Any question answered...

There are notches (dents?) in the rails on my Flite Alpes (so basically a classic flight) from the saddle slipping back in the post and the front edge of the clamp marking them. The saddle has now been moved forwards another 10mm or so, so the clamp is no long applying pressure to the notches.

Two questions:

1. How likely are the saddle rails to fail (it's on a MTB)
   
2. When they fail, is it more likely to be in a "christ, that's snapped/bent, need to change it" or "There goes my anal viginity, call an ambulance"
   
   

You have always expressed utter love for this saddle, so I am sure you can't begrudge it a bit of sexy time

does anyone know Purfleet well? i want to walk along the thames path heading east to essex but can't work out how to access the path from the train station when i look at an OS map online and google streetview.

You have always expressed utter love for this saddle, so I am sure you can't begrudge it a bit of sexy time

While I love that saddle, and I do, I'm worried that the sexy time would be with the seatpost. I've seen what that thing has done to titanium, which unfortunately my prostate is not made of.

The Thames Path ends at the Thames Barrier... Open Street Map is often good for footpaths, but i can't see many around there.

ah perhaps i shouldn't have called it the thames path, i want to follow the footpath along the river that's marked on the map at purfleet but it's difficult to see how i get to the start, satellite images just show waste ground and streetview that metal fencing with the spikes and locked gates. a local would certainly know.

You have to use a regular flat bar level clamped to the end.

that would be fine I guess if the angles worked out so I could reach the levers okay. just wondered if anyone had such a set up.

I see what you want to do, but I think a downtube shifter would look/work better. Also you might run into problems with the bare end shifter where the cable comes out goes straight at where you want to put your brake lever.

hmm. yeah I see there might be a problem. boo. internal gear cable?

I'm using a crosstop lever on the TT bike and it works fine, can get you a pic if you want.

when you have time I'd like to see it

I'm building a winter hack. Do I lacquer it raw or get it powdercoated some horrific, vomit inducing colour for a bit of fun? Imagine those footballs they use on snowy pitches...

Choice is your mate, I liked it raw, as it make me care less about the bike (especially when rust start appearing like a boss.

Why are these so cheap? And what does code b3 mean?

Can't see the listing

Hm, it's a private listing, apparently. But you can find them at http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/dolanbikesuk ,
Lots of Dolan frames and complete bikes for a lot cheaper than on their site. Many of them with "codes" like b4 etc..

Condition Codes? Seems to be a disposal site for QC rejects, so that would make sense
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:1iPG5Gs_jYQJ:http://www.dispositionservices.dla.mil/sales/federalconditioncodes.pdf+condition+codes&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShI5HU6kgO5SlK83TVsSBAZG1rRGbIr3Zthjg207s0j7NYEBpIn6VxAK0ODSs6hTDjoyCYNzGjECshdjgdalGxi8tOJhE1fCET_Q3mNaDmQnOHOs7LUk59XkfNTgwrHNXmMLJd0&sig=AHIEtbSWBRg8XCOwdkSEYF1thlMWnQKm9g

Ah, that seems likely. I'm gonna go with Wiggle then.

I've bought stuff of them before and it was fine, so has sumo, macready and fade if i remember correctly.

^ Yep, next day delivery too.

Ok, bent forks. No not the usual sort. Bought some decent cuttlery today and on every fork one of the outer tines (the pointy bits) sits slightly higher than the others. So I check the mixed up collection of forks I was chucking and they are ALL THE SAME. Get googling and can find no record of this being a critical aspect of a forks design. Waaa Gwaaan ?

They are deliberately made like that to increase the probability of spearing a pea when they are hexagonally close packed on the plate.

I thought that might be the case, but as I have time on my hands I will ring several fork producers tomorrow. Oh this is as exciting as when I tried to establish where all the holes in the front waist area of my t-shirts came from (It's not what you think.)

belt buckle? I have a similar issue, although i have never investigated this thoroughly...

Belt buckle is kinda close. Basically thread count went downhill when chinese cotton (Racist) became common in branded t-shirt wear about 10 years ago. Nothing I own before then has the same problem. I cook all our meals at home and it's simply belt or jean button sandwiching t-shirt against work surface whilst I chop onions or summat. It literally only takes minutes of impact to rip through the shitty cotton.
Oh, it only happens if you have a 32" inseam. How did I fix it ? Lowered my kitchen floor and now only by crop tops.

I thought that might be the case, but as I have time on my hands I will ring several fork producers tomorrow. Oh this is as exciting as when I tried to establish where all the holes in the front waist area of my t-shirts came from (It's not what you think.)

How the hell did you work that out?? I guess it makes sense, but did you literally spend your whole thinking about when your t-shirt was making contact with anything? Impressive investigative skills...
Maybe cern should employ you to find where their systematic 'hole in the t shirt' is coming from!

(i am 32", so the theory holds for me!)

IIRC a couple of riders were penalised a few years ago during the world championships for riding in support of a member of their trade team (italy?) rather than their national team. Could someone please remind me who was involved and when this was? It's a bit hard to search for without those tidbits.

Cheers