2.0 TDCi first generation, lovely to drive but quite a bit’s gone wrong and it’s been pricey to fix.

Hmmmm, I took my then pregnant wife on a Neilson holiday. Thought the same as you. She was pretty cool all things considered but honestly had a pretty mediocre time. Was Vass and it’s pretty middle of nowhere and not a lot for her to do outside of literally just sitting in the sun reading a book.

I had a riot.

Did Portishead to Devizes to Portishead in a day once. Sinfully boring! Bath to Bradford on avon bit is lovely, as is the many locks up into devizes. Personally I’d plot a more scenic road ride though!

Mine’s on about 25lbs now, and I reckon I’ve shaved a good 3-4 lbs from it from stock.

New scales? We had a 56cm at 25lb minus spds so I don’t know where you’re getting 29lbs from!

I’m building a Cotic X up now and that’s going to come in at 22/23lb (it’s 18lb minus the group and at the mo) but it’s got a fancier build and the lighter Tektro brakes, and I expect the carbon forks helps. Steel cross bikes with disc brakes in almost as heavy as smaller wheeled rigid MTB shocker! 😉

God, I lose sleep over just a few grand of debt…

By mates/colleagues, do you mean wife?

If you want silly big, look at the Camelbak military range, I’ve got Motherlode for multi-dayers or if I’m doing video or photos out in the wild. The base weight for the pack is quite heavy and if you max out the water capacity it’s difficult to get anywhere near it’s capacity before it’s simply too heavy to ride with. But I’m only little so you might be fine. And when I say maxing it out, I’m talking like most of your bivvy kit plus water would go in there!

Otherwise Dakine Apex is slightly bigger than a Mule but arguably more useful space. Pretty good pack for shorter trips too and it really packs down flat when empty.

Both, depends which way the trail is turning…

What did you get? Currently convincing myself I don’t need an EF-S 60 as we speak.

Not keen on close ups of bugs and stuff but as I get more into DSLR video I find non-macro lenses too limiting in terms of close ups… I often want to just go a little closer with my EF50 than it’s able to.

Oh yeah two of the dads are quite bikey in our group so that’s cool!

Yeah really good but I think it’s a regional thing so experiences tend to differ.

Far from being breast feeding nazis, quite realistic about the statistics and very pro-active about the support network if it’s not going well.

Plus ended up with five other couples who we’ve become friends with.

Our NHS local classes were massively over subscribed (30 plus people rammed into a room) and delivered with about as much energy as a flat Duracell.

I’d hate to be in a court with some of the people

I know, I was on an inquest Jury and the one thing I took away from it was that I hope I’m never wrongly accused of anything and end up on trial. Some people were disgraceful – a combination of not understanding the difference between evidence/facts and strong opinion/probably. Or a case of “what do I need to say to make this end faster”.

Fizik with the gel pads…

Teej, after that last statement I’m genuinely inclined to believe you now actually, sounds like you’ve truly lived under a rock!

And what Warton said…

Gary – 30 years ago they were not at all. actually quite hard to find to buy. Tehy certainly were not a fashion item at all in 1980

😯

Gary – when I first statered wearing them they were not advertised at all.

Oh please, they were as influential a fashion item then as they are now!

Doc martins – I have worn them for 30 years because they last well and are conmfy when on my feet for 12 hrs

And that is exactly how they position and brand themselves. The Doc Martins brand is very powerful and has a huge budget!

I am sure there are advertising agencies all over that are very happy that some people really do believe they are not persuaded by brand marketing – it makes their lives so much easier selling to them.

Snap!

As for me – I am completely unaffected by advertising or branding.

First thing that popped into my head was “or so you think”. Whatever you think you’re choosing to buy, someone has identified you as a target and marketed and branded themselves to fit with what you think you’re independently choosing. It’s called market led product orientation.

mf: do yourself a favour and just walk away on this one. Works for me!

Going to be tough to police. Proper out and out racing Cross bikes are obvious but the boundary between where 29ers end and CX bikes start is getting so blurred now.

At what point does a Singular with drops and skinny tyres become a cross bike and at what point does a >X< with flat bar and 45c tyres become a 29er?

We’ve got a 8 week old “velcro baby”, we’ve given in, mothered him, nurtured him and he’s becoming more and more independent by the week, at his own pace. I can understand older babies who are capable of understanding the feedback loop but it’s a newborn ffs, not a dog!

It will get easier – despite giving ours “too much” attention, he slept for 8 hours with a single feed in the middle last night. He probably won’t do it again tonight, he might do it again in a week but he’s getting there and we’ll continue to nurture, not train him.

OP: try getting her to fall asleep on one of you, I mean proper out for the count. Then swaddle, pick her back up, make sure she’s out for the count still and only then try putting her down. Keep your palm on her chest for a minute or two to maintain that contact, and then slowly come away. And just keep at it.

Also, try infacol as already mentioned, helped our windy little monster.

Canon 550D with the kit lens. Much crisper if I stick the 50mm prime lens on!

Manual focusing and zooming action is mighty hard work!

Not proud but it’s a video all the same – was a fun evening though!

Bristol Renegade Slalom

Why are people always so massively bent out of shape about this all the time.

They make a product for a given price and it’s up to you whether you want it or not.

If you know better than the poor sods that have been silly enough to buy one then fair enough, but why be so insulted by it if someone else wants one?

I only have 4 letters in each of my names. 😐

Any combination of:

Lighter plus more vents but same strength.

Quality of finish/visual appeal.

Adjustment and inner cage/locking system.

I don’t know which is why I’m asking, but is “3 6oz bottles of milk a day” enough? My 6 week old will down one of those in a sitting with ease. He’s mostly on the breast with the occasional expressed bottle so I don’t know how much he’d get through if he was pure bottle fed, but I was shocked by how easy he puts one away!

Just read the whole thread for the first time, kinda assumed there’d be a delivered item and a pic by the end…

Typical British company though: Stick your head in the sand and keep trying to sell the same old stuff year after year with just a new fancy colour. Think 70s Triumph. That’s what they remind me of….

I don’t think you could be wider of the mark. Orange bikes don’t rust and fall apart, they’re reliable, well received in the press and sales seem to get stronger year on year. Doesn’t sound anything like those two Rovers I was unfortunate enough to own.

Dunno but deffo run a ‘check your ego at the door’ policy.

Going to be running Pro Vibe 7s in compact II design on my Cotic >X<

Not up and running yet but the Pro stuff is usually good.

Cookeaa: I think you’re confusing the bottlerocket with the Transition Double perhaps?

5’8″ and ride an 18″ so I think it’s a case of what you like rather than what’s ‘right’. The top tube cleareance is good so little guys can get on the bigger bikes and I like the longer wheelbase of the 18, but I’ve got one of the steeper angled ’08 bikes which are shorter in wheelbase than the newer ones.

Yeah Craig played a blinder although I think you might be playing down how fit he must have been to begin with as it was a very credible performance!

Dekerf – no worries, and feel free to drop me whenever.

Although very much an amateur, I did it like a pro in terms of kit and support. But the one thing that made a difference was having a well drilled crew that genuinely gave a shit about how I did and took care of worrying about things like food and drink.

I literally just did what I was told and kept pedalling.

Don’t be too proud to resort to mud guards and waterproof shorts!

No, great idea!

It’s exactly what I did this year. Finished 14th…

http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/features/racing/amateur-racing-mtb-marathons-part1.htm

Are those 2 min load times because you chose not to install the game, or are those the loads despite installing it?

Just try and get your head around aperture, shutter speed and ISO – the three come together to give you your exposure. Then learn the 3 key semi-auto modes on the camera: P mode, Av mode (auto but adjust and priorities aperture) and Tv mode (auto but adjust and prioritise shutter). And it all starts to come together real quick after that.

Full auto should be avoided but P mode on the Canons is very useful giving full auto like functionality but with the option to override most settings. You can change ISO and alter aperture and shutter speed together with a wheel click, great for semi-creative pointing and shooting, there really is no reason to use full auto IMO.

Also, have a think about investing in an EF50 1.8. It’s the cheapest canon lens and while it feels restrictive having a non-zoom at first, the results are breath-taking for the money!

Mmmmmmmmm…