Any question answered...

Its Kris's Standert
:D

Thinking about making the transition to clipless pedals, but confess I know nothing about them.

As a first time user what should I be looking for, are some easier than others to dis/engage with? Do some designs models have more options for compatibility than other in regards to shoe choices, or does this not make a difference?

Any advise for a first timer would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Can anyone reccomend a reliable minicab service in Dulwich / Camberwell? Need to get two people and bike boxes to Gatwick very early in the morning

When using a short reach caliper, it is better to have a "road" cable pull to avoid (in theory) pulling to much cable and bottoming out the lever before applying pressure to the rim correct?

You won't pull too much cable, what you can have with a V-brake lever attached to a road caliper is too little pressure at the pads. The further the pads travel for a given lever travel, the lower the pad pressure will be for a given lever force.

So when using a longer reach caliper, supposedly having more cable pull i.e. an MTB should be better?

No, because the other legs of a long reach caliper have already been lengthened to give the same lever ratios as a short reach caliper. Also, you have your thinking exactly ass-backwards - if you lengthen the reach without extending the other arms (e.g. using the maximum reach of a give caliper rather than the minimum), the amount of cable travel for a given amout of pad travel is reduced.

it is just to try and understand

Start with Archimedes.

Any advise for a first timer would be appreciated

UTFS

get the box as small as you can, there's arbitrary limits on box sizes for prices

Sydenham Cars 020 8778 3000
Srsly - ask them for a quote.
And I can vouch for their reliability.

Check parcelmonkey and also p4d are pretty good for non-parcelforce (you need to click their 'export services' button)

Also, if the box is less then a meter long (easily achieved by taking the fork out), that makes it much cheaper.

Thanks all for shipping advice.

DPD is around 25 GBP when I've paid for shipping.
I think TV boxes (obviously depending on size if TV) are a good size

Anyone know how Dickies trousers size up? As in - is a 32" designed for someone with a 32" waist measurement, or does the waistband itself measure 32"? And is it different between the workwear and leisurewear ranges?

Work wear surprisingly snug I thought. Slim/fitted maybe. I'd size up personally.

Leisure stuff I dunno.

Not tried Sweden and sent a bike in a 135x73x20 to Italy through Parcel2Go and it was £118 with up to £850 insurance (optional) which was pretty decent.

Anyone know how Dickies trousers size up?

@dicki

Gulp. Don't think I've ever paid more than 40-50 quid for a full bike insured within EU. You have to shop around which can be a pain but being careful with the dims can save mucho dinero. When I moved back from Germany I palletised my whole flat and sent it back for about £200 at a weight of about 150kg and comprising 2 bikes and associated gear, studio gear, clothes and 4 cases of books. I think DPD wanted 160 for one bike box...

Would have been 60 had it not been insured and as the buyer pay shipping, I wasn't that fussed about the sum.

Looking for single speed brake levers. Having confirmed that TRP RRL (Road) and Hy Rd (also Road) are not a compatible pairing, what (nice) single speed levers are there that pull the right amount of cable/have the right MA to work with a TRP Hy Rd brake.

The TRP rep recommended the Tektro RL520, but they have really narrow hoods that aren't comfortable at all. Are there any other Linear pull drop bar levers that I can get? (Ignoring the Cane Creek ones which are just rebranded 520s).

It sounds like the Pull is designed with modern brifters in mind, so would that mean the S500s from SRAM would be okay?

Avid Shorty Ultimate Brakes

Bought a pair of these and had them set up well. Came to change the pads and had lost the 2mm allen wrench needed. Also in the past I've found these round off very easily. Bought a set of ultegra shoes and inserts, figuring they would do the same job, but with a 3mm allen key so I could replace the pads more easily. Unsurprisingly I suppose, brakes now have no power. Is this the compound, or the shape of the pad housing?

Probably useless question, but have you bedded in the new pads?

Edit: Yep, useless question

I have ridden them 10 miles approx and not much change. I usually degrease the rims when changing pads, but the loss of power is so marked I think this is a mechanical issue rather than a cleaning issue.

Oh, uh, I thought you were talking about Disc brakes. Ignore me!

The QR will normally provide the compression needed to keep that all together. Check that is the case and then enjoy the ride!

I am a bit embarrassed to ask this, you would hope that by my age wheels would be less of a mystery.

My partner is about to go off and do RideAcrossBritain and wants to take some spokes just in case.

How do I measure the spokes without taking one out.. If I measure from the point where they come from the hub to the rim, is there a standard amount I should add to get spoke length? or is it harder than that?

Enter the hub, rim and crosses into a wheel building site.