Sounds like Germaine Greer is trying to lay an elaborate trap…

Would it not be easier to just kill Germaine Greer and be done with it?

Why can’t she just fcek off back down under and take her collection of wierd views with her?

Not wanting to hijack in any way, but since the right people are on this thread, can anyone very briefly compare/contrast the Swift and Karate Monkey?

I own both and run them with their standard rigid forks. Apart from that they are both set up quite differently with the Swift running a 1X9 drivetrain and risers and the Monkey with a 3X9 drivetrain and drops. I find the Swift is the much livelier and better handling bike. The Karate Monkey also handles well but always feels a bit more sluggish than the Swift no matter what set up I go for, especially when going uphill. It just doesn’t have that added bit of sparkle that a truly great frame should have. That said, with the right tyres the level of grip is great.

Both are very comfy and like all 29ers once you get them up to speed they feel pretty relentless. The KM in particular will roll over and through most things with no real bother.

In terms of the frame design the Swift is a bit more focussed and not as versatile as the KM in terms of what you can do with it but that is also one of the downsides of the KM; its a bit of a jack of all trades, and I bought it for that very reason, but it does require a bit more work to get it set up just so. The Swift has had the same set up since I built it and felt right from the get go. For some reason I’ve had a lot of hassle trying to get the riding position comfy enough on the KM and I may have to go for a layback seat post at some point as I always feel like I’m being forced into too forward a position on it. Depending on the drivetrain you use the KM has loads of clearance for big tyres.

The Swift is more expensive that the KM but there is a difference in quality. Thats not to say that the KM isn’t well made because it is (and pretty bombproof) but the Swift just feels the more quality product and, lets face it, looks better.

MPB Photographic? They are very good IME.

Yes indeed. Only just recieved the body I ordered but very impressed with them and the quality of the stuff they sell so far. For the record I bought a 400d for £199 and you would be hard pressed to tell it is second hand.

Snobbery?

Quite possibly although I quite like knowing I spent less on something that will do the job as well as a camera several times more expensive. Not sure if that makes me a sort of inverse snob or just smug.

I’ve just bought a DLSR body second hand and given the cost saving over new and the condition of it I’m puzzled as to why more people don’t buy second hand. If you go to a reputable dealer in second hand camera equipment you should be able to save some money on a lens that works as well as a new one.

I got my DLSR from a place in Brighton and I’m very impressed with their range of stock and prices.

orangey/bronzey colour

Very low drag colour that, ideal for high MPG :D

made sure I kept my acceleration gentle

Not necessarily the best plan

Works well in the Astra, the engine is pretty flexible low down in the rev range. I also tend to block shift up through the gears if traffic is light and I don’t need to get up to speed in a hurry. I spend a lot of time in my car for work and I’ve had a couple of years to figure out the best way to stretch the fuel economy out.

Best fuel consumption figure I’ve had out of my 1.6 Astra SXI is 51mpg. Didn’t do anything to the tyre pressures just made sure I kept my acceleration gentle and my speed as consistent as possible ( I do however suspect the tyre wear induced by speeding through corners and roundabouts at high speed may negate the fuel cost savings!). I normally get mid to high forties out of it if I drive carefully. In my dads little 1.2 Fiat Panda its very difficult to not get MPG levels in the mid fifties.

I am lucky in that I live in a very hilly part of the country so I can coast down lots of long hills in fifth gear and still maintain a decent pace. I think what is most important when trying to get the best MPG possible out of your car is adopting the right state of mind; everybody else on the road may be going faster than you but ultimately they are burning through the petrol, and their money, far faster as well.

Big Dave – In true STW fashion I am casting aspersions on a subject I know absolutely nowt about at all. Think of me as the outraged Tory MP railing against the BBC. What do you mean have I actually WATCHED the programme in question?! I don’t need to watch the programme to be outraged. ITS A DISGRACE!!!!!

In reality I really fancy trying a 29er

Go on, you know it makes sense. The strange thing about 29ers is that they ride just like bicycles.

I’m pretty sure the forks on my Karate Monkey have lawyer lips but then the instigator is an older design I think. You’ll be fine with QR’s, Surly don’t tend to design for things like bolt through axles or any remotely modern components.

Seeing as they’re clown bikes, if you own more than one would you have to refer to them as a ‘troupe’? And possibly bedeck your garage like the inside of a big top so they feel at home?

Ahh STW, the home of reasoned and well informed debate…

Can’t confirm it for sure but I own two Surlys and I can’t see why the Instigator fork wouldn’t accept QRs. The pic on their website seems to suggest it will.

Nobody who’s actually bought a 29er would admit to it being shite

The last 26er I had was shite hence the decision to try a 29er. For some reason I now own two big wheeled freak bikes and I’m keen to see what the new Boardman 29er is like when it is released.

No.

+1

Mind you I’m pretty talentless on any flavour of bike so the so called handling differences mean nothing to me…

I’m very far from being an expert but I would try and get a second opinion if I were you. It might be worth checking that she isn’t suffering from something more nasty which is affecting her bone marrow. Just before my mum died from cancer it became apparent that her bone marrow wasn’t functioning as it should because the cancer had spread and she needed regular blood transfusions because her own blood was such poor quality. Like I say, I am no expert (and I certainly don’t want to come across as a scaremonger) but I would urge you to get the doctors to consider other causes and try to get her transferred to a medical ward.

In the politest way possible raise merry hell until you get some answers; unfortunately even the best NHS staff are overworked and sometimes don’t have the capacity to be able to sit back and consider things more thoroughly, especially if the patients symptoms suggest, as they do on your mums case, that the patient is on the wrong ward.

I’ve not tried a Scandal but I do own a Karate Monkey and whilst I love it even I have to admit that it’s a tad portly and a bit of a pig when the trail points upwards.

That said it seems pretty bombproof and can be built up pretty much any way you want it. It’s also pretty comfy and handles nicely.

“Can people in industry just randomly burn rubbish as and when they want?”

No, they can’t and he fact that this guy is keen to keep his site locked up when doing it only highlights the fact that what he is doing is illegal and he obviously knows it. Don’t bother with the council on this one, just go straight to the Environment Agency. He is most likely not fully licenced and runs the risk of a fine at least or a prison sentence if he is found to be doing anything else on the site (which lets face it he probably is).

I’ve got a pair on my Swift. They aren’t the lightest wheels but they seem plenty tough enough and I managed to get them cheap in a sale. The rear freehub has been ok on mine so far. There is a little grease port in the hub body and I flushed it through with fresh grease a little while ago. Not sure if I did the right thing but its still spinning and has even quietened down a little bit.

I’ve used the rear wheel with both single speed spacers and now a Shimano 9 speed cassette and it doesn’t look like the freehub body has been chewed up by the sprockets.

I use my eyes to be aware of what is around me

Why not wear a blindfold and make it even more exciting then? :roll:

10.

Had an awful time last year dealing with important family matters, not all of which turned out for the best, which stopped me from riding. This year I’m finding that hurting myself on a bike as I try to get back in shape is quite cathartic. Bring it on.

Junkyard, I’ve had an aunt drink herself to death (a truly sad and pointless end to a life) and two other relatives die from smoking and drinking related diseases so I know full well that the stuff some people consider harmless can do truly awful things to others. I’ve also seen the violence and abuse that can surround the use of alcohol. I’m well aware of the facts and the impact.

Maybe thats what has made me so measured in my approach to booze and so cautious on the subject of drugs. It is also probably behind my fairly intolerant views on drugs and addicts; I guess I’m not someone who is prone to loosing control to the point of addiction and I have no time for those who are. That ain’t going to change anytime soon.

Where do you get your ideas from? Genuine question as you strike me as someone who is either an ex-addict or has had their life blighted by drug addiction

Very strange thing to say but no; I have never had any addiction problems. Life is far too interesting to view through the haze of addiction. I do like the odd pint but I am able to excercise common sense and self control and know when to stop. In my eyes therefore alcohol is low risk. I’m sure there are millions of people in this country who also excercise moderation when drinking and would feel the same way.

I have known drug addicts and I’ve seen one family who lives close to me being torn apart by addiction. To an outside observer who didn’t know them they would appear to be a fairly affluent middle class family where a couple of members smoked dope occasionally. Unfortunately for them below the surface there were problems with long term heroine addiction and some pretty messy consequences. I like to think it is best to learn from the mistakes of others in some areas of life. I don’t think you need to have been an addict to be able to express views on the nature of, and the damage caused by, addiction.

I don’t see how the Government could ever legalise drugs. Alcohol is relatively low risk and has been used widely quite literally since man found out how to make it. Can you seriously imagine a time when there will be a minimum legal age for people to buy drugs like heroine or cannabis? Get real.

Drugs like heroine, cocaine, and arguably cannabis, can induce severe long term physiological problems in a very short space of time and after relatively small quantities have been ingested. No way the powers that be will ever legalise them; they are far too dangerous to justify any revenue raised through the duty that would undoubtedly be levied on them. The NHS would probably also go into meltdown if more people started using drugs recreationally.

I’m also quite sure most drug users would resent the government telling them how strong the substances they are allowed to take should be and having to pay duty on them and so the illegal trade would still continue.

If you compare 0.1mg of heroin and a bottle of Smirnoff your probably safer with you kids on H than on the Vodka!

Really? People tend to forget that there is a whole underworld of organised crime linked to the supply and distribution of drugs. That 0.1mg of heroine has undoubtedly been handled by violent criminals. I don’t recall any instances where Smirnoff has murdered people to keep its supply lines open or to silence their competition. I don’t have kids but if I did I would rather they grew up in a world full of off licence owners than drug dealers.

What annoys about the ‘lets all take a more measured approach to drugs’ line is that the people spouting such crap forget that the drugs they buy are ultimately tainted with the blood of countless people.

I never suggested alcohol was entirely without risks but for the majority of us a drink is a simple pleasure that tends to have a minimal impact on our lives or the lives of those around us. We’re not all out there drinking ourselves to death or drunkenly kicking some poor sod to death.

The number of deaths per 100,000 actually seems fairly low when you consider how deeply ingrained the use of alcohol is in British culture. Sorry to sound callous but 8,664 deaths related to alcohol in a population of 61million people is low. On a bad year more people can die from seasonal flu and many more are thought do die due to the cold every year. The fact pensioners are being killed off by high energy bills concerns me more than a few alcoholics and drunken chavs kicking the bucket.

You are aware that alcohol is a drug ? Just a legal one

I never made any claims that it wasn’t but its effects are known and the majority of people can enjoy it without ruining their lives.

I don’t think it is naive at all given that this is predominantly a cycling forum. I know that not everybody who posts here is a clean living whippet thin racing snake but it is still surprising just how many people have tried very dangerous illegal drugs considering STWs target audience.

I live next door to an occasionally abusive heroine addict so I’m well aware of the problems drugs create. I would agree that alcohol and nicotene probably affect more peoples lives than drugs; for many people alcohol abuse is seen as acceptable, far more so than cocaine or heroine.

Jeez – scary how many people on here have tried some serious drugs :-O

+ 1

I have drunk a fair bit of booze in the past but the idea of dabbling with drugs has never appealed. At least I know what I’m doing to myself with alcohol.

Harlow.

Grew up there, never want to go back. Its one saving grace is that as a new town it has a lot of well established bike paths. Trouble is they all lead to the town centre…

Firestarter, not quite. Mines a bit of a freak bike with drop bars and a mix of what ever components I could buy cheaply. I was going for a monstercross meets bargain basement sort of look and I’m ashamed to say I was quite successful! I’ve not even taken any photos yet because it really is a bit of a sight. Its lurking in the garage awaiting some final tweaks. The couple of rides I’ve had on it have made me smile though and I suspect it will get ridden quite a bit over the summer. It has certainly made me realise that even bigger tyres could be good fun.

Hairychested, I guess if some of the components (especially wheels and tyres) were more freely available and not quite so pricey then perhaps I would consider just getting a frame and building one up over time. I think to be honest though I’ll have to put a fat bike down on my list of long term aims. I don’t have the cash or space for one at the moment.

I live on the coast and I can see the attraction of a fat bike for riding on the beach and through the dunes. However, I can’t quite justify the expense of buying one so I would be wary of buying a frame that would need some fairly pricey components to build it up. The Surly Pugsley as a complete build looks like quite a bargain when you consider some of the specialist components it has and if I had the money to spare that is where my cash would be going.

In the meantime I’ve fitted the biggest set of balloon tyres I could find to my Karate Monkey. It will doubtless be useless in the sand but its worth a go and I quite like the surreal ride quality.

Oh noes, you mean as per every other tech company ever? The bastards.

Technology is improving all the time but lets face facts; the original iphone was released without a lot of things, like 3g and a decent camera, things that were available at the time and well established. Like I say, I’m a cynic but the original iphone was compromised through the lack of cetain industry standard features. This did however did give Apple the chance to relaunch the new and improved 3g version after building up demand and hype for it only a short time after the original model was released. Every technology provider plans for future upgrades but Apple are so much more blatant in the way they do it that I’m left cold by their products.

My battered old IBM isn’t top spec although it was once. Why does everything need to be the latest spec to do its job well? It was well specced for its day when new which means it is still more than capable today. In three years time the original ipad will probably seem like quite an inferior product by comparison.

Right… Does that not rather go against your previous argument that laptops are superior because they are more flexible, have USB, a keyboard, and can do a wide variety of things that you can’t do on a tablet?

Not at all, the ipad and its ilk are being touted as portable multimedia hubs which should mean they are technically superior but in reality they aren’t. The design limitations placed on them by the tablet format mean that they aren’t too great at a lot of things because there are too many compromises involved (not being able to run flash seems like a bit weakness in the product). A laptop, as a portable computer, is by its nature a versatile piece of kit. Its just my view is that a mid range laptop will always be far superior to a ipad or android enabled tablet.

I’m replying to you from my phone at the moment. I’m in a single office on my own. So I’m not doing it to impress anyone or be fashionable. I’m doing it because it suits me.

Maybe, but you still had to let us all know you were doing though…

Did you moan about the internet and mobile phones in the 90s, out of interest?

No, I in fact I can’t do my job without access to the internet and a mobile phone. I just think the Ipad is a case of the ’emperors new clothes’. It is also nice to wind up ipad owners which this thread has proved is incredibly easy :wink:

Call me a cynic but Apple have also engineered a blatant upgrade path into the Ipad and Iphone. Why else would they have missed 3g off the original version?

Truly cannot see the point, not just with things like the ipad and iphone but smartphones in general. I think I’m just a bit of a purist with technology. I prefer bits of kit that do one thing well not a mutitude of things in an fairly OK but not exceptional way.

And ditch-jockey:

an app called iThoughtsHD

Dear me…

they are actually really rather good and offer things that a dumbphone and laptop do not?

Really? Or do they just offer you things that you had never considered important until the marketing hype told you how great they were? Come one seriously, since when was a portable computer with no USB or proper keyboard ever thought of as a good idea?

I have a dumbphone and a laptop and I’ve never felt hindered by them. I do dislike the way some content is being cut down and adapted to meet the new formats that are emerging however as it cheapens the way some information is delivered and reduces its value and the quality of the messages being delivered.

Hate may be a strong word but I’m afraid to say I do, just as I hate the Ipod and the way that the move towards downloading music has lead people to think that poorer quality music files are the way forward and acceptable; whatever happened to high def CDs and the richer sound that they promised? Instead most people prefer to be spoon fed poor quality, stripped down overpriced crap.

Why do I use the word hate? Well its because the sheep like trendsetters buy into this sort of shiny ‘me too’ crap so completely that the choice for the rest of us is reduced as all the other manufacturers jump onto the bandwagon.

I’ll stick to my battered old IBM and free software thanks, and my CDs, and my 35mm SLR, and my cheap Nokia which has lasted 6 years with no problems.

Right, I’m going to flounce back to the 1990’s

I take it you wrote this reply on your notepad with your biro then sent it in by post then Big Dave?

A hundred quid laptop I bought from my last employer actually. Its tougher, more powerful and more versatile than a light up plastic tray with no keyboard.

What I hate is the way the ipad and iphone are touted as being the saviours of the common man and the way it is creeping into every aspect of modern media and even becoming a source of stories all by itself. Its not a miracle tool, its not even that advanced or useful; its just a triumph of manipulative marketing. Some people almost have a fetish about the ipad and iphone and its just a bit sad.

I just think for the money you can buy a decent and more versatile laptop that doesn’t look like it has had the keyboard snapped off. I also fail to see why everybody gets all excited about touch screens. I use them all the time at work and find them annoying.

Does the ‘i’ in iPad stand for Irritant?

Frankly any gadget that can be associated with the word metrosexual should be avoided at all costs.

Buy a cheap novel, a notepad and a biro and spend the rest of the money you’ve saved on beer FFS.

Because sitting in a stationary car for hours on end is soul destroying.

At least when you travel by car you know will have a seat. I commuted into London for several years by train; that truly was soul destroying and I now hate travelling by train. I accept that for some people it is the only option they have but whilst I have a choice I’d rather sit in my car away from the sounds of crying babies, irritating ring tones and drunk northerners coming to the South West on holiday.

Its also rather nice to have the option of changing your route when the train inevitably gets held up or breaks down.

You need the Park Tools Blue book

It would be no good for throwing as it wouldn’t make a nice clanging noise as it bounces of the walls and floor of the garage :D