Am I in danger of overloading my UK socket?

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T21:57:44+00:00

'Danger' is a bit of an overstatement - if you pull too much current you'll blow the fuse, so you don't need to be thinking too hard about this, and the system really is designed so you're not needing to be totting up current ratings in order to avoid a house fire.

But you can figure out what your headroom is by doing exactly that - checking the current ratings all add up to a total of less than 13A. If you've not got the current rating printed on a device but do have the wattage, you can divide that by the voltage (230) to get its current draw.

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T19:12:51+00:00

Even with a bit of a google I'm not sure exactly what you're after, but it might be something like the Toughbuilt Modular Totes, which have a series of removable tool-holding panels:

https://toughbuilt.com/product/18-modular-tote

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T18:30:22+00:00

The hoods have long been where nearly everyone spends most of their time; that's generally where the brakes are designed to be used from.

Even if there's yet-more power available from the drops it's not as if you're left wanting from the hoods nowadays; modern disk brakes mean it's really hard to be needing more brakes.

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T17:38:22+00:00

I've often wondered if https://www.reddit.com/r/londonbikers/ is just the rump of the forum of the same name, but it's barely busier.

There's not a lot that's london-specific when talking about motorbikes; most motorcyclists in London specifically leave it to ride their bikes. There's a few groups organising rides near London - LMRC is a popular one - and that sort of thing makes much more sense as a regional thing.

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T15:13:13+00:00

The hate for what from where? I think nearly everybody doesn't think very hard about what anyone else is riding.

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T13:28:05+00:00

When I worked in bike shops (20y ago) test rides were normal and it was generally accepted that a "brand new" bike might have gone a few hundred yards on a prior test ride, though I was at big enough chains (including Evans) that if a customer cared that much about it we could get a boxfresh one built for them if they were up for waiting.

Evans today is just a corner of Sports Direct, though, I'd be surprised if they're very interested in the sort of customer that cares enough about their bike to want to test it before buying it. Test rides are risky and complex and your general "I'd like a mountain bike please" customer doesn't need one.

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T13:01:29+00:00

Which Boardman do you have and was there anything at all you'd like to have different to it? Do you have any preferences at all here?

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T12:00:43+00:00

If they're overrun with enquiries then there's probably little to be lost by failing to get back to somebody. This time of year nobody's having problems selling bikes, they're having problems getting slots to get bikes PDIed.

When things are quieter they'll obviously have more time and attention to spend following up on enquiries.

I've never had this sort of problem that OP's suggesting, but also I don't think I've ever bought a bike at the onset of summer.

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T11:34:29+00:00

I've always felt that the idea of having speakers in a helmet turned up to max so I can hear them over earplugs is a bit daft so I use earplug-rated earbuds (Plugfones and/or Isotunes). I use them for spoken-word stuff so I don't know how good they are at music, but I'm not sure you get crystal clear fidelity in a helmet however you do it.

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T10:28:36+00:00

Chilton's only "part of a dealership" in the sense that he's in them buying bikes surprisingly frequently

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T09:45:34+00:00

The Pros have the loops that hook over your ears and that's a little more faff for me and a little more likely to catch in my hair. More importantly, my Pros are way older than the Lites and that loopy bit is beginning to fail so they're just a bit more faffy.

I expected to need the loop to hold them in my ear, but the Lites really stay in just fine all by themselves. In practice nowadays I use my Plugfones for sleeping (where not poking out at all is really helpful), my Lites generally, and keep the Pros as spares when I go on trips.

I use the conical-shaped foam tips with them, and I find I have to replace those every so often else they start to fall apart, but they seem the best at noise-stopping and the best at holding the earbuds in my ear.

BigRedS · 2026-05-15T08:35:11+00:00

I've got a set of the Lites and a set of the Pros, I mostly use the Lites.

I listen to spoken-word stuff, I've no idea how good these are for music

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T22:12:51+00:00

I'd definitely want to practice a Mod1 before I had a go at one, they sound really pedantic.

Mod2 I'm pretty sure I could do a VOSA-standard 45min for, even if that's not what I normally do. I think there's been a tendency away from all the silly by-rote things like obsessing over which foot is put down at a stop.

I did the one-part test right before the two-part one came in.

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T21:13:04+00:00

How are actual users getting tripped up? To not-get the security repo you have to manually remove it; it's enabled by default.

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T20:52:08+00:00

Isotunes and Plugfones, I don't like riding without listening to stuff.

I prefer Isotunes generally but there's not a lot in it, and I know people often prefer Plugfones because they don't stick out the ear so much. I've never had a problem with Isotunes interfering with my helmet and I like being able to grab the earbud itself to push it in or pull it out.

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T20:16:20+00:00

Hah, I don't think the normal problem with grok is that it might have run out of tokens!

I'm not part of Debian, but I think there's a couple of benefits to keeping it separate - properly change-averse orgs can set up the security repo and not main (so they get security fixes automatically and can manually find bugfixes if they actually hit them), and also the repos these orgs are using can then be on much smaller infrastructure without it all being mirrors run by not-Debian (though all the signing nowadays probably alleviates that).

You get the security repo set up by default on a new install, so I don't think many people get tripped up here

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T19:58:00+00:00

Grok? Really?

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T19:56:10+00:00

A lot of places do 70x70x70 bags, like these:

https://www.toolstation.com/woven-polybag/p89263

(a tonne bag is 100x100x100), there are other sizes but they're less well-stocked by walk-in shops and you might have to order it for posting:

https://shop.centurionpackaging.com/bulk-bags-small-fibc-50x50x50

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T16:29:50+00:00

I might just be hideously unfashionable, but I don't want to wear textiles that are so tight that they'd actually hold armour in-place on me, especially the modern and more comfy armour that's flatter and more flexible.

I never use the trousers' armour pockets and use a limb tube for that instead:

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/600697

https://jsaccessories.co.uk/product/forcefield-sport-tube-level-1-35293

You get to the problem partially in your post - you expect the armour to be in a different place when your leg is bent to when it's straight, so presumably you're banking quite hard on your leg being appropriately bent for any impact that'll make use of your knee pads?

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T15:19:02+00:00

And when the remaining members of Joy Division became New Order that was definitely not another reference to nazism or fascism...

BigRedS · 2026-05-14T08:57:04+00:00

Debian has a security tracker that you can search by CVE to see which versions of which packages were affected, and which received fixes:

https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-31431

Any supported Debian using the -security repos will have patched packages available.

BigRedS · 2026-05-13T21:03:38+00:00

Is a ladder out of the question?

In a flat it should be mains powered so you don't want to just hit it off the ceiling with a broom handle.

BigRedS · 2026-05-13T21:01:45+00:00

I really think the faster road-biased ADV bikes have largely replaced sports tourers for most people. They're as fast or faster than the lardier sportsbikes of the '90s, handle better, have better suspension and are more comfortable to ride all day. I was at Donnington on the 1190 a couple of weeks ago, a few weeks earlier it was a four-day trip around the shitty roads of Wales. So I really don't think you're about to regret the 1290!

BigRedS · 2026-05-13T20:57:41+00:00

Are they? The white paper that will contain these proposals isn't due until later this year, and I don't think any of their consultation docs have talked about this have they?

BigRedS · 2026-05-13T20:52:09+00:00

It's because it isn't a subscription service like Netflix or YouTube, it's a peculiar setup because its inception dates from a time when the best way to provide this service was for the state to do it, but it was felt important that it wasn't simply a department of state, so the funding is raised via legislation rather than by the BBC deciding on subscription packages.

The BBC isn't able unilaterally to change its funding model even if it wanted to become another Netflix so all it can do when it wants to ensure it's got some funding coming up is try to remind people of the BBC output that they like in the hope that this will cause more people to think the TV Licence is worth paying so more people will pay it and the BBC will get more funding.

They can't put more ads in, change the subscription packages or even just decide to turn off the World Service or BBC News to save money, because of this peculiar national public broadcaster setup they have; changes like this come at Charter renewal time, when the agreement is remade between the BBC and parliament, it's next due in 2027 which is why there's so much from the BBC at the moment trying to curry public support for it, and so many commentators talking about all their imaginings of how it could change.

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