Any question answered...

Best place to get a Hirame pump head?

Probably find a nail varnish which is close, then a bit of careful rubbing and polishing. Trip to Boots?

There was a guy trying to flog them on here a few weeks ago. I think he sells them on ebay, too. Not Silca but similar and seem to be well reviewed.

Best place to get a Hirame pump head?

If you want a genuine one, probably Alex Cycles in Japan or Ben's Cycles in the US. The knock-offs work OK, Varno had them as did user Tekno on timetriallingforum.co.uk, probably others too. The KCNC one is nice but needs a slightly taller hole in your disc wheel if that's a concern

Try asking in the paint thread but if I had to fix it I’d consider adding a ring around the tube in a complimentary colour to fix the big one in the top tube

Interesting. I’ll consider it, though the original paint scheme is nearly perfect imo.

@Jonny69

Probably find a nail varnish which is close, then a bit of careful rubbing and polishing. Trip to Boots?

Will try that, need to go there anyway. Most likely won’t match it like Howard says, but it pains my heart to see it like this.

Thanks all who replied. Will sort something professional out when it’s allowed again.

(got a couple of quite disparate questions so thought it best to split into two posts for easier replying if thats ok)

Question 1: Track dropouts and rear disc brakes - doable? Thinking of sliding dropouts rather than the faff of eccentric bottom brackets, but would I risk snapping off the vertical dropout, or even pulling my wheel out of the dropout when leg braking?

Question 2: Can anyone recommend some good winter boots that are fine for walking in snow and ice? Just bought a pair of https://www.northwave.com/ch-CH-en/products/NORTHWAVE-SHOES-CELSIUS-XC-ARCTIC-GTX-BLACK-REFLECTIVE-43-_365909003.aspx but not only are they not desperately warm, they are absolutely AWFUL for walking about in even slightly icy conditions - they only have a few small contact points with the ground so are dangerously slippery. Need some shoes that are good in Finnish winter on and off the bike.

Maybe the bunch over at Varusteleka could help?
I just wear whatever through our winter, but I'm not on the bike when it's cold.

Sorry I should qualify I'm looking for something that takes cleats.

I'm looking for something that takes cleats.

If it's that icy, why not flat pedals?

Might get DAS’d, needs to react quickly.

would I risk snapping off the vertical dropout, or even pulling my wheel out of the dropout when leg braking?

The strength of the bolts holding the sliders only has to equal the strength of the track nuts on normal track ends for this to not happen

Actually the fat bike I'm currently riding is on flats, I suppose I could use some regular walking boots on that and these slippery boots when its cold but not icy on other bikes, but it would be nice to have an all in one solution as I already have some winter shoes that aren't suitable for biking so save me buying 2 pairs of shoes.

The strength of the bolts holding the sliders only has to equal the strength of the track nuts on normal track ends for this to not happen

I'm more worried about the dropout itself.

I guess snapping machined parts is always a risk but sliding dropouts work well on many mountain bikes and I would hazard a guess that the peak loading from an average bloke plus bike landing a jump or drop would exceed the stress of leg braking/skids

True true.

Be interested in hearing if anyone has actually done this.

Are those USB battery chargers that can also be used as a powerbank much of a muchness or is there anything to avoid/go for? I've already got 18650 batteries to use.

Anker has been my go to in that department for a few years now.

Do the knock-offs go by a certain name that I could search for?

Are you hoping to swap the cells on the go or build one up semi-permanently?

I like the TOMO ones because they have a separate circuit per cell so you can swap full and empty cells without bad things happening, and they also won't catch fire if you insert a cell the wrong way round like the ones that put all cells in parallel.

Do the knock-offs go by a certain name that I could search for?

They pop up if you search any platform for Hirame. They're not as cheap as they used to be, but there's a super cheap option now which is available from most bike shops or off of Amazon
https://www.freewheel.co.uk/truflo-track-mate-high-pressure-track-pump-head-qa4900

If I didn't already have a proper Hirame Yoko, I'd get a KCNC, apparently it's actually better and definitely more #tartmode
https://clee-cycles.co.uk/P36505/product

Will mainly be used for a convenient charger for charging batteries but occasionally as a powerbank where I can swap the cells for extended life.

On the subject of chargers, anyone know of a good quality charger (ie not an unknown Chinese USB one off eBay) than can charge an odd number of NiMh AAs and AAAs? All the good ones only seem to charge in pairs. I even tried making up a dummy cell with a resistor inside but it didn’t seem to fool the charger.

This one, recommended

https://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline-bl700n-battery-charger.asp

I just looked up mine which is excellent - Youshiko YC4000 it seems to be a rebranded version of the one @freezing77 recommended thats £10 cheaper