If you’re not fussed about bling and weight Shimano BR-M447 from Rose Bikes – about £25is an end without rotors but you might be able to reuse what you have. They work well enough and I am a heavy lump!

N.B. These will come with the levers the wrong way around – one way up lever. It is not hard to change them over but you will need a Shimano bleed funnel thing to help and some mineral brake oil. Assuming you haven’t already got them.

Brakes Here[/url]

thisisnotaspoon – Member
Who do you reckon the princess is that demanded a different saddle?

From my experience anyone who’s sat on one of the Fizik saddles! 😀

Ton, I have an oldish pair of the waterproof 3/4s. They have given sterling service. The sizing is the usual Endura thing. Go up a size or as large as they go unless your build is of the “racing snake” variety! 😮

Toupe and Romin feel differnet to sit on but I’m not sure exactly what’s different about them other than the nose profile is different. EVO means a bit more padding I think.

Get her a Welsh Love Spoon Link Here and make sure to explain what they are all about.

Might even lead to bedroom aerobics!

** Warning: Gift may or may not be well received and you will not be able to predict which! **

The following list show what strength of character I have to have to actually get on a bike! 😀 As a cyclist everything about me and my gear is a Faux Pas!

1. I am very over weight – in fact fat.

2. None of my riding gear matches. Even without the fat I need big clothes so have to buy what fits! When you’re fat what fits needs to be loose fitting. Most cycling gear appears to have the wrong size written on it – usually by a factor of two sizes! I wear XL in everyday clothes but frequently have to find XXXL in riding gear. I often look like a rodeo clown on a bike!

3. My MTB is a Specialized and is 7 years old complete with small wheels. It is made of metal. It has a triple and the granny could definitely be smaller! The cassette is an 11-36.

4. My road bike is an old Boardman frame that I got for £60 quid from Re-cycle. It has a slightly damaged Campag Veloce groupset (compact of course) and a 13-29 cassette. I weigh so much I don’t have to pedal downhill to go fast. A pair of tubeless wheels that I built myself – this in itself creates a fair few funny looks. The fork is Kinesis. The stem points upwards and there is a maximum stack on top of an already huge stearer tube. I’d like more height here but run the risk of riding a chopper.

The ES51 BB you linked to will be absolutely fine. You will need to get the original off and check the sizing which is usually written on it.

The tool you have linked to is good too.

I have found this useful for stubborn bottom brackets linky as it holds the tool in place allowing you to heave hard without slipping.

Excellent!

This is Mark of Zorro. I am a very average rider so imagine it ridden faster and more aggressively! 😉

Mark of Zorro – Vimeo

Buzz – yes, High as a Kite is a brilliant piece of trail. Only drops about 30-40m but keeps going and going.

It’s great but but not really “technical, rocky, challenging”. It isn’t smooth groomed gravel either. The Syfydrin is a good “wilderness” ride. It’s rated black because it gets a bit remote rather than difficult.

Thought about the Climachx at Machynlleth? – worth it for the final decent – beware in the wet! 🙂

Standard with us is Firefox 17.09

Yes – I’ve had this problem (on my son’s bike). Basically it’s not very well sealed at the bottom so dirt gets in and it stiffens up making it unable to return to “neutral”. This can happen in a single muddy ride. You can fix it but it’s not really worth the effort because you’ll have to do it again – probably sooner rather than later.

I’ve been wondering why we keep having “old” issues come back from time to time and I reckon it has to do with the latest generation of designers not seeing the point of the sealing because they live in a dry dusty climate. All they see is something they can “refine”.

My older X7 and X9 shifters have been superb. This issue is a shame as I’ve felt the need to move back to Shimano in an attempt to avoid it.

The Wheatsheaf @ Llanhennock

Sorry, Phil, late reply.

Not much experience yet as still a new build. However, they build easily and are very nicely made. Quality of finish is very good. The weld is one of the best I’ve seen yet and only produces a small kick when spun and checked in the wheel building stand. I was able to build a good tight wheel (125Kg or there about) with DT Comp spokes without suffering loads of spoke twist.

I used 25mm Stan’s yellow tape – one turn – and a Stan’s 35mm tubeless valve. I fitted a Specialized Ground Control 2Bliss tyre which took to the bead first pump. The tyre had been previously used.

I’d give them a go.

I looked at the WTB Laser i9s but wanted a wider internal width than they have. The Vapour is about 22-23mm I think.

That’s fantastic news.

A bit more expensive (plus £10) but tubeless ready (yellow tape type), has eyelets, 415g (the ones I have weighed 393g) and 26mm outer width.

Linky

Bag of 40 from Rose £1.73. They charge delivery too so best check that.

Linky

Paypal was bought by eBay in 2002. Not sure if it still is owned by them or not but there is a relationship.

This has happened to me as a seller. I had to ship the goods. The money sat with PayPal until the buyer received the goods and left feedback and an apparently random period of time had elapsed. I then got my money.

This is what should happen here. The seller should ship and you should leave feedback. They will then get paid.

Brought instead of bought.

As in: I brought a new pair of shoes.

Rear mech often adjusts at the mech itself. Front mech usually needs one unless you’re good at pulling the tension just right. On cross bikes with MTB shadow mechs use one for each as the shadow mech doesn’t have an adjuster on it.

I haven’t used the Jagwire ones but have used the M:Part ones. They work fine but try to make sure they are in a straightish part of the cable. Got them from Evans – Search Cable Adjuster

What Mark N said.

I have had to use a lot of Stans 4-6 scoops with a non-tubeless ready Ralph. Once inflated do the pointing downwards at 30 degrees and shaking, turn a bit then shake, repeat all the way round. Turn wheel over and repeat the whole thing again. Then have a cup of tea (time for arm recovery) and do it again both sides.

I often find that new unsealed tyres need quite a bit more Stans than is suggested.

@maccruiskeen – 😆

Yes.

This all depends on your point of view.

My brother once proudly announced, “I’m getting the hang of this sex thing. I’ve got it down to under a minute”!

Remove and support the suspension piece properly – hit hard with something like a socket of appropriate size. Try not to ruin the bearing unless you have to. Some are behind a flange so you might not have a choice. Use the old bearing, if you can, to drive the new one in.

Did a 2008 Stumpjumper only last month with only one stubborn bearing. 😀

Cartridge bearings for some wheels.

I use the Movie Studio version of Vegas. The tutorial stuff you can download is good as is the How Do I?” help.

Haven’t tried Lightworks though. Looks worth a go especially as there’s a free version to try.

I have just past the one year mark. I’ve had failed attempts before and also chalk this down to whether you really want to stop or not.

The year has shot by and I can hardly believe that I’ve gone this long. (Listen to me pat myself on the back!).

I found that when I had a “weak” moment I’d say to myself that it’ll be back to day 1 again if you smoke now. This strategy really worked for me but will probably only work if you really want to stop.

Berm,

We had a great time. The only thing that could have been better was the weather and that’s clearly beyond your control! 😉 However, there’s no such thing as bad weather just inappropriate clothing. 😀

If you and the other people involved in organising the event would like to do the same again for 2012 I for one would be very happy.

See you next year.

Seb,

I have to say it cheered me up immensly at that dark stage of the night! 😀

Oh, and I forgot to pass on this piece of mathematical wisdom from one of my team mates:

As Einstein correctly observed during a similar event in 1912:

E = M x C-squared

Effort = Mud x Claggymud-squared

This was my first ever D2D and in fact my first ever race. I was part of a slow 4 man team which managed a result!

It rained. All night. A lot. In fact it didn’t stop until 5 minutes after we’d packed up to go home! The rain was the sort that could soak the inside of a sealed glass jar!

There were many frogs. There was mud and I don’t think my bike will ever trust me again!

I was overtaken a lot and didn’t think anyone was dangerous. If I stopped to clear my drive train, or pretend to fix something so I could have a rest, every rider that passed asked if I was okay.

The funniest part of the race was at the transition area. My god, there were a lot of adrenalin fueled people shouting for team mates as they arrived at the pen. Your team mate probably has eyes and can see you coming! However, I felt really sorry for the guy shouting for his absent team mate. It put me in mind of a duckling that had lost his mother! 🙂

However the prize goes to the chap who took the wrist band from his incoming team mate, turned to face the way out and screamed something like “RIDER COMING THOUGH” at the top of his voice and charged like a fully psyched up berserker though the other waiting riders. I had to laugh when the bloke next to me said “but he’s not even on his bike yet”.

I had fun and will give it a go next year. However, it it rains again like it did this time I may have to reconsider!! 😀

Try here:

http://service.foxracingshox.com/consumers/FOXDisclaimerUserChoice.htm

Edit:

Ah, too slow!

I changed my son’s Hardrock to nine speed with a cassette, shifters, cables and a chain (also stuck some Juicy 3s on as it had combo shifter-brake levers).

The Acera had to be cleaned well and lubed/greased as it was a touch “sticky” and new cables were needed to get good shifting.

We didn’t seem to get any problems. Ran it for about a year and only needed a new chain.

A bunch of mates and I did the Syfydrin. My brother did have a 10 stitch incident on one of the “wilderness” double-track bits, though.

The leg burner is a bit of a mother but eventually you get to Drunken Druid and High as a Kite. Two more superb pieces of trail.

Give MoreThan a call. £5K total on bikes with £1500 limit per bike. However, they will cover additional bikes for a premium. I don’t know how hefty these extra premiums are though.

First bike. Suzuki X5. Fitted KandN air filters that did nothing but make it moo like a cow! 91MPH lying flat on the tank! Oh, and due to some crash damage the tank on mine was blue!

First car – 1955 4 door split windscreen Morris Minor. Mine was a wreck so ended up phone box red after extensive work!