I’ve got a 2012 Spitfire (same geometry as the new style ones) and I can honestly say it is the most capable all mountain/xc whatever you want to call it bike I have ever ridden.

I’m not one for bigging up bikes just because I own them, and have serially changed bikes over the years. Before the Spitfire I bought a 2011 Turner 5 spot.. and didn’t have a good word to say about the way it rode (too short, steep and heavy).

The Spitfire on the other hand is AMAZING!!! I used to ride/race DH before I started pedalling back up a few years back.

As for this bike, I find I can ride my Spitfire down nearly as fast as a full on DH rig… but then it rides up really well too. The blurb about it being a DH riders choice of trail bike really isn’t just marketing bull shit. Keith their design engineer has got the geometry of this thing perfect.

As I say, I tell it how it is with bikes and change them if I don’t like them. The only thing that I will even potentially think about losing my Spitfire is if I need capital for a bike with an engine, but I’d be in the market for a new one to replace it if I ever do get rid.

Haven’t ridden a Rocket.. it may ride equally well so can’t comment on one… but if you like riding down FAST then a Spitfire would be a very good choice of bike.

Paul

I find that wearing knee pads causes cramp when pedalling for over an hour, anyone else experience this?

Get a cat… they eat any spiders that run across the carpet etc.

20″ BMX wheels still prevail despite 24″ cruisers being available for decades. And tall riders don’t tend to favour 24″ BMX wheels either,

I think one of 650B and 29 will end up like minidiscs and HD DVD’s… we are yet to see which.

The remaining one will end up the “cruiser” of the MTB world, a niche size that was slightly popular for a bit then everyone realised 26 was still the way forward.

My 50 pence.

Thanks Tired,

I was thinking about £400-500 for the racer but as I said in original post I’m aware most people over value their kit.

If you genuinely are interested I might part with it for £400… Drop me an email if you were serious and I’ll sort you some pics out.

paulbennett76@(removethisbit)hotmail.com

Out of interest what sizes are the post and frame?

Put dog shit on the handle so when he picks it up he gets his fingers in it.

I enjoy both, full sus for hard peak district rides.. hardtail for most other riding.

Also throw everything Rick Stein did out the window and start again, you’ll be more successful.

My Wife did a 12 week indian cooking course a while back in asia and has some brilliant recipes. I’ll post up a couple of recipes when I get time at home.

Bombay potatoes are suprisingly easy and awesome too.

We’ve got garlic chilli turkey curry tonight with a side of dahl… mmmnnnnn nom nom nom nom.

Kiwijohn… have you fitted a fist shaped saddle by any chance?

You’re likely to find when you get further down the line the mortgage lenders insurance will be refused and you will have to go elsewhere and declare the refused insurance… absolute nightmare to deal with.

Your full offer should come through now the report is done and if in the special clauses there is anything about insurance refusal then I would walk away and save yourself a nightmare.

Went through similar and lost 6 months to it before we had to pull out.

Good luck with it fella.

Yes I think I can remember this iirc it was circa spring 2013 and everyone decided the in thing was to run a Schwalbe Hans Dampf up front and a Nobby Nic on the rear ;-)

You can only use a subtraction method if both are linear and you’ve made a coefficient of x or y the same for both equations… substitution will always work if they cross… and if they don’t cross you can use the resulting quadratic equation to prove they don’t cross so have no solutions as a pair due to the resulting quadratics discriminent being <0

If you want a more challenging one try one where you have a cubic equation an a quadratic equation that intersect at various locations.

Interesting read for me this (I’m Head of maths in a secondary school).

It’s a typical hard GCSE higher question, there’s usually one rock hard question at the end of one of the papers (they do a calc and a non calc paper).

BTW Stoners solution is right, (getoyourbike), you can’t solve the resulting quadratic by factorising as it won’t factorise (Factors of -5 are either 1 and -5 or 5 and -1, neither of which pair with x and 2x to make -4x…. although I agree that’s always the first point of call and what I would have tried to do first.

(Tired), well spotted that it is a circle with straight line of negative gradient passing through it, unfortunately you can’t solve it geometrically, you could have done if the line had passed though 0 though as you could use the radius of the circle and two lots of pythag… but as you have realised, it doesn’t work as the line passes through 2 on the y axis.

P.S. (Gofaster stripes), the current maths GCSE is already no coursework and usually just final exams (modular system is now nearly phased out with the last exam series in March 2014)

P.P.S The current Maths GCSE works brilliantly, there is no need for Gove to interfere with it, it aint broke!

P.P.P.S (CHB) your program is giving a close approximate solution and the right answer is stoners. It probably plots the graphs and looks at where they cross, but doesn’t work on an infinitesimaly small substitution of point goes to the nearest ppoint/pixel or however the program works.. it’s out very slightly ;-)

“That’s a solution to a problem that only exists in a 14yr old boys mind – where it should have stayed!”

Bet you’re a riot at parties fella.

Clearly an engineering exercise in “because we can”

Buy a Bengal cat

Bit cheeky to add to this thread but I’ve just put a wanted swap in the classifieds.

Swap my Banshee Sptifire for your Motorbike?

As above, WHY?

Banshee Spitfire Medium 2012 Kashima rp23. (I’m 5ft10 and it fits like a glove).
Fox 32 RLC 150mm 15mm bolt through(2 rides old) (Tapered)
Stans flow on pro11’s (2 rides rims and front hub and spokes. Rear hub is older but 100%) (I build wheels).
Running tubeless hans dampf front and nobby nic rear (again 2 rides old)
x9 drivetrain (3 x9) (Cassette and chain 2 rides old).
Avid Juicy 7’s (2 rides old).
Reverb (1 ride old)
SDG Bel air saddle
Thomson x4 stem
Cane creek headset.
Complete new upgraded slippery bushing and axle kit in packet to be included in sale.

Pics to be added shortly.

Ideally looking for a 600cc bike worth around the 2k mark as the Banshee is Mint and half the kit is near on brand new bar 2 rides.

Paul

Just had a look and they are lovely looking bikes… but cost about 6k from what I can see.

Budget is more like 2k really for just the bike as I need kit and licence etc

Don’t plan on using it on motorways much anyway, few B roads etc but I’m not going to be going anywhere at 90mph in a straight line for hours on end.

This is great, thanks for all the advice so far folks.

Just spent an hour in stop start traffic with empty bus lanes next to me this morning and it has really sealed the idea.

Been getting some insurance qoutes and I can’t believe how cheap they are to insure tpft.

Might have to see if anyone is up for swapping a motorbike for one of my mountain bikes.. High spec 2012 banshee spitfire in medium anyone?

How would this be for a first bike? I’m really liking the “naked” look bikes.

Suzuki

I’m glad someone has just said that… as I’ve just noticed these

Bigger bike

Well when I said I’m not really sure what to go for.. sports/ sports tourr or something else… guess I’m leaning towards the something else.

Not interested in tracking it or riding it fast, more just enjoying being on two wheels.

Think I’d like to take a relaxed upright approach for a while, may end up buying a sports bike later on… but for now I think a cbr600 is not my cuppa.

Both, can’t have other bikers thinking I look like a nob… be like owning a 29er!

Is this more acceptable?

Pretty

Really… I must have inexperienced bike eyes, to me it looks really pretty.

Thanks for the info guys,

What’s high mileage for a bike? Cars I tend to have a 100k cut off point if i want it to last 3-5 years.

I like the look of this, would an 80’s bike cost a lot to keep running?

Bike

Can I ride a small bike on just a cbt? Do I have to put L plates on if I do?

Water it in the evening. If it’s wet when the sun is up or before it makes it scorch.

So there is downsides to riding them such as the gearing/position and how they corner.

Thanks for the sensible reponses… cheers for the usual stw sarcastic ones too gents, brightened up my Friday afternoon.

I normally get them to come round with beers and show them what to do/talk them through the work I am doing.

Charging seems a bit harsh. Build favours and when you need a hand with something hopefully can call it in.

Cycling hell would be down lifts, riders being made to get on the ski lift to the bottom then ride back up… think I’ll stick with the people on a moral high ground*

*exit’s to go and help a pensioner across the road

I tend to listen to the latest craze people are on about on forums (currently hans dampf front and nobby nic rear)… fit them and then when they are worn out replace with whatever the new craze is.

Although I’m finding the current set up too draggy.

When I used to ride/race DH I used high rollers as they were the craze tyre at the time and then for one very wet uplift put on a set of Maxxis swamp things… I ended up using them year round.

Guess I’m a sucker for listening to internet opinions… at least I’ll admitt it though :-)

Indeed, they tend to attract the wrong sort of owners.

They are scary looking big muscular dogs.. so if you want to look like you’ve got a beast to protect you then they appeal. Hence the general nob head owners.

Junkyard… did you have it from a wee pup? If not then could it not have been the previous owners/breeders that caused the damage that was irreversable? If you did have it from a wee pup and were a responsible educated owner then fair enough.. but that’s a pretty rare case imho.

Where are you based?

If in the midlands, I’ll teach you… will take an afternoon to get the basics.

You can’t learn off a forum.

Bull dogs come in various forms.

The american variety being the tallest breed. The american bull dogs come in two variety’s too (I think one is called a Johnson and can’t remember what the other is), but the difference between the two is slight and is mostly in the shape of their snout.

Amercan bulldogs are much bigger than a pit bull or a staffy and no they aren’t illigal or banned.

Still dangerous in the wrong hands though.

No such thing as bad dogs, just irrisponsible breeders and owners.

Thanks Buzz, what a helpful fellow you are. ;-)

Second the weeing idea. I keep chickens and pour urine from a bottle on the grass and around the perimeter. It really repels them.

You might also want to try and squirt some at the gap in the fence through the bush… might just stop it coming over full stop.

Also… on a slightly amusing note I discovered through doing this I have an abnormally large bladder, I can easily fill a wine bottle and keep going :-)

Sounds like a skid…

Proper drifting happens with the wheel still turning ;-)

Check you’ve got no grit in the threads between the bb and frame, I’ve had this cause a weird creak before.

Paul

I had a mk2 Golf GTI Big bumper version (1990) about 8 years ago, I miss that, but I don’t miss it breaking every 5 minutes… was getting a bit long in the tooth by the time I owned it.

And agreed, they handled great, although the brakes were diabolical!