Biking only? Or do other events (like rurnning) count?

Are we’re talking biking only, then the Tour Divide springs to mind pretty quickly. Also the Iditarod has bikers.

When you’re talking about running, you’ve got hundreds; Spartathalon (246km in Greece), Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (Around 168 km and 9600 m of positive altitude change in the Alps), the Grand Union Canal race (145 miles from Birmingham to London)…

Dwarf shortage.

Mark90 – Don’t suppose there are a few more pictures of that SII hybrid on your photobucket, are there?

4 x 3 isn’t a huge amount of space, especially with four bikes in there, as they take up much more room than you’d think. I’d say the priority (after power, light, radio 4 and brew kit) should be getting the bikes out of the way. Perhaps hang them from the ceiling if it’s high enough…

What more could you need?

Do airlines not use Zulu time?

I’ve flown on loads of (almost) windowless aircraft:

In my experience the best way to make a flight confortable is to lay down. Sign me up for the bunks mentioned above. Sod the windows.

Tweed.

Pins and needles is a symptom of restricted bloodflow. It could be something as simple as the straps on your camelback cutting into your shoulders too much.

There’s plenty of tinkering to be done; people above have already discussed moving bars / gips / sten spacers etc. You could also try sliding the saddle forwards on the post…

I am being flippant, of course. But my question to the OP remains; what do you hope to gain by ‘updating’ a 5-year-old one?

look alot more like a focus than a landy?

Can’t see it, myself.

The TDCI ones have a different bulkhead design (you’ll notice, for example, that they no longer have the vents beneath the windscreen) to accommodate the newer dashboard, but underneath it’s all pretty similar to any Ninety/One-Ten/Defender released since 1983.

spending a few grand bringing it up to date

You do realise they’ve been out of date for decades, don’t you?

Jokes aside, in what way would you want / need to bring it up to date? They’ve not really changed for the last 31ish years (expecting new engines/gearboxes/instrument panels). Many people in enthusiast circles will tell you that the best example money can buy is an early-mid nineties one rebuilt with a galv chassis and bulkhead (or an earlier one fitted with a 200/300tdi).

Slightly smaller scale; i love this vid;

I don’t think the hubs are to blame here. The only time i’ve ever known freehubs to slip is when i’ve failed to maintain them correctly. 100kg singlespeeder here.

Spend money if you wish (i can recommend the Hope SS) but i suspect you could see some benefit from stripping and cleaning the hub(s) you’re using.

I’ve made my superfluous submission! (I completed it before i scrolled down 🙄 )

Frankly, i’m disapointed there are no questions about utilisation sub-class system on Team Fortress 2. An obvious oversight, in my opinion.

Progress isn’t about blowing shitloads of money on vanity projects. It’s about getting more done. We can put stuff in space more cheaply than with the Shuttle, that allows us to put more stuff up there and provide more services. Far more people can afford to fly places now than they could in 1970 – this is progress.

We still have the technology to build Concorde, but we ALSO have the technology to build the 787 and A380. This is progress.

How very insightful. Thank you.

Just this once. Crap picture, great bike:

If you’ve already eaten it, then I’d suggest the ship has sailed.

The defender is showing its age

It was showing its age when it was introduced 25 years ago!

As practical family transport, i suspect you’re barking up the wrong tree. As a second car / toy, then you may well love it!

I’ve had a set of QC25s for a week now. They’re lovely, although i have nothing to compare them to. They sound much better than my old Bose over-ears.

B747 – 345 seats, 15000kg/hr fuel burn (average)

Concorde – 100 seats, 25000kg/hr Fuel burn (average)

Hmmm…

We’ve been looking at one for some time. In fact, we were ready to sign for a new one yesterday, but the maths didn’t work out. We’ll reattack next year.

As above; they are smaller than you think inside, especially the boot which has been raised to accommodate the rear diff / drive shafts. That said, the space is very square, which makes it more usable than some. They’re perfectly pleasant to drive, with all the creature comforts you’d expect from a VAG product.

The Wife is really keen on the Yeti while i’m pretty indifferent, and i’m more than happy to keep our Octavia vRS. Yetis are more expensive than the equivalent Octavia, not quite as good on fuel / tax (although it’s marginal) and quite a bit smaller on the inside. I can get 2 x 29ers in the back of the Octavia without having to take the wheels off.

I’d seriously recommend looking at the Octivia, if you’re in the market.

As above, try ditching norton and perhaps try another browser. Failing that, reinstall.

If you’re machine is working fine (excepting the browsing the ‘net) then i’d suggest your hardware is not the issue. Buy a new machine if you must, but i suspect yours is fine.

What antivirus are you running? They can bring your download / upload speeds down, as they can get carried away scanning everything.

Perhaps try a different browser… Chrome or Firefox might be the ticket.

current lump that’s about 4 years old and playing up

In what way? You’ll be surprised at the problems a fresh install of Windoze can solve.

I have some odd feeling towards the Vulcan. An interesting aircraft certainly, but one who’s only noteworthy achievement was one (admittedly long range) bombing operation, which effected practically zero significance to the Falklands conflict. It was ultimately an example of the RAF trying to invite itself to the Navy’s party.

As i said, the Vulcan is an interesting aircraft, but i think there are plenty of others with more historical significance which should be afforded preservation.

Nickc – i understand your point, however i respectfully disagree. Here is my opinion on the matter:

A fighter aircraft has one job, which is to shoot down enemy aircraft. Statistically, more enemy aircraft were shot down by Hurricanes than by Spitfires. Therefore, i personally regard the Hurricane to be a more ‘successful’ aircraft.

I realise they were employed differently (Hurricanes were usually sent after incoming bombers) however, the facts remain.

About 22000 Spitfires vs 14000 Hurricanes a very quick google reveals.

Don’t get me wrong, i enjoyed the programme. Guy Martin seems like a decent bloke, and the engineering on show was clearly staggering, but for me the edditing let it down. Like discussing ‘Fighter ace Sqn Ldr Stevenson’ whilst clearly showing an image of a Sgt riding a motorbike.

Whoever whote the script for the narrator needs sacking. I realise they need to make it punchy to grab the attention of casual viewers, but you’d have thought they’d at least try and ground it in some kind of reality.

How many times was it claimed to be ‘The most authentic Spitfire to be built since the war’? Somehow i suspect the ones built in the Spitfire factory between the years 1945 and 1949 were slightly more ‘authentic’.

Also, ‘the most successful fighter design ever’ was actually less successful than the Hurricaine.

You’ve been driving for 7 years? So you must be a minimum of 24 years old. I’m very surprised that insurance is still a limiting factor.

When i was twenty i bought a Bora TDI (the saloon verion of the Golf/Fabia/Ibiza mentioned above). Insurance was about £800 if i remember correctly. When i was 24 i signed for a brand new Octavia VRS, which is about £450 to insure. Obviously this doesn’t account for my NCB…

Anyway, as for cars to consider; a lot of models in a range will share the internals with the ‘hot’ model, but not be badged as such. My Bora for example was badged as ‘SE’ yet had the same engine / gearbox as the Golf GTTDI / Fabia vRS. The Ibiza above will be the same. I’d suggest this is the place to look.

I use whichever SRAM 9sp is the cheapest. Never had any trouble, and it’s good to have some commonality between bikes.

There’s some reading here that you might be interested in, all about singlespeed drivetrains.

[Quote] We had TGI Fridays at Kandahar [/quote]

Didn’t that get shut down? Or perhaps it was Tim Hortons…

I never got chance to go anyway; i worked nights for the whole time i was there!

Some amazing photography there. I can’t help but spot some notable ommissions:

It was always going to happen, i’m afraid. They’ll have timed the whole affair very carefully to ensure maximum media coverage.

I’ve had a 456 for about 5 years. It’s been brilliant, and never put a foot wrong. Now i’ve also got an Inbred 29er (one of the limited edition singlespeed specific ones). That’s also brilliant, apart from the paint chipping very easily.

You can pay thrice the price for something 5% lighter, if that’s your thing. Personally, i’d rather have something sturdy that i don’t have to worry about.

There’s plenty of love for On One’s products on STW.

House of Flying Daggers, for its wonderful sound engineering. The first time i saw it was in a Bose showroom, where it sounded awesome. Quite westernised, but sill very enjoyable.

Fearless, for being brilliant. More of a classic kung fu style.

Thanks to those who recommended First Light. Just finished it; it’s taken me a little over a week, which for me is incredibly quick.

Well recommended!

New bike day!

We got one for the boy, and another for the girl! They’re great little things. I was prepared to get the the Islas, but i’m not convinced they would be £75 each better than the Frogs.

Also glad we got a test ride, as i was set on buying the ’52’ for the boy; he’s actually big enough for the ’55’.

I don’t live there any more, so i can’t help unfortunately. However, there are always loads of riders heading up from ‘The Crown’ at Churchill. I’d head there for about 10o’clock on sunday morning, and ask to tag along with a group.

And the Pinnacle looks smart!