Thanks again for the input, chaps.

The degree will be this one. They take prior experience into account, so i’ll only be required to do what would otherwise be the last year of a three-year programme.

I’d be careful moving from the RAF to the private sector, if you think that it’s too ‘stressful’…

I don’t think the RAF is too stressful for me – i love what i do. However, it does cause a lot of stress for my family. Let me explain:

I am expected to move every couple of years. So every time my wife will be looking for a new job; my children start new schools; we move to a new house…. Also, how is my family supposed to make childcare arrangements if i can’t guarantee whether i’ll be at home that evening or not?

I appreciate your comments, but this isn’t a rash decision based on a bad day at work…

Thanks for the input, chaps. Certainly looks like a viable option, then.

That link above is just an example of the sort of thing that five minutes of Googling revealed. A lot of them seem to pay £25k-£28k, so should be manageable financially (although i do appreciate Jimbalaya’s comments above, about short term pay).

To clarify, i left school with nothing and joined the RAF working in logistics. I love my job, and get paid more than i have any right too, it’s getting to be too much stress on the family, so i’m playing the long game.

The last hackers who took on the stw forum didn’t come out of it too well. They had to come on here to talk to each other as their forum was down.

I love this forum! Haha!

I wonder if the crusade will lead to STW? Perhaps the Assad regime need advice on tyre choice…

Does a drop bar 29er count?

I thought “monstercross” and “drop bar 29er” were one-and-the-same…?

You’re on your own, by the looks of it! I’d love to contribute, but i’m still firmly in the retrobike world of the SS 26er…

Make sure to post yours up when it’s finished!

I’d extend your search to some 29er forks also. The OO Carbon 29er fork works well on a 26er frame, by all accounts.

Fantastic. High fives for all concerned!

Anyone care to summarise this thread? I can’t be bothered reading it. 😉

Also if I use a deore Groupset what weight should I expect from the bike?

Deore is good quality kit – fit and forget for the most part. A little heavy perhaps, but who cares?

As for wheels, Hope are ace, but a little expensive. I have used Mavic Crossrides for years with no problems – £180 on CRC.

A grand? You’d build a quality PC for half that.

For that money, you could go mad with a 27+ inch screen (or even multi 23 inchers), quad core Intel i7, etc. A bit overkill for your requirements, i’d suggest. Not saying that’s a bad thing!

I’ll admit to knowing very little about laptops, but i am aware that there are loads of new W8 machines sporting touchscreens nowerdays. Why you’d need a touch screen i don’t know, but your requirements no doubt differ from mine. Personally, i can’t imagine any situation whereby one would be required.

I’d always vote for the PC; more performance potential (important for editing), more future proofing, lower cost, etc etc. Mobility is the only reason to consider a Laptop, in my opinion.

All the best!

Looks great with the Orange bits. Lovely…

I’m wondering whether my next bike ought to be one of these!

Chainsuck is generated by the chainrings primarily. I doubt there’s much the mech can do about that. Happy to be proved wrong, though!

Chainslap on the other hand…

Mmmmm, singlespeed…

Candodavid – Got a build thread for that one? Also, did you buy a red Kona off me a couple of years ago?

Tech.

That frame looks bloody fantastic. I love how the brass shows through the lacquer. That frame with a lefty and singlespeed is close to perfect, in my opinion.

Out of interest, why did you spec the dropouts, only to build it with gears?

Cannock is perfect for singlespeed. Short sharp climbs are what they’re best at! Can’t speak for rigid though; I’ve not made that jump yet…

Tour Divide duties next summer

Do you keep a blog? I’m fascinated reading any TD stuff.

Good luck!

When it first starts to rain.

[Quote]It’s almost like the wheel size doesn’t really matter [/quote]

Burn the heretic.

Octavia VRS Hatch, here. 170PD TDI.

I bought it as a special edition last year, complete with leather interior, DAB radio (which is bloody brilliant, by the way!), sat nav, parking sensors, cruise control, black wheels, blah, blah blah…

It’s great. 50+ mpg, loads of space inside (put the seats down and you
can get bikes in complete) and goes well enough. I honestly can’t think of a single thing wrong with it.

PM puts forward a proposed Course of Action.
Action is voted against by the Democracy.
Plan is dropped.

How is that a loss? The winner here is the democracy.

We paid £800 a few years ago to move 200 miles, which i thought was too much. However, if i’d have done it myself i’d have probably paid about the same in fuel costs.

If you’re moving locally, then i’d rent a box van.

Hopefully they’ll release it on the PC before too long. Any hopefully it’ll be a better port than the terrible effort they made with GTA IV…

Can’t speak for Dalbeattie, but an 11 y/o could ride Sherwood on a Unicycle. With a flat tyre.

It’s fun in places, but not technical at all.

Nice link 😉 There are more differences betwixt them, but that’s he most obviously identifiable.

Nice bike! About 26 too many gears for my tastes, but to each his own!

It’s not a race…

I’ve only just installed Strava, and i’ve uploaded a load of my old stuff in retrospect.

On quite a few sectors, i seem to be in the top few-hundred of a few-thousand riders… I can cope with that!

I recon the best way to a KOM would be to hammer it on a section that people usually pootle – like the road from the car park!

I’m not sure they are serviceable. If you want a serviceable one, you’d be looking at White Industries for about thrice the price; it’s brilliant, by all accounts. The Halo Clickster also gets good reviews, although i’ve no first hand experience…

Charlie has a good selection.

I’m afraid i don’t have anything useful to add, and i wish you well in finding a solution.

Personally, i’ve never had any problems using tubes with “Joes No Flats” sealant. Not one trailside puncture in 5 years now.

Am i the only one who finds this amusing? You’re attempting a “tubeless” setup, with the application of a tube!

I recently saw a huge improvement in my fitness when I started doing things other than riding… by running, for instance, you can get a proper bit of phys done during your lunch hour with no expensive kit to have to buy / faff about with. My bike fitness improved greatly after a couple of months of regular 10k runs.

-Doctor, you’re needed at the hospital.
-What is it?
-It’s a big building with sick people…

Joff Summerfield – for those who don’t know, he bikepacked around the world on a home made Penny Farthing. Another picture here at Everest Basecamp:

My hero.

Here’s my LEGO room

😯

wow. I was about to comment that D Jr has “quite a bit of lego”, but now i’m not so sure…

Some ideas here. There’s plenty of potential there for some monster multi-day expeds…

The advert in question is overtly suggesting that discipline and training will win the day. By rights, if you feel your life (or anyone elses, for that matter) is in danger, you are entitled to use the minimum possible force to defend yourself (which could be lethal force). The protagonist could legitimately have used force in this case, but chose not to.

I would suggest this advert is aimed at a slightly more educated audience than usual.