Any question answered...

wondering also if i can just be really careful on the chain and not need a bigger one

You can until that one time when you forget, whereupon you snap your chain, rip your RD off and get stranded alone in the middle of nowhere with no phone coverage. Don't risk it, chains are cheap.

aye - i think your right there @mdcc_tester - so its all about the rear mech with 32T.....

can i just go to 11-32T rear and keep the rear mech?

No. Even if you somehow managed to get it to hit the 32 with combination of out-of-spec hanger geometry and extreme B-screw adjustment, you'd end up with shit changes at the other end and too little total capacity.

could i put a smaller ring up front? ultegra 6800 - but i have a 10speed 32T inner i think.........

Looking for someone who is able replace window panes in South East London (se5) anyone got any recommendations?

could i put a smaller ring up front? ultegra 6800

No, 34 is the minimum. You'd have to change the cranks to go lower.

new bike ordered

Why did you order a road race bike if you really wanted a touring bike :)

im going riding in the alps in 2 weeks and want to ride every single day - but my left knee wont allow me - ive found 32T helps a great deal :)

If 11-32 doesn't work you might still be able to do 11/12/13-30 or a 12/13-32, depending on which of those actually exists for sale

Time to open your wallet then. I wouldn't be starting from where you are, but if you're committed to an OTP bike with 6800, ask your dealer what they can do as deal to swap out the RD, cassette and chain to RD-R8000-GS + CS-HG800 11-34 and a suitable longer chain

thanks - a day of research suggests 30T would be ok on a short cage + extra links (or new chain) so i think i'll try that and see , if all else fails then i can sell on my brand new chain/cassette and short cage rear and buy a new mech....

Where do I get Mothers Mag & Aluminium Polish in the UK? Wickes/Screw Fix/Homebase/etc.? Or just order it from Amazon? ...

http://www.motherscarcare.co.uk/distributors.shtml

Wilco Motosave

What's a decent, cheap(ish) zero degree road stem? 31.8 /1,1/8

Something along the lines of a Kalloy Uno but zero degree.

I'd like to try one out for fit without breaking the bank.

You could try a wolf tooth road link and a longer chain also.

thanks pascalo - im going for the b screw bodge first + longer chain - lets see where that gets me, will be delivered tomorrow, so will be performing the operation tomorrow.

Good place to buy a suit for a summer wedding? Don't want to spend more than about £100.
M&S?

I recently bought one online from Jack Martin and was happy with it. Paid about 80. Bear in mind the trousers come unfinished so you need a tailor to fix the length, that cost about a tenner.

This is a long shot:
I have 2 saddles on my 2 bikes: a Concor Supercorsa that I find a bit hard but I like the shape and support, and a brooks Cambium C17 Shaped: I like the width and shape overall but find it too hard.

I'm going on a 200km ride soon and was wondering if somebody with similar buttendencies could recommend a confortable touring saddle?
Should I just not bother trying to find something new and buy padded undies/shorts instead?
Thanks Hive Mind!

Buy padded shorts.

Well, fair enough! Thanks!

Why does it work out cheaper to buy a new chainset (ultegra 11 speed) than 2 x new 11speed chainrings (from 2 mins with google)?

Brexit

OEMs pushing their unused stock on to the consumer market, too.

Why does it work out cheaper to buy a new chainset (ultegra 11 speed) than 2 x new 11speed chainrings

Massive OEM discounts on complete chainsets. Look at the RRP of an Ultegra chainset and the chain ring pricing starts to make more sense