Any question answered...

Paging tester

Actually, paint stripping isn't my thing. I've seen people get good results with Citristrip without killing everything within 2 miles, but you don't seem t be able to get it in the UK.

Presumably this was nitromethane, hence the name? There will have been a load of other stuff in there too, like surfactants, activators, etc. I would guess that 'pure' solvent (whatever grade) wouldn't be as good a the original formulation because of this.

Other solvent types to try might include: terpenes (I assume this is what is in tester's citristrip suggestion), DMSO, chlorinated solvents (as dichloromethane above). It depends on the type of paint.

Its always better just to get a frame dipped or media blasted. Cheaper and quicker.

Thanks, a logical answer. I thought it might be magnetic fields or something.

I'm sure this question has been answered multiple times before but can anyone recommend a cheap and reliable courier to post a full bike? In this case from Leeds to London.

Its always better just to get a frame dipped or media blasted. Cheaper and quicker.

I see, where can I get this locally done in Islington for less than £11.99 which is what 1 ltr of Dichloromethane costs

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331520614240?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&var=540685213534&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Which seems to work well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B58GSXZg-d4

how much is your time worth though!
getting a frame done is £20 in Birmingham, next day service. Drop it off on the way to work, pick it up the next day on the way home.
no paint brushes, clingfilm, mess etc.
If you haven't done it before, by all means have a go.

Freelance I normally charge £25-50 an hour depending on what I'm doing. But my point was there is no where that locally does it any more now that armourtex has gone to the back of beyond. So the time it'll take me to get the frame there, and collect it I may as well do it myself.

Unless you know somewhere more local?

Are there any alloy wheel repair places nearby? they're usually a good bet.

Any of the painters might know. Cole Coatings mebbe

@privatepatterson ?

Armourtex were very good at media blasting once they got the hang of it. They also gathered a lot of bike specific knowledge (through trial and error) which meant you could trust that they wouldn't strip any threads or ruin any finishes. That used to run at £40 or thereabouts depending on how nicely you asked and who you were.

Industrial places that do powder coating on tractors and fridges are good bet for a cheap blast. In the region of £15 just off the OKR but no bike specific knowledge so you have to bung all your threads yourself to avoid them being rekt.

At Cole Coatings Workshop, all carbon is backed off by hand using abrasives at various grades. All stainless and similar is done by hand using an industry standard stripper called "starchem". If this is the route you want to take and your time is valuable, use starchem, some wellies and a jet washer.

Our media blasting is done in West London by a private firm in batches. If you wanted to get your frame to us, we could pool it in with ours. Can take a week to ten days for return.

If you're after super crisp stuff rather than simple paint removal, the guys at Enigma are the best. You can choose the blast medium and grain size and stuff.

Cheapest way is to strip it by hand though. Then obviously if it's steel, it will need to be keyed and primed quickly.

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

I thought Armourtex stopped doing bikes when they moved anyway.

If using a chain-keeper how essential is a 'narrow-wide' chainring if you're intending to run a single front chainring setup (road bike)?

Not at all?

I'm running 1x10 with no chain retention measures (3 years or so) and it hasn't dropped once. Only mod was to swap the outside chainring for an e-thirteen acrylic bashguard. I think narrow-wide is overrated unless you are going off-road.

Overkill rather than overrated, they work really well but you might not need one for what you're doing.

On a scale of 1-10: not at all.

Potatoes potatoes

Would a 17mph average on the road over 2 hours using a HT with MTB tyres have me in any danger of managing a 20mph average on a road biek?

=> could manage fast group on club runs?

Lovely. Thanks all!

That's what my results in Boxing Day 10s would point to.

Ive just put a new 24mm tyre on and realised the inner tubes i'm using are 25-32mm is my bike going to explode?

All good.

Probably not. Just be careful not to pinch the tube. I've got hybrid tubes in 23 tyres before.

What can I use to remove tyre graphics/logos? From a pair of Specialized all-condition jobbies.

Shopping around for a 105 10sp (5603) 39t chairing.

The 4603, 5703, & 6703 39t's are all cheaper at sjs than any 5603 going anywhere. Will any of these do the job just as well or will shifting not work or something?

Ta.