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Starting to crack where they bend.

Yes. You need to attend to the leather.. and fix the lining on the inside... A shoemaker can "glue" a new lining inside. You can use some good quality restoration creme on the outer leather to soften it... Saphir Renovateur is quite popular.. then bully them up with good wax (Burgol is one of the best) and head out to the parade grounds....

1994: Says so and features the livery of 1994 Telekom

I've used a standard SON dynohub for years for Audaxing and they work great. Never noticed the extra drag.

While SONs were the go-to for years, LEDs have changed the formula. A number of new generation dynamos are making the choice more difficult. One of the coolest, I think, is the Velogical: tiny, rim powered, weighing only 75g and 70% efficient. Some long distance riders are combining these with strorage/USB chargers--- running their lights off the batteries being charged by the dynamo rather than directly powered. A popular open source/community DIY project is the German Forumslader: http://www.forumsloader.org (unfortunately only in German). The Velogical runs 150 EURO--- they even make a variant optimized for something like the Forumslader instead of lights--- and the cost to built a Forumslader will probably be between 70 and 150 Euro (using one of the kits). For standard Audaxing a lot of overkill but for....

The Merckx MAX fork crown was actually NOT the original MAX-- and not even the original as used by Merckx in his MAX frames (to be distinguished from the MX-Leader/MXL frames that followed)

called Keymet, rather than Kinlin

Kinlin Industrial Corporation has both Kinlin and (X)Keymet as registered brands .... Kinlin and Formula.. hope the spokes are from Chun Nuan (CN)... :-)

re there any metal tub rims out there at all? Not really. In the olden days, we had dozens of choices readily available (Mavic, Wolber, Super Champion, Nisi, Ambrosio, Araya, Campagnolo all had numerous different models), now you can count them on the fingers of one hand.

Not really. Many of the tubular rims of yore are still relatively easy to source NOS. The carbon craze has not only revigorated the supply of tubular tyres but also liberated many wonderful alloy rims from their stashes as their owners abandon 32 and 36 spoke holes and alu for the lure of carbon acustics. Carbon has even helped to rereanimate wooden rims. The supply of good alu rims is so large that, pending a big market swing draining the market, the future continues to shine for them. That all said.. there are a number of rims still being made that are really good.. For a robust rim the Amborsio Nemesis, for example, can't be beat--- . the Crono/F20 is also as good a 350g class rim as were made. And Sub-300g rims? Old Weltmeisters, Egals, Argent 7s, and ... I'll have to admit "carbon can do it better" when the goal is...

Loefbergs is OK. Zoegas also made some over-roasted stuff that a lot of Swedes liked..... Back when I lived in Lund......

As for how much you want to spend on a grinder, I don't think that affects the quality of the result so much as the ease of use. The more expensive grinders are typically easier to clean and faster.

Grinding coffee is, I find, non-trivial and most of the coffee grinders sold on the High Street don't do a good job-- just as most of the High Street "gourmet" coffee stores tend to not just over-roast but also poorly grind what they sell. Espresso/Presto preparation, for example, demands quite a different handling than Aeropress, French Press (e.g. Chambord), Melitta, Chemix, Turkish etc.. and it's not just the grade of the grind. Espresso results are horribly dependent on the grinding technique. One really needs a good slow conical burr grinder. Blade grinders work great with Chemix but produce sub-standard espresso. That is why even in Italy most people purchase Lavazza tins pre-ground. The success of capsule machines too seems to reflect this. Turkish coffee is another "problem" case. Not only does the grind need to be extremely fine-- finer than most coffeee grinders are capable of making-- but the grinding needs to run cool. Most of the household Turkish grinding mills I've seen are not only time consuming but don't get the grind anywhere near the standard a good Turkish roaster can deliver in little bags using their special roller grinders. I'm not familiar with any grinder that is ideal for all the different types of coffee just as there is no single coffee machine for all the different coffee creation (brew, influsion, press etc.) methods. The least critical method I've found is a "mud method" that used to be popular in Soviet Russia: beans are smashed, crushed and ground with a motar and pestle and then cooked in a pot with water and strained (similar to Turkish but Turkish does not get strained and the ground is much much finer)... Another variation of that method is Mexican coffee--- as an aside.. in the early 1980s I went crazy trying to get a cup of real coffee in Mexico city as it seemed that Nescafe had already won over the hearts and minds of the Mexicans.. "Cafe?" I asked.. "No. Nescafe!"-- here the "grind" is much coarser but .....

Wait this is like when @EdwardZ ruined the Leather shoes thread.

By what? Upset that leather Chucks are not considered "proper leather shoes"?

But you can't by just Speedplay springs. They insist you replace the whole overpriced cleat.

The cleats are "throw-away" items and designed to be light and inexpensive--- to manufacture. The C-clip spring is, I agree, underdimensioned but even with a beefier clip I'm not sure that they'd not last longer but be heavier and that would cost them customers--- since a large part of their success was based on weight .

If you are constantly breaking the clips I'd look to using other cleat lubricants. I'd also check cleat position, resp. alignment, since a pinch of misalignment with a dash of pedal body wear and some grinding can increase c-clip wear.

Agree. The Speedplay "spring" is not designed to last. It is disposible. With Time, for example, it was a non-replaceable component so designed to last. The Time pedals went the way of the dodo because weightweenies won. Speedplay are lighter.

bikerumor.com/2014/09/10/ib14­-speedplay-goes-aero-with-zero-system-sy­zr-nears-production-new-walkable-cleats-­and-more/

Looks cool... Not sure about the plug.. But without it.. What is that.. 3 packages of Black Sugru? :-)

Unclip side has gone through three cleats compared to no breaks on the other side. Properly installed. Properly maintained.

That is normal with other cleat systems too... even my favorite (but no longer made or supported) Time Equipe pedals with its brass cleat-- the front alu or plastic bit is just for guiding the block of brass.

The problem with the Speedplay Zero-- other than the feeling that the "cleats" are horribly overpriced--- is that the cleat component is really the pedal and the "Speedplay cleat" is really the retention mechanism and directly exposed. Speedplay Zero cleats seem to last longer--- and work better-- when combined with the optional steel "sole protector". The clip seems to really also demand lube so a bit of Krytox and wax goes a long way to extending their life. Some Teflon spray is also usefull--- even with the Time pedals I used to spray the stainless steel plate from time to time with some Teflon.

Chains.

Don't.

Stretch.

Of course they, from the view of length, do--- as the pins and brushings wear. Length is generally how we measure that wear. Since the length increases--- chains don't shrink-- we call that "stretch" rather than elongation (since they don't grow either). I'm not familiar with any other widespread low-tech means to measure chain wear and suitability than length.

Maybe the sprocket, I have a feeling the EAI ones are noisy compared with Phil

Clearly the Phil versus the standard steel EAIs. Same with Phil versus steel Campa or Dura Ace sprockets. The "noise" of Superstars versus Phils is, I think, more of a toss and seems to depend more on chain, lubrication and other variables.

had really liked the SRAM PC-1 and ran a few until recently, but it stretches very easily.
Before that I had an IZUMI track chain which I found to be very heavy and noisy.
I'm currently running a Wippermann 1Z1, but it is unbearably noisy.

If you want light then get something like the Gusset Expresso/KMC SL chains. If you want less stretch and strong, cost be damned, get the Izumi V. If you want lower losses with any chain you can pre-handle it with Parafin (with a dash of additives such as Teflon, MoS2, Krytox etc). You may also want to polish your sprocket--- the EAI Superstar and Phil sprockets come polished "out of the box". Most important is, however, getting the chain tension (more important than chainline) right. A slight increase in tension over the common slack practice will probably slightly improve efficiency-- even if it seems to be "louder".

Red was probably what people call Fer*ari red.

Track and road positions are different. On the track you ride in deep drops while on the road you are generally on the hoods and have a shallow drop on the bars. Head angles are different but seat angles tend to be the same.

Hamas it at it again. Over 100 rockets fired at Israel from Gaza since they broke the cease fire and its still early.. According to an article published in today's Al-Hayat newspaper the rocket fire was ordered by Khaled Mashaal under pressure from Qatar. Qatar demanded that he must NOT accept the cease fire unless they got a seat at the table in Cairo. Qatar, apparently, told Marhall that if he accepted any deal without Qatar at the table they would expel him. As always a life of luxury to a Arab leader means more than the state of the people they claim to represent.

So if Qatar is behind the fire and the threats against Ben Gurion Airport, it's finally time to turn the tables and make Doha a "no fly zone" and throw the Al Thanis to the wolves--- a lot of poor Arabs could live better if one would redistribute Qatari wealth.. Qatar throwing money to Boko Haram, IS(IL/IS), Taliban etc. has surely not earned them the warmest of places in people's hearts--- till now tolerated given their significant holdings of key British, German etc. companies.

My road bike is currently set up with a layback seatpost and a 90mm stem, what changes in handling and power input would I see from fitting an inline post and a 110/120mm stem? shifting my weight further forward on the bike, does it make any difference?

Depends on the rest of the frame geometry. Stem length is not to be viewed as de-coupled from its height (saddle-handlebar drop), head-tube angle, seat-tube angle, top-tube length, saddle position (the offset behind the bottom bracked as measured by dropping a plumb line from the saddle) etc. Is your saddle pushed back? Foward? All these "variables" have an impact.. Shifting weight? Hardly so... Stem length has such a minor effect on the weight distribution that you can literally forget about that factor in your models.. What stem length effects, however, is steering! That is why road bicycles have tended to evolve with comparatively longer stems (less twitchy)... 90mm stem? One often talks about stem length in comparison to top-tube length (but again, top-tube length can't be de-coupled from saddle height and position, viz. also seat-tube angle). .. and all of it can't be de-coupled, again, for handlebar height.. and even handlebar geometry (drop, reach etc.)..

@skydancer quite surprized that you'd quote an article penned by Benny Morris.. The article was interesting.. Benny is a bit silent on the role of antisemtism in the Balfour Declaration and overstates (as to be expected from him) the Revisionists.. but in all.. the new Benny Morris is always worth a read..

Mssr Greenhell see's it as "obvious" that homeopathie is quack but given the strong beliefs in homeopathie I don't think the "obvious" is "that obvious". The US FDA, for example, has not gone after makers as "fraudsters" but yielding to the significant economic dimensions of their market has allowed their sale:
http://www.fda.gov/iceci/compliancemanuals/compliancepolicyguidancemanual/ucm074360.htm
"Today the homeopathic drug market has grown to become a multimillion dollar industry in the United States, with a significant increase shown in the importation and domestic marketing of homeopathic drug products. Those products that are offered for treatment of serious disease conditions, must be dispensed under the care of a licensed practitioner. Other products, offered for use in self-limiting conditions recognizable by consumers, may be marketed OTC."

sounds very scientific

Back in the 18th century-- when Hahnemann lived--- that was how one mixed things..

During its more than 200 year history, homeopathy has proven highly effective in epidemics, both as regards cure and prevention, with well-documented success rates in, among others, scarlet fever, polio, cholera and flu epidemics, and offers a viable alternative to standard vaccination called

Unfortunately no test adhering to scientific standards has ever demonstrated that homeopathie provides anything more, at best, than a placebo effect. With a worldwide turnover measured in billions, homeopathie proves to be a rather popular fraud... The belief in its "power" is so strong that many heath insurrance companies the world over have given in to even ...

But just imagine if Benveniste's quak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZkQtHDLE-w
worked... Treat sickness such as malaria, HIV, ebola throught the Internet! :-) Another conspiracy from the Pharma giants?

I have no solutions but a lot of pessimism.

Instead of peace
[http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-miracle-of-the-hummus-and-the-fishes-1.168193] hummus and fish its come to fill the worse case horror scenarios of the day where it was envisioned that "Missiles will be launched at Israeli cities from terror bases that we are allowing Islamic terrorists to establish in Gaza."