my v-brakes sent my braking surface concave from too much riding in the wet. New rims aren’t cheap.
Never had that with discs. as others said, will be surprised if you find many agreeing with you.
And on the feathering, you’re entitled to an opinion but surely it’s just that – how do you have any evidence of anyone else’s braking technique??

When you see an AA driving school car being driven by an instructor with a mobile phone to his ear you realise there is no hope for any improvement in driving standards anytime soon.

And this is the nub of the issue – he’s clearly not fit of attitude and should not be a driving instructor. Using a phone is a conscious decision, not a moment of poor judgement.

But all I could do was look, see and be appalled. No time to get evidence to get in front of his employer so he was retrained, disciplined or sacked…

Infrastructure is not the answer. IMO it’s a huge part of the problem. It suggests cyclists should not be in the road.

The reason I’m at risk of getting killed or injured when I ride my bike is mainly cars/vans/lorries not driving safely – at an appropriate speed and giving me appropriate space. it’s not the car, it’s the way it’s driven…

We need behavioural change

Which will come partly from proper enforcement of the law, or at least some kind of consequence for drivers who put their convenience ahead of the lives and health of cyclists.

I understand about delegation, I’ve managed a number of people over the years and almost all of them have been promoted. It’s something I’m quite proud about.
Which is also why this situation bothers me. I know that motivating people means giving them challenging tasks and that if you give somebody something menial, you’ll demotivate them and you can hardly complain if they don’t enjoy doign it.
Whats happened here infact is that the admin task has been delegated upwards… I suspect it’s easier to give it ‘to the temp’ than to a perm person…
And my job title, yes. A few years ago it would have a been a manager role. I’d be quite happy with that

Micky. I take your point.
however I’ve already raised the point that my time is being mis-allocated but was told to get on with it.
it’s not even in my job description.
Not sure what else I can do other than escalate to Head of Dept or HR which would just cause conflict cos someone has to do this stuff (and no-one wants to). I suspect I’d be seen as creating a problem.

The role I applied for I think I would be fine in senior position, but the reality of the role is it’s hugely different from the job description and my skills… I’ve raised this and nothing’s changed… having spoken to another senior manager on the team who knows what the role should be, his view was they have the job desc wrong…

it’s a bit like having a pop at Steve Peat for not outrunning Usain Bolt… response would be along the lines of ‘what do you expect, i never said i was any good at that…’

Fuzzhead, my thinking too. Unless done honestly they’re worth nothing and prob do a lot of damage by breaking the trust between employer and employee…

This company use contracting to try people out for perm roles. Which overall I think is a good idea. In situations like this it means you can leave, which would be much harder to do in a perm situation

Amusingly enough we have Silver Investors in People status 😕

My contract is due to end in 3 months, although there’s prob the opportunity to extend, and I’m about to apply for a position in the Corporate Strategy team. I have to ask her permission so should be interesting to see her reaction…
I guess it’ll either be relief (she no longer has to cope with me being around) or she’ll try to block it in a passive aggressive way as it feels like rejection…

Its not at all unusual to find someone occupying a chair thats just too big for their backside, and too scared to admit it.

Spot on IME. My boss I think can do a lot of her job very well, but I don’t think she believes it herself. Without meaning to I seem to trigger her insecurity (as I said, I don’t intend for my gain to come at her loss). This is a recurring pattern I’ve experienced over the last few years and am struggling to find a way to stop it happening – I can’t hide my ability can I? and I can’t control their negative reaction…

Someone explain IR35 to me, I don’t see how it’s relevant. I;’m on payroll with the company that manages my employer’s recruitment, not self employed or have my own company. I’m not invoicing, I fill in timesheets…

Probably from the sound of it you may well be a threat to your immediate boss,

explain how you’ve come to this conclusion from what I wrote?

My last job my boss told me he felt threatened by me so it’s a recurring theme… I work hard to do a good job and I’m told I’m pretty insightful but in no way do I try and succeed at anyone else’s expense so I’m not trying to threaten or otherwise undermine my boss…

‘twenty years ago’ is always seen as better than today.
it’s False nostalgia. Don’t forget you were a lot younger, had a different life, fewer responsibilities and probably a much more optimistic/naive world view.

IMO live for today and stop regretting a past that never was.

I think it’s pretty poor form to complain about relatively marginal stuff like playing in the fields when we live in one of the richest, healthiest and freest countries in the world without anything like the problems of most people in most other countries…

You could always move to Syria, or Greece, or Israel, or North Korea, or Zimbabwe…

any company that allows a control freak like that have responsibility over others needs to take a close look at themselves. The end result will be worse for them for ignoring it as the good people leave, motivation, initiative and productivity fall.
I’ve never known anyone thrive under a control freak.
I wouldn’t kick up a fuss, you don’t have any power in this situation – the hierarchy is against you.
I would just find a better job in another company.
If you have become indispensable then presumably you do a good job, so be prepared to have this happen again… it’s the curse of being decent and competent in corporate life IME

learn to manual and pump
A day’s training will payback in spades
A cheaper method is Brian Lopez book. Read it, practice, go and practice some more
Relax too, and let the bike move beneath you

I vote this thread for the new Picolax…

What are we supposed to hit if they take the trees away?

IMO BKB is not that well suited to newbies, even tho it’s getting a lot of focus as one of the main trails for the area. Lots of roots+ the bombhole after the first couple of corners comes up quickly and would phase most inexperienced riders IMO. Braking at the top of that gives you a long way to fall..
So I guess we’re going to see more of this. Especially if we do well in the Olympics…

I ride road far more than MTB these days but it;s still all good. I go mountain biking when I want, not just a reflex action as it used to be.
Mix it up, enjoy the improved fitness you get from road bike, and more free time and cash (less maintenance).
In time you’ll miss the sheer fun of mtb and and go back to it and find a new balance
It’s all bikes, all good 🙂

I’ll skip being opinionated about your diagnosis of the cause here, but if you’re a big strong bloke who likes his Soul then I can’t see a better option than a BFe with stiffer cranks (and maybe BB) That’s kind of why Cy created it AFAIK

I commute and ride with Dulwich Paragon at weekends and am not holding out much hope of driver/cyclist behaviour changing or the law being enforced on anyone anytime soon…

Exhibit a) the number of cyclists piling along the towpath in Paddington without easing up or even covering their brakes when riding against the flow of the rush hour peds, just expecting people to get out of their way…
Exhibit b) cyclist going straight through a red light in Islington in front of two police cars who did nothing at all
Exhibit c) driver in an AA Instructor’s car driving whilst using his mobile!
Exhibit d) the drivers who lean on their horns when they come up behind the club ride, expecting 20+ riders just to get out of their way… especially the horsebox who nearly took me out a couple of weeks ago, to express their frustration at having had to hold back for a few minutes down a narrow country lane…

…. and breathe… looks like a lovely weekend for riding 🙂

Hopefully the price of petrol going astronomical will force people to re-consider driving as the only option, experience other forms of transport and then finally get the idea the car is not king of the road…

Cotic Roadrat with flat bars. Fun handling and upright position like a mountain bike. fast skinny wheels like a road bike
I have disc brakes on mine for safety when riding in traffic. love it

My Campag hubs roll and roll and roll. Smoothest bearings I’ve ever experienced. Can be a problem freewheeling in groups on downhills cos I keep gaining on the man in front…

I know that’s not the question you asked but it may be worth considering quality of bearings as well. The wheels are Scirocco – mid-range by Campag standards. The rims aren’t aero but the spokes are flat bladed

I’m intrigued to know where all these trails are…especially with switchbacks…
I know the T trails and I’ve seen the new one which runs down the RHS of the road and comes out into Walking Bottom (although not ridden it)
Can anyone shed any light?

Driving is like alcohol, reveals people’s real intelligence and character…

Was reading an article the other day on flying cars – they’re getting close to getting some working prototypes. The inventors aren’t sure they really want to develop them, given the average driving ability, flying cars would be carnage.

Roll on Google’s self-driving cars…

I have it on very good authority (a guy I met at work is a friend of his) that he plays golf in his spare time.
Will they be showing that? 😉

personally I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a part the same colour. If mismatched tubes are acceptable, why do they sell bikes all the same colour!?
I would check the warranty, you may find the small print allows them to palm you off
And buy Cotic next time, their customer service is awesome!

I did it over 2 days in 2010. I was fit at the time but that was still hard. Cotic Soul. Day2 I was feeling it on the saddle and reckoned a race full suss would have helped the discomfort.
I have a Five too, i think the weight would make it unsuitable tbh
A carbon seatpost on yr hardtail would be my recommendation
I would also wait until we’ve had a couple of weeks of sun to bake it hard – you’ll roll a lot faster
re water, you’ll need loads but plenty of taps en route. there’s a website somewhere which gives you all the map refs. I marked them on my OS maps and took them with me. Without regular water you’ll be in a bad way IMO
Enjoy, it’s a great ride

big difference btw MTB and road is road you’re never too far away from help. worst comes to the worst you can phone a cab to get you home, or to nearest train station. + less to go wrong in the first place.
So you can go far far lighter on spares, just make sure you have the basics as listed above, phone, cash and card and you;ll be right.
IME things hardly ever go wrong on the road, in comparison to mtb

Grew up in Cheshire
London for Uni – always had an interest in the place.
Worked and lived in London since graduation pretty much except for a short stint in Reading and an abortive attempt at living in Manchester last year.
Weather’s better down South, most of my friends are here, love the buzz, culture and internationalness of London. Suspect I’ll be in the SE for ever now, unless I emigrate

As has been said, riding closely in a group increases your speed for a given amount of effort (although you do need to learn how to ride safely on someone’s wheel, with someone else on your wheel)
+ if you ride regularly with a club you’ll get much fitter than you would by riding on your own IME – the group thing I find means I ride harder so I build fitness faster
Enjoy, club riding is a hell of a lot more fun that on yr own

It’s just the new word that people who think it’s important to look cool are using. By using it they are demonstrating they’re not cool, just (super)sheep.

re Reggie Perrin clip, I fear that’s too close to the truth about a lot of management decisions

Don’t stay around manipulative people if you can help it, they can ruin your life, even if you’re good at your job and a good person.

Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing

This book will confirm your suspicions and help you spot their games whilst you prepare your exit strategy.

Any company worth working at, IMO, looks after its people and suppliers, or at least doesn’t screw them over. Those that do screw over employees and suppliers tend to fall apart eventually IME

And life’s too short to work in companies which are unhappy places.

There are far nicer bits to Cheshire.
Hurdsfield IRRC is the nicer part of town, and you’re halfway up the hill to the Peaks

IME the people who hate Morrissey have never really sat and listened to the music or thought about what he has to say.
He basically says it as he sees it, and a lot of it is what people want to say/admit to but haven’t the courage – he’s the most eloquent writer about personal insecurities and fears I know. Equally the comments he makes which come across as racist ‘With a Rush and a Push…’ – there’s plenty of people who’ll express those ideas behind closed doors who haven’t the balls to say it in public. And we all know racism comes from personal insecurity…
+ people don’t understand the concept of an author or singer taking a role/persona ie: they’re not necessarily his personal views…
If you listened to his Desert Island Discs you’ll find he’s a very insightful, very considered individual, and actually comes across as a nice guy.
His attitude to work is spot on too – for so many people, their job is boring, stressful, unsatisfying, soul-destroying but they do it because they want the money. That’s just the point he’s making. It’s really a call to arms for employers to care a little bit more, and I can’t see many people disgreeing with that…
Oh, and just like Clarkson, he says stuff cos he knows it winds people up. Childish? probably, but it’s yr own problem if you let it wind you up…

publically available – chocolate milk or milk
at home: banana, milk, honey and oats. good mix of sugar, carbs, protein, nothing unhealthy at all and damn tasty

We need to get used to the feeling of not being as wealthy as we thought we were – Dig in and get used to it.
We won’t suddenly be poor, just not as rich as we thought we were for the last 15 years, and the gap between us and other countries just won’t be as great.
I’m not convinced the money we thought we had was exactly making us happy anyway, more like obese and depressed if you look at the stats. We just spanked it on TV’s iPods, cars, holidays and over-priced houses etc

so it may not actually be a bad thing…

sometimes the people being offended need to just accept the fact that they’re offended and that by being so that’s their choice and doesn’t give them the right to punish someone else for thinking differently…

Metallica – Nothing Else Matters makes me feel better when I feel like I;m surrounded by nasty idiots…

I love the UK and all my friends and family are here. My parents are in their 70s and I want to be around to look after them in their later years. But…
I don’t have a problem with the way the country is being run. But I do worry that power and opportunity in the world is moving. And the general response from GB Joe Public is more than a little bit whiny.
Personally when you’re in a hard place I think the best thing to do is stand tall, dig in and fight your way through the tough times. I think UK public have been too wealthy for too long and I;m not sure we have the fight in us.
So if, in order to have a good job and future opportunities to live a decent life amongst positive people, then I will move abroad.
That said I live in the Republic of London which is possibly as good as any other major world city in terms of pragmatism, work ethic, positivity and openness to change…

I had a 2006 one which got replaced with a 2010 one. It’s got additional awesome in the tubes 🙂

Radioman speaks sense.
I don’t remember many people complaining when they thought they were £20k richer after a year of owning their house, having done absolutely zilch to add value, just going with the market.
That money that people used to buy those houses came from the bankers, remember?
But we’d rather not accept that we, as consumers, got as greedy as the politicians and the bankers.
And to let the media and politicians manipulate us into blaming the bankers for everything makes us pretty damn naive IMO.
The whole country got greedy. End of
I mean, how can I, really, justify owning five bikes!