I’m not sure I understand the original premise – “after a long dry spell”

about three hours..

So because PC world are rubbish that means PCs are rubbish?

You missed the point. The point was service levels, pile them high sell them cheap merchants like PC world don’t have the margin to offer a decent level of after sales service. I’m not saying all PC’s are rubbish I’m saying that I’d rather pay a premium and have an aesthetically pleasing product, that holds some resale value, is easy to live with and if I need support I can take it to an outlet (pre booked in advance) where the people know it inside out, get the problem resolved and carry on using it.

I downloaded OS X Lion last week, clicked three yes’s and after about half an hour a totally new OS is running. Everything was as it was left on Snow Leopard and I hadn’t lost a single file etc etc. Last time I used Windows it re-formatted the HD and then you had a totally blank PC after upgrading the OS. Or has Win7 copied everything else from Apple and now have that function???

Is that suppose to be a serious comment, or a joke ? I can’t figure it out.

If it was a serious comment, then perhaps you should know that China owns $1.16 trillion of US government debt.

If it was a joke, perhaps you should brush-up on your material.

Yes China owns $1.6trillion so who owns the other $14 trillion then??

Would that be the banks who are mainly government owned these days, who were all on the verge of bankruptcy??

They borrow from wealthy investors (Apple are an investment company like many conglomerates) who buy the debt in the form of bonds. China buy a lot of bonds as well as BP, ICI, Rio TInto to name a few. They can if they want borrow from the IMF but that is generally too expensive.

If it all goes tits up then the bonds are used to buy government assets and I’m sure even you can work out how borrowing money against an asset works when you can’t keep up the payments.

Wasn’t our on government looking to sell off the forests only a short while ago?? Why? Because their asset was going to become a liability…….

if you’re in the middle of nature probably flowers opening up to accept moisture, if you’re urban it will be all the micro bits of tyres and oil washing over the surface, hence why you should take your time in the wet after a dry spell..

as an owner of an iPhone, four iPods, two iPads I won’t even consider anything from Bill Gates and Co. My Macbook is two year old now, never had a virus checker, firewall etc, it’s never once crashed, frozen up and there’s nothing I can’t do on it that I could on a win doze PC. The battery still lasts a good 5 hours and I never switch it off, just put it on sleep.

I have three apple stores near me, can pop in for advice and have had a repair done on iPhone and no questions asked. Tried taking my lass’s Acer back to PC world last week and after 45 mins of waiting we were met by someone who wouldn’t be technically competent to put air in car tyres…… nuff said.

Apple probably own half of the US government now, who do you think the governments borrow their money from?? Bankrupt banks?? They borrow hard cash from cash rich companies who are given anonymity on their balance books. Apple now have so much money they don’t need any more, so lend it to the government for a guaranteed high return..

some people should be banned from using engineering tools.

Being a 514 owner I’d imagine it to be a blinder on the downs and a pig to climb with..

Have always been an Ixus man but must admit my Lumix is absolutely spot on!

Price of a 500ml bottle of water at Moto Services on M6 £1.79, the same bottle at local shop in a more populated area 79p. Google ‘captive market’ and you have your answer…

I doubt they supply the gun to put to your head to buy it….

good job Clarkson didn’t end with his usual strap line……..

TJ you have hit the nail on the head word for word there. In 2.5yrs with this lot I’ve not once had a manager accompany me on a sales visit, now the MD is putting pressure on the sales managers they all of a sudden seem to be very transparent and active. I know I’m being managed out and they know what they are doing, it’s a case of who’s got the bigger b0!!0cks now….

Shame really because I enjoyed the job and the people I work with be cest la vie! I would have thought 3 months garden leave and benefits (fully expensed car) would be acceptable?

Guys, thanks for the advice and the usual display of typical STW difference of opinion which I actually find entertaining, everyone has an opinion and a POV they are entitled to it and long may this free speech continue…..

Ito make some comments about customer records etc, they give me NOTHING to record them on and I’ve used my own PC anyway so it’s my intellectual property no theirs so they can GF if they think they will get any of that. The frustrating part for me is they are criticising my record keeping in the absence of anything they have given me, Every company I’ve worked for in the past has some sort of CRM system where you log your prospects, progression and sales pipelines etc and they hang you if you don’t use that, this lot don’t give you anything and then knock what you have done in replace of.

Interestingly I’ve just spoken to a colleague elsewhere in the business who has his third ‘review meeting’ tomorrow and his experience has been totally identical, except he works solo and doesn’t share an area with someone else.

I do realise constructive dismissal is a tough cookie to prove but use like the personal injury process seems to scare insurers, the threat of a lengthy expensive distracting legal process should incentivise them to make an exit package fairer and more worth my while, the difficult balance is not steaming in there too cock sure and ending up with sweetFA.

The problem is they are very tight and very aggressive in these situations, typical example being last July I was away with the sales team on a sales meeting and had a great night with a great bunch of colleagues, I updated my status on Facebook (yes i know and you know what’s coming!) commenting on a great night with the lads. What I didn’t know was after I went to bed a load of them had a tear up in the bar on the company barclaycard with a couple of internal guys. Next morning the two internal managers came to work boasting of their quadruple vodka drinking conquests FOC courtesy of the barclaycard, the office shoite stirrer got wind, he persuaded a weaker individual who was an FB friend to print off my status and in front of the MD it went, as he’s finalising a redundancy review.

I was royally marched for making the sales team look like we were living the high life and and subsequently given a 9 month written warning for breaching the company’s ‘acceptable internet usage policy’. I got in contact with a lawyer then who as good as said they can’t tell me what to do with my own phone in my own time, I didn’t mention the name of the company etc so tell them to go and get stuffed, but if I did they’d hit me down (as they are now doing) and find a fickle reason to get rid and libel me a troublemaker. So I took it on the chin, but I’ve never had it confirmed from HR that the warning is spent. It will be interesting to see if they plan to use this……

I have an avensis estate and far bigger in every way than an Octavia which is golf based IIRC. Very unassuming car and the grunt of the diesel is far more pokey than the BHP it puts out. 10Kpa mileage is enough to go for a derv, better torque, 45mpg easy as opposed to 35mpg at best from Vrs…

When I first started riding 18 months avon I went OTB and put my arms out to protect me face, I had 8 months of a weird pins and needles sensation and at one point it became so painful I took paracetemol, Idubrofen and Co-Codamol one night and it didn’t touch it, anti depressants were used to numb the pain.

When the local PCT got me in to the physiotherapy system I had to have my head hung in a sling (traction) for 20 minute sessions twice a week, within a month it’s gone..

Isnt someone going to tell us that Fully Ridged is better ?

Nope, but someone may try to convince us a rigid is better…..

They don’t have any RLT’s in stock but these aren’t badly priced, especially with screw through axle

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FORSRE12029ER/rockshox-reba-rl-120mm-29er-fork-with-poplock

my hoops with ZTR’s take a hammering, 18st fella bouncing down Lee Quarry is a good advert for Hope!

there’s certainly stuff there for him but a lot of it is very rocky and technical. You know his capabilities best, without stating the obvious make sure he’s protected. Seen quite a few dad’s n lads up there with no protection at all

new chainrings and sprockets have cutouts to let stones and such pass through and as a belt weighs less than a lot of chain splitters carrying a spare isn’t a problem.

Good year said that about mine too!! I suppose a 1200cc V Twin bike throughs out a lot of torque which combined with stone would make it an issue, this one went on a Friday rush hour on M60 doing 90mph in lane 4, took some artistic hand gestures to navigate my way to the hard shoulder!

I have a 40cc Ryobi 16′ saw that I used to cut up some railway sleepers, got a face mask and showed it respect. Never had no problems and whilst I can see why regular users wear chain link clothes etc I think it’s fine to use one as long as you familiarise yourself with how it works, how to cut safely and don’t play with it, make your cuts and put it away.

as an owner of Belt Drive motorbikes I feel the benefits of them, but the smallest stone to enter into the sprocket and have sprocket/belt interface will shred the belt.

Is there a cutout in the seat stay to allow the belt to be fitted or does the belt have a link??

yes but you generally have to be an amputee to get one on mobility :lol:

I used to sell specialist bicycles to the less able and hand cycles require massive arm strength, but the sensation of speed is greater as you’re sitting an inch off the ground, just don’t run over any cats eyes on the road 8O

They’re also ideal for those moments when the articulated truck breaks down blocking the road, avoid decapitation by riding right on underneath it…

probably fine for a road bike but I like the feeling of my bars being connected to the bike whilst riding down a fast technical route and trying to hang onto a bike made of jelly must feel awful….

i suspect this is also the byproduct of legalising canabis :lol:

i’ve only tonight binned 20 SIS gels that went out of date in May, was quite a symbolic moment to me as i’ve managed to get my fitness to a level where i rarely need them, but will still buy a few more as emergency kit in backpack

Oh the one I forgot to mention tops my ‘skate gate scandal’ was when I was 19 I’d been out on a night out with the then GF and her parents wouldn’t let us sleep in same room so used to put me in spare room, woke up in middle of night to go for a pee and after having pee then preceded to get back in bed with her mum AND dad!! B0II0ck naked…..

Meet Pippa……… Great dogs, extremely intelligent and don’t believe the hype about them being unruly and a nightmare, they train well but do need stimulation..

who’s saying that the pram wasn’t more than wheel deep in water and the chap in question puled it out and then disappeared…

I’ve got a pro-ride and have used it on a Rumblefish 29er no probe, it can take a fairly fat tube to say the least. What you need to watch for is the weight, earlier models had a 15Kg limit and the newer (poss 2010 onwards) have a better 20Kg limit.

Nice vids and some tasty riding mate. I really need to get my arse in gear and tap up a local to show me around.

+1!!

As Coatesy says….

The Avid kits uses BRAKE oil and the Reverb uses SUSPENSION oil, never the twain shall meet and let’s face it the reverb needs every bit of help to make it reliable, putting micro traces of brake fluid won’t do the seals any good.

I think you can buy a service kit for them with bleed kit, if you didn’t get one with it?

I use Fork Juice….

I have a raptor 14 and it’s such a clever piece of kit, it becomes huge if need be for all dayers and becomes small for quick rides, really impressed with quality of it. I’ve no idea what size it is and didn’t even know they had sizes but I’m a fat fecka and have had no problems getting it around my ample waistline..

I live in Wigan and there is a lot of cars starting with W19 AN/ W16 AN etc,,,,, I’m sure Wigan tourist board are appreciative!

Make them A0 sized so I can read them without my specs :lol:

Sometimes I shouldn’t read STW on a lunch break…

If you want (boring) hills then the climb to the mast is your option. Twelve50 Bikes in Frodsham have a shop ride around there on Wed nights, call them on 01928 898011 and you can join in. If you’ve never been before it’s better to get a yocal to show you as the official trails are utter dross, the cheeky trails are awesome.

Same happened to me last year:

As I’ve progressed from newbie and bought better bikes and tyres I too went tubeless and made the mistake of going back to Lee Quarry on my 29er with Bonty rims and tyres running tubeless and the front tyre dismounted the rim at the worst possible moment, at the end of the video….

Ardents of front and Crossmark on rear, had them on my 29ers and on my 26ers too. Change the rear for a high roller nearer winter.

Avoid the bonty offerings, very delicate sidewalls on them. I had Racing Ralphs which were very fast tyre but pig to seal tubeless

I’ve had this with Trek when I bought a £3300 Rumblefish 29er. THey’d fitted a 19″ 29er with an RP23BV shock with ‘low velocity tune’ which wouldn’t let me get less than 40% sag. I contacted Mojo who advised me it should be a medium to high at least, I took it to Trek UK who said that they where all like that……..OE building at it’s best.

The bike was unrideable to me, mainly because I’m 17.5 stone (and getting lighter), the Cube Stereo I bought didn’t suffer the same problem and after selling the Rumblefish to someone a lot lighter than me I bought a Lapierre Zesty 514 which had a shock with High Velocity tune and is perfect, because they fit the correct shock to the correct frame size, 21.5″ frames are rarely ridden by 10st people.

Spesh, Trek, Giant, Scott etc (All American brands by perchance??) have taken manufacturing economies of scale down to a dime, which unfortunately means customer service is thinned out too.

I’d never buy another one.

I’ve got an ignitor running tubelss and it’s not too bad but having binned it before running tubeless on Bontrager Tyres and rims I wouldn’t use anything else but a Maxxis LUST tyre. When you fit them and feel how tight the bead bites it’s fantastic reassurance.

I just noticed the other night that I’d fitted my ardent on the front wheel backwards, so earlier I let all the air out and for good measure I rode along a bit and it took some force to get the bead to separate from the rim, confidence inspiring to say the least

that’s why I got rid of my go pro, apart from the irritating creaks and noises it picks up I was convinced I was going to film my own demise!

Here’s two of my classics, both at Lee Quarry, first one is me binning it at the end of a day’s one on one with The Beard and the second was at the end of a tour of cragg and lee quarry and what I wasn’t aware of was the wensleydale-esque wheels on the Trek Rumblefish had split and the front gave in on me on one of the smoothest parts of the trail. Both time I binned it on the way back to the car :roll:

Note how the ever so concerned Ed rushes to my aid with first aid kit :lol:

I broke my knee cap (cos I was a tit and forgot to put pads on) and two ribs

On this one I broke two ribs on other side, where the GoPro entered my chest, so be careful with chest mounts boys and girls