Ciao Juan – hope that your move works out!

Yeah, I’m thinking that soft shells look like the replacement nowadays. On that basis, I’d also be interested in any recommendations for them.

“I will volunteer 4 hours of my week to dedicate myself to kicking idiots in the cock. “

Are you that flexible? ;)

95 kona kilauea

“These wheels have been out for quite some time havent they? Around a year? And only now have they decided that they are not safe to use. I think thats pretty poor.”

Or that’s when the problems have started showing up. Pre launch testing is one thing, what the public do with stuff is another :)

m_f – just to warn you, I’m someone who doesn’t need lots of sleep while my wife slept lots. With the baby, we discovered that I don’t need a lot of sleep but I do need it to be uninterrupted while my wife can actually live with the interruptions so long as she gets the hours in. I was the one who was really knackered when the little lad was feeding/waking through the night…

Good news m_f – congrats

Why isn’t she sleeping? My wife found that she wasn’t sleeping because she wasn’t comfortable – a ‘pregnacy pillow’ did the job for her – it’s like a big u-shaped pillow and they can use it to support the bump/hold between their legs/whatever’s comfortable.

A 1995 GT LTS with Judy SLs (the yellow ones) – the year I started riding properly and it was my dream bike then

(the pic’s a 1996 one but I can’t quickly find a pic of the 95 one but they’re near enough the same)

about an hour and a half ago :)

A while though before that for the previous one – young baby…

I’m 6’5″ and 16.5 stone and had the same issue with tough frames being too small in their largest size. I went for a 20″ 456 and I’d say that it’d be spot on for what you want – cheap too – esp if you get a second hand one.

The SC Chameleon is the other obvious alternative but costs a lot more.

I have a pair of endura tundra gloves like these:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=23137

They’re too hot for anything much over 7 or 8 degrees but they’re perfect in this weather and I’ve never had cold fingers with them. They are quite big but I can’t say that I’ve every really noticed it when on the bike.

Murray is back but only for reporting segments in the run up to the race, etc. – too doddery to commentate now (arguably then too…)

Oh, I don’t know – I was pretty stunned about that too…

I was thinking more of those who fight for its own sake, and rely uncritically on someone else to tell them who to do it to.

But that’s a very narrow interpretation of one particular bit of a wider speech…

SfB – your reaction to the Roosevelt quote says a lot about you and your prejudices I’d argue. I read it as a reaction against people who do nothing and prefer simply to critise/complain/say that things can’t be done rather than advocating throwing yourself down a vertical slope to prove that they’re ‘macho’. You don’t have to take the whole thing literally (particularly the ‘almost died’ bit) for it to have relevance beyond the obvious.

In fact, by getting out mtbing, taking your photos, and dare I say, even inspiring some other people to get out riding with your Bog Trotters group, you’re actually one of the people that the quote is giving respect to and I suppose that you seem to suggest should be classified as macho – ie people who do get out and do stuff.

(and FWIW, I’m a moderate thrill seeker – you won’t see me throwing myself off any big drops/etc but I do like a good bit of fast singletrack that pushes your skills a bit)

50.3445 million cycles ;)

How long that is will really depend on how much/how hard/what you ride and how well designed/made it is. It really is a ‘how long’s a piece of string’ question.

If you see any cracks in the frame then it’s probably coming to the end of its life…

Yeah, much better – the only reason for top swing is when full sus design demands it (as unfortunately one of my full sussers does :( )

Cool – I’ll try and come along next week then – I guess I’ll get in touch then.

Yes, full sus is ‘too much’ but it’s still fine – I did it one year on a 6″ 30+lbs bike (admittedly in horrible conditions) and finished high up – full sus does mean that you can ride with rock hard tyres which makes the road stuff a lot quicker.

Can’t do tonight at this notice unfortunately but is it a regular ride?

I agree that separating and refitting isn’t usually an issue but it is a hassle and has the potential to need bleeding (though admittedly I’ve never had to) and also, the potential to remove your paint if there’s any dot oil flicked when removing the hose.

I just find my slotted guide method easier.

Yes, they’re fine – at least as much as any stem does its job. Certainly it’s not going to reduce your performance compared to the Thomson you currently have.

And it’s red.

I’ve got a basic Garmin Etrex – you can get them really cheap now.

It doesn’t have any mapping (eg roads, paths, forests, etc) but it logs routes, shows your location and I’d used it to follow routes that I’ve downloaded from the web (eg bikely.com) without any real problems.

Works for me though when they’re cheap enough, I’ll get one with mapping.

The hose is plastic so it’s flexible enough that if the slot you cut in the guide (just like the slot in gear cable stops but wider) is slighly narrower than the hose then you can pop it in but it won’t come out.

“When all books are read, take to S/H shop and swap for new ones.”

And also bin the car because it’s covered in vomit caused by travel sickness induced by reading in the car… ;)

There are loads of portable DVD players out there that should do what you want for under £100

Compression damping can help reduce brake dive but will typically reduce small bump sensitivity

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Can’t believe it’s sold out so fast this year!

sorry, even if i was racing this year, i’d be in a LVIS team :)

doesn’t seem possible which is a big omission. I guess that we can only hope that they’re looking to add it in or add pm functionality.

“fat clubbers”

i resent that comment. I’m only 16.5 stone and 6’5″ ;)

yeah, i guess, you’re probably right. I just don’t see the point of a 73mm bb on an xc frame. And i have a decent 68mm bb already.

i cut slots in mine so that the hoses could be removed without taking the brake apart. Worked for me

i’ve had a 26″ peace. I thought that it was pretty good. It’s a touch heavy weightwise but the ride is stereotypically springy steel. The standard fork is much too long tho and cocks up the handling. A 420mm fork is perfect but i like fast handling so most people would probably prefer a 440. I could certainly recommend one.

i planned to get out after my son’s early feed which has tended to be around 630am but he slept till past 9 for the first time so didn’t. Kinda good and bad as we all needed the sleep…

0.00235814456%

;)

you can choose which distance you do on the day. I did 75k last year due to baby related lack of fitness and generally tough conditions.

Sheldon, if you’re riding, who’ll take the good pics?

bikeradar had quite a good article on exactly this recently. About 1 min for a 10 iirc.

honk! Will be entering shortly! Can’t believe how fast it’s filling up this year!

it really depends how fit you all are. For me, penhydd, wall and white’s is good for a day but hard if you,re not fit. Otherwise two of the three.

already using the steeper head tube and higher bb option.