right….. its ok that i ask about big financial stuff. she does the same. some people do and some don’t, so its all good. end of…

now back to the important stuff…bikes…
i already have a ht (sc chameleon) but whilst fun it is beating me up a bit on longer rides.
Are lapierre that bad for breaking?
Have looked at pauls cycles for the rz120…. like that price!
the transition bandit i really like the look of but it seems a little weighty in my price bracket plus i’m not sure where the nearest stockist is… how do they ride?
i really dont like the designs of the giants
no fat bikes… charlie the bike monger tried to convert me to them when i went to his shop but i managed to resist!
the sc superlight is definately near the top of the list as are scott scales

I asked her to marry me 5 years ago, started saving for wedding and then along came minivader!!!! (He’s an even bigger sink hole of cash than me!!! )
Back to the bike…
Budget will be about 2k… use is general trail riding round Hampshire and Surrey(swinley, peaslake) occasionally trail centers in wales and fairly regularly to Derbyshire as I have family there. I do like the downs and would like to start enjoying the ups a little more so light weight 120mm to max 140mm mm bike hence the ones in the list…

Mattjg I have no prejudice against any style or make (except for trek cos they just dont fit me) so am open to any bike suggestions. .. rocketdog… its added to the list. Cheers

Danny b…I would love a rocket but being an injury carrying mincer I couldn’t do it justice…. plus I live in Hampshire which also wouldn’t do it justice! !!!

Tbf its not as bad as it sounds. .. I am only too aware of my failings when it comes to money management and the lack of ability to say no to shiny new toys!
And I dont have to ask permission for anything else……

Anyway. .. any other opinions on the bikes listed?

Ha! Had to sell a load of stuff to fund my road bike last year!

nope. she is however the financial director in our relationship!!!

Very cool. Wish that I could get my son interested in his bike. ….

really???? (with eyebrows raised)

gary_c the answer to “does my bum look big in this” is ….. Yes but at least it detracts from your face…

i use BIAB as i dont have a lot of space… works a treat. i use the one of the graham wheeler books which has 100 recipies… only done a few but had some great successes.

I’ll agree with look on the web. There are loads of park tools videos too if memory serves. But I like books more… and it has been most useful in the garage when you don’t have computer or phone to hand and need to check something.
Velo solo is another good site too

I’d recommend getting a maintenance book. When I built my chameleon I got zinn and the art of mountain bikes maintenance. … invaluable even if you are an old hand at bike fettling. Maybe even look at something with changeable drop outs (if it exists? ?) just I case you want to go back to gears. Best bet (imo) is give Charlie the bikemonger a look (or an email/call)… top chap for all things ss.

Charlie the bikemonger[/url]

Cheers for all the suggestions. .. was going to see how the op went before buying anything. 100mph I am an avid supporter (sorry) bioskin… knees, ankle and now wrist… been wearing the dp2 for the last 6 months at work.. :D
Tbh I just want to get it done so I can get back on the bike. .. been off for almost a year now. :cry:

ive got a shed load of conforming bandage which is the same stuff. good suggestion tho!

no worries glupton…after speaking to the consultant he recomended that i had some support for riding off road for a couple of months after it has healed. i just figured that a riding specific one or one that people on here may have used would be better than a normal bandage

may try the 661 ones again once i have been fixed. will look and see if fox still do a similar product. cheers….. any one else?

+1 for the slow mo guys. also check out simons cat and also danny mcgaskill industrial revolution

trust me for the for the first week i couldnt get out of bed, eat, drink or sleep properly. mrs vader collapsed and stopped breathing resulting in a call derbyshires finest ambulance service (who were brilliant) once back home we were all given seriously high dose drugs and i was also given high dose steroids as i am an asthmatic. 3 weeks on and we are still not 100%. i havnt been that ill since i had pulmonary edema in argentina. the only one to kick it off completely (after 3 weeks) was minivader who gave it to us in the first place!

you have my sympathy…. had it a couple of weeks ago. unfortunately mrs vader had it too and she thought homes under the hammer was the best thing to watch whilst ill… made me feel worse

mrs vader reckons that i enjoy the build more than riding the bikes…. she may have a point, especially in winter!

ah well worth a try…. back to the cupboard for the boots…. what about size 36 sips green troos and a husq lid??? not pushing just trying to make some space and cash for new shiney bike bits once i have my wrist fixed and am back on the bike :-)

what size are you as i have a pair of haix boots (size 9 1/2 i think) sat in a cupboard doing nothing and some other bits i would be happy to get rid of if you are interested? email in profile

depending on where you are have a look at pedal on in tadley… podium points on new bikes (even withn some of the finance packages) are worth alot… i got a cannondale synapse and the podium points netted me £230 of extra stuff

would love a beer or 4 tonight but have to be in work tomorrow :cry: …. during the rugby tomorrow afternoon however… :D

What about Basingstoke? Chineham or old basing are nice and on the reading side. Good schools and catchment …

guinea pig in argentina…. tasted like bbq rabbit

bugger… just discovered mrs vader only got 4 fraoch… oh well time for the AG homebrew bitter…..

chvck tbf if i was still on the awful antibiotics and steroids from 2 days ago i would also be on the PG!

binners i have some lidl cider that mrs vader thought would be a good idea. where are those busses to shout at?!? saxonrider the trickis to look for low alcohol… likely lower calorie. tollys english ale is only 2.8Ish and very very nice…

hey rob… sorted that el guapo? will give you a shout next time i am up your way and in one piece. chvck is that hogs back tea or pg?

my son (2 yrs old at the time) was playing with my keys (house, car, garage) in the garden. subsiquently lost the keys resulting in replacing all the locks in the house and garage and spending a large amount on the car key. 3 months later they turned up behind the radiator in the front room of the house, 15 meters from where minivader was playing with them

this is such a familliar story my wrist aches!!! i came off last year (not posted or ridden since) and have been waiting for an op to fix 2 ligaments in my wrist. pre op was supposed to be today but a rather severe chest infection has put that back. As for the food issues… i have the Eclairs of Doom and the evil MR Full English all of which hav given me an extra stone. it can be beaten…. now where did i put the turbo trainer….

Wow! Where is that? Looks great for going down it. Think I’d need new knees for going up!

one of my friends cavalier’s had an op to remove a seriously infected and deep splinter from her paw… several months later she was still lifting her paw and crying…. sometimes she even got the right paw to lift :lol:

lance sining who’s that girl and launching into the barber of seville

:lol:

shouldnt that be Barron Von Pug?? :D

Nice debz… want to make mine a bit longer tho!!

its wherry hard (sorry couldnt resist that :mrgreen: ) to mess up the wherry so long as you follow the instructions and get all the sanitisation right and rinse everything properly. 6-8 weeks in the keg will see you with a good beer… enjoy!
wherry should finish around 1014 i think, but i dont use a hydrometer anymore…..

i stopped uing a hydrometer after a while. if there isnt a big head on the surface of the beer in the bucket then i bottle/keg it. this has seen me alright for my kit and grain brews (always got compliments on my beers). plus it wont hurt the beer if you leave it for a couple more days,
dont forget the extra sugar when you keg/bottle for a secondary fermentation to give it some fiz, espeially if you are kegging as this will help pressurize the keg. which beer is it?