Hmmm, there might just be a tallboy frame for sale next year… However I would probably also need new forks, front mech, bottom bracket and possibly rear hub by the looks of things so perhaps not.

Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flow is good but need to get the right width. Worth popping down to Evans to sit on one of those gel measuring things (by Bontrager I think) to measure sit bones.

I’m pleased to see this question as it was something I have been wondering about. Currently my low rise bars have about 3 inches of spacers underneath. I have a dropper post and when set at max height for the uphill and level and smoothe sections the saddles higher (and more so if I drop the Talas forks to the lower setting for uphill) but when the seat is dropped I’m sat lower. My bike’s a tallboy so can be a racy XC bike but I tend to ride it with forks at 120 travel, wide bars and a bit shorter stem.

Isn’t it all about balance? There are people who work like mad, save most of it then drop dead early having never really enjoyed themselves which is sad. Then there are those (probably more common in later generations) who spend naively not realising how much it costs to build up a fund large enough to retire with enough to support a reasonable lifestyle (and what if you aren’t healthier enough to work to an older age?). However getting the balance right is not easy. Proper planning is the best answer ie sitting down and working it out using projections (either yourself or with a proper financial planner).

And at Druidh, final salary pensions are generally great. It’s just that most don’t have access to them now and people tend to move jobs more frequently so rarely build up 20, 30, 40 years anyway.

Sasha @ Universe (adventures beyond the pleasure planet) Newport June ’92

I have that on tape somewhere.

I think I’ll have to bring the record box down, make a list and look some up sometime I in the mood for reminiscing. I wonder if they would still be worth anything?

I still have all my old vinyl from this era in the attic. Keep wondering what to do with it as I don’t have anything to play it on.

Sampling rate? (Lol)

Just checked and the Salsa fliplock I had for it was a 30.6 which was a little tight (closest they had) and needed to be squeezed on so probably 30.8mm. But mine was the 29er version. If you email Kona in the US they are generally very helpful.

Off the top of my head, 30.8 mm. But I sold mine a while back so can’t be sure.

Just rescued my wife from one of those – I thought there was a REAL emergency for a minute! She was almost in tears!

Diversification is the best approach. Investing directly into property comes with a whole host of risks, costs and hassles and like anything else, if you get it right it can be very rewarding but if not then it can go horribly wrong.

Overpaying a mortgage can also be a good thing. I have done this to an extent and still am a bit but have toned it down as my interest rate is currently rediculously low.

And to say it again, a pension (a decent policy at least) is just a wrapper that holds investments. So the clients you speak of basically don’t trust investments other than property. There are investments you can’t access using pensions but I’m just trying to get accross that a pension is a means to get income tax relief up front and pay less tax on the funds whilst invested (including IHT benefits before drawn up to age 75) with the downside being the restrictions at the back end (maximum 25% tax free lump sum, taxed on income etc).

I encourage people to consider their goals and resources as a whole, develop an overall plan then think about the investment strategy and the tax wrappers and products/policies last.

The first and very important part is to consider what lifestyle you’re aiming for and when then explore whether and how you might get there.

You can pay up to £3,600 pa (gross) into a pension for anyone. The payment would be £2,880 with the tax relief added on. You can’t claim additional tax relief.

It can be a good idea but you need to think about the pros and cons. You might consider helping them towards a house purchase or education fees a higher priority or at least like there to be the option to access funds for such purposes rather than have to wait until age 55 to benefit.

And the Government didn’t do anyone any favours by shafting final salary schemes.

Old style pensions are very expensive. Some current pensions are too but there is value to be had. It’s important to remember that a pension is just a long term savings ‘wrapper’ with various tax benefits but which also has drawbacks. Generally it’s best to consider different methods of savings including pensions, ISAs etc.

It’s then important to get the investment strategy right and this will be different for everyone and of course not to pay too much for it.

The problem is there’s no savings culture currently and we’re all constantly sat in front of a big shop window which doesn’t help (internet). That combined with the closure of final salary pensions spells trouble and it’s scary how much you need to save to secure a half decent lifestyle.

Relying on the State is not to be recommended as the aging population means less working to support more retiring. Pretty gloomy really.

It’s also pretty hard to find a decent adviser and even more so if your earnings/wealth are not at the higher end.

A have a Cyrsus Discmaster 8 which is having problems. Cyrus have quoted me pretty much what I paid for it second hand but I don’t think there’s a cheaper fix. I figure if I get it fixed is should fetch a bit more than the repair cost on ebay but I would probably want to keep it then. The thing is my Harmon Kardon DVD25 works perfectly well so I can’t bring myself to pay the £275 repair. Is there a cheaper way?

Arcam Alpha 6 Amp, Marantz CD63 and TDL RTL2 speakers still going strong after 17 years and though not up to my Cyrus standards, they’re not half bad and not worth selling/upgrading.

You should get the olives and inserts in the kit. I did with my XTRs from Germany.

Nearly every ride I go on I will see someone with blood all over their knees. I’ve not witnessed anything serious yet but that’s reason enough for me to wear mine. I have 661 Evos which I wear with veggie shin guards (bought when I had some V12 mags with really long pins). I also tend to wear the elbow pads as apparently elbows can be harder to fix than knees (wife works in orthopaedics). Some have questioned me wearing them all the time but I don’t care. The only time I find them any trouble is on very hot rides and I sometimes take the elbow pads off and strap them to my bars on long climbs.

The Poc ones do seem better in at least one respect in that they’re velcro all the way around so you can take them off and put them on without having to put your foot through so can strap them to your pack for the climb then put them on at the top with no hassle.

But really, if someone came out with a decent looking one for 27.2 I’d be tempted. Til then I’ll stick with a Thompson.

The X Fusion Hi-Lo is alright. The only thing is the lever is a bit stiff on the one on my wife’s bike (not sure if this can be solved or just how they are).

I take your points Stumpyjon and have completed the questionnaire.

There is an instruction leaflet on the Shimano tech pages. They’re pretty easy but the official shimano method uses a cup/reservoir screwed into the master cylinder and a syringe at the caliper. As far as I know other methods will work.

Thanks for clarifying that. I think the maximum compensation for first class is around £40 so anything over that goes by a different method and if affordable RMSD for expensive/fragile items as they do tend to be much more careful with those.

The problem (or beauty) with Lee is that the weather is pretty wild for a lot of the year. Whilst it’s been fairly busy lately with the warm and dry weather, it’s generally pretty quiet. Facilities are provided when events are on and apart from those times I’ve never had a problem parking. Toilets wouldn’t be such an issue if the public loos on route weren’t closed.

There is a (selfish) part of me that doesn’t want it to get too busy and commercialised too.

I’ve also found parcel force 48 to be best.

I had Ti bolts on my stem but have changed them back on the advice of the bike store I use who also have an engineering arm. They have witnessed failures over the years and the consequences are not good. I use them elsewhere though but just thought why run the risk.

Part of the problem can be becoming to relaxed about transactions and sending money, which I have been guilty of myself. So far I’ve had a few issues with bad descriptions or wrong items but they have been sorted out.

When I first started to buy on here I insisted on getting the name, address and telephone number of the seller and speaking to them before sending money. Ideally I would get a landline as well as mobile and call them on the landline. The area code should of course match the address. On one of the photogrpahy forums they suggest this and also asking for a photo with a piece of paper next to the item with today’s date on it, just to show it exists. I’ve not done the latter with bike parts but have when buying an expensive lens. Viewing the exif data can also be helpful and firefox has a good add-on for this.

I also check people’s histories. In this respect it is good if positive and negative feedback is given on the for sale thread. The higher the value of the item, the more careful I am.

With regards postage, if it’s a low value item I tend to send first class but get proof of posting. I hadn’t really considered the risk of the other party pretending they haven’t received the item when they have.

If you follow careful procedures the risk is pretty low but, as I said, it is easy to get complacent. I hope some of this helps.

As a serial upgrader I really value the forums, expecially now that the ebay fees have become extortionate. It did annoy me a bit when I sold some hope team green rotors at a fair price then saw them on ebay the next day at double – but then it cheered me up when he gradually had to reduce the price to more or less what I sold them for!

I think I have 25mm on my tallboy at present with a 70mm stem, 0 degree and Easton Havocs (750mm) but my forks adjust between 95 and 120mm so I can drop the front when I feel like it (like up the steep climbs in the Peaks today).

750 Havoc’s for me and I’ve put a 70mm stem on (down from 90mm). I’m 6’3 and reasonably broad. Early days yet but I bought them having had a quick try of Ed Oxley’s bike with 780’s on. Initial impression is good.

I have a set of Truvativ XX 26/39 for sale brand new. You’ll see details in my thread history but they’re now on ebay.

I’m just susceptible to bling. Hopefully it’s a passing phase… But I do like to get my bling at a reduced price.

A friend has XTR trail with 180 front and rear. I’ve not tried them myself yet but they should arrive any day now. He went from Hope Tech M4. I currently have M4 front and X2 rear which are being transferred to my wife’s bike.

He is a pretty heavy guy and rides pretty fast and loves them (hence me deciding to get them). Great price at bike-discount.de and the spare pad prices (watch the exchange rate/currency charge from your card provider – Post Office credit card is good).

I’ve gone for the XT 6 bolt Ice Tech rotors.

I also chatted with someone off here or bikeradar who had tried M4s, The Ones etc etc and weighed more than me (I weigh 100kgs) and rode the alps frequently and he rated XTR trail above everything else.

Mine worked out about £370 all in.

Have a word with Kev at Goldtec. They do sell Ibis but his pride and joy is a Tranny (single speed) and he tends to tell it as it is.
01782 629462.

I also run Nobby Nic up front and Racing Ralph rear. I did have Racing Ralph front and rear which were ok but I much prefer this combination.

I wouldn’t know the answer without looking it up but could there be stamp duty implications for your younger brother on subsequently buying the two shares off you and your brother?

If you can afford it, get yourself a decent machine and grinder. A Rancilio Sylvia is a good starting point. I bought a second hand La Pavoni sold it at a profit and am now on my second Expobar (again second hand).

I used to like Neros but now they all taste crap compared to what can be made properly at home. It cost me a lot but I’ve saved on what I used to spend each day at the coffee shops.

For good really fresh coffee try hasbean.co.uk . The beans are only roasted when you order and it arrives the next day generally.

I have M4 front, X2 rear and have had fade up front (183/160). A friend has M4 front and rear and went from 183/183 to 203/183 and found them much better. Another friend has recently changed to XTR Trail and loves them. I might put mine on my wife’s bike and get the XTRs or otherwise by a 203 and go 203/183.

Instead of a capuccino in the morning in this heat I have an ice coffe made with a proper double espresso, ice, a good squeeze of condensed milk and about twice the amount of coffee of semi skimmed milk, all blended up. Fantastic but the coffee must be good.

Speak to your GP. I ended up having a scan and it is due to a prolapsed disc pressing on the nerve. I do have a whole list of exercises given to me by the physio but I’m not sure I should pass them on as I’m not qualified to say what is or isn’t appropriate. I came very close to having an op but then it improved. I do physio exercises and also attend a back class which is run by the physio department once a week which is basically a 1 hour workout with exercises designed to strengthen your core.

Yes but if you buy it there and bring it back with you you will pay state tax (I was respoding to the buy it out there and bring it back comment).

Not bike related but my Wickes hedge trimmer burned out at the weekend. I had the receipt and it was 14 months old. I called WIckes as I couldn’t find anything about how long the warranty was. They said it’s 12 months but as a gesture of good will they’d replace it anyway. I didn’t even have to ask. I will now buy from Wickes again. A bit of good will goes a long way and is all too rare these days.