I dont risk using any oil/lube/grease other than the branded receommended stuff. Same applies to car oil, only use exactly what’s recommended, why guess what’s best/better?

my dad used to make jet engines for Rolls Royce and he’s been teaching motor vehicle engineering for the last 20 years and he says any engine oil will do for a car. a lot of bike-specific lubes aren’t as special as the price would suggest. as long as you’ve got some knowledge (like knowing that WD40 dissolves grease, not to use metal based grease on rubber seals and that the correct weight motorbike fork oils like silkolene can be used in mountain bike forks) then theres no need to buy exactly what the bike companies reccomend. still if you’re unsure it’s always best to pay a bit more for the reccomended.

or just ask PeterPoddy :)

done and dusted via jambo method. thanks guys :)

not sure about the bike, but i’d ride the life out of paris hilton. she’d have to be restricted to mono-sylables though ;)

i saw a very nice garden gate dressed up as an old commuter

Bike is an insurance replacement for my Niner

got it.

so has it got 29 inch wheels on it then? or 24s? please explain

igm, thanks for the science lesson

i don’t think my lbs are gonna charge me 20 quid to drill a couple of rims when i’m paying them 60 quid to build the wheels up anyway. besides, i’ll need to replace the inner tubes i’m using which will cost me 4 quid each and i’ll want a spare for on the trails.

so a pump = 20 quid
tubes = 12 quid

TOTAL 32 pounds!

that’s 32 pounds i could have spent on beer.

Just a thought, but how about using the money you’d be paying to your LBS to buy a track pump!

obviously you can’t add up

Have you replaced it at all after the knocks?

didn’t need it. no cracks, structural damage whatsoever just a couple of scratches. the visor took the impact of a bad faceplant and just pinged off. if i hadn’t got a xen i would’ve kept it but i sold it to someone on here and he was more than happy with it.

there is a lot of inadequacy in mountain biking that’s true. summed up by the (small) willy waving that unfortunately goes with it. Its just the way it is these days what with all the new product coming out and the price of it people lose sight of the fact that it’s all about (for the majority) going out and having fun and getting fit along the way. I come from a skating background and for us it was all about supporting and encouraging eachother to push our own personal boundaries on a plank of wood with wheels on it and everyone was completely cool about that and because we all had basically the same set up there was no opportunity to take the piss out of someone else’s choice of board. either you had a double kick, a turbo 2 or a longboard but it was rare to see any of the latter. so in that sense it was all about the skating. I have met some real w*nkers through mountain biking recently; thoroughly bitter and nasty little men who get a real kick out of little acts of one-upmanship. my mates older brother for example on his full carbon FS epic complaining he could have finished the ride sooner if it wasnt for so-and-so….. burns my ears and recently got sick of it and said something and due to his very fragile temprament he threatened to “wrap my bike around my head you sill little c***”. i never met anyone like that through skateboarding only thoughtful respectful people most of who are now my closest friends. its making me question wether i want to be part of this mountain biking clique or not.

i had a hex, very comfy it was and saved my nut many a time get one ;)

hang on a minute, i thought if you run them the right way round they have max braking effect? it’s the back one you turn round to get a better grip/drive/scoop effect

new chris king ones have a 5 year warranty but cost 100 quid 8O

glad to hear you’re ok. i’ve had a couple of very small facial scars in the past and you’ll be glad to know that they DO fade over time. can be a bit strange to deal with at first but it’s only temporary. thought such as “oh no, i’ve spoiled my good looks!” go through your head but this is natural and the way people perceive you is different to the way you perceive yourself, so go easy on yourself!

Nice! are they dt swiss rims? and slx crankset??

aaah that’s it oxnop, i live in calderdale and don’t think ive done 1/100th of what’s on offer locally. barely even scratched the surface

sound people are sound people. evans cycles sold me a shite lock to go with my new bike and guess what happened? yup.

i swear to god it was the LBS who hacked us. and if if i ever remove my cranks to find my my BB shall HAS NOT been faced it’ll be be me who hacks my lbs…..

nice background

i have never bled a pair of brakes in my life (rip the piss, i run BB7’s) but i think 20 quid a side is a bit steep. my condolances.

every bike i’ve built up has never worked properly, at least not as well as the off the peg bikes i’ve got now.

must hold my tongue,must hold my tongue,must hold my tongue,must hold my tongue,must hold my tongue,must hold my tongue,must hold my tongue,

talas

more likely to be play in the freehub. take the cassette off and give the freehub a wobble

take the full sus and bin the SS

i like the way people say flats are good for “messing about” like they’re no good for “proper” riding. dont think sam hill was messing about when he won the UCI world cup on flats! downhill racers are athletes you know – sammy boy could kick most of your wrinkly asses on uphills even if you were wearing SPDs!

I used to know someone who made a living out of microwaving dogs for weapons research.

numpty

A horrified friend rescued the kitten, which was convulsing and struggling to walk but it had to be put down by vets.

shocking. they should take a couple of fingers for that.

I’ve just gone from hex to a xen and find the xen not as comfy. the hex definitely came down lower at the back and the sides of my head whereas the xen sits on top a bit more. I had plenty of crashes in the hex including a couple of nasty face plants and it saved my bacon (and my face surprisingly!). I’ve yet to crash in the xen so i can’t really compare it in terms of protection. Looks-wise the xen wins as it’s more rounded whereas the hex is squarer from the front on. i paid a lot more for my xen! i think i got the hex for £35 from sjs.. here’s a few pics to help you make your mind up

and can i just add that i’ve got some shimano flat pedal shoes and theyre not as grippy as the trainers i got for 25 quid from tk maxx :)

if youre going to buy those 661’s (not the taki ones) then you might as well buy any pair of skate trainers. skate trainers are made to have grippy soles and you can use your common sense about wether the pins will hold or not just by looking at them. The reason you need a bit of flex is that some flat pedals are concave. a good sturdy skate shoe will last a long time because they’re meant to be battered by grip tape on a skateboard so are usually triple layered around the toe and triple stitched to boot.

good brands are:

DC, DVS, adio, es, emerica – rollersnales online[/url] have a clearance sale on at the moment, have a look and see what you like..

unless you want the best grip possible (5:10s) then theres not going to be any difference between a pair of skate trainers and the 661 trainers

well i’ve got enough of it kevin :)

Sombrio are trying similar things, but I don’t see them being slagged off. Could it be because they’re Canadian and not British?

no. what it is, is i bought a pair of sombrio gloves but i didn’t get a mahooosive catalogue with lots of pointless articles in about saving the planet (nevermind the bloody trees). THAT’S what it is.

I would go to cardigan and say it to their faces, BUT…. it would be a complete waste of f*cking time and effort. and that is all.

you really should be able to opt out. i’ve had a look through the online catalogue and clocked a few things that i like the look of, i’m not trying to say they’re completely phoney honest I JUST WANT TO HELP THEM….

Howies, if you are listening i don’t need a catalogue in’t post cos i’ve seen the online one cheers…

if i cant do anything to stop a 150 page catalogue being delivered to my door against my will then surely i am being force-fed their marketing

yes andym but did they need to waste a peice of paper to tell us about it?

i bought something online from them ages ago and they’ve kept my details.

They’re a business with green intentions, not a friggin charity. Plant your own tree.

tomzo no theyre not a charity, well done sir! if theyre intentions are so green then why do i need a paper copy? and besides it’s not about planting trees it’s about not destroying them in the first place. i never said they should plant one did i?

viewing a catalogue online requires a considerable amount of power. How many times would you have to view it online before it was more economical in resource terms to have a hard copy?

many, many, many times considering how much energy it takes to re-pulp the paper, print and bind the booklet, not to mention the energy involved in transporting the booklet to my doorstep (petrol for the train/plane/royal mail van?) why would i want to read it anyway? it’s a clothes catalogue ffs i’ll have a look through it and if nothing takes my fancy it’ll go in the bin. it’s all online anyway i would probably look at it two or 3 times max.

kelvin :

I can’t afford much in there, but that’s not their fault

they set the prices kelvin…

why not go to a 50mm/60mm stem and a layback seatpost? that bike’s meant to be ragged all over the shop – don’t want a dirty stem hanging off the front of it do you?

when we went we did dragon’s back on day 1 and tarw on day 2. both phsically and technically quite demanding with dragons back being the longer of the two routes. I’d definitely do both again. if its icy remember not to brake on the wooden bridges because theyre very very slippery and don’t have chicken wire on. i made this mistake and ended up face-planting at speed :(

that oneyedwilly and his bomber antics. couldn’t stand the guy