The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.

[Mr Larrington]

It seems that 38t middle chainrings for 140bcd chainsets have disappeared from the face of the earth. I've ended up buying a 36t middle and a 26t inner. Now I just hope the front derailleur can cope with a 22t jump from top to bottom.

Should be OK - I've got a 28t spread on a couple of The Fleet.  Though they both have one of those gadgets to stop the chain from overshooting the small ring when changing down.

[mcshroom]

I hope you meant 104mm...?

Yep, 104mm

[T42]

Even my wretched bank is holding a Black Week sale.

(Hmmm... putting hand over face before vomiting is probably a bad idea.)

[Feanor]

Wasn't there a post on here somewhere recently about some US state giving a festive 2-for-the-price-of-1 discount on speeding tickets?

[fimm]

Dear people who name segments on Strava.
"Decent" means OK, reasonable.
Something you go down is a "descent".
That is all.

[CAMRAMan]

I nearly had an off today on Marathon + tyres. I'd pumped them up to 70psi and the rear gave way on a corner when I encountered a parked van that I had to swerve for. Perfectly good tarmac, if somewhat damp, no leaves and 12C. Fortunately I was able to stay upright, but it was close.

 That has shaken my faith in the tyres somewhat, so I'll let them down to 60psi and see if that helps.

[Kim]

I came off^[1] last week on HS420 Marathons (which are apparently now the same thing as the Plus, with a narrower puncture band) at similar pressure.  Road was damp and non-specifically slippery under foot from presumed leaf residue (no actual chutney, though the gutter was full of it), with a slight adverse camber.  Temperature about 12C.  It's a route I take several times a week, and that's the first time I've had a problem there.

That bike's been wearing those tyres since the spring of 2016, when they replaced worn-out HS368s.  Though thinking about it I was off the bike last autumn with tendinitis, so this was one of their first outings in chutney season...


_{[1] I was fine, the bike wasn't.}

[hellymedic]

I can't get my bank (rbs) to load.

This minor grumble may escalate if I can't transfer dosh where needed tonight.

[ian]

It's Marathon Pluses that spin under me trying to get up the hill to my house. That despite every gram of weight I have on the rear wheel to the point where I noticed the other day that the front wheel was no longer on the ground. That said, the road is liberally leaf chutneyed. All my bikes have pluses so I can't compare. I should possibly eat more pies.

[CAMRAMan]

The Plusses will soon be replaced by Schwalbe Winters, which are grippier and have studs. That'll slow me down as a result, so problem solved.

[ElyDave]

I had similar with conti gp4 seasons 28mm last weekend, on a not obviously, but likely from everything around it, muddy road. Might drop pressures a bit, only at 6.5 bar normally

[andrewc]

Daft o clock train to London for a 2 day workshop. All day in a cramped room with a lot of people shouting.
Communal beer & pizza, I’m an introvert on a table full of extroverts & I find it hard to follow a conversation with all the background noise. 2 of the guys are in the same hotel as me but I don’t want to go out for more beers as I’m tired, so now feeling like a party pooper.
Point A hotels seem a step down from Travelodge, tight fisted company booking system 


I’ve got a sore throat starting as well & forgot my earplugs.


On the good side I met some people I’ve been working with for years, but not met in real life, and lots of them made a point of saying I was wonderful ....

[SoreTween]

About now I should be buzzing up & down the promenade of Marina di Massa onna S2L M2L spying out alternate hotels & restaurants not yet tried.  Also looking for the track pump I'm told is here somewhere to get the full 100psi back in it.  Instead I'm sitting here looking at the new toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel & deodorant just purchased from Carrefour.

Bum.

Oh lordy I hope this story doesn't become a rant.

[Tim Hall]

Dear The BBC.

Pls to stop buggering around with your Friday night schedule, especially that of that nice Victoria Coren Mitchell. I want to watch Only Connect, not the poxy football.

ktxbai.

[rogerzilla]

I've never had a grip problem with M+ in several years' commuting.  I did find City Jets from the same stable to be terrifying on slimy autumn roads.

[Kim]

I've been back to the scene of the off on my Dawes, which is currently wearing 40mm 'Schwalbe Marathon Dureme Evo' tyres, courtesy of last year's PlanetX sale.  I experimented with some hard rear-wheel braking, which wasn't noticeably skiddier than I'd expect for wet tarmac.

Either the chutney's dissipated, or the newer Marathons are crap on slime.

[cycleman]

I am using standard marathons on the trice and I am getting more wheelslip than the slicker m trikers that were fitted before. I have been a little surprised at that 

[mrcharly-YHT]

Bloody student finance

They've decided that my daughter, in 3rd year at uni, may be a 'fraudulent non-student' (eh?), hence have suspended all payments to her, pending her proving that she is actually living in rental accommodation.

What the hell do they think she is living in? After two years of living in London with verified parental address in Yorkshire, that suddenly she is living with her mother in Malton and attending university in London?

[Beardy]

Bloody student finance

don't start me on Bloody Student Finance! They decided that my youngest would finish her 3rd year in May like all other students and so reduced her third year loan by 20% But like ALL other nursing students, her year didn't finish until the end of August. What was she supposed to live on for 3 months? I was already paying her rent as the loan wasn't enough to pay for a cardboard box in THAT LONDON (Student nurses aren't supposed to have paying work while studying because they have to spend 6 months of each year on placements)

[ElyDave]

got "invacuated" to our cellar this morning, just about to pop out for lunch and the local Evans, but some moron had left a car parked outside Pret opposite the gherkin and wandered off.  Bomb squad etc, and the car doesn't look as shiny now.

If I'd been a bit earlier I could have been out to lunch watching from the street.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Well that's one way to deal with fud parkers!

[andrewc]

It's my sisters birthday, so on my suggestion my mother booked a table at the Clove Hitch, quiet & nice but dull food Emai which they will all eat. confirmation email was for 17:15.  I was on time, they were not.  I phoned them up & they were still at home.  She thought they'd booked for 7:15!  Luckily they were able to reschedule us.....

[SoreTween]

Phew!

[hellymedic]

Brother's latest Ryanair grumble:

A warning to those who fly Ryanair. I have HAD to fly them 3 times in the last 3 weeks. I tried the following experiment on all three flights. I order a coffee and pay with a 5 Euro note. The crew never have change but they always say they will return with change, but they never do. It's not about the money. Clearly dishonesty and theft is standard practice. If the crew on three flights is happy to be dishonest and steal it begs the question.... what else are they stealing?

[barakta]

:O That's cheeky.