The old paint didn't look too bad?

It had pitted in a lot of places. I just rubbed down the bad bits and keyed the rest. There was no point removing good paint.

Were the original forks knackered?

What spray paint did you use as I can never get a decent finish with cans ?

No the forks were fine – I just liked the look of the straight blades more.
The spray was from Focus. Gloss spray – plastikote I think.
The finish is OK considering I did it the garden with the frame suspended from the washing line. It's not very durable though – I'm begining to wish i'd laquered it too.

If they offered you a price put a Buy It Now on the listing and let them buy it.

I think the Marmite thing relates to the brewers yeast mentioned earlier. I presume eating enough of it must make you sweat the stuff.

Brewers yeast or vitamin B1 tablets from the health food shop.
I spoke to the guy in our local shop who said that the active ingredient in brewers yeast to keep midges at bay has been isolated down to vitamin B1. Start taking them now to get them into your bloodstream.

All sounding good. Thanks for taking the time.

Posties are in Saturday but i'm not sure if Parcel Force have ever done Saturday deliveries – not many couriers do (unless you pay extra).

Tails – it's a jump bike and personally I think that will hold it back a little. 2 months ago I bought a bronze 2007 Cowan (hardtail) myself. A guy at works son was selling selling one which I had built up for him about two years earlier. Initially I thought about £400 as a selling price but when I started looking most jump bikes including Cowans were doing anything between £150 to £300 tops. We settled on £250. It has Fox Van R forks, Blackspire bars and stem, Hayes 9s and a few other reasonable spec bits. I still feel like I robbed him a little but he'd 've got less on Ebay i'm sure.
It's a cracking bike though. Had a first real chance to rag it on the road yesterday evening and it's great. Corners well, wheelies and hops about easily. Pity the wife took a shine to it though – it's now a shared bike (she has put up half the cash).

I'll add a Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC to the pot…..

of really hot

and found that

If you just want to put a few miles in use the old railway line to Ravenscar and beyond. Not exciting but a reasonable ride out.

There are some very cheeky trails off to the side of said railway line somewhere around the Boggle Hole area. Big ladder drops and stuff in the woods. Big 'KEEP OUT' signs though.

1. Not bribery. Incentive.

Yeah, I suppose it is. It'll have to be good incentive though.
The worst part of the deal is that they want to make Saturday a regular delivery day. Currently there is supposed to be less mail in the system on Sat' allowing us to work less hours and get home earlier (part of a national agreement a few years ago). Anybody that enjoys going to the footy or anything else considered 'Saturday afternoon enjoyment' is going to be stuffed.

Not looking for sympathy here. I know a lot of people see Royal Mail as a dead duck anyway. Just venting a little.

Lost mine on my old revs on the first ride. I removed it from my Pikes before even riding them, put it my tool kit and covered the bit where it was on the forks with a small rubber cap. It's hardly like you use it all the time anyway.

Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but would have thought that the C-max will have an hydraulicly actuated clutch? How much free play/travel in the clutch pedal have you lost? I very much doubt that the weight of the pedal will actuate the clutch master cylinder and if you pull the pedal away from the master cylinder plunger does it extend out any further? If not then the release bearing will not come back any further and you will do no long term damage.

I'm thinking you are right. The remaining free play taken up by the spring takes it less than half an inch off the plunger. It just sits happily on it and as it is a plastic pedal arm there is very little weight. I think coffeking is right that it would maybe only become an issue if you rest your foot on the pedal a lot as it now rests on the plunger rather the force provided by the spring.

Which spring broke? the return spring or the assist spring?

To be honest I don't know. It didn't have a name, just a code. It's very similar to these….

One end sits in a recess on the upper end of the pedal. The other end of the spring attaches to the pedal backplate somewhere.

What made you notice it?

A noise as the pedal was pressed and the appearance of the remaining part of the spring in the footwell.

Similar problem here…..

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/recommend-me-some-vicious-nasty-spikey-outdoor-plants

The planters are now bedded nicely on top of the wall. They just remain empty of plants at the moment.

They used anti-climb paint at my kids school on top of the perimeter stone walls but it seems to have soaked into the stone and dried up. It could do with more been applied.

Joined in the hope that all future dig talk can be done here in front of the PC. Cyber digging – it could catch on?

People will tell you there is no better way to spend a sunday morning – They're wrong, but getting out and lifting a shovel or wheeling a barrow once a month is good for the soul.

Brother in-law and family got a work transfer to Skipton 3 or 4 years ago. They looked at houses in Skipton but they were very expensive. In the end they settled on Barnoldswick. Big house on a newish estate – much more than they would have got in Skipton. His wife does a commute the other way to Burnley. It seems to be about as central as they can get for both locations.

It's nearly the end of the tax year and the BBC hasn't met it's quota on ethnic related news stories.

—

Hopefully you set off from here…..

http://www.multimap.com/s/TWGTDge4

The Boulder Trail is in the trees below the red dot. A lot of trees on the LH side of the road have been felled (where the Descent Line now runs).
Norwood is on the RH side of the map. If you scroll up the map you can see the mast compound and the little car park that I mentioned to the left next to the road.

Rode it last night (16th). It was undoubtably Stainburn at it's best. Dry, fast and fun.
The Boulder Trail and the woodwork was all dry making for a great session.
Norwood over the road is drying up nicely too (ride to the top corner of the red/start of the DL, cross the road into the other woods and pick up the trail heading left, exit in the small car park, go through the 2nd gate up to the mast, head right at the top and right again into the trees. The rest of the old trails are pretty much still there right across to the trig point and beyond).

I really do think, at the very least that this 'pushing' incident should be reported to the police. At least it is recorded and logged on the system. Anybody else experiencing the same sort of behaviour should also do the same. Sooner or later the police will have to pay a visit.
Don't ring 999. Call West Yorks police on 0845 6060606.

First place I ever went skinny dipping – cold but great fun. Those empty beaches are just marvelous.
If standing stones are your thing you must visit Callanish (that's a must regardless). The tallest stone in Scotland is up on the northern tip too.
Stop and visit the little arts and crafts places in the old blackhouses as you travel around and chat with folk there.
It's such a long way away that it almost feels like a pilgrimage getting there, but worth every minute.
I need to get my kids there now, after all we did name our son after the place.

Jolly phonics anybody? Give him a break – he might only be 5 years old.

RM Slayer SXC?

Our Focus C-Max is currently running Maxxis tyres on all four corners. I can't say that I have noticed any difference at all between them and the bigger branded tyres tyres previously fitted. The were new as the snow came so they worked very well then, but i'm sure any new tyre would have done the same.
The guys at the tyre place use them too, which I think adds a certain amount of confidence. £50 each on plastic or £45 cash. Castle Tyres, Castlefields, Bingley.

Liking the Hovis 'aged' look at the begining.

A mate came off his bike stumbling sideways down a banking through a big patch of nettles. Unfortunately for him when the nettles stopped the banks of the River Aire began. Stung and soaked in one go.

Years ago another lad I used to ride with was coming down Altar Lane and overshot a bend over the wall and into a big patch of nettles. I still remember him emerging saying "At least i've still got my Oakleys on".

Footers.

LOL at Sweepy – Pedo's :lol:

All I would say is that it is a pretty good description. Good spelling and not the usual half cocked illiterate nonsense that is often associated with stolen stuff.

but the lid should be down when not in use

Here, here.

If you are driving forget Beckfoot Lane – the ford has been blocked either side by huge concrete barriers after some dick in a big 4wd drive Porsche thing had a bit of trouble with the current and was stuck there all day.
Sandy Banks is only passable in a 4×4.
Options are Wilsden/Cottingley or Keighley (& Thwaites Brow if you feel brave) i'm afraid.

http://www.irelandbridge.co.uk/

What about the p*ss just after a shag? – gotta sit down for that one.
Sit down during the night – it's just easier without the light/fan on. Less chance of a miss.

Gruesome.

I reckon the OP pic must have been going for that cyborg look but failed miserably.

Had the mesh op' nine years ago. The area around the op' is now very unsensitive. It still aches or feels numb occasionally but otherwise it's been fine. I had 6 weeks off work (postman). The worst part of the recovery process was sneezing or taking a dump.

XT M776 – 20mm forks required though. Strong, light, tubeless and look good too.

Are you repainting it? If so and most of the old paint is sound just rub down the problem areas with an abrasive paper blending it in to what remains. There is no point in removing good paint. Just key it all over before repainting. Just done exactly the same on an old GT frame and the results look good.

Use an old gear cable with the stopper on the end. Place it through the recess on your fork crown and run the free end of the cable end into your (blue?) adjuster. Set and nip up the compression at your desired level and forget about it.