Bails, I’m assuming that the picture is not related to the article? because that would seem a rather jubilant farewell for a sex offender!

Cheers. No, they’re DVO Diamonds reduced to 140mm. I kind of got a bit carried away when thinking how to spec the bike and couldn’t resist. I almost went for the green ones because I was impatient but I’m glad I waited.
and you’re right about the back end and letting it do it’s own thing. Just let the bike track it’s way through and it’ll do so with ease (to date)

Thanks T.G.Ape

I can only vouch for the steel frame but by god it’s good. with the seat down it’s a big bmx, very manoeuvrable and lively. but pop the seat up and it wants to ride for hours. And the steep head angle doesn’t feel wallowy on the ups either. I cannot recommend one enough.

rubber O-rings over gear cabling to quieten any rattles.
plumbers tape to wrap your gear cable and brake cable together before they split and go their separate ways to stop any slapping between them.
foam bocks in any hollow sections of the frame (keeps the clag out too)
and refraining from “wahooo-ing” while bombing down the trail helps too

Superhero. I’m not in it for the money, I’m in it for the kicks

Mongoose fireball

I’ve an 03 1.4 Ibiza. It’s a great little car with enough room out back for a couple of bikes plus all the kit you’ll need. it’s agile in town and eager to stretch it’s legs on the motorway.
if it’s a small car you’re after I would definitely recommend one.

i’d suggest getting some small loops of dyneema/parachord attached to all the webbing loops around the tarp and also some extra pre tied off lengths roughly 2m long that can be attached by mini carabiners. this helps with impromptu set ups using walls, tress and anything else that can create a stable base.
with the loops attached it is a bit of a faff getting in to the Alpkit bag but I bought a 5L stuff sack and it works fine for little extra weight.

also, i’m not sure if you can do it with the smaller tarp but you can create a small a-frame tent using 1/3 of the tarp as the floor then a-frame the remainder.

Britain’s got “talent”

having only the adverts to go on I’d suggest otherwise

check out Argos cycles in Bristol. they are your best bet in Bristol for bicycle related stripping/painting. a longstanding company with a great track record.
all prices etc are on the website.
alternatively there’s a motorcycle powdercoaters near temple meads which also do mtb’s but i’m not sure of for how much.

12/13

Specialized Rockhopper (complete)
Scott Yecora (complete)
DMR Trailstar Mk2 (built)
DMR Trailstar Mk3 (built)
GT Avalanche (SS pub bike – built)
Kona Stinky (built)
Commencal Mini-DH (built)
Commencal Supernormal (complete)
Trainsition Bottlerocket (built)
Santa Cruz Nomad (complete s/h)
Cotic Bfe (built)
Santa Cruz Blur Ltc (built)
(Stanton Switchback in the pipeline)

another one here for a Crossmax disaster (XL’s this time) took them out of the box, went to remove the 135mm adapter to change to 142mm….managed to tear a chunk of metal out of the bolt with hardly any force whatsoever.
two weeks later I have just been told by a Mavic rep to just have another go (a pair of moleys as tight as it would go and I managed it thankfully)

Sade

how do you determine the gender of an ant?
throw it in a glass of water.
if it sinks it’s a girl ant.
if it floats, bouyant

LIKE! :lol:

“What the blinkin’ flip is Reggaeton?”

Surely it’s Ton wearing a fake dreadlock / rasta hat

I’m with Mr Cooper on this one, tre disappointing

I love lamp

Tango & Gash
Star wh*res
Cannibal the musical
and the ever watchable…hell comes to frog town

keep an eye out for the Debenhams blue cross (or whichever) sales, I bought a three seater and single seater sofa for £500, with an original RRP of £2,500

Schindlers fist

I really should pay more attention, I read that as Maste(r)race.

damn, it’s looking like it’s conclusive that i’ll need an 18″ frame then.

I like my frames on the smallish side and the larger frames never really have the same appeal but if it looks good i’d be sorely tempted.

Burgtec Ridewide? expensive but worth it (IMO)

A bit of a bump I know, but can any owners of an 18″ Switchback post a pic as I can’t seem to find one on line.

I was hoping to get a 16.5″ but at 5ft 10″ i’m guessing it may be a tad small

Thanks for all your comments. I’m going to look into the pillar drill option as it’s looking a tad sketchy to do without taking out some thread. The bolt has snapped about 4mm into the post mount so there’s no option to get at it with moleys.

Great, thanks.
Now I just need to pluck up the courage to take a drill to my forks and hope it all works. This may end up being a very expensive day for me

knipples?

Come on, I think we’re all skirting round the main issue here…
Bikebouys attraction to the man-thing Lucy, what the hell!

anything along the coromandel coast is great, black sand or golden beaches, hot spring pools and empty beaches. oputere and whangamata are worth a trip.
if you’re flying out of rotorua then I thoroughly recommend getting out to raglan which is near Hamilton. a proper chill surfer vibe, grab a kayak or two and head off up the estuaries or just relax on the beach. that was the highlight of my time over there.

There’s a young lad who sleeps rough in an underpass on my way to work. He never begs, he’s never drinking, smoking or look like he’s on drugs. he just tries to get his head down.
occasionally I would say hi and pass over what change I had, he was grateful for what people gave him but never begged.
the clothes he had were old and worn and his blanket was full of holes.

as someone who spends a fair bit of time camping etc I knew I had a mound of old kit so I asked him if he would mind if I offered him some of my kit. my reasoning being that I could never donate enough money to make that big a difference to his life.
he was made up by my offer, I was made up by seeing his gratitude.
I spoke to a friend or two about what I was going to do, they all thought it was a great idea and went away…
the next day I walked into the underpass looking like santa, I had an old royalmail post sack filled with an old 3 season sleeping bag, roll mat, Gore-Tex jacket, trousers, boots and a wooly hat and gloves.
he could not have been any happier. it may not have gotten him off the streets but it meant that his days were a little more comfortable.

I have no problem in helping those in need, it’s just knowing how best to do this.

My girlfriends daughter mentioned the other day that while I was returning to work on Monday she would be enjoying an incest day instead of going to school.

oh, and she’s also a fan of sticky come dancing. for which I had to leave the room before I burst out laughing

Not exactly bike related challenges but i’m hoping to do a course a month in things that hold an interest for me or where I would like to have more knowledge. so far for Jan-Mar I have booked

Bread making course
Fishmonger course
Digital photography

lining up for the rest of the year
wild meat butchery
mushroom & Fungus ID
Woodturning
Bushcraft survival
And any others that pop up throughout the year

oh, and to get out on my bike more, that in itself seems a challenge at the moment

Nah, best time of year for it. it makes the Whisky taste all the sweeter.
i’m hoping for the rain to hold off and the cold to continue as the last three years we’ve done the trip in knee deep snow (it’s our annual ‘lads’ Christmas trip)
Kinder Scout sounds like a bloody good alternative though, enjoy.

Jambourgie,that would be one hell of a debate. and yes wild camping is illegal in that it is trespass.
there are certain concessions already, the Public right of way act, right to roam in Scotland (potentially Wales too soon)Which is mainly aimed at those with enough land to not notice a few ramblers strolling across their estate or around the edge of farmland.
but they are just that, concessions.

I think part of this problem re the petition is the popular term ‘wild camping’ whereas it should be called socially acceptable trespass. maybe less people would be inclined to do it if they realised it was not a god given right but is in fact a judgement call which has all the associated consequences.

And I agree re the right to move and settle but unfortunately as a society we long ago gave up nomadism in place of farming and land management and have been living in this mode for a long time.

personally i’m glad the petition won’t be complete by this weekend as i’m off out to enjoy a spot of socially acceptable trespass.

Well he did stir once or twice throughout the night but overall i’d say no. (why have I now got the deliverance theme running through my head?…)

Depends on what you intend on getting into in said caravan. I’ve had some pretty wild times in them. :wink:

Jambourgie, there is no law on wild camping. the law is based on trespass on private land.
you can quite freely go up to a landowner and request to stay on their land but you must abide by their decision.

and it has nothing to do with keeping anyone out of the countryside. it is all about being able to enjoy nature responsibly. if the law was changed to say that all landowners must let people wild camp when they want then what’s the difference from a vast tract of land on Scotland or your back garden?
and like drugs laws, you can freely partake in whatever substance you like, just do it sensibly and don’t rub others noses in it (unless it’s coke)

Lawmanmx, not sure if your original post was sarcastic but the armed forces are protecting your civil freedom, not the freedom of this land.
There is no such thing unfortunately as all land is owned by somebody so you do not have a ‘right’ to camp wherever you want.
by making it legal to wild camp we are risking the inundation and erosion of ‘wild’ places and in time would risk access to land in the long run.

leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but memories