Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[admin]

Originally Posted by R1ffR4ff

Just as an aside I made this for the next time I need to raise and fit my rear wheel off the ground and align the axle from an idea on the US SV site,




Using one of these,


Pump Wedge eBay

You don't have to use wood. Hard foam blocks were used as well. Base is a bit of old hardboard or chipboard. I've tested it under the fitted rear wheel and it will work great

HTH

I usually use some spare wood to lift the wheel but this looks like a much better idea. Thanks

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[R1ffR4ff]

Originally Posted by admin

I usually use some spare wood to lift the wheel but this looks like a much better idea. Thanks

Sent from my moto g(50) using Tapatalk

Only took me about 30 mins to make and once pumped up it leaves both hands free and I'm sure I can get the axle exactly aligned when required

If you change your own tyres don't forget to fit a 90 Deg Tyre valve

[admin]

Originally Posted by R1ffR4ff

Just as an aside I made this for the next time I need to raise and fit my rear wheel off the ground and align the axle from an idea on the US SV site,




Using one of these,


Pump Wedge eBay

You don't have to use wood. Hard foam blocks were used as well. Base is a bit of old hardboard or chipboard. I've tested it under the fitted rear wheel and it will work great

HTH

Now ordered. I can see other uses for that too.

Sent from my moto g(50) using Tapatalk

[Sir Trev]

Public transport. Just got back from my annual visit to London to meet up with my old uni friends and the trains were a joke. Half the services cancelled so everything that did run was dangerously overcrowded. If the drivers were underpaid I could understand, but I don't think they are. Flame me all you like but other people are in charge of: telling them when to start and stop, what route they use, what time they need to keep to, keeping other traffic away from them... They make the train go and bring it to a stop, hell they don't even have to steer! Yes they have a lot of people/freight in their hands but the route knowledge they need to learn and putting up with shifts on their four day week does not justify the salary some news outlets claim they earn. And they're holding the country to ransom claiming they deserve more? Bus and truck drivers have to be way more adaptive and think for themselves more, but get paid way less.

Unions have a valid place and do good work to make sure people are not exploited. On the whole. Some however are clearly out to make political trouble, which is not in their mandate. Nobody on my trains today said anything in support of the continuing action and I am now going to avoid using trains again for the foreseeable future. The public are now hacked off with this dispute and I'm not the only one that thinks it's gone too far. I quite agree that the train operating companies do not employ enough drivers and expect the ones they have to do overtime sometimes, but there are plenty of YouTube videos about made by drivers who show just how little driving they do and how much sitting around there is in their already well paid jobs.

I need a very stiff drink.

[Seeker]

The Middle East.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any more confusing and frustrating there is this article:
https://www.businessinsider.com/isra...3-12?r=US&IR=T


Back in 1977 Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote a fantastic (and mostly gloomy) end of the world book called "Lucifer's Hammer" about a comet hitting the Earth. In great detail he explains (with scientific accuracy) what happens in different part of the world. One thing I always remember is when they write: "with no one left to control them, the Israelis and the Arabs decide to resolve their problems once and for all" (and start a war between themselves as the world is ending). I could believe that.
If you like SciFi (and/or post apocalypse novels), it's worth a read. The comet "calves" (breaks into smaller pieces) and the book splits between what happens as each piece strikes a different part of the planet and follows what happens to survivors in California.

[Luckypants]

Cars!

Yesterday we got a puncture in the big car, rendering it useless as like all modern cars it has no spare. The OE tyres are self sealing (allegedly, experience proves otherwise) so not even a self inflation kit in my car. The wife limped it to the garage who will have a look today. The bright spot is the punctured tyre is due replacement anyway, so I'll have those done a week or two early.

Mel got her son to pick her up in our little car that he has been using for the past few weeks, so we are not without transport. A few miles into the drive to go shopping (her original journey) a check engine light came on! Seems we have a problem with the exhaust on that too. Car manual says its safe to drive with this light on, so we are limping around until we can get that in for analysis.

Grrrrr!

[admin]

You do wonder when these things happen if there is a malevolent spirit or god making mischief.

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[Luckypants]

Definitely John!

I didn't gripe about the third thing..... I came down to the kitchen yesterday afternoon to make a coffee and found a puddle of water coming from under the fridge/freezer. I was worried the water line to the ise dispenser was leaking, as that would be a pain to sort...... However it was the freezer door not closed properly due to something moving on a shelf. The freezer was defrosting but I happened to catch it in time to not lose anything (maybe the icecream will be a loss). Yesterday was a bad day but only annoyances in the end.

[Craig380]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

Cars!

Yesterday we got a puncture in the big car, rendering it useless as like all modern cars it has no spare. The OE tyres are self sealing (allegedly, experience proves otherwise) so not even a self inflation kit in my car. The wife limped it to the garage who will have a look today. The bright spot is the punctured tyre is due replacement anyway, so I'll have those done a week or two early.

My son's car has runflats, and he's had no luck at all with them. A couple of months back a jagged exposed manhole cover ripped the sidewall of one rear tyre with a 4-inch gash. It was coming up to the car's MoT and they were getting close to being an advisory so he replaced the pair (£300).

Then last week he picked up a large masonry screw in the sidewall of one of the new tyres with only about 1,000 miles on it, couldn't be repaired. Another £150. If the screw had gone in 2" further down it would have been pluggable.

[Luckypants]

Yeah these self-seal are a bit different to run-flats, in that they have gunk in them already to 'seal' any punctures. Run-flats have reinforced sidewalls to allow them to run for a limited time without inflation. both types of tyres are borked if the sidewall is damaged.

Trouble is, the gunk in self-seal means many tyre places won't touch then for a repair as they have to scrape the gunk away and clean out the puncture to affect a repair. At least run-flats can be repaired.....

I think I'll investigate tyre insurance, as I'm about to drop over £400 on two tyres.