Is it just me or are their wheels too far apart? Ain’t gonna get that through the kissing gates on my usual off-road route.

Nutters.

We had the campaign and referendum 3 years ago! That was the time for arguing and justifying. Move on, you lost!

Apart from it being very unfunny for those losing money or being dicked around, this saga could be the basis for a Nathan Barley-esque sitcom set in a Brighton tattoo parlor/gnarly bicycle design studio, Justin Lee Collins would be perfect for one of the characters

Nige…… Is that you Nige?

In your remaniac echo chamber, we are all Nige 😁

Out.

According to Shimano, you should “be careful not to let the hemming of your clothes get caught in the chain while riding. Otherwise you may fall off the bicycle”

So when selecting your normal person clothes, pay particular attention to the hemming.

Seems to be an awful lot of hysteria on the remain side.

What, like Farrage, Trump & co?

When Trump is voted out of office, let’s compare the behaviour of his supporters with those who completely lost their **** when he was elected

There’s your chance to participate in a democratic vote on the EU parliament on Thursday. I’m sure many of us are relishing the opportunity to send a clear message through the ballot box, one way or another. Shouting angrily on random internet forums just makes you look unbalanced.

Sounds like Stockholm Syndrome to me.

the ignorance in this comment is just superb

British Steel can no longer trade carbon credits due to Brexit, so they have to pay the fine instead

@grimep if you voted for Brexit, you contributed to this!

The EU’s refusal to do a deal over carbon credit trading due to brexit is the cause of the problem. Carbon credit trading is a complete nonsense anyway.

British Steel about to go bust after borrowing £100m from the government to pay an EU carbon bill.
I guess Scunthorpe is largely ‘out’ then

RIP. The Rush film was entertaining enough but the reality of Lauda’s accident and recovery was so incredible it’s almost impossible to dramatise. There was an excellent documentary some years back on the 76 season, focussing on Lauda vs Hunt, with heaps of archive footage that made the excitement, heroics and drama very real. The guy was a real fighter.

I thought the rear suspension looked a bit Heath Robinson. How often do those bushes wear out? But what Mr Murray doesn’t know about cars isn’t worth knowing so I guess it’s kosher

Last gloves I bought were some checkered cheapies from those Prendas Ciclismo people. Dunno if they’d fit your requirements but they’re good quality and value. Their site’s usually worth a browse for clothing, if you’re not too worried about retro roadie styles

After reading this I think I’m going to advise my kids to go into the sports injury industry.

LOL, the Spanish are for a referendum (65%) but just 13% of those polled want out. Try speaking to a few Spanish people, every single one I’ve spoken to thinks Brexit is the Spanish for bonkers.

What could possibly explain this situation?

Spain:
http://www.money-go-round.eu/Country.aspx?id=ES
Net income from the EU EUR 352.54 mil

UK:
http://www.money-go-round.eu/Country.aspx?id=UK
Net contribution to the EU EUR 10,097.18 mil

Spain are net takers, the UK are net contributors. Rocket science it ain’t.

Got a new company car the other day that came with a dashcam.
It’s still in it’s box.

well I’m in the market for one now!

here you go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H38QiJWep5c

that or Samurai Cop if you can find it

Sounds like you’ve had a shit time. Let’s hope karma is a thing.

In the middle of the process so just unsure of how its going to turn out. Just wish I’d had this advice before it happened!

So, you’re not happy when these people are at it with you, but honesty doesn’t seem to be the best policy when it’s your fault?.
Or have I read that wrong?.

I think there’s a bit of a difference between people who stage accidents on purpose, and being a bit wary of having your every move on the road recorded.

“Chain storage disaster” sounds like the name of a lost album by The Fall

or a song by Half Man Half Biscuit

thanks for the headsup on the “affordable” Bromptons with interest free credit, could be an option for me as we’ve just moved office to C. London. Dunno if I can get more off with the cycle to work scheme, seem to be fairly restricted who we can buy from and it only comes round a couple of times a year.

you’re shocked and that doesn’t help logical thinking, unless you’re prepared

Yeah exactly. Also you instinctively feel to blame, at the end of the day its your foot on the accelerator/brake, so you’re already on the defensive and perhaps don’t suspect it was staged. Really worth rehearsing what would happen before it does so you do everything possible at the scene. The insurance company can refuse to pay and you keep a clean record if they can prove the case, but that depends largely on you.

Not keen on dashcam, could self-incriminate, but could be useful for catching the numberplate of any 3rd vehicle involved – they often collaborate, so there’s another car that pulls a dick move and sets off the chain of events. Insurance investigators have access to ANPR data and can figure if the 2 vehicles have been spending time together.

I’m not suggesting putting them on a 15Kg tank, but likewise paying for a 10-11Kg lightweight seems unnecessary. Having said that I rode with my boys and the neighbour’s boys a couple of weeks ago, and the 12 year old on a big heavy lump was out in front all the time and had a good ride. 5 – 9 years old though, I’d say a Frog or Isla every time.

Got a Miele tumbler and a W/mchn about 12 years ago, both still going strong, though I had to replace the rubber door surround in the W/mchn and it was an eye watering £100ish. Back then they were around £500 a pop, even worse now, if they go for another 8 years I guess it will have been worth it

basically jewellery for guys

Does anyone else hear a sneery David Brent voice when reading the stuff they write?

So who would make a better PM than BJ?

First day with SPD pedals I fell off 7 times, partly through forgetting I needed to twist off in good time, partly cos they were new and stiff. The most amusing of these falls was on the coastal path past Old Harry’s rocks. I was heads down going uphill on some narrow single track when I spotted that I was about to run over a beetle. Stopped dead to save the wee feller, and of course keeled straight over, landing in a gorse bush that was lower than the path. Shoes were still clipped in to the pedals so it was really awkward getting back up again, what with the bike being higher up the slope than me, and every time I wriggled the gorse needles did their worst. After a while I managed to get back on my feet, and looked around to see where the beetle was. I had felt a bit of a crunch under my shoe as I got to my feet so lifted it and saw a very sorry looking beetle. Don’t know if he made it.

Car Mechanics magazine recently related a tale of a newish Range Rover that had been in and out of the main dealers to try and fix an electrical fault umpteen times without success. Eventually the fault was traced to a battery hidden inside the dashboard that wasn’t even mentioned in the service manuals, and required removal of the dash to reach. Imagine the bill for the diagnostic time alone.
One of the consumer affairs programs on TV featured an Evoke owner a while back, the car was only a couple of months old when it completely died in the fast lane of a dual carriageway.
I’d love to have the money to spend on an RR/Evoke, but I’d put it into something a bit less complicated in the electronics department.

I searched high and low but couldn’t find frame geometries, the Nzumbi doesn’t even figure on the Voodoo website. I wanted to try my lad on the 15″ but the nearest in stock was SW London so gave up on that idea. The spotty oik in Halfords said they’d had a 15″ in, and a kid who tried it after the 13 found the reach too much. Raising the saddle has nothing to do with it. My lad said the 13 was perfect, probably to escape from being dragged round more bike shops.

Hope I don’t sound like Voodoo marketing dept but there’s a 15″ frame too, perhaps you tried a 13″.

Vitus looks like a great bike if you can find one to try out sitting on. The male/female specific things is dumb, I would probably have bought my lad a Specialized Pitch female in XS, nice low standover, but the pink decals put an end to that idea. Doesn’t bother me but 11 year old school kids are image aware

I considered the Hoys etc but they didn’t seem great value to me and only the Voodoo with garish paint and front forks had the wow factor. I weighed ours, and while it’s not in Isla/Frog territory, neither is it a typical Halfords tank. Can’t remember the exact figure, 13ish I think, can weigh it if that’s important to anyone. I think parents, especially cyclists with nice bikes, tend to obsess a bit over weight, but it’s not a priority for the kids at this age. Another plus, there’s just the one ring up front, while XXS/XS adult bikes are likely to have 3.

My boys are 9 and 12 and we’ve just moved up to the next size bike for the oldest who is about 145cm tall and a 69cm inside leg. I did hours of research, we visited a couple of bike shops, I considered Frogs, XXS and XS frame sizes of entry level MTBs (might have bought a Giant ATX 2 if it had been in stock, so you might want to try the XXS if there’s one near you)… but my advice boils down to – get down to Halfords and sit him on the 13″ Voodoo Nzumbi on 26″ wheels. This has got everything a boy wants in a bike and has plenty room for growth. Bit pricey but I was lucky enough to catch the 20% off trade-in for a battered old micro scooter a couple of weeks ago. If that’s too big then I’d recommend what my 9 year old is on – an Orbea MX24 Dirt which set me back about £220 and is a great little bike. But at this age they grow so fast he’ll only be on it for a couple of years max – his older brother rode it for a year. So 2nd hand can make a lot of sense.