You don’t need full suspension, but if you want one, get one.

FWIW, I first rode the Belmont/San Marino 20 years ago on a gas-pipe-framed Raleigh Mustang. I’ve since ridden it on various hardtails and full-sussers …and my cylocross bike (shortly before riding the Ice Cream Run and the frame snapping).

Full suspension (set-up/tuned correctly) is more forgiving and can allow things like the aforementioned trails to be taken at very high speed, but it’s more about the rider (It’s always fun to pass full-susser riders on a hardtail, or even a ‘cross bike)

I have both, but if I had to choose one mountain bike, I’d take a fairly tough hardtail -with something like a Reba or Revelation up front, a short-ish stem, wide-ish bar and a fairly fat (tubeless) tyre on the back, like mine 😉

Edit: Strangely, I’ve just noticed that the posts above mention very similar things. I should have read the whole thread first!

An interesting read:

bent udder – Member

” A separate issue is that some parents, large numbers in some areas, just do not bother to take their children for any immunisations or normal check-ups.”

Kinda. But it’s a little bit more complicated than that.

The BMJ link on the first page points to a fall in vaccinations in the areas where a local paper campaigned against MMR jabs. So there’s a combination of apathy and people making a positive decision not to vaccinate going on here.

Agreed. There are other areas with a wider issue, though, and this has also mentioned.

As odd as it may seem to most right-minded people:

A separate issue is that some parents, large numbers in some areas, just do not bother (Others are suspicious of ‘authority’) to take their children for any immunisations or normal check-ups. These people may not be the most ‘thinking’ people in the community and many are not necessarily too busy to visit the doctor.

They are actively encouraged and visited by the health authorities in an attempt to rectify the situation.

mudshark – Member

The Beeb are pushing this one:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21953364

According to the map, I live in a borough of “Elites”, which agrees with my survey result, although I’d regard myself as educated, interested and fairly class-less.

It’s a very simplistic survey that appears to demonstrate that ‘class’ doesn’t really mean anything.

There are those who have enought money to live on and those who don’t.

There are those who engage with the world and look outward and there those who don’t.

Coyote – Member

A fabricated link to provide a counter-balance?

No. It happened.

The crime happened, but the link to the Guardian doesn’t exist.

ernie_lynch – Member

Vile Product of Capitalism Fueled Greed

Stephen Seddon jailed for 40 years for parents’ murder

“His parents had made him sole beneficiary of their £230,000 estate in their will”

A fabricated link to provide a counter-balance?

The times is reporting that Philpott was clearing the equivalent of £100k in salary each year – putting him in the top 2% of earners for the whole country

I suspect that this could be looked at in greater detail.

One for Tim Harford on R4’s ”More or Less”?

For anybody who is taking these negative, unpleasant, nasty opinions about about the Daily Mail at face value, without actually reading reading the paper first-hand, please have a look through a copy in a newsagent.

You’ll find that these views are all entirely justified.

It’s a thoroughly unpleasant, hate-filled publication that is read widely by the harrumphing, but not necessarily well-informed, older generation.

My parents, who were young at the time, used to have it delivered when I was growing up, and I used to read it, thinking that it was news…. I hope it hasn’t affected me too much.

Despite the Mail’s disgust about everything -often with full sets of photographs to illustrate the depravity for readers-, their hugely-viewed website is basically a bit of prurient or hate-fuelled “news” with links to celebrities in bikinis. A winning formula, apparently.

The worst thing is hearing people spout the things they’ve read in the Mail (or the version for people who struggle with big words, the Express) as fact -People in general like to be told what to think and don’t question things if they appear to confirm their prejudices.

With reference to any news source, don’t take what you read or hear as correct without thinking about it. There is often a biased spin on things, especially statistics -often fairly obvious too.

ps. I read the in-laws’ Telegraph occasionally and, despite a veneer of respectability, that isn’t much better…

Proper minimalist running wear:

…albeit posh ones.

Very DIY-able.

the idea being to land with the weight momentarily on the ball of the foot and lower the heel down in a controlled way using the calf muscles(this has taken my calves some getting used to). The knee is bent and there should be no jarring.

This shouldn’t produce noise.

samuri – Member
Mainly because they appear to be a bunch judgemental, arrogant **** who think they own the place. I don’t want to be associated with a group of fairly useless middle managers with BMW’s and AUDI’s and 50 inch TV’s, who have kids named Tarquin and Flossy, wear red trousers and buy authentic hand made furniture from ‘farm sales’. I’m not like that so I resent the ‘box’ middle class.

Whilst surrounded by the people described above, we choose to drive modest, dirty, class-less cars with no external baubles.

I don’t own any red trousers.

We have a CRT(!) TV

We buy things when we need them and we have quite a bit of stuff that was being thrown-out by friends and relatives.

Incidentally, the wealthiest, old-money people I know are similar, albeit with much more in the way of assets and living in rambling piles rather than a suburban semi….

Maybe the survey was correct, but I don’t really have the wealth to match the attitude….

I’m fine with working class because the ideals I would associate with working class (hard working, not afraid to get my hands dirty, support the masses etc) are ones that reflect my perception of myself.

I know people with similar views. These people are typically the first to try to maximise their
tax efficiencies… 😉

My calves are still protesting a bit at my gentle, mid-foot striking in my lightweight ~7mm drop shoes.

What a bizarre questionnaire!

I’m “Elite”, apparently.

-by virtue of knowing all kinds of people and visiting museums, according to the results. Privately educated too, apparently, although I was under the impression that the comprehensive I went to was state-funded.

Who came up with this? A school pupil on work-experience?

I’m educated, inquisitive, have a technical bent and would regard myself as able to mix with most people, although I’m not sure that makes me anything other than “a person”.

Nonsense.

On my CX bike, as I managed to smash my 9-speed STI lever when I had drop bars, I currently have a flat xc carbon bar and (retro-tastic) X-lite bar-ends with foam grips on the bar and the ends(The bonus is being able to use mtb v-brakes).

-Drop bars are more comfortable. Use a high/short stem.

I also have a set of road tyres, but I’ve not used them in years since fitting go-anywhere Land Cruisers instead.

Boardman bikes do appear good.

The English summer, it has been said, consists of two fine days and a thunderstorm. This assertion is normally attributed to George II…

The English Summer

We just live with the constant optimism that, after grey & wet autumns, winters and springs, ‘summer’ will be warm and sunny.

If we didn’t we’d be more miserable

Dales_rider – Member

I’m fat and I cycle. Theory disproved

Not at all: The exception that proves the rule…

CX, tourer or hybrid. Drops or flats with bar ends.

Rear rack, panniers and mudguards.

A compact double chainset and V-brakes or discs. Cantis(well set-up) are rubbish after about 5 minutes.

From what I can see, there are a number of distinct types of people who do cycle for transport:

People who appear to have little money. No helmet, normal clothes. These people tend to ride battered supermarket ‘mtbs’, often with fewer than two working brakes (occasionally no working brakes) This type are mostly men, but I do see quite a few women, many appear Eastern European. These people are not fat.

‘Respectable’ (non-working?/retired) older ladies riding around suburbs. No helmet, normal clothes. Shopping bikes with baskets. Not fat.

Professional/technical middle-class types. Mostly men, but there are some women. They wear helmets and bike gear, ride flash road bikes or they ride tourers, CX’s or hybrids (many singlespeed, some fixed) with practical fittings -mudguards, racks, lights, child carriers etc. Some take children to school/nursery and commute significant distances. These people are not fat either.

Almost everybody else drives everywhere. Many of these people are fat.

Practical bikes are the way forward, but practical bikes don’t look like they could take on the Tour de France, the world Downhill championships …or have an aggressive radiator grille/do a quick lap of Oulton Park on the way home.

Commuting on a bike is probably more comfortable than urban commuting in a harshly-sprung and over-tyred German saloon.

My manifesto:
Folding bikes and Roadster Bikes for all!

661 Kyle Straits on the knees

Same here, in XL. I’m not sure what truly large people would wear.

I don’t think that it needs to be about racing. Women (and men) in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Freiburg etc. aren’t racing, they’re just riding to the office, shops, pub, club etc. You don’t see many Brits riding home after a night out at the weekend -whether that’s a good thing or not….

I originally come from a running background, and it’s interesting to see how many women *do* run. Not as many as men, but a good proportion,

Around here I would suggest that more women than men run/jog. It certainly appears to be the case.

In the suburbs where I live,it is not quite mass-participation, but the bike racks in the High St often have bikes locked to them. Quite a few older women and younger men cycle, but it is rare to see a young woman on a bike.

The use of helmets puts off a lot of women.

In a northern European city where it’s a flat couple of kms riding to work

Many UK cities are also very flat and a lot of people commute from suburbs.

and everybody has step-through bikes with luggage racks or baskets….but in the UK…most bikes are sports models

Yes. In the UK image is everything and, outside of London where it is less class-based, cycling has an image problem. Poor people and eccentric middle-class men cycle to work.

but in the UK where we live further from our place of work, our roads are congested and narrow and most bikes are sports models, it isn’t practical.

Too few people understand what it is to cycle for transport and too few drivers make enough allowance for cyclists.

It doesn’t take a huge amount of intelligence to find quieter routes though.

The increasing price of fuel may see people living closer to their workplaces and, maybe, even cycling more.

maxlite – Member

Its getting really bad, its all so terribly Blue Peter for the countryside…

Good point, actually. Well, Blue Peter from the 80s. What’s Blue Peter like nowadays?

As with any shoes, find some that fit and take it from there. Full-on fell shoes can be a bit very sketchy on stretches of wet tarmac.

julianwilson – Member

Songs of Praise…..
…Also, it is just what I would expect from a public service broadcaster in a constitutional monarchy whose head of state is also the head of the armed forces and “defender of the faith” of the Church of England.
Yes, it is a shame that, in some senses, the UK is still lagging behind much of the rest of Europe, somewhere in the Middle Ages. I can never quite fathom the fawning forelock tugging and homage to a publicly-funded pseduo-Disneyland-dwelling family (gaw bless’em) protecting our faith -from whom?

When my tax contributions stop funding all that, I will write in and complain about my TV licence funding songs of praise. *runs for cover*

Well, we can only hope that it happens soon.

mt – Member

Rabbi Lionel Blue was often very amusing and definatey confirmed it was “thought for the day”.

Indeed. Always a relief when it turned out to be his turn.

Can’t see what people’s objection is as its as relevant as any of the guff that get spouted on the today programme.

Er, really?

An hour or so of Today programme in the morning sets me up for the day. Remember folks, take any news or current affairs with a critical eye/ear.

user-removed – Member

Junkyard #stopthoughtfortheday

I quite like Thought for the Day It’s often the only time I think about anything important, rather than just what I’m going to eat, how much work I have to do, worrying about life in general etc.

Not religious but I like the ethos.

Thought for the Day can sometimes start promisingly, but then a virtual one of these is produced:

and God, Jesus, The Prophet, or a Hindu or Sikh deity is forcibly inserted into a previously coherent, but not obviously religious, piece….

I’ve always assumed that Thought for The Day is just there to give the Today presenters time for a quick trip to the toilet between news bulletins.

My Mum watched it and sang along when I was growing up. I assume she still does. If so, I suspect that she’s probably the youngest (in her 60s), and quite possibly the only, viewer.

I sometimes catch Country File when I’m at the In-laws’. It has its moments and it is better than 95% of what is on TV.

It’s not all ‘safe’ though. Wasn’t there some scandal about them ditching an older female presenter for younger, attractive, Ellie(?) a few years ago?

hora – Member
I rear ended an Asian male driver once

Is his ethnicity relevant to your failure to drive properly?

I don’t suppose that a Noddy car would do much damage though.

binners – Member

Being accused of trolling by Hora? Priceless!! And lack of empathy too. Dear god!! A true comedy masterclass

To misquote Bill Shankley, this is not life-and-death. This is men talking about cars -far more important.

Knowing Aristotle as I do, I know full well he isn’t trolling at all, but merely expressing his firmly held views.

Indeed, As anybody who has seen my elderly-shonky-looking-but-mostly-functional bikes will agree.

I really should update that portrait, though, and service the Sopwith Camel.

Just move further North and/or West. There are far better places to ride 😉

GolfChick – Member

Also saying we’re way too protective over our cars etc. but at the end of the day we all work very hard to buy these cars and pay, in some occasions, a LOT of money for them, to not be bothered about someone damaging that is just ridiculous.

Then again, why buy something that you have spent so much on that it makes you concerned about having to leave in the street and in car parks?

Just saying, like, and I’m quite into driving and using cars.

I’m not saying that it is fine to damage other people’s cars (I’d be most concerned about mechanical damage)and to leave them with a bill, but I do think that some people are too precious about their cars. Look how many people inflict minor damage to their own car and then take it for repairs.

hora – Member
if I bumped my car into your garden wall- making a mess of the corner of the wall you’d shrug and say ‘its not a brand new house so it’ll get a few marks – no probs mate’?

The house is around 80 years old. I’m hoping to keep it a while longer and it will hopefully still be standing in a few decades’ time. Houses tend not to depreciate rapidly and get demolished within 15 years of being built. I’d probably take the excuse of Hora smashing into the wall to re-model the front garden and driveway a little.

My current car will probably be with me for the next few years and then I’ll trade it in. It’ll be recycled a few years later.

There are plenty of older and battered cars outside of Paris. A large number of the cars are from French companies and not what image-conscious Brits would consider ‘prestige’/’executive’. Many people just do not care.

A French woman I know thought it was amusing to see so many people washing their cars at weekends when she moved to the UK.

molgrips – Member

I’m concerned about resale value if I decide to sell, or about rust if I don’t. Fairly legitimate complaints no?

Why should some other thoughtless git’s actions deprive me of hundreds or thousands?

There again, why sell the car whilst it is still useful to you?

To be honest, if trading-in a car, the dealer can, and do, have them repaired much cheaper than it would cost you to have it done beforehand anyway (And there’s always the risk that somebody might damage the car again before you decide to sell it). They might knock a little bit off the trade-in price.

I maintain that a lot of people are too precious about their mass-produced, daily driving cars.

This also goes for people are desperate to buy used cars that look like new.

I’ve not had an issue with rust on cars the past 15 years or so. Even where there have been scratches. It’s rusty sills and holes in panels that used to be the problem. It’s rare that a car from the late 90s onwards (other than Mercedes E-class) suffers with those.

Plastic bumpers and bodywork fittings have never tended to rust much.

davidtaylforth – Member

Thats what bumpers are for isn’t it?

Yes, but these days the outer parts are brittle pieces of plastic moulded into shapes of some complexity and painted the same colour as the bodywork. They’re sacrificial items that don’t stand up well to an impact.

it’s annoying, but to be honest, we should possibly be more like the French. ie. Not so precious about our vehicle’s appearance and the ‘image’ it projects.

I always wonder how much work French bodyshops must get, given the number of battered old cars that people drive about in. They must keep them mechanically serviced though.

In the UK, a small scratch on the rear bumper would probably result in claim for works costing £1000s including a new, colour-coordinated bumper.

I’ve mostly gone past caring myself. The oily bits are looked after and I try to keep it driving well.

The image projected is of a bloke with a non-flash estate car on steel wheels and covered in dirt, with a few scratches.

sefton – Member

the only way to do san marino is rigid with canti’s (find out what arm pump is)!
Aye. Cross bike

binners – Member

Last time I saw someone attempt that it ended with a snapped frame

I think it was the subsequent exuberant Ice Cream Run that did it, actually.

I went down said Ice Cream Run on my hardtail at the weekend. I’m sure it has become easier/faster in recent years.

mulv1976 – Member
And I see many disillusioned/disappointed physio ‘patients’ (private and nhs) who have had their time and money wasted by poor diagnosis and treatment. Theres good and bad in both professions so let’s not go there (again) eh?

Are we talking crystal healing or good, honest homoeopathy?