Oh God, I wish you hadn’t mentioned Group Theory; almost made me shudder.

Some much time expended for so little gain; sometimes it’s best to accept your limits

Indeed Daniel, I could. But I suspect the price may be prohibitive for a ‘one off’. Someone correct me if I’m wrong!
What should I expect to pay?

I graduated in Chemistry 25 years ago and haven’t worked within the industry for 20 years.

My sons are doing GCSEs any day now.

I’m the opposite – I’m actually surprised how much I remember.

the thing that disappoints me is how little attention seems to be paid to teaching the underlying basics of chemistry.

And moles!! It’s simple a mole is just a god damn big number.

A mole of cannonballs weighs more than a mole of marbles, ergo a mole of iron atoms weighs more than a mole of hydrogen atoms.

Might be there – depends if we get tickets for the Reading game. I’ll be on a bright yellow Mojo

By the way isn’t the flat twisty blue bit called ‘Stickler’?

Very rarely, only a few books I can think of

I just bought a 2nd hand 26″ mojo off eBay. Rides very nicely and I’ll happily keep buying 2nd hand 26″ stuff

Very much a buyers market, I have a 2007 Anthem which has now trickled down to the Mrs as I’d get so little for it

eBay

You might be surprised what you get

I love new standards

As I’m still riding 26″ wheels, non boost it means a steady supply of cheap parts on eBay

Look at for bike stands at Lidl or Aldi. Usually about £25. Obviously they’re not pro grade but very decent for the price

Wera do a nice set of hex keys for about £20 – all the way up to 10mm.

And get some decent cutters. I’ve got the Park Tools ones and I like them (if a bit pricey).

Then buy tools as you need them. I’d suggest pedal spanner, chain whip and cassette tool and a bottom bracket tool

This ^^^^

And the forgetting to unlock thing

The whole trail is as dry as I’ve ever seen at this time of year

While I won’t be threatening any KOMs I did set quite a few PBs there on Saturday – even (almost) managed to keep up with my son

I vote yes

Go for it.

Massive value on the 26″ s/h market

I like that, looks like it’d be prefect for tearing up the Ridgeway

What are those forks?

birky – Member 
I went from 100mm 26″ Anthem to 140 27.5 Trance. TBH don’t really notice the extra travel that much, what made a far bigger difference was going from 71 degree head angle to 67. Penalty is the Trance is 3.5 lbs heavier.

This ^^^^^

I’ve recently changed from a 26″ 80mm Anthem to a 26″ 150mm Fr/140mm Rr Mojo HD (which I got for not much S/H).

The change in geometry from the (silly) steep Anthem (72 degree Head Angle) has massively improved my confidence at trail centres or pretty much anything pointing down. And while it’s not quite as fast as the Anthem on the flat or uphill, it’s no slouch either.

Don’t regret the change at all

Sorry to hear how you’re feeling

Some great advice above. DO TALK yo somebody – The Samaritans, your mum, your GP, hell even in here

Ride your bike – physical activity really does help. And take some solace from some of the kind words and offers above. I’ve no idea where you are but if you fancy a ride in the Chilterns or nearby then my email is in profile

Though I wouldn’t say I’ve ever had suicidal thoughts I have had a pretty grim 18 months – but It can and does get better

Keep your chin up and keep talking

Why skimp on oil changes?

Every 10k I’d say. I got 225,000 from a fiesta 1.4 tdci. Engine was still running well enough when chopped it in

Have you considered SRAM NX 11 speed

Very happy with mine

The cassettes are available cheap from decathlon at the moment

I’ve rationalised my bikes now that my teenagers ride with me. Maintenance just got to be a pain.

I’m now down to just a fat bike and a 140mm FS. Teenagers have a trail bike each and the wife has my old Anthem. 5 bikes is enough to keep on top of.

Though I keep help looking at the Trek Stache as something a bit different. Or a gravel bike. Or …..

zhat is not my dog.

tillydog is right; a Bluto would make my fatty more capable.

But I’m minded as Northwind is. I don’t ride my fat bike because it’s my most capable bike; I ride it cos it’s just a hoot.

I’ve a similar problem with my iPad 2 (bought in 2012). It’s now unusably slow for the net, typing lags, takes an age to load etc, etc

I bought a Kindle Fire for £40. It’s not fast, but it’s much better than the iPad 2 – and for approx. 10% of the price.

Can I bring my bike?

My son (now 16) broke his collar bone in a crash at The Forest of Dean on the May Bank holiday last year.

Just a straightforward break – no surgery advised or received.

He was in a sling for about 3-4 weeks. But the doctor told him (and me) in no uncertain terms that bike riding was off the agenda for 3 months. We stuck to that.

He doesn’t seem to be suffering any ill effects now as he whips my arse at Swinley

We’ll be going back to FoD – but not until after his GCSEs :wink:

Yes quite a result if it’s the OP’s bike.

We should keep bumping the thread till the OP tells us he’s got his bike back.

I had a course at work today on the risks of compressed air.

I’m looking at my pop bottle ‘ghetto’ inflator through slightly different eyes now.

Might be time to get something designed for the job

Brakes, chainset and rear mech will be fine. I suppose it is possible (but I think unlikely) you’ll need a longer hose to the rear brake – probably depends on the routing on the respective frames.

You’ll have to check the clamp size on the front mech (you need 34.9). Your current one will probably have the size marked on the inside of the clamp. However a new front mech will be peanuts on eBay due to the current popularity of 1x gear systems. I’ve several spare front mechs, unlikely to ever be used (by me)

Is your current rear wheel and ‘old fashioned’ QR skewer – that’s what you need

I don’t know what the head-tube size of your On-One is but I’m pretty certain you’re going to need a new headset.
This from the Cotic site:
‘Our new frames have adopted the external bottom cup regardless of whether you’re using a 1 1/8″ steerer or taper. Whilst a regular zero stack bottom cup will fit if you’re using 1 1/8″ forks, it steepens all the angles by 0.5deg and more importantly for frame longevity, you will have no fork adjuster clearance to the down tube so using zero stack bottom cups has strong potential for damaged forks and frame as well as slightly shady handling. Hope have this completely covered with their new 2H headset. This has a crown race adaptor you can use for 1 1/8″ forks leaving you free to upgrade to taper in the future without changing your headset.’

Check out Cotic’s webby thing. There’s a wealth of info on it.

I do it in the cooker on a very low heat cooked all day. Season / flavour with Soy and five spice

I cook the crackling separately

Where are you based? I’m sure somebody will recommend a decent LBS

Road Bike: clipped in

Mountain Bike: flats

Using flats gives me much more confidence as I know I can bail easily.

I’ve come from a roadie background and was surprised how much grip good flat pedals provide.

Get a cheap pair and give them a go. Really, what’ve you got to lose?

I’m going with Day of the Jackal

No, no, no! The original is one of my favourite films and is unlikely to be improved. Certainly not by Hollywood.

And, it’s already had a terrible remake.

Edit: beaten to it by Rusty Spanner

Did Swinley Blue & Red on Saturday with my lads.

Today I had a local bimble around the Chilterns. Lovely weather, Chilterns now dry (unusual for April!), bluebells just starting to show.

Two great rides

“singlespeeding means you’re never always in the wrong gear”.

FTFY

More gurning required

iPad 2 here, bought just before 2012 Olympics.

Killed after update about 9 months ago. Not falling for that trick again so bought a cheap (read disposable) Kindle Fire for £40.

Ridgeway has changed since I last rode it

People change bikes for all sorts of reasons. Fashion, riding style change, just fancy something new.

How long a bike should last depends on its use versus design purpose. A downhill bike ridden hard on downhill trails won’t last forever. An XC bike ridden on XC trails will last a long time if properly maintained.

I have a 10 year old Anthem. By today’s standards it’s an antique – 80mm travel, ridiculously steep head angle, 26″ wheels. I loved it when I bought it and it suited my riding (then) perfectly. I rarely ride it now as my riding has changed. But for riding fast non technical trails (say the Ridgeway) it’s still a very, very, capable bike.

Ben – I actually think that you’d be offering too much for the vast majority of potential buyers. As you say it’d be a huge investment for you guys. And ‘other factors’ are real – many buy a bike based on looks or brand or a magazine review. It’s possible that offering custom paint colours or decals would generate more sales than bespoke demos. Probably not what you want to hear but….

Also, my experience is that I get a feel for liking / disliking a bike very quickly. The right bike just feels, well, right. Of course others may vary.

For 26″ forks I’d go looking on eBay.

I got a pair of 150mm Solo Air Sektors (looked new – probably OEM removed from a new bike) for my son for £100, and a pair of Revelation RCT3 for £155 in very tidy condition (again 150mm).

For £100 the Sektors are hard to beat though the Revs are better. Get Pikes if you need a beefier fork (I don’t)

I kinda like the idea, but I think there is a flaw:

If I was doing a full demo weekend (with a genuine intent to get a new bike), I’d want to be able to test a number of bikes – meaning from different brands. Which obviously isn’t going to work for you.

Depends on the type of bike.

For a full susser you want the compliance to come from the suspension design and shock. Frame needs to be rigid so ally or carbon

Hardtails, for me, work best in steel and no doubt Ti – but I’ve never owned a Ti bike.