Your rants here.

slowbike

elbowloh wrote:

I don't trust a professional more than I trust myself, especially after seeing some of the shoddy work that's come back official Mercedes service centres on my car.

Training or experience - I use a garage to MOT and (occaisionally) service my vehicles - I could change oil & filters myself, but TBH, it's a PITA and the garage mechanics can do it quicker than I can. I trust them as so far they have treated me, my wife and our vehicles well - I doubt they've had specialist training on all the vehicles they get, but they seem to be good generalists and there's no evidence of "we can't do that" - they just get on and do what's needed.

Same with the LBS we usually turn to - experienced mechanic who so far hasn't given us reason for concern - treated us well and as like minded cyclists (yes - even my wife) rather than just as people who haven't a clue. Far cry from the chain of stores in the town (where we get club discount) who got a replacement part, suggested (to my wife) it would fit despite the fact that the fixing points were a few mm different in the space of 10mm - no it didn't fit - we tried them first as we bought the bike from them.

rick_chasey

Yeah, would have been helpful had someone said 'being in a house when a lot of MDF is being sawn is not so good if you're pregnant.'.

vpnikolov

Veronese68 wrote:

awavey wrote:

...why wouldnt you pay to get that ?

Because I'm tight :oops:

That's what she said.

tgotb

vpnikolov wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

awavey wrote:

...why wouldnt you pay to get that ?

Because I'm tight :oops:

That's what she said.

We live in modern times, and it's fantastic that in most parts of the World people can now be whomever and whatever they want to be.

That said, last time I met V68, he was a he... ;-)

elbowloh

Slowbike wrote:

elbowloh wrote:

I don't trust a professional more than I trust myself, especially after seeing some of the shoddy work that's come back official Mercedes service centres on my car.

Training or experience - I use a garage to MOT and (occaisionally) service my vehicles - I could change oil & filters myself, but TBH, it's a PITA and the garage mechanics can do it quicker than I can. I trust them as so far they have treated me, my wife and our vehicles well - I doubt they've had specialist training on all the vehicles they get, but they seem to be good generalists and there's no evidence of "we can't do that" - they just get on and do what's needed.

Same with the LBS we usually turn to - experienced mechanic who so far hasn't given us reason for concern - treated us well and as like minded cyclists (yes - even my wife) rather than just as people who haven't a clue. Far cry from the chain of stores in the town (where we get club discount) who got a replacement part, suggested (to my wife) it would fit despite the fact that the fixing points were a few mm different in the space of 10mm - no it didn't fit - we tried them first as we bought the bike from them.

But i actually quite enjoy doing maintenance. I find it cathartic. Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance...

dinyull

elbowloh wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

elbowloh wrote:

I don't trust a professional more than I trust myself, especially after seeing some of the shoddy work that's come back official Mercedes service centres on my car.

Training or experience - I use a garage to MOT and (occaisionally) service my vehicles - I could change oil & filters myself, but TBH, it's a PITA and the garage mechanics can do it quicker than I can. I trust them as so far they have treated me, my wife and our vehicles well - I doubt they've had specialist training on all the vehicles they get, but they seem to be good generalists and there's no evidence of "we can't do that" - they just get on and do what's needed.

Same with the LBS we usually turn to - experienced mechanic who so far hasn't given us reason for concern - treated us well and as like minded cyclists (yes - even my wife) rather than just as people who haven't a clue. Far cry from the chain of stores in the town (where we get club discount) who got a replacement part, suggested (to my wife) it would fit despite the fact that the fixing points were a few mm different in the space of 10mm - no it didn't fit - we tried them first as we bought the bike from them.

But i actually quite enjoy doing maintenance. I find it cathartic. Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance...

I'm the same, like doing my own maintenance......until I fark it all up.

That's what 2 bikes are for (or 4 in my case)*, if I need a part or time to fettle I can jump on t'other and still get to work.

*I appreciate not everyone has space for 2 bikes.

slowbike

elbowloh wrote:

But i actually quite enjoy doing maintenance. I find it cathartic. Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance...

I do most of mine too ... but just draw the line at specific items.

veronese68

Slowbike wrote:

elbowloh wrote:

But i actually quite enjoy doing maintenance. I find it cathartic. Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance...

I do most of mine too ... but just draw the line at specific items.

I find the enjoyment of fettling or maintenance is in inverse proportion to the need for it to be done. I really enjoy tinkering when the job is not urgent and I can do it in my own time. If I need to fix something as the car/bike/whatever is needed for the following morning it takes the pleasure away.

slowbike

N+1

gbsahne001

Slowbike wrote:

N+1

the equation has had to be changed in our house... n+1=n-1, to ensure that balance is maintained....so I've been told.

slowbike

gbsahne wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

N+1

the equation has had to be changed in our house... n+1=n-1, to ensure that balance is maintained....so I've been told.

Ah - mines more N+1 = N+1 & H+1 .... if I want a new one then she has one too ... and unfortunately we don't really have room for any more.

sorefinger

TGOTB wrote:

TimothyW wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Why not just learn to maintain your own bikes? Then you can fix stuff when it needs fixing, rather than according to some arbitrary service schedule.

I did this out of necessity as much as anything, but if someone has the money and inclination to pay someone else to maintain their bike then why shouldn't they?

Because it's clearly enough of a pain in the a*se that they're here on the rants thread complaining about it.

I reckon it would probably take me half an hour to drop my bike off at the nearest bike shop and get back home. And then another half an hour to go back and pick it up. Other than building wheels, I'm struggling to think of any bike maintenance job that takes a full hour...

Getting the bottom bracket off my Falcon Black Diamond.

tgotb

sorefinger wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

TimothyW wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

Why not just learn to maintain your own bikes? Then you can fix stuff when it needs fixing, rather than according to some arbitrary service schedule.

I did this out of necessity as much as anything, but if someone has the money and inclination to pay someone else to maintain their bike then why shouldn't they?

Because it's clearly enough of a pain in the a*se that they're here on the rants thread complaining about it.

I reckon it would probably take me half an hour to drop my bike off at the nearest bike shop and get back home. And then another half an hour to go back and pick it up. Other than building wheels, I'm struggling to think of any bike maintenance job that takes a full hour...

Getting the bottom bracket off my Falcon Black Diamond.

I once spent half a day trailing around all my LBSs (about 7 of them) looking for someone who had the right tool to remove the cranks from my tandem (a square taper crank extractor with a larger-than-standard thread). In the end I had to order a tool off eBay.

condorman

That Audi advert with the song "Bring on the clowns". My experience and that of most other road users is that Audi's are the clown driver's current vehicle of choice so why would you denigrate your target audience? Must be Germanic humour.

slowbike

Non-Cycling related rant ...

Simple question in an IT forum - how to enter a value in an Excel spreadsheet cell and have another cell lookup that value in a table and display the result from a relevant record (not how it was worded - but means the same).

Ok - fair enough question, for anyone that hasn't come across vlookup or hlookup before - so I just popped up a response of "you want vlookup"

only for the OP to come back asking how he uses it ...

so I looked at his Palmarès - he's (apparently) been in IT for longer than I have (a very long time) and got a string of IT qualifications including MCSE... makes you wonder the value of those qualifications if he can't work out how to solve a simple task in a spreadsheet that would take no more than 15 minutes internet searching.

DrLex

^some people just like to be spoon-fed. I gave up on answering Qs in one IT forum for partly that reason.

slowbike

I don't mind pointing ppl in the right direction or even helping with a specific pointing out the (bleedin) obvious - if they've looked for themselves... sometimes we just don't know the right question to ask or can't see the wood for the trees (done that myself a few times) - but having received a pointer, at least have the courtesy of investigating the pointer before asking for more help ... even Excel prompts through formulas when you start typing them in...

veronese68

condorman wrote:

That Audi advert with the song "Bring on the clowns". My experience and that of most other road users is that Audi's are the clown driver's current vehicle of choice so why would you denigrate your target audience? Must be Germanic humour.

The first incident in that advert has the Audi reversing out of a garage. In that case it is entirely the responsibility of the driver reversing out of the garage to check that it is clear. Does it just illustrate that Audi drivers think they own the road? Also the highway code does say you shouldn't reverse from a minor road into a major road, a garage or driveway could be considered the minor road.

wolfsbane2k

DrLex wrote:

^some people just like to be spoon-fed. I gave up on answering Qs in one IT forum for partly that reason.

This. I used to be one of those "helpers", but ended up wanting to punch something one day after repeating the same thing about 10 times over the space of 3 hours on the same forum.

Now, I'm on the cycling forums instead, asking the simple questions :roll: :shock:

shirley_basso

Also you should reverse into your driveway - as upon leaving the driveway, if you reverse into a major road and get hit from behind, it's the kids in the back who get the brunt, not their Audi driving cnut of a parent.

cruff

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

DrLex wrote:

^some people just like to be spoon-fed. I gave up on answering Qs in one IT forum for partly that reason.

This. I used to be one of those "helpers", but ended up wanting to punch something one day after repeating the same thing about 10 times over the space of 3 hours on the same forum.

Now, I'm on the cycling forums instead, asking the simple questions :roll: :shock:

I feel your pain. I used to do the same thing - on security forums and on certification ones. A lot of the time the language barrier is a problem - but mostly it's because people who haven't got the first clue about something they're already supposed to have three years' experience in doing are asking you to do their job for them.

buckles

Dinyull wrote:

elbowloh wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

Really, really don't want to, but thinking a camera is the only way. That's 2 run in's now with a coach/lorry that have scared the sh*t out of me - both times the police would have taken action I'm sure.

I had a few - the £££ of the fly6 was too much - but the £40 from Aldi for a back light & camera was worth the spend. It just sits on my commute bike - charge it up at work - the only downside is that the 8Gb card does only record about 1/2 hour - fine for my commute, but no good for longer rides. Oh - and the camera just turns itself off mid ride sometimes - it does beep to tell you though, so kind of it.... (if I need a back light because it's dark then there's another light on the back too)

I've reported 2 snips to Operation Crackdown - Sussex Police's online reporting tool - and had 2 letters sent out to the registered drivers - both passes were just too close - neither were aggressive... thankfully.
Been thinking about getting a forward facing one to capture the otherside - but wouldn't want to spend a lot on it.

The Fly6 is on Amazon fro £59.99 right now, but of course is out of stock.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycliq-fly6-int ... 8490121262

Up from £50 (with £5 discount for new customers) to £119!!!

Glad I bought one at £45 when I could!

wolfsbane2k

Have just put my hand through my very lightweight cycling jersey, tearing the mesh back away from the surrounding material, while trying to get my ID from my jersey back pocket.

Annoyingly, the two jersey's that I got to supplement this from Aldi this year are not as lightweight, or as comfortable, so going to have to try and dig around for some more at prime time prices...

condorman

Veronese68 wrote:

condorman wrote:

That Audi advert with the song "Bring on the clowns". My experience and that of most other road users is that Audi's are the clown driver's current vehicle of choice so why would you denigrate your target audience? Must be Germanic humour.

The first incident in that advert has the Audi reversing out of a garage. In that case it is entirely the responsibility of the driver reversing out of the garage to check that it is clear. Does it just illustrate that Audi drivers think they own the road? Also the highway code does say you shouldn't reverse from a minor road into a major road, a garage or driveway could be considered the minor road.

And that's my other current peeve. Why reverse onto a busy main road when you have enough room to turn around an artic in your off-street parking? And if you haven't got the room you drive in headfirst on your journey home and then when the traffic has died down you then reverse onto the main road and reverse park ready to drive off in the morning. Not only is it safer but it must be quicker as well. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.410622,-0.0299719,3a,89.9y,5.67h,91.56t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1seusXhENw7V-eWGZCqQi9EQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DeusXhENw7V-eWGZCqQi9EQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D128.08958%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100?hl=en I've seen someone reverse out of drive by the Blakeney Road sign - what else would you do at such a junction?

j_mcd

Utterly blew up last night. Decided to cycle home rather than inward journey because the trains are screwed.

The heat combined with the 70 miles of commuting the previous day meant that I had to bail out after 30 miles at Effingham Junction and hop on a train.

The real rant is that
a. I let myself down a bit, should be able to deal with a bit of heat
b. I missed the nicest bit of the commute but still had to put up the cr*ppy bit through Chelsea!

wolfsbane2k

I'd mis judged's someone's indicator/intentions, and then to make matters worse were significantly slower than I thought they'd go around the roundabout, meaning the slot I was expecting to fit into, just wasn't there. Trying to stop from 20mph approaching a roundabout to 0 was very skittish on the rear, and I honestly thought "awh crap, I'm not going to stop in time, this is going to hurt"...

Durano Plus's grip definitely seems to be lower than continental GP4000'sII, but with the amount of glass I'm picking out of the duranos's the 4Ks would have been ripped to shreds by now.

Now, where's that "are you still commuting on rim brakes" thread?

awavey

goddammit, my go pro threw a wobbly yesterday just wouldnt turn off properly and I thought Id managed to reset it and it seemed to be working fine again. used it on the way home yesterday and this morning, no problems.

on the commute home today though Im approaching this 3 way mini roundabout, with a spur junction off to the left and the main road continues to the right and just as Im about a bus length away from the roundabout, this park & ride bus starts to overtake me even though clearly based on both our speeds, he isnt going to make it by me at all before we get to the roundabout, and its already pretty damn close pass to me and getting closer, so I had to jump on the brakes to basically let them pass to avoid being firstly hit by the bus as it moved towards the kerb,and then left hooked me for good measure as they took the left spur.

and Im thinking a number of things, but mainly right got you bang to rights for a close and dangerous pass Im going to send the video to your company and complain about that, as Im getting kind of fed up of this type of thing lately

get home check the go pro, no video, damn thing hadnt recorded anything on the way home,I dont know why, it had plenty of space, there was battery (only recharged it last night), I know I pressed the record button and saw the icon go red as I always check that before setting off,and surely if I hadnt pressed it, it would have then started recording from when I got home, but theres nothing, zilch, nada,zip

to say I was not pleased is an understatement :evil:

redvee

Not a simple PF visit, a full frontal attack on the way to work Heard it rattle on teh mudguard, then silence so thought I'd got away with then it went down very quickly.



Must have been 1.5" long.

Ben6899

redvee wrote:

Not a simple PF visit, a full frontal attack on the way to work Heard it rattle on teh mudguard, then silence so thought I'd got away with then it went down very quickly.



Must have been 1.5" long.

State of them wheels, fella!

mattsaw

The absolute state of the rail network at the moment. I think over the past week I have spent more time walking from the incorrect station due to late/not running trains than I have actually on the trains themselves. :roll:

Someone convince me it would be a bad idea to get back on the bike next week.