Jan and Klodi's Party Bus - part II **off topic discussion**

Weepsie

manafana wrote: »

joking aside that looks like an easy chain to get off anyone use them id consider changing knownng i could take of a chain so easily.

I just ordered 2 and I'm brutal at maintenance and such beyond cleaning. I can let you know

Wishbone Ash

Eamonnator wrote: »

He rode the Ras, when he was 53.
He is in his 70s now, and as far as I know, he's still going strong

Still going strong. He can be seen every Thursday morning meeting point outside the Lord Mayors in Swords. I went out with him on a few occasions, by invitation, when no-one else turned up for our club ride. He looks great and always turned out like a new pin. (He looks much younger than his younger brother Jimmy).

magicbastarder

has anyone ever figured out a use for old tyres and tubes?
i hate throwing stuff out if there's an alternate use that can be put to them, so if anyone has figured out ingenious uses for worn out tyres and tubes, please share them!

rubadub

magicbastarder wrote: »

has anyone ever figured out a use for old tyres and tubes?

I use tubes as exercise resistance bands.

Weepsie

rubadub wrote: »

I use tubes as exercise resistance bands.

Damn that's ingenious.

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

has anyone ever figured out a use for old tyres and tubes?
i hate throwing stuff out if there's an alternate use that can be put to them, so if anyone has figured out ingenious uses for worn out tyres and tubes, please share them!

If you're into gardening, road tubes can be used as ties to secure young trees to stakes. MTB tubes can be slid over heavy duty chains if using them for cycle locks to prevent them from scratching frame.

Chuchote

If you're using old tubes to tie trees to stakes, put them in a figure 8 around tree and stake, so the tree is protected.

eeeee

magicbastarder wrote: »

has anyone ever figured out a use for old tyres and tubes?
i hate throwing stuff out if there's an alternate use that can be put to them, so if anyone has figured out ingenious uses for worn out tyres and tubes, please share them!

Patch old tubes and use again.

LollipopJimmy

Weepsie wrote: »

Damn that's ingenious.

I spent 25quid on resistance bands yesterday morning. Fml lol

rubadub

If using as bands the valves can get in they way, so you can cut them down. I would not cut them fully out as it weakens the tube hugely. Or else just cut the valve section out and no longer have a full circle.

I also use old tubes for grip on things. E.g. I pulled a MTB tube onto a smooth chromed chinup bar for grip. Had them on barbell & dumbbell too, and on the handles of a hammer and small spade.

I have also used them as connection reducer gaskets for tubes of different size, e.g. connecting a 1.5" hard wavin pipe to a narrower one.

Beasty

Clearly not tried it myself but maybe you can keep yourself trim over the winter months by turning them into hula hoops

:pac:

Weepsie

Beasty wrote: »

Clearly not tried it myself but maybe you can keep yourself trim over the winter months by turning them into hula hoops

:pac:

It would probably work with a wired Marathon tyre, though it would possibly here too.

Rogue-Trooper

magicbastarder wrote: »

has anyone ever figured out a use for old tyres and tubes?
i hate throwing stuff out if there's an alternate use that can be put to them, so if anyone has figured out ingenious uses for worn out tyres and tubes, please share them!

These guys have figured out how to make money from it.........

Hungrycol

rubadub wrote: »

If using as bands the valves can get in they way, so you can cut them down. I would not cut them fully out as it weakens the tube hugely. Or else just cut the valve section out and no longer have a full circle.

I also use old tubes for grip on things. E.g. I pulled a MTB tube onto a smooth chromed chinup bar for grip. Had them on barbell & dumbbell too, and on the handles of a hammer and small spade.

I have also used them as connection reducer gaskets for tubes of different size, e.g. connecting a 1.5" hard wavin pipe to a narrower one.

...or for extra grip when unscrewing or tightening something.

Weepsie

On a very brief spin out to the LBS earlier, about 4k there and back, I seemed to see oil patches all over the place. Careful out there. It was this week last year one of them contributed to me being off a bike for 2 months.

The prevalence of them in bus lanes leads me to believe Bus maintenance and Taxis too needs a little improving

magicbastarder

i recently saw a taxi which was 98D reg.
it was a wheelchair accessible one, afaik they're allowed be replaced at a lower turnover due to the extra cost of kitting them out.

but i regularly see normal taxis which are 13 or 14 years old.

Weepsie

I would assume the cost of replacing some of the Wheelchair accessible one can be prohibitive. Also cars which are well maintained and regularly serviced could run perfectly and have no issues in the grand scheme of things. The age thing seems a little arbitrary.

I've been in newer Taxis that were just not very well looked after, or at cleaned and older ones which where spotless and ran just fine. That said the example of the former is rare. I seem to always be in a Prius when I'm in a taxi.

The route I took this morning was somewhat circular so it could have been just a small number of cars out of the many hundreds.

Ryath

Rogue-Trooper wrote: »

These guys have figured out how to make money from it.........

http://www.velo-re.com/images/dec09/4.jpg

http://www.velo-re.com/images/dec09/24.jpg

These guys do even more with them! Wallets, Wristbands and Watchstraps
http://www.buckitbelts.com/





Some of the watch straps look great.

Ryath

Weepsie wrote: »

I would assume the cost of replacing some of the Wheelchair accessible one can be prohibitive. Also cars which are well maintained and regularly serviced could run perfectly and have no issues in the grand scheme of things. The age thing seems a little arbitrary.

Try telling that to the insurance company's. :mad:

magicbastarder

Weepsie wrote: »

I would assume the cost of replacing some of the Wheelchair accessible one can be prohibitive. Also cars which are well maintained and regularly serviced could run perfectly and have no issues in the grand scheme of things. The age thing seems a little arbitrary.

of course, but generally speaking, all other things being equal, newer cars are in better nick - and safer for the passengers too.
a colleague once had a minor disagreement with a taxi driver - going from blackrock to the airport, he suggested to the driver that it'd be cheaper for him to buy the car than pay the fare. the driver didn't take it as light heartedly as my colleague intended.

the last old taxi i was in - a 03 reg corolla - felt very old and tired.

RobertFoster

Weepsie wrote: »

On a very brief spin out to the LBS earlier, about 4k there and back, I seemed to see oil patches all over the place. Careful out there. It was this week last year one of them contributed to me being off a bike for 2 months.

The prevalence of them in bus lanes leads me to believe Bus maintenance and Taxis too needs a little improving

I noticed a lot of oil/fuel patches too today. Not just in bus lanes, but in around St. Margaret's, Howth, and Castleknock/Blanchardstown.

I was half expecting to see some vehicle parked up out of diesel there was so much of it. Either that or there's some home heating crowd missing half a tankers worth of kerosene.

Anyone commuting in the dark will certainly need to take corners gently just in case.

Harrybelafonte

magicbastarder wrote: »

i recently saw a taxi which was 98D reg.
it was a wheelchair accessible one, afaik they're allowed be replaced at a lower turnover due to the extra cost of kitting them out.

but i regularly see normal taxis which are 13 or 14 years old.

So what? They pass a roadworthy ess test or they don't. Age of a car is arbitrary. Mine are 16 and 25 years old and I've seen cars with less than five years on the plate with crash damage, bald tyres and missing mirrors. Age is not a reflection of roadworthiness.

And insurance companies are just trying to pull a fast one if they tell you otherwise. Otherwise the NCT is pointless.

Weepsie

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

So what? They pass a roadworthy ess test or they don't. Age of a car is arbitrary. Mine are 16 and 25 years old and I've seen cars with less than five years on the plate with crash damage, bald tyres and missing mirrors. Age is not a reflection of roadworthiness.

And insurance companies are just trying to pull a fast one if they tell you otherwise. Otherwise the NCT is pointless.

Taxis are generally doing considerably more mileage than your average family car, and in every kind of condition and with all sorts of passengers and luggage too.

How true a reflection of road worthiness is the NCT too in all reality?

Not that I disagree, the age is arbitrary when it is well maintained. The only issue is probably newer safety features, crumple zones etc and the obvious difference in emissions of the vehicle.

tomasrojo

I'm far from an expert, but I don't think cars from 1998 were all that much more dangerous, for the occupants. I mean, I'm sure they were more somewhat more dangerous, but I'm not sure it's worth upgrading on that basis alone if your 1998 car is in excellent condition.

I have a friend who is a car enthusiast (was a designer for Ford at one stage) and he drives a car from about that far back (I think). His father won't get in the car with him, because of the lack of airbags and so on. The father didn't think his own car back in the 90s was dangerous at all, back then.

In terms of CO2 emissions, given how much energy is expended on creating a car, it might be better to keep an old car going longer. In terms of general cardiovascular health, I guess new cars are better, provided they're not diesel cars.

magicbastarder

tomasrojo wrote: »

I'm far from an expert, but I don't think cars from 1998 were all that much more dangerous, for the occupants. I mean, I'm sure they were more somewhat more dangerous, but I'm not sure it's worth upgrading on that basis alone if your 1998 car is in excellent condition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRxLlFm3VUA

that video might change your mind so; i think the recording is from 2003, but shows the difference 9 years made in occupant safety (TL;DW - the difference between death and a possible broken ankle for the driver)

i've recently gotten into taxis at opposite ends of the spectrum - a two or three year old skoda superb vs. a 13 year old corolla. and i had to pay the same for both, which is probably where my objection arises. the corolla's seats were spongy and lacked support, and you could feel each bump in the road as the suspension was obviously tired. i just prefer to pay taxi drivers who've stumped up money for their car vs. one who's running a cheap one which scrapes in on whatever tests they have to pass.

ford2600

magicbastarder wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRxLlFm3VUA

that video might change your mind so; i think the recording is from 2003, but shows the difference 9 years made in occupant safety (TL;DW - the difference between death and a possible broken ankle for the driver)

i've recently gotten into taxis at opposite ends of the spectrum - a two or three year old skoda superb vs. a 13 year old corolla. and i had to pay the same for both, which is probably where my objection arises. the corolla's seats were spongy and lacked support, and you could feel each bump in the road as the suspension was obviously tired. i just prefer to pay taxi drivers who've stumped up money for their car vs. one who's running a cheap one which scrapes in on whatever tests they have to pass.

They might want to tweak the sensitivity of the auld airbag; combined impact speed of 70mph and it doesn't pop.

It'll increase the salvage value I suppose 😀

Chuchote

Might be of interest to someone here:

http://wiserlife.eu/wp-content/uploads/Programme-Manager-RC.pdf

PROGRAMME MANAGER, REDISCOVER CYCLING
The Rediscovery Centre is a dynamic and growing organisation whose mission is to lead change from waste to resource, create jobs and encourage environmentally sustainable living. Based in our state-of-the-art environmental centre Ballymun, North Dublin, we currently have a vacancy for a Programme Manager for our bicycle reuse and recycling programme, Rediscover Cycling…

Hours and salary
This is a part time position working 3 days per week. Salary based on experience and skills…

The closing date for applications is Monday 13th Feb 2017.

eeeee

"magicbastarder wrote:

i've recently gotten into taxis at opposite ends of the spectrum - a two or three year old skoda superb vs. a 13 year old corolla. and i had to pay the same for both, which is probably where my objection arises. the corolla's seats were spongy and lacked support, and you could feel each bump in the road as the suspension was obviously tired. i just prefer to pay taxi drivers who've stumped up money for their car vs. one who's running a cheap one which scrapes in on whatever tests they have to pass.

Jaysus

tomasrojo

magicbastarder wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRxLlFm3VUA

that video might change your mind so; i think the recording is from 2003, but shows the difference 9 years made in occupant safety (TL;DW - the difference between death and a possible broken ankle for the driver)

Fair enough, but I still wouldn't be bothered upgrading a roadworthy car (if I had one). I suppose it's partly a matter of risk exposure. For example, I drive about twelve times a year. The difference in risk exposure between the two cars for me at that rate of driving would be minute; I'm just not likely to be in a head-on collision of that nature, especially as most of my driving is on 50km/h roads, or lower. If you were driving 100,000km a year on national-speed-limit roads, the difference might be very significant.

tomasrojo

ford2600 wrote: »

They might want to tweak the sensitivity of the auld airbag; combined impact speed of 70mph and it doesn't pop.

I was intrigued by the episode of Mythbusters where they responded to a viewer's complaint that they'd assumed that a car hitting another car head on was worse than the car hitting a wall (or something like that). By Newton's Third Law of Motion, the two scenarios produce the same force on the first car (cars travelling at equal speed colliding head on, versus a single car hitting a stationary wall at the same speed).

They tested it, and the two scenarios did result in the same force being applied to the car hitting another car as the car hitting a wall.

Anyway, I'm quite a bit out of my depth here. I know very little about cars. But I did study Newton, I suppose.