There is nothing particularly good (or bad) about being forty, or not that I remember anyway(it was a long time ago). It's just an arbitary age, after all.

cynic-al has it right IMHO in that it's all about being comfortable with yourself and doing what you genuinely want to do – in other words not acting like a 16 year old arse just to appear "younger" when you really know better nor going to "out of town pubs" because you think it's what people your age "should" do (is it ?).

I'm still doing some of the same things that I did forty years ago (never mind when I was forty) like playing in bands, riding bikes off-road (without engines now though), enjoying the "company" of attractive women (or the one that I'm now married to, at least),having a beer or two, taking some photographs, whatever I fancy really.

I'm pretty comfortable with myself as I approach 58, and no, I don't mean smug and self satisfied – I just mean that I don't go out of my way to try and live up to some stereotypical image that people "my age" are supposed to have.
I wear what I like, drink where I like and mix with people whose company I enjoy. Whether they're 25 or 95 makes no difference to me.

Make sure that it's a cast steel one and not cast iron, and a quick release makes life a bit easier too.

What is the difference between 853 and say 520 steel? Would a mere mortal be overwhelmed with superlatives after getting off a decent 520 bike and going for a ride on a decent 853 bike?

I rode a 2006 RM Blizzard (853 main tubes) for a few years and not only was the frame around the 5lb mark (17.5") it also felt dead and lifeless – I just couldn't ever really like it. Just because it had some 853 in there didn't give it any magic.
However I now mostly ride a Singular Hummingbird (4130), which I love.

Salsa – 30mm will do just fine.

Yes, there was one in the mag. a while back.

Truly sobering stuff – you need it to be as brutal as that to bring home the potential horror and devastation as otherwise human nature is to switch to the "It'll never happen to me" mode.

Has anybody tried self-amalgamating tape rather than duct tape? It seems like it would be ideal but maybe someone here has already tried it.

I don't tend to cry on the usual "sad" occasions but I can get a bit emotional (choked up, rather than crying) watching or looking at something that particularly impresses me – it can be impressive landscapes, watching a race of some sort or even (strangely) watching a Greek bus driver turning a huge brand spanking new Mercedes bus in a really confined village square, as easily as most people park outside their house.

Like WCA says – just like riding a normal bike but better, or at least my Hummingbird is. The only thing is that although you don't notice the larger front wheel at the time, when you swap to a bike with a 26" front wheel the wheel seems tiny and miles away.

Like riding a supermoto bike after an enduro bike.

I second "Own him with bombers"….

thisisnotaspoon – Member

A motorbike has a minimum weight limit for competition.

Not in my days of motocross and enduro riding they didn't, and AFAIK they don't now either.

Anyway, tinsy has hit the nail on the head – the big advantage of USD forks was that you could achieve long travel with sufficient slider/stanchion overlap without having the end of the sliders practically dragging on the ground.

BigJohn – Member
On the other hand, A farmer can buy a cow, stick it in a field, and sell the milk with no taxes at all for 85p per litre. And grumble about it.

But the cow doesn't milk itself, does it? (and nor does it deliver it's own milk to the shops).
If you're buying milk at 85p a litre you don't honestly think that the farmer gets anywhere near that, do you?

Mr Woppit –
Is 58 too old to go mountain biking?

Plenty of people tell me that it is but I just take no notice.

I have no problem with compulsory bells – I think anyone who does not have one / use one is a clown – what is the downside of having one? All my bikes have a bell

Then that makes me (and most other people, I suspect) a clown.

What I object to is compulsory this, compulsory that – I always wear a helmet but I wouldn't advocate it being made compulsory. Same with bells – if I meet anyone else out on the trail and I think that they haven't seen or heard me then I slow down and speak. Works for me.

Oh well, that's bugger all – looks like we're going to have compulsory BELLS here…..

WTF ?

You can use the PC-1 but in my experience they're a crap chain and seem to break far too easily.
KMC 610-HX is far superior in my opinion.

Just a thought – has anyone actually tried the "duck down" thing? I suppose it might work to seal large holes, as the down would just act like the fibres in sealant (but bigger)and clump around the hole (maybe…).

Mark keeps going on about it, so maybe there's some sort of sense in it?

About £140 per year in Ballaugh on the Isle of Man and €40 a year in Platsa in Greece.

No, I don't know why CRC don't stock any longer lengths – I got some from Pedal On a week or so ago ( 16 each of 293, 294mm, plus 32 262mm and they worked out at about £40 (silver DB 2/1.8mm)

Sorry – I didn't know what spokes you're using – I just had DT Swiss in my head (for some reason….) and they do come in odd lengths.

I get – Front 293 R, 292 L
Rear 292 R, 293 L

So, 32 each of 292 and 293mm (assuming that the manufacturer's ERD is correct).

I've used the Trickstuff Excentriker for almost two years now and I've not had any problems with it, apart from having to replace the drive side bearing a month or two ago.
If I was buying now though I'd probably get the Forward Components version, if only because it's a bit cheaper. There are pros and cons to either I suppose, there's a review here anyway, which might be useful?

I use this.

I've found it does the job fine.

The KMC 610-HX is an excellent chain, in my experience.

If that's what you've just bought then it will be fine, as long as you're running it on a good singlespeed chainring and sprocket.

And how can a properly tensioned chain on a singlespeed "slip" anyway??

The frame is generic chrome-moly, but I can't comment on using suspension forks, as I've only ever run mine with the the rigid forks (Reynolds 520) and a 29" wheel.

Handles great like that though.

I second how nice the Hummingbird is – I'm well pleased with mine anyway.
Seems nimble and flickable but stable at the same time (if that's possible?).

No, they're not "a bit naff in practice" – not in my experience anyway.
They work fine.

True – I'm far from statuesque :cry:

Nice pics. SFB.

You didn't spot me up on North Barrule then? :D

Cutting and splitting logs always takes me back to when I was a kid of 10 or 12. My Dad and I often used to spend an hour or two, out in one of the outbuildings (it was a farm), cutting ash logs with a big two-man crosscut and then splitting them. We'd talk about all sorts of stuff while we were doing this – like tractors, bikes, building radios, wheel building, all sorts of good and useful things.
We didn't have electricity out there either in those days, so it was always accompanied by the hiss of a pressure lantern. My Dad was good with an axe (and never hesitated to tell me so), and was always warning me of the dangers of "over reaching" and damaging the handle, and telling me to "look where you want to hit and you will".

As a matter of fact, I'll be using what was his favourite axe to split some logs later today – and still with his hand-made handle too. It's one of my most treasured possesions, sentimental old fool that I am….

A Mythos one.

KMC-610HX – less than a tenner and do the job for me.

Or this one .

Does the same job and it's cheaper and better made.

I often wish that night flights were – or at least with only the little switchable overhead lights.
I hate all that really bright lighting.

Well, you could get one for about forty quid (including postage) from Jenson……..depends how much you want one, I suppose?

It's what Pomona said – so that your eyes are more accustomed to lower light levels, which might give you a better chance of coping with the lights failing totally if there's an emergency.

Slacken off and then re-nip the chainring bolts enough to hold it firmly but not completely tightened. Find the tightest spot and give the front facing side of the chinring a tap backwards with a block of hardwood or a soft face mallet. Keep doing this until you get the best result possible and then tighten the chainring bolts.
If you don't get anywhere with this, then as above – try it with the ring rotated 180 degrees and go through this again.

What is the centre-centre measurement of two adjacent mounting holes?
About 55.3mm?

I'd go for "the something a bit different" approach too, but then I haven't got much time for this contrived humourous speech bollocks and the conventions of who has to do and say what.

Blue goes ok with Kawasaki Green (like on Kawasaki MX and Enduro bikes when they had blue seats) but it doesn't go well with darker greens.
Whereas I think that red is good with "holly leaf" type greens (like holly and berries…)as long as it's only things like skewers and seat clamps and headsets, not stems and seatposts and hubs.
Just a few little red highlights…….