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scherrit, I think the Pearl is a little stiffer than the Dynamic.

Go to hubjub, always worth it for the little personalised note Will puts in.

Well, I do, so I know scherrit definitely will.

Yes, Dynamics can definitely flex. I was using one with bullhorns for months. The bendiness freaked me out cos there was so much movement pulling away from lights or making an uphill effort. The original Dynamic - which was 110mm, I think - was swapped for a shorter length. There was no more scary flexing after that.

Go to Hubjub for new Nitto stuff. You'll get it quickly and Will deserves your money for knockout customer service.

You should be able to get white Shimano cable housing in any bike shop worth its salt. Jagwire have a nice line in silver, which is always a handy colour option on a white frame. White housing looks weird on a white bike - like you're trying too hard to hide the cables. What colour's your bike, mister?

The paintjob on that doesn't look too shabby at all. Why d'you want to change it?

It's probably best to have a sleeve even if there are no cutouts in the bottom bracket shell. It'll stop the bearing getting contaminated by all the rust and dust and little bits of goodness only knows what kicking about inside the frame. A sleeve's a small expense. Well worth a couple of quid to cut down on BB services.

My saddle arrived five minutes ago. That's less than 24 hours door to door. If only online shops were so fast... Cheers.

:-( Och, that's a terrible shame. Blue tit fledglings normally all leave the nest at once. Often one's not strong enough and gets left behind.

I've fed an orphan blue tit before - a straggler. It's bloody hard work. They just eat and eat. Luckily one of the parents came back later the same day. I popped the fledgling in a box in the shed and left the door open. The parent took over feeding duties and it all turned out fine in the end.

There's a nest box full of them outside my bedroom window just now. When the female was sitting on her eggs, the male would sit outside the box on the telephone line and sing loudly - starting at 6 in the morning! Some days I've staggered out of bed and opened the window just so he'd move away and shut up. That's a nest box tip: don't put it outside your bedroom. :-)

I hope you've got a big box of mealworms and the time on your hands to get that wee blue tit back outside where he belongs. :-/

Yay! Good man. :-D

The bike shop I bought mine from sorted me out with a couple of extra links. I added one, installed the chain and was surprised at just how slack it was, considering that without the extra link I couldn't make the ends meet with the back wheel in the frame. The plates were touching, but there wasn't enough overlap to get the pin in.

I had a 4-Jeri tensioner handy, but it became clear that I wouldn't be able to use it to push up because of the way chainline had worked out: the chain would have been rubbing against the chainstays before all the slack had gone. Rather than settling for a setup where the tensioner was pulling down, I decided to experiment and took out the extra link. The chain was almost the perfect length when it came out of the tin, so I thought it'd be worthwhile joining the ends with the wheel out, then forcing the axle back into the dropouts.

This clueless faffing about is how I stumbled on a magic gear!

There's a terrible temptation to tell people it was all planned using one of those magic gear calculators. :-)

Credicott, you might be able to get away with a Slink chain, a 42x16 gear ratio, and no extra links. It'll depend on the bike. If Skinnygav speaks the truth and Charlie will send extra links for nowt, I'd definitely buy from him. He posts stuff out really quickly.

The money should be in your PayPal account now. Good little online shoppers pay promptly. :-)

I'll have the Selle Italia Trimatic, please.

This is the sort of thing you need:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/category-Freewheels--Single-Speed-76.htm

Looking forward to more photos. :-D

I used a hooded gas BBQ on the lowest setting with a accurate thermometer.

You're not doing much to break down Australian stereotypes. ;-)

Seriously though, I think it's great that you've taken the time to give something old a new lease of life. Sure, it'd be much easier to go out and buy a leather saddle, but homemade's got a charm all of its own, and like you say, you've learnt a lot in the process.

Is there anything you would do differently if you were to start from scratch?

Very interesting. Why do you have to use air pressure to mould the leather to the shape of the saddle? Is that the technique used in the industry?

I could taste Fanta in my mouth when I looked at that photo.

Looks nice. Any chance of a pic of the whole frame?

My new Gusset Slink half link chain does not fit my 42x16 set up by three or so links. I am pretty gutted. It is meant to be a single speed chain as well as bmx :(

Anyone have any spare Slink half links in 3/32" that I could have? I will buy you a beer.

thanks, Ved

I've got the same problem with exactly the same chain and identical gearing. Has anyone got a couple of links going spare?

single speed or fixed is no no to have a 3/32 chain, an 1/8th is THE only one to have- it doesn't have the sideways flex the 3/32 has to have on geared bike: its not called derailure chainfor nothing,its capable of being derailed off one sprocket onto another.

3/32" chains do not supernaturally leap off chainrings. Chainline and tension are much, much more important than width.

^ Great. Now where do I get a girlfriend from? :-P

When you've cut the cable housing to the right length and worked out how it's going to follow the curve of the bars, tape it down securely before you wrap them.

^ Ta much.

Has anyone actually tried household ammonia?

You're a couple of days too late with that tensioner. I need one for a MTB build... Well, I did need one up until Sunday when I cracked and ordered online. What a shame. I'm sure somebody will take it.

No sweat.