well if anyone lives in the Bristol area
you can always donate your bits and even bikes to
the bristol bike project

it will all go to a good cause.

yup agree with nickc,

it's nice to have expensive knives,
but like most things not necessary,
especially if its for a home kitchen,

if he's using them professionally it would be a different answer and he would need to pick the knives himself, lots of different weights, grips etc.

just get a decent set something by judge sabatier is more than adequet,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Judge-Sabatier-Piece-Knife-Block/dp/B00009Y32X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

the removal of concrete sounds like a right ball ache,
why is there concrete? is it deep?
even if you removed the concrete would you need to get involved with floor joists and laying new/reclaimed timber?

bit confused with the concrete,
need pics 🙂

yup, probably if you want to do a proper job,
but you could just rough it up with sand paper and one coat aswell,
that's what i'd do to be honest 😀

definately report it to the police,
he (maybe she) may have been reported before.

a little bit confused with bivying,
friend bought one and tried it , slept outside the tent,
with nothing else just the bivy and sleeping bag,
and after a night the inside was soaked with condensation and also the sleeping bag, never tried it again after that.

are you meant to use it just by itself or with tarps, sleeping mats, hot water bottle etc. 🙂

+1 read cyclecraft by john franklin

brilliant book!
i think anyone who rides on the road, experienced or not should give it a read.

crazy i saw a vulcan bomber on tuesday,
whilst working on a farm just outside Bath,
the farm is on the side of a valley
so it felt as if the vulcan was super low,
it was amazing to see it in flight!

do you want a full sus?

i recently bought a full sus frame and built it up with lots of left over bits, only cost £300 full build.

ridden it a few times and yes it feels like your going faster,
but i feel a little numb riding it (oo-er missus),
i suppose it makes things a lot easier/smoother after years on a hardtail,

ive been finding the last few rides i've choosen my hardtail,
but the speed on the full-sus is great,
just being able to be lairy and get way with it.

try it out you can always move it on if you dont like it

if your looking for a 1 man tent
and your on a mega budget look in argos,
yup argos they are doing a 1 man tent in their sale
and it seems to be good for £25, alu poles and decent pegs

much better than the other cheapie gelert solo tent which i bought and returned, the fibre glass poles split.

yup £21 when i broke my one
what a kick in the nuts when my whole bike build cost me £280,
after the frame and forks it was the most expensive thing i had bought on the bike 😀

i can kinda understand why they cost so much,
small quantities made/machined, in a uk workshop (betd that is)

better than writing off a frame i suppose

try to use 2 different types of lock,
D-lock and a heavy cable lock,
most thieves know/carry tools to disable only 1 type.

but if they have the tools and are pro's then more than likely your bike is history,

I tend not to ride anything flash about town,

arrgggghhh

would be alright if they didnt cost an arm and a leg!
£20 for a piece of aluminium,

i know they are meant to bend but i wish they didnt 🙂

yup most definitely use both bottle cages,
you can always swap the bottles over.

also make sure you get some decent maps,
stanfords are good for maps, and can order stuff in as well
we had a couple of maps of denmark, but then bought maps in sweden and germany.
having a map reader on your handle-bars in pretty essential,
but if you get a bar bag look for an integrated one

security was never a problem to be honest,
was never too far from the bike,
but it felt so much safer than the uk!
i would have liked to have seen someone trying to cycle off in a hurry with my bike fully laden 🙂

if you wanna do cheap camping, rough camp!
that’s what we did with absolutely no problem,
just find a quiet field,

whichever direction you go i think you’ll always be hitting headwinds,
it feels like it anyway.

denmark was probably the best place we toured, people are super friendly!
people would stop in their cars to help us if we were lost,
and very accommodating, they like to help out,

hey bawbag

did a similar trip last september, on a mtb,
harwich to esbjerg(denmark) then to sweden back to denmark, then germany and finally netherlands, the final part in netherlands was with the help of some trains.

anyway i converted my hardtail a giant xtc into a tourer,
just added bar ends, and a rear pannier and changed the tyres, and thats it!
i didnt even change my forks, but they were light manitou R7’s and kept the pressures up high, they have a kinda auto lockout as well which helped.
and also because all the weight is on the rear the forks go light anyway.

i had enough storage for all the essentials and more, so a trailer i think is overkill and a bit more harder to handle. and generally manoeuvre when off the bike aswell,
does your chameleon have pannier mounts ???

to be honest i wouldn’t take either of those tyres,
neither say they offer any puncture protection, my friend suffered 7 punctures before he bit the bullet and bought some schwalbe marathons in germany.
i took these tyres and didnt suffer any punctures
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18822
well worth buying!

its super easy touring in germany, netherlans, and denmark it’s flattish so relatively easy going 🙂 , headwinds are the killer!

bontrager race lite hardcase
nothing more to say

thanks bruneep
i think your 2nd link is meant to be betd,
£5 postage is a joke, me thinks

would try straightening the hanger but its bent and slightly twisted so think its a probably a no no

its a marin rock springs 2004
needing one of these,

start with some normal cooking oil,
this thins it out,
then use washing up liquid and hot water.

i’ve recently started using wd40 to start with and then swarfega this seems to work aswell,

but you’ll never get it out of your nails,

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/help-stuck-seatpost-in-a-steal-frame

pretty much same advice
luckily i knew a mechanic who helped me in the end
a dirty great big vice was used to clamp the post, and then using the frame as a lever,

i toured on the conti travel contacts
really great tyre, superb puncture protection,
pulled bits of glass and small metal pin out of the tyre but never suffered a puncture.
rolls great aswell

the side grip is only really ok on hard pack stuff nothing loose,
definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable taking it offroad properly.

but would definitely recommend it

was thinking the same schwalbe marathon maybe the marathon cross?

not helpful but you’re asking for a lot

just give what you can afford,
nobody remembers wedding gifts anyway, especialy off a gift list,

for me its always cold hard cash in a hand made card, usually around £50
it always goes down a treat,

or in chinese tradition put the money in a red envelope

it does help to be chinese though 😀

mozzies present at cwmcarn,
had to stop to repair puncture and they had a feast on me,
serves me right for getting a puncture i suppose

take your missus’ saddle with u?

edit : sorry no tech help on the brakes 😀

sorry to hear about your loss!

were you camping?
more details please I regularly go to glyncorrwg so would like to know more.
really disconcerting to know that even when they are locked in a car they are not safe.

I bring you…. the predator!!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7217342.stm

Where have you been?
31st jan 2008 !!!!!!

from personal experience i wouldn’t recommend the panaracer mach’s,
multiple punctures experienced, found that small stones tore through the tyre,
and this was on the road!!!!!
basically my friend had 7 punctures whilst touring, all on road and in the end binned them as they had become a completele liability.

just my tuppence’s worth!

id stick to something like the ralphs, more useable tyre in the long run

i wouldnt go for dhb stuff,

bought there panniers and the seems/stitching split,
fine after i did sewing repairs but not recommended.
but are very cheap and are large and waterproof,

edit sorry tries posting ur pic for ypu,
it didnt like linking

here instead

andy7t2

my headgasket went on my punto at the start of the year!
went out and bought meself a peugeot 306 estate low tax and insurance,
£2000-£2500 gets a top spec model,
lots of them about so not too difficult to come by,
servicing and parts should be cheap aswell,
the diesels are mean’t to go on forever aswell.

or a golf estate, they are pretty handy, but more expensive to run,
4 grand gets you a lot of car

if your contract is up,
ask for your pac number,
this will set off protocol in which they will transfer you to someone who will offer you the best deals to make you stay with them,

for touring i used continental travel contacts, same as daffy,
folding version with kevlar very strong tyres, didnt get a puncture with 1000’s of mile on them, pulled out bits of glass and metal, nothing went through ’em,

they were 1.75’s,
but for proper slick? you might be looking for thinner

800d
900d

agree with hopster, if the merida is your choice pay the extra £50 for the 900d, and that will allay your manitou worries,
but it looks like manitou have sorted themselves out,
i run a manitou r7 fork and it hasnt missed a beat, been v.impressed

i thought hotlines was the distributor for manitou in the uk?

can u just turn up for a free pitch or do you need to reserve a spot?
have a few bikes for sale?
cheers

they are a bit of a gimmick i reckon,
can only use thin paints
a good brush is the only option,
less faff.

something like this is my fav type if using/carrying only a single lock,

using 2 different type of locks is also a good idea,
as usually bike thieves will carry tools to break only 1 specific type of lock (that’s what I’ve heard anyway, could be absolute rubbish but it sounds good 😀 )

edit; saw some really beefy ones like the picture in B&Q today, £35 if i recall. you can also wrap them around your waist to carry that’s how I ride with mine