In 2005 I bought a X-Reg, 3-door 1.6 Focus which accommodated 3 riders & bikes numerous times. I ran it for 5 years/30k miles with no issues (save a new pair of front tyres). Great car around town too. Only sold it cos small person arrived.

Mud dock are terrible!
zero G/spesh concept(same mob) are OK, looong waiting time for workshops though
Evans so so
Strada is very roadie biased (nowt wrong with that)
Psyclewerx have no stock
Cyclesurgery in filton and the bike station in yate are my best experiences so far.

Agree about Mud Dock.
Have found Zero G in Bedminster to be very helpful.
Evans – Good for the occasional bargain.
Never been to Strada, so can’t comment.
Psyclewerx – limited experience but they’ve had what I wanted (pads, chain device, lock-ons).
Cycle Surgery in Filton is like Evans, but smaller.

Another few to consider are:

Fred Bakers (Stokes Croft) was always the shop for me when growing up (mostly road/touring). There’s also Cyclelife – good for entry level stuff and workshop.

Harvey’s Cycle Exchange in Henleaze is one of those old-fashioned bike shops. Very knowledgeable chap runs it who is always willing to help if he can. Proper customer service.

With regard to workshops, I think the increasing popularity of cycling means that many shops are running at capacity. It’s a case of shop further afield, be patient, or learn to do stuff yourself where possible.

BIKE is still my go-to shop though.

There always Cash Converters, innit?

BIKE (Bristol)

I learnt that my forks were not able to absorb the impact of a small tree stump that appeared spontaneously from the gloop.

I subsequently learnt that the elastic loop at the bottom of each leg on my waterproof baggies could hook itself over my brake lever and conspire to leave me trapped under my bike, flapping around like a fat, muddy fish out of water.

It’s better to regret something you have done, than to regret something you haven’t done.

I’ve had loads of abuse at Kingsholm….but then I was a travelling Bristol fan. It’s all them Forest Dwellers with 6 fingers on each hand, you know.

I have 819s and Flows.

The 819s are tubeless faff-free and, initial set-up aside, so are the Flows.

UST tyres from Panaracer/Maxxis/Continental all inflated easily using a track pump.

Don’t think. FEEL. It’s like a finger pointing at the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory!

Cotic Soda with Fox F120s

Haven’t bought a whole bike for 6 or so years. These days I tend to pick up frame-only based on level of shinyness, previous personal experience and the reviews/thoughts of others.

The liner notes say Slither is dedicated to the memory of Ronnie James Dio.

Seems to me they’ve been listening to the first few King Crimson albums. Just gave Heritage a second listen this afternoon. Great stuff. Looking forward to seeing them in November.

What nixie says. I have the XMM140s. They took a while to bed in but are now plush-as-you-like. It did take a while to find the optimum pressure for my weight/riding style though. Sounds like there isn’t anything mechanically wrong with yours (“They don’t feel stiff once they get moving”) so I’d just set them up stiff at 80psi and let out 5psi at a time until you find something you’re happy with. Either that or sell them and buy something else!

L5/S1 full thickness tear here (playing rugby 12 years ago). I get occasional sciatic pain and my back muscles are generally quite tight. Also, I work at a desk, which definitely isn’t ideal!

Best thing I’ve ever done for it is core strengthening exercises and regular stretching. First thing I do every morning is roll out of bed and do a load of back stretches. I also find a hot bath followed by ice pack on the lower back helps reduce muscle tightness and hence pain.

The box, if you have it, should have the number 0100423 on it.

Had our system power flushed last year. Plumber was here all day (about 9 hours). 8 radiators flushed & a couple of new valves fitted. £500 all in. I know that sounds a lot, but it’s the labour that costs.

Edit: Oh, and it made a massive difference to the CH. We had to turn it down a couple of levels immediately after flushing. Along with the double-glazing and government subsidised loft insulation we have installed, we’re in for a toasty warm winter.

My Holeshot is built up with the following:

New bits
DT Swiss XMM 140 Twinshot (from bike24.de for about £450 last year)
Stans’s Flow on 2nd hand CK hubs (worked out around £330 with spokes/ tubeless bits)
Ragley Wiser pus-coloured carbon bars
Madison Flux saddle

Old bits
XTR shifters/mechs/pedals
Middleburn X-type cranks/rings
Hope BB/headset/Tech M4 brakes
Thomson stem/seatpost

It’s not the lightest!

Iodine owner here. See this thread from 8 months ago.

CB Iodines

Since the repair, the wheels have been fine. Would I buy them again? No. Pawl carrier issues aside, the sealing in the rear hub is rubbish. Now, I’m quite fond of fettling. However, stripping down a free hub and cleaning the pawls/springs everytime I ride in the mud is not my idea of fun. They’re summer wheels only now.

I did the same until I got a thorn puncture that also holed the tube I put in…now I use sealant.

Scott Helium Paclite. Had a pair for a year or so. They have been faultless. They size up small. Currently a snip at £45 online at Evans

linky

I wear a hi-viz gilet over whatever else I’ve got on. Also got reflective tape stuck to my helmet…

5’8″ tall
16″ Virsa
I am a little short in the leg though! (29″ inside leg).

Noah’s Ark?

Not sure on their stock levels though.

I mean, come on! Have you seen the price of a Lambo these days? How on earth can they expect me to pay that much?

It’s better to regret something you have done, than to regret something you haven’t done…

Currently running Tech X2s on one bike, and Tech M4s on another bike. Both sets of brakes have plenty of bite although when new, the rotors & sintered pads did take some bedding in.

I have ridden aluminium, steel & titanium hardtail frames. They have all cracked. I have no reason to believe that a carbon frame would behave any differently!

It could have been that child’s face.

What nonk said. I had the same issue with Flows. Bodging a small rubber washer sorted it.

god damn holeshots. Can i borrow one for 50 years please?

Given I had to wait 6 months for it to arrive on my doorstep, I’m more than a little reluctant to lend it out… 8)

My Brodie Holeshot complete with new wheels ( hubs from STW classifieds 🙂 )

Sorry about the tangled mess of cables – must get around to sorting that out.

Wandering out to the back garden at 7am to pick blueberries to go on my porridge.

Britain is now sick to the power of rad, which I believe offically makes us gnarly.

You can patch with Stans tape – just make sure that the section to be patched is thoroughly clean and grease free.

If england had turned posession into points in the first been good enough, they’d have been untouchable won the match.

^ What Rorschach said. Even just truing up a wobble is satisfying.