Fixing a Sticky Auto Valve on a PFP-8 Floor Pump

Fixing a Sticky Auto Valve on a PFP-8 Floor Pump - Intro

The PFP-8 Floor Pump from Park Tools is a nice looking bit of kit, and it works beautifully. However, mine has developed a bit of a problem, in that the automatic "head" does not select between the larger schrauder hole and the smaller presta hole.

For example when trying to pump up a presta tube, the air will come out through the larger hole. Wasting your time and energy, and making you wish you were out cycling rather than piddling around with a pump in your garage.

Fixing a Sticky Auto Valve on a PFP-8 Floor Pump - What to Do

Not much info on the web for this model of pump. So I emailed Park Tools in the USA. Got a response straight away, they also offered to post out a replacment head free of charge. How often does that happen? The instructions for fixing the valve / head assessmbly are here. But read on below if you would like to see how to fix just the head.

1 - You can  bash out the metal pin that holds the lever in place.

 

2 - Take out the rear cap behind the lever.

 3- Take it all aprat and wash with warm soapy water.

 4 - Put back together.

Hopefully job done!

Enjoy.


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Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - Intro & Summary

Can you buy a funtional telescope for £30 with postage included? Well from my experince with the Celestron 40 AZ, no you can not. This telescope has a brand name printed on the box that may leed you to belive that it is a worthy piece of kit, but alas it is not.

It looks like it might do the job, but the quality of the lenses etc. is so so poor that even if you manage to line up the tescope using the very poor swivel then you will be dissapointed.

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - Whats in the Box

There is a lot of stuff in the box, when you open it up, and as the instruction manual had nothingh to do with what was in the box, it took me a few goes to suss out what was what.

1 x Telescope with Pre-attached targeting scope.
1 x Tripod
1 x Barlow Lense
1 x Rectifying Lense
2 x Objective (?) Lense
1 x 90 degree prism
1x cleaning cloth
Lots x Lense Caps

Now I would suggest that in addition to the scope and tripod one lense a 90 degree and barlow would have been sufficient, which may have upped the budget spent on the main scope. But there.

Various bits that come with the 40 AZ

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - Images / Pictures

The tripod is well made, and I was impressed with its quality.

It is a small scope nf from the outside looks OK

Celestron (by name)

Fitted with 1.5 x rectifying lense.

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - In Use

It is a real struggle to move the scope, the mount on the tripod results in much jerkinging around, and for example while trying to line up Jupiter on a reasonably high magnification, I gave up after around 20 minutes of trying.

If you were lucky enough to line up with an object of interest then the view that you would get is substandard, with much blurring and lots of dark patches all over the image.

If used on a lower magnification setting with the larger aperture eyepiece then images are not too bad, but no better than a cheap (£20) pair of binoculars.

Bearing in mind I rarely leave a negative review, but the product is a complete waste of money. A passing triviality of a kids birthday perhaps . . . but then that child would be put of telescope for life.

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - Conclusion

I bought this for £30 off of Amazon. I was not expecting much. I now realise that you will need to spend at least £100 pounds on a telescope for it to be worth putting together.

By contrast I have some binoculars that cost £100 (Optical Hardware - Elenor) which are a joy to use, and the family can pick them up and use them too, after wasting 3 - 4 hours trying to use this Celestron 40 AZ, I picked up the binoculars and for the first time saw the moons of jupiter. In my pursuit for high levels of magnification I neglected to read up. If you are buying anything for star gazing then go to the BBC Sky at Night Website and choose something with a good review from there. That is what I did with the binoculars and they have served me well.

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Schwalbe Energizer Pro Tyre Review

Schwalbe Energizer Pro Tyre Review - Intro

If you have ever used google product search to look for cheap schwalbe tyres no doubt you have stubled upon these suspiciously cheap marathon cloans with green gaurd for under £10. And wander why are they so cheap. I have.

These tyres are meant to be used on electric bikes (e bikes), and are rated for high speed use. So surely this makes them better quality than standard non e-bike tyres?

Should you risk it for a biscuit? Or are the doubts flooding in.

Schwalbe Energizer - High Quality for Cheap?

Schwalbe Energizer Pro Tyre Review - Size Options

These come in 1.75" for the 26" . . . and thats it. So not much choice there (two widths for 700c).

I opted for these to go with some narrow-ish  mudguards I purchased a few years back. 50mm if you are interested.

Being a bit of a tart I really didn't like the way these tyres looked, too thin.

Schwalbe Energizer - A Sensible Tread

Schwalbe Energizer Pro Tyre Review - Puncture Resistance

Don't risk a puncture. Now I didn't actually use these for very long, perhaps only 50 miles, but I can say that green guard on my other tyres works very well. No punctures in 2 years. Green guard is a 3mm thick latex insert that site between the tread and the tube, the idea is that is stops things poking through . . and unlike race guard it works.

Schwalbe Energizer  - Plus = Green Gaurd

Schwalbe Energizer Pro Tyre Review - Fitting and In Use

These were a little tight to fit. Maybe I have wide rims which made it tricky.

In use I found the ride a little dead. Like my tyres were under inflated, this set up was much lighter to them tyres which went on next (Schwalbe Big Apples 2.35 - with down hill tubes), yet the bike felt more sprightly despite of it.

I have often thought that my folding bike feels "dead" to ride and have put this down to small wheels. However it might be the green guard.

The tyres are extremely quiet, almost eerily so, I have never ridden on such a quiet tyre.

Grip was good, on a multitude of surfaces, road, tracks, muddy tracks, wet grass. So no complaints there.

Schwalbe Energizer Pro Tyre Review - Where to Buy

Discount Bikes De or Rose Bikes for super cheap.

Schwalbe Energizer Pro Tyre Review - Conclusion

For - Cheap. High Quality. Puncture Resistant. Quiet (very).

Against - Dead Ride. Limited Sizes.

Schwalbe Energizer Pro Tyre Review - Stock Pictures

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SR Suntour CW9 XCT 9 Speed MTB Chainset Review

Suntour CW9 XCT Chainset Review - Intro

What is the cheapest triple 104 chainset on ebay? Its the Suntour CW9 XCT of course. But what do you get for your money, a little less than you might have bargained for.

Suntour CW9 XCT Chainset Review - First Glance and In Use

The Suntour CW9 XCT is fine, no really. It looks good its not overly heavy. And as a triple 9 speed chainset it functions.

Stock Picture - Suntour XCT

On Bike - Outer Ring Replaced with Bash Guard

Suntour CW9 XCT Chainset Review - Shortcuts

The CW9 XCT is not a true triple chain-ring chainset. The inner 22 tooth chainwheel is mounted to the 32 tooth middle ring, rather than the crank. This "nesting" on the inner two chain rings is a short cuts, and limits the swapping of the middle chain ring for a different size. It also makes the whole set-up feel less rigid.

Chainring bolts are standard size, holes in the crank arm are of a standard size. However, there are no chain ring nuts, they have been done away with in exchange for threaded holes in the middle chain ring.

Steel Rings

Middle ring is threaded to avoid cost of nut.

Small ring mounted to mounted to middle ring rather than crank arm.

 Suntour CW9 XCT Chainset Review -Conclusion

This is a fine chainset for kids, and light ridiers but I feel that shortcuts have been taken. I bought this so I could swap around chain rings from the large stcokes of 104 chain rings I have in the spares box. Not really possible with this chainset.

I can't recommend a  Suntour Chainset , as I do not know where the short cuts used in this model are replaced by the higher end features. How much would you have to spend. Anyone else got a triple from Suntour.

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Cargo Bikes: Gears and Gearing

Cargo Bikes: Gears and Gearing - Intro

 Most cargo bikes come with around 24 - 27 gears, unless they are from Holland. If you are building your own and which to choose gears to suite then perhaps follow the below advice.

 Cargo Bikes: Gears and Gearing - Shopping and General Use

Carrying extra weight will mean that you will need a greater gear range. I struggled buy with a gear range of 300% for a number of months pulling 35kg up fairly steep hills.

300% can be provided by a 1 x 9 setup, that is 1 chain ring at the front and an 11 - 34 cassette at the rear.

On flat ground you might choose a 42 tooth chain wheel up front, but for hillier areas operhaps a 32 tooth chain ring might be better.

 Cargo Bikes: Gears and Gearing - Kids and other Heavy Loads

A 3 year old and 5 year old will weigh about 30 - 40 kg depending on what you are feeding them, this really changes things, and 300% range will no longer cut the mustard.

A 22 tooth chain ring will now probably be required up front which combined with a 34 tooth sprocket at the rear will give a good low gear, for lugging heavy loads up fairly steep hills.

You highest gear may well be determined by you fitness and and your desired top speed, but I have found that a 32 tooth with the 11 sproket at the rear ios "stiff" enough for my liking, and I don't want to go that fast.

So in the end I have settled on a gear range of 450%

Cargo Bikes: Gears and Gearing - Conclusion

To work out your gear range, you can use this gear range calculator spread sheet.

Many European cargo bikes are sold with gears giving a range of just 250%, and for holland and London, this is fine. If you live in hillier areas, then you will be needing at least a 400% range, some high end hub gears can offer close to this range, but for the price savvy it will be derailleur gearing. . . or get off and push!

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Top 5 Commuter Bikes UK

Top 5 Commuter Bikes UK - Intro

Cycling is in growing both as a sport and as a means to getting around if the latter is more important to you, and you use you bike day to day for getting about, then this list if for you.

I have based this list on the assumption that low maintenance is of the utmost importance. So to that end I have favoured the following features:

1. Hub Gears
2. Disc Brakes or Hub Brakes
3. Dynamo Lighting

All of these features make for more expense, but ultimately mean that the bike will serve you better as a work horse.They are Ordered in Price High to Low.

Although a bikes tires should not be a deal breaker, you should set them at top of you priority list, get the most puncture resistant tire you can afford, if you go to you bike in the morning and the tire is flat, you'll be back in the car.

Top 5 Commuter Bikes UK - 1 -Revolution Shadow 13 - £999

From Edinburgh Cycle Co-op this beauty has a gates belt drive, this replaces the chain with a lube free rubber belt. Which require little in the way of maintennace, and do not get every thing covered in oil.

 

 This is a sporty offering and would in my opinion need mudguards. Dynamo lighting would be nice but battery variants would suffice.

Top 5 Commuter Bikes UK - 2 - Cube Travel SF RF - £790

Available from discount bikes de, this bike costs around 1000 euros, it has everyting going for it and apart from its sporty riding position ( a draw back I think) is an ideal commuter.

The description describes this bike as a sports tourer. And would be better suited to the more macho rider. The ride position would suggest more weight on the hands, which may not suite every one. But if you have longish distances to travel, then this more aerodynamic ride position may be of benefit.

Top 5 Commuter Bikes UK - 3 - Electra Amsterdam Royal 8i - £750

For the true Dutch experience why not go choose this bike, with 8 speed hub gears and roller brakes (similar to drum brakes) you will have versatile and capable bike.

Top 5 Commuter Bikes UK - 4 - Pashley Roadster Sovereign - £695

If a laid back approach is more your style, and you live in a fairly flat area this is a great bike at a great price.

Hub gears, Hub brakes, Hub Dynamo. Mudguards, wide saddle, upright ride. Nail on the head. If you value comfort over speed then this is the bike for you. Sturmey archer drum brakes are very good.

Top 5 Commuter Bikes UK - 5 - Challenge Crusade - £109

My wife has the ladies version of this bike, which comes from argos. It is a perfectly functional commuter bike, and for the money you just can not fault it. It will require upgrades. But if you a new to commuting and want to get on the road for cheap then you can't go wrong.

This a very cheap but for day to day use expect to pay out another £120, on brakes and tires as those provided are not great. It does work as is though, and will certainly last you long enough to decide whether cycle commuting is for you, or rather you'll be getting back in car / tube / bus / train.

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Are you Funding Putin's War via your Energy Bill?

Funding Putin's War via our Energy Bills - Intro

If you are reading this on a mains powered PC or Macintosh in the UK, chancing are you are indirectly funding Putin's War against the Ukraine.The fact is that the UK is heavily dependant on fossil fuel imports a large percentage of which comes from Russia.

Funding Putin's War via our Energy Bills - Coal

UK Government Data released March 2013 show our growing dependence on imports.

In 2012 around 40% of our imported coal came from Russia. We use 96% of this coal in producing electricty.

Based conservatively on current coal prices this would indicate we are pumping around 2 billion pounds a year in to Russia's Economy.

Of course there is no telling how much of this is spent on invading other countries, but some of this amount is bound to trickle down.

Funding Putin's War via our Energy Bills - What can I do?

The quickest and simplest way to avoid funding Russia is to switch to a 100% renewable energy supplier.

Many of the larger supplier have green tariffs but these are not very good, to make sure your energy is 100% renewable, and that you will be funding expansion of the UK renewable infrastructure you should switch to Ecotricity.

For example EDF spend £18 a year on building new  energy sources. Ecotricity spend close to £300 per customer.

The UK renewable capacity is growing, decreasing our dependence of Russian Coal. By choose a company like Ecotricity you can accelerate this trend.

So there is hope. But in order to effect a change it will require 1 or 2 phone calls. Don't put it off do it now, it will take less time than watching an episode of "X Factor" or "Jeeves and Wooster", and could mean that in 15 years time we can tell the then Russian President (probably still Putin) to stick their coal where the sun don't shine.