Great for carrying toys.

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On my 9th defender in 13 years. (company vehicles). New ones are infinitely better. There are fora filled with people answering this question (or justifying themselves – whichever you like) so I’ll not try here! I love em but they’re not for everyone.

Out many years ago with (the now) Mrs Dazzlingboy having a quiet Sunday afternoon ride round wee back roads – no lycra more a picnic in the rucsac type outing. Bunch of neds in sh1tty car pelted us with eggs and raced off pi$$ing themselves. Mrs caught the worst of it and was properly upset – tears and all. Anyway the neds obviously thought they’d have another kick of the ball and came back for seconds. Obviously saw Mrs blubbing by the road side and me advancing towards them :evil: and decided enough was enough and beat a retreat.

Thing is though – gang of teenagers in a car with a dozen eggs? I reckoned they came out specifically prepared for this and looking for a victim. This was not a spur of the moment slap on the arse but something else. Thankfully never seen the like again.

Likewise – no use for helping but sounds an excellent and creative project. All be best and keep us updated on progress.

I drove 50 mile round trip yesterday …….. I could’ve saved myself £20 in diesel
Maybe it’s time to consider a slightly more economical car?

I was reckoning on the 100 mile all in journey to drop off then return to collect – 25 (actually 29) miles each way x 4.

In any event, I drive a Land Rover. I gave up thinking about fuel economy years ago.

Side by side riding comparing the Trout light against the upgraded Betty you could tell the that it was brighter

Just to be clear – you saying the Trout is brighter than the Lupine? Certainly hope so as I’m eagerly awaiting my LL3!

Can you wash Labradors? I wish someone had told me 10 years ago.

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So does that mean you’ll deliver it to my door as well then? Quite often the next day… and with free postage?

In that case, you should be onto a winner as it seems to work for Wiggle and CRC…

:D

Same epiphany here! Used to ride Klein and Litespeed hardtails back in the day. Then got into road biking and touring (no facial hair though). Got back into mountain biking 3 years ago with a Specialized full sus – then last month a Lynskey hardtail appeared and I had to have it – maybe it is my roots but hardtail is a revelation to me! Like taking up a new sport!

But how in the name of God is “making the customer wait” going to bring in more trade or convince them that lbs is better than online?

How in the name of god is giving my stuff away a good business plan?

Who asked you to give it away? Just a bit of respect and less attitude.

I don’t really care about the price of 99% of my bike purchases to be honest – what’s a fiver here or there when you’re getting the piece of gear you want and getting it with a smile and a friendly attitude? Example – I drove 50 mile round trip yesterday to drop off my Lynskey for a service. I live in the centre of Edinburgh so have maybe a dozen bike shops within spitting distance yet I took it somewhere that is not the cheapest and I have to go back to get it. I could’ve saved myself £20 in diesel but would rather get good service. Holding kit back on your “service match” – crap service.

poly – could you help me buy emailing me on mdownie@thebikechain.co.uk so i can try and resolve the matter for you.

THIS is what lbs SHOULD be doing. THIS is customer service. THIS is a desire to help and resolve a problem/misunderstanding. THIS is what is going to keep lbs alive and tempt me to buy from them not online. NOT Don Simon’s “I’ll delay your delivery”.

I live about 400m from a bigger and better known bike shop in Edinburgh who frankly have pretty average stock and pretty average prices (although staff always helpful to be fair) but I’ve never been across town to Bike Chain. I will be from now on.

See my post on photos I’m proud of this month. Then re-evaluate!

They’re great but you don’t get hardtail motorbikes do you.

Oh yes. Fairly niche over here but huge in US with big smooth highways.

Many examples here

Yep – recently splashed out on a Lynskey hardtail after 3 or so years riding full sus. Am now a hardtail convert!

I’m no racing snake, but I now truly love climbing and going uphill.

*gets coat*

Thanks for the swift responses. General consensus seems to be that they are great kit but warm – which can be a good or bad thing – everyone has their own ideal temperature. Will try to pick one up cheap from fleabay or might be prepared to splash out for the adventure light as seems to be a better cycling weight.

Bonty Buns – I have a Montane fibre pile and you’re right – it is kit for task but definitely winter only – heatstroke is possible in anything other than snowy conditions!

Offroad in the Sahara mid-Sept. Not mountain biking, but on 2 wheels!

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Hope so. More skiing. :D

You’ll love it. Won’t be too busy midweek so no queue in the cafe! You’ll find the blue no harder than Carron (imo) although it is a fair bit longer. The red is a bit more technical but nothing on it that will freak you out.

The ‘make a customer wait’ comment by Don Simon may well be the single most stupid thing I’ve ever heard a retailer say (assuming (s)he’s a retailer)…

+1. I just don’t get this either.

The whole thrust of Don Simon’s argument (imo) is that people should, where possible, shop in their lbs even if it costs a few quid more. Fair nuff so far whether you agree or disagree.

So surely he should be encouraging people to do this? Tempting them away from the cheap online retailers with something else – better/quicker service maybe? Better or more niche stock selection perhaps?

But how in the name of God is “making the customer wait” going to bring in more trade or convince them that lbs is better than online? This is only going to reinforce the opinion that online is a)cheaper; b)better stock selection and c)faster and more convenient (which is DS point I think) and d)has none of the resentful huge **** chip on shoulder attitude that is clearly expressed here! Is this some attempt to “teach the ill-educated customer a lesson”? Surely this is guaranteed to send customers packing and online, or at least to ANOther lbs?

I just don’t get it. Very odd :?

Wow – wildcat is a seriously top trump sighting.

Da Vinci for me. Pile of cack but ideal for a Sunday

Yeah spotted all this work last night – haven’t been down shallow grave in donkeys so it made a nice alternative.

Sonia’s hands are massive as well!

Bad luck mate – keep the chin up and all the best.

Rosemarkie near Inverness. Very worst of the stereotypical Caravan Club types. Treated us like dirt, when in fact our bikes were worth more than most of their cars.

what shortcut said ^^^^^^^^ +1

“advised full reboot of unit”

How do you do that then?

I have problems all the time with the 305! Last night’s ride – it refused to switch on at all so no GPS for me. On the way home – switched on no problem! I’ve updated it etc many times. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

I have an new Oregon, so I’m not bothered enough about it to go to Garmin etc, but it is a frustrating piece of kit. Has been temperamental since day 1 about 3 years ago!

Glencoe is proper downhill – not for the fainthearted!

Get Mrs Stanfree to drop you off at Kinlochleven before her meeting and you go from Mamore Lodge over to Fort William via the West Highland Way – get her to pick you up in Fort Bill after and go for your tea.

A good rule in life is look after the person bringing your food

+1. Always tip the pizza boy.

I’ve just lost 10.2kg in 8 weeks.

Sounds pretty naff, but sign up to Bootsdiets.com and religiously record what you’re eating. You soon get the hang of hitting calorie targets. No eating of crap, no weird diets etc – just eat normal stuff, but less of it.

That and get out and ride.

It was actually a doddle to be honest – I was surprised how quickly the weight dropped off.