Try my own Torx, Torque, Tork gel mix:

Mix 1 tbsp nitroglycerine with 1/2 jar smooth peanut butter, add concentrated fructose plus the contents of 17 Tork gels, mix thoroughly in a saucepan warming to a simmer for 5 minutes, add a dash of Shimano Mineral Oil to make it easier to get down, and a pinch of iron filings to taste.

Seriously, it’s Yummy!

I have a pair of new KCNC anodised green ends for sale that will go with any grip… these ones

£12 posted

2nd for Craft – was sceptical at first as they’re so thin and wispy but they stay up fine.

When training for, then riding, Tour of Flanders earlier this year I also found that normal foods were the best.

I ate Soreen Malt Loaf before the start, and while on the road ate Bananas, Mixed Nuts, Trail Mix, etc… although all the food at the food stops was sugary stuff which I got really sick of during the event.

SIS does not work for me also (seems to be the case for a few people). I bought a pack of 36 SIS gels and they just make me feel sick both during and after a ride.

High5 however are fine.

Most ‘energy’ foods are sugary sweet and over the course of a long event you’ll get really cheesed off with them (no pun intended!). My advice would be to take some ‘normal’ savoury food with you. Experiment liberally during your training sessions to find what works best for you.

Review: Crank Brothers Kronolog Dropper Post – Weighed, Dismantled & Ridden

Do I own one? No.

Can I read? Yes.

Is there any similar industrial application of bar clamps on a dynamically adjustable, high frequency moving part? No.

Has there ever been a reliable use of knurling inside a seal? No.

Believe whatever you believe, but it’s sh1te.

When you’ve just bought something people always want to hear it’s the best thing ever.

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/components/seat-post-seat-pin/product/review-crank-brothers-kronolog-46205

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Crankbrother-Kronolog-Telescoping-Seat-Post-Tested-2012.html

A mate of mine owns this chalet about 1.5kms out of Morzine and the cost is very, very reasonable – his name is Mark http://www.chaletlesabot.com/

What an utterly crap concept for a web site and business – sign up and give over all your personal details before you can even view an item? No thanks.

The Kronolog really has to be this year’s ultimate sh1te design being Beta tested on the buying public….

I mean, come on… anyone with half a brain will figure out that a knurled surface sliding up and down on the inside edge of a seal will invite dirt in, totally compromising the integrity of the seal.

Furthermore, what’s this PR cr@p from CB about ‘bar clamp designs being one of the oldest and most reliable clamping mechanisms in the world’? Er yeah… for bars that are relatively static and require to be clamped in a single position – NOT bars that go up n’ down, up n’ down all day long. Those primitive bar clamps were not designed for that at all and in that use cause premature wear – like, Duh!

Does CB actually employ anyone with any Engineering experience at all, or do they just have kids pointing at pics in magazines and sending orders to factories in Taiwan to produce utter cr@p?

I lived in the USA for 6 years and I’m still taken aback at just how important issues like Abortion, Gay Marriage etc are in Presidential Elections. And these issues polarise the Nation FFS….

Surely a Presidential election should be about the Economy, Education, Healthcare, Prisons/Crime, Welfare, Foreign Policy, Tax, Infrastructure, National Defence…

Gay Marriage? Gimme a break…

I just did it the other way – put a 48t TA Nerius on, so now 34/48t. Much better/closer jump between rings, and the 48t spins nicely when hammering!

Went there 2 years with the family… tbh would not do it again and I now just go with my mates. Wife doesn’t want to go again, nor do the kids… they found it boring.

While there are all of the activities mentioned above, doing things like Go Ape, rock climbing, mountain hikes, swimming etc do not take up a whole week – there’s LOTS of downtime around those activities and there’s only so much of Morzine & Les Gets that can keep you interested.

Think of it like this: imagine spending a whole week walking around your local town visiting shops & cafe’s, interspersed with a daily activity such as a climb or walk.

Want to spend your summer holiday doing that?

Thought not….

Ferrari’s not going to be popular with anyone – Peloton or Tifosi alike if he stands by his remark that he “Doesn’t care what happens behind me”.

What a knob – brought down the Maglia Rosa and the World Champions jerseys in one fell swoop.

Bought one – rode it once – sold it.

Far too twitchy.

Sliding dropouts slide under load even when tensioned properly.

Harsh ride.

PS – Not a bad idea to use flat pedals the first couple of times… getting used to riding rollers is enough to worry about without worrying about crashing in clipless pedals.

It takes a few attempts to get used to them… at first it’s really shaky and weird.

Top tips are to place rollers in a doorway/frame so you can support yourself if necessary, or at least reach out. Or next to some furniture that you can reach out to if needed.

After you’ve done a few rides you’ll feel great on them. Rollers really help you develop a smooth spin and develop your style.

Erminator – small stoat-like furry animal goes bonkers with guns and Harleys in post-Apocolyptic world.

Post-accident trauma is very common – and Kudos to you for acknowledging it as it’s not a thing most blokes admit.

Good friend of mine was standing on a bus in Germany when it made an emergency stop – he was slung forward into the windscreen and smashed his head against it hard. No blood,, stitches etc but probably like you, he thought it was ‘lights out time’.

The symptoms you describe – anxiety, need for social contact, tearfulness, lack of confidence – lasted for months in his case.

Some very good advice on here already…

1. Get on a bike and go for a ride. I’d advise going with 1-2 others as that will tick your boxes for social contact plus you’ll likely feel better with others.

2. Mentally you should blame other factors – unfamiliar road, stupid f*cking bus drivers, SPDs too tight to unclip – “That combination of circumstances will never happen again” is what you’re aiming to tell yourself. And I can assure you – it won’t.

3. Go get some counselling if it persists – I’ve done it and it’s very worthwhile.

Am still in bed….

Gotta agree – Chris King.

I was close to heart failure spending £80 – £100 on a BB but wow that things is smooth – it spins noticeably better than any of my Shimano, FSA or Hope BB’s.

AND… it’s re-greaseable.

AND.. it should last forever (well,a long time anyway).

Although expensive, KIng is cheaper really – spend £80 on one that lasts forever versus £30 ish every 12-18 months…

Me 3yrs ago – one of the rare moments when I actually got it right!

BMW, Porsche, Kia, Land Rover, Isuzu, Ford, Hyundai …. we’ve had all of those in last 10-15yrs… they ALL have problems, that’s life.

1. Hyundai: cheap as chips = problems

2. Porsche: supposedly extremely well made (I’d agree) = expensive problems

3. Everything else on my list: mid-priced = mid-priced problems.

C’est la Vie!

Do you know what Chocolate Mousse is like?

I’d have thought the value of Ti would be quite good when weighed in – worth a call to your local scrappy to ask the £ per Kg.

Installation
Clean handle bars. Press in End Caps. Using Rubbing Alcohol or Window Cleaner clean inside of ESI MTB grips, wet bar and inside of grip, slide onto bar. Rotate grip to have the Thicker side towards palm. Let dry for 24 hours.

Removal
Slide a screw driver with a dulled point (or something similar) under grip (careful not to scratch bar or stretch grip), squirt Rubbing Alcohol, Window cleaner or water under grip, twist grip off bar. Clean inside of grip with Rubbing Alcohol or Window cleaner and reinstall. If you have access to a compressor just blow them off.

(plagiarised from eBay…)

Some more pics that may whet your appetite…

You don’t see many of these in Peaslake!

Nice Digger, and I thought 3 trips to Moab was a little Obsessive

Second pic down, Porc rim or something else ?

And yeah, it’s definately got the wow factor.

It’s the Amasa Back trail – one of my favourites.

Some more pics of the same trail…

Yep – I used to live out there and have ridden Tahoe and Moab extensively.

Short answer is there is nothing – repeat nothing – like the Portal Trail in Tahoe.

There is also nothing – repeat nothing – like the Portal Trail anywhere else in Moab. 🙂 the Portal Trail is very, very exposed, very high up, and can result in death if got wrong. No exaggeration.

Moab is a brilliant place and I’ve ridden there 7 years – there’s just so much to do.

Tahoe is brilliant too and there is extensive riding out there, but it’s not so closely laid out as Moab and some of the trails can be harder to find for non-locals.

The Flume trail is/was one of my all-time favourite trails – it just flows and flows. The trail itself is gob-smackingly brilliant and then you get the scenery on top of that, which is just pure beauty. If around Tahoe area there are lots of trails but also 1 or 2 of the ski areas have lift-assisted access.

Moab town has a bikey, artsy vibe and is very different to Tahoe which has towns like Truckee which are pretty much just ski towns with a ski vibe but a kind of desolation in summertime (they’re not empty by any means, but they feel like out-of-season ski towns if you know what I mean).

Basically – you gotta ride both Moab and Tahoe! 😀

But, if you can only ride 1, Moab would be my choice every time. There’s just more there, it’s more convenient, the trails are easy to find, it’s a beautiful place to be and it’s just got a “Wow!” feel all over.

There is a reason they’re cashiers in a sports shop…… likely earning close to minimum wage.

An alternate career for them would be to practise asking “Do you want fries with that?”

The Velocipede being the first pedal-powered bike-like contraption begat all else.. therefore the T-shirt’s slogan should have read “Save the Velocipede”

But who cares anyway – it’s all bikes. Therefore good.

Nothing new under the sun.

Yep – those forks, although rigid, are Kashima coated.

The bars are the new On One ‘Yard Wides’

and the tweed jackets are from Rapha’s 2012 ‘Fjord Collection’ co-designed by Stella McCartney.

Chain Reaction…

Do NOT(!) under ANY circumstances, fit a star-fangled nut inside a carbon steerer tube. If you do, it’ll likely break off when you’re at high speed and kill you, planet Earth will implode and all human life will be gone.

Seriously though – you should NEVER install an SFN in a carbon steerer – it’s dangerous.

The expansion fitting you pictured sits inside the steerer tube and if you look closely you’ll see there is a 6mm hex/allen fitting inside, and further inside that is (usually) a threaded section for a 5mm allen screw – although yours looks like it has an external threaded section which the top cap screws onto.

Fit the expander bung into the steerer tube at the appropriate height (after you have measured and trimmed the steerer to length), tighten the 6mm allen to secure it in place. This needs to be snug/tight, but not forced too tight.

The top cap is then fitted, the screw going into the expansion bung.

It’s very easy once you have done it once but really this is not something to mess with so if you’re not sure it’d be best to take it to your LBS and pay them £10 to do it.

What’s the pace on these sort of things like (for the average rider)? I’m going to do the Liege-Bastogne-Liege sportive this month and a little concerned that its going to be me riding in at midnight, alone

There are plenty of groups/pelotons forming, disbanding and re-forming during the first 100kms, so I just latched onto the ones that were going at my pace. Where they were too slow I bridged across to a faster group, and when too fast pulled out and waited for a slower group.

I didn’t use a computer during the TdF so don’t know the actual avg speed during the flatter sections but it was definitely quicker than the 14.5mph avg speed I consistently rode at during my solo training rides leading up to the event.. which is to be expected as you’re in a group drafting.

I’d say if you have done a handful of 5-7hrs+ rides beforehand you’ll be fine.

In fairness, there are only a few cobbled sections and they’re mostly quite short. I found the jarring of the first cobbled section quite a shock after after spinning along on smooth tarmac for the the first couple of hours and although I fancied myself as a good rider for the cobbles I was rubbish – I was literally blown away at just how fast some of the Belgians can ride over the Pave.

The real killer is that nearly all the serious climbs are cobbled and some of them are demoralisingly steep.

I rode the whole parcours with the exception of having to stop on the Koppenburg because the rider directly in front of me went down, taking out another 2 riders. Lots of shouting, arguing and gesticulating then ensued and a fight nearly broke out.. it was all quite entertaining really although I was disappointed to have had to stop.

The Koppenburg was like a War Zone – bodies and bikes everywhere, bidons, toolbags and stuff strewn all over the place, people pushing, some looked like they were close to tears!

What a superb event – can’t believe just how brilliant that was – or how painful!

So, how does everyone feel? Did you make it?

I finished it – the full 244kms – in 10hrs 15

I’m just in the middle of packing…!

Drinks: I’m taking 2 full bottles to start (plus will take 20-30 euros with me in case I need to pop into a shop and buy any more)

Food: I’m led to believe the food stations are good, but I have a full complement of museli bars, dried pitted dates, salted nuts, trail mix, Soreen malt loaf and energy gels.

Now I’ve just got to figure out how much I can take and split it all up into bite-size/manageable portions..

Don’t forget your Passport! 😀

I may ride the real one in June….

Commencal is the new ‘Cracknfail’.

Whay anyone in their right mind pays anything at all for Commencal beats me… no end of them break, and Commencal’s customer service – well, those 2 words don’t seem to compute for Commencal.