The Retirement Thread

[Deleted member 1258]

Well! I got that right, ten minutes after I brought the washing in we had a shower.

 

[Mo1959]

My tootsies have had enough so feet up now.

 

[classic33]

I got some Strawbobs at Aldi last week. They were from Scotland....blummin lovely.

There's a farm on The Border in a place called Scotland. Do you mean there?

 

[classic33]

Eye tests done. I have to wait ow for the Doctor to analyse the results and make his decision.
@classic33 my eyes were immediately watering but not too badly.
When they had finished I walked out thinking "I could have driven".
Then I walked outside into the daylight and BANG I was virtually blind...... literally, I had to put my arm out to feel the wall.
All is ok now though

Always good to hear that last part.

 

[ColinJ]

Well, could you hear me swearing...?

I was making good progress getting my new wheels ready when I suddenly started having problems. One thing led to another and now I have retreated to my sofa with my back twinging away.

I made one mistake which was careless and annoying, but I eventually spotted it and sorted that out. The current problem has temporarily defeated me. I am resting my back for a while and calming myself down to prevent me going on the rampage and smashing something!

The problem basically is that the Mavic wheels came set up as 'thru axle'. I wanted standard quick release mounting. No problem - the wheels came with thru axle to QR adaptors.

The adaptors for the front wheel are fine. I used them, fitted the QR, and installed the wheel.

The disc side adaptor for the rear wheel was ok too. I plugged the adaptor in and it stayed put.

The problem is the adaptor on the drive side. It basically sits in the lock ring and sticks out from it. The problem is that it is a very loose fit. I am struggling to offer up the wheel to the bike and get...

• The disc in place between the pads
• The disc side adaptor into the dropout
• The small sprocket to engage with the chain
• The derailleur rotated out of the way
• The drive side adaptor into its dropout

The spacing of the dropouts is just fractionally tight so I am having to try to spread the dropouts by about 1 mm while moving the wheel up. The damn adaptor keeps getting caught, twisting sideways, and preventing the wheel going in.

I think that I am going to have to take the bike out of the stand and turn it upside down on the kitchen floor to work on it. Unless I am doing something fundamentally wrong, this is a crap way of getting quick releases to work with the wheels. If I have this problem every time then fixing rear wheel punctures will be a real pain out on the road!

 

[Tenkaykev]

Internet all up and running ok. The visit from BT / Openreach turned into a bit of an odyssey and a nightmare for the engineer(s)
He arrived about 9:30 and I showed him the master socket which, as expected checked out ok. He'd done some analytics on the line prior to arrival, and he had some very sophisticated test equipment. He was puzzled why the test kit was showing a distance of 160 metres from the telegraph which is about ten metres away, so he set off to investigate. I won't go too much into the saga, but it involved a second van, manhole cover lifting, cable rodding, reels of cable and many phone calls. All this while it absolutely persisted down with rain.
In summary, the cable that enters my premises goes to the pole outside the house where it comes down via a waterlogged joint ( replaced ) behind the cable capping. From there it travels along the road in the opposite direction to the green cabinet, under the main road and up another pole to another waterlogged joint ( replaced ) then back the way it came to finish in the green DSLAM cabinet 50 metres away. Easy peasy, just make a fresh joint and feed it directly to the green cabinet via the underground ductwork. The ductwork is blocked, about three metres from the cabinet and the cable won't budge. Out come the sections of flexible fibreglass rod with some special gubbins attached, and after much heaving that manage to run a new 20 core cable to the cabinet.
After more than four hours in the rain the engineer came back into the house to do some final tests and checks. He explained exactly what he'd found and what they'd done to mitigate the problem. There were a couple of options that he could have taken to make my connection "good enough" but he'd been conscientious and done a thorough professional job 👍
My speeds are now nearly 80/20 with no more iPlayer buffering.😎

 

[ColinJ]

The problem is the adaptor on the drive side. It basically sits in the lock ring and sticks out from it. The problem is that it is a very loose fit. I am struggling to offer up the wheel to the bike and get...

• The disc in place between the pads
• The disc side adaptor into the dropout
• The small sprocket to engage with the chain
• The derailleur rotated out of the way
• The drive side adaptor into its dropout

The spacing of the dropouts is just fractionally tight so I am having to try to spread the dropouts by about 1 mm while moving the wheel up. The damn adaptor keeps getting caught, twisting sideways, and preventing the wheel going in.

Oh, FFS... I think my mistake was to put the cassette on then the adaptor... It must have to go on first, and then be held in place by the lockring!!!

 

[BoldonLad]

Internet all up and running ok. The visit from BT / Openreach turned into a bit of an odyssey and a nightmare for the engineer(s)
He arrived about 9:30 and I showed him the master socket which, as expected checked out ok. He'd done some analytics on the line prior to arrival, and he had some very sophisticated test equipment. He was puzzled why the test kit was showing a distance of 160 metres from the telegraph which is about ten metres away, so he set off to investigate. I won't go too much into the saga, but it involved a second van, manhole cover lifting, cable rodding, reels of cable and many phone calls. All this while it absolutely persisted down with rain.
In summary, the cable that enters my premises goes to the pole outside the house where it comes down via a waterlogged joint ( replaced ) behind the cable capping. From there it travels along the road in the opposite direction to the green cabinet, under the main road and up another pole to another waterlogged joint ( replaced ) then back the way it came to finish in the green DSLAM cabinet 50 metres away. Easy peasy, just make a fresh joint and feed it directly to the green cabinet via the underground ductwork. The ductwork is blocked, about three metres from the cabinet and the cable won't budge. Out come the sections of flexible fibreglass rod with some special gubbins attached, and after much heaving that manage to run a new 20 core cable to the cabinet.
After more than four hours in the rain the engineer came back into the house to do some final tests and checks. He explained exactly what he'd found and what they'd done to mitigate the problem. There were a couple of options that he could have taken to make my connection "good enough" but he'd been conscientious and done a thorough professional job 👍
My speeds are now nearly 80/20 with no more iPlayer buffering.😎

Isn't it wonderful when you get someone who actually WANTS to do their job properly?

 

[Tenkaykev]

I’ve had time to fit a luggage block release strap on a couple of the Brommies. Hand made in Yorkshire and very good quality 👍

 

[ColinJ]

Well, I finally got my QR adapter in the right place and the wheel drops in nicely now.

I had the bike upside down, and span the wheel up to speed. Hmm, that feels smooth. Now let it freewheel so I can enjoy the gentle purr of pawls...

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was attacked by a swarm of invisible but obviously very angry bees. What had I done wrong now?!?!

Quick Google. Oh, I am not the only one...



It will be great for scaring dozy pedestrians walking out in front of me, but not exactly pleasant to listen to when freewheeling down a Devon lane...

I will have to see if anything can be done about it other than stuffing the freehub with grease!

 

[PaulSB]

I’ve had time to fit a luggage block release strap on a couple of the Brommies. Hand made in Yorkshire and very good quality 👍
View attachment 595143

Excuse my complete ignorance but what exactly does this do? Does luggage attach to the grey plastic thing on the right of the image?

 

[PaulSB]

Well, I finally got my QR adapter in the right place and the wheel drops in nicely now.

I had the bike upside down, and span the wheel up to speed. Hmm, that feels smooth. Now let it freewheel so I can enjoy the gentle purr of pawls...

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was attacked by a swarm of invisible but obviously very angry bees. What had I done wrong now?!?!

Quick Google. Oh, I am not the only one...



It will be great for scaring dozy pedestrians walking out in front of me, but not exactly pleasant to listen to when freewheeling down a Devon lane...

I will have to see if anything can be done about it other than stuffing the freehub with grease!

My freewheel makes a very satisfying but quiet sound........that's awful.

 

[PaulSB]

Tesla cars come fitted with a large screen mounted on the centre of the dash. It's roughly a 15" screen. Big. When the car is parked and locked the screen acts as a security device and when anyone approaches the vehicle windows the screen wakens and begins recording. The screen tells you it is recording.

A good friend and neighbour took delivery of a Tesla on Friday................................the possibilities for fun are endless. Word is spreading about this recording function when one peers in through the window.

 

[classic33]

Tesla cars come fitted with a large screen mounted on the centre of the dash. It's roughly a 15" screen. Big. When the car is parked and locked the screen acts as a security device and when anyone approaches the vehicle windows the screen wakens and begins recording. The screen tells you it is recording.

A good friend and neighbour took delivery of a Tesla on Friday................................the possibilities for fun are endless. Word is spreading about this recording function when one peers in through the window.

What'll tha be doing?

 

[ColinJ]

My freewheel makes a very satisfying but quiet sound........that's awful.

I totally agree.

The Hope freehub on my mountain bike is a bit too loud, but it sounds tame compared to this damn thing!

I'm going to have a meal first, but then get to work again and try adding some grease inside to see what happens...