I’d say a Crossmark rear. I use a 2.2 on the rear to match an Ardent 2.35 for faster enduro races (I’m talking “enduro” rather than “endurance” for clarity). This seemed to be a popular choice this season, both in the UK and Europe.

For wetter conditions, I just pop a Minion back on the rear.

:-)

Fair play to him – he’s a bloody good athlete and is clearly learning fast how to market himself well.

An effective pro sportsman needs to develop his “brand” to maintain sponsorship revenues after the racing ends or else he is going to be pretty poor…

:-)

If you were the one who had been dealing with a problem that could potentially ruin a day out on your bike, doing whatever it is you do, would you not be annoyed/tell others of your experience?

Nope. I work in the FMCG industry so fully understand and appreciate that stuff goes wrong sometimes, so on a rare occasion if something similar happens to me (it did recently on a non-bike related purchase), I view it as nothing more than a statistical anomaly.

Although it has been commented recently that I possess Vulcan-like levels of unemotional, rational and logical thought….. ;-)

Firstly, yes it’s a shame this has gone wrong, but as Julian Richer says, sometimes when you employ human beings, stuff will go wrong. By definition, with the huge volumes of orders, a certain percentage will fail for one reason or another. It’s a statistical certainty.

Without wanting to appear blunt, this is very much a first world problem, and certainly not deserving of a “need to vent”. There are bigger and more important things in life to worry about than a cheap priced bike part arriving late.

1. A criminal – define “criminal”
2. A 12 year old – Guil;ty m’lud, I was 12 once
3. A mentalist – As 1
4. A fantasist – As 1
5. A Scouser – What percentage of bloodline being scouse makes you a Scouser?

I rode one of these locally, it worked OK, but DAMN it was heavy and hard work… i was destroyed !!!

We were too! But I think the previous night’s festivities were more to blame…….

I’ll take your 350Z and Saris bones and raise you this badboy that circulated on the net a while back:

The above is decent proof that life has dealt you a good hand!!

:-)

We got some £59 specials from Tescos last year and took them round Llandegla as the “Sh*t bike challenge” stage of a MTB based stag weekend.

All fell apart, but was pretty funny. And yes, we managed to get the forks the right way round, unlike 50% of the BSOs I see round town!

I see no problem in paying the fees.

As has been said, Paypal is a BUSINESS, and the purpose of a business is to make money.

By using the proper process, you gain protection as a buyer. It’s not rocket science is it:

Sending (frequently in the case of bike bits) significant sums of money for something you haven’t seen, to someone you don’t know, who may or may not be a long way away, where you don’t have the same consumer rights as paying retail.

Way I see it, you pay the fees for the protection, if you make the decision to take the risk, you have no right to complain because you knowingly cut yourself out of the protection loop.

Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Perm 5 years ago. Was amazing, but very, very cold! :-)

Fox are good. Designed for MTB/BMX/MX riders with “proper” size legs rather than the chicken legs that is more common in your regular non-exercising wasteman in the UK.

Not been back to this one in a while.

Can anyone summarise? Has pasty in question been smashed? ;-)

What is the name of the dog walking business? Just thinking about the google ranking trick that got done the other week for that lad from the uplift place……

We should all post it up on here about

XXXXX dog walking in XXXXXX dangerous criminal injuring young kids

Give your lad this link:

http://www.powderdaysmorzine.com/

Get in touch with boss man Justin, top bloke with loads of contacts in the bars/clubs etc in Morzine.

As has been said, what’s not to like for a teenage lad?

Beer, girls, snowboarding, more beer, more girls, more snowboarding, a little bit of work related to beer, girls and snowboarding.

Wish I was 19 again!! :-)

Have you thought about hooking him up with one of the snow sports companies somewhere like Morzine? They are ALWAYS looking for resort staff/reps – he’d have a great time, earn a bit of money, meet new people full of life and gain loads of experience doing something fun that while it’s paid isn’t as dull as your average job as a teenager.

I can point you in the direction of a few people if you like?

Have a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYb_b05RqJ8

:-)

I run the same pressure tubeless as I used to with tubes – tyres naturally feel more compliant due to not having two opposing surfaces “dragging” on each other.

Do it!

If you’re prepared to post/courier the frame to Essex, I can strongly recommend my friend James who is boss man at JMB Services (http://www.jmbservices.eu).

He plays with Aston Martins all day long and as you’d expect is a pretty dab hand at complex metalwork. Recently fixed his cracked Nomad, gussetted it beautifully and the repainted. Very, very good guy.

Alternatively, don’t courier it. Take a day out and check the place out!

:-)

I might get whooped with the banstick for this……

One of my clients sells Craghoppers:

http://www.time4outdoors.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=20_26

If you can wait till next Sunday, I’ve got money off vouchers for further discounts with them coming up through my work.

:-)

A crate of wifebeater and a massive delivery from the chippie one lunchtime.

I’d love it if they do, as much as anything because my old DT teacher from high school (20+ years ago) is the materials guy on the education team (http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/project/team/gerry-heather) and I’d really like to see him be a part of the successful mission. Top bloke and really inspirational teacher. Although when I spoke to him recently I still ended up calling him “Mr Heather” for some stupid and inexplicable reason……

There is an online news article for him on “This is Gloucestershire” from the end of October this year.

Print it out LOTS of times and (allegedly) billpost it as many times as you can in his neighbourhood and in the town centre.

Don’t waste your money buying data.

Identify your target sectors, regions etc. What job function in the business is your target?

Be confident, be unapologetic. You are trying to help them save money/do better at XXX/be more efficent at what they do. You are helping them by getting in touch.

In a B2B it is ALWAYS acceptable.

You need to get your brand, product and service out there.

It’s a real shame that people seem to confuse good quality targeted cold calling with charity fundraising type activities.

Has anybody ever reacted positively to a cold call?

Yes. Millions and millions of pounds generated in B2B sales start with a cold call. How else does a seller contact a prospect otherwise?

Back on topic, from OP’s post, it sounds like you are very much the product/service person. If you’d like some advice/resources etc, feel free to email me on the address on my profile and I’ll be happy to point you in the right direction.

RE: the local jump spot. Is it public or private land? If you shouldn’t be there, you undermine your own credibility somewhat.

OP has stated the landowner themselves rides these woods. And having just joined their FB page, it’s apparent the owner very much gives their blessing.

Rode it Sunday – lots and lots of very rideable flowy fun. Not a massive detour so definitely worth it I reckon!

Could be a great laugh as a night ride too I think….

Find out where his community service is.

Regularly hang out there just watching him.

Play with his feeble little pikey mind a bit, knowing some mystery person is following him round. Maybe follow him home once a week, making sure he sees you, so knows you know where he lives.

All about the psychological warfare.

As has been posted, calmly and politely make him fully aware you know of his business name, his home address and when he is around. Do it in such a way that he cannot try and say that you threatened him, that way you are merely telling him something.

Blatantly film and photograph him, while telling him (get this on camera) that you will send this to your local paper. If by any luck you have a local rag owned by Northcliffe Media (with a “thisis….” site), they LOVE this kind of content as it helps them serve up more ads for their SEO and CPM ad campaigns so they like a good controversial story.

Thanks Andy, good to know. Superstar kit 3 right?

I’ve got kit 2 as that’s the fitment for Saint M810 which the Zee caliper shares pads with – came with both length banjo bolts when I ordered back in mid-September. It’s working spot on. But looking at the fitment guide, it now looks like kit 3 is the one.

:-)

Just kick him in.

Where can I get one of these handlebar mounted gun racks?

This would complete the setup and prove once and for all that the most handlebar levers/buttons win:

Brake levers x 2
Gear shifter x 1
Bionicon button x 1
Dropper post lever x 1
Garmin x 1 (counts as it has buttons and a screen)
Gun rack x 1

I’m using Superstar hose and fittings – works perfectly on my Zee levers and calipers. Came in at under a tenner an end.

Love this thread!

Have worked in some pretty mental sales offices in my earlier career – hourly call stat KPIs, no seats, miss your KPI and then have to hold the only chair in the office above your head for the next 15 minutes while you carry on pitching. Drop it and get sacked.

Bosses nicking leads and keeping the commission on deals.

Physical punchups between sales reps to get the best leads (deliberately put out to several to create a dog eat dog culture).

While it was a nasty, tough environment at the time, looking back I laugh lots and actually realise it’s made me incredibly resilient but also very aware of stuff NOT to do now I am a sale manager myself. But there will always be an element where I think back on it fondly in a “train hard fight easy” kind of way….. :-)

Try telling that to the work experience student we had in the other day. Romanian, taught herself English, on for a decent law degree from a good university. Works full time as well to support herself, her disabled uncle, and send money back to Romania to support her impoverished mother.

Real world enough for you?

Problem is that you’re talking here about a clearly very motivated foreign student who has a clear set of goals she wants to achieve.

The average UK graduate though is a totally different proposition unfortunately……

So either sterilise them all

Drone flypasts on the island we stick ’em on. Sorted. ;-)

Nope – definitely not held me back.

Interestingly we were talking about it at the weekend – one of the lads who rides with us is an MOD engineering apprentice. He’s 20 and carries himself in a far more mature way and has a much better attitude than the 20 something graduates I have met in the last few years when interviewing.

I strongly believe it’s worth us implementing a much stronger “apprenticeship” system – not just in traditional apprenticeship type fields, but also in the worlds of sales, accountancy, design etc, where real life practical experience and shadowing someone is far more beneficial than sitting in a lecture theatre listening to some out of date teaching from an academic who has never had any real experience in the field they are teaching for.

Ultimately, we should be educating to enable people to do a job, rather than (all too often) for vanity purposes.

While the article has been written in a rather emotional tone, there is a certain merit to it.

There’s a definite social wrong when “trouble” families refuse to get work, cause trouble in their area and impact on the quality of life of those around them, particularly if they are in social housing and so funded by the contributions of those around them. It’s definitely not right that they should be subsidised when by the very fact of their misbehaviour, they are fit & able to work.

The “camps” system is probably (and I say probably) a step too quick in the process – there should probably be a primary step of benefits being stopped first, and then if the perpetrators do not improve and occupy themselves more positively within a 3 month timeframe, then the camps are the next natural step.

The above is likely to go against much of STW’s pretty left leaning views, but on the other hand, there has to be a case for not rewarding bad behaviour with continuing subsidy.

1: Ads pay for site and go towards those things that are quite important to businesses, like staff wages, operating costs etc.

2: The ads are supplied by the advertisers.

3: Stop moaning about it. More important things to worry about.

Yup – running Zee on my Edison.

Got the 4 pot brakes and the clutch rear mech (wide range version), with an 11-36 cassette and 36t chainring.

Shifter is an XT iSpec to keep the bars a bit tidier.

Been incredibly impressed with brakes and shifting.

Do it!!

I’ve used Magura Louise BAT carbon on 203 rotors, XT and Hope M4 – Zee are definitely the best out of that lot :-)

I run DHF 2.35 front and rear on main trail bike (Bionicon Edison – 140/160 travel) but a DHF 2.5/2.35 f/r combo on the bigger bike (Bionicon Supershuttle FR 170/170).

Awesome rear tyre. Loads of grip, good roundish profile, holds nicely into corners but can be pushed into a drift quite easily. Highly recommended.