I was expecting a thread about super market bikes, it tell you something about this sport when £700 is considered cheap.

^^^^
THIS!

A lot of simplistic points being made here like “he can hit the ball harder means more aces” and so on. Placement is usually more important than pace in tennis, ditto for groundstrokes. Some exceptions on very slow surfaces like clay. If a big server and how hard you can hit the ball is the most important thing then please explain the top four tennis players’ winning record against Karlovic and other monster hitters.

Also, progression in cycling seems very linear unlike tennis. National champions in countries with a cycling tradition usually go on to become very accomplished cyclists at higher levels. Not so with tennis. Look at the top 100 and you’ll see several of them who were successful juniors who’ve not come close to replicating their form in the senior tour. To me this suggests that tennis players develop more over the years as opposed to cyclists.

There definitely is cheating in tennis, but it’s more subtle than outright doping and is more effective. I’m talking more about things like illegal coaching from the stands and the like. This happens at all levels, not just the top. The dope testing is pretty good at the higher levels and at the lower levels there’s usually not enough to be gained, or the finances to afford it.

Anyone else find the rear brake caliper a bugger to align on these or is it just me?

Been looking for this myself. You’re sure that the wheels arrive with EX rims? The site still says “Flow”. Have read on here that CRC are supplying Flow EXes as well when you order Flows, but I don’t know if anyone’s bought them to confirm.

Managed to get the Crests on Evo hubs for less than your link from Evans (about £9) using their discount code. If you use cashback sites then you can get a wee bit more as well.

Osprey Momentum user here as well. Best thing that happened to me for my commute.

Think they’re on 20% off at Evans at the moment.

The website tool thingo goes solely by standover clearance. You can put any torso measurement in but soon as you fiddle the inseam length then it’s game over.

– Serena Williams when she went batshit and threatened to strangle the line judge.
– Whitney Houston.
– Tonya Harding.
– Mike Tyson.
– Marco Pantani :(
– Every Asian female president/prime minister who ever existed.

If you have the money and the bike looks like it will take your measurements then spend it. It will be fun to ride if nothing else. Also, if your current bike is 14kg + then the nerve will beat it for weight by nearly 2kg. I doubt you’ll be compromising your climbing ability with it.

– Waterproof jackets. For £200+ I want an Italian tailor to touch my bollocks and comment on how manly sir is despite it being a little cold in the shop today.
– RRPs for tyres. £50 for a bit of rubber made from recycled condoms?
– Replacement parts for anything broken. £20.99 for a replacement brake lever for an Elixir 7. That’s a fifth of a whole brake plus rotor damn you! In fact, any replacement washer, nut etc. Was looking to buy a circlip to replace one I lost during a fettle. £1.99 from a well known online retailer. £1.99 for 200 of the bleeding things on e-Bay.

Aren’t Rapaha/Assos supposed to do free repairs for the lifetime of the product? Anyone tried testing that on kit they’ve used mountain biking?

I take my bike with me on riding holidays, but a mate does not. Depends on how likely you are to seriously injure yourself when you ride I reckon.

E.g: Holiday to somewhere where I’d ride XC all the time I’d take a punt on an entry level rental. Holiday to somewhere that’s perhaps a once in a lifetime ride or has some pretty techy downhill then definitely my own bike, or they’d better have something I’ve heard of and would trust to ride when I’m there if I rent!

I reckon if you put pictures up and people see the kit on the bikes then they’ll know they’re good bikes. Few people in their right minds would put Fox forks and XT kit on a frame that was rubbish. Hopefully your customers are smart enough to realise this?

If it helps, I’d happily rent a Canyon. Tell me which company you’re with. Will save me having to lug my bike on a Sleazyjet flight across the channel next time I’m on holiday!

P.S: Ah, just figured out whom you’re with. I believe we did look at you when considering the next biking holiday, but the dates didn’t line up. I’ll definitely be back if you get some Canyons in though!

CRs work well here too.

Over 6 months using 1 cup of Stans per tyre to seal a pair of Nobby Nics on Specialized Roval rims. Can still hear the liquid sloshing about inside.

Road or mountain biking? Fox Flux for MTB and Cratoni C Bolt for road. You get a bunch of pads with the Cratonis as well (meshed, extra padding and a normal set). They also do a “replacement for 50% of cost” thing.

First pair of Sidis here. Love the fit, but looks like some of the lower range ones don’t have the heel cup replacement. If you change your mind and go for them then maybe something to look out for.

You maybe able to find the Fiziks cheaper abroad. Perhaps one of the German or Italian shops that will deliver to the UK.

Some people find it easier to disengage by turning their feet inwards.

Looks like you have decided the aggro is not worth it. Pragmatic choice.

I’d still look to seek some covert revenge. Something simple and that can be justified perhaps. Spit on his windshield everyday. If he talks to you about it then say you didn’t see him.

Else, the usual 12 rounds of bare knuckled boxing, handbags at dawn etc.

@lovetoride

I recall there being a law that states any charges made to service overdrafts should be fair. You could write to them and explain that the charge does not seem fair and ask them to waive it. It has worked for me in the past.

If they do not agree then let them know you will go to the Ombudsman regarding your claim.

Obviously all dependent on how much time you’re willing to put into the matter. Written comms works better than electronic messages I have found. Bit less convenient, but miles better than clinging onto the phone speaking to customer service.

Everyone else, banks usually process incoming funds after outgoing. I thought this was common knowledge? There’s definitely a clause in your Ts&Cs telling you to not make transactions you don’t have cleared funds for. Perhaps you should switch accounts if this is not agreeable? Another person here is talking about having a sweep facility. If the bank do this for you then you probably have a fee paying account, are a customer they’d really like to keep or have one of the older style accounts where they did this for you automatically. I’d like to know whom you bank with!

Pearl Izumi Gavia

A good course at a good university should do one thing above all else and that’s teach you how to think: how to think critically, analytically, how to make an argument, absorb another point of view. If you can do that well you’ll be fine.

Same could be said of a good school/vocational course no?

Perhaps university should be for people who already have those skills.

getonyourbike

How strong is the herding instinct in the Collie you look after? Would love one myself, but looks like it will be one for after retirement!

If that’s the function the Polys served then I am all for that.

I agree that university needs to be a place where learning is valued for learnings’ sake. However, universities are not falling over to disassociate themselves from the idea that a university graduate is the perfect employee are they? Therefore, I suggest they educate their clients/students/whatever they’re called that a 2:1 or even a 1st will not guarantee them a nice cushy job on 28k + benefits in a lovely multinational of their choice upon graduation.

If they’re not willing to do that, then they need to tell their students what they need to do to walk into a job on graduation.

– You need to apply for a grad job in your 2nd/penulatimate year.
– A year in industry is worth more than an extra year to get a Masters or even a PhD when looking for a job.
– Your first year mark doesn’t count towards your final degree classification but is used as a marker by your prospective employer when you apply for a job in your 2nd year.
– You’ve got close to zero chance of a graduate job if you’re a non-EU student. Exceptionally bright people excepted.
– Employers don’t give a crap that you were able to balance a degree with 2 part time jobs, working full time in the holidays and a place in a BUSA 1st Division sports team. They’d rather you stuffed envelopes at Daddy’s firm in The City for 2 weeks in the summer while you did the run to Starbucks for chai lattes.

All of the above are things that are more valuable to an undergraduate looking for a job than modelling something in Matlab for 3 months that’ll never be used again.

The academia only view is one that is too ideological. Maybe instead of asking students to write fairy tales on their UCAS forms they could ask them what they’re expecting from university instead? Then they’d have a good idea of whether they’re a mutually good fit.

A pragmatic approach is required here. Like it or not, universities take a large amount of public and private funding and have a duty of care to their students. Going “oh sorry, we thought you were only here for the shits and giggles of learning how neural network theory works for 60 credits and not to get a job” at the end of 4 years is not good enough.

I’d doubt that. Without a 2:1 it’s pretty much impossible to get your foot in the door of any graduate employer. You’ll have to have some pretty solid experience in the industry. A lot of software development/programming is outsourced these days too. And he still needs to set himself apart from all the other 2:2 grads.

Extended life in academia is a minority choice. Even these people will eventually have to leave uni once the funding for the PhD/Post-doc runs out. I know a few. They’re now struggling in the job market. Overqualified for grad schemes and no real world experience to slot into jobs in industry.

Job fairs are pretty much useless at the redbricks where the people exhibiting are Fortune 500 types who have a cookie cutter model to sift through their grads and put them into a one size fits all program. It would be good if universities had to offer a compulsory year in industry after the 1st/2nd year using some tie in to local businesses. This way you’re exposed to the industry and can make up your mind as to whether you want to be in it before wasting 2 more years of your time and money, and local businesses get a taste of what the available labour market is like.

Cheating has a lot of grey areas.

Consider the advantage a cheater gets through doping in this case. He can dope in the off-season and train better than anyone else when not being tested. He now carries that strength into the competitive races but he is no longer doping and never tests positive. Is he a cheat?

Now consider someone in the juniors in a sport who fakes their age to give them a physical advantage in their age group. If they win, sponsorship deals become easier to get and it frees up money their parents/support organisation would spend on kit to spend on other things. Perhaps more coaching, training, better access to higher level kit and so on. This transfers into more experience at higher levels and helps them win more than say some talented kid who didn’t cheat, but could have matured into a better athlete given a level playing field. He doesn’t dope, but is he a cheat?

Whether he was clean all the time, or not, or how good he was if he was clean is not the question. The question is how he will atone for his teammates whom he’s ruined (Hamilton looks like a flipping zombie when he’s interviewed about drug taking) and the clean riders who will now never know how good they were?

You’re a cheat, and worse, a coward Lance.

If cost isn’t an issue, then is maintenance an issue?

I have a pair for Roval Controls. Great wheelset, superlight and look great but I’d only ever use them in a race. 1550g is the quoted weight for them which is lighter than what I’ve got on my road bike at the moment.

They need a lot of care, but tubeless seats every time and they’re smooth as butter in a straight line (up and down) and not bad when cornering.

If I had the choice again I’d buy something a little heavier that played nicer with larger tyres. Watch out for narrow rims and high profile tyres with XC light wheels. Clearance is an issue sometimes, and so is how they sit in the fork. Not sure if this is because of dishing or axle design or what.

How would one place a trade order through you?

No.

That’s what ex-girlfriends are for.

Why?
If you aren’t covered they’ll say so and explain why, there’s no penalty for asking them

If they are decent and know what they are doing, then yes. However, I’d doubt insurers do their jobs because they love paying out on claims.

There’s no harm in arming yourself with the facts and figuring out what would and wouldn’t be covered and framing your story so it casts a favourable light on your circumstances before calling the insurer up. That way you’d give yourself the best chance of getting them to pay out with the least amount of hassle.

Why are they on about fitting it with no bubbles/wrinkles? Doesn’t using 2 rounds of the tape make sure that you get a proper seal?

What’s he going to do now though?

What university doesn’t prepare you for is what to do after you graduate. I find this a shocking dereliction of duty. It’s fine for people who have their parents’ connections to fall back on in order to find a job, or for vocational studies that lead to a job like medicine, dentistry, nursing etc., but it’s no good for people who’re the first in their families to go to them because what guidance there is for post uni life is laughable.

You get so caught up with graduating and doing enough to get there as a student that you don’t realise that you’re eventually there to get a job. Some are exceptions. Learning is its own reward, but let’s face it. Most of us go to uni to better our career prospects.

Good on your mate for graduating and you for encouraging him to push his academic boundaries, but it’s only the beginning. Hope it works out well for him.

Whatever you do, make sure you read the small print and are reasonably confident it covers the incident you’re about to claim for before you call them up.

Something with a Cytech pad in it I reckon.

I do like the pads in the Rose own brand bibs and shorts too though. Cheap, but don’t feel like it!

Enter the 3 Peaks challenge and win it. I reckon you will mash it up on the descents!

But seriously, would this be legal in a cyclocross event?

Loved mountain biking when I had a crap bike but couldn’t get enough of it due to not having transport. Have a great bike now and ride a lot more these days, but for some reason the sense of adventure and excitement I had when I was thrashing about crashing over rocks and mud in Dartmoor seems to have gone away these days.

I blame it on living in a big city.

Could to that I guess. Tubeless seems to depend on the tyre combo for me.

Have a UST Nobby Nic on ZTR Crest rims. Bit of a beast to get them to seat. Got a pair of Rovals which they seat and inflate on with a track pump with no problem at all. They both only have the tubeless tape on. No rim strip.

Sportful rain resistant tights for £80 quid. No idea why I did it. You don’t really seem to notice how wet your lower body gets in bibs in the rain.

Went a couple of years back and it was great. Put the holding fee down last year and had a host of cancellations from people in our party so pulled out. Looks like it was a bit of a washout last year though.

When you add the costs up, £200+ for ticket, parking, say £150 for food and booze, petrol and other associated costs it works out to around the same amount as a week’s riding somewhere nice.

I know what I’d rather be doing!

Have you checked Rosebikes? Similar value for their 29ers. Rockshox forks instead of Fox, but still good.

We have one in the gym at work and I use it for sprint training on the days I don’t get in early. It’s pretty good, but the saddle on it feels like sitting on a giant jellyfish. Looks like they can be swapped for normal saddles though.

Why are you looking at buying one? Unless 2k+ is chump change for a man of your means. They do take up a lot of space, so you’d better be single and have a large house, or a very understanding partner!