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For sale is my old Raleigh Record Sprint fixie conversion (52cm C-T Reynolds 501). Most parts are no name/budget but it all works, the front brake is Ultegra. It has a stainless chain for low maintenance.

Asking for £50, collection in Fen Ditton (CB5)

I have a dibs from @nomes, so this should be gone now.

An old housemate once bought a Falcon frame with the intent of stripping and repainting. He got as far as stripping and applying a white base coat -- poorly. Free for anyone willing to put in the work required to get this back in working condition. Pickup from CB4 evenings or weekends, DM me to dib.

Frame size: 62cm C-T. 115mm drop-outs.

On that note: if anyone else is keen to try the WayCap thing: I have one and you can have it for free, just send me a PM.

It’s this thing: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/waycap/waycap-refillable-coffee-capsule-for-nespresso-mac

Haha fair enough. As I said, my experience wasn’t great, so I wouldn’t normally recommend it. But if you needed a “project” to kill the time, this could be that. Good luck with the quarantine, stay sane!

On the pod subject: if you have a grinder and are expecting to have lots of time on your hands, I once bought the steel reusable WayCap pods that you fill yourself. Totally failed to get anything drinkable out of them, mind. At the time I was spending a lot of time at a customer site with only a pod machine. But if you’re interested, I’d be happy to pop it in the post for free. It’s gathering dust because I have a proper espresso machine at home and work, and I just accept whatever coffee I get elsewhere.

Yeah I noticed the eBay prices have gone a bit bananas over lockdown. Given the amount of money and time I’ve spent on the machine, I decided in the end that the most important thing is to get it back out in the world delivering tasty coffee. This way, someone on here (who is by definition a Good Person) gets a good deal with some cash left for a tamper and basket and what have you.

@Pasty_Spumante OK I’ll PM you now. Can deliver if needed, so I think it should work out.

@c00ps 2nd dibs duly noted.

Shameless self plug: if anyone in the Cambridge area wants a Gaggia Classic, I have one up on the Classifieds section: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/366883/#comment16136641

-- NOW SOLD -- 2014 Gaggia Classic. Looking for £80 ONO.

Full disclosure: this has been used in an office, so it's made more coffees and has not been treated as well as a home machine would have been. That said: I've completely taken it apart, deep cleaned it and replaced:

1. The steam valve assembly (the old one had a leak and they're unservicable)
   
2. The boiler to grouphead gasket (Silicone, should be more durable than the original EPDM one)
   
3. Portafilter gasket
   
4. Steam wand O-ring
   
   

It's got the Rancilio steam wand instead of the stock one, and the OPV has been adjusted to ~10 bar static pressure (see photo), which is generally assumed to deliver ~9 bars against a coffee puck. It comes with a portafilter (it's a bit banged up, see photo. But 100% functional), 2 Gaggia baskets (same size, so...maybe no point in having two), and a few spare steam wand O-rings and shower screen screws.

I'm based in Cambridge. Collection preferred of course, but I could deliver to the Greater Metropolitan Area (i.e.: the villages around Cambridge) if you don't have transport.

Any questions, please ask!

Sounds like you've overfilled the basket, try using less coffee (or a bigger basket). There is the "coin test" to see when you've reached enough clearance: https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/espresso-headspace/

Clue was definitely needed! Had been wracking my brain over this...

Yeah I just use what is colloquially known as “drugs scales”, which, as the name suggests are usually used for weighing coins and jewellery. 0.1g accuracy and 500g capacity, so good enough for dosing beans and can take the added weight of a cup for weighing the shot. Also very small for easy storage and thin so you can get it under the portafilter. No timer, need the smartphone for that. I have this: https://www.ourweigh.co.uk/pocket-mini-scales/on-balance-truweigh-2-mini-scales.html

I think fancy scales make more sense for pour-over, where you’re actually trying to hit a pour rate?

Another vote for the Mignon -- also very compact, which comes in handy if you don't have a lot of free counter top space. You will have to get down with the whole Weissman distributing thing though, because it's a bit of a clump monster.

Yellow Bourbon deserves a mention ;)

I order from HasBean up in Stafford fairly regularly, always something interesting on offer there -- although their assortment is so large it can be a bit bewildering. I've recently been drinking Pact's house espresso blend which is nice but perhaps a bit too pedestrian if you're feeling adventurous.

I'll do the obligatory V-Sprint plug -- great value, esp with the forum discount code (hopefully @varno can remind us what the code is...)

Have a bump for the amaze frame -- glws

I've seen people do it in our office, and judged them for it haha! I would've thought you get some nasty overextraction flavours. Unless overextraction is not a thing either and I've been sheepled by the snobs!

Just tucking into the beans today -- can confirm they make a great espresso! So 10/10 would recommend taking advantage of the offer if you're after some beans.

Have sent an e-mail too just now, cheers.

For pour over/filter type, I'd say the Aeropress is a cheap and easy solution. For larger volumes, a Technivorm will do you >1l at a time.

For espresso-based drinks, our office has a Gaggia Classic. Which is great and can be had for £150 2nd hand, but requires a serious maintenance schedule when used heavily (~50 shots/day or more).

It's obviously important not to forget the coffee itself! Grind fresh if at all possible. If not, then get the roaster to grind it for your brew method. Depending on the size of the company, you can set up a weekly/two-weekly delivery so you've always got fresh coffee on hand.

EDIT: found a cheaper link.

Hand grinders are excellent value relative to electric ones per £ spent, so for your budget I'd definitely go manual -- you can reconsider when you get RSI :)

In addition to the Rhinoware suggested earlier, the Hario hand grinders are good. I use a Mini at work, it'll do any grind size down to espresso:
See: https://www.redber.co.uk/products/hario-mini-mill-slim-coffee-burr-grinder?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=17588775493&gclid=CjwKCAiAr_TQBRB5EiwAC_QCq0Yr5Ivf8jn7Hl7U1qpFkcdlfwHOLXq1UE0BpPOnAW9B6RYJedN4KRoCHDoQAvD_BwE

Espresso machine: A second hand Gaggia Classic can be found on eBay for 100-150 quid, people often throw in extras such as milk frothing jugs and tampers. IMHO this is pretty much the best bang for your buck, considering there is a massive user base and therefore care, repair and upgrade tips and tricks and spare parts are easy to come by. Rancilio Silvia is similar.

Grinder: I went for a Eureka Mignon, and can confirm it is tiny but great! I couldn't find any 2nd hand, so paid 300 quid new. Mazzer grinders are highly rated, but they're bigger and more expensive.

You're likely to find the grinder to be a big improvement, so there is always the option of buying a good grinder now and keep pouring & pressing until you've saved up some more.

Ta!