I’d walk, very nasty stuff, difficult to get rid and can force its way through concrete.

Whilst I’ve seen it on a number of sites and it has, at times, disturbed tarmac paths etc I think this is a bit of an over-statement.

It’s not great stuff but folks tend to over-react about it. Nightmare if your brownfield site has it admittedly. But if it’s a patch in the corner of the garden then it’s not the end of the world.

Who found and reported it? A building survey? Get a professional to survey it if you really like the property and come up with recommendations on how to deal with it. Google for contractors or a jobbing landscaper might be able to help. Afterall, it was introduced as an ornamental plant for gardens so I imagine there’s plenty of housese in the UK who have it that aren’t falling down or at risk of immediate, catastrophic collapse ;-)

EA stuff is good starting place but bear in mind it’s often construction / waterways management biased i.e. focused on the “bigger” problem areas. Encapsulation criteria etc are all a bit much in your instance I imagine.

BTW, it’s a offence to spread or cultivate it (IIRC) so I’d suggest you don’t chuck it over the “prospective” neighbour’s fence ;-)

“A coral”

You can always email me y’know ;-)

In idle surfing I also saw these: http://www.junglehammock.com/index.php, which seemed to be pretty full-on hammocks for UK, all weather (or should that just be “british-summer”?) style camping.

Maybe a bit expensive and bulky compared to the Hennesey and DD ones. However, assuming there’s less need to take a pad / underblanket possibly this balances out the weight issues? Something like the NX150 looks interesting.

Anyone used them or even managed to get one in / to the UK?

Why oh why are drop bar 29ers sized with stupid short seat tubes and stupid long head tubes?

Not sure which ones you’re looking at but that’s not particularly my impression. However, “longer” head tubes are (AFAIK) a result of the hooks wanting to be at the same general height as grips would be on regular bars but without having to resort to big spacer stacks and/or high rise stems.

I thought everyone liked a nice short seattube and, normally, the consequently greater standover / lower toptube.

But then again I’m not quite seeing them as you seem to be. Hey ho. It’s all bikes and buggering around in the woods 8-)

did the op speak to orange about this before making his feelings felt on here?

Dunno, but then again, as you’ll know being a shop ;-) the contract’s with you, not Orange so in effect, why should he?

Meanwhile in the real world(TM) I understand what you mean. PITA though isn’t it?

the reason for using 16mm+ chains is that they cannot be bolt cropped – too big for the jaws /too strong / leverage angles all wrong

I don’t recall exactly and can’t access the stuff from work but I think there were some pretty thick chains cropped in some of the videos I saw. Personally, I think “cannot” is too definitive and absolute, “less likely” maybe but not impossible.

Convenience and ease come into it. Security that is a major PITA to use on a frequent basis is less likely to be used. If that means using a slightly lighter chain then better it’s on than a heavy one that isn’t used. Admittedly this means accepting a lower level of protection but there are always trade offs. In the instances where it’s the less dedicated / determined scrote then the lesser chain maybe enough to make the difference.

As others have said, if they want them they’ll have them, usually. Slow them down, give them less time, cover and peace in which to get past chains, locks etc and (sadly) make yours look harder work to steal than the next blokes will all help reduce the likelihood they’ll get nicked. I hope.

I looked into insurance, over and above the level of cover from my household policy, and decided that the additional spend it would result in was better used on physical security than continued premiums for however many years. A personal thing but worth considering carefully.

If relying (in part or whole) on insurance make sure you understand the policy and comply with it. I got the nod from the assessor that I might need to consider whether I had sufficient value contents (i.e. if it was £40k on the existing policy maybe it ought to be higher). If you’re under insured i.e. the insurer thinks you should have had £50k’s worth of cover (IIRC) your payout is reduced by the same percentage as you are considered to be under insured. Ouch!

And finally, watch out for limitations on the total value of contents that are insured for theft from outrbuildings in your policy. On mine (which I am embarassed to say I’d missed) it was £3k. Given there was at least £6.5k of bikes nicked (probably closer to £8k+ on a new-for-old basis) I didn’t get 50% of the value of mine back.

Generally, I’m very happy to see that Ken Clark is going to let me stab the barstewards ;-)

Having had scrotes use 42″ Irwin Record bolt croppers to cut my Pragmasis 11mm chain (no reflection on their chain, I bought two 13mm as replacements) I would avoid ground anchors, personally.

The technique I’ve seen (on YouTube etc) is to get a low section of chain in the cutters jaws, place one handle on the floor and the other in the air. Scrote jumps up and puts full bodyweight through arm in the air. Unless the chain / anchor is completely inaccessible then this is a risk.

Alternatively, if you hang them up and put the chain high, e.g. off the roof or trusses it means the only leverage they can get with cutters is above their heads, pushing hands together i.e. much less. Therefore, chain is harder to cut.

Then again, battery operated grinders are pretty easy to get hold of nowadays ……

OTher’s opinions may vary and your circumstances may / may not allow some of the suggested.

Personally as well I find long lengths and heavier duty chains a right PITA. To me the 13mm is about bearable. Pay lots for the padlock too (typical weak link) such as Squire Shielded at c.£50 each.

I got my garage wired to the house alarm in the end and dusk til dawn lighting (waste of juice!). I think you can get little DIY alarms that can be fitted in sheds.

Given I’ve been burgled twice (once garage and once house) whilst actually in bed then, whilst many ignore alarms, I’d rather have one so it wakes me up.

Something to bear in mind when planning security is that a thief won’t give a shit what they break or damage in the process of nicking something (IMO). It’s a different mindset to you an dme who usually think about how to do something and how easy it’ll be to repair afterwards.

Burglars are scum.

Not bike related but my Wickes hedge trimmer burned out at the weekend. I had the receipt and it was 14 months old. I called WIckes as I couldn’t find anything about how long the warranty was. They said it’s 12 months but as a gesture of good will they’d replace it anyway. I didn’t even have to ask. I will now buy from Wickes again. A bit of good will goes a long way and is all too rare these days.

But under the SOGA you’re entitled to a reasonable life / use out of the item, so 12 months hardly seems sufficient so legally they should have replaced it.

Not that you didn’t get good service etc but they had an obligation, it wasn’t a favour / act of goodwill / generosity (despite how it might have been phrased at the time).

E.g.

Durability
Durability is another recent addition to the definition of quality. How long should a dishwasher or a vacuum cleaner or a printer last? This is a very common source of complaint and one which manufacturers were always quick to turn back on the consumer, requiring them to provide proof that the item did not conform to contract specification from the start, or implying an element of misuse or neglect. Thanks to the new European Regulations, UK law now offers greater protection for consumers against products which develop faults within the first 6 months. The assumption is now that if it breaks down within this time period it cannot have conformed to the contract specification when purchased and you have the right to an automatic repair or replacement. Having said this, items which should last several years can still break down after this six month period. If the retailer or manufacturer’s warranty has run out, the shop is often quick to say there is nothing they can do before attempting to sell you an extended warranty. This is misleading. If you buy something which should last 7 years but breaks down after a year and a day, you can still claim it was of poor quality in reference to the durability aspect. In this respect it will help to know how long items such as washing machines or printers should last. You can get this information relevant trade association

From here: http://whatconsumer.co.uk/how-long-should-it-last/

Best “night eyes” experience I had was driving the fell road from Cockermouth to Calder Bridge. There were wild grazing ponies up there and coming round a blind bend at night to see lots of big, round green shining eyes at head height in the woods on the side of the road was a bit weird. For a fleeting moment I thought the aliens had landed ;-)

“Manufacturer’s warranty” and “fair life of the item” (or whatever it is in the Sale of Goods Act) are not the same thing.

SOGA is the primary thing to look at / use, a manufacturer’s warranty is just cake icing. You’re entitled to a reasonable use and life out of what you buy which means when that bike / telly / fridge stops working one month after the 12 month manufacturer’s warranty you STILL have a claim under SOGA. It trumps the manu’s warranty.

There’s stuff on the internet and consumer forums / websites that deal with this much better than me / us.

Personally, it sounds like you’ve been rather diddled. Then again I’ve been in the situation where I wanted certainty about something (funnily enough a component on an Orange Sub5, moons ago) and just bit the bullet and paid for an upgrade.

The same frame snapped the front shock mounting bolt, splayed the mounts and had to be re-welded. Orange were fine to deal with but I traded the repaired and resprayed frame in for a SC Superlight. TBH I never got on with the Sub5 so it all worked out OK.

Cable discs are fine. They’re not as good as hydro’s (at least the ones I’ve set up aren’t ;-) However, they stop the bike and I haven’t clattered into anything yet so, IMO, a success.

And I still need to know how drops handle on a hardtail.

Err, not sure what you mean? Lots of the stuff above are drops on HTs. Unless you mean on a sus’ forked HT. If so have you read the article by some bloke called “Shiggy” that’s linked above. He seems to have managed riding in the latter case fine.

Build cost of a Gryphon – not sure but a few hundred more than a regular 26″ frame build as the particular components are in less supply and tend to be a touch more.

Careful secondhand and classifieds buys would make a big saving. But, again, the stuff you’d need comes up a bit less often.

Superstar do some of the cheapest (and so far fine) 29er wheelsets that I found.

STI’s are rather expensive and their cable pull means you either have to buy road cable disc brakes (IIRC Tektro or Avids). Alternatively any old road brake levels and go SS (not for me) or bar end shifters (cheaper than STIs).

Normal MTB cranks, rings, cassettes and BB’s all work

At least you’re saving money on the build (compared to a 26″) by not needing suspension forks.

Factor in funny bars as well like Luxy’s or Woodchippers.

There’s secondhand 29er tyres to be had as well. Plus tubes, bar tape etc.

Don’t let it put you off. So far mine’s been great fun. It is handy to give it a long build time to source the best and cheapest bits though. Otherwise buying new, off the peg stuff would probably be (guessing wildly) £1,200.

There’s an article on the web that often gets quoted whenever someone asks “why drop bars”. IIRC the guy who wrote it was advocating them on Sus-forked and FS bikes.

TBH I’d just do it, the bike is so rarely the limiting factor for most people IMO 8-)

Was that Ti Gryphon a one off? And what bars are they?

For pictures, right click over the image, select Properties and then copy the url address address shown in the pop up box. Paste this between the {img}{/img} tags and it should show the picture in your post. The brackets on the tags need to be square ones, not what I’ve typed.

NB: there maybe quicker and easier ways but it’s the only one I know 8-)

Billy: as usual it’s easier if you ride one than trying to exxplain it IMO, plus different strokes for different folks and all that. Certainly the Gryphon is sufficiently good (and I’m sufficiently carp) to ride the singletrack around me. It probably wouldn’t be first choice for Stainburn but it’s great for lots of other stuff.

Un-borked the hosting, so (those of a delicate constitution should look away now):

A mate recommended one when I was looking for a commuter sort of thing. I admit my first impression was “bleurgh!” but then I become clown-bike-curious. Priced it up but couldn’t do it.

Met Sam at last year’s Weekender. Tried one around a couple of bits of Lee Quarry. It managed the PT fine, in it’s fashion (note to Mark – it wasn’t a CX you heckled ;-P). It rode over, around and up some stoney bits quite enjoyably. I tapped Sam up and he did me a deal 8-)

Other stuff happened including a crank fitting/buying debacle that stopped me getting it built but I finally wrapped the bars and rode it in early June.

I like it and being lucky enough to have a few bikes I like it even more because it’s different (to ride) in a good way. It’s nice that one of the several isn’t just differentiated (if they are at all) by some minor variation on the theme of Long Travel Hardtail.

I have recently been riding a Singular Gryphon which I am liking quite a lot. Whether that is the novelty of the new or a permanent preference I am not sure.

Sadly I have borked my access to the one place I can use from work to host photos so either look on Singular’s site or just engage your fetid imagination ;-)

Well, http://www.funkyleisure.co.uk/ might read like it’s for students and rich pretend-hippies going to Gasto’ in places but ordered c.14:30 yesterday, my cock up and changed the delivery addy, delivered at about 11:00 today. Credit where it’s due for service and cheapest place I’d found the HH combo I fancied.

Little surprised by the weight of it (seems more than I imagined) but proof will be in use, as it’s not just about weight in a bag.

Now, when can I desert the family and scare myself silly overnight in the deep, dark woods :-)

…… and the credit card gets hammered ;-)

Cheers for all the helpful suggestions, comments, tips and stuff. More still welcome but I’ll find out for myself now too.

Used Funky Leisure (stuff for festivals so I feel a right middle aged fraud ordering off there) but it was about £10 cheaper than the Henessey UK site, oddly. And free next day delivery (wait and see ….)

Got to say this thread has been much more use than the usual bitch-fest. Thanks all 8-)

Au contraire mon ami:

Specification
Hammock Weight: 1.2kg
User Weight Limit: 113kg (17st 12lb)
Hammock fabric: 210 D oxford nylon
Canopy fabric: Polyurethane coated Ripstop Polyester
Stuff sack: Logo and set up instructions printed on Ripstop nylon bag with drawstring
Ridgeline Length: 254cm
Hammock dimensions: 54cm x 122cm
Canopy dimensions: Parallelogram 147cm (short side) x 221cm (long side) x 216cm (short diagonal) x 330cm (long diagonal)
Packed size: 18cm x 26cm
Set-up-time: 3 minutes
Colours: Hunter green hammock and fly and black trim

Hmm, having looked at the DD onesthey don’t come with a tarp (assume it’s just a case of buying one (although the HH seems to have a built in ridgeline. So a DD with tarp and sleeve is c.£100.

Given I fancy being out in various weathers and aren’t shy of a bit of rain etc the HH seems to fit the bill better, although for a £20 premium.

Or have I got my tree huggers in a twist?

Cheers guys, all really useful info.

Was wondering about the HH and regular vs side entry so that feedback is great, plus the idea of using it as a seat seems good and (if I understand correctly) is easier with the zip one.

Cheapest place I’ve seen them so far seems to be Funky Leisure (in the UK) at c.£120 for an Expedition Asym, w.zip and snakeskin. Seems a lot less hassle than ordering from the States.

Will have a better look at the DD ones as well. I’ve always found the woods around the places I have in mind for trips to be fairly bug ridden so was going for one with a net anyhow.

Got on fine with it (on a 26″ MTB). Just make sure you do the bolts up good and tight as loosening of the clamp on the kids bike is what usually makes them twist. Happened to me, tightened them up, was fine for all the use it got afterwards.

Great bits of kit and the versatility outweighs any negatives in my view. I’ve heard people be negative about them for the tipping but IMO it’s usually user error. The lad got towed round a number of trails in the Borders and Yorkshire quite happily and he got the chance to ride under his own steam, stoke his dad or put the feet up, all within any one ride. Trying mixing and matching with a dedicated tagalong, afterall, the whole purpose in my mind was to get him riding under his own steam but this was easier and more fun if he could do bits (or on occassions, not even ask to get towed but the option was there if he flagged).

Takisawa – is that child crying because of the shame and embarassment of being dragged behind some god awful clown bike ;-)

HH make great claims about how comfortable the asymetric cut makes their hammocks. Are the DD’s the same or are they more “traditional” cut?

I had a JOe Blow for years and it wsa great until the gauge stopped working (still pumps but no pressure reading).

Bought a Blackburn Air Tower (IIRC) and it was almost unusable, not sealing onto or letting air into the tubes.

Bought a Specialised and it’s excellent. However, I’d buy another Joe Blow as they’re well priced and last ages.

Cheers guys, £7 for the icetoolz one is just great.

Should have googled harder :blush:

Pro Ride Guides (http://www.prorideguides.com) in Harrogate but work all over and do a lot of stuff remotely (email, calls etc).

Mate is on their “Flat Out Fit” programme and rates it. Been on one of their skills courses – excellent (http://www.singletraction.co.uk/index.php?fn_mode=fullnews&fn_id=140)

Do a lot of fitness and nutrition stuff for other organisations.

Highly recommended IMO.

Dog and Partridge in Tosside is worth a visit for food and ale. Quality boozer (sometimes with irregular hours) run by nice people.

It’s a different type of thing to Dalby but equally worth trying. Only you’ll know if it’s your bag. Personally, if you like riding a bike I think you’ll be happy ;-)

It’s got good and bad points in terms of surface, construction, technical features, etc. Just like many other trail centres. Ultimately whether it matters will be up to you too.

If I were you I’d try it and see 8-)

This guy talked at IMBA Conference 2010. If you can fathom his points from just the powerpoint presentation it’s a great scientific demonstration of how just a little more exercise, helped in part by increased facilities or a proportionally (to the cost of ill health) small investment can give significant, positive health returns.

http://www.imba-uk.com/uploads/CONF2010/kidsadultscyclingandhealth.pdf

Go buy “Welcome to Pump Track Nation” from leelikesbikes.com

It’s got plenty in it to convince people of the pro’s (and some con’s). You might have to anglicise some of the americanisms in it. It also shows there are some standards available for you to work to which can put the uninformed’s minds to rest.

SingletrAction have built 3 now at Stainburn, Thackley/Buck Woods and Dalby. Thackley was far more skills and progression as well as a PT but was built with CTC, Bradford MBC etc.

We’ve just costed re-building Stainburn’s and are waiting for confirmation from a local shop to see if they’ll fund it. Admittedly we (think ;-)) we know what we’re doing and so can save money there but with a combined plant / volunteer workforce approach the price should be several thousand. I see some of the prices people talk about for PT’s and it’s boggling. The combined approached also develops a feeling of “investment” locally, but it means a lot of hardwork organising it.

If you’re prepared to do it yourself or a combined contractor / volunteer approach you can achieve a lot.

IMO, a well built pump track can be cheap (relatively), low inherent risk, accessible to all (kids to OBWSKB), fairly low maintenace and good for skills plus cardio’.

If you want some more info email me but I can’t respond that soon because I’ve got a load of other stuff on (chairman@singletraction.org.uk).

Good luck ;-)

Short travel full sus’ test bike pls ;-)

the 4×4 then went to overtake cyclist, who was hugging the kerb, the 4×4 almost hit a refuge island and then had to brake suddenly and pull back in.

if the cyclist was further out the car would have never attempted that over take. the cyclist was encouraging bad driving imo.

Personally I see that as the $x$ driver being sh1t.

Rode past the one at Dalby the other day… looked superb. Would have stopped for a play but I was doing a flier…

Thanks. We (SingletrAction) negotiated permission for that, designed and built it. It’s our third after Stainburn which is a bit crackered and quite tough but due for a major re-vamp if all goes well meeting a potential sponsor on Friday.

Then we built Thackley (and extended it 6 months later) which is a great track.

Dalby is good but it still needs some tweaks and mods to be better.

Some of the lads did a tour of some tracks in the NE, see write up here: http://www.singletraction.co.uk/index.php?fn_mode=fullnews&fn_id=135

You get many different takes on pump tracks. Some are jumpier, some are small, others are big. Personally (as I can’t jump for toffee) I like the flowing ones which you can keep looping, sort of hamster-in-a-wheel. Good for skills and fitness.

IIRC, re: the 20 year rule, the Landowner or other appropriate person only has to show there have been steps to oppose the use of the path / trail. This can take all sorts of forms (signs, barriers, talking to some “tresspassers” etc). Just because one person (or a number of them) get away with unchallenged use doesn’t then mean a RoW is established i.e. landowner doesn’t have to catch everyone, just one person.

RoW can be diverted, developments can be arranged to preserve or accomodate them. The establishment of a RoW does not automatically mean £0 land value, irrespective or urban or rural setting although magnitude / gross land value can be different.

After 6 pm? That sounds rather arbitrary, to the point where it’s a meaningless, personal little rule. Much like lots of access law ;-)

I agree with the sentiments of being open about your use, polite, firm and adopting a share-and-share-alike attitude. There’s knobs in all walks of life, some on foot, some in cars, some on bikes but most folk are alright in the round, on the whole 8-)

As someone pointed out, FC land is almost always open access for walkers. Trail centres aren’t sensible places to be walking but they’re still often legally entitled to be there. After all, lots of trail centres incoporate facilities for the family, kids, ramblers, with nature and sculpture trails etc. So it’s not like you couldn’t reasonably guess there’ll be a few out and about around the trails.

Jumping on the rim seems like a good way to un-pretzel a wheel in an emergency situation out on the trail, so you can get home. Otherwise it seems a bit over the top to relieve the tension. When most folks I’ve seen have done wheels they’ve just used upper body weight and pushed against the floor.

You can tighten bolts by jumping on a long handled spanner but it’s a pretty crap idea and is more likely to damage them than prove everything is OK.

Time might not be free but then again money doesn’t change hand without obligations 8-)

Ground Effect do something of that type, search their “Summer Tops” section and you should be able to find it as the name escapes me.

I think the Alpine (certainly the MkI) pays a nod and a wink to the Evil Sovereign.

I hope the Ti one comes off, it looks an interesting one to try. After a brief time with a regular MkI (before the tealeafs called) I’d really like to give it a go, weight saving and all. Have emailed TBC in case there’s info going.

Hi Mikev – Bubba’s MG is still going strong. Nearly bent myself proper falling off it last weekend and still to get round to rebuilding the second Kobe 8-)

D’oh, you’re right about the dual ring set up of course, ta.

However, parting with the cash for the 11 was enough, never mind fighting the urge to build it up with something nice, rim-wise like a flow (yet more cash). Hammerschmidt definitely out of the picture ;-) Talk of a double was just pipe dream / random (daft) speculation.

Is your tensioner one of these:

or one of these:

I quite like the look of that Yess thing but it’s $60 plus shipping and whatever import etc duties I might get stung for.

A Stinger’s c£23 and I could run 2 rings up front if the desire took me.

Cheers for the suggestions though, all useful stuff 8-)

Did a day with Joe and Alex from Pro Ride Guides two weeks ago at Gisburn. Search YouTube for their latest video.

Excellent riders but more importantly great teachers. Good pace, lots of attention, good focus on us to deal with the bits we were / weren’t getting, broke things down into elements where necessary and drilled each to bring things together. Just all round a great experience.

Join SingletrAction and they’ll give you 15% off, which is very nearly a saving equivalent to our subs. Then you’ve supported local trail building without spending anything extra (plus umpteen other discounts).

Don’t go? Grow a pair and tell the partner no? Just a couple of thoughts like ;-)

Black tie’s no big deal, go if you want, don’t if you don’t. Getting all upset about having to (or being “expected” to) dress smart once in a while just strikes me as the bahaviour of toddlers, not “grown ups”.

8-)