It probably is a lovely bike but, for some unknown reason, I shudder when I see the curvy seat stay/seat tube thing going on. Sorry.

I have a Torq ground anchor, 16mm Pragmasis chain and a Squire SS65CS padlock. When my garage was broken into, the bike thieves preferred to saw through a titanium frame to steal the bike for parts.

With a bit of shopping around I built the light-bicycle AM rims onto DT240s hubs for £500/1500g. They seem to take a hammering with ease. There’s a lovely feel to them, oo-er.

<wonders how long it will take for George Ferguson to u-turn on his opposition to BRT2>

Tubeless?

It’s far too early for such twatmongery 😉

Goodwood is open…The W2 ate my sintered rear pads yesterday!

Definitely open. Did it this afternoon. Darkside also open. Have fun!

Do they deliberately soil themselves?

Blowing chunks

3 lb gain due to 2 weeks in a hotel before Christmas (beerbeerbeer) followed by a gluttonous week of meat, cheese and chocolate.

Soon the locusts will be demanding that Evans defrost the Jizzfridge!

Planning a trip to do W2 on Friday. 8)

You lot! 😀

I like it! One day I will sample some fatness. Chubby chaser!

The Power Of Lard

Granville multi-purpose. Cheap as chips. T’ain’t a funky colour though.

I eliminated chain suck by going 1 x 10. That probably doesn’t help you though. Sorry 😳

Just a wet couple of hours in Leigh Woods and Ashton Court this morning to round off 2012.

2013 starts with a trip to Afan next Friday, then Cannock the following weekend. 😀

Could be tight hip flexors?

All of it, except the untrimmed brake hoses

+1 for Draper 08735 Expert set. Great value and great quality. Had em for years.

I built up a pair of the 26″ wider rims from light-bicycle. The published weight of the rims was accurate.

I wouldn’t waste the postage. Most man made fibres are flammable, I believe. Guess you were unlucky but have learned an expensive lesson. At least you weren’t wearing it!

Mixing medication with alcohol. Really, I so much want to listen again to that slurred comment you made but 5 minutes ago (and several times before that).

I would be out (honest!) but I’m stuck behind a desk. It’s also the one day a year that I drive to work rather than ride. What with working away and then Christmas, I’ve only been out riding once in 3 weeks…oh dear. 🙁

I suppose I could go for a soggy night ride later…

Just the three of us at home. No visitors, no visiting, just a quiet, pleasant time. And cheese, lots of cheese.

The truth is out there…somewhere…probably

Cheers davo, sensible advice there!

Get a new job.

Looking at the similar geometry of my current hard tail, size-wise it sits somewhere in between the small and medium 5-spots. I currently use a 70mm stem with an effective top tube of 575 mm, or 645 in total. This roughly equates to the small with a 75 mm stem, or a medium with a 60 mm stem. Based on the numbers, I’m leaning more towards the medium but I suppose the proof is in the riding.

Like the black paint job there Vortex!

Great gallery Digger! You demonstrate the versatility of the 5-spot very well. I would probably go with a 140/150 mm fork and a 1 x10 setup. I’m not in the habit of chucking myself off mountains that often…

Ta Rob. In 20+ years of offload riding I only ever owned one full susser. I’m used to squeezing the available traction from a hard tail. I suspect that I may be spoiled for grip on a 5- spot!

Thanks Coogan

A bottle of Cornish Orchard Gold with lunch. Glass of port and a snooze now 8)

The lunch-induced abdominal twinges have now subsided. It is indeed time for the cheese and port.

Yup, another one here

Nothing this year. Just the three of us. No visiting or visitors, and a veritable smorgasbord of carefully selected food and drinks to get through. Might even manage an hour on the bike but not really bothered either way.

We’re all off for a walk in the rain to see the raging torrent that is the River Frome 8)

Brodie to become double agent in series 3?