We drove from Les Gets to Avoriaz. Mandatory snow chains with police stops checking everything going up.

The weather was horrendous and although winter tyres are great, you never know when you'll need chains. As above, try fitting them in a carpark – i.ee brfore you need them just to get the hang of it. You don't need 4wd.

Some more pics here[/url]

I love it – Yes there's niche but most of it is beautifully made and finished bike artistry / porn.

I need a speedvagen :mrgreen:

… 2010 show just a week away

Agree radioman, they have been a faff for me but I've "got it" now in terms of fitting them. I refitted a 2.1 NN to a 355 rim yesterday. Before I did I checked the tyre – and pulled out 6 thorns.

Take a tube with you in case they totally fail on a ride, and you're sorted

The old ano'd Answer Hyperlites used to go a dull white colour when (and where) they were getting stressed.

hehe – made me chuckle. I just take the wrath; why expend all that effort :)

I have a SLR Kit Carbonio flow on one of my bikes. Despite it's meagre looks and alleged 125g weight I find it the most comfortable saddle I have. More so for example than a Gobi XM (which I did rate highly), and having just got off a Fizik Aliante there's no comparison. The only downside is they aren't cheap should you find you don't like it…but if you buy an SLR Flow Carbon I'd take it off your hands :)

Faster and faster! What a final run.

Aaagrh thread necro! I got excited at the prospect of a Voodoo Limba for 350 quid…</puts wallet down>

Acros .54 Ceramic ultimate.
250 g for the rear , 138g for the front. You're limited to black, red or white though.

I've been really impressed with my (non ceramic) .74/.75 setup. Excellent bearing seals and life. Nice, quiet freehub that engages really quickly – and lightweight to boot.

Hard to beat XTR in the VFM stakes though. The Hope Freehub just irritates the hell out of me. Although I have a set of Pro2 and Pro3 SPs, I doubt I'll buy another.

more bling:

Why all the hate

Agreed!! "Oh, it's not a round tube", "the head angle is 0.25 degrees from accepted perfection for riding UK trails on a Wednesday in the damp"

It's a very early prototype. They'e playing with the angles, it's not even welded yet.

800 quid for a hand made imported (from the US) frame isn't exactly pushing the boundaries of cost. By some of the definitions on here we should all ride exactly the same frame; as "wants" or "the best" are defined by some made up strict criteria. Thank God they're not.

Cut the guy some slack. He's posted some early shots of what may or indeed may not turn out to be a decent "UK trail bike". How deterred are other frame builders likely to be when they read this type of reception on early work?

If people want to claim weights – weigh the frame – then post what they weighed and the weight. Otherwise it's subjective pub talk.

Fit them to your bike…then try it…

It's good stuff. That "Coach's corner" is scary

We normally sort out our own accomodation. We broke the habit and went with Siblu last year to La Carabasse and got an awful pitch near a busy (50cc moped ridden) road. Got moved to a better pitch after some polite complaining. Wasn't that impressed to be honest, the site was OK though. We won't be going back there, and probably won't go near Siblu again.

gusamc – Member

field and trek sale

Went for the bargain Suunto T6c HRM @165. Ordered on Wednesday – got an email Today saying it was out of stock. That's twice F&T have advertised something as available only to tell me (considerably) later it's OOS grrr!

Ah Phil & Teds. I bought one of the first ones from New Zealand around 2000 and kick myself for not picking up on a distribution deal – they're everywhere now. They were very good / convenient and narrow enough to take in a shop. Once your kid's old enough though it's hard to beat the simplicity of a buggy like a Mclaren techno or something similar.

Foldability, size and weight will be on your lips after you get bored with the "must have" parambulator of 2010.

It is a custom job – painted the same grey RAL as a german made post box :)

Started life as a red one from Balfa, who had it re-powdered for me.

Foes will do custom colours form the factory as well. I love it.

My XCT-5 when first build up.

Rich, are they not supple because you're running with the AS+ lever on? I run with the AS+ lever off, a higher than recommended air pressure and just go off the sag setting. The forks are Very plush in that mode, but also eat the first 3-4 inches very quickly. If it gets v technical I then switch AS+ on. Not as supple in that mode but still pretty good.

If you persevere you can get them working very well.

Re converting the internals, there's a few threads on the magura support forum. Youcould do it 08-09 but it was prohibitively expensive.

Nick, you're right, the remote is crap, and from the pictures I've seen It looks exactly the same for 2010! :roll:

Unless you need outlook for integration with the Microsoft suite / use with exchange, I would go for Thunderbird. It's free and works great! Otherwise most new windows phones come with a 30 day trial of outlook 2007. No idea what the full licence cost is though. I have a DVD with the Outlook 2007 trial (assuming it's not in the bin) you can have if you mail me.

From what I've observed, the higher spec requirement is based on what format you want to encode your raw HD footage to rather than the source. Choose a format suitable for the web and it's not an issue, but if you up the bitrate for the output then it makes a huge difference (and a Huge file!). I can't remember the specifics but I tried one piece and it was estimating 13 hours to encode it! I just upgraded the home PC to a quad core (because Vegas allegedly can use all 4) so will try some at the weekend and get some timings.

TR – I'll give that setting a try, thanks.

RichC

White crown = 10
Black crown = 09

Suppleness isn't a criticism I'd level at them though

I bought the Contour HD 1080 a couple of weeks ago. I bought it mostly for skiing but it's been on the bike a few times so far. Some observations:
The lens on the 1080 does give a pronounced fish eye effect. Can't say I'm a fan particularly – I'd prefer it with a narrower angle.
On a bar mount there's lots of vibration in the footage. I've yet to try the helmet mount or rig up a nount for the frame using the goggle mount.
Battery life is about 3 hours or so – and it's not a propriatory battery as someone suggested above – it's a pretty common cell.

I'm still sussing out the encoding options but the footage is pretty impressive (the riding less so). I've currently got it on 60 FPS 720p mode and yet to try full 1080.

The lasers do help level the lens – but there are two notches anyway that do a pretty good job of alignment

My non vented Jawbones are prone to steaming if I'm working hard on a climb (which is technically something that should never happen) – they are such a close fit to your ( well… my) face. Go vented.

Overblown, but relevant from the point of view that Toyota has a manufacturing / assembly presence in England, and the job cuts are likely to continue as a result of this new-found £1bn cost. I'd be happy to deal with a company that was addressing a quality issue through a recall.

Skidrive – great service and they were the cheapest when I bought mine.

I found non-UST NN's to be an absolute pita to fit to 4.2d rims. Getting them to inflate is a nightmare, and a real lottery without a compressor. UST NNs are a cinch on the other hand. I also found that a relatively small ding in a 4.2 has totally crippled it's ability to run a non-UST NNs. The tyre will burp even at higher pressures if it gets deflected (say) by a rock. I'm not that keen on the UST versions though – the sidewalls are mega stiff. I'll have to try the DDs

I beleive he's still working. Try calling rather than emailing him though

Vinnyeh:

It's got a different build now from the one shown here of original owner – a bit more authentic, though err it's currently in a box

Still would like to find a box section "big fork" for it though :(

G.R.F. "Best" is clearly subjective :) Mantis XCR, Merlin Elevator, Funk, Ellison, Brave, Yeti Ultimate, or indeed a fillet brazed Overburys…(the list goes on) or an S-Bike. The S-Bike would be somewhere near the bottom of my list, though they did make some proper non suspension e-stay bikes as well.

enlighten me, whats the benifit of an e-stay?

In the words of Father Ted, "That would be an ecumenical matter"

Shorter stays and better mud clearance when 16.5 inch chainstays were the norm, no chainslap, easy chain removal…

It's a long list as most manufacturers dabbled in them for a while. Mantis (Cunningham) made some of the nicest, though I love my FUNK :)

Ergon GE1 grips seemed to do the trick for me as well

Just one thing on the weight . The kids dont really notice.

They don't "notice" apart from repeating "this bike is heavy dad!" and "I'm pushing it" (which means "Dad push it for me"!). A lighter bike gives them more chance of getting up the hill on a 6 or 7 speed bike.

If you live in the Fen's then I get what you mean, but if there are hills involved in your regular riding and your kids like to ride longer distances; the weight of a Kid's bike does make a difference. I'm for anything that keeps them pedaling rather than pushing.

As for spending lots:
Scott Scale RC Jr (24") – 23Lbs and £800
Scott Scale Jr (20") – ?? weight and £275
Isla Bein 24 – 22.5 lbs and £250
Isla Bein 20 – 19.5 lbs and £210

Granted those Islas don't have front sus, but you don't have to spend £800 to get a lightweight kids bike.

My son has a Hotrock 20, so Im not an Isla fanboy :)

There's more to the White Peak than the leisure trails :) Head out towards Offcote, then you have a variety of bridleways you can use. Those leisure trails are good for linking the bridleways together, or take you to other routes like those near Youlegreave and Winster areas.

Likewise you can head out towards Wetton / Alstonefield way.

There's quite a lot you just have to link it up unfortunately.

You WILL be charged Import duty, VAT, disbursment / clearance by FedEx and UPS – the invoice will be winging its way to you.
USPS and parcelfarce are a lot less consistent.

New bike parts are 4% import duty + VAT + handling & disbursments from outside the EEA and without any anti dumping add-ons IIRC

Islabikes Beinn

I'm really impressed, as is my daughter with her (blue!) one. There isn't a better kid's bike IMO from a considered design point of view.

Sorry for the ignorant question, but is the Kombi basically a van that's got the "mod cons" of a car?

AndyP – Member

another vote for That would be an ecumenical matter. Gets used all the time. Particularly in dull work meetings.

[twilight zone]Maybe we're in the same meetings?[/twilight zone] 8O

RichPenny – Member

That would be an ecumenical matter

Absolutely ! I try to use it at least once a day :)

Once, years ago at the end of a XC race. Got off the bike & started eating a Banana which didn't want to stay down.

If you're throwing up on a normal ride you need to slow down!

Carsington, Hopton, Brassington, Kniveton, Kirk Ireton, Atlow, Bradbourne, Parwich and Hognaston – all nice villages within two miles of Carsington Water, but you'll pay a hefty premium as a result. Carsington (village) is still very quiet – and will be even more so when they finish the bike route that will then cut out the road crossing in to Hopton. If you need a School, Pub etc then be a bit more picky – Brassington, Carsington, Kniveton all have schools, and most have at least one pub.

If I had to pick a town I'd go for Wirksworth over Belper, Ashbourne or Matlock – it's on the up (No I don't live there).

If you need o be closer to Belper then Fritchley; as Cuckoo says, is a good choice.
Don't move to Matlock Bath under any circumstance if you want to use your car as a means of transport in the summer. Cromford isn't much better as said above.

The B5035 does get busy in Summer – particularly with bikes on their way to Matlock Bath and the whole area is a real tourist honey pot. It's a small penalty though.

Happy house hunting!

It is 5018 – Yeti Desert Turquoise.