Topical Tips

rolf_f

Please post them here. I am in post holiday gloom. First day back at work, first pinch puncture of the year. Dunno if it is me or the state of Leeds roads but I used to manage about 3500 miles between punctures - now it's more like 350.

Anyway, trying to be positive, lets have some interesting and topical tips. Mine is on Crud Road Racers.

You can just about see the state of my old set in my pic in the fettling thread. Basically, the tops of the guards were worn through and there was only so much gaffer tape and insulation tape could do. Trouble is the clearance is so tight on the Gran Fondo that in wet weather there was always a sound of wet dirt scraping between tyre and rubber - and if there was sticky silt on the road it built up into a thick grinding paste which the Cruds were no match for. I'd thought about modifying them to give more clearance but suspected it would be tricky to get right but it is actually a complete doddle. So if your Cruds squeak when it rains, try this!

First, take one of the main sections of guard - the bit that attaches to the brake bolt and the stays. Look at the section of Crud immediately behind the little eyelet where the cable tie connects the Crud to the caliper - this is the bit you need to modify. All you need is to hold it over a tea light (a lit one - it takes a hell of a long time if it isn't lit!) for a few moments and gently bend it up. Don't burn the plastic - keep checking underside - chances are the edges will take a slightly glossier sheen if the heat has affected them. But none of this is visible once the guards are on so if you are a bit cack handed it probably won't matter.

Check progress against the matching piece from the other guard. You shouldn't be able to see that anything has happened without comparing - you only need to bend the guard a few degrees. This all takes about a minute to do.

Then fit as before. What you should now find is that the stays, instead of holding the guard away from the tyre, are now pulling the guard towards the tyre - and you now have more clearance at the top of the wheel. After doing this, I fitted my new Cruds and there was no rubbing straight off. Better still, no squeaky noises on the wet roads today! I suspect the gloopy clay mud will still cause problems but my winter wet riding should be quieter in future.

If you have problems with the nose piece, that may benefit from being twisted clockwise and up a little. Again, a tea light could be used but here I might see if the same result can be had by putting the piece in hot water first as the consequences of making a mistake on this piece are far more visible.

I just wish I'd done this a year or two back.

Crud tip - never, ever throw useable Crud parts away. Either you or others will have a need for them sometime!

msmancunia

Nothing to do with bikes, but yesterday I got rid of a scorch mark on my living room carpet where I dropped a hot iron a couple of months back. The internet said to sand it with sandpaper, so I did, and it worked. Now I keep going to have a look because I'm so pleased

veronese68

Did you use your new electric sander? I suspect that would have been overkill.

rjsterry

Veronese68 wrote:

Did you use your new electric sander? I suspect that would have been overkill.

No scorch mark... no carpet either.

rubertoe

msmancunia wrote:

Nothing to do with bikes, but yesterday I got rid of a scorch mark on my living room carpet where I dropped a hot iron a couple of months back. The internet said to sand it with sandpaper, so I did, and it worked. Now I keep going to have a look because I'm so pleased

Hmmmm, I wonder if that will work - I have an iron shaped burn, that Mrs toe thinks I did on purpose....

veronese68

We never have a problem with the iron burning carpets. When doing a lot of work in the house loads if stuff went up into the loft, including the iron. Some years later when it came down again our daughter looked at it and asked what it was.
So top tip to avoid carpet burns, as in burning the carpet you bad people, is to stash the iron in the loft.

msmancunia

Didn't use the new sander - can't use it yet as I'm a bit worried of hurting my wrist. Just a plain piece of sandpaper and a bit of elbow grease did the job though - you can barely see it now.

Gallywomack

I had a problem with the iron burning the carpet a few months ago when I sensibly tried to move the ironing board with the hot iron balancing on it, thus earning much derision from my better half. Thanks for the tip, Msmancunia! (where's the thumb-up smiley?). I may just be able to salvage some dignity...

Now - anyone know where I can buy a tin of elbow grease?

CiB

Topical Tip, non-ironing related?

If you're going to fit rear lights and use them, go the extra mile and make sure they're angled so that they're visible to following traffic. The guy I passed this morning had two of those neat red tube type lights, one on the seat post one on the seat stay but both were angled to be almost invisible until I was nearly on him. Good job he had a big luminous yellow jacket on.

Fit your lights, stand the bike against something then walk away and stand some distance back in the same relative position that following traffic will see you, and gauge for yourself just how effective your super new lights are.

walkingbootweather

msmancunia wrote:

Nothing to do with bikes, but yesterday I got rid of a scorch mark on my living room carpet where I dropped a hot iron a couple of months back. The internet said to sand it with sandpaper, so I did, and it worked. Now I keep going to have a look because I'm so pleased

Top tip. Might this work for carpet burns on the knees too do you reckon?

rolf_f

walkingbootweather wrote:

msmancunia wrote:

Nothing to do with bikes, but yesterday I got rid of a scorch mark on my living room carpet where I dropped a hot iron a couple of months back. The internet said to sand it with sandpaper, so I did, and it worked. Now I keep going to have a look because I'm so pleased

Top tip. Might this work for carpet burns on the knees too do you reckon?

Enough! I'm sure nobody wants to know exactly how msmancunia keeps suffering from carpet burns. Lets just accept that she clearly has more experience than most of us in dealing with them and leave it at that.

msmancunia

How a seemingly innocuous thread can slide down that slippery slope into blatant innuendo is a constant source of amazement to me

Besides, I seem to remember Redvee posting something about *those* type of carpet burns a few months back - he's the expert, it seems!

gbsahne001

Rolf F wrote:

Please post them here. I am in post holiday gloom.

I hear you, we got back from holiday to find the heating off, after re-pressurising the system we discovered that we were now the proud owners of a water feature in the lounge, with water flowing through the lounge's ceiling rose onto the lounge floor.

rolf_f

msmancunia wrote:

How every post I make can cause a whole thread to slide down that slippery slope into blatant innuendo is a constant source of amazement to me

Fixed that for you.

gbsahne wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Please post them here. I am in post holiday gloom.

I hear you, we got back from holiday to find the heating off, after re-pressurising the system we discovered that we were now the proud owners of a water feature in the lounge, with water flowing through the lounge's ceiling rose onto the lounge floor.

I hate modern boilers. I always live in vague fear that I'll go on holiday, leave the heating on tickover and find that it has depressurised allowing the pipes to freeze. Sorry it actually had to happen to you.

gbsahne001

Rolf F wrote:

I hate modern boilers. I always live in vague fear that I'll go on holiday, leave the heating on tickover and find that it has depressurised allowing the pipes to freeze. Sorry it actually had to happen to you.

Apparently a joint split on one of the lines underneath the chipboard floor that had been nailed, glued and screwed into place! Hopefully it's been fixed and I'll be able to have a shower tonight!

gbsahne001

Rolf F wrote:

I hate modern boilers. I always live in vague fear that I'll go on holiday, leave the heating on tickover and find that it has depressurised allowing the pipes to freeze. Sorry it actually had to happen to you.

Apparently a joint split on one of the lines underneath the chipboard floor that had been nailed, glued and screwed into place! Hopefully it's been fixed and I'll be able to have a shower tonight!

rjsterry

Rolf F wrote:

I hate modern boilers. I always live in vague fear that I'll go on holiday, leave the heating on tickover and find that it has depressurised allowing the pipes to freeze.

So, you'd prefer a nice big lump of cast iron that you shovel coal into like this?


So much more reliable! :roll:

If you think what running the heating on low for a couple of weeks costs compared with turning it off and risking something like gbsahne's leak (which was nothing to do with the boiler) then it's an easy choice.

rolf_f

rjsterry wrote:

If you think what running the heating on low for a couple of weeks costs compared with turning it off and risking something like gbsahne's leak (which was nothing to do with the boiler) then it's an easy choice.

Oooh! So aggressive with the sarcastic smiley and all that. Someone steal your last Rolo? Anyway, you might want to re read what I (and gbs) actually said! What concerns me (now concentrate this time!) is that if I leave the heating on (which I do - on low, as you say) that the pressure will drop over the time I'm away and cause it to switch off - thereby causing a pipe freeze. Which was the logical explanation of gbs initial response.

But yes - I think modern boilers are grossly over-complicated and badly engineered. I think they are another one of those things like the extortionate servicing costs on modern cars that people have unquestioningly bought into. Yes, ever so efficient for the rather short time it lasts before it goes pop and you have to buy a new one and very irritating in function.

And surely you don't think for one minute that that rather lovely (but inefficient) lump of iron isn't at least 100 times more reliable than a combi boiler? Whatever it's deficiencies, I'd bet that that thing will work now and can be left in a shed for a hundred years and be happily fired up again - whereas in ten years time you won't be able to get any parts for any current combi boiler.

gbsahne wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

I hate modern boilers. I always live in vague fear that I'll go on holiday, leave the heating on tickover and find that it has depressurised allowing the pipes to freeze. Sorry it actually had to happen to you.

Apparently a joint split on one of the lines underneath the chipboard floor that had been nailed, glued and screwed into place! Hopefully it's been fixed and I'll be able to have a shower tonight!

Fingers crossed! Makes you wonder what else might have been nailed and screwed - better check your earthing!

rjsterry

Sorry, poor use of smilies. It wasn't supposed to be aggressive. Now that I'm concentrating the only way it will de-pressurise is if there is a leak in the heating circuit, regardless of whether the heat source is wood-fired stove with a back boiler or some whizzy ground source heat pump.

Not sure why you think a modern boiler is grossly overcomplicated. The only fundamental differences between it and that rusty thing I posted is sealed combustion (what with CO being a bad thing) and a condenser to extract heat from the flue gases. As for reliability, the newer boilers I've had have all been fine, while the older, simpler models were unremitting pains in the arse requiring regular attention from plumbers. So no, I don't agree. I'm sure you could fire that thing up, but whether you could get it to provide a reliable water temperature or be sure that it wouldn't gas you or set fire to the house is another question.

Edit: for the avoidance of doubt

rolf_f

Oh, stuff like cheap plastic valves that leak, pcbs that fail- maybe not the complexity but the poor quality and deliberate awkwardness of the designs. That and that they just don't seem to work very well. Hot then cold then hot again unless you get the flow exactly right which is probably rather less than you'd like.

Mind you, it doesn't even seem possible to get an electric kettle that lasts a decent time anymore so a long lasting central heating boiler is probably a too big ask.

MonkeyMonster

I need to tweak my 'catchers as the front keeps slipping off the larger nut of the brake bolt and then rubbing - think it just needs an extra zip to stop it moving - annoyingly noisy all the same.

owenlars

walkingbootweather wrote:

Top tip. Might this work for carpet burns on the knees too do you reckon?

Or forehead? :twisted:

bunter

drop of threadlock on removable valve cores of inner tubes (for extenders). Stops them unscrewing when you unscrew the pump from the valve (if you use a Lezyne style screw on pump)