The post man's been ...

[johnnystorm]

Trangia cook set and a pair of 1.9 Panaracer Smokes & XT M739 8 speed shifters (ask yer Grandad)

All three items hark back to teenage years.

[Mart]

Some replacement shorts from those nice people at Endura and Northwave winter boots to keep my tootsie's cosy :)

[Brothersmith]

Been a spate of burglaries in the area and following some advice from the friendly constabulary I realised my bike security was woefully inadequate so just invested in this beast. A 13mm protector chain from the nice people at security for bikes. They reckon almost imposable to cut :D The thing is massive, I would love to see the size of their 19mm chain!


13mm Chain by Brother Smith, on Flickr

[Zippy]

Might need a padlock with that

[Cheeky Monkey]

They reckon almost imposable to cut

I had 11mm Pragmasis chain cropped using big Irwin Record bolt cutters. It's just a question of big enough croppers, purchase and leverage. You'd be surprised what a scrote wanting your bike will use. Not trying to scotch your enthusiasm but crop-resistance is only one aspect.

Get the chain and lock up away from the floor. It helps reduce the leverage they can get on croppers if they have to rely on arm strength rather than body weight (by putting one arm of the croppers on the floor and "jumping" onto the other). Google / YouTube for cutting chain and you'll see examples of the technique. IMO it's a big weakness associated with ground anchors.

What lock are you using? It's typically a "weak link". You want something like the Squire SS50CS or SS65CS which have a closed shackle (a metal sheath over the vulverable bit of the lock). Pricey (c.£50 IIRC) and heavy but they gave up on that and cut my chain.

[Yorlin]

My Anything Cage showed up, stuck some pictures in the thread. Looks pretty good! Definitely heavier than the old one.

[Pirahna]

Almax chains are reckoned to be about the best out there, not cheap but then I suppose you get what you pay for. http://www.almax-security-chains.co.uk

[FLV]

Straggler frame and fork... Finally

[Brothersmith]

I had 11mm Pragmasis chain cropped using big Irwin Record bolt cutters. It's just a question of big enough croppers, purchase and leverage. You'd be surprised what a scrote wanting your bike will use. Not trying to scotch your enthusiasm but crop-resistance is only one aspect.

Get the chain and lock up away from the floor. It helps reduce the leverage they can get on croppers if they have to rely on arm strength rather than body weight (by putting one arm of the croppers on the floor and "jumping" onto the other). Google / YouTube for cutting chain and you'll see examples of the technique. IMO it's a big weakness associated with ground anchors.

What lock are you using? It's typically a "weak link". You want something like the Squire SS50CS or SS65CS which have a closed shackle (a metal sheath over the vulverable bit of the lock). Pricey (c.£50 IIRC) and heavy but they gave up on that and cut my chain.

Thanks for advice Cheeky Monkey. They don't guarantee either 11mm or 13mm as unbreakable but they do say the 13mm is significantly more resistant than 11mm. Meaning the retailers can crop 11mm with a set of Irwins but not 13mm, but it doesn't mean some determined scumbag built like a brick sh1t house couldn't.

I am using a Abus granite D lock on bikes with chain looped through ground anchor into D lock. Thought about squire lock but Abus is motorcycle Gold and it would have meant longer chain and A lot more cost. I went for the 13mm on balance of security of whole system (no point having an unbreakable chain if D lock and ground anchor are weaker) and because the 16mmm or larger chains would start damaging my carbon road frame.

I know Proffesional thieves will proberbly get round it, even if it means trashing the frames, but hopefully it will deter the opportunist scrote, which is what we seem to have been getting round here of late and it's a damn site better than the cable I did have securing them.

What happened with your bike? Did you get it back?

[Ian]

Got some Mucky Nutz guards while they're half price. Hoping they'll reduce the "output" from the front wheel on the Puffin

[Brothersmith]

What do you do about rear Ian, do you just put up with a mucky wet arse of have you found a fat tyre solution?

[Ian]

I bought the front and rear guards, the rear being the one that attaches direct to the saddle (it's lighter, see, and every gram counts on a 34lb bike )
The front is designed to fit a suspension fork, so I've had to make two small extra holes to make it line up on the rigid fork.

They'll get their first outing tomorrow I expect. Will see how it goes.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Got some Mucky Nutz guards while they're half price

Me too.

[RobMac]

Easton Monkey Lite SL carbon lovelyness
XT M760 9 speed cassette

[ScotRoutes]

[Dan_K]

@scotroutes - nice!

[Ian]

Picked up another bike to add to the collection last night. I've compensated for the skinny tyres by having only one gear... and no freewheel 8-)

[Adrian Brewster]

Fenix BT20 from Steve. Wonderful, not too much or too little light but just right. Now I can get killed by an HGV without having to apologize to Boris, the Daily Mail and all the other demented, psycho, blame the victimists, assorted fuckwits for not being lit up enough.
Feels good that my few pennies are going towards Steve's noble bike fund (Krampus/ECR, Singular (29+!!?) or maybe PA29? Remember to post a properly sized picture of whatever you decide on.

[Chew]

Picked up another bike to add to the collection last night. I've compensated for the skinny tyres by having only one gear... and no freewheel 8-)

I take it you've got some skinny jeans on order too?

[Taylor]

A track bike?

[Mandicky]

Alpkit frame bag, Mytimug and a couple of dry bags. :)

[Ian]

Picked up another bike to add to the collection last night. I've compensated for the skinny tyres by having only one gear... and no freewheel 8-)

I take it you've got some skinny jeans on order too?

Oh, do I need some of those as well?

A track bike?

Yup. Second hand off a mate. Nothing fancy, but good enough for the odd track session ,though its main use will be in the garage on a set of rollers.

[jameso]

Alpkit try-outs - daisy-chained partial frame bags and gas tanks, plus a bar/stem stuff holder. Adaptable strap positions to fit a few of my bikes. Gas tank and bag can share straps. Nice idea, look fwd to seeing how they work out.

[Taylor]

Like the daisy chain idea to combine the frame bag and gas tank.

[TheBrownDog]

I'd be interested in thoughts on the Mucky Nutz guards as they are a potential Xmas pressie for my son. They get very mixed reviews, so some thought out comments would be greatly appreciated.

Postie brought me some some On One Fleegle bars and a matching 80mm stem today. There's are going on my Inbred 29er. Ive had a crack at Mary bars but found the sweep too deep. Fleegles may be just the thing.

Also took delivery of a set of Cinelli Spinaci bar extensions in orange to match the Inbred. I remember these things from way back at the tail end of the Dachshund of Time when all the Italian pros used them until they were banned because they kept falling down when they did so. I've been wanting to try them cos I think they have potential as a frame or cradle for a dry bag. I shall report back on this - it will either be a masterstroke or an epic fail.