Troll mode……

Why not give the Argies the Shetland Isles? It makes as much geographical sense as us having The Falklands.

/Troll mode

Many thanks for the suggestions, we'll click the links and get choosing.

Inflate tyre to usual pressure. Take bike to long straight bit of level tarmac. Rotate wheel until valve at 6 o'clock, mark ground with chalk. Sit on bike and have someone push you forward in a perfectly straight line until the wheel has completed 10 revolutions. Mark ground, measure distance travelled, follow leaflet that came with computer and divide the answer by 10.

Find a measured half mile used by local traffic cops to calibrate their speedos / VASCAR and ride along to check accuracy. Bit tricky on motorways mind.

Do singlespeeders frequent less hilly areas? Most of the rides round here involve a minimum of 1,000ft climb, often requiring the granny ring for my old and feeble legs. I just don't get the attraction of not being able to ride up stuff that gears make doable.

After our Creative players died, we bought a Nano 4G and a Classic 120Gb. The devices themselves are well made and have an intuitive UI. SQ via the same earphones(Senn CX400) isn't much different from Creative, perhaps slightly less pure and a bit more bass heavy. Where Apple scores big time is lossless files on the classic played through a line out. Far better sound than hooking active speakers up to headphone socket. Itunes is a pain to install and use on a windows PC. I have since bought my mum a 16 gig Sony S639 as she has WMP on her PC. Newer Sony's can drag and drop files, they don't use the clunky sonic stage software anymre. SQ is fantastic and well beyond any Ipod, lossless or not.

Been fishing out that way, nice place on a fair day.

Harris pics look like east coast of north harris, near Scalpay?

Have SONY EX71s and Senn CXL 400, with lanyard, both work fine for me. The 400 buds are the same shape as 300s but don't move at all for me. Do you lift the top of your ear to straighten the canal before inserting the buds? Makes for a better fit / sound.

Spesh product got 10/10 in MBR review?

shockarooney

Can we include trains?

The Wrong Trousers – Feathers McGraw chasing Wallace and Grommit on the model railway with Grommit puting down spare track like his life depended on it while bullets bounce off his lampshade helmet.

Class.

Old folk feel the cold. Just bought my 87 year old granny a nice quilted body warmer from M&S for £35. She'll love it.

I used to use a plastic 1 litre mixer bottle cut around the middle on my commuter. Free, totally waterproof and easy to pull apart. I've recently uprgraded to a Robinsons Apple and Blackcurrant diluting juice bottle as the ridges around the circumference snap together nicely and it sits quite snug in the bottle cage. Big enough to hold a repair kit, spare tube, cloth, latex gloves, spare chain links, splitter, tyre levers, you get the idea.

Don't worry Iain, I broke the one adjusted for adult sized bikes :-) Your baby lobster will be safe on the other rack. Just hope the longer bars arrive on time.

While I'm on, new tyres delivered from Wiggle today (RIP Smoke 'n Dart) so I'll blow the dust off the Airborne, fix the gears and drag it blinking and yawning from the hut.

Got the full length ones. Wore them last week when riding in the pissing rain /sleet. Warm dry and comfortable all day. Fantastic bit of kit when out on the hill in poor weather. As stated above, not too sweaty, even with the lower velcro straps closed for chainset clearance.

eVent stuff is great. I have worn these trousers when out walking in preference to heavier Gore Tex. I also once wore an endura eVent jacket when running a half marathon in the cold and rain. It was dry inside at the finish. Top kit.

'One day like this', by elbow.

You can save 'Grounds for divorce' for another day.

Anonymity

Had a couple of kits, similar in principle but worlds apart in execution.

1st was a Mk2 1960s Mini Marcos, originally based on a 1959 Mini but updated / hacked about by about 13 owners before me. Nightmare to get parts for, stupidly fast but woefully unsafe. The battery was in the rear next to the mini van fuel tank.

2nd was a Quantum Mk2 saloon bought new and built fom a single XR2 donor and refurb parts. A joy to build and own. Very practical, quick, economical and cheap to insure.

The hassle / fun ratio depends very much on the quality of kit, number of donor vehicles or bespoke parts required for completion. Accuracy of pre-drilled holes, shutlines, chassis welding etc are key to an easy build. Gelcoat makes life alot easier too.

Worth doing? Depends! An Ultima will need very close attention to detail when setting up the chassis if it is going to do justice to the expected power to weight ratio. The more engine / gearbox / transaxle and chassis adjustment options a kit supplier gives you, the more opportunity you have to mismatch the lot and sell a part built project at huge financial loss.

If you haven't built a kit car before, I'd suggest you start on something less expensive / adjustable. I made all my mistakes on the £750 Mini Marcos, so my £7500 Quantum was spared beginners bodges. A Westfield or similar is nearly as thrilling as an Ultima for a fraction of the cost.

I've just spent 3 days training in East Kilbride, travelling south on the M77 from Glasgow each morning. Watching the miles of crawling traffic edging northbound from the GSO to the Kingston Bridge was depressing. These people will mostly have been going to Glasgow. The thought of enduring that, particularly in winter, then continuing to W Lothian on a daily basis seems like madness. Surely you could use the GSO and EK Express Way to Raith or take the A71 from Kilmarnock to the M74 at Larkhall? Before you decide, try a dummy run along each of these options during rush hour, your current job may not seem quite so bad.

I've still got a knackered old pair of smokes 'n darts on a hardtail. They were a class apart when new, far more robust than wildgrippers etc but I reckon modern designs would outdo them in cornering grip and drag. Still, it would be interesting to see how the recently relaunched SnD combo would compare with modern ramped designs.

Ben Lomond, Feb '87 aged 19.

"biked" up may be stretching it a bit. Ye olde rigid Rockhopper was firmly strapped to the pack's crampon loops for most of the ascent. I seem to recall having to kick steps in the snow up to the summit ridge and then bum slide down to the shoulder 'cos it was unrideable. One of those days when the sky and ground were the same off white colour with no reference points. Found out cromo bars swing a compass a fair bit too.

I'm 42 now and spend more time on here than doing any of that kind of nonsense.

Unspoiled wilderness is always appealing but they're quite handy for walkists keen to reach the summit / avoid the abyss. The Ben is quite a funny hill in that the 'tourist' path gives no hint of the rather large **** off cliffs a few yards to the north once you've got a bit of height. The cairns have probably saved a few lives over the years. Best to leave 'em be.

Had the exact same thing on the same shock. It was on an end of season sale bike that may have been sitting for up to a year. Anything over 160 and it dropped back almost immediately.

Thought it might have dried out a bit so I unscrewed the air can and applied Judy Butter to the white nylon ring and black seal. Added a few drops of Cross Country wet lube inside the can too. Shock now holds pressure and has worked perfectly for 4 years.

More automation = less thinking, which is perhaps a mixed blessing.

Modern drivers don't need to advance the spark timing using the wee rotary lever on the steering wheel any more. Low fuel, bulb failure, ABS malfunction and low oil pressure warnings are all sensible. ABS, ESP, HBA are surely a good thing for most people, most of the time as drivers don't need a cool head and considerable skill in a panic situation. Auto dimming mirror also excellent, as are auto dipping side mirrors when reverse is selected.

Auto wipers, lights and handbrakes are potentially dangerous as they obligingly operate even if it isn't safe to do so. Spots of mud on the windscreen sensor? Say bye bye to your view past the splatter and hello to an opaque brown smear. Entering an underpass as someone wants to change lanes in front of you? Your car will obligingly light up, momentarily giving an impression that you are inviting them out. Accidentally hit the accelerator while parked in D? Off goes the parking brake and off you go towards whatever is in front.

Before someone says that none of these things will happen, they all have. Most notable was the handbrake scenario, which resulted in a road death. This wouldn't have happended with a mechanical handbrake.

What price convenience?

Cantis are great for commuting as they are more progressive, have greater mudguard clearance and can be popped open quite easily at puncture time.

Vs deffo more powerful but no one likes premature rim wear.

Sansa Clip 4Gb recommended by various mags / sites for sub £50.

Just bought my mum a 16 Gb S series Walkman from Play.com for £80. Excellent sound, FM radio, WMA and AAC friendly for just over half the price of a Nano.

Ipods sound great but itunes is a nightmare on a PC.

I had my holiday in Manhattan ruined by some bad people who couldn't land planes properly….

Quite interesting watching the american reaction range from disbelief that anyone could dislike them enough to do such a thing, before quickly becoming the predictable nuke 'em all response.

Saddest part was ordinary folk carrying photos of missing rellies asking anyone and everyone if they had seen them.

Rode round GT black without incident then broke my finger tightening the rotary tensioner thingy on the Thule bike rack. Silly arse.

The vast majority of docks are Apple specific and not compatible with the USB connection found at the bottom of a Sony Walkman. Sony make their own remote dock which plugs into their own brand of player and, depending on the cable used, can be hitched up to any hi-fi or dock with a 3.5mm input or twin RCA stereo input (the white and red ones). It just won't use the 30 pin Apple connector found at the front of most docks.

Sony Walkman remote dock

Logitech do a neat "dockless" version of their most popular speaker dock, with bluetooth or wired 3.5mm input. I've heard the dock version and it sounds pretty good for something so portable.

Logitech portable speaker

That said, Creative T10 speakers (with 3.5mm input) sound rather good for a fraction of the price, They just aren't so portable and need a mains input.

Creative T10

You pays yer money….

The unsurfaced access road is unlikely to be subject to a Traffic Regulation Order under the Road Traffic Regulation Act; which means no speed limit can be enforced. It may be worthwhile for the FC to clarify ownership / access / speed limit / TRO before we all assume the police have power to act.

Got a pair of 2001 SID SLs. They were fine with V brakes but do flex quite a bit under heavy braking with a disc. They have never leaked oil or air, the stanchions are as new (fastidious about cleaning) but the rebound damping adjuster has broken so they are now out of commission until TFT work their magic. The same bike now has Reba SLa, which track better and are noticeably stiffer under braking. Unless you are a weight weenie, I'd go with the Rebas.

Heavily modded Venturi judging by windowline and air intake on flank.

Been with Admiral for about 15 years. Only one claim (the wife rear ended someone whilst driving my car) but they were fine with me providing 2 quotes from a franchised main dealer rather than using their contracted repairer.

Things to watch out for….

After the bump, the 'protected' NCD was still 'protected' on paper but the following year's premium hike suggested otherwise.

Car hire cover can be extra, as is legal assistance for a non-fault accident. Read the small print in the policy schedule.

Every single year at renewal time, they post out the new certificate, premium and policy schedule. Every year I go online to their site, type in my driving history under a false name and find that it is cheaper. We have a chat and they always round it down.

Corolla's are magic, totally anonymous and utterly reliable.

Don't tell fibs at the interview…..

They'll see right through you.

bassspine – Member
"I strongly disagree with the triple posted opinion – 2001 is one of the best films ever".

Ho hum, each to their own. Sorry about the triple posting (STW gremlins), I only saw it once and that was more than enough.

Another nomination is Snakes on a Plane, although it can be classic comedy if you have a few beers beforehand.

Speaking of classic comedy, Meet the Spartans isn't. Dire, just dire.

2001 – A Space Oddysey. Nothing happened.

2001 – A Space Oddysey. Nothing happened.

2001 – A Space Oddysey. Nothing happened.

I only use them in narrow high pressure commuting tyres. They've been great so far but I suspect running a wider lower pressure tyre with less of a curve across the profile may allow them to move about. Not sure if glue would work, they feel quite 'non-stick' to the touch.

Used to use slime tubes but the latex solidified at the bottom of the tubes as I don't ride that bike regularly. They were also a pig when topping up pressure as the gunk would block the valve.

Now use slime tape which is light, effective and comes in various sizes.
No punctures yet……