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Is this still available by any chance? Thanks!

It does! I only tested briefly but was able to pick up Radio 1 inside my flat. If you're out of doors I reckon they'd be quite fine, deep valleys and whatnot excepted. The flashlight's actually quite passable too!

Just to relate that I ended up buying a pair of Baofeng BF-T1 mini PMR radios (like these) and having had a chance to do some on-bike testing with the included headset I can confirm they are excellent and will certainly do the job. Can be had for less than a tenner each, too!

For anyone looking to go down the same route, it's necessary to buy the programming cable (included in the link above) and you'll then need to use the included software (or Chirp, a third-party app) to upload the definitions for the 16 license-exempt "PMR446" channels to the unit(s). Once that's done you should be able to communicate with anyone using PMR446.

Good luck!

It looks like there are quite a few dedicated Bluetooth/radio intercom setups out there, for local communication over tens/hundreds of meters while bike touring/motorbiking etc. However these seem to be quite expensive and overlook the fact that most riders are going to have a smartphone on them anyway.

It would seem that an ideal low-cost touring intercom setup might include a Bluetooth earpiece and/or handlebar trigger button that activated some sort of intercom functionality via a paired smartphone, with audio then transmitted to a group/channel via Bluetooth or the phone's data network.

Does anyone have any tips to share regarding this sort of setup and/or devices/apps that might provide it? Or any general tips for low-cost touring voice comms, if I should think outside the box some more? Shouting is always an option, but I feel it could be improved upon.

Cheers!

Thanks all – I will definitely look at getting some Superfeet, and get the scissors out...

I picked up a pair of SIDI Trace shoes last year (the last of the old line, not the new Trace 2) and the fit seems pretty spot-on apart from one annoying detail. When the main strap is tightened I get a slight pinch/rubbing of the tongue part and main strap edge against the top of my foot, no matter how diligently I pull on the tongue while tightening them up. Backing off the main strap eases this slightly but it never quite goes away. It's like the main strap needs to be 5mm or so further away from the opening of the shoe. Is this what snipping the perforations in the tongue is meant to alleviate? Any advice on how to improve this point of comfort would be much appreciated. Cheers!

Price drop to free, if you can collect it in N1/N7. No need to bring Smarties.

Thanks – I'm running Shimano though so I think (but am not sure) that I need a Shimano freehub?

I believe so – thanks, will PM you.

My current turbo wheel is running rough, and it's such a cheap no-name it's not worth trying to recover. So looking for a similarly basic replacement.

700c, clincher, QR. To fit 8-speed Shimano (to transfer my existing cassette). For rim brakes. Other than that, as long as it runs reasonably smooth and true, I'm not too fussed.

Thanks all!

Bought second-hand a couple of years ago and used once or twice a week since; jettisoning now due to upgrade. Great cheap and cheerful trainer that has served me well. Here is Wiggle's page for the latest version; I don't think this one is much different.

Frame, spindle, clamping apparatus and official QR skewer all in excellent condition. Bottom of the fluid case sometimes feels slightly oily after use, so I suspect it's no longer completely sealed, but other than the occasional mark on my training mat this hasn't been a problem. Just making you aware.

£25 Free to a good home. QR skewer included. Collection in Holloway/N7/N1 or can meet anywhere vaguely central one evening in exchange for a packet of Smarties (and the £25). No box but I can throw in one of those blue IKEA canvas bags if you like, so you stand a chance of being able to carry it.

Good find!

Yup. This is the best solution assuming a suitable bolt could be found. I guess only downside is being unable to use the matching Hope cap bolt but on balance not really a deal breaker.

It's a good idea – only trouble in my case at least is that the top cap I wanted to use is one of the Hope ones that has a freakishly large hole and corresponding wide bolt head (see pics above). Not insurmountable but certainly an issue.

I did indeed – not a perfect solution but it works. Basically the DIY expansion bung idea that I mentioned above – a cavity fixing (M6 x 15mm) surrounded by 13-20mm rubber o-rings with a few 6mm flat rubber washers added to the bolt above the nut to act as spacers. The outer dia. of the cavity nut is 13mm and the inner dia. of the adapter is 20mm so the o-rings fit pretty well perfectly – but if I did it again I might try and get slightly wider rings for a tighter fit. When the whole thing is tightened up it just about grips the inside of the adapter, and I can push it in with my thumb to seat it. The awkward bit is that I have to clamp the stem onto the adapter higher up than I would like so as to provide enough vertical space for the whole cap bolt to fit inside. But if I was braver I would saw the bolt shorter.

Hope that helps!

@svenhöek Thanks – interesting ideas!

The internal adapter diameter is 20mm so too small for the FSA bung unfortunately. Drilling the bar-end cap is a good idea if I could also shave its sides, since it has a slight expansion in the body but the cap is a little too wide at the moment. And the threaded tube is a great hack – if I didn't already have a cap I wanted to use.

The next thing I'm trying is to make an DIY expansion bung from an M6 rubber cavity fixing, which I'm going to nestle inside some 13-20mm rubber washers. Hopefully introducing a bit of the bolt to that nut will expand it sufficiently to stay in the adapter. I've got some small M6 rubber washers to keep the nut away from the bolt head if necessary. Those bits should be arriving tomorrow so I'll let you know how it turns out!

Thanks again for the tips.

Hi all,

I'm rebuilding a 2011 Fuji track frame I bought from a lovely LFGSSer and am attempting to reuse many of the parts it came with, in combination with a few bits from my spares box. Pic 1 shows the cast of characters in this part of the rebuild story. Slightly longwinded explanation follows, bear with me.

The frame has a 1" threaded headset into which has been fitted a threadless headset adapter. The adapter is tightened into the fork with a long bolt which runs through a (unthreaded) crown in the top of the adapter (pic 2) and screws into the "quill" plug. A regular stem then clamps to the top of the adapter (with a shim), and a simple plastic bung, which looks suspiciously like a bar-end plug, goes in the top of the adapter (pic 3). That was, at least, the arrangement that came with the bike.

I have a nice shiny Hope top cap and bolt that for silly and solely decorative reasons I want to use in this build. However, lacking the usual star-fangled nut to screw into, there's no (legit) way to secure the bolt and cap into the top of the adapter as one would normally secure it into the top of a steerer tube.

The solution I've got in mind for now is shown in pic 4 – I cut a plastic bottle cap down to fit the inner diameter of the adapter, poked a hole in the middle for the bolt to thread itself through, then if I move the adapter down a little inside the stem, there's room to work my little disc inside and tighten the bolt to "secure" the cap (pic 5). If the stem sits slightly higher on the adapter neck, there's room for the top cap bolt inside.

It does actually work, just not very well. The theme of many of my ideas. Actually, I can't claim credit for this one – it was Nelson at LBK who got me thinking about this.

So, any suggestions for a better way to do this? Ideally I do want to leave the adapter bolt (pic 2) accessible, or at least accessible with a little bit of effort. I did think about trying to use a tweaked star-fangled nut, but removing it to get at the lower bolt would be just about impossible, I imagine. I did just find these threaded expando bar-end plugs; I can't tell what the thread size is, but I wonder if that might work, or if some other kind of cunning threaded plug is available. Is there a way to somehow join the top bolt to the lower? Or should I try buying a new headset adapter that would support a standard top cap, shifting the problem to one of possible cap hole/bolt head diameter mismatch?

Edit: it seems I overlooked the existence of carbon steerers that need bungs of this sort – but the ones I'm looking at seem like they might be too long or too wide to fit into the adapter. Hope make a Head Doctor expander which I'm embarrassed I didn't spot earlier, but it seems it might be 1 1/8" so way too wide for this application. The internal diameter of the top of the adapter is 20mm.

Your creative solutions or other thoughts appreciated in advance! Yours in bodging,

James

Is this still available?

@Grassupthemiddle Hello – been taken I'm afraid; stem still available.

Hi friends. Both of these items are still available as neither dibs-er came through. If you want to take both the stem and the bar, you are welcome to do so for £25.

Hi all,

Ended up with a surplus handlebar and stem from a recent bike acquisition, so making my LFGSS classifieds debut.

Soma Portola Dirt Drop Bars / 56cm width / 112mm drop / 65mm reach
Manufacturer's page here. Surface is in good condition; a few scratches on the ends where something was shimmied on, and at the rear of the middle where the stem has been seated. Remnants of sticky stuff from bar tape which I have attempted to scrub off with moderate success. The parts that would be left exposed after tape and stem are applied look pretty good.
£20 ONO – collect from / meet-up in N7, or we can talk postage

IRD Satin Stem / 80mm / 17º / 26mm dia.
Manufacturer's page here. Appears to be in excellent condition; only the merest of scratches on the back end. 6x bolts included!
£10 – collect from / meet-up in N7, or we can talk postage

Any questions / additional photos wanted, let me know. Happy to do a deal if you want to take both bits.

Cheers,

James

Apologies for the bump. Originally posted that I was looking for 56cm but have been told it should be 54cm; have edited. Thanks.

Sometime lurker, first-time poster. Interested in buying a 54cm [originally posted 56cm, whoops] Cross-Check, ideally a complete bike rather than F+F, as I'm not sure I can afford to build one up myself just yet, but will consider anything. Any condition! Thanks for reading.

James

Occasional London messenger and bona fide computer toucher