Fair enough, so what about the new 11spd Campag Super Record, heard any stories about it? I haven't tried it personally but it would be good to hear anything before I buy it 😆

That time of year again eh 🙁

I was certainly happy with my DX P7s last year, thought about buying a new one for this year seeing as they now have brought out THIS dedicated bike light kit with a much longer run time and still cheap as chips 8)

Looks pretty good but the rubber holder bands look a bit flimsy.

Was actually thinking of changing out the whole 7800 groupset for Red or Campag, why? Because I'm a Campag roady at heart and the bike was a great deal I couldn't say no to and as complete came with 7800. Only liked the look of the Red and not heard any bad stories about it, so might make me think again if the crank is not up to the job.

Dogtag gets my vote.

Transition

Crayfish are fantastic to eat, here in Sweden they even have a traditional celebration for it called a 'kräftskiva' involving eating them and drinking akvavit (snaps)

We catch them from a local lake, take them home alive, wash in salt water for a couple of mins and then drop them into boiling water with dill, they die instantly and cook through in 4-5 mins.

Great party and you can even buy crayfish party kits over here with nice hats 8)

And here's a good link of: Swedish crayfish party info

I must admit that over the last couple of months I am becomming more tempted with a 29er, I would love to try one but the chances of finding a 29er to test in Sweden is slim to nothing, let alone a FS 29er 🙁

This is what is tempting me: Superfly 100

It's not that I am uphappy with my Giant Anthem Advanced, in fact the opposite but being 6'2" riding a bigger rig is tempting plus I think it would be faster and more enjoyeable for the trails I ride over here.

It's only the fact that I can't test one and the big cost that's putting me off.

I have one of those braces also and use to wear it when I climbed but I found it to unconfortable to wear all day, it started to cause more restriction pain than the actual tennis elbow 🙁

Only after a couple of years with the brace I had a particular bad session of pain coming back from Morzine last year that I found the above rehabilitation guide. I went through it start to finish and it worked 100%, but you have to keep it up. So far I have found no magic brace or tablet to buy to get rid of it, just this rehabilitation.

😆

I didn't buy anything, just followed the 3 phase rehabilitation guide, worked a treat and even better it's free 8)

Have had similar problems I think caused by years of rock climbing, nothing on bike would help, but THIS certainly did, fantastic advice.

It is a must for anyone visiting the area, totally unique landscape and riding, I was there 2 weeks ago. Def ride AM, I was out by 7.15, any later and the heat/sun is a killer, there is zero shade on the trail. I also rode up to the trail from Moab, not too far but all up hill on the way there. Make sure you do the practice loop on the way, not only is it practice but it's good riding. The main trail is no harder, just longer.

Overall I was quite surprised how hard the ride was, not that I was expecting it to be easy, but it is a couple of hours of interval training with plenty of pushing up. You have to imagine riding over boulders, steeps ups followed by steep down etc. There are some wonderful longer descent sections where you can venture off the white dots and carve your own line up the natural rock berms. As for keeping a light front wheel, I reckon there is a section that 90% of riders must go over the bars, slick rock down to small drop off and sand pit, about 1/3 of the way round (clockwise), just after the loop split. Luckily I'm use to going over the bars so bail out pretty well lol 😆

I rented a Yeti 575 from TJ at Poison Spider, great helpful guy, highly recommended, it was a nice ride but any XC bike would do, just don't rent a DH type bike as this would be a pig to get round. My preference would be lightweight rather the burly, yes the rock can be harsh on the sus/bike but those ups will be much more bearable and you will not lose any of the DH fun.

You can also join guided tours if you want to venture further a field but feel riding alone a little risky etc.

A couple of phone pics:

Dot to dot…

Archers in the distance:

Looking down to Moab:

ou lot should be over at

Pez Cycling

Goodness there are a few BOBWFOCW in there 😆

Edited to add that that doesn't include the 2 above, my word what a large sausage she has in her hands etc etc 😈

I got this brand new one from a small shop in Sweden who let it go for £2750 after some haggling, guess the 2010 stuff will be out soon so they need to make way etc. RRP over here was a staggering 7k!!!!!

First ride felt very nice, really fast compared to my old heavy ally kit, but did notice the strong side wind more on the front wheel, no drama mind. Down the South of Sweden we don't have any Col du Huge Cat a type stuff, just little bumps so they should suit quite well 😀

Thanks for the tire tips, will swap them over to my Ultremos, don't want any cheek ops just yet etc 😳

6.9 pro, bought on Monday for a steal, fine time to update my old ride 8)

I would say that if you already in reasonable shape that you can get fun race fit within a year. That would include a good diet and riding your bike properly (2-4 hours at a time) at least twice a week. But it is important to build fitness up gradually, start with 1 hour rides and over the year build up to 6 hour + outings. Type and speed of rides also important, I tend to vary fast race speed training rides with long leisurely weekend rides to keep things interesting etc.

But is really is different for everyone due to their general fitness, age, diet, etc.

I'm 37 and been training for race fitness for 1.5 years now, both MTB, DH and road, had good general fitness before mind. I now compete in XC and Marathon XC races and tend to place upper mid field. To be honest I only train so I can enjoy my riding without feeling knackered but I can't help the occasional race to blow the cobwebs out the lungs 😆

Sounds like a similar position to me, deceided to finally buy myself a new road bike as the old one just looks very very worn out now and is about 15 years out of date lol.

So set myself ~2k budget, new or used and the options are bloody endless 😕 doing my head in, just when I decide to buy X bike complete I check the web a few hours later and decide the Y bike is better for me, the the next day Z bike turns up and I want that, so on so on 😆

The Planet X deals look good but really wanted a campag groupset, there is a brand new CR1 frame on bike radar that looks a good deal but there is also a couple of good 2nd hand bikes floating around for the right cash: Felt Z15, Scott Addict & BH G4!!

AND then to top it all off today I think that maybe I should go Ti 😆 No helping me!!!

The pain in my arm is related to a occasionally reoccurring tennis elbow problem I had after rock climbing for years, comes a goes, just feels like someone is jabbing a screw driver in there and also locks solid when real bad. I had it properly diagnosed a few years back through the docs, they couldn’t really offer much solution apart from stretching and rehabilitation exercises, well apart from stop doing whatever is making it hurt which can be just about anything 🙁

Good luck to the Koenigsegg Group, knowing them all personally I think they have the inovative mind set to actually pull this fairy tail off. It’s been all over the news in Sweden for days now, even had a 20min prime news time interview last night with Christian, the SAAB VD and the lady government minister. High hopes from the Swedish population.

I think it won’t be long at all knowing how fast these guys work before we start to see their influences. Apparently they are aiming to make the cars more lux than GM had planned, so I guess aiming at the upper Audi/BMW/Merc etc market segment.

I know the feeling, had the next door 6 year old boy etch a pretty star into the bonnet of my 911 with a stone a while back, I nearly passed out when I saw his artwork 😯

Ever since I snarl and give the kid the evils, I think I’m finally starting to get to him now after 15 years of pressure 😆

They are pretty snug on my road bike, but I would say more a good fit Sidi than overly tight and restrictive. I went a size up on my Sidi Dragon 2 SRS so they are definately not too tight.

Hmm, I wonder if I have had poor peripheral circulation??? I have been coming home with very cold feet recently despite it not being very cold outside???

GIMF: Crampex contains calcium gluconate to help correct any calcium deficiency, cholecalciferol to aid calcium absorption and nicotinic acid to improve poor peripheral circulation.

Dibbs, that is exactly the same problems as I had, but hopefully I have got rid of it now, if it comes back again I may well try a tablet like Crampex. Any idea what the contents are?

Pretty much everything: calfs, quads, hamstrings, groin, back, neck & arms/shoulders. But held longer or did double sets on the calfs, quads and hamstrings as they were the problem areas before.

This kind of stuff: Stretch guide on the net

Bananas also help I believe due to their sodium content.

I thought stretching before riding was a good idea until I just googled it, seems there are contrasting reports and ideas. I think a light stretch before helps me combined with a warm up. But I’m not expert by any stretch of the imagination 😉

Thanks for everyones posts, I think it was down to me not stretching properly. Stretched 5 times last Thursday and before the ride on Friday, then rode 130k which included 6 big climbs and never cramped once.

Very happy, lesson learnt, stretching properly is a must from now on, sometimes the simple things are the most important 🙄

I have always been notoriously bad for stretching, I think this is my main problem as I am very good with hydration. Just tried to stretch now and couldn’t even stretch my quads because the back of my legs just cramped up 😯 😥

Going to try and stretch now 5 times a day to see if it helps, plus I’ll pick up some tonic water before Fridays ride and see what it does.

Cheers

😉 Can’t say too much or else I’ll not get offered another set at the end of this season 😆

Just wish I could blag a pair of green pro 2s as well for my Blindside 8)

SNAP @ Bikebreaker 😀 well the mini version anyway.

Cheers for the tip oldgit, unfortunately that cap is an orange maxxis one so sorry to disappoint your 12yrd old 😉

Much hulkness, my new 09 Sids 😀

Found it, 73×113 if anyone ever wants to know again.

For once I have been lucky then, I was sssooooooo close to buying an 09 Epic but at the last min a Anthem Advanced came up for the right money so went with that.

Hope Specilized sort it out properly soon so you guys can concentrating on enjoying the ride and not when it’s going to fall apart 🙁

I have an 08 Advanced setup very light and say it is a great all day bike that pedals and handles a dream, I also use it for racing. I could not recommend it more for everything XC. IMHO it is definately not an out and out racer.

But, it’s not a bike I’d take with me when things get more freeride/downhill orientated and I think my bike would struggle with a heavy rider. I guess one could be built up a bit tougher for a rider like that mind.

Very happy with my X0 KCNC wheels but can’t comment on life yet as I’ve only had them a month, so far so good though.

Update, you can also go for the 61902-RS1 bearings which have 2 rubber seals instead of plastic seals, better protection from dirt and water but do run slightly more friction, but not that you’ll really feel it on an MTB.

Can anyone recommend a tyre for street/debt collection use?

P7 from Dealextreme, heard they’re the best and cost peanuts???

Keep the peace, smoke the pipe 😉

Personally I think IWH has got himseld in a right old mess rather than setting out to screw anyone. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s done something odd, post the higher value shock. People do odd things when they’re in a mess.

Thats my take on it, but hasn’t he also offered the same item more than once for sale?

I’ve seen this happen before, not with bike stuff but with car tuning parts.

4 years ago a local lad started selling car performance parts from his bed room, not literally but just over the net. Because he had no overheads like other proper tuning shops he could sell stuff cheaper and so he became very popular very quickly. However as he had no cash up front for stock what he would do is take full payment for parts and then order them from suppliers in Japan, the parts then arrived a few weeks later and he would forward them to the buyers. No worries for the buyers as they knew what he was doing and we prepared to wait a month or so to save a few hundred quid.

Anyway, what happened was he got greedy with the mini fame and amounts of cash passing through his hands and started to spend the cash on himself before paying for the parts. Not a problem for a few hundred quid but this quickly came a few thousand quid and eventually tens of thousands of pounds!

In the end he dug himself in a massive hole with no cash to buy himself out, the companies he owed money to (as he was that well known) came round his house, sat him down and ended up taking away all his cars to pay some of what he owed. Unfortunately the normal customers just lost the cash. He ended up having to move in with his girlfriends parents and take a massive loan underwritten on his girlfriend’s parent house just to settle part of the debts.

A sad story but what makes it even more like IWH is that the whole time this was going on, over 6 months he was super super nice to everyone and would tell them about his personal problems, missing in post, late deliveries etc. Most people wanted to believe him because he was so nice and they didn’t want to admit they had been taken for a ride.

I know this in details because I was one of the companies who lost money as a result, live and learn eh.

Good luck to those involved in getting their money back, my advice is a friendly visit letting Lee asking for cash back, if required a drive to the cash machine with him and probably his mum!

For future ref to anyone else with the same question the SKF bearing part number is 61902-2RZ / C3VT105 or the IJK part number is 6902RS.

LBS helped me out with a tool, charged me 20 quid labour and they stripped the hub down and fitted the new bearings.