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I saw some in Merlin bikes. I can't bring myself to buy them due to the price though. I buy cheap pads but I do clean my rims and inspect the pads before they wear out.

If you sell one to a good home with a happy new owner that may be more enjoyable than holding onto a bike you hardly ever use. And perhaps it's a momentum thing: Searching, buying, and fixing up results in more of the same, whereas selling one results in selling another.

If you put rebar into the ground, wouldn't it be an entry point for rust? Or did you mean put rebar into the hole, but have it fully encased by the concrete?

Ok, I'll give it a go with some oil.

I sprayed wd-40 down the shift cable, that improved it. I guess the cable / housing needs to be replaced.

My left/front bar end shifter (for a triple chainset) has become stiff and is making an unhappy squeaking sound when I turn the lever. I took it apart to inspect, cleaned it and sprayed some silicone on the parts that turn against each other and in the groove where the cable sits but this hasn't helped at all.

I don't know the model, it just says 'LIGHT ACTION' on the shifter. I'm wondering if they're missing a washer or something, any ideas? They're 20-25 years old.

thanks, 19mm would be good for me. I was planning on getting a hub and building a wheel but £30 for the whole thing seems like a good deal.

Any thoughts on the two 700c dynamo wheels that Decathlon sell? One is a single wall with a Shimano hub (DH-3N31-QR), the other a double wall with a Shimano Nexus hub. I believe they're wide rims, but don't know exactly how wide. I'm looking to get something mainly for commuting and some touring. Not sure of the difference in the hubs.

answer: steerer tube was too long

I'm trying to get my old (90s) MTB back on the road. I can't figure out how to get this O-ring to stay in the headset; it seems there's no way to stop it getting it squeezed out when I tighten it up. Any ideas?? There's a channel in the headset where it looks like the O-ring should be happy to sit, but it won't stay in. Perhaps for this design of headset seal to work, the threads on the steerer tube have to be a bit shorter?

I'm sure I'll be fine without it for a while but I would like to get it fixed at some point.

thanks, that's good to hear, I'll give it a shot. I hope my current set hold out until I get around to replacing them.

After many years and miles my rear hub has developed a very small amount of play in all directions. I wasn't able to remove the play by tightening the nuts either side of the hub (not sure what you call those nuts? I might need to replace them as I slightly rounded one out trying to tighten it).

I'm inclined to fit a new pair of £1 cartridge bearings and then cross my fingers for another decade of maintenance free rolling. Is that the case, or do hubs wear out in other ways, are the new bearings likely to fit ok? The spokes have worn some grooves around the holes in the flanges but other than that, the hub looks as good as new.

ha, good question. I think it will irritate a friend, so seeing his (over)reaction to it will make it worth it.

I have a 32 hole rim with spokes the correct length for a standard 3x pattern. Are there any alternative lacing patterns available in this situation? I saw the 3 leading, 3 trailing pattern looked good but that won't work for a 32 hole rim. I wanted to try a 2 leading, 2 trailing design, but the spoke calculator said the spokes I have will be 10mm too long.

Any idea what you would call the design in the attached picture? Is it practical, I couldn't find any info on it.

I think people would compare that £500 with the £1125 that could be claimed if you'd travelled by car and see it as another reason not to cycle. I realise cyclists may come out miles ahead financially if all costs comparing riding and driving are considered but people are inclined to see the 20p versus 45p and see it as discouraging (and think less about the car insurance, depreciation, increased maintenance costs from driving more miles etc). I think it's easy to interpret the two figures as a nudge towards driving, even if it isn't logical financially speaking.

I'll have a look, thanks.

Have we tried to campaign this issue though? I googled but couldn't find anything (except local councils and businesses offering employees the same per mile rates for both car and bike journeys).

The other ways the government and organizations encourage cycling seem relatively difficult - building bike lanes, the cycle to work scheme, rider training, maintenance workshops, etc all require a lot of effort.

Currently the self-employed can claim expenses for bike and car journeys used for business purposes at the rates of 20p/mile for bikes and 45p/mile for cars... I assume the figures are the same for businesses in general.

Why does HMRC choose to discourage cycling? Is there any campaign to change this?

ok, good to know. I might make it look crap with sellotape or paint etc

I'm considering setting up a dynamo system but I'm wondering if they're liable to be stolen if left on the bike when it's locked up. I remove my battery lights when locking my bike at the moment but it looks like that might not be so straightforward with dynamo lights?

ha ha, that is a bit late! I suppose it could work if it flashed when the seat belt was unclipped, then you'd only get hit by those predators that sit in their cars for ages before pouncing.

I'd prefer if it worked the other way around as well though - a camera on the mirror that could see objects and so would make a beep that the driver could hear as well as a strobe for drivers and cyclists.

Low tech way to avoid dooring. I wish it was on car designers' radars and on driving tests.

http://99percentinvisible.org/article/dutch-reach-clever-workaround-keep-cyclists-getting-doored/

I'm not sure what this tyre is designed for either, it's not a slick tyre, it has pronounced tread. I'm guessing cyclocross type riders ride at higher pressure than 45? I'm inclined to agree with the bin comment but I've gone ahead and fitted it anyway. It was reasonably tight when getting it on the rim and it seems happy at 100 psi and is still happy after an hour of road riding.

And the answer was.....

the bottom bracket on the drive side. It was the last thing I tried, I tightened it and everything is quiet now.

Thanks for your help

it was only a tiny bit loose! My wallet is averse to replacement