Got 1 of mine back in Bristol after a few months thanks to some keen eyes on here and some good work from the coppers. So, there’s always hope…

Thanks for the help guys.

Thanks Wrecker – I’ll try the couple above first, but then maybe get back to you.

Cheers

Inspiration.

Though you did make me cry at my desk and I had spend ages pretending I was looking for something in a drawer.

Cheers Krag – nice link.

£1 = $1.98. From my (quite limited) checking, stuff seems a bit cheaper out there, but not a huge amount. To be honest, it might be a nice opportunity to try something like a Jake or have a go back on an aluminium MTB.

I think I’ll start checking local ads and ebay just before we get there. Auckland is the first stop, so plenty of places to get kit. The P7 will have to miss this little adventure…

Thanks guys – useful feedback. It will be road and trail touring mainly, and I have a P7 set up that I can use for that. £300 shipping might be scary though, so I’ll look into costs. Hate the idea of dragging the box around with me, so buying something 2nd hand out there might be the sensible option.

Thanks for the link Trail_rat – it looks utterly amazing, can’t wait to get there!

Enjoying it. Though some of those crashes were horrific…

Did it for the first time since the new build on wednesday. Wasn’t too sure what to expect having read the comments on here, but I really enjoyed it. Yes it’s on the simple side, but it’s nice and fast and flowy and perfect for a post work blast. I think it’ll be appreciated a lot more come winter!

Agree with the people above though, what happens in Still is the bit I’m most interested in.

I’ve had a tempestuous relationship with my CX bike. At first I really didn’t get on with it and couldn’t really understand where it fitted between my road bike and MTB. The more upright geometry, higher BB and longer wheelbase felt weird. It went through various builds, but now (with a decent groupset on it and some tweaks to set up) I finally get it… to the extent I’m losing the road bike.

Like you say, it’s great for when I can’t be bothered to drive to the trails with an MTB or don’t have the time for a 50 miler road ride. I also have a spare set of wheels with road tyres, but to be honest I’m not sure how much use they’ll get – I like the flexibilty to hit some dodgy surfaces.

If I was really into road biking and after speed, then I think I’d want something specific, but as it is the CX is great.

ir_bandito – staying off the roads is high on the agenda! Thanks for the trail names. I need to sit down over the next week or so and work out a rough route.

perthmtb – “palm fringed beaches to fiords and glaciers, distances manageable, people very friendly, and roads pretty empty” sounds rubbish doesn’t it! We’re starting on N Island, but I imagine the majority of our time will be on the S Island as everybody raves about it. A bit of kayaking is definitely on the cards, though not so sure about paragliding!

Oh, and anyone know how to check for one-way mirrors!?

Thanks ir_bandito – useful advice. It’s amazing how many people talk about the terrible driving in NZ around cyclists!

The PP books look great though, so will get those.

May just need a tighten. My XT cassette seems to hate my Hope ProII hub so much that it tries to come off practially every ride. I carry a lock ring tool with me these days…

ir_bandito or NZCol – I’d appreciate any advice you have on cycling round the country as me and the missus are heading there in Sept to spend about 5 months cycling round. The plan is to buy bikes when we land (somewhere North) and then basically head right down to the South Island.

Cheers

I’ve been playing a soprano uke (the smallest, with GCEA tuning) for nearly 3 years. It’s a fun instruments and quite easy to make some good sounds quite quickly. I’d never played an instrument before and had heard it was one of the easiest to learn, and I think that’s probably true.

I’d really recommend the Hal Leonard books as a starting point. They cover the basics and give you some recognisable songs to play. I’ve worked through those and have just picked up a fingerstyle book by Mark Nelson for a bit of variety.

The best bit about the uke is how small they are, it’s so easy to take it everywhere with you (much to the annoyance of my friends I suspect!).

The Young Knives ‘ornaments from the silver arcade’. About as indie pop as it gets.

Similar to bigyinn… Riding through the wooded singletrack at Kirroughtree an owl flew a couple of feet over my head and followed the trail for 20m or so before ducking into the trees. Awesome.

Packing for a holiday and finding a letter in a suitcase pocket that an ex must have put in there when I was moving out of her place.

Also watching in interest as awaiting results (36 and dodgy family history of cholesterol levels)…

Good shout on the merino socks singlespeeddan. Usually wear merino leggings and top under the wetsuit, so will add some socks to the mix too!

Woohoo! Heading to Gwithian on the 28th, so looking forward to some nice chilled (literally) waves! Now, where did I put my neoprene hood and gloves…?

The police mentioned the scrote who had my bike had a fully equiped shed with loads of bike tools etc. They thought he was a biking enthusiast who stupidly/accidentally bought a stolen frame.

I think he probably is a real biking enthusiast, but I also think he targets bikes and strips either selling or keeping the parts for his fleet.

I’m sure there’s bikers out there who don’t mind funding their hobby by taking from others.

Jeez, and I thought I had it bad with the guy in the flat below me who can’t seem to master his stereo’s bass controls and occasionally talks very loudly about how hardcore rad to the max he is.

It’s not all bad though – he kindly leaves his DH bike in his front room window, which should mean any tealeaves concentrate on his bike collection rather than mine!

Cheers ‘robinbetts’. It doesn’t feel like it should be a problem, but I thought I better check!

Heading to Gwithian after work for a week of surfing. Crossing my fingers (and everything else) that the swell holds up!!!

I do. Partly to get away from any cars turning left who haven't bothered to indicate. Partly because I'm trying to get the single speed up to a decent spinning speed as quickly as possible!

Happened to me last night resulting in a 3 mile walk home. 4 ride old Sturmey Archer cranks folded and left a nice gouge in my steel frame just as I pulled out onto a roundabout.

I'd like to think it was my awesome power, but actually the cranks seem to be made of cheese.

Yep, popped in earlier to pick up my frame.

They're mega busy apparently… oh, and they stop for a chinese lunch on fridays!

Keep trying…

Looks like my average day commuting through Bristol… Minus the crack (I prefer jelly babies).

See him quite a lot going the opposite way to me around Horfield.

I always wonder why there's no leg protection?

I'm guessing he's had one too many cyclist/taxi interfaces, and isn't going to take any more sh1t. That or he goes 'over' the cars.

Cheers Sam – I'll measure up the frame tonight and see if I can find a nice script font. Black would be ideal I think.

nixon_fiend

It had a (very knackered) Quando rear hub spaced to 130mm in it. It takes a little prising apart to fit a standard 130mm axle in there.

I'm trying to find out a little more about the frame (age, make etc.,) from the previous owner so that should help me.

Thanks all. Think I'll go for a standard wheel with a kit.

Yep, I meant freewheel (I'm new to the lingo too!)

I should add it needs to be 700c and take a 23/25c tyre.

Had one on sunday night. Was descending an Alp on a racing bike and really enjoying it, only to round a hairpin at speed to find water across the road, the bike skidded away from me and I sat up in bed screaming 'nooooooooooo!' (in a dramatic movie style according to the misses). Didn't get back to sleep for a couple of hours because my heart was beating so fast… and rode very slowly to work in the morning…

(and, yes, I had been watching le tour!)

Had a tick bite back in May following a ride in the Malverns. About a week later the bullseye rash appeared and I was suffering cold-like symptoms.

Went straight to doctors after seeing was pretty insistent about being treated. Docter spent 10 mins online and reading various books, then immediately took some blood and put me on 2 weeks of high Dioxycyclin (made me feel very nauseous even when taken with food).

Blood test was negative (but interesting to read comments above about the testing), and I suspect the cold was just coincidental as the better half had one too. Guess I'll keep my eyes open in case any further symptons materialise!

Was pretty impressed with the doctor to be honest – she took it very seriously… once she'd done some reading!

Gwithian is a good place to camp and there's a surf school in the bay – think it's called Gwithian Acadamy of Surfing. Waves are nice friendly there too.

Hi – I'm 5' 11" and would recommend the 17" frame – you really need to be able to muscle the bike around to get the most from it and I reckon that's easier in a smaller size. Great bikes – you'll love it!