it may explain all the crotch grabbing that’s going on, though.

With that and the frantically flailing limbs, it makes it look like they’re desperately running to find a toilet.

I find that every pair of sunglasses I’ve used for riding in mist up to a certain extent, but mainly only when I’m not moving. Do yours mist up regularly even when you’re riding?

Amazon have the HH warm tops for £25.50 in black.

Excellent spot – thanks!

I wouldn’t consider reasoned discussion-they probably won’t be that reasonable, and if a letter has got your blood boiling then I fear that a confrontation with a neighbor will really upset you.

You’re probably right, but I’d feel a lot better about riding my bike in future if I can resolve this. I’ll try the agent, and if they can’t tell me who it is for DPS reasons (which makes sense) then I’ll just pop a few notes through letterboxes. There are only five other flats in the block, one of which is the other guy that I ride with, so that only leaves four.

its not like you’re having a rave very weekend (you’re not are you, because that could be the straw that broke the camels back

Not yet, no.

I do have an electric guitar and a very loud amp that I haven’t been using out of respect for my neighbours, however… :wink:

Thanks all. I know you’re right, and I fully intend to ignore it and continue as I am (I train four-to-five times a week and there’s no way I’m stopping), but the complete cheek of it has really wound me up. My blood is pumping just thinking about it.

I just don’t get why someone would make a formal complaint about anything without at least trying to speak to the person first.

I think I’m going to contact the agent tomorrow and ask who made the complaint, on the basis that I’d like to at least attempt to have a reasoned discussion with them and sort it out. There are some very light tyre scuff marks on the wall, some of which I guess could be me, so I may even offer to clean them off as a gesture of reconciliation.

I just really want to avoid having to start either putting my bike in a bag or taking the wheels off to bring it into my own bloody flat.

Sigh…

She’s incredibly annoying, but almost all TV chefs are. And she’s not even in the same league as Nigel Slater – I really like his food but he’s intolerably pretentious.

Pascal is better, but has anyone else noticed how she never actually eats anything she cooks? She cooks something massively fattening and keeps going on about how she’s really looking forward to stuff it in her face, then, when it’s ready, she loads up a huge portion, brings the fork to her mouth and…CUT! I know she used to be a model, but it’s still pretty funny…

Assuming you’ll be using it at home (if you’re DJ’ing, then, as others have said, you can’t look past a Technics 1210), Project make some great lower end turntables. (I’ve got one and it’s great.)

How about a Debut III SE:

£249 from most online retailers.

Awesome – really pleased for him. After DH, BMX, 4X, etc, it’s nice to see him finally find his feet in a race format that appears to perfectly suit his abilities. Reckon he’ll be a serious contender for the overall title next year!

Rims are 360g each I think which is 20g more than Crests.

Exactly.

Superstar and carbon what could possibly go wrong

EXACTLY.

Why spend £699 on some potentially dodgy 1,800g carbon wheels when you can spend a lot less on some lighter and proven alu wheels? You can get the new American Classic AM wheelset for £450 online and they’re 1,600g.

Sorry to hear that – were they insured?

all those memories, that’s the worst thing I wont ever spend time with that bike again and we’d been through a lot together.

Bike technology has moved a long way since 2005, so just try to focus on how amazing your new bike will be, and all the great new memories you’ll make riding it! :-)

Transition Bandit.

They aren’t smaller you’re thinking of the split jacket.

They do look very similar, but have some weird strap thing around the back. I can’t tell whether that is detachable, and whether the glasses are otherwise identical?

Op, if you can’t find them just click on custom and make your own on the website

Transitions lenses don’t appear to be available as an option on the Oakley custom builder. I’ve found some genuine VR50 lenses for about £50 from a US seller (anyone know of anywhere cheaper?), but the Racing Jackets on the Oakley site start at £180 – I can’t really justify spending £230 on some sunglasses.

I’m ideally trying to find some black Jawbones (or Racing Jackets) for around £100-120, then I can get the replacement VR50s from the US. If anyone knows of any stores that have black Jawbones on sale (doesn’t matter what lenses) then that would be really helpful.

I read that as http://www.ukbikedespot.com :D

One that fit the best. I tried on every pair in the shop and bought the pair I liked the look of least because they fitted do well.

This + 1,000,000. Just go into a decent hiking shop with knowledgeable staff, try on at least five pairs of boots in your price range (either take your own walking socks or the shop should provide some), then buy whatever is the most comfortable. What they look like should only come into it if all other things are equal (which is extremely unlikely).

The only real decision you need to make is leather or gore tex. Gore tex is lighter and more breathable, but leather lasts longer. Bear in mind that leather will feel a bit tighter and more restrictive at first, but will loosen up over time.

As stated by many others, Meindl are excellent, but expensive – you might struggle for £100. I’ve got a pair of leather Brasher boots that have been faultless in almost 10 years of use, but apparently Brasher have really gone downhill recently.

You look absolutely miserable. Excellent effort though – and some others on here.

Mine doesn’t often go in a car (usually ride from doorstep), but when it does, it gets stuffed in the back of one of these:

Can fit three bikes in there with camping gear.

Some of the specs are a bit weird though. Take the most expensive Strive – the AL 9.0 Race – for example. It has loads of top-end stuff like an XX1 drivetrain and X0 carbon brakes, but the wheels – DT240 laced to…Spank Oozy rims?

It would be cool if they allowed you to swap things around. Maybe via a bike configurator, like Rose.

OP might want to take a look a e13 trs rims. XC light and supposed to be super strong.

They do look pretty interesting. 21mm internal width. 1650g (claimed) for the pair. £900 though. Can’t find many reviews either.

I keep my rear Maxxis Larsen on year-round. Much more traction than you’d expect, looking at the tread pattern. (Which is very similar to a SB8.) Can be a bit squirrelly, but it keeps things interesting. :D

Was just going to post that. Amazing! :D

You look back at the early Rampage vids and the stuff they’re attempting (and largely pulling off) now is just insane. The riders are more skilled (and perhaps crazy), and bike technology is improving all the time, but surely they can’t keep this rate of progression, with things getting bigger and more dangerous each year? The price of failure on most of these lines is already seriously high. Zink was very, very lucky to not break both legs – or worse.

I’ve taken delivery of one of these

One of my German mates has one of those and another has the previous version from about four/five years ago. The new one is very, very nice indeed.

The YT looks like someone has thrown up on it.

What he said. Far too busy for my tastes. (The fact it has ‘Wicked’ plastered all over it really doesn’t help either.)

That said, the spec on the LTD models is pretty much unbeatable for the money. And they do seem to be highly rated by those that have ridden them.

I’d be seriously tempted to get the frame stripped and repainted – maybe with some custom decals. (Though you might want to check first whether that would invalidate your warranty.) Reckon you could end up with something that looks pretty decent.

I’ve also got the flat pedal version and I’m really pleased with them.

As others have said, they aren’t the most fashionable item of footwear – they look like ‘trainers of the future’ that might have appeared on an episode of Tomorrow’s World in the 80s – but who really cares. I’ve had mine for about 18 months, riding 4-5 times a week, and they’re still going strong. A massive step up in comfort and durability from the skate shoes they replaced – grippy, just the right level of sole stiffness and the lace cover is great at keeping British mud at bay.

They’re not waterproof and can take a bit of time to dry if they get absolutely soaked, but that’s hardly a problem exclusive to them. Generally can’t fault them.

A nice position to be in! I’m sure you can’t go too far wrong with any of them.

I’d personally love to have a go on the new carbon Covert (I ride a Bandit and could not be happier with the bike or Transition’s customer service), but not sure when they’re going to be released. What about an Intense Carbine? Or, if you’re willing to go 29er, maybe a Tallboy LTC? Might give you a bit more room in the TT, if you’re concerned about that.

And if you aren’t set on carbon, have you thought about a Liteville 301? Can be set at 160mm and weighs 5.6lbs. Not cheap for alu, at £1,900, but cheaper than the Nomad and Mojo HD.

Just got back from a training ride, forced down some sickly-sweet recovery powder and really don’t think I can stomach anything else. :(

RS SID XXs and DT XMM 120s both have remote lockouts and 15mm axles, both are lightweight, and the SIDs can be set at 100mm or 120mm, but I don’t think either do a travel adjust version.

Why do you want travel adjust between 100mm and 120mm? Wouldn’t fixed 120mm travel with lockout do the trick?

EDIT: Just noticed you don’t mention whether this is for 26″ or 29″ wheels. Fox do a 120mm 32 Talas for 29rs: link.

I’m currently considering the same myself, but I don’t have a road bike and I’m looking at selling my HT. Stupid question, but other than taking up less space, what benefits would a turbo offer over, say, a (decent) fixed exercise bike?

Here in north east Scotland we’ve had very little dust this year.

Outside, at least… :D

Looks great but do you not have to watch out for mobile meth labs..

What tyres for…

TBH the main benefit for me is not having to wash it, perfect for multi day trips or tours.

+1

I picked up a few Howies merino t-shirts for £20 each in a sample sale a few years ago and ride in them year-round. Really good quality and a perfect fit for me – nice and long, and fitted without being too snug. They do get quite wet with sweat – particularly on my back and under bits covered by backpack straps – but I find they remain really comfortable and seem to work well in most temperatures.

But undoubtedly the main draw for me is the miraculous lack of stink. I used to ride in synthetic base layers, including HH Lifas, and the pong after an all-day ride was enough to make your eyes water. I’ve done five-day tours wearing the same merino tee without things getting too funky.

The problem on multi-day trips is getting it dried out between uses. Might not be a problem if you don’t sweat much in the first place though.

I just hung mine on the back of a chair overnight and found that it dried just fine. Might not be so good if camping.

winter tubes

???

Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Not totally sure on the route as the one I did was nowhere near 500km. It would be much more of an adventure than Europe.

I remember reading an article on mountain biking in the Atlas Mountains – looked pretty amazing. How was it? Easy to find places to stay, etc?

We were still riding at 2500m+ at the end of November last year, although that’s pretty unusual.

Really? Where about?

We were around Chur/Davos/Livigno in the first week of October last year. Had glorious sunshine for the entire week, then it started snowing literally as soon as we stopped on the final day. Woke up the next morning to a foot of snow.

Just thought it might be safer to head further south, like the south of Spain…

(I emailed on-one but they just said take ’em to a bearing supplier to find out)

Really? Wonderful customer service, if true.

Good call OP – this is an excellent thread. Some really great photos. :D

Climbing the Alpisella pass before crossing into Switzerland by Alp Mora.

Descending the Strelapass to Davos, Switzerland.

love my fox sergeant shorts, so comfy on long rides.

+1

I’ve had a pair of Fox Sergeants that have been used on rides several times a week for the past few years and they’re still going strong. Great shorts.

I just wear those with a Howies merino tee that I picked up at a sample sale a few years ago. Job done.

Royal, on the other hand, seem to have really gone downhill. The last pair I bought fell apart shocking quickly.

Don’t forget to pay attention to the carb levels in these and also the sugar alcohols. The alcohols could mess with your digestion and most are designed with a 2:1 carb to protein ration so not as good as a shake.

That’s a good tip. A shake would ordinarily be fine, but I’m looking for something that I can take on a trans-Alp next month, so it needs to be portable, consumable on the fly, and something that won’t spoil if it’s left out of the fridge for a week. Hence I thought bars would be my best bet.

So what ratio should I be looking for ideally? 1:1:1 (protein:carbs:fat)?

Very simple to make though and many recipes don’t even need baking.

Yeah, this would be my first choice, but a lot of the ones I’ve seen need to be kept refrigerated (or even frozen) and wouldn’t last well being out in the sun (well, fingers crossed!) for six days.

Any recipes that you’d particularly recommend?

Looks good – thanks all. I’m going to go for the right-hand remote version and see if I can’t squeeze it under the bars on the left. Will let you know how I get on.

UK supplied can be had from £190+, Germany supplied can be had from Eur210 or thereabouts, it just depends when you pull the trigger.

It needs to be within the next three weeks and ideally within the next fortnight. Do you know of anywhere currently any cheaper than €239?

if you get an MMX one, you can always mount it above the bars on the right and mate it to your X0 shifter with the MMX clamp if mounting underneath doesn’t work.

Presumably there would be no way to MMX mount it below the bars?

Anyone manage to run it under the bars with shifters on the same side and make everything fit?

Aerodynamic’s innit, innit? You do know what an innit is, don’t you?

I think he was probably referring to the apostrophe usage.

Transition seem to have Turner/Ibis customer service attitudes (ie. will do what they can to look after you).

I can vouch for this. Kevin, Kyle and everyone at TBC are just amazingly nice guys. Their bikes are amazing too – whenever I eventually replace my Bandit, it’ll almost certainly be with another Transition.