Put a vice on a solid workbench, put the spline tool in the vice, turn the frame around vice as a lever once you’ve triple checked you’re turning the right way. Use gradual increasing force, not sharp force – some older carbon treks had bonded in aluminium threaded inserts, the bonding can fail…learnt the hard way.

Penetrating oil and this!

Butter. Margarine is too chemically for me so it’s butter all the way. Just try and keep it thinly spread.

21 years of wearing a variety of hiking type boots for work, Aultberg, Meindl, British Army boots German Para boots and I’ve found the Haix as good as much more expensive ones. The high liability Combat boot is warm, waterproof and polish up well in the black colour. I have the brown suede desert version for kicking about outside of work and they’re comfy and cool enough to use for all day active wear through the summer months. The Dessert version are not water proof but I also like the over toe protection at the front mainly because it stops the rand separating from the leather on the toe of the standard design. Best of all has been the Army surplus prices which have consistently worked out about £20 cheaper than re-soling the current boots.

I tried the Haix Airpower but found the sizing came up narrower and therefor smaller for me and wound up selling them on at a loss. Back to the Haix High Liability Combat boot when I next need a new pair. In fact I believe my work are moving to supplying our boots and think they should go with the Haix High Liability Combat boot as the best all rounder.

Seconded and that’s from a visit 14 years ago when the launches had had pretty much ceased. inspiring place to realise what we can achieve as a race.

Grew up around RAF Lossiemouth with these and their predecessors hoofing about. Awesome sight but I would love to grab a time machine and join my dad as a youth when he was biking through the Speyside glens when a silver streak shot through the sky below him. Turned out to be an original Buccaneer in bare silver aluminium. Or so he told the story!

McAllan Gold. VERY nice. Only problem I found it does disappear really fast when you have friends about.
Balvenie Double Wood – any version.

If you can find it I’m assured Tamnavoulin is an undiscovered gem. In Asda locally for £20 over the festives.

But for an 80th I’d go back to MacAllan Gold. Buy 2 though or don’t tell your friends!

I’ve once used Glassesdirect and found there service good. Try before you buy frames posted out and very good on price.

Not so much conversation but regularly had Kevid McKidd’s arm between my legs on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s.

BAHWOOOP! TROLL ALERT…

Surely with an interest in bikes, £500 free to spend as you wish is a dream come true. No?

Yeh I’m urge I saw Chips in the bike wash queue at the Strathpuffer. Bottled it twice trying pluck up the courage ask.

Good effort, spanks the distance I could manage ATM.

41 and had a blast down Golspie at the weekend. Brilliant and not thinking of hanging up the baggies anytime.

Shorten the outer cable by an inch of two and then helitape the head tube where it will contact.

Or route it into the cable guide from the opposite side you have crossed cables under the down tube there. This might stiffen up gear cable performance though.

Cost of an average night out

Like most things as I stretch the gap away from my 30’s, TOO BLOODY MUCH! £100 for a night out is nuts. That’s a bit of bling for the bike, or a hefty load of wood to burn. Crap when did I suddenly get old?

Mountain biking for me started on a 23″ Raleigh Massiff then
– Carerra STX (Stolen in Edinburgh so back to the Raleigh until it was nicked in Edinburgh to.)
– Saracen Tuff Trax with LX & Ritchey and upgraded to XT
– GT XCR 4000 (with XT then newer XT)
– Carrera Kraken (with the GT’s old XT)
– GT Aggressor (with the Carerra’s XT)
– 2008 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR (with the GT XCR’s XT)
– 1998 Saracen Kili Team (with the Aggressor’s old XT)
– 2010 Mondraker Foxy RR (with all new bling)
– 2011 Saracen Kili Flyer

and 3 Road bikes appeared somewhere in there aswell. 13 in 30 odd years. Hell that’s way better than the almost ex missus claims!

Not be anything from Netgear or D-link then… My bad.

“My 03 passat doesn’t do it with the fob but does with the key in the door.”

Yep me to on a 2003 B5.5.

+1 Northwind. But fit I dinnae git is fit ‘y they ah ‘ink sir just a bunch o’ kilt wearing, whiskey swillin’ Braveheart wanna dies.

No mention of the awesome Right to Roam and how that opens up the whole beautiful country to Mountain Biking. Remember that chaps, Mountain Biking? The reason we all choose to get together and share our common interest. Oh and to dispel some of the Anti-English sentiment your all welcome in the event of a Yes or No outcome to come up and enjoy some of the cleanest air, best views and starriest skies you’ll ever see.

Anti-freeze?? Draws other cats in aswell tho, well for a short time… 😈

I have a similar aged VW passat and had an issue with the remote not working until right beside the car. Found it wasn’t the battery so I eBayed a new remote using the model number visible when you pull the key apart. Clipped this new remote into the original flip key bit which contains the transponder, a linked the new remote to the car. Still works a treat and that was a few ago and don’t worry about linking the new remote to your car it doesn’t need anything more than your spare in the ignition while locking/unlocking the car. Google will get the exact instructions.

Ps might loo a bit weird being a top banded mech and not a bottom banded. Don’t see that so much nowadays, modern retro!

Looks a good effort, might be a smudge high. 2-3 mm gap between the out shift cage and the outer ring but otherwise grand.

The very best of thoughts, vibes, good wishes be with you.

Sh!t, ****, D@MN it I hate Cancer… Give it one from me!!!

Ok that’s wierd but a few ideas:
– Are you changing Cassette and chain or just chain? A cassette should be changed at the same time as the chain.
– Is your chain wear tool bent giving a false indication of wear?
– Are the conditions you’re riding in extremely bad? Do you use

Sorry if the next bit is a bit condesending sounding, a chain doesn’t actually stretch. It wears at the rollers on every link giving the effect of stretch. The distance from pivot centre to pivot centre remins the same. If the system is not meshing properly it will cause premature wear, eg the Cassette and /or chainwheel worn

I don’t know of fake stuff but it’s possibility I suppose. Change Supplier before doing a cassette & chain change and the problem persists LBS for a better diagnosis.

What about the poverty porn

Watching that crap makes me want to launch the remote at the telly… and I can’t afford a new telly.

Cheers folks.

loddrik – Road Biking. Cycling through a wee village last Monday, crossed a road and started up the pavement heading for the cycle way when I slipped on black ice. The bike went down and right, my left leg went the opposite way and twisted my left foot anti clockwise. The over extension of the ligaments resulted in a plug of bone being pulled out of my tibia. That’s the diagnosed injury. The undiagnosed one is from my MIL who was a Radiographer. She thinks the twist would most likely have snapped my tibia at the top aswell. A standard result of such an injury. Back to the hospital tomorrow for more X-rays so fingers crossed it’s not that bad. Still 6 weeks off apparenly.

Bawllawcks!

On the plus side lt’s more time to post on here!

Keep the ideas coming.

Unfortunately I have to decline the mind bending substance option, what with a job to return to that’d take a very dim view of that, oh and two kids to watch after they get home from school.

Might give Hannial a look. Any other series, usually into the Sci-fi stuff. Hell fire even “Planes” is doing my heid in. The joys of having one of the kids home from school, poorly.

+1 for the Stan’s Flow

why can’t I stop craving/eating junk food?

‘Cos you’re me?

crashtestmonkey – No problem

crashtestmonkey – Member
dammit, just bought a 500 in the lightning deal (as a pressie) but this is a lot of extra kit and capability for the cash (the premium HRM is £40 and the cadence sensor £25 on their own). Hmmmm.

What was the lightning deal price. My wife mentioned it but I’d already missed the deal so I’d be interested in buying the the 500 if you wanted to recoup the cost towards your 800.

Let me know.

But is it me, or does anyone else find rapunzel rather, ahem, attractive. She’s 18 I guess I’ll get my coat

Nah. Now Belle outta Beaty and the Beast… Fetching my coat…

cynic-al

Perfect, thanks for that. Looks just the job and one on order.

Yayhay speding the afternoon in the garage building a bike after all.

+1 for the Karvers.

Have a look around locally for a bike recycling charity sort of thing. You can usually source parts that way that if they’re not the spec you like at least there a great make do bit. Volunteering within their organisation can also help keeping the costs down.

Don’t buy into the hype about what your bike is, how good the components are just ride and enjoy. The most impressive guys I bike with run old stuff that’d be junk to most of us but they just get on with it and are usually the one skinning the rest if us to the top of the hill.

Like many, quit on and off for a few years and then it stuck a ciieyears back. Still get the very odd craving nowadays but…

Stop, breathe, have a drink if water and tell yourself “it will pass.”

It will pass and with practise cravings can be dealt with quicker and quicker. One day at a time and don’t forget to praise the little achievements, an hour, a morning, a day… All adds up to a healthier you and the difference biking will be a revelation.

Keep it up.

Well as one of the supposed plebs, albeit north of the wall, I have to say I am saddened and disappointed that lies have been told. A lot of us do want to do an honest job and help people despite the brush we’re routinely tarred with. It may have had less impact telling the truth about the circumstances but at least it would have been an honest impact and above reproach. All at a time when we needed our Federations to stand together and fight our corner. Shame on them and hope they get what’s coming fair and square as a deterrent to others in the job to lie.

I’d try a repair. I’ve built a few wheels now though and tried heeps in the passed so know it can be a but an art. Tricks to it, decent spoke key, small amounts of turn and tape the spokes at the start and end of the buckle to keep track of it.

If the worst comes to the worst you just loosen the tension in all the spokes take the wheel to your LBS and get them to put a new rim on.

Having had various early series Windows phones I thought the Lumia would be for me but it wasn’t. The lack of some common apps was frustrating, the music player was awkward and the when you close any app and re-open it later it doesn’t open up on what you were doing.

Kept my lumia a month before I caved and went back to Apple. My advice, get a loan phone for an hour or two if possible. Be sure before you commit cos it can be an expensive mistake.

By the way if you do want a Lumia 920 I’ll have one going for sale next week.

Sprocker

I recently started volunteering at a bike recycling and repair charity and found that a great experience. Still doing a full time shift type job as well so I’m limited in the time I can spend there. Great banter and good experience with bikes which has taught me one thing, bikes can be a total pain in the arse to fix sometimes. I don’t mean technically tough I mean they can take on a life of their own and that 10-20 minute job becomes an all afternoon one for no apparent reason.

I’d recommend the volunteer route if you have a set up near enough to you. They seem to be springing up all over.

The group I’m with even paid a chunk of the cost to put me through a Weltech Silver course. Formalised 20 odd years of mucking about with all sorts of bikes but I still learned a lot on the course. Experience is key though. Spotting the wreck that needs more than the 5 minutes the owner thinks is an art. And you have to be brutal with your time. Fix what the customer ordered and not fettling the whole bike back into shape is difficult.

Could also be a good way to transition into it to see if it really fits before jacking what you have job wise already.

Good luck.