Man Up :lol:

Run mine with 140 but imagine it would be fine.

XT has quite a bit of plastic on it. XTR and X9 aesthetically better. Deore, XT, XTR and X9: all seem to shift just about the same.

That bike looks really nice. Have adjustable dropouts on a sovereign, no practical issues to date.

The warfarin is immaterial – quite high dose but guess your INR is optimised at that level.

Are you B blocked? More likely to leave you feeling the chill.

Just got the azonic 420s mail order; thought they would be bigger, wider perhaps. Put next to v12s they seem smaller if anything. Thought about the podiums but £40 seemed easier to bear than £120.

djflexure, this sounds like older Gore cables your LBS are talking about. The coating is bonded onto the cables on the new generation so this is no longer a problem.

Unfortunately happened this year with the new cables on two bikes. I use a SRAM X9 rear derailleur. The cable feeds through a small hole. It frayed at this point on both bikes and then jammed on the liner.

Quality

I have had a few problems with the Gore cables. The inner is coated. If this coating frays then the cable sticks. Happened more than once. LBS reckon that its a common problem, but everybody seems to rave about Gore cables on here.

I’m 85 kg and have Flow on one bike and 355 on another. I think that crest replaced 355. Flows suit wider tyres and ‘heavier’ applications. Mine have been great for just over 12 months with trips to rocky areas like Lakes/ Peaks. I guess they would be fit and forget for you; this may be a bonus if you are not a weight weenie.

That said the lighter crest would be more in keeping with most of your riding. I have become progressively more adventurous on the lighter 355 over the past year, again without problems. They easily manage moderately rough terrain like trail centres and small drops.

I noticed that Biketreks Ambleside advertise group rides on their website.

are you running a shorter chain than for a 3 x 9 set up? just to give the rear mech more tension?

Good point – I had not shortened it as had chain device on order and wanted to set the ideal length once that was fitted.

I think basecamp will display the maps that come with your Garmin.

1×9 run today for first time with unramped Renthal chainring. Hopeless – lost chain 5 times. I think that it was when I back-pedaled. So from my perspective a chain device seems sensible.

Recently rode Lakes with Conti RQ 2.4 front, soft compound and HR rear 2.35 harder compound. Minions would probably work well on front as well. Worked well.

2-3 weeks will be fine. I had a patient who had keyhole surgery for rectal cancer playing squash in 4 weeks.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=51915

Best I’ve found _ £29 though

Continuing the canine theme – remind anybody of the Churchill dog?

Now singlespeed

Hibernating over winter

Just got back from this place in Hawkshead – Grizedale on doorstep.

Really nice, aga/ log fires, bike storage but may be small for you.

http://lakelandhideaways.com/property.asp?id=1529

Heart of the Lakes are another company that we’ve been with. They do complimentary health club membership (Low Wood or Langdale Country Club), so you get the pool facility.

Have both bel air chromo and ti on different bikes. Can’t tell the difference. Both really comfortable and better than the other saddles that I’ve tried. Did 12.5hrs on one with no problems.

Flow

Somebody recently reported a potentially stolen bike to police that was bought off ebay. They raided the address and found an Aladdin’s cave of gear – including my bike which was returned. The guy had all his assets frozen and is now in prison (where I feel he belongs).

Had the Mobi for 12 months or so. It has an internal rechargeable battery which is nice. Will clean a couple of bikes on one charge. Can also run it directly off mains or car battery. It all works well enough. Had one go back as it leaked. The hose attachment is plastic and does not look massively robust. The handle is well made and the unit easily generates sufficient pressure to clean soiled bikes.

Misinformation alert regarding my last post. Looking at the cd online – its for the first edition. I must have picked up the old book not new second ed.

Looked at it recently but some of the maps for longer routes were incomplete – full version of book plus trails on a dvd that you can get for £8 from the publisher.

Here at the moment. Poured yesterday + overnight – meant to be better today. Rode around Grizedale and Claiffe first two days. Most tracks fairly rocky and so fine. The tracks around Grizedale seem really good and I am sure it would be an excellent place for you to start. Haven’t tried the NFT yet.
I normally like epic days out but have enjoyed two to three hour rides, then back in front of the fire. The riding is quite hard (both up and down hill on these rocky routes) when you’re not used to it.

bump for early evening crowd

6ft and large here – perfect. 70 stem.

Thought it was a toss up. High class problem I suppose.

Nant it is then, thanks Valleydaddy.

Appendicitis is usually a relatively easy diagnosis to make in a young man as the symptoms and signs are progressive and ultimately severe, bloodtests confirm the problem, and there are few other potential confusing diagnoses.

You do not readily fit the picture i.e. pain for a week not really getting worse.

These types of symptoms often resolve spontaneously without a cause ever being found. Some people will have ‘a bug’, others may be a little constipated.

Grumbling appendix is unusual. I am not sure that surgeons even believe in it although to say that it does not happen is probably wrong.

I would simply take the advice offered by your GP surgery and see how things progress. If you deteriorate then go and see them again. If symptoms do not resolve in another couple of weeks then go see them.

Just got my final valuation today – 5% of the ticket price – not bad!

I use the Sufferfest films on my iphone which gets over needing a labtop in the garage. Guess most training dvds would go on the phone – if you’ve got one.

Used 1:50K UK which is fine (and affordable). I do think that in some circumstances 1:25K would have its uses – linking forest tracks etc.

Most of the time the route is either programmed in and I am following or alternatively I am exploring what I see in front of me, while the GPS tracks where I have been (so I can find good bits again).

Sometimes use it to navigate back to car at the end of the day.

Out in the Wyre Forest yesterday for the first time. A nice chap called Ivan showed us some great trails – even waited for my young son to catch up. Very nice of him and much appreciated.

My 9 yr old (not especially tall) has ridden specialized hardrock 13″ all summer and its not too big! Covered 15 miles of Wyre Forest with lots of tech stuff yesterday and loved it.

I have used a Bianchi via nirone in winter for 8 years and its been a great bike. Comes in between £600-800 depending on spec. There are a few on ebay – the demo in a 53 with 105 might be worth a look.

If you want somewhere to go then try 27 or else a compact chainset. I have used 27 for several years and it still helps on occasions even though my fitness levels have steadily improved over time and are now quite decent.

Chilterns aren’t that hilly really – so training and going with 39/25 would not be a disaster.

I got a crack where the lever body fitted hose – again replaced immediately. I would have thought that you would have got leaking fluid with a crack (as I did) rather than air sucked in.