Any question answered...

It's a Booker frame with a Campagnolo groupset.

;-)

Oh! ;)

Some of the bits look like C-Record Synchro, but brakes, dustcaps and rear derailleur doesn't. Frame is slightly sloping, so I was guessing it might be a TT frame, like the bars suggest...

Doesn't look C-Record to me. Rear mech is early 8-speed (position of limit adjusters). Back plate of hanger may show whether it's Athena or Chorus (if it's steel it may be lower end). Chainset is Chorus or lower.

I don't like the wheels, but i'd maybe pay £150-£180 for a bike like that, assuming the forks and head tube are straight, and all the rest is ok.

Can anyone recommend a bike shop within a few miles of Old Street where I can have a headset professionally fitted, where the mechanic will pay attention to head tube facing, etc?

BLB or Condor. *

You've got next to no chance of getting Condor to fit it soon though. IIR there is a waiting list on repairs/workshop.

Whereas BLB I think have a first come first served policy.

Pretty sure both are open on Sunday.

Otherwise i'd have thought all of the Evans' are pretty decent and will be open on a Sunday - the one near Spittlefields, but not in Spittlefields is the one you want.

*only have experience of BLB fitting a Phil BB and getting my chain line striaght. No real experience of Condor other than one of the staff, quickly spotting my starnut having slipped and replacing it on the spot toot-sweet unlike the other gurn who wanted me to book it in. But given the bikes sold I think they'll know their shit.

How soon do buyers have to pay on Ebay?

I sold a pair of shoes on Thursday evening and the guy still hasn't paid, though I've sent two invoices. Am I just being impatient or would I be within my rights to sell them to the second bidder tomorrow or Tuesday? It was my understanding that they were supposed to pay within two days.

Also I've just seen from the bids that he put in multiple bids himself (rather than automatic/sniper), including one 2 hours before the item ended, then one with seconds to go, so it's not as if he just fucked off and left it.

^^^^^^^^^
some of those bits look like 1st-gen athena, but that would have been 8 speed i believe.

How soon do buyers have to pay on Ebay?

Send a message giving them a deadline to pay; until you've explicitly specified a schedule, they effectively have forever to complete the contract.

I've had constant pins and needles in my feet for the last few days. Probably related to saddle angle as that's the only thing I've changed recently and exacerbated by my rubbish cleat positioning, so I'm going to mess around with that stuff, but is there anything I can do to stop my feet feeling like they're about to fall off in the meantime?

Just an addendum to this which is a cautionary tale of idiocy rather than anything else... I've just noticed a fuckload of bruising around the front of both my ankles (can you have a front ankle? where shin meets foot, anyway) which I assume is where my Sidis were being rammed into my feet after I tilted my saddle forward a bit. Not enough to notice as a one off; apparently enough to do some damage over a couple of 100+ mile rides.

On the plus side this does explain why I was struggling so much with hills on the two relatively flat century rides - more so than I had done on a 200 mile ride to Devon the weekend before (pre saddle change) despite lower gearing. I thought I was just getting worse at hills. Phew.

Hi people

I just wanted to clarify my last post; I know less than a lot about single speed bikes but I am attaching some pictures of my new bike which has just come back from the bike shop. I bought it in stages and it's made up from all sorts; the handle bars, stem, and front fork is from an old 80's raleigh, the frame is a leader, the front wheel is off a Kona the rear wheel an alexrim flip flop. Like I say I'm not that knowledgeable and I was led to believe that vertical drop outs might not suit the current chain set up. Is that right? I asked the shop if they would be able to put a chain tensioner on because I wasn't having any joy (and assorted other bits of work). I think I've just realised that a chain tensioner would only suit if the rear wheel had a cassette on it. Is this true also? Basically I just wanted some reassurance that the chain set up is ok and if not what should I do?

Many thanks

Magic gear looks OK from here

Thanks that's brilliant :-)

I think I've just realised that a chain tensioner would only suit if the rear wheel had a cassette on it. Is this true also? Basically I just wanted some reassurance that the chain set up is ok and if not what should I do?

Many thanks

Nope. A chain tensioner will work, you need a tensioner not a derailleur. A derailleur is for a cassette, but it can be used on a SS sprocket if you play with the stop screws.

Your chain tension looks fine but if you change your chainring or sprocket you might want one of these or something like it.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=58437
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=58437
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=35108

^^^^^^^^^
some of those bits look like 1st-gen athena, but that would have been 8 speed i believe.

Yeah, I believe you're right. Everything, but the shifters and brake levers look like Athena. The brake levers and shifters look like late eighties C-Record. (http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=c26650cb-10ed-4bcf-8692-45e8528d99f0&Enum=104 and http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=aec6f4ae-5aff-411f-b75b-35734c4f1101&Enum=118) It's probably being used in friction mode, and thus able to use the 9 speed cassette.

I have mounted this Look Ergopost seatpost :

using this :

on this frame (Look KX Light) :

at 7 Nm.

After a few rides and adjusting the heigth it looks like this:

Question 1 : Is the damage so bad that I have to get rid of it?
Question 2 : what did I do wrong?
Question 3 : can I fit any replacement seatpost with this frame cluster arrangement?

1. Not sure how bad the damage is going to be. Possibly fatal.
   
2. You used a wedge style clamp on a carbon post.
   
3. Yes. So long as it's not carbon.
   

BLB or Condor. *

You've got next to no chance of getting Condor to fit it soon though. IIR there is a waiting list on repairs/workshop.

Whereas BLB I think have a first come first served policy.

Pretty sure both are open on Sunday.

Otherwise i'd have thought all of the Evans' are pretty decent and will be open on a Sunday - the one near Spittlefields, but not in Spittlefields is the one you want.

Thanks for this. I pass Condor on my ride home, so I'll drop in tomorrow to ask. I'm quite obsessive about things being done properly (which is why I do almost everything myself), but I don't have the tools suitable for doing this job well.

Condor quote £20 with an additional £7.50 if you require reaming. Seems reasonable to me, seeing as I'll have some sort of level of guarantee that my shiny new Campag Record headset won't wear prematurely.

1. You used a wedge style clamp on a carbon post.
   

To be fair, he used a Look post in a Look frame with the standard Look clamp. What else was he supposed to do?

However, 7Nm sounds like a lot. What's the manufacturer's spec?

Can anyone recommend a bike shop within a few miles of Old Street where I can have a headset professionally fitted, where the mechanic will pay attention to head tube facing, etc?

Cyclelab. Krisz is an excellent mechanic.

I understand smaller diameter butyl tubes work great in larger tyres, I always run 18-20c's in 23c tyres and don't get flats any more often (Not even had one yet, so negligibly less often, but there are too many other variants to say for sure), also they are easier to put in.

But would the same apply for latex tubes? the 18-20c tubes on eBay are going cheaper than the larger 23c ones that match my tyres, and quite frankly, I wouldn't settle for anything but latex unless I am touring due to the very noticeable ride quality.

To be fair, he used a Look post in a Look frame with the standard Look clamp. What else was he supposed to do?

However, 7Nm sounds like a lot. What's the manufacturer's spec?

More precisely, I initially put 7 Nm (top mark on the seatpost) and went down to 5 Nm after rising the saddle (bottom mark), but both ended up marking the seatpost.

I've spent two hours crawling the web and I've seen lots of opinions on the Look wedge clamp - ergopost issue, some saying they ruined their seatpost, others claiming no problem.

I could'nt yet find an official torque recommendation. The Look Ergopost 2 manual only refers to the saddle clamp torque (15 Nm). They don't say anything about an incompatibility with the wedge clamp. The frame (Look Kx) is too old to find the info on Look's website. I'll see if Look answers to my email.

Can anyone recommend a bike shop within a few miles of Old Street where I can have a headset professionally fitted, where the mechanic will pay attention to head tube facing, etc?

Cyclelab

They've done all the gritty jobs I cannot or will not do; headsets, BB shell facing and a BB30 replacement.

All been spot on and same day service. You can watch them do the work, too.

The juice bar is sweet, too.

edit: hah just noticed Andyp beat me to it :)