Well we had a good week at half term and the house was ideal for us. I’ts got parking and is only a 5 minute walk to the beach. It also has a utility room with tiled floor and a back door which would give you somewhere safe to put bikes if your taking them with you.

I think we need a match the toe nail to the rider competition.

A colleague once had his big toe nail ripped off when he slipped on a wet bathroom floor, kicked the door very hard as he went down which then slammed against the doorstop and then swung back very quickly taking the toe nail off in one go. The chiropodist he saw said it could take as long as 18 months to fully heal. After it had healed he managed to drop 2 stage weights, 25Kg of steel, onto the same toe. He no longer has a toe nail or in fact any bone that isn’t powder left in that toe. Fortunately I wasn’t on that job but my other colleagues who had to get him to casualty found the whole experience rather unpleasant as of course did he. I went out and bought some steel toe cap trainers the next day.

I have a theory that the lighter build you are, the higher cadence is appropriate. Because in theory faster is better, but the heavier your legs are the more energy is wasted simply moving their mass up and down. So there’s a point where the advantage of faster cadence is outweighed by the energy wasted in moving your legs.

Looking at that spindly legged stick insect Chris Hoy I reckon you must be spot on. :-)

Mind you I’m pretty light and I do favour spinning. I also use 165mm cranks which are better for me. I think it also depends on whether your legs or your CV system are your strong / weak point. I don’t have the leg strength to push big gears.

Mind you, theoretically you could probably dig up old waste and use it as fuel, but it’s almost certainly too expensive an option.

I did read recently that the metal content of many older landfill sites means they could become economically viable to dig up.

Something like a wingnut pack may help stop it recurring once you have it sorted out if your current pack is making it worse.

Running the tech side of an investigator meeting in Hong Kong, and thinking I really should be asleep right now. The great thing about being 8 hours ahead is that I’m getting up at exactly the time I’d like to be going to bed.

At a bike museum in Cornwall a couple of years ago there was an early mountain bike with rear suspension and a rigid fork. Might have been a British Eagle but I’m not certain.

Mine flared up 5 times over a couple of years before I finally saw a consultant who knew what the problem was. It would last for 24 – 48 hours and was pretty grim when it happened, not so much a sharp pain but real discomfort, horrible nausea and no sleep. I was tested for all sorts of things but whenever I tried to suggest it might be my appendix I was always told oh no if it were that it would just keep getting worse until they had to take it out. I saw a lo-cum at my GP’s after the 5th attack and he sent me to a specialist. I described the symptoms to him and he immediately confirmed it was an appendicitis beginning and then sorting itself out. He said it was fairly uncommon which is why it hadn’t been picked up before. Anyway I elected to get it taken out and the pathology confirmed it had been the problem. I’ve had no problems in the 10 years since either. I did have symptoms more like yours though when I was younger.

I use anti seize and I think Thorn recommend 10-15 Nm for their EBB’s. And for what it’s worth I only tighten it if it falls off more than once in a ride so as not to put grooves into the shell.

Also available in pink

And black if you buy the heavy duty version.

It is a pain but I found one last year while out riding over the downs and managed to get it back to it’s owner because it had so much info about him on it.

I look forward to your review of the production model Gary, any idea when you’ll be getting it?

At the risk of a lifetime ban from this forum and being cast into outer darkness I’m finding myself drawn to the new Marin Rift Zone. It looks like it’s been designed to do what I want which is to cover the ground quickly without handling like a race bike and if I do go back to fs I like the idea of a lifetime guarantee on the bearings.

I’ve got a SON which has been trouble free for 4 years of commuting with the last 2 years being off road. It and the light stay on the bike all year round as there’s always the chance I’ll be working late. I really should get a lighter wheel for weekend riding though. I’d also like a light good enough to ride off road with but the Supernova is a lot of cash and I’m not aware of any alternatives.

Not really rediscovered it but starting to commute off road means I’ve done more miles in the last 2 years than the previous 22. Just this morning I left home early so I could take a longer route to work and I’ll do the same tomorrow. When the evenings are light I very often take a longer route home as well but now it’s getting darker I usually just stick with the short route. I think if I got some decent lighting I’d continue the longer rides home.

i had a ’67 1500

Reckoned by many to be the best they ever made I believe. I’ve a 68 1500 in my parents garage but it hasn’t moved in years. Maybe one day I’ll have the time to do something with it.

Wasn’t he a complete and utter cock?

No he had one testicle as well. I think you may be confusing him with Goebbels who had no balls at all.

So it goes…

[/quote]it also says 10% of men admit to paying for prostitutes

One person I know always advises that if it floats flies or f**** rent it.

I think any disadvantage caused by having to back off very slightly is more than compensated for by being able to change to any gear while stopped. I didn’t really think about that advantage when I bought a Rohloff but find it really useful now I have it.

I’ve stayed in a few hotels where the bathrooms have underfloor heating and I don’t like the feeling. The heated mirror however is a brilliant idea.

Never seen a single Star Trek or for that matter a single Star Wars film. I loved the original Star Trek series though when I was young.

it’s early enough in the season to rectify -9 points

They frankly don’t look like picking up another 9 points all season

I’m not sure their weights are right. Look at the belt drive Zion with the Rohloff and it drops to around 25lbs even with Toras. My steel framed Rohloff bike weighs around 29lb with pedals and that’s got a Son dynamo hub as well.

My wife had a Raleigh Lizard once. Don’t know about the worst bike ever but it must be a contender for the heaviest.

During the day, one of my mates said “You know your hobbies, do you only do things you’re really good at?”

It was your birthday, he was just being nice to you, he really thinks your crap at everything. :-)

Surely to be in balance you’d need to buy 2.

When I was working as a photographer the film drying cabinet made an excellent clothes dryer. Now I just put on the massive space heater we have and hang everything up in front of it. I have to be careful where I put the bike though as it gets metal so hot that it can cause the Rohloff to leak oil.

You got away very lightly. I’ve been working somewhere south of Munich this week in some posh hotel on the side of a lake and as I’m standing outside the meeting room during a break concierge wheels out 7 grands worth of Cannondale flash for some uber rich Late middle aged German dressed head to toe in red Specialized lycra. Well a quick chat and an attempt to hold it down rather than pick it up and I just have to have one. Not the German I hasten to add.

We had a Vito at work for 8 years, good to drive and very reliable despite dreadful maintenance but a total rustbucket. That was a 2000 model so hopefully it’s been sorted on later models.

Using ‘feel’ is OK when you know how much ‘feel’ to use, after buying a quality torque wrench, I found that I had been overtightening pretty much everything!

I bought a torque wrench and discovered I had been under tightening everything. :-)

At least it’s nice to know that being a crass insensitive idiot doesn’t preclude one from earning a very good wage. :-)

I pay more tax than that in a year

I’ve got more than that down the back of the sofa.

Staying at the Prague Hilton at the moment and there is a free bar on the eighth floor!

As I sit here typing this on an I pad it just serves as a reminder that the most important thing you need in a net book your going to travel with and use in conditions that are not ideal is a matt screen. I’ve got a very nice view here across Prague from the congress centre but this screen is going to give me a headache if I sit here too long with it. I saw a nice looking Sony at the airport with a 1.86 N470 processor and a matt screen that was £300.

I reckon they’d be pretty good in a fight. OK a set of bombers might do more damage if you get in a good strike but I reckon the lefty would be a much more precise weapon and allow for thrusting strikes as well.

I read that title at a glance as self levelling socks and thought what a great idea.

Hmmmm. indeed

In this case it would suggest that the VN belt drive frame is using the same chainstays as the chain driven one – no doubt because the Ti suppliers don't have anything suitable yet.

It looks like VN have just used the dérailleur dropout to replace the hub specific one they were using on the chain driven model. RIP has one of those belt driven Zions but I don't think this years model had the roller. I expect he'll be a bit concerned now that VN seem to have identified a problem.

the chase will mostly be hidden behind the TV

Please God your not putting a TV on the chimney breast are you! That's the sort of slippery slope that will have you putting bar ends on your risers. :-)