Happy user of 1Password. iPhone use could be better i.e. Fingerprint unlocking.

New bikes over here.

RC car?
Drone?
BPW voucher?

Something they can open on their 18th.

Port? Whiskey?

Other than that.

Cardboard box for the kid.
Electric noisy toys if you want to laugh at the parent

What type of string is the longest?

Nice! Thanks 🙂

have you tried ebay? I had to order some end caps for my Havens from the states on there because the UK is out of stock.

On-one have a set on scrapers I think… depends on the hubs you need though.

>>Could mean the servers will stay active?

“And that leaves Pebble’s loyal customers out in the cold. While Pebble’s Kickstarter note ends on a happy note of gratitude to its many loyal customers, those customers are, in fact, royally screwed.”

thanks – just had a different reply from Silverfish on their web form. I don’t have the QR axle so apparently I will be good with just end caps. Phew 🙂

you can buy the sensors separately for not too much money. OS maps are worth it too if you want to use for real off road routes navigation.

Free maps are fine for road use. I think I downloaded mine from talky toaster or something like that… it was a few years ago.

Fish n’ Chip supper?

Yes you can. The 810 is a great bit of kit. That seems a real bargain IMHO.

Finely Tuned Ride have some ex demo Exposure lights going cheap, all with warranty etc.

these are the older models MTB Rob… I’m sure they are fine but just FYI.

Our Duallit’s been fine too…. only had it 11 years mind so probably about to die any day now. 🙂

We are allowed to expense the books so not overly cheap.

I’m probably going to go for something sensible and think fast looks good.

that’s good to hear 🙂

Have you got the Lean Start Up on your book shelves? It’s fantastic and potentially transformational depending on where you work.

Innovation Games is excellent too. Lots of good techniques in there.

XLR8 by John Kotter

Game Storming by Dave Gray

Hope R8+ saw one of these the other week. v. v. bright.

Thanks – it is the 121 (newer) version… I guess I need to find a dealer to check if I actually need the axle as well as the end caps. I’m still not seeing a completely clear answer.

The HT’s will be ‘okay’. Mine first rode some of the Les Gets runs on little 24″ rigid bikes. The little one did the greens on his 20″ Isla bike and my wife did the greens on her HT and she is not a MTB’r at all.

However we did hire some bouncy commencal’s and they loved them but yes some of the blues are actually steeper than the reds. I always check out the runs before taking the kids on them.

For very tame riding then the river down the bottom of the valley near the go ape thing by Samoens is great just keep going as far as you like, pick a good picnic stop then turn around.

Cheap boss??

I hope you have a real budget for this kind of books too.

It’s really not

Trail grading over there is a lottery at best. They’ve tweaked things a bit in recent years, most noticeably in chatel where grading was laughably optimistic.

As for Les Gets, the main red line on the Chavannes side is nothing like a trail centre red. It’s not that steep but it’s fast as hell with some enormous table tops (rollable) big gaps (chicken runs) and it’s unbelievably rough, particularly the section after the cattle grid halfway down.

The Nauchets side is maybe a bit closer but if it rains in the slightest it’s horrific.

Either way, it’s a big step up from a Scottish trail centre red.

You are right about Chatel – proper DH stuff over there (although there are chicken lines for everything).

The main Les G red though other than being a bit steeper and yes nasty braking bumps in places is a hoot. My 8 year olds loved it (tabletops not gaps) so generally it’s fine for most adults who ride trail centres.

Obviously… you’ll know what you like. The tour routes are good but don’t bother too much with the XC routes – very dull.

for these 14 / 15″ frames I think we are talking about 150cm+

A

you definitely need these (little over 50 notes) – check the review, they must be great!

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ceramicspeed-titanium-pulley-wheels-coated/rp-prod144651

these guys seem to have some good options… I investigated last year but went with something else…

video links
http://www.southwatercycles.com/info/southwater_rc_models.php

pic links (sort by price)
http://www.southwatercycles.com/m55b0s772p0/RC-Cars-and-Trucks/RC-Electric-Off-Road

I wanted one we could build together but most just seem to want to sell you the built up models.

I think HPI were a pretty solid brand.

bike routes – yes fairly easy – just follow the maps / your nose

For walks…. pm Stoner or better still meet up with him out there and buy him a beer!!

I would think very hard before booking a camping holiday in Morzine. Chances are it will be wet at some point and when it gets wet in the Alps it gets very wet. As I’m sure you know when things get wet in a tent they tend to stay wet and wet families are generally not happy families… mine aren’t anyway. It also gets pretty chilly in the evenings even after 25 degree days.

We booked to camp one year and saw the pics coming back from a wet summer so re-routed and went elsewhere. So glad we did, we went back the following years and rented a place and it was great.

Happy wife – happy life!

Samoens is lovely too as mentioned… all around there is great and don’t worry too much about being swamped by bikers. Unless you go during Cranworkx you’ll be fine there is a big mix of people… the noobs wearing full body armour / beach shorts and 200mm travel DH bikes having domestics while walking down the side of the red runs are good laugh. 🙂

Good luck.

p.s. listen to Stoner… I met up with him in the Summer and he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the area.

lol – yes I know you do Matt you plonker!!

See you Weds night?

I was just asking about running 9er forks on 650b frames in case I want to change the N9.

Very weird. I did contact them to check and was told that replacements were the only option (I think – could have been a retailer. 80% sure)

I saw something online too saying that this was why there were wait times, everything is made to order and they don’t keep any stock.

Bought spesh shoes for the mrs recently and yes size up 1 size even for normal socks maybe 2 for proper winter socks?

1 lens. That’s like saying 1 bike!!

On that body probably a 24 – 70 f2.8 maybe for a fairly general but awesome lens but depends what you shoot most of TBH.

For a cheapy then yes the fastest sigma that suits your length requirements.

Yeah – that’s what I thought.

Ta 🙂

My problem with Hope is that every thing is made to order.

This means that about a year after buying some x2s spares were no longer available and the only option was to replace the set – which I did with XTs.. on all bikes.

n+1

Dalmore is tasty stuff. Full, rich smooth.

Balblair is good if they like something lighter. Check with shop if it’s a good year tho. I did hear that some weren’t as good as others.

I quite fancy trying that Japanese one that was the first whiskey in space. Can’t remember it’s name / think it’s a little over the budget.

661 from CRC are good. I think we paid 30 quid.

The kids love ’em. We bought them for BPW / Alps. I think mine were 7 at the youngest so not tried at 6.

I’ve heard good things about the dashine 14″ carbon bikes from Ebay. Available new for about 250.

Awesome – thanks – will take a look.

Like everything in the Alps, the “trailsy” riding is longer and steeper than most in the UK. But there are plenty of double track and wide single tracks cross both sides of the Valley, and you ca make a great descent down off Col du Petit Saint-Bernard and down into La Thuile itself

thanks – the kids are fine with the reds over in Les Gets nd Morzine so if it’s similar but different / better with uplift then it sounds like a good option.

Will investigate some more.

Can anyone recommend any good sites with info / pics etc?

Ta

Sounds awsumz guys.

Is there any trailsy riding too. I have kids that like to ride as well so need areas that cater for all.

Bought nothing. Even reused a 2nd hand star nut.

Had a Black Friday though – fitting some Pikes bought recently.

I’m quite impressed by this: http://www.jigsaw-online.com/content/ourfriday

The only impressive thing about that is the balls it takes to present that anti-consumerist rant and then give you a link where you can spend £159 on a cardigan

that is hilarious. “Black Friday warps our perception”… but celebrity culture and fashion magazines don’t??