Any question answered...

http://www.surrendalink.co.uk/

Used to deal with these alot when I dealt TEPS, they were very good with my parents policies, although this was almost 10 years ago.
http://www.sellendowments.co.uk/
A friend has recently used these.

Thanks - that is brailliant. xxx

If i buy a spanner from ebay from the states (seller not a bike shop just an individual) will i get stung for customs charge?

How big is the spanner? There is a lower limit below which you won't pay duty, and another one below which you won't pay VAT. The VAT limit is the lower one by far, and is 22Euro, so if your purchase including shipping comes to more than that you might get hit, although there is a pleasing lottery element to the whole proceeding. If you get the goods declared as a gift or undervalued, there is an even greater lottery since that is a crime on the part of the recipient, so if you win you pay no tax, but if you lose you get a large fine.

This is the bad boy
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120695411008&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I reckon price will be £15-20

I have an SKS Renkompressor, which has always been a bit of a mixed bag- it's excellent when it works, but the head is very temperamental, and if the hose is at slightly the wrong angle once you achieve a certain pressure the head leaks air.

This has now got silly- once you get the pressure to around 80psi the pressure forces the head off.

I now need to hold the head onto the valve to inflate a tyre, or get a helper to do it- and it seems a trifle silly to need to have a helper around to use a fucking track pump.

What would peoples recommendation be for a replacement head for this pump, and is it an easy matter to change them?

I have an SKS Renkompressor, which has always been a bit of a mixed bag- it's excellent when it works, but the head is very temperamental, and if the hose is at slightly the wrong angle once you achieve a certain pressure the head leaks air.

This has now got silly- once you get the pressure to around 80psi the pressure forces the head off.

I now need to hold the head onto the valve to inflate a tyre, or get a helper to do it- and it seems a trifle silly to need to have a helper around to use a fucking track pump.

What would peoples recommendation be for a replacement head for this pump, and is it an easy matter to change them?

don't replace the head just the rubber seals inside, also put a jubilee clip on the joint between the head and the tube.

we had one in lbs i worked in, always knew that the rubber was on the way out when it wouldn't stay on.

it was about 30 years old and apart from needed new seals etc one in a while it worked as well as the day it was bought

This one is about 2 years old, if that, slightly disappointed if the seal are perished already.

It's done this since new, just to a lesser degree.

Where can one obtain new rubber seals from?

http://www.dotbike.com/productsP5004.aspx
or
here
or anywhere else google might suggest

Some Googling suggests that simply swapping to a different head (either the EVA head from SKS, or the twin-head design from Topeak) yields better results than sticking with the original design.

Anyone in favour of sticking with the original head?

all the new Rennkompressor's come with the eva head so i think even sks agrees with the change

Damn them, damn them to hell

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/sks-eva-hose-for-tp11-renkompressor-2145-prod23479/

Straight replacement, however I don't want to buy it from SJS due to their glacial postage.

Some people have had the EVA head free-issued to them by SKS since the old type head is so shit. Obviously, all us serious racers* just put a Hirame Yoko on the end of the hose

*seriousness of racing may vary.

How much is parking in London nowdays? My Dad's driving down from Birmingham for the big anti cuts march with a car full of people and wants to know where to park where he can jump on a tube down to embankment. Will all parking near stations be expensive?

I had seen your recommendation of that before- however is it not approximately the cost of a new car?

I had seen your recommendation of that before- however is it not approximately the cost of a new car?

Only if you can buy a new car for £50. Admittedly, I was a little stunned when I paid more for my pump head than I'd paid for my SKS Rennkompressor, but if you get one you will never have a problem again, and the money is forgotten soon whereas having a shit pump head bugs you every time you use it. Somebody on the time trialling forum has found an unbranded copy of the Yoko which is about half the price, hold on a moment and I'll find the link...

Some people have had the EVA head free-issued to them by SKS...

This is true - I emailed SKS about the crappy original head and got a reply the next day. They kindly posted the newer version (which simply screws on) to me, free of charge, immediately.

I believe others on here have done the same (Skully?), so I assume they are well aware of the issue...

How much is parking in London nowdays?

Up to £6/hr on a meter/pay-and-display/pay-by-phone. Might be a problem if he wants to stay more than 4h as most central ones are time limited. Have a look around on Streetview, there might be free on street parking near Kenton tube, taking a fairly random example of a station which might suit somebody going from Birmingham to Embankment. E.g., there is a controlled zone operating from 11am to noon in Elmwood Avenue to stop people from parking there all day, but if you get there after noon you can just sling it on a single yellow until the next morning.

I put the Topeak Super Chuck brass head on my SKS Renkomp down at t'track.

Hacksaw off the old head and and a screwdriver for the p clip on new one is all thats needed

Up to £6/hr on a meter/pay-and-display/pay-by-phone. Might be a problem if he wants to stay more than 4h as most central ones are time limited. Have a look around on Streetview, there might be free on street parking near Kenton tube, taking a fairly random example of a station which might suit somebody going from Birmingham to Embankment. E.g., there is a controlled zone operating from 11am to noon in Elmwood Avenue to stop people from parking their all day, but if you get there after noon you can just sling it on a single yellow until the next morning.

Thanks!

When running a 10 speed Shimano cassette on a hub designed for 9 speed one has to use a spacer- does it go on before or after the cassette? I'm assuming before, but don't have the spacer to check this.

Second question- will any old cassette spacer do, or do you need a special one (specific width or similar)?

^spacer thing was answer the other day wasn't it?

Answer the other day was "use a spacer" I am now seeking clarification on how one does this, and specific details of said spacer

Obviously I could answer these questions myself if I had the spacer.

got an old cassette about? if you brake it up there are plastic spacers between the cogs you can use