I've happily ridden 80mm suspension and 80mm corrected rigids in the peak before, and would do again. But I must admit to liking 130mm most of the time.

I have a very old pull on. It's probably the best biking / all round jacket I've ever owned. It was warm enough for sub zero riding with just a base layer under, yet it wasn't horrendous on it's own in temperatures around double figures. I replaced it a couple of years ago with a gore NTS thing which is good, but not as breathable or versatile. My next jacket will be a vapour rise pull on.

I've been using an ardent 2.25 as my rear tyre for a few months now. It's amazingly grippy for how shallow the knobs are, but it's still reasonably fast rolling. Is out of it's depth in the mud at the moment, but it's not so bad that I've got round to changing it yet.

The only issue that I've had has been the sidewalls. They're the only tyre I've had to go through in a number of places so soon, and there's now quite a big hole. This may be just unlucky, and I do run it quite soft, but worth bearing in mind.

I've heard good stuff about advantages but have no real experience.

Sounds great. I'm a bit far away but still may be interested in a bit of trail maintenace as part of a day's riding trip.

18bikes sorted me out with Syncros before. I have and AM stem, which for the short time I've had it for seems to be great.

It's the sheffield bike jumble that day, but otherwise I would have joined you guys to put a face to some names.

We went out with Freeride Spain last year. You have to be prepared to do some climbing, but the singletrack is amazing and Simon, Emma and Lee were great hosts / guides. their all inclusive prices are amazing too, especially if you're a member of Singletraction. If you're not, then the 10% saving would be a great excuse to become one!

On the whole "dead money" thing, I guess it does depend on the what the rental market is like near you. You're lucky if you can rent a house similar to ours in Sheffield for less than £500 a month. We're paying just under £450 on a capital repayment mortgage, so renting makes much less financial sense, unless flexibility is a priority. We did need 25% deposit for that deal, though.

Having said that, renting was definitely the right thing for us when we first moved back here a few years back, so we could get a bit more of a deposit and spend a bit of time choosing the right area.

I've spent nearly a year in Ethiopia over various trips and it's an amazing place. Having seen it both ways, it's infinitely more rewarding living there, than just visiting as a tourist. Many visitors find the Ethiopians seem quite agressive, and it can take a bit of time to get past this. Such warm and welcoming people, though, when you do.

If you can head into the Omo valley while you're there, then take the opportunity. I found it a bit strange, 'cos essentially just going to look at people, but they genuinely enjoy interacting with visitors, if you take the time to, and it's just so different from anything else you'll see.

I'm pretty jealous of you going. Despite the time I've spent there, there's still so much I want to see and do. I've had a lot of dealings with these guys http://www.linkethiopia.org/index.html including doing this http://www.gondarlink.org.uk/bike/index.shtml for them a few years back.

Good luck and enjoy.

My sister used Snapfish recently and it the end product was really good.

I've got some midges I bought a year or two back and never fitted. they're just gathering dust along with some drop levers for V brakes. Email's in my profile if you're interested.

Maxxis are Just Riding Along's tyre manufacturer of choice for tubeless conversions, so they definitely work. I'm sure Matt H will be along shortly to shed more light on this.

PP, I have a friend who has a small taxi / tour company in Delhi. Just a local one man band thing. He can do anything from a day's sight seeing in the city to more extended trips out into the surrounding areas. His home area is Rajastan, so knows more about this than anywhere else. PM me if you want contact details.

Jacksons woodturners are great folk http://www.jacksonwoodturners.co.uk

IIRC, yes

For quite a gentle starter, you could read "the hungry cyclist" by Tom Kevill(sp) Davis. As much, if not more, food content as cycling but is engaging enough and made me want to go travelling again.

We're using a local village hall for both wedding and reception (small extra premium for it being a wedding). It has a license and a fully staffed bar. £1K
On top of that caterers for food – both main meal and some evening bits. £2K
Some bubbly on arrival, wine with the meal and a barrel of real ale. £1.5 – 2.0K

£4.5 – 5.0K for about 90 people in the day and about 40 extra in the evening. There are obviously loads of costs on top of that, but they aren't directly venue related.

I'm sure we could have done it cheaper, but weddings are expensive and we think we've struck a reasonable balance. I bet it'll still be £10K in total when we're all done.

Takisawa2 / Chase, The ideal, of course will be to fill the gap as it will be a colder spot, but if you're overlaying it at 90 degrees it shouldn't really be an issue as you'll still have 170mm of insulation across the full width.

I have an Ardent rear which is a good tyre (although I've found the carcass a little fragile – but am assured this is unusual). It's pretty quick, grippy in most spring to autumn stuff and will probably end up staying on the bike all winter too. The 2.25 is a nice tall tyre that comes up bigger than the 2.35 HR. When this one dies, I'll happily consider getting another.

Get some chip board "loft boards" from a diy shop. normally around 1200×300 IIRC with T&G edges. 1 wide would probably be ok, but two wide would be a really comfortable to work from. about £5 for a pack of 3 normally.

The new pipedream sirius has slidy dropouts. They're a great frame, that ride well, are reasonably light (4.7lbs ish) and great value. I rode my old style one with a similar build for everything, although I reckon 140 would be the longest fork it could reasonably take.

I am, but I doubt much work will get done. I'm feeling rough, so should have stayed at home, but need to do some last minute shopping anyway so thought I'd put in an appearance.

I've heard that Rholoff chains are excellent for keeping rust at bay, but I don't tend to find it a major issue apart from it's not as shiny.

chain snapped and rear mech went into spokes:

bent mech hanger (steel frame)
bent dropout
Collapsed freehub
bent chainring
snapped chain (obviously)
twisted rear mech
and a cassette that, although I could never quite pin point the issue with, never worked quite right afterwards.

That was my first, and last, SRAM chain

Sounds like you might be better off buying some hope hoops, and selling the hubs.

Premier content for current subscribers is free – so just a quick phone call to align your subs and your online user profile and you're away.

I do agree that perhaps the interview could have been edited better for those that don't wish to go online, but it would have been half the mag if it was printed in full.

WE've had similar recently with most of the problem down to blocked air circulation routes. We have just had the attic room plastered, but when that dries out, I expect to see a vast improvement in the roof space. We may still need extra roof ventilation (tile vents for us as we have no soffit for eaves ventilation), though, which I would recommend is the next step if clearing all ventilation routes doesn't solve it.

Weetabix, bran flakes, muesli and crunchy bran all in one big bowl with lashings of milk. Then maybe a slice of toast when I get to work.

Since 1999 when I started properly

Sunn Crosss – sold
DDG Axis – sold
Kona Smoke – tourer then MTB then commuter, unused in cellar at mo
Pipedream Sirius – still in use
Cannondale Prophet – recent purchase

I used to use a VR for all my biking / climbing etc. Probably the best bit of kit I've owned. I now use a Gore Vapor jersey, but it's nowhere near as versatile. I think I'll go for a VR again at some point soon.

To get that weight saving, you'll be changing more than the frame. Will you then be compromising the all round trail ability of the bike by going that light (assuming to get there you'll need lighter wheels / tyres / forks / finishing kit)?

Cycled from Buckinghamshire to Northern Ethiopia with my Girlfriend in 2004/05. About 10000km over 7 months. Great trip.

Lockable cycle storage 3

Bike washing facilities 1

Kit washing and drying facilities 6

Basic bike spares (tubes etc) 8

Easy Access to Pub/local amenities 4

Food and energy drinks for the next days ride 9

Drying room 2

Locally sourced food for evening meal and breakfast 7

En-suite 10

TV 5

I really look forward to it. We rarely get to see either side of the family during the year (we like both lots and get on with them all really well), so it's nice to catch up, have some nice food and a few drinks. We can still always fit a morning or evening ride in every day so the extra indulgence is guilt free.

I'm a twin – never been an issue.

swamp thing in 2.3 & 2.5 (although this is supposed to not be much bigger than the 2.3).

Keep an eye out for posts from Simonm – he's not quite in Ton's league for frequency of change, but at 5'7" ish he's a good bet the smaller bargain hunter!

Sorry Si!

I know you used to be able to get cosmetic seconds from Saunders, who make fantastic tents. We used a Galaxy for a 7 month cycle tour and, although a wee bit heavy, it was spacious (very), easy to pitch, and tough in all weathers.

My most LBSs are alright TBH. Not amazing stock, but the most important things are normally easy to get at the last minute. Most of the time, though, I make the extra effort to drive the 20mins to 18bikes who I find pretty damn good for most stuff and friendly too.

My Pipedream Sirius has been absolutely fantastic over the last 3 years. The new Prophet is great, but I'm getting used to riding a full suss, so it may take a while. I'm hoping, though, that it'll be up at the top of my list before long.