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Hmm, well the tools I need seem to stack up to ~£73, plus postage, to remove the crown race from one fork and put it on the new one.

It's an FSA integrated headset, I'm tempted to simply buy a new lower race for £4.95, rather than a tool to remove the old one for £20.

Are all 1.5" integrated headset crown races the same?

i believe it is generally best to get a crown race from the same manufacturer

or at these costs just buy a new fork and crown race, similar price range and all shiny and new

If they're cartridge bearings of a standard angle then another race should be fine.

Hmm, we may have a problem, I had assumed (yes, I know) that the fork was a 1&1/8th to 1.5" taper, but it may be a 1&1/4th.

Fucksticks.

new fork, simples

and headset too?

would have the advantage that it will come with the crown race as well

That's assuming that the new 1.5" fork that I have will fit in a headtube designed for a 1&1/4th" fork- which sounds unlikely to me.

so is the oak cycles frame designed for 1 1/4"?

This is the Boardman

Can anyone recommend a good car rack? Obv it has to fit the car, but beyond that any ones that are good and anything to look out for? in particular looking for one that doesn't require half an hour and a degree in mechanical engineering to attach.

I don't think there's any even vaguely sensible way to use a 32h hub with a 36h rim.

If it's a dished rear you could build it half-radial onto a 36h hub and leave out half the NDS spokes to give a 27 spoke wheel. I'd want a deep and stiff rim to resist the unevenness - wheels should be round not nonagonal. (I've heard of people doing something like this with 24h rims & 24 spokes onto 32h hubs.)

Are the rim holes offset towards alternate hub flanges, or drilled at an angle aimed towards alternate flanges? If not you have more options:

Find an 18h hub and you could build a radial wheel with every other rim hole. (No, it won't work with every other hole of a 36h hub - you'll find half the holes you want are on the wrong flange.)

There's a whole family of 24 spoke patterns that will work on a 36h hub by skipping every third rim hole. You can do radial, 0.5 cross, 1.5 cross, 2.5 cross... On all of them the skipped rim holes come between two spoke that go to the same flange - lateral trueing might be hard.

If the rim holes are flange-specific then you have to skip pairs of adjacent rim holes, so your wheel may come out hexagonal.

good luck calculating the spoke length in any case

Dammit, just use a knife.

Does anyone know whether the coming Ultegra 6800 cranks will be compatible with compact/standard rings a la the Dura ace 9000 cranks?

Can anyone recommend a good car rack? Obv it has to fit the car, but beyond that any ones that are good and anything to look out for? in particular looking for one that doesn't require half an hour and a degree in mechanical engineering to attach.

Do you have a tow bar?

If not, i'd recommend the Saris Bones. It comes in two or three bike varieties and is sturdy & easy to install.

Their site has a "will it fit my car?" tool but my car isn't on it and it fits fine.

Can anyone recommend a good car rack? Obv it has to fit the car, but beyond that any ones that are good and anything to look out for? in particular looking for one that doesn't require half an hour and a degree in mechanical engineering to attach.

To fit on the roof or the rear door of a hatchback?

If the latter, then I've a Saris Bones that is a doddle to fit once you've sussed it out. It takes 15 mins the first time but after that you can get it all set up in 5 mins.

If you have a tow-hook then I'd recommend getting a rack that fits on that- much easier than the ones that strap onto the boot-hatch, and stronger also.

You can also undo the bolt then lift the whole rack off with bikes attached to store overnight, rather than taking everything apart and then having to put it back together again.

Does anyone know whether the coming Ultegra 6800 cranks will be compatible with compact/standard rings a la the Dura ace 9000 cranks?

to answer my own question: yes.

Now the question is, reckon I could use the 11sp Ultegra cranks with 10sp components?

if i have a fixed gear bike that has two brakes, will i be uncool?

^^ Why would you want to?

I have two brakes on my fixed bike, and I'm very uncool.

Do you need two brakes to be uncool on fixed ? I'd better get shopping.