Interesting reading. My boy has about grown out of his Ridgeback MX16, so i’m on the lookout for a replacement.

To be fair, his Ridgeback has been great, so I would go for the next one up in the Ridgeback line. However, the MX20 comes with a crap ‘suspension’ fork, which i know will be useless.

Going to look at a Frog tomorrow, so we’ll see how we get on!

Great shout on Portal. Really challenged perceptions on what a 1st person ‘shooter’ could / should be.

Still waiting for GTA V to come out on the PC.

Best singleplayer ever: Final Fantasy VII
Best multiplayer ever: Team Fortress 2

I have the Hope Trials (SS) hub, and it’s great! I can understand why you’d want a normal hub, but personally i’ve got no interest in installing gears (my frame doesn’t have the correct braze-ons anyway).

P35 rims, which make my 2.4 tyres come up huge.

Some anecdotal support for my comment here[/url].

And here.

I gather the On One tyres (Smorgasboard and Chunkey Monkey) are but an Ardent by another name*

*possibly bollocks.

I ran 29in CMs front and rear on my Inbred. Unfortunately, the rear was a little too big, so i had to replace it with a Smorg instead. I’ve not done huge amounts of riding with them, but they seem to work well, and they hold up very well at a low pressure (currently 18ish psi in the front, 15 stone rider on a rigid bike).

Contrary to the above, they’ve all effortlessly inflated tubeless with a track pump. In fact the CM i briefly ran on the rear inflated just as quick as it would have done with a tube. (Velocity p35 rims, if that makes any difference)

I’m not a fiction reader, so i’m here to suggest a few examples of non-fiction that i’ve read over the last couple of years:

‘Obsessive compulsive cycling disorder’ by Dave Barter. A collection of blogs rather than a book per se, but it’s very entertaining and has been written by a STWer. Might be a good introduction to reading if you’re interested in cycling (which i presume you are) and it’s very easy to pick up for a few minutes at a time.

‘Walking the Amazon’ by Ed Stafford. A retired Army officer who became the first person in history to walk the length of the Amazon river, from source to sea. Very down to earth and entertaining. A proper account of a propper adventure.

‘Survival of the Fittest’ by Mike Stroud. My default answer to any ‘What book?’ thread. A brilliant account of some incredible adventures in some of the harshest environments on earth, usually with Ranulph Feinnes. This is the one to get if you have even a passing interest in endurance sport, and how the body works during endurance sport. My favorite book ever.

If you’re concerned about metal fatigue in the bars, then what about in the head tube? Or the seatpost? There’s a hell of a lot more load going through those…

Unless you’re doing anything mad on the downhills, i’d forget about it.

There are several programmes you can download to test various parts of the machine. For example ‘Prime 95’ is a processor stress test, so if there is anything wrong with the processor then it will crash.

That said, if the machine boots into it’s OS, then i’d suggest it’s fine. I’d Keep using it until you see some symptoms of trouble that you can diagnose.

England
Narp

Personally, i’d be doing a fresh install.

I’m not a fan of Apple; in my experience you pay well over the odds for last years’ hardware packaged in a shiny white box. I’m sure they work great, but i’d much rather have a PC. Keep on top of the admin, and you’ll be fine.

In my opinion, obviously!

I like quiet.

You need to pedal more! 😀

As above, i wouldn’t worry about the brake disc issue.

[vote for what you own]

I’d recommend an Inbred. Don’t for one minute think it’s a bad frame; it’s made of a lower budget steel, it’s a touch heavier and the paint is often a bit wayward, but it’s certainly not a poor product. The geometry is great for trail riding. You’ll never break it, and you can spend the remaining £360 on a new hat. You’ll get one hell of a hat for £360.

[/vote for what you own]

That said, if you’re looking to save a few quid, you could always take your gears off…

No its a RAF Dakota.

Correct.

If it was USAAF or a civvy it would be a DC3 – Skytrain

Incorrect.

Like the RAF flies Hercules and the USAF flies C130’s

Incorrect.

Like i said, partially correct! 😉

Speshpaul – you are partially correct.

The Douglas DC3 was the civilian aircraft, from which the USAF developed the C47 ‘Skytrain’. The RAF then bought the C47 and named it the ‘Dakota’ (Douglas Aircraft KOmpany [sic] Transport Aircraft).

And we do fly C130s.

It’s soon to be the Battle of Britain memorial dinner, so they’ll be doing sighting fly-bys of the Lincolnshire airfields in preparation for that.

That’ll be the BBMF DC3 ‘Dakota’.

And yes, i live at RAF Wittering.

I think you were onto a winner to begin with; BMW. You’d get a decent E36 for that money- silky smooth straight 6 and rear wheel drive. The earlier ones are reckoned to be more reliable (so one badged a 325i, rather than a 328i).

Keep an eye on Retro Rides for some inspiration. There’s usually some ‘interesting’ motors for sale.

Rigid Singlespeed for me! Just prepare for your ‘Summer bike’ to be retired altogether!

Any excuse:

Currently up to 550hrs on Team Fortress 2. Keep going!

Don’t suppose there’s any chance of a price crash on the older frames, is there?

32×18 on mine. I used to run 32×16 in the halcyon of the 26″ wheel, so i set up my 29er to match it. In reality, the 29er feels like it’s a lower gear, although it’s not.

Certainly one i’m aiming for.

Was that ‘Ride the Divide’ you watched?

Fancy an account of a bit of adventure? Try ‘Walking the Amazon’ by Ed Stafford. Brilliant read.

Also, my default answer to any ‘what book’ thread; if you have even a passing interest in how the body works during sport (and endurance sport specifically) then you need to read ‘Survival of the Fittest’ by Mike Stroud. I can’t recommend it enough.

If these clowns[/url] can make it to Mongolia every year in a £1000 1.0l banger, i think you’ll be fine!

[Thread divert]

Ska, what’s the arrangement on your freehub? It looks like you’ve got some funny spacer on there. Perhaps i’m seeing things…

[/Thread divert]

Sherwood pines is only 45ish minutes away. I never found any noteworthy riding locally.

That said, there is a little area of jumps on the left of the A15 north, just as you leave the ringroad. I never went there myself, but apparently it’s good for a laugh.

I’ve recently built an Inbred, and i gather that my frame was one of the last of that production run.

They have seemed to be moving more towards the plastic bikes for a few years, and also concentrating more on the FS frames (both in On-One and Titus guises).

to pay nearly £100 / year, even for 1TB seems a lot of money.

Agreed. A decent 1TB HDD will cost you the princely sum of £40, and it means all of your data is stored locally. I still feel uneasy about giving all my data to a faceless third party to look after.

Lincoln is split into three halves. The half you want is at the top of the hill. Some lovely olde-world pubs up there, overshaddowed by the castle and cathederal.

Start somewhere near the Magna Carta and the world (town) is your oyster.

You’ll get a lot of frame for that money; at £650, you’re most of the way to buying a Jones frame/fork.

If i were buying a frame for that money, i’d look at a Swift or a Stooge.

That said, i’ve just built an Inbred, which is lovely.

[Quote] those who carry knives in the UK in that they are more likely to be stabbed. [/quote]

Because those who carry knives are more likely to put themselves in a position whereby they are at risk of being stabbed? If you hang around the wrong area of a major city at night time, you’re increasing your own chances.

[Quote]How truly bizarre that we can actually discuss this issue which occurred over 3000 miles away in a foreign land yet when a young mother is gunned down on a London street not one whisper from the STW Mob.[/quote]

The incident in london is awful; no one will dispute that. However, the incident came about as a result of a crime being commited, and there will be a legal process carried out to enact justice. This incident in North America has come about (as far as we know) quite within the bounds of law. The fact that a 9YO child can legally have access to a military weapon, albeit under (inadequate) supervision, is the most disturbing part of this story, in my opinion.

I think the 5 track limit has been removed. I’m pretty sure that’s the case.

I know the phone application is much more restrictive than the tablet version, so perhaps it’s a restriction on the phone version. What i’ve been doing is tethering my tablet to my phone’s 3g, therefore negating the difference.

Agreed. 26″ stuff has crashed in price, since everyone is moving onto the other wheel sizes. Your good quality 26″ kit will remain good quality, so i’d keep it.

I recommend getting a second hand 26″ frame and moving your other kit over.

Did you buy the bike new? Have you spoken to Commencal or Madison (the importer) about it?

I hate to say it, but a bit of google fu reveals this is hardly an isolated incident. I suspect it’s time to get looking for a new bike / frame, i’m afraid. Second hand Konas are always cheap, and they’re all but bombproof.

What can I say … The wheel fits in one end, bike frame at the other, the fork holds it up off the floor…

Brilliant 😀

For what it’s worth, i’m really enjoying my Salsa Cromotos. But they’re more like £100.

Ok, i understand now.

Unfortunately, it looks like you’ll need to replace the lot. Personally, i’d stick with Square Taper, but that’s a choice for you to make.

Something like this[/url] would suit, plus another tenner for the BB. It would mean you can replace the rings individually in the future.

So to clarify, you’re asking “Shall i buy the wrong one again, or get the correct size this time?”…

Edit: so you’re looking at replacing the chainset? I wouldn’t bother, personally. Get yourself a UN55 bottom bracket, and forget about it for another decade.

Caught reading ‘The Sun’? How embarassing.