Any question answered...

Cheap providers are fine as long as you:

• Expect utter bullshit upsell pitches at the desk. They will outright lie to you. Make sure you know your onions about whether you need toll transponders, what fuel option you want (always choose "return full"), what insurance you should buy from them (hopefully none), sat navs, child seats, etc etc. They may also try to sell you a larger / more expensive vehicle. Bring a print out of your booking.
  
• Plan to return the car on time, in very clean condition, with a full tank.
  

My mum wants to travel around spain on a holiday using train and coach. To plan this she was hoping to find a good map or maps that are easy to use from a train-users perspective, rather than just the usual michelin road ones. These would work, they do have train lines on them but I was hoping to find something better for her. Or maybe she needs two maps, which would be fine.

The more I hear, the more I just want to go to enterprise when I’m at the airport and be done with it!

Maybe the… European rail timetable?
https://www.seat61.com/Thomas-Cook-European-Timetable.htm

I’ve found a combination of seat61 and the Trainline app a decent way to plan rail trips in Europe.

https://www.autoeurope.co.uk/

amazing, just preordered the map that the same people do. thanks!

I recent took a ryanair flight and their combine car hire through ALamo was cheap and problem free. New cars though, jeez! So many beeps.

Anyone ever angle grindered off a U-Lock in a public place?

I took an angle grinder to the lock, ridiculously easy. 30 secs to cut through. No-one batted an eyelid.

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you could try golden cheetah to make workouts etc

Where’s the best place in the uk to get a pair of carbon forks painted?

I’ve used intervals.icu for this, the workout builder is really good and there is a reasonable library (although I just built my own following the Sustainable Training plan).

https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/collins-rail-map-of-europe?variant=41510939885646

releases February 2025

I dont own a suitcase and haven't had one for over a decade at least. Always been backpacks for me. the only 2 suitcases we have are two little kids ones which are mainly used for ferrying toys around.

But you will have to pay the rental company first, and claim it back from the 3rd party provider, so You will need lots of money in reserve.

I had one recently, from rentalcars.com maybe, that covers it up front. So maybe they're changing

After my crash I had a friend send my bike to a friend and GLS has lost it.

They're asking for an invoice of a bike that was built up over many years, presumably because they're now on the hook to pay for it as they've given up looking for it. Anythging I can I do here? Should they not be able to tell where the bike got to or something at least? Or am I fucked and my race bike is lost to some cunt and I'm now going to have to argue through a friend to get replacement money (which is fucking useless as half the stuff was bought used, custom built, etc)?

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/400510/

When my original Condor Tempo was stolen (a couple of months before PBP 2011) I had an initial email from the insurers (and Wheelies) about a replacement bike. They wanted me to pick from a range they had on the website, plus the associated accessories.

Obviously not valid for a custom bike.

I supplied photos and as many original invoices/eBay receipts/etc I could find for all of the bits that were on the bike at the time. I went into as much detail as I could, e.g.

• Lights were Solidlights XB2 that cost £150 originally and then had the £90 XB2 upgrade (receipt, receipt) but technology has moved on a similar modern replacement would be this £100 light
  
• Front wheel was a SON hub built into a Mavic Open Pro (receipt for custom wheel build)
  
• Saddle was a Brooks Swallow originally costing £120 (receipt) but they've got more expensive so a replacement would be £180 (links to various websites, etc)
  
• MarSAS foam under the handlebar tape (eBay receipt) replacment £x inc fitting
  
  

I got a quote for a replacement bike from Condor along with all of the custom bits I'd need to get from elsewhere and just said "it'll be easier to just give me this amount of cash", and they did without argument.

However this was Lloyds Bank Home Insurance so not your average cunty courier insurer. But it's how I'd probably approach it:

• You cunts lost it
  
• I want to be made good
  
• This is what it was (+ evidence)
  
• This is how much it would be to replace it
  
  

(I did get the replacement bike from Condor, I rode it twice, ~10km each time, before it got sent to France in the back of a friend's van. I then rode all 1240km of PBP on it without a problem. It went back to Condor two weeks after purchase for its 1500km free service.)

Thanks. I wonder if I can claim for all the extra time and effort I'm going to have to waste just claiming for it and getting it rebuilt. Not to mention the fact I'll be without my race bike for x months. Cunts.

It's complicated in that, we've already claimed off holiday insurance for some stuff, a mate in Portugal collected and was posting the crashed bike to another friend in Spain - we'd already gone back to the UK after our hol and thought it was easier than dealing with Brexit UK postage.

I've currently no idea what level of cover it was sent under - I wasn't really thinking about it and how do you lose a fucking bike box, GLS?!

What is the best workshop pegboard-style tool system?

I’m looking at Kistenberg, but not a fan of the proprietary design despite good value and lots of options. Would like something metal, too.

Bott

How would you go about adding a splitter to this cable and is there any reason it would not work on an Exposure Smart Port? Want to add about 50cm.

Assume I know nothing about electrics! Don't have a soldering iron, can shrink wrap.

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Bott

We have Bott units and stuff at work. It’s excellent.

If I want a new rear hub that meets all these conditions, is my only choice Hope Pro 5 at £200 or Deore M525 at £25?

• Silver (ideally polished rather than the gunmetal of the Deore)
  
• 135mm QR
  
• 6 bolt disc
  
• Shimano freehub
  
• 32h
  

Novatec and halo do silver with those specs I think, or you've got fancy options like Paul and Chris King etc. if you've got too much money.

Yeah I in fact have too little money, was looking for less than the Hope

Halo don't seem to do the Spin Doctor in rear/silver anymore so their option is the SupaDrive which is only just less than the Hope

Any idea which model of Novatec?

Or something like this?

https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005004877564627.html