRg4UtYFfXy6DVI-1BpdZmA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en That was quite a significant climb out of Clun.

That's not too far from me, though I tend to go down it rather than up! Would be a great view from the top, if it weren't for MK being there...

Sora doesn't give me the ratios I want, only Ultegra does. You're just as guilty of continuing this as me, but agreed, it's gone far enough. Your income is clearly different to mine.

Well, no, actually... affordability more like. I can't afford to spend £200 on a cassette that's only going last a year. I think there's a lot of unnecessary 'innovation' applied to bike parts... what was wrong with the system where all sprockets were separate? Having sprockets riveted to spiders introduces an inherent weakness. Fine if you're a pro rider and don't pay for your equipment, but for most ordinary folk? No thanks. For me the same applies to Di2, a very marginal gain for increased complexity at vastly increased expense.

The point being that if I were to spend that amount of money on a cassette, I would expect it to provide a decent length of service. Let's face it, Ultegra cassettes aren't cheap, and Dura-Ace are several times the price. As for my cassette doing 17,000 miles, it ain't finished yet!

Your words, not mine. I've never seen a failure like yours before, nor even heard of such an occurrence... and I certainly don't want to experience one!

But a catastrophic failure like that? That has to be a manufacturing fault surely. The (Ultegra) cassette I'm currently using is on it's fifth chain and has done approx. 17,000 miles... on a pound per mile basis there's no comparison, and that's discounting the threat to life and limb!

I have one of these, and the elements do fail. Fortunately the last time I had one fail, Maplins was still extant, so I bought three replacement elements... still unused!

I think if I'd bought a Dura-Ace cassette that failed like that I'd want my money back!

Interesting to see other's experiences with chain/cassette wear. I too have a chain-wear tool, and change the chain at 0.5% wear, usually after 3 to 4,000 miles, depending on weather and riding conditions. My cassette is currently on it's fifth chain (SRAM PC1110, Ultegra cassette) and no sign of any skipping... I always give the chain a good wipe-down after every ride, to get as much grit off as possible.

If your PC is less than five years old, it will almost certainly be able to install W11, it just might need a little work... I followed the instructions from this vid and it worked perfectly...

Have you tried Spa Cycles, or SJS? https://www.spacycles.co.uk/ https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/ I'd be very surprised if one or both don't have the parts you require. Worth ringing them if you can't find what you're looking for on-line, both very helpful. The usual disclaimer, just a happy customer... p.s. got the links right this time!

I'm not intending to offer an opinion on the use or otherwise of e-bikes, but these articles might be of some interest... https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?e=8a305cec56&u=c7dbaf13551196ff1dbc0d8cc&id=76959bba41 ...not planning on going 'e' myself just yet, but quite a number of my fellow club members have them. Indeed, one friend of mine has two Ribble and two Orbea e-bikes, plus a fair number of 'normal' bikes too!

Hmm... I suspect the frame design is not stiff enough for efficient power transfer, and hub gears are 'lossy' (is that a word?) anyway. Like cycling through treacle?

Wonders will never cease!

I've wondered about this myself, and came to the conclusion that this happens when you're out-pacing the wind speed... maybe.

Fair enough...

Plenty of custom builders in Britain, no need to go to the States for one!

Decidedly Heath-Robinson in appearance, but supposed to be very comfy!

Yes indeed. Additionally I suspect the Hornby uncouplers have to go on a straight piece of track, so that the curve at the beginning of the siding is dead space...

I'll confess to being with @Nearholmer and @big jim on the single fork thing... and to me it looks odd! I guess we're just old-fashioned! It took me ages to get used to the idea of increasing sprocket numbers (eleven? Good Heavens!) and hydraulic brakes (why would you ever need them on a bike!) Now I wouldn't be without either...

Correct... to clarify, the siding would be long enough to take the 5 wagons plus the brake van on the end, thus making up a 'proper' train. The brake van should be ignored until the puzzle is complete.

I think the OP is looking at a 5-3-3 inglenook in this instance... If it were me, though, I'd like to leave room on the longer siding for a brake van to go on the end. Which incidentally is what I did on my own inglenook.

I have a bike I'd like to sell, too, though not my 30+ year old steel tourer, which I still ride from time to time, but a relatively new carbon bike... it just isn't comfortable.

As a touring cyclist of over 40 years standing and an ex-commuter cyclist, I guess it's time I joined in here too.. I was fortunate to be able to retire early and have upped my yearly mileage to between 7- 8000 miles, hope to get to 5 figures in a year sometime... As for the brakes/tyres discussion, I became a convert to hydraulic discs 5 years ago and would not go back. One advantage not already mentioned is that they don't wear your rims out! Tyres... I use Continental Gatorskins and I rarely get punctures. The trick is to inspect them regularly and remove flints, bits of glass etc. BEFORE they go through! I do this at least fortnightly, more often in the winter. Here's my favourite bike, easily the best ride I've ever had... It's titanium framed, with carbon forks, glides like a Rolls Royce...