Road Cycling

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That fork looks fine, though the groove at the bottom is usually a little tapered to let the race on. If it's the headset that came with it - or the same model - then I'd just make a crown race tool and whack it on. I just used a hammer going slowly around to set my crown race.
 
Took me two hours but I figured it out :)

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What relatively cheap tyres would you say are the best for puncture resistant?
Have a pretty much new Charge Plug bike and it's been great so far, but got a couple of punctures from pretty tiny splinters.
I only use it ~8 miles a day for the commute to work where it's pretty much all cycle path and road so performance I can sacrifice.
Looking for something 32c, possibly be persuaded for 28c, but nothing smaller.

Schwalbe Marathon Original/Plus?
 
Razor-BladE said:
What relatively cheap tyres would you say are the best for puncture resistant?
Have a pretty much new Charge Plug bike and it's been great so far, but got a couple of punctures from pretty tiny splinters.
I only use it ~8 miles a day for the commute to work where it's pretty much all cycle path and road so performance I can sacrifice.
Looking for something 32c, possibly be persuaded for 28c, but nothing smaller.

Schwalbe Marathon Original/Plus?
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i know a guy who cycled round the world on marathon plus, not one puncture.
 
Razor-BladE said:
What relatively cheap tyres would you say are the best for puncture resistant?
Have a pretty much new Charge Plug bike and it's been great so far, but got a couple of punctures from pretty tiny splinters.
I only use it ~8 miles a day for the commute to work where it's pretty much all cycle path and road so performance I can sacrifice.
Looking for something 32c, possibly be persuaded for 28c, but nothing smaller.

Schwalbe Marathon Original/Plus?
Click to expand...

I'd go for the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, if punctures are your only concern. Mine are two years old, without a single puncture (famous last words!). I've cycled through tons of glass, and everything just bounces off.
Obviously, they're a little harsher to ride comfort wise, but you get used to them pretty quick. I'm pretty sure you can get 32c.
 
So handy having your own tools.

Replaced chain rings, chain and cassette tonight. Took me less than 45 minutes all up and I would have saved a fortune in labour costs and RRP on parts.

Wanted to get it done so I have three weeks to let it bed in and make sure everything is 100% before racing away in Dec. Correctly torqued up & loctited the chainring bolts and put a little grease on the splines of the free hub before torquing the cassette up too.
 
Boo. Ordered a new mega lumens light on eBay which was totally going to be sent from London in like 2 days flat... Due here last week, still not here. Messaged seller and their grasp of English is not encouraging. Drop ship from China, anyone? Refund time.
 
Berger said:
So handy having your own tools.

Replaced chain rings, chain and cassette tonight. Took me less than 45 minutes all up and I would have saved a fortune in labour costs and RRP on parts.

Wanted to get it done so I have three weeks to let it bed in and make sure everything is 100% before racing away in Dec. Correctly torqued up & loctited the chainring bolts and put a little grease on the splines of the free hub before torquing the cassette up too.
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How many miles do you put into the chain rings before changing them? I've not done that job yet, but then my oldest rings in service have only got 4200 miles in them.
 
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Jono said:
And your feet will get wet, but hopefully not cold. I just bought some sealskinz socks, which claim to be waterproof.
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I got my other half 2 pairs of them last winter as she commutes all weather in flats (leather trainers) and refuses to pay much for them or wear an overshoe. They work well, but quite expensive! I did intend to get some more in the summer sales but they were never on a great deal.

Vonhelmet said:
A guy I work with has a pair of northwave boots with gotetex which are supposed to be super waterproof. They cost like £120 or something!
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They'll be the Northwave Celsius or Fahrenheit GTX. See below for more info...

Jono said:
Are they waterproof? Can you ask him? That's not bad for goretex. Found some that cost about 2x that :(
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They're about as waterproof as any boot can be with usual features (like somewhere to put your foot in!). General consensus is to still wear overshoes with them for full waterproofing.

SoliD said:
Northwave boots are great, but water will eventually get in from the big foot opening!
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Have the pair I sent you turned up yet mate?

Ok, much more info on Northwaves... I've become a bit of an expert recently! ;)

Back in April I picked up a pair of size 43 from Wiggle for a little over £90. I believe they were end of production as this autumn has seen some newer ones in a slightly different style. I'm normally a size 42 but the correct size were not available and I figured as usual with cycling stuff the sizes can be a bit hit and miss... How correct I was! The 43 I figured being near a UK 9 (and i'm an 8) I could wear with thick socks. Truth is they are closer to a 43.5 or whatever a UK 9.5 is. I tried thick socks and shoe inserts over the inserts they came with and still had too much movement to be comfortable cycling.

Bear in mind these boots are made for winter, with merino socks on even in frosty mornings (slightly above freezing) my feet cooked with major hot spots. I had to source a smaller pair.

Due to the sizing of the 43's I figured a size of 41's which came up on the 'bay were a good shout. They were an older styling (from 2011) and I managed to snap them up for £55. They're slightly too tight on me so I figure they are true to being 41 (UK 7).

These boots are regularly popping up on 'bay. There are several size 44's there at the moment so if you need that size (probably closer to 44.5) go have a look. Be prepared to pay £60 or more for a worn pair and try to snipe them otherwise you'll pay more. Size 42's seem to be going for £70-80 at the moment and you are lucky to find them. If the seller doesn't seem to sell much cycling stuff try and offer them £40-50 privately (how I got my 41's).

Also, as these are MTB boots the SPD ones (Celsius) are very popular. I've seen pairs go for over £90 (bear in mind you can get them new for similar). Picking up SPD-SL (Fahrenheit) you might get more of a deal as they seem to be less popular, reaching £60. Less of them out there though (but the route i'm probably going - it may be cheaper to buy boots and pedals than SPD boots).

No riding for me this week, the cold I picked up has progressed into a chesty infection and i've had to take a couple of days off work. I'm figuring on driving my commute to fully clear it and then some turbo to ease me back into it away from the wind/weather.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Boo. Ordered a new mega lumens light on eBay which was totally going to be sent from London in like 2 days flat... Due here last week, still not here. Messaged seller and their grasp of English is not encouraging. Drop ship from China, anyone? Refund time.
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Have you seen the photos doing the rounds on FB of some guy's helmet light (chinese thing) that burned his helmet to the ground?
 
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