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I managed to mess up my left crank arm with a poorly installed pedal. Does anyone have one of those that they are trying to get rid of (or a whole crank set?). I am looking for a 170 mm square taper left arm, or pretty much any length full set.

Cheers,

Alex

My bad... try copying and pasting, as HTML and I are not in good terms.

A bit of meaningless information, given the distance, but this is why I was looking for a travel case. I go very year but this year I will be doing it solo.

http://24.fastermustache.org/

Just did. Thanks.

I am going to the US with my non-S&S bike and was thinking about buying a hard case. It seems like a bit of overkill for a single trip, so I was wondering if anyone in here has one I could borrow.

Is this something that people would be interested in having as a LondonFgSs collective asset? I was thinking we could get one that people would rent for trips (for something like 25 quid + a deposit that would discourage absconding with it) and when the case paid for itself the extra money could either go to help with site costs or into a fund for other collective pieces of gear.

1. andyf
   
2. stompy
   
3. kowalski
   
4. Object (Out due to owwey clavicle)
   
5. Cornelius Blackfoot
   
6. MA3K
   
7. Tommy
   
8. VelocityBoy
   
9. hippy
   
10. mikec (on fixed - its all I have)
    4.FRANK (think im getting a lift back tho)
    
11. Cornelius Blackfoot (geared/fixed? not sure yet?)
    
12. Sam (unless the venue or time is changed.....)
    
13. dogsballs (what is the ride?) Too far for you....yeh, way too far for you
    
14. TheBrick(Tommy)
    
15. eyebrows (if all is well with the world)...almost deleted this line, dunno why ;)
    
16. Yebo (geared, most likely)
    
17. illy
    
18. jonny
    
19. Sano (fixed is all I have)
    
20. Bracestower (probably. But definitely on fixed if I do)
    
21. dave4
    
22. fatboyralph
    
23. hillbilly
    
24. BigFatAl (Grandad lives in Southwold, break out the Adnams!)
    
25. h2o (who might be really f*ing stupid and ride back again for charidee)
    
26. 50/14 on a Pinar
    
27. town
    
28. finsbury pete (so long as the weather is nice, of course)
    
29. andy (fixed i think... not 100% yet)
    
30. mdx (geared - gettin old!)
    
31. Gav - fixed, inappropriate handlebars, ratio etc
    
32. claus (fixed - geared is too precious)
    
33. Dropout: waterproofed,puncture-proofed,calory-laden, low geared and fixed.
    
34. Will - fixed, bad 80's paint job
    28 - 34 Benanza + Mrs Benanza & 4 friends
    
35. Jacqui - Natalia Harry and Seb (if the boys don't chicken out)
    
36. Emilia (fixed)
    
37. Cyclodelic - Chris (and Michael if he doesn't chicken) fixed
    
38. Punkpixel (geared - my back is not doing too well fixed)
    
39. Alex (hoping the bad knee will be nice to me)
    

1. VelocityBoy
   
2. hippy
   
3. mikec (on fixed - its all I have)
   4.FRANK (think im getting a lift back tho)
   
4. Cornelius Blackfoot (geared/fixed? not sure yet?)
   
5. Sam (unless the venue or time is changed.....)
   
6. dogsballs (what is the ride?) Too far for you....yeh, way too far for you
   
7. TheBrick(Tommy)
   
8. eyebrows (if all is well with the world)...almost deleted this line, dunno why ;)
   
9. Yebo (geared, most likely)
   
10. illy
    
11. jonny
    
12. Sano (fixed is all I have)
    
13. Bracestower (probably. But definitely on fixed if I do)
    
14. dave4
    
15. fatboyralph
    
16. hillbilly
    
17. BigFatAl (Grandad lives in Southwold, break out the Adnams!)
    
18. h2o (who might be really f*ing stupid and ride back again for charidee)
    
19. 50/14 on a Pinar
    
20. town
    
21. finsbury pete (so long as the weather is nice, of course)
    
22. andy (fixed i think... not 100% yet)
    
23. mdx (geared - gettin old!)
    
24. Gav - fixed, inappropriate handlebars, ratio etc
    
25. claus (fixed - geared is too precious)
    
26. Dropout: waterproofed,puncture-proofed,calory-laden, low geared and fixed.
    
27. Aroogah
    
28. Alex (assuming my knee stays healthy between now and then)
    

Lynn and JP are mates, and Lynn has gone into making one-of-a-kind messenger bags. Check out the one she just finished:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeanpierrechery/sets/72157604894218942/

I machine washed mine. Taped a shirt over the metal buckle and it came out beautifully. They are supposed to be able to take punishment and a washing machine isn't that bad.

I was skeptical (or sceptical as seems to be the case on this shore), but a team just finished the Race Across America on fixies. Sure, it was a relay, but that is far man, far.

http://fastermustache.org/node/5219

Hats off to them.

I oughta go back to riding with y'all... been a slacker.

Ah, dammit... been posted before. That is how out of it I am.

Started on a shoestring and grew because they are good guys. Last year they were super nice in the 24 hour race (they were a checkpoint).

If ever in Atlanta, I highly recommend stopping by.

whatever you do, don't get your pocket picked by two hookers on La Rambla, like what happened to, erm, a friend of mine

NOW you tell me? Sigh... I wish I had asked sooner

I'll be in Barcelona for about a month and, unlike London, I actually have time to ride (other than riding to and from work). Does anyone know of any riding groups in Barcelona?

For the record, I did go back. That is when I went back and said I thought the bike was unsafe set up like that (very politely, as a matter of fact) and got told that axles don't slip forward and that he had been a mechanic for 14 years and that it does not happen. Short of walking in there with my laptop and doing a google search for "axle creep", I am not entirely sure what I can do to convince Mr. mechanic for 14 years that it does happen and that if happens in an axle like the one he left me with I would be in trouble. What I can do is relate my experience and make it clear that I thought I was not dealt with in very good faith. And I am not anon. I use my real name, people know me (not all, but some do) and my email address is right there on my profile should BLB want to fix it (though I would probably ask that someone else work on the bike as I am not entirely confident about the guy who worked on it the first time around).

pip [quote]peejay78 moral: even the big hitters make schoolboy errors. people are fallible.

And this is where we get into the territory that separates a good bike ship from a bad one. How many mistakes do they make and more importantly, how do they rectify those mistakes? The original posters feeling is that the bike shop cocked up, but then just tried to cover it.

Thats what engenders bad faith in a bike shop. Mistakes do happen, but BS'ing your way out of it doesn't win you customers - its just the shop trying to take advantage of their position of power.[/quote]

I stripped a crank arm riding once, and took the bike to the shop that sold me the bike. Left it there for over 6 weeks and nothing. Then one say someone complained on a board, others had similar complaints and it turned out to be so bad that if you googled crappy bike shop and the name of the city, they would come up. They called me and the others and made it right. After that I never took my bike anywhere else. People muck up, but I agree that if you own up to a mistake and fix it you get repeat business.

furious tiles Alex,

Thanks for purchasing a bucket of tar of the internet. The brush you've used on me seems to have done the trick too.

A note of interest mind is not all IBD's* are the same or offer the same quality of work.

So all in all thanks for you undying support of what is still a reasonably small industry making ends meet on relativly small margins.

Love you too.

*I do not work for BLB but another IBD.

Re-read.

I think it is pretty clear that the specific complaints are directed at BLB.

The comments about LBSs needing to focus on service are neutral - it is my opinion as a customer of what counts for me (and for the record, anyone's low margins are not really what matter for me - incidentally, perhaps a way to fatten those margins is to provide premium service, i.e. more than just good service). I don't mean to paint them all with the same brush and let it be known that the shoddy service I got was at BLB. If it in any way reflected on any other LBS, then I apologize. Given that BLB is so poor, I will surely go the extra distance to check your shop (post a link, please).

Heck, do you guys sell half links? I found them on the internet, but I would rather buy them locally because it is a good thing that people keep inventories of such things and I want to support that.

I ride Deep V's. I am sure they are strong, but they also punish your wrists because they are so stiff.

does anyone have a half-link that they would not mind part with for cash or beer?

I need it to undo the job some half-wit did. My chain is the usual one, which I think is 1/8, right?

If getting stuff online is cheaper, why do I visit you?

Service, stoopid. I am going in because I have a question about something that I am not sure I can do myself, or because I want something done right the first time around and it would take me more time than I care to spend on it myself.

I don't want to ask for something to be done a certain way (like change my chainring and put a new chain with one of those easy to break links but DON'T break my old chain because it has one of those links too), to find out that your mechanic went ahead and did whatever he wanted (like break my old chain in the wrong link and install the new chain WITHOUT the easy release link).

I also care about safety. There are certain things I can do myself but I ask a specialist to do because I do not want to find myself at eye level with the tarmac because something went terribly wrong. For instance, I do not want to notice that my wheel is so far forward on my dropout that only about half or 2/3 of the nut is biting into the metal. If I ask you about axle creep and the possibility that the whole thing might just fall off, don't tell me that it does not happen and justify it by saying that you have been a mechanic for 14 years and that it does not happen. It is bad customer service and it makes you look stupid when all it takes is a google search to show you that it does happen.

I also go in because there are some parts and tools I don't have. So when I ask you if a half link would not be a better idea than leaving my axle hanging on or dear life from my dropout (my dear life, as it happens), and your shop specializes in fixies (a lot o which are conversions like mine) I kinda expect you to have it. It is ok if you don't, but you see, now I think that the reason why you left my axle in such a precarious position and then told me with a straight face that axle creep does not happen is because you did not have a half link to do the job properly in the first place but making a sale was more important to you than doing something right.

The upshot is that I am spending some time to undo the hack job your mechanic did, putting my old chain and chainring back and ordering that half link you did not have from an online bike shop.

So, dear LBS, I do hope you don't mind my not coming back. Come and think of it, Brick Lane is not even that local to me. I had heard from others that it was a bad shop, but I had no complaints myself. That was before my perfectly safe bike was put in a state where I am not comfortable riding it.

I'm in N4

After 3 nights of drinking, I need to do something that is a bit better for me. Does anyone fancy a ride tonight? I have nothing specific in mind, just going around.

SimonC [quote]I am very close to plunking down for a vanilla all rounder myself...

With the dollar right now, they're starting to look reasonable value, but the price you pay is the one on the day you recieve the frame. If his prices keep rising to reflect the demand, and the dollar tanks, you could be buying a very expensive bicycle when your turn comes around in 5-6 years.

IMHO Robin offers 95% of the output for less money and less waiting time. From my discussions with him so far, he's open to trying pretty much anything (i.e. he'd quite like to put a Plexus / Terraplane style rear end on my frame) and as long as you're willing to pay the cost of his additional time. He'll work with Argos to spray it up any which way you want as well.

Oh, and if I wanted an all-rounder from a truly understated master builder I'd be 'phoning J P Weigle. The man's a master, eRichie for audax types atmo.[/quote]

I thought about all that, but in the end no other bike gave me the same gut reaction as Sacha's. That settled it.

SimonC I'm on Robin's waiting list, in fact I'm having a second meeting with him on Wednesday. The waiting list was initially put at three months and it's been six so far, but that's still nothing compared to someone like Sacha White (Vanilla Cycles) and I'm happy riding my current bike at the moment.

Mine's going to be an all-rounder much like David's - the plan is for Paul's Racer brakes, Honjo mudguards, a custom Mather rear rack, Schmidt dynohub powering a SuperNova light, clearance for 32c tyres, geometry similar to my Merckx Corsa Extra. Slinky lugs....

Colour seems to be the hardest choice - currently thinking dark grey metallic with a bordeaux metallic head and seat tube?

I am very close to plunking down for a vanilla all rounder myself...

I started going to my new gig in Canary Wharf by bike this Monday and left it parked outside my gym. When I came back at night, someone had put a note on my helmet saying "Nice bike! londonfgss.com". I did not need the site plug, but the compliment is appreciated.

Who else works around the area?

Is anyone else going today?