Does seem a bit rum to me.

I started fiddling with u-turn and lockout when I first got my forks.

Halfway up a climb I’d realise I was on full travel and/or lockout. Possibly stop and adjust, then I’d realise going downhill I was on short travel etc.

So now I never touch them.

Maybe they need to have a word with Boeing. Might be a good replacement for the ones they’ve got on the 787…

Chainsets!

There are plenty of people in Labour strongholds that wouldn’t vote Conservative if they were forced to, but harbour the kind of right wing mentality (immigrants, Europe etc.) that UKIP give them and would be more comfortable voting for.

Can’t decide if the UKIP South Shields vote was a vote again the Cons, the Lib Dems or Labour. Or, all of the above.

Imagine if we have PR with 26% UKIP…..

Assuming vendor accepts i guess i need to get back to the broker, and i need to appoint a solicitor for the paperwork. Anything i have missed?

Nah, that’s pretty much how it goes. Estate agent will probably ask who your solicitor is (but mainly so they can try and flog you theirs).

As an aside how how much difference can a solicitor make? any firms to avoid like the plague? does going with lender recommended make any real difference?

Are you saying comparing solicitors, or can I do this without a solicitor? Basically you’ll need a solicitor to do the stuff for you, so hopefully the former.

I’m sure they’ll be some people along with horror stories about solicitors missing stuff.

You’ll want someone local as you’ll need to pop in to sigh documents, drop stuff off. Anyone you know that can recommend one they’ve used?

We found out after we used a friend of a friend that he had a reputation for being pretty slow with things (but fairly studious with it, so swings and roundabout).

does going with lender recommended make any real difference?

Nah, no really. I’d probably go with someone that a friend has recommended but failing that it’s a lucky dip anyway so might be worth just going that route.

can I get a chain guard for a 34t ring (in a 5 bolt fitment)?

Yes, Stronglight do one, heres one at Spa Cycles

or is a 39 ring the lowest I could go?

Stronglight do a 130BCD version as well if you decide to go that route.

with regards to building the crankset do I find a double I like, remove the rings and then use the spider, crank arms & bb to build my 34t setup? or can I buy spiders/crank arms separately?

Chainsets normally don’t sell as spider only so you’re probably better off buying a full chainset and selling the outer ring. But for £20 and if you don’t mind having old school square taper then I’ve got one of these on my winter bikes and they’re not bad.

Again, from Spa (and I don’t work there, honest!)

What brand(s) have you found fit you best?

Gore and Pearl Izumi are fine on me. Others I’ve tried like Castelli, Santini even DHB are fine strap-wise too.

So how is interest only mortgage anymore foolhardy than renting for your entire life. It’s not like you’d need to rent a house at current rates whilst on your meagre pension anyway is it?

I have a 34″ waist, so normally take L in most brands of cycling shorts, but I’m 6’5. Am I going to struggle to get any that fit?

I’m fairly close to your measurements and I’d say you should be okay.

Though do bear in mind when you first pull bibs on and stand up they’ll feel completely too short in the bib section. You need to get into a riding position and magically they’ll feel a good fit. Never had a set I’d thought were too short in the straps.

Or if you really really want to annoy your next door neighbours check out the right to light options – you have 12 months after building starts and if they side with you then they potentially have to pull the extension down…..

Scaffolding wise, the close proximity of our properties means that completing the building works without having access from my property will be very difficult for them.

My mate is in a similar situation – his neighbour is being a pain and refusing to allow builders onto their garden. But they haven’t realised all that is going to happen is they get a really messy wall where the builders haven’t bothered/can’t reach.

Cheers Stufive – I’ll check their stuff out first and possibly give you a shout.

Yeah, I don’t mind spending £30+ a pop on lights in the scheme of things. Suppose they’re going to be ‘out of date’ next year anyway like all newish technology.

Maybe he/she is moving money into bank account to cover said purchase. A couple of days isn’t unheard of. Sometimes sending invoice again after a couple of days helps focus the mind.

Don’t be assuming the second bidder will suddenly stump up for the bike – especially after only a day, as they might think its shill bidding and you’ve had a mate bidding the prices up.

Wouldn’t worry too much. There’s a guy round ours I see regularly using a Met Parachute to ride his road bike. Nobody stops and points and laughs at him.

It might have changed now but the c/card companies used little tricks like this – you do a 0% thingy/purchase/transfer.

Then you use the card for something else, say, some forks for £400. You pay the £400 off at the end of the month thinking you’ve paid the forks off. You don’t, that £400 doesn’t go towards your forks ‘cost’ but pays off your 0% balance and you’re getting interest charged on the £400 outstanding from the forks.

If you do the 0%, don’t use the card again.

Check out the collision damage waiver stuff you can buy online before you go – can’t remember the company(s) that do it off the top of my head.

Alloy forks? On a £1100 bike?! Decent carbon ones and it’d be a winner in my eyes.

I spoke with my health provider and they have booked me in for physio, but I wonder whether I just pay and go to see a chiro?

I’d wait for the physio. But my experience of chiros always seem to be “it’ll probably take 30 repeat visits to fix that. Now, whats the problem?”

If anti-matter ‘exists’ then surely it then just becomes matter?

Ariotek seem fine for a couple of cheapies I’ve done for friends.

If it’s just a couple of flat pages then they are quoting a tenner a year for the most basic package

Arioteck basis hosting

Jeez, with the estates I ride though to work, I’d rather NOT be wearing something that says ‘I’m a policeman on a bike’….

Very carefully use a hacksaw on them!

“cut and paste” used to annoy me.

I’d be guessing the crank arm is probably knackered too.

Or possibly a Death Star explosion?!

I live on a hill too. I guess I’d see a rise in the value, given it would a/ still be standing and b/ have excellent sea views

I like your thinking!

Oh, with her 25 years of contributions, the companies equivalent contribution and, say, 5% interest a year I’d be tempted to take the cash….

Ah, never thought about overlap – I’m at the cusp of two sizes so that might sell me on the larger one.

I’ve got a couple of USB drives with a lot of photos on. They’re fariyl cheap and I just pop one round to the folks now and then to keep it ‘off-site’.

The really, really important “first pics of baby Breathe” type pics are on dropbox and SkyDrive.

Anyone happen to know what perceived problem shimano was actually trying to solve with CenterLock?

Much like pressfit b/bs – one bolt for the bike manufacturers to do up, rather than 6.

Tell you what is scary

The fact that little Miss Ro5ey will have done her first year at school in a dozen, or so, weeks.

Agree with that sentiment!

On a security note, all external doors have mortice dead locks and the only spare keys in the house are in a safe. No easy exit route for anyone once they’ve got in….

Well, apart from the route they got in via….

Yep,for bike specific my Gore Phantom is great and I’m lanky with long arms.

jimr80 has got it – neighbours window is on that side and the planners think there’ll be an issue with line of sight. We want 4m out so they said we can do 3m on the boundary wall and the full 4m at least 1m in from the boundary.

one other point to add, for most it is not relevant, but neutral service in a race situation.

Yes, if you factor in 10/11 speed, Campagnolo or Shimano/SRAM, rim brakes, 140mm rotors, 160mm rotors etc. etc. then could take a while just to find the right combination!

Pray god they don’t adopt 15mm or 20mm maxles too!!!!

Even the rim brakes aren’t going to be directly compatible with current frames are they – it’ll obviously need a full run of hose to the back and looking at my road frame I’ve just got a couple of cable stops. Will roadies want to ziptie the hose to their frames?

WMB did a deflection test on a load of cranks a while back, but not sure if they had a middleburn in it.

If its the issue I’m thinking of then, yes, they did have Middleburns in it, though it might have been the X-type ones.

If I do remember correctly the difference between the proper ‘noodly’ chainsets and the stiff ones was so minor (possibly less than 1mm) that I’m not sure people really would notice a difference out on the trails.