La Flamme Rouge **off topic discussion**

Thargor

Ugh so many building sites around the place on my commute these days, that plus the rain means my bike is just permanently caked in sh1t, I cringe when I look down at the drivetrain. How much damage am I doing on 15k a day with mud all over everything do you think? Theres not much point cleaning it in this weather in these road conditions.

magicbastarder

probably worth spending a tenner on a chain checker just to be sure. building sites can mean crud more abrasive than just soil, and funny enough i was just watching a video about waxing chains, and wondering if that is can cope with conditions you get while commuting.

CramCycle

magicbastarder wrote: »

probably worth spending a tenner on a chain checker just to be sure. building sites can mean crud more abrasive than just soil, and funny enough i was just watching a video about waxing chains, and wondering if that is can cope with conditions you get while commuting.

Not really, do you mean the proper job or the mixture you can buy in a bike oil bottle. The former is too time consuming, but the latter I use all the time but it has to be reapplied quite alot.

magicbastarder

the one i was watching was one on making your own wax based lube; but more aimed at the type you can reapply at will. equal parts of paraffin oil, xylene and wax, but i guess you can change the quantities depending on how much work you're willing to put in/how effective it is.

tigerboon

Thargor wrote: »

Ugh so many building sites around the place on my commute these days, that plus the rain means my bike is just permanently caked in sh1t, I cringe when I look down at the drivetrain. How much damage am I doing on 15k a day with mud all over everything do you think? Theres not much point cleaning it in this weather in these road conditions.

Probably worth giving it a wash every couple of days anyway. The stuff coming out of sites tends to be very fine and will probably cake fairly hard when dry. Could have cement in it as well. There's stuff under my car that will probably never come off.

tomasrojo

If you can bear the look, long mudguards with a front mudflap keep most of the stuff off your chain, given that it's pretty much all being thrown up by the front wheel.

CramCycle

magicbastarder wrote: »

the one i was watching was one on making your own wax based lube; but more aimed at the type you can reapply at will. equal parts of paraffin oil, xylene and wax, but i guess you can change the quantities depending on how much work you're willing to put in/how effective it is.

Do they think you work in a histology lab?!? Also, on a more serious note, don't make this, xylene is not good for you. Smells awesome but no, really not good for you.

tomasrojo

Histology reference made me laugh.

magicbastarder

CramCycle wrote: »

Also, on a more serious note, don't make this, xylene is not good for you. Smells awesome but no, really not good for you.

that was the very first comment underneath the video. i guess something less foul would work, its role seems to just be a volatile liquid to keep the lube fluid, and to evaporate after application.

Melodeon

Acetone is used similarly as a solvent mixed with ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) to make backwoods 'WD-40', but I have no idea if it's any better or worse than Xylene from an environmental/toxicological point of view.

magicbastarder

yeah, i have acetone here, the stuff lidl were selling a few months ago, was thinking along the same lines.

i've always assumed that acetone is *reasonably* safe given that it's the main solvent in nail varnish remover.

Melodeon

magicbastarder wrote: »

i've always assumed that acetone is *reasonably* safe given that it's the main solvent in nail varnish remover.

I'll defer too your superior knowledge and experience on that one, I've only ever used it for cleaning up expanding polyurethane foam and fibreglass gel.

magicbastarder

nail varnish remover is the fastest option when trying to remove leylandii sap from your hands after a day of cutting the cursed stuff down.
though i found baby oil does the job, just a little more slowly.

Melodeon

magicbastarder wrote: »

nail varnish remover is the fastest option when trying to remove leylandii sap from your hands after a day of cutting the cursed stuff down.
though i found baby oil does the job, just a little more slowly.

Harrybelafonte

magicbastarder wrote: »

nail varnish remover is the fastest option when trying to remove leylandii sap from your hands after a day of cutting the cursed stuff down.
though i found baby oil does the job, just a little more slowly.

I thought nail polish removal was mostly acetone?

magicbastarder

yep, that's what we were discussing above.

Melodeon

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

I thought nail polish removal was mostly acetone?

Melodeon wrote: »

I'll defer too your superior knowledge and experience on that one, I've only ever used it for cleaning up expanding polyurethane foam and fibreglass gel.

:D:D

Harrybelafonte

magicbastarder wrote: »

yep, that's what we were discussing above.

Apologies. Missed that bit while scanning. Also good for cleaning meth. Accetone, not really nail polish.

rubadub

Some nail polish remover is diluted acetone. Some is not acetone at all but will usually say this on the bottle.

eeeee

Anyone else commuting through town notice it's gotten way dodgier in December? My commute home goes through town, and it's become way more stressful and dangerous. Taxi's pulling in and out on top of you, and drivers... :rolleyes:
Traffic is shytier too. Choosing to drive into town is insane right now, why anyone would put themselves through that trial I don't know.

Seth Brundle

eeeee wrote: »

Taxi's pulling in and out on top of you,

What's new or unusual about that?

eeeee

Seth Brundle wrote: »

What's new or unusual about that?

There's a lot more than usual.
Christmas, town is much busier, people who don't normally drive in drive in, more taxis etc.

magicbastarder

Weirdly, I thought it was much quieter than usual this morning. Left the house at my usual time, about half six so traffic is reasonably light anyway.

magicbastarder

On the way home, I was behind a chap on East wall road with seven or possibly eight rear lights on his bike. They certainly did the job - he was probably visible from space, but my overriding thought was that it must be a nightmare to keep them all charged. At least four more on the front I think.

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

On the way home, I was behind a chap on East wall road with seven or possibly eight rear lights on his bike. They certainly did the job - he was probably visible from space, but my overriding thought was that it must be a nightmare to keep them all charged. At least four more on the front I think.

This time of year maybe he wants to be lit up like a Christmas tree eh? /I'll see myself out

Harrybelafonte

eeeee wrote: »

There's a lot more than usual.
Christmas, town is much busier, people who don't normally drive in drive in, more taxis etc.

Definitely worse. Both on bike and driving.

tomasrojo

magicbastarder wrote: »

On the way home, I was behind a chap on East wall road with seven or possibly eight rear lights on his bike. They certainly did the job - he was probably visible from space, but my overriding thought was that it must be a nightmare to keep them all charged. At least four more on the front I think.

He probably still gets "concerned" motorists winding down their window to tell him he's very hard to see and he needs to wear "a yellow jacket".

Vel

Anyone else seeing a huge increase in pedestrians in hi-vis? And plenty of cyclists without lights but with hi-vis. Argh! Well done RSA.....

magicbastarder

oh, loads of cyclists in hi-vis but no lights.

RobertFoster

I noticed the three local retirees that I see walking regularly have only recently become builders started wearing hi-vis. How they made it into their 70s without it baffles me.