The video did make it sound like the guy had died which is never a good thing!

I have to agree with a lot of the comments on PB that Spesh are trying one last marketing push rather than genuinely saying thanks. No team mate interviews, no comments from his mechanic or Sam… maybe I’m just cynical. It did seem like they were trying to remind the viewer of the DH race credibility of the brand more than anything.

Also though Nigel Page came across very well in the interview while Sean from Spesh did not sound particularly happy and even a little bitter.

Can’t deny Sam is an awesome rider and undoubtedly helped get Spesh back on the DH race map but at the end of the day he just wasn’t getting the results and a new start is probably the best for both parties.

Can’t wait to see Sam racing in the UK a bit more :)

Old, old news ;)

Schwalbe dirty Dan or bontrager mud-x.

You are only kidding yourself if you think a racing Ralph is as grippy as a mud-x in the mud.

Good price on the Rebas but I’d like to save some weight over the current Fox Forks if I am to spend a fair amount of money. Bike snob/ WW I know :? Merlin does seem like the only real place for good deals at the moment.

As others have said the question should be “one or two rings up front?” not “two or three?”

Personally I love the simplicity of 1×10 for short, fast rides/ races but will probably revert back to 2×10 for the Summer longer events (unless of course I get magically strong on the bike between now and then) :)

As Billy Connolly once said…

There’s not such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothes.

Same applies to bike set up and route choice

That said I wouldn’t mind some drier spells if only to save my washing machine :)

I also want as little sweep back as possible, again to keep my weight low and forward. I’m looking at a similar width, around 660mm.

The amount of back sweep is important for having comfortable wrists/ elbows/ shoulders. For the purpose of being comfortable on the bike you should buy the back sweep that is comfortable for you and then buy a longer stem to achieve the reach (saddle to bar distance) that you want.

There aren’t many light 660mm plus flat bars- is weight a concern for you?

FSA K Force Nano Light

I struggled to find flat bars with a nice amount of back sweep, that were light and would let me dial in a little preference in the fit. The FSA K Force Light Nano are 113g (real weight), 6 degree back sweep and are offset so small changes in rotation in the stem really change the shape and feel of the back sweep. Very handy if you are picky on feel of bar shape :D

I got them for £50 in a CRC sale which was even better.

If I had to buy anything else then I would only really have Easton EC70 or EC90 on my list or possible Syntace Duraflite Carbon (but they are quite porky). I wouldn’t be unhappy with KCNC either. There aren’t many nicely shaped light flat bars out there. Nicely shaped and heavy (relatively speaking) is much easier- just depends what is important to you.

I have used both the rubber toed (MTB) and non-rubber toed (Road) neoprene Endura overshoes and thoroughly rate them. Personally I prefer the non rubber toed version as the rubber section rubs on my cranks more easily.

With regards to durability they are great, easily lasting a few winters at least. The tread of my Specialized shoes fits perfectly through the opening in the sole so when on road/ pavement only the shoe tread contacts the ground. I’m ashamed to say I’ve been walking a fair bit this winter up boggy climbs that just aren’t do-able in this weather and the material on the bottom of the overshoe holds up brilliantly. The Endura material is very tough but other brands tend to be a little flimsy. I’m also not a fan of Endura normally but they seem to have got it right with the overshoes. Given how cheap they are you can afford to abuse them more than I have :D

Finding the Endura overshoes was something of a Winter revelation for me. Sounds silly to say but true. :D

[Assuming you use clipless pedals]

Um…

Why do people never just use overshoes (besides the roadie look of course)?

The Endura Neoprene overshoes have kept my feet bone dry all winter and have the additional benefit of keeping the shoes clean so when you come home all muddy all you have to do is wring the overshoes out in a bucket.

I use them with Lusso Max Repel tights and Giro Merino socks and never have wet or cold feet. None of this collecting water inside malarky! Also far better than Sealskinz which I throughly dislike.

£20 solution? Why not? :D

I would also add (and echo BoardinBob) that most people with knee pain will find a lot of relief in through stretching and using a foam roller religiously. As soon as my muscles/ ITB/ etc start to get tight the pain gets worse so I am a foam roller convert :)

I know that in Cardiff the physios organise several circuits style classes for all sorts of problems including ankle rehab, knee rehab, shoulder rehab etc.

Any such classes for total knee replacement patients in your area would essentially be the same as those which may benefit someone with earlier stage problems except the expectations for completion of a specific exercise are different.

For example, in the group classes I did there were people getting over cruciate ligament damage, total knee replacement and people like myself with undiagnosed yet severe knee pain. There were three levels of each exercise so those towards the end of the rehab did the harder variations.

That said other hospital in Cardiff with smaller physio departments only offer these classes to total knee replacement patients, although most of these patients find far more benefit with hydrotherapy (same type of exercises but in water to reduce weight bearing).

I did not find the classes directly useful as the knee was very painful during a lot of the exercises. It was very useful for identifying aspects of strength, balance, etc which I found particularly challenging however which meant that I could feed more information to the physio I was seeing one to one and therefore make sure I was really getting to the root of the problem (rather than just going through a list of general exercises with the one to one physio until we stumbled on something that seemed to help).

I hope all of that makes sense and is maybe even useful! :)

As others have said, too many variables…

I have got just over 1000 miles on a Dura-Ace cassette fitted (on the MTB) towards the end of this year and it still looks great whereas I have just gone back to XT and rarely get more than 500 or 600 miles of the same riding out of them. Same KMC X10 SL chains, same conditions, same riding, same maintenance, same everything. I am OCD about cleaning and re-lubing equally too on both cassettes :D

I also thought about the new bars from Thomson but remember thinking that they were too heavy and too pricey for serious consideration over say Easton. I can’t remember the weight off the top of my head though.

The other issue is that it is a first generation product- even the biggest and most respected companies have teething problems with new products from time to time so I would personally stay away for a year or two…

Definitely interesting looking bars though! :D

patriotpro- the DPS do hold the deposit but the landlord can pretty easily ensure that the tenant never sees their deposit by taking the system round in circles. The landlord gains nothing but the tenant effectively loses the deposit. Only small claim court or similar can actually enforce return of the deposit (even when held by the DPS).

Ok, so this is now going down the Alternative Dispute Resolution route which is what I have always wanted.

Any tips for the ADR?

Rental agreement
Detailed pics of condition flat left in clearly labelled
All correspondance with landlord
Clear summary of my response to the landlord’s claims for part of my deposit (relating directly to the pictures above)

What else can I do to make it as easy as possible for the ADR to make a fair decision (even if it were to not be in my favour!)

Many thanks again!!!

I start racing again in about 3 months, European Champs in 5

If you are racing to a high standard do you not have support from some form of team doctor/ physio? Even giving this type of information as to your goals to an NHS GP is likely to help things along.

My opinion would be to not try and do too much with the knee until you know what is up although this is very easy to say when not living with the frustration of missed training. Very often short term frustration helps in the long term but it is hard for anyone to give any real advice until you have a proper assessment.

Beg, plead and anything else you can think of to the GP and if there is any external support you have access to through the racing absolutely make the most of it.

GP and then absolutely plead for an MRI if the pain is excruciating.

A trip to a decent private physio specialising in knees may cost £50 but will get an immediate opinion and will add weight to the argument for a MRI scan if it is indeed serious. If it not serious but there are conservative treatment options then they should be able to advise with this too.

An MRI is costly for the NHS so these will not just be handed out without some serious justification. If you say words to the effect of “it hurts a bit but I think it will be ok” (or tell them you have ridden 30 miles without problem!) the GP will do very little and most likely tell you to rest for a further 6 weeks. By the time 6 weeks is up you could well have further problems or it may have cleared up. You would then see them again and be told to give it another 6 weeks rest. After repeating this process several times they would then put you on a waiting list for an MRI which may then take another 6-12 weeks. Trauma clinic/ MRI/ etc appointments work on the basis of you either being in a very bad way now or being in quite a bad way over a long time period. As you say you can ride I would suggest the second outcome is more likely and hence will take a while to get anything done of any use. Pain is the real indicator for getting something clinical done quickly unfortunately.

The reality is a GP will most likely be very little help for at least a few months but is the only route to further investigations which can actually help you!

Ok I’ll stop being so cynical now :D

I hope you can prove me wrong and get the help you need to be happy with your knees quickly!

Biggest weight saving for your £’s is aluminium bolts where they’re not under stress. Cheaper material, bigger weight saving.

You can get away with it on things like brake levers but probably not on your stem…

Do not ever, ever use Alu bolts on a stem! Not “probably” not on your stem- definitely not on your stem! Alu disc rotor bolts are dodgy ground too so 3x Alu and 3x Ti is the most you can safely get away with but is it really worth it over 6x Ti? I would suggest not but others may disagree. Using Alu bolts in anywhere except very select low stress applications will not end well!

Oh yeah, check out Toronto Cycles for Ti and Alu bolts. No corrosion and bling colours (plus vanity) are my justification

Of course it isn’t worth it but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t :D

What bike part is honestly worth it? [No-one mention the 5 frame] :lol:

I’ve a lovely 24 inch 24/7 for £380 which will more than get the job done :wink:

CRC had some great Christmas deals last year but I think 20% off (if you are willing to spend that much) is pretty good going. I think last year they had money off there gift vouchers too which was a way to buy up lots of CRC currency for the new year :)

Watching Wales today was like watching the Scarlets, good work in the backs (like running the ball from your own try line under pressure) which fills you with false optimism but with little going on up front… plus you always have the feeling the game was 10-15 minutes too long for them. Perhaps not surprising given the number of Scarlets playing. Ospreys and Blues need to get some form in to strengthen Wales before the six nations and the doc really needs to find his best magic sponge

Rotor 3D running single ring

The XTR crank for the person who doesn’t want to buy XTR

No inventories at the start or end and even handing the keys back was a difficult task! The landlord was uncontactable (word?) and the Lettings Agent said it was the landlord’s responsibility as he manages the property. No-one wanted the keys so I just left them in the agents and got a receipt. The landlord is required by the lettings agent to conduct inventories in the contract so maybe this is how they pass all the responsibility on to the landlord.

The landlord has rejected all of my claims for the full deposit amount through the DPS, rejected my request to use the Alternative Dispute Resolution service through the DPS, so my final attempt to get this resolved through the DPS is the single claim process which is in progress awaiting the landlord’s response. I recently got a new email which says he has photos of everything which he is happy to submit to whomever it may concern yet he has already neglected many opportunities to do so! We shall see…

cb and Mick- good point about being an idiot with living without heating for 2.5 years.

It is the first place I have lived in by myself and did not know I had any options after being told to live with the fact there was no heating. I got a plumber to have a look and got a quote but the landlord has been impossible to contact until a month ago (2 months after me leaving) when he provided a list of deduction from the deposit. I did write, email and phone about the issues plus the letting agent also attempted to contact him. I could have walked out but did not know what the mechanism of doing this correctly was and pretty much only ever slept there so made do with several mains powered electric heaters rather than risk additional charges/ fines/ whatever. With hindsight that is completely stupid but I am now learning a harsh lesson in how renting a place works (or not as the case may be!)

Thanks again!

Jonny, I’d be tempted to go for a medium but it isn’t usually too much hassle to send things back nowadays if it really isn’t right for you.

Wow, rough deal Mick!

I do feel for landlords when I see how some properties get treated. Then I think back to some of the landlords I have come in to contact over the years and it is all in balance again :?

I’m certainly not keen on ever being a landlord!

For value and quality I would recommend Lusso Max Repel. I got mine for under £40 with various voucher codes.

Endura Stealth are far too restrictive.

I like Sportful and Pearl Izumi in general but have no experience of these.

I recently treated myself to a Santini H2O waterproof long sleeve jersey but while it is good quality and waterproof it offers nothing over the Lusso Max Repel material for considerably higher cost.

I tried the Mavic waterproof offering too but found the hips very tight and restrictive… plus they were very pricey.

Lusso Max Repel without hesitation :D

Hope this helps :)

Thank you to everyone for their advice!

It is very unfortunate that it is potentially so hard to actually get the pennies back even if it is deemed in a court of law that the deposit must be returned. It seems like a lot of hassle for £550 but then I guess this is why landlords might still try and intimidate a tenant. I will pursue it though.

I get the impression that my landlord is completely ignorant (rather than some clever underhand con artist) to the purpose of a deposit and the various legal requirements surrounding it. I think he genuinely believe he can take what he wants to replace items which were in need of replacing when I moved in. I think he stupid/ ignorant enough to actually keep arguing until the cows come home even when he has little/ nothing to support his claims which has always been my main worry! It pretty hard arguing with an idiot :D

Is the B-tension screw incorrectly set, leaving the jockey wheel too close to the cassette? Or is the shifting stiff even without the wheel fitted?

Just to throw in a possibly silly suggestion :D

Accidental shifts with gripshift is an absolute myth so don’t let anyone convince you it might be a problem! :)

That said I don’t know how you can have trouble misshifting with xtr either like Mr lopes :?

P.S. I would also echo Njee’s comments on gripshift’s awesomeness. I would also add that the large diameter inner sections make a nice change of hand position some times while climbing

Nobu is a reputable seller on ebay who has 10 speed gripshift for Shimano if you decide you would like both front and rear gripshifters. Otherwise, run any 9 or 10 speed left gripshift and a trigger on the right. There is also a guy in Germany who modifies nicer looking 9 speed SRAM gripshifters to accept 10 speed Shimano mechs but I can’t find his contact details.

Hope this helps a little

Is there anything that makes the bike easily identifiable before we all clobber a shady looking yoof? :)

Does the owner have the frame serial number or something to prove ownership if there is nothing obvious to identify it?

I’ll keep my eyes open too!

Call to DPS tomorrow it is then :D

Unfortunately I did not keep the emails as it was nearly 3 years ago. Foolish now in hindsight. Most communications were verbal (phone mostly and one meeting in person at the start).

No inventory from either of us.

How long and painful is a DPS dispute?

Where do I stand though with nothing in writing and no inventory taken? I only have my photos and verbal conversations with the landlord either in person or on the phone. Similarly the landlord can not provide evidence that the these problems did not exist before my tenancy since they did exist!

What is the likely outcome with DPS if both the landlord and I only have our word to a large extent?

I am reluctant to contact the landlord before the DPS as this gives him some ammunition if you like to work with if it comes to a dispute- better he is unprepared???