If it proves to be taking too long I noticed a few places where you can bail out of the route and follow signs on the fire road back to the vistors centre.

I really enjoyed the more “natural feeling” bits of the red trail but found the bits at the top that are on a raised camber a bit of chore. I do like the fact that some of the climbs are singletrack though, with nice tight switchbacks, much more interesting than fireroad.

mini Vs are way better than the cantis I had on my CX bike.

I fettled with my cantis, put on koolstop pads, played with the straddle wire, consulted sheldon etc etc. Then, I put on a set of mini Vs and they were loads better without any adjustment and still using the standard pads that you would have thought were crap.

After using mini Vs I no longer see the need for cable discs on my CX.

I get the feeling they are measured negativiely when they close a card. I had the same situation with Natwest. I cancelled the card and got a new one when the original card hit it’s expiry date…so clearly they did not do it.

Don’t feel bad if you missed out. I work for the place that makes them and I couldn’t even get one. 🙄

We have a dualit toaster which looks nice and is all shiny and says ” I am expensive”… Does it do toast very well ?…..not particularly no. It tends to cook one side of bread faster than the other and always has done.

I had tektro CR720s (basically same as the 520s) and they were poor/adequate. I have replaced them with the tektro mini vs that on-one are knocking out for £20 for a full set, these are actually quite good even in the wet and no judder.

I can see how they might accumulate mud more easily but they actually work as brakes so get my vote.

Take them back. I had this a few weeks ago. Mine was due to an error in the prescription.

My optician sorted them FOC. I’m glad I bought from a local shop rather than online it was pretty easy to sort out.

I did a CELTA many years ago. At the time it was cheaper to go and do the course in Spain than it was to do it in the UK.

I did it at the British language centre in Madrid. The teaching staff were excellent and I can honestly say the work was more challenging and intensive than my degree. I think it lasted 2 or 3 weeks but you were actually teaching classes everyday. Half the battle is getting confidence in front of a class and learning the tricks of the trade to make it a bit easier for yourself. I guess a virtual course might not provide this.

I took a job with the language school at the end of the course but it was hard work, pretty much all early mornings and late nights so it did not fit in with my idea of “living la vida loca” in Spain !

I rate kenda small block 8s for everything except the mud. I have the 35s. Still going strong after 1 year.

True panniers would be a good idea but I use my cross bike for the commute and don’t want to have to faff taking them off when I use it for leisure stuff.

I will check out Deuter, I forgot about them, ta.

Manchester Royal eye hospital has a walk in A&E and Trafford general has a walk in GP surgery (if you get there first thing you can see someone straight away.

Alternatively wait to see the GP who may or may not have a clue and will refer you to the eye hospital with the next appt in 3 months time 🙁

worked for me, but not really very informative.

I have an 09 Giant TCX in size small. I have no problem shouldering it at all, even have a bottle on the seat tube.

I am not convinced that they are really “compact” even though they say they are on the web. The crossbar looks flat to me.

As said above things like the roll top baths are good value but other stuff is way over the top and can be had far cheaper at B&Q, or screwfix.

Their after sales is terrible. They are basically just sales people in store and in my experience were rude and uncooperative when things went wrong. Part delivery of orders was where we fell out.

I found that some display album title ok but other don’t for some reason.

You may need to check the tags on your MP3 files and correct them using one of the free tag downloads you can get on the web.

GPS answer as above.

Tommy Zoom. Dull dilema based adventure scenario madness.

I imagine it would work

“ride some and find out ….. “

how helpful.

STW in action.

snapfish are good for those and you can always find voucher codes in Google.

See if the doc will refer you for physio and if no joy with that go for an MRI scan. Pain killers are bad and quite addictive.

If you have private health insurance I would suggest using it as the NHS waiting times can be astounding dependant on where you live.

You can make the back end drift on a loose corner by dabbing the ground with your inside foot so the weight goes onto your foot for a fraction of a second, unweighting the tyre. No braking required. Entering the corner you can stick your leg out forwards and decide where to dab. I learnt it after seeing JMC do it in a Vid many years ago 🙂

Interesting..one of the only films that I have walked out of. I like Alan bennet stuff normally but found it so contrived that I couldn't be in the same room as it.

Dual compound koolstop pads are good on my CR720s but they are still crap in the grand scheme of bicycle braking. I really notice how the brakes are worse when its very dry due to the rims getting coated with dust and debris.

My next CX bike will have discs 😀

"You probably wont be allowed race cross races for one"

I assume that's UCI rules..I think I've seen plenty of flat barred bikes at local league races.

You may be mocked by CX hardcore traditionalists 😀

Other consequences may be falling off less…but yeah probably just a longer stem.

standard answer : Optilabs

I bought a roadie cap from them so no advice on sizing ..but the postage did not seem that bad and there was nothing added by customs.

Send them a mail and ask advice on sizing they seemed pretty efficient when I dealt with them.

touchy 21st century kids ….LMAO

Our boiler breaks down once a year when it starts to get cold so we make great use out of our BG contract. I think they are pretty good. IMO

"Its possible to hire a floor-sander machine and do the work yourself."

..and is one of the dirtiest, most unpleasant and frustrating jobs that you can do, generally taking 3 times as long as you first imagined 😀

wow that new axel standard looks "sick". Apperently is 36 times stiffer than a standard QR

stick with the cove, riding a differnt bike that you are not used to would be a bad idea on a big ride.

I can leave my cateye on the bike and forget about it. It works whenever I ride the bike. It needs a new battery about every two years.

I bought a GPS about a year ago, it lives in a drawer as I never remember to charge it. After the novelty of the first few rides I kind of forgot I owned one.

"Would you say the same about wearing a helmet on a motor cycle?"

Motorcycles are a little different if they have a registration plate it's pretty difficult to get away with… but without a plate e.g. MX bikes you see plenty on the road with no helmet and no tax or insurance for that matter.

In terms of safety I think the biggest difference is speed. Not many cyclist will have an average speed of over 30 miles an hour..heads tend to get squashed at speeds like that.

For me the funny thing about this is how the law will be enforced…. The police (especially in Northern Ireland where this originates) have more than enough to do. Will they bother to enforce it ??

There's a story here where the police did not pursue Motorbike thieves who were not wearing helmets due to H&S fears.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-10984311
I asked a copper in a traffic car in Manchester city centre why he chose to ignore a cyclist who just jumped 4 red lights in row forcing other road users to stop or swerve…He said we aren't allowed to chase cyclists in cars….So the chance of Plod going after little Sandy on his paper round with no helmet = ZERO IMO.

Unless you like the "steel is real" mantra, I am sure you could get a nice looking and lighter alloy frame for similar money.

My inbred weighs more than my full suss which was a bit surprisiing. They ride nice but have to be pretty bling to be lightish.

However, if weight is not an issue than the inbred is a good buy.

Activesport …good price + 3 weeks to deliver + poor attitude = bad experience.

Avoid

wrong size bottom bracket ? too long on the drive side?

Funny I did the same thing. I rented a campag equipped road bike on holiday and was shocked how good the brakes were compared to my CR720s 😆

koolstop pads is the first thing, brake setup e.g position of yoke and straddle wire is key, then if that fails try a different brake 😉

I have newish Tektro ones which "apparently" are good brakes by CX standards. Still crap though 😀