Thorn might be another option

You should see my home-made front guard. It's made from a bit of plastic reinforcing from a cheap give-away backpack a bit of old inner tube gaffer tape and some cable ties. It works though. I've got Magura forks and the double arch means I can fit it directly to those keeping it closer to the tyre than those moto-cross style ones. I've another bit of the plastic behind the seat tube and running from the bottom bracket up to the seat stay bridge which also keeps a lot of mud of my feet and my water bottle. Not pretty but effective and as I commute off road all year round I'm willing to sacrifice aesthetics for practicality.

Would poles help with the walking? My wife's uncle whose in his mid sixties has started using them and it's allowed him to carry on with Himalayan treks despite his dodgy knees.

Are you sure it's from the strap being dirty rather than a reaction to the material. When I was younger I had trouble finding school trousers that didn't leave the inside of my thighs raw. It wasn't the material itself but the stitching that caused it and it wasn't the physical way the stitching was done but the actual type of thread. It might be worth trying a different helmet from another manufacturer if cleaning the straps has no effect.

I managed to get some out recently that had been in for 10 years! I had thought I was probably going to have to resort to the drill but luckily not. I put anti seize on the new bolts when they went in.

Let someone know where your going and when you expect to be back if you are concerned.

And another for Terre a Terre.

The Ron Hills are out for the commute now.

Good – not falling off
not breaking stuff

Bad – Anything that might compromise the only 2 things I am good at.

Because it makes me happier than anything else and I still enjoy it as much now as when I bought my first MTB 23 years ago.

motoscopix how would he do that he's a bike thief and therefore unable to read. he guys probably stupid enough to be an ambulance chaser for God's sake

What happens when you reach the top of the wall?

Here's mine, not as flash as some of you guys but it was dead cheap.

Cambribge you say, she could become a spy.

Headband for me. I also have a skull cap but it has to get very cold before I use that.

i can't even take a wee in 3 units

So how many units does it take to find your cock?

fasthaggis at least Van Nicolas offer you a lifetime warranty. It doesn't seem to be something many other Ti frames come with. I rather like the look of the Zion Rohloff with the belt drive. Quite easy to build it up under 25lbs as well.

So Olly if it hasn't affected you I guess your somehow exempt from paying any taxes and the government has agreed to maintain all public services at current standards for you alone. You truly are a lucky man. You must have graduated with a first class degree in optimism. :-)

I work for as a tech for a conference and exhibition company. Only a few of us and sometimes the work is pretty hard but I actually quite enjoy it. To be honest I actually laughed when I heard the rear tyre go, it kind of seemed inevitable that I'd get a puncture on that trip. You can't always change what's happening to you but you can decide how to feel about it. Sunday morning I left the office after dropping off the kit and rode home with every light turning green as I approached it and when I got to the pier the the barriers blocking the road for the custom bike show were lifted out of the way for me and I was waved through. There was even a tail wind all the way home. Got back got 3 hours sleep took my son to his football match and they won 10 – 0. Only slight disappointment was that he plays in defence as the last man and in 40 minutes only actually touched the ball once.

Friday evening when I got a puncture at 11:30 at night on the way home from work having started at 8 in the morning. It was raining and my pump decided to play up so I ended up riding home BMX style without sitting down and keeping all my weight over the forks and off the soggy rear tyre. All this made worse by the knowledge that I'd be back in work at 8 the next morning and that that day would last until at least the early hours of Sunday. Sense of humour took another turn for the worse when we realised that the lift would accommodate our kit but we would have to carry the set down 2 floors on the fire escape and then do the same on the way out. So that day saw me back home on Sunday morning at 7 24 hours after having left for work.

Still could be worse.

If it flies floats or f***s rent it.

This

I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it.

An unramped front chainring will also help and will last longer and can be reversed.

GrahamS you completely forget the greatest test most of us on here have to face… which tyre for…

Sidney I thought I was the only one!

I've got a Rohloff hub at the back and a Son dynamo hub at the front and 717 ceramic rims so most of the cost of my bike is in the wheels.

Does shouting aggressively at sheep and rabbits make me xxxc?

I found that with my home-made one I needed to use a hammer and a few light taps to get everything straight. No mater how many times I tried I could not get it to start straight without putting a bit of pressure on and then tapping the ply to line things up.

38×17 would keep you in warranty.

I'm reading this while running a conference for a large pharma company who are talking about their heart drugs. Keep taking the medicine everyone it pays for my cycling.

I got 3 years from my Thorn ring before reversing it and I only did that because I was changing the chain.

Yeh I know it sounds weird but the first water out is ok and then it gets warmer. Maybe the back panel and foam on the Karrimor are just very good heat conductors rather than insulators. I'll look at the Vaude and Deuter options as well. I'll be looking at something a bit smaller than the Karrimor which will still get used for the commute so I don't mind spending the money on a new pack.

My experience is that it's only the water in the tube that's drinkable as that has actually cooled compared to what follows from the bladder.

I'll have a look at druidh and sharki's suggestions.

If nothing else works I think I'll just start putting tea bags in the bladder.

If you drive to a party in Paisley what are the chances that your car will still be their when you leave. :-)

Thanks geoffj that could be an option.

Very nice ride to Eastbourne and back yesterday along the SDW, somewhere around 33 miles at a guess. Fantastic weather for riding and no wind which was great. It was spoilt a bit when my knee went bad above Alfriston on the way back ITB band I reckon and I had to ride the rest of the way using the heel of my right foot. I met a guy called Matthew near Southease who was heading for Winchester and who stopped me to check if he was on the right route. I don't think he had a map and I'm not sure he knew just how far he had to go but he was well equipped for a night out so hopefully he made it ok. He told me that he'd just built the bike up himself and that his mates had suggested he ride it to Winchester and he said he was going to ride back to save the train fare! Well wherever he is now I hope it's all going well and he makes it back to Eastbourne ok.

You have a mortgage and a loan – you have no spare cash at all. Pay all that off then you really might have spare cash.

Trade the wife in for a cheaper model? :-)

Both

And leave the disks at work or with someone else.