I'm told by girl friends that I have a nice arse and legs

i've no doubt that you do :wink:

Speedos are perfectly normal for swimming, so presumably you'd be perfectly happy to wander round your office in them after a quick pre-work swim then?

No and i don't wander gratuitously round my office in lycra either. I get changed before the working day starts. I don't think anyone's condoning wearing lycra at work, all day.
cycling finishes outside the office, i only walk through the reception of the office in lycra because that's the route to the changing room. If swimming happened to finish right at work, i.e. if there was a swimming pool in the office, and if the route from the swimming pool to the changing room went through the office, then yes i would. But people would expect it if there was a swimming pool at work. The point being that where there are roads, people should expect cycling. People should view cycling (and wearing cycling kit) as a more normal activity than is currently the case – it shouldn't be regarded as a fringe activity to be apologised for.

this is just a stupid atittude

perhaps he was just joking.

:roll: course i was joking

I have the option of being able to choose – whether to make certain people I work with uncomfortable or not. It is a far easier world when not. That doesn't however change MY opinion on whether or not I find Lycra comfortable to ride in or if I prefer to ride in baggies over lycra.

There's nothing wrong with making an effort to make up for the failings of others. Indeed, i'm probably more a unreasonable person for not doing so – but at the end of the day it IS their prudishness that is the reason for their uncomfortableness, not the fact that wearing lycra is abnormal.

The way I see it lycra is perfectly normal and i am not going to become a cycling apologist by not wearing it for the sake of others' sensibilities. Simple. End of, as far as i'm concerned.
But i'm well aware that's probably a fairly arrogant attitude – but then again, i'm a fairly arrogant person. To be fair to you, only you know your workplace, so you're the one best placed to judge what's best for your situation – not me. Like I say, the only thing that annoys me is the pretence and the excuses.

bonj
you don't have an answer for me? I can't believe your first post.

you say you wear baggy hill walking gear as you see it as an extension of hill walking as opposed to road riding, well – the only difference between mtbing and hill walking is (a) you're going faster so good to be more aerodynamic and less 'flappy', (b) you might want to wear longs without them catching in the drivetrain, (c) you might want something with a seat pad that holds it in place.
you might not feel the need to look for a solution to the above three things but i do.
If you say 'it's an extension of hill walking not road riding' actually ISN'T yet another excuse for self consciousness, then that's fine i believe you.

Unfortunately, some others are a little off put by it; I work with mostly women (and 2 of the 4 other blokes are gay, so who knows what to think!! ) and some of the girls do get a bit embarrased, so I tend to wear baggies when I commute.

their problem, not yours!

Baggies are a bit more 'practical' if the ride ends at the pub, cafe, pizza place afterwards as we don't have trail centres near us with 'on-site' facilities, so you're mixing with the 'general public'. Again, I don't care, but others do

but you clearly DO care – you care what other people think, because you dress the way you do for others' benefit.

In all seriousness, I have no actual problem with that, if you're more comfortable that way, fine – I just don't see the point, personally.

However, on several ocassions at work talk has sidetracked into cyclists "silly outfits with tappy shoes and bulges in skin tight clothing" often accompanied by lots of giggling and cat calls etc; I am not trying to make out I have a big dick to be waving around (my wife will confirm that! ), it is simply a case that some people do get flustered by cyclists in lycra and don't know how to handle it; a number of the women that I work with don't. For others it's no big deal. My point was, that to say that no-one cares is a bit much; maybe you don't, I know I don't, but not everyone is of that same opinion.

when women get together and they're bored at work they will try and raise a giggle at anything.
pretty soon they'll get tired of it and move on to something else.

… I wouldn't wander round the shops (or anywhere) on a very hot day in speedos either, despite that probably being the most appropriate functional wear for the conditions – doesn't mean I'm fashion obsessed.

yes but that isn't generally regarded as normal.
Wearing lycra for cycling is perfectly normal.

I really don't get all the hate towards baggies over lycra.

can't speak for anybody else, but there's no hate whatsoever from my perspective. Didn't mean it to seem like that. Just lack of empathy, I guess.

Being self conscious about how you look does not make you an idiot.

No course it doesn't. Admitting it at least makes you honest, and that's admirable. What i can't stand though is the pretence that it's something different when really it's self consciousness.
Saying 'i don't like lycra because i'm self conscious about my looks' is jsut as good as saying 'i do wear it, because i'm not'.
But inventing a multitude of excuses to such as it's more comfortable, it's got more pockets, it's an old one i've always had, it's warmer, it's more protective; to try and pretend it's nothing to do with self consciousness, that's what gets up my goat.

brogues

what will be easier to do, make a lot more money, and be a lot more rewarding:
install a high-speed camera near the landing of a jump, and a (timed) trigger on the run up. Sell the pictures at the end. Everybody would buy a picture of themselves getting air.

is it an MTB or road one?
if it's a road one in compact version 34-50 i might be intrested in taking it off your hands.

yep. crc are good, as are ukbikestore, as are parkers.
one that's a bit dodgy is dotbike – they don't seem to understand the meaning of 'in stock'.

They do provide additional warming

wear warmer/better lycra and/or base layer. can't possibly be cold in assos winter bibs. they're thick, fleecy and windproof.

They do, especially thicker DH type ones. Theres always a chance you might rip the lycra open at far end of your ride?

Yes but come on let's not pretend that's why people wear them. They wear them because they think that if they don't wear them they will look fat/skinny/unmuscly/etc, and this worries them. It shouldn't. Simple as.
The DH ones provide additional padding as they're bulkier but if you don't go for those extra bulky DH ones then the only thing that another layer of fabric will protect you from is road rash, which you aren't going to be getting on a mtb ride.

They're good for that. I don't want to have to keep taking my camelbak on and off whenever I want to get at my gloves or camera (waits to be told my camera should be in my camelbak)

No, you can keep things you need to access in the hip pockets (you HAVE got one with hip pockets, haven't you? :roll: ) but you probably should get out of the habit of taking a camera on rides, it's just one more excuse to keep stopping for a rest you can do without.

I always wear roadie gear, one of the main reasons is to annoy mtbers who think we "should" wear baggies.
The only point in baggies is to make some vague effort to hold on to the notion that biking is the sort of thing you do spontaneously – by just 'hopping' onto a bike in whatever you happen to be wearing at the time, but we all know that's not the case.
The worst is people who commit the god-awful practice of wearing lycra tights but then baggy shorts OVER them – awful – just what is the actual point of those shorts? They don't provide any additional warming, they don't provide any protection, the only possible practical reason is pockets – well just use your camelbak.
The only other reason not to wear proper cycling gear is vanity – the 'I don't look good in lycra' syndrome, but if that's your attitude then you might as well just wear a sign saying 'i'm not happy with my shape'. Why not? Nobody else is offended.

i've been having this exact same issue! (mine is an X5 though)
i discovered the mech was actually on wrong. It's the little tab that the B-tension screw nestles against that was rotated round the wrong way. So I'm hoping that fixing that will cure it.

Take the chain off, put it in top (lowest tension) and hold the cage forward in the position it would be in when the chain is on. Now push the mech body towards the bigger sprocket, as it would move when changing, then let go. Does it spring back?

I tried altering the B-tension screw, but then i noticed that it was sort of not having any effect because it wasn't nestling against anything, I thought hang on a minute, this is wrong, so I took it off and put it back on with that little cam-shaped gubbins the other way round, and the mech now sits lower than it was – it was almost high up enough to foul the frame before.

Now when i do the above test again, it passes – it springs back much more readily. Haven't trail-tested it but hopefully that will cure it.

maybe getting it oriented wrong is only possible with sram mechs?

went there today and it's fine.
The landslide that occurred is completely passable, you can just about see where it was, but the trail is pretty much as normal over it.
There's puddles in the top bit but not even that big ones.
I don't buy what somebody else said about it "not holding water well". We've had one of the wettest novembers on record apparently and there was no mud at all, that is what i would call holding water extremely well.

yeah. I think i may opt for a steel chainring now. not that it'll prevent it ever happening again, but should take a lot longer to wear.

Had the same last weekend at Lee Q bonj – there'll be some familiar sounding descriptions in this thread.

I got my granny ring changed, & there wasn't a hell of a lot of wear on it.
ah, thanks – good link.

I did have a look at the granny ring's teeth and some of them are noticeably worn, so maybe it was a combination of worn teeth and slightly worn/badly-lubed chain.

well penmachno was fine. Not sure about "standing water" :lol::lol: – if by "standing water" you mean "puddles", then yes there was. :mrgreen:
There were bigger ones at llandegla though

The landslide, there was slight evidence that there had been one but certainly didn't make it impassable. Didn't even have to dismount (as a sign warned you to), the trail was pretty much as it should be. Just a little bit of mud on the hillside.
Think i missed loop 2 'cos was unable to see more than about a few feet at the time due to wearing my crap oakley glasses which constantly steam up.

There was also this bridge on one of the earlier sections, which I can't remember being there the last time I went, wonder if it's new?

Doesn't hold water well and it has had a lot of rain.

better drainage than the peaks though :-?

I personally find that for road riding my sealskinz are more of a hindrance than a help as water just runs down the top of them and they keep it in rather than keeping it out.

For MTBing, though, the main cause of cold feet i've noticed recently is from splashing through puddles. my feet are warm enough until they've been soaked from splashing through puddles…i'm thinking the sealskinz might come into their own at protecting from this.

So i'm going to give my sealskinz another go this weekend, i may go for some duck tape round the top to keep the water from getting in.

Pook – have an explore in and around fox hagg nature reserve, which iirc is sort of between redmires road and manchester road.
around this area approximately

hmm, thanks – i'm more bothered about INcluding wharncliffe than EXcluding the 616…
although i spotted a road called 'plank gate' which seems to run all through wharncliffe, do you know that? any good bits to look out for going that way – what's wharncliffe like nowadays for XC? i heard they were doing developments on a 'red' loop which is more my cup of tea than extreme uber-downhill.

it could be just £700 and then it’s fine again for the next however many years, but it could well be the first of many things that goes wrong with it.
from personal anecdotal experience, my advice is buy a new one. And new as in brand new (or pre-registered/ex demo), not 2/3 years old, i.e. with warranty.
I had a van for a year and i spent well over a grand in repairs on it in that time, each one was no more than a couple of hundred (apart from the water pump that was 500), but each one i thought would be the last thing – “I’ll just get this done then it’ll be fine”. Never the case!

I get mine serviced on saturday mornings and they just do it while i wait and have a coffee in the showroom and read a paper, and it’s 120 quid for a minor service and 200 for a major, that’s all it needs spending on it. No phoning round backstreet garages for the best quote for a dauntingly major job, no faffing around with MOTs, etc etc.

Even little things, for instance one of the tail lights on the bike rack was a bit dodgy, didn’t always come on, I deduced it was the tow bar to car at fault, so took it in – courtesy car for the day, they resoldered it, had it back the next day all washed, no charge. Even got a free bottle of oil.
With an old car i would have had to shop around for a garage that i thought could do it, hope that they could be trusted to do it properly, get from wherever it was to work, get back again, hope he didn’t rip me off, etc. etc.

Much much more stress-free owning a new car. You’ve got initial capital or loan repayments to consider but you have to offset the repair bills against this. For me personally the repair bills to the van were almost as much as the loan repayments, the uncertainty of their recurrence and the benefits of a new one made it a no brainer.

I’d be tempted to go with woody/BigDummy.

BUT, you could wheedle it to your advantage.

It may be possible to engineer it so that she feels VERY guilty (you’ll have to get emotional about lovely countryside you’ll never see again, etc- pulling the right strings NOW before the move will be crucial to the long term outcome, only you know her well enough to know what these are!) so you may be able to get yourself into a situation where she won’t justifiably be able to complain about you going off biking or spending money on bike parts for a very long time, perhaps ever.

Play it right, and you could effectively slap a lifetime ban on her standing even remotely in the way of your pursuit of mtbing. It could be a blessing in disguise.

Trains aren’t that bad.

And you will also have to get a fixie.

i went in evans in nottingham and they had a lapierre in, a spicy 514 i think.
Although I think the lack of availability is a bad point that isn’t necessarily solved once (if) you manage to get hold of one. if they aren’t capable of fulfilling the demand for the bikes, who’s to say they are going to be capable of fulfilling the demand for spares as and when you need to replace bits that are non-generic if there are any specific frame spares you may need.

it’s really depressing seeing a nice road bike with a saddle bag the size of a cow’s udder hanging off the back.
you only need anything like as big as the one on that blue bike above on a long audax.
if you’re going that big you might as well go for a rack top bag.

as I understand it the Shimano shifter would need 2 clicks per gear change, and leave the mech only half way across the cassette

yes, the sram mech only moves half way across the cassette.
basically SRAM shifters pull more cable than shimano ones.

I’m quite astounded that you knew it wouldn’t work, yet let the grease monkey convince you it would. Who’s the numpty?

Exactly! that’s why i’m angry with myself for being so stupid…
my only explanation is that i thought maybe just maybe he knows that they’ve recently changed them to be the same ratio.

brakes
what store was it?

nottingham

2 points:
1) ebay IS paypal – they own it. They are the same company.

2) they have gone completely insane with favouring the buyer – they were bad enough before. WE need more sellers to sue paypal. I successfully sued them.
Basically I sold something, and got positive feedback.

Months later, paypal nicked the money back off me by unauthorisedly charging my credit card, claiming a ‘chargeback’ had been filed by the owner of the credit card originally used to buy the item, and that since they’d lost out, they had to pass that onto me.

Their argument was that they agreed with me, but they couldn’t convince the credit card company of the card used to buy the item of this, so they had to pass the charge on to me. Bollocks to that, I thought, so I slapped a writ on the f*kers. My grounds were that I had successfully demonstrated to them that I’d sold it, so therefore if the credit card company were not convinced it was due to their failing. They settled out of court ‘on the understanding that this is in no admission of liability’. Yeah right.

It would really please me if paypal and ebay went bust, they really are the scum of the earth. Right down there with insurance companies.

DON’T trust paypal AT ALL – they are COMPLETELY UNTRUSTWORTHY

alternatively you could buy this one
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25967
for £95! but it does have a “thrust spring that holds the bottle in the ideal position”. that’s ok then!

what’s the actual point of carbon bottle cages anyway – surely aren’t plastic ones just as light?

And how have you only just found out that they aren’t carbon? Surely if it mattered, you would have been able to tell instantly by the fact that you weren’t going as fast?

this one looks just as bling, and less than a tenner:
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/specialized-rib-cage-item121213.html
can also get black ones

Personally: didn’t like it.

* when the seat is low, if you pick the bike up by the back of the saddle, the seatpost just rises up (and then lowers again when you push it down).
(The gravity dropper apparently doesn’t do this, saw somebody with one at CyB and it clicks in at the lower position).

* The very slight amount of play when it’s up bugs me. I’ve seen an advert for one with a ‘patented one way bearing’ that supposedly gets rid of this problem, but how well it does I don’t know.

* I didn’t have it long enough for maintenance to be an issue, but i quite enjoy maintenance so stripping and regreasing wouldn’t have been a problem, but might be for some.

* but the main issue with it, and this might sound silly – but, the fact that the feature is there just tempts you to use it, whereas before you wouldn’t have needed to bother. i.e., for a short climb you might put it up, whereas if you didn’t have it you would just honk up it standing up.
On flat-ish bits i found i spent too long faffing about with it trying to find the ‘optimium’ height.

so I got rid of it.

i built up a downhill bike without already being any good at downhill.
I decided it wasn’t really for me – for a beginner the actual downhill itself was ok, albeit slightly scary and i was very slow compared to someone who’s good at it, but I decided that the amount of time actually going downhill compared to the amount of time spend getting armoured up, and going up the hill, and the effort and sweatiness of getting up the hill – made me decide it wasn’t for me.
I probably spent between £1200 and £1500 building it up and sold it for £800, so i lost some, but i did learn a lot about building bikes.

sellotape to the top tube? just use a LOT of sellotape.

bonj, do you mean that left turn by the gate/road at the end? always gets me as well!

yeah, you know how the ‘beginning of the end’ descent starts, then comes to the road, which leads from the main road to the visitor centre, then you cross the road and there’s a bit more. Well on that bit more, I caught somebody up right towards the end, but literally only about 50 yards befor ethe end.
Also caught a lot of people up on that long undulating singletrack through the trees who let us pass

yep i was there
was a bit busy though, just on the cusp of being too busy, but not quite. did get stuck behind somebody on the end of the beginning of the end, the bit after the road, but really nice day all in all.

even penmachno was fairly busy on sunday – its ‘car park’ was stretched to its limit

spesh toupe
brooks
depending on whether you want it light or not

is there not some ancient law that it’s perfectly legal to shoot a dog as long as you use a bow and arrow and not a gun, and you are standing on your side of the fence when you do it?

to all those people with custom builds, I would think it would be a lot easier the more components you’ve got receipts for.

ah the mole grips sound like a good plan.