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I'm going to sell the lot. No more Uniglide for me.

My weedy pension requires me to get as much as I can. I'll put a couple of cassettes on ebay to see what happens, then I'll offer them here for a bit less.

Perhaps full rinko would be unnecessary to go in a shop? If the front wheel and seatpost were removed and the bike was bagged perhaps it could be worn as a sort of long backpack, without protruding beyond one's elbows?

That looks perfect for the weight weenie in me. Have you had much success with it?

I'm having a good think about the rinko approach for my bike.

Not just for train journeys, but so I can take it into shops instead of chaining it up outside. If it was stolen it would be harakiri time. Everyone says 'I-never-let-my-bike-out-of-my-sight', but this rather limits it as a conveyance. I don't want the thieves to stop me enjoying my lovely bike.

The main thing is the time it takes for disassembly and reassembly. Rinko devotees talk about 20 minutes. Maybe I could reduce that with special fittings or something? If the bike has no mudguards and racks it's much easier. And mine is Etap 11, so no gear cables.

So the things which need to be perfected are:

• unhooking brake cables
  
• handlebar removal
  
• fork removal
  
• seatpost removal
  
  

All needs to be done without any scratches, as this is my perfect ultimate superbike. Also no oil from the chain on everything. And without the setup and adjustment of brakes and seatpost needing to be done again at reassembly time. And hardly any crap to ride with, e..g. the bag, tools and scratch protection.

More on rinko:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/rinko-parts-useful-not-only-for-train-travel/
https://cycling-intelligence.com/2019/07/31/the-secrets-of-a-rinko-bike-how-to-get-a-near-perfect-steed-for-train-travel/
https://wiki.aalto.fi/download/attachments/110562254/rinko.pdf?version=1&modificationDate=1486045861527&api=v2
https://www.rennrad-news.de/forum/attachments/rinko-packing-a-bike-for-travel-pdf.407887/

And cranks, 170, 52/39. A stack of individual sprockets. Spacers. Half a dozen 1st position threaded sprockets. 6 speed down tube shifters. 8 speed down tube shifters. Rd7400 and RD
7402 rear mechs. Pair of 32 hole hubs, the freehub being 8 speed. Two freehub shell things without the hub, one 6 speed and one 8 speed. Non-aero brake levers, sprayed white. Pair of brakes. Two pairs of 8 speed bar end levers - one NIB, the other used and missing some gubbins.

Right. I've got nine 8 speed 12-19, four 8 speed 13-21, one 7 speed 12-18, three 6 speed 13-26. All cassettes but with individual sprockets. And a 6 speed block.

I was thinking of ebaying them. I need as much dosh as possible. Trying to go campervan + bike touring long term.

Maybe! I've ordered some. They're on the way! My reading of the situation is that they're not knock offs. They're the real Lekki8. https://www.roadbikereview.com/threads/ciamillo-lekki-8-brakes-review.381565/ Ted's cashflow has collapsed and he can't buy from his supplier any more. So they're ditching their stock. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003081042664.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.5d054c4dSgZxPP

Another possible scenario is that these are the dodgy ones. There have been some snappings of the carbon arms. Maybe this is the disgruntled former supplier and Ted has hooked up with someone better, and the new improved Lekki8 will soon be flying off the shelves. Anyone who has dealt with Ted would say that the likelihood of this is about one in eleventy thousand.

I wondered about that, but the shipping is free. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003081371093.html

The message says 'Product weight: 192.50 Volume weight: 176' The weight at this price seem improbable. But the supplier also makes carbon brakes for Ted Ciamillo, so maybe they're one of the good ones?

A seller on aliexpress has told me the "volume weight" of some bars. It's slightly less than the "product weight". Translation courtesy of Chrome. Anyone know what "volume weight" means?

Print your own on waterslide decal paper. Then varnish. Looks like a factory decal. https://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/inkjet-water-slide-decal-paper/ I'm going to put Louis Vuitton on my rims, as a homage to this disgrace https://uk.louisvuitton.com/eng-gb/products/step-through-pm-bike-monogram-nvprod2660014v

What's going on with the integrated bars which cost £200-300? The brands are Trigon https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1080191015.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.50a417c0s6oVxV&algo_pvid=c9156f26-cdd5-4bff-a3d3-8a978a05f979&algo_exp_id=c9156f26-cdd5-4bff-a3d3-8a978a05f979-11 and Twitter https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003228325792.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.50a417c0s6oVxV&algo_pvid=c9156f26-cdd5-4bff-a3d3-8a978a05f979&algo_exp_id=c9156f26-cdd5-4bff-a3d3-8a978a05f979-1.

I've got DZR hi-tops. Hot and heavy. But they look nothing like cycling shoes. https://road.cc/content/review/36728-dzr-strasse-shoe

Tape is popular, especially Effeto Mariposa. Pro mechanics and wheel manufacturers usually recommend glue because they think it's less likely to come unstuck in extreme heat. And they all have experience with glue, so they play safe. Everybody remembers Beloki. The mechanics are still putting on multiple coats of glue, whereas amateurs often use only one. Vittoria Mastik Pro makes life much easier for the amateur because it's very easy to remove from tyre sidewalls, brake tracks, clothing, skin etc. (You let it dry and rub it with your fingers - no solvent necessary.)

Modern sealants are also very good, as everyone knows. So tubs are much easier to live with than they ever were. The notion that 'you can't use them if you don't have a team car' is nonsense. When you puncture, if you don't want to spend time putting sealant in, you can put your spare tub on faster than people can mend a puncture on a clincher.

For me the reason to get back into tubs is that the rich guys are selling barely used top of the range tub wheels for rim brakes because they're switching to disc brakes. I got some Lightweight Fernweg 80s with Ceramicspeed bearings for £2,000. Just a few dozen miles on them. Not a scratch. RRP was £5600. And they take 27mm tyres. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. I've been deeply in love with Lightweights for many years. They're easy to buy used because any damage is obvious - you can't true them. And they have a good track record for lasting for years and years and years. The tub ones are more bombproof and lighter than the clincher ones because they don't have the hooked rim.

All the people there at the time are long gone! Probably a very different company now.

My CV should have gone in the bin. I had 3 years sales support experience at IBM and a degree in English. All the directors were away except the one who interviewed me. At that time IBM was revered in the corporate world. She assumed I was a marketing expert, because my card said IBM Marketing Representative on it. I don't know why, my job title was Systems Engineer, although I had no technical qualifications. (IBM was going through a we-can-do-no-wrong phase. Hiring arts graduates to be fake engineers was an experiment. I was one of the first batch. They liked the idea of having a clean slate, instead of people with relevant degrees who wouldn't do things the IBM way.) Anway, I assumed Madison would give me marketing training. A third of my time at IBM had been residential training courses. I thought that was typical business practice.

I'd just become one of the few amateurs to buy the new 7400. Monty at Condor had given me the brochures and I mugged up on the Campag-Shimano battle. I blabbed some fake it till you make it bollocks about brand positioning and was hired. When I started the MD returned from his holiday and was puzzled. Openly scornful, actually. It dawned on me that not one penny would be invested in training me. I sat through a couple of meetings and realised that the main part of the job was to anticipate the quantity of Shimano products which could be flogged to dealers so that Madison's cashflow wouldn't be harmed by holding more than a tiny bit of stock. Shimano would send us a telex saying we should order ten times more and I would have to write diplomatic replies. Madison had only just won the Shimano concession, so there was no sales history to analyse. I was completely clueless. And horrified. I quit by mutual agreement. I learned a lot though, and got a lifelong friendship out of it. It was six weeks well spent.

Nobody ever believes this, but I was UK brand manager for Shimano for six whole weeks in 1986. Madison hired me by mistake. I have no souvenirs of my spell in the trade - the book would do nicely! One sold on eBay recently for £150. Which represents about 100g of my weight weenie habit.

I got back into tubs the other day and had quite a job finding glue. Didn't want to buy cheap online (just for once). I thought lots of shops would have glue, what with all the hipsters. Doesn't anyone use tubs any more? I had to go to Condor. Not complaining really, I've always liked it there, even though they charged me 25% more than RRP for Mastik Pro.

I reckon I've got all the NOS 8 speed cassettes left in the world. And maybe a freehub or two. Haven't looked in my stash for a while.

some hubs I think.

Damn, that's terrible. My heart is still broken after having my Ottrot ST stolen many years ago. I finally replaced it by getting a 3rd hand Parlee Zero a few weeks ago. Finally back in superbike heaven!

I want one!

Any condition, so long as it works! Can collect in London area. Please text me: 07733 960541

Nick

Any news on a prosecution of the famous Ducati knob? I heard elsewhere that all the info, including him boasting about knocking off a second cyclist, has been passed to traffic plod.

I want to build some stupid wheels, just for fun. Gigantex carbon clincher rims, 50mm front. Dithering between 50 and 88 at the rear. I've had 47.5 mm front and rear before, and it was fucking BLISS. But would an 88mm rear be a mistake? This is just for daily riding and light touring. Total wheelset weight would be 1.4 kg if I have a 50mm rear - I'm guessing the 88mm would add another 200 grams. So if I had the 88mm would it ruin that lively acceleration feeling? And would the crosswind effect be markedly worse?