Is there any need to buy the bike at the end of the term? Can the bike not just remain on loan for a very long time, you know, a permenant loan. cough.

You mean proper independent bike shops?

yea small independant bike shops who cant compete on price with the buying power of the larger stores and that dont hold much stock to allow you to try a few diffrent bikes out, and that perhaps are better geared to servicing and repairing bikes than selling them. 😛

Starting to think that these schemes arnt as great as people first made out. A lad at work got a bike4work voucher the other day. Saw a bike he liked at halfrauds and went to cash it in. Only they "dont take that type" of voucher, something about halfrauds having its own scheme?, same result at Evens, they dont take the national cyclescheme vouchers either aparently?. I didnt realise there was more than one scheme. Looks like its only the tiny shops with little stock that take the grassroots vouchers, although I belive Merlin support this one.

However, all the shops hes been to wont allow him to add to the value of the voucher, and neither will they honour any special offers or reductions.

So you end up paying top whack for a pretty modest bike, which kinda wipes away much of any tax savings you had by using the scheme, and if you follow the letter of the law, you get the pleasure of paying for it again to own it. Pffff…balls to that.

Weather your using it stricktly for work or more pleasure, id hardly call it an abuse of the scheme either. Which ever way you use the bike, its getting you fit and healthy, meaning less time off work, less strain on welfare and less money on healthcare, unless you come off a lot.

+2 for the Merlin Malt 4 made of kinesium. For £1000 add a full SLX groupset and a set of reba race forks, job done.

Another vote for Andy from me

I bought two of the DX torches for night riding. They've been fantastic for the money. They are very reliable and extreamly waterproof which we tested after droping them switched on into the ice bucket full of water for 20 minutes at a drunken party. Both bone dry and functioning perfectly afterwards.

Ok, the rubber lock blocks are a rudementary mounting, and they're a little heavy for helmet mounting. You have to pay the same attention to charging the cells as you "should" give any batterys, and you may have to change the cell after a couple of hours rididng, so there not ideal, but the cost of a product that mitigates these reletivley small inconvieniances is unjustifiable in many minds.

Yes I'm a bloke and I'd love a blingly hope4, or something more purpose built, but for the money you just cant compare the products. Certainly as an introduction into night riding before you splash out serious amounts of cash.

Would I trade my dx lights in for something like a hope or lumicycle if I could afford it? Hell yea

63% fail

Now thats cool!

I always thought Dysons were over rated, and overpriced, however, my perants have had one for 8 years, and it only looses suction when the foam filter under the cylinder is blocked. A quick wash under the tap and their back to full power. Then the other day it failed epically when the motor finaly burnt out.

Quick spare parts search revealed the motor to be about the dearest part….all £35 delivered of it. 😀 half an hour after it arived, the 8 year old dyson animals back to running like new.

I am very impressed with the cheap price and availability of spares and having stripped the thing of every last component I am happily surprised by the build quality and very servicable design.

If I see anyone binning one, i'm having it away and ill fix it up.

I found mine perticually usefull for keeping flies and midges out of my mouth earlyer this year when the local trails were swarming. I wasnt too fust about swallowing the odd fly, until I noticed them rissing up off the fresh horse and dog shite….

it'd either work fine, or explode into shards of white hot metal ready to shred your body into millions of macerated pieces, so what could go wrong?

Lmfao, Thats some imagination. 😆 carefull though, some lesser educated types might actually think it a valid concern. 😯

I bought one of the SSC 180mm Vibe rotors when I changed my front hub from a centerlock to a Pro2. Looks good and works perfectly, Id say the quality is perhaps better than the shimano one it replaced, its stayed true and the cut edges are a nice oil blackend kinda finnish, lots of wet riding and no tarnishing so the steels good quality. Id highly recomend one for £13. Really cant go wrong.

As s8tannorm said above, there probably all made in the same factory as the rest of the brands.

I got a few sets of sintered pads off SSC too, after the shimano ones disintergrated in one really muddy wet ride. Ive been very happy with these aswell. Good stoping power, and the mud dosent seem to have fazed them either. I must have burnt a few hundred callories in the bedding in process though getting them really hot, still looks like it paid off.

Surely watches were invented long after a gentleman went out wearing a sword?

Yes but before watches were invented gentlemen would wear a portable sundial on their left wrist.

Solar powered eh! Funny how things come back around every few years. 😆

I wear mine upside down purley because I find it far more comfortabe with the flat of the watch face on the fairly flat underside of my wrist, and the flexible strap over the more curved top of my wrist. You can look at the time without spilling your pint too! lol. Holy shit I must be gay. 😯 😆

I tried the large on, and I was happy with them, could have bought them and never had a problem. But the guy in the shop pushed me to try the meduim too and he was spot on, they wernt so much smaller round the thigh and calf, but felt more secure around the actual knee itself. If you can try before you buy it would be nice but I know its not always possable? maybe get two sets sent out and return one later?

edit:- Ok so I just measured my leg, Thigh is 18" and calf is 15". On the size chart thats an XL?? but my pads clearly say medium? go figure?

+3 Kyle Straits. Great fit, comfortable, dont move, and give a little support to your joint. £30 at Evens at the minute, so a bargin too.

I'm 6'tall and have farily big legs but found the Medium size the best fit. You'd have to be a rugby player on steroids for the large I think. Depends how firmly in place you want them aswell tho I guess

I also have the 661 Evo elbo pads which are brilliantly flexable for your arms, but I didnt think they'd offer enough protection for the knees.

My chain always used to bounce off onto the bottom bracket when on the rough stuff. I fitted a XCG triple made by MRP and its not come off since! and it protects the outer ring from rocks.

Depends just how much cutting back you need to do. Yea a nice silky saw and a pair of loppers is great for a couple of small trees, but it youve got a jungle to contend with, youll soon wish for something powered.

Not quite this bad but look at the picture below, see how the center of a leylandii is just a mass of branches. Now imagine that all the way round your corner plot house, which is 30 fence panels long, something like 180 feet in total length and 15ft high. You can keep your silky saws and your shears, Ill stick to the aligator and ill be done far far quicker than you! lol. Obviously it depends what your perticular garden and circumstances are..

FunkyDoc, I faced the same dilema with my girlfreinds garden. Bloody laylandii all the way round the house. Must have been over 200ft of the stuff and at least 15ft tall.

I had a good set of hedge trimmeres which are fine for taking the sides back, but obviously no good for toping them. The Branches ranged from very thin to around 3 inches thick or more. I started out with a saw, but after a few days I was getting nowhere and my arms and shoulders were done. So I bought an electric chainsaw. Far better than the petrol one I had borrowed in the past, It felt much safer, easyer to use, lighter, didnt have to **** about with fuel etc, BUT it was usless on anything less than about 2" thick as the branches would just bounce off the chain. Chainsaws arnt much good on thin stuff that isnt held firmly in place.

Leylandii typically being a cluster of thinner branches ment that the chainsaw just wasn't any good for trimming the tops down so I went back to the drawing board and picked up one of those Black and Decker Aligators. Its bloody fantastic! The jaws will grab a whole bunch of branches of any size together holding them firmly whislt the chain slices through with ease. Its far far safer than a chainsaw as the chains pretty much always gaurded by the jaws. Ive lent it a few mates in the past and they've all gone out and bought their own afterwards.

If you live anywhere near manchester, or more specifically salford keys, there is a Black and Decker outlet shop in the Lowery center that are selling them for £35 with a two year warranty. Bargin!

"At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum. It's breathtaking, I suggest you try it!"

I'd have thought that unless your about to do something of biblical proportions, bringing about world peace and ending all war, curing cancer and solving poverty, that you'll be forgoten about again in a week with all the rest of the "famous" TV stars. So dont worry about it and get on with it.

cant agree with Mackem. I've spent a week there and we found plenty to do. Ok we traveled out to Gent and Brussels on day trips too, but Bruge would be perfect for a long weekend. We stayed in a B&B just outside the city walls.

Things worth doing. Climb the gothic bell tower at the grand place just before the hour then your in for a treat as 47 bells weighing 27 tons ring out. Or you can wine and dine in the grand square and listen from a slightly more comfortable distance lol. Take a horse drawn carridge tour of the city, Yea you will go back on foot for a good explore, but it wasnt that expensive and of course the guide knows all the places of intrest and tells you a lot of the history etc, its well worth doing so you get an Idea where to go back too later. Loads of shopping! Loads of small bars and cafe's to just sit, drink and people watch. Many B&B's have bikes they can lend you, or will arrange hire for you for very cheap, so take a ride out on one of the cannals or just round the city walls. And of course, Bruge has hundreds of locally brewed beers, I think there was a couple of local brewerys that did tours too, but we just spent a lot of time wandering round all the gothic streets and sampeling beer in the many many bars and cafes.

Astra Coupé Linea Rossa. Had it from new. Why? Its semi-practical, looks good in my eyes, its quick, theres not millions of them about, theres non that look quite like mine, its fairly cheap motoring. I Hate hatchbacks, cars should have a boot or they just look like short estates!

To be honest though, Ive had it 6 years and i'm borred of it, but cant afford to change it yet.

Surfr – I'm pleased to report that the shorter stem worked out really good today! It just feels better. Ill try and describe it but it will probably just sound like obscure rambelings as its really hard to dscribe it accuratly.

The 80mm stem has slightly "quickened" the steering, but not to the point were its overly snappy. It still climbes very well, and I felt being ever so slightly sat more upright ment I could breath easyer, helping me clear every climb today. Downhill was a little more comfortabe too, not leagues better, but a nice improvment all the same, and I cant say that at any point did I feel too far forward for a change, although to be honest the cat and fiddle loop dosent have any perticually steep decents.

The front does now seem a little lighter and I'm not sure if thats a good or a bad thing yet? But on todays trails, which were perticually dry and very very loose, to the point it was like riding a rock scree or a bed of marbles and the bike squirmed around in every direction, I was glad of he faster steering and to be a little further back.

End result was I liked it and its deffinatly staying. I still think raising the fork travel will help you the most, but if yo can pick up a shorter stem too, then you should be feeling much better. I wouldnt go any less than 80mm though! I think on this frame, 70mm would be getting a little too short perhaps.

Ive got the same Merlin Malt, with Reba Race forks, with the exception of a larger frame. I had the same trouble as you. It's fine for genral XC and great little climber, but steep downs are a little scary. I've found the geometry of the Malt to push you quite forward on the bike, especially compared to the likes of my mates On One 456. (although the weird thing is, they seem to measure up the same with a tape measure, barring the head angle of course) I considered swapping the frame out, and I still might in the future, but the best solution I have found so far was to raise the fork travel by 20mm by removing the all-travel spacer. Its only 20mm but it raises the bars that much and makes a HUGE differance on the downs, and has little impact on its climbing ability. Get a bottle of 15w shock oil and download the service manual and it will only take you 20minutes to do.

I've also just bought a 80mm stem from somebody in the classifeds section to replace the original 100mm jobbie. I bolted it on yesterday and I'm going to try it out tomorrow on the cat and fiddle loop. (no very steep downs, but should get some idea?) it should help me get further back off the rear of the saddle more when needed. Ill let you know how it works out.

If you live anywhere near Manchester, and you want a lift changing the fork travel, just let me know.

I got done for speeding years ago on the way to the festival of speed at goodwood hall. Oh the irony.

I Used to do that all the time, but never quite as spectactualy as that. Mine usually just push the lids off. Now I set the alarm on the cooker as soon as I put any beer in the freezer to remind me to take them back out after 40 minutes. Theres always far to much random shizzle floating round my head to remember otherwise. 😯

I'm enjoying 2.5% variable at the minute which I droped onto last year. I'm not fixing and paying more than twice the interest.

Ive based my stratergy over a period of three years, which is the length of time I'd probaly have fixed for If I had chosen to do so. I dont know what my personal situation will be in three years with regard moving house etc and I dont want to pay "get out" penaltys for finnishing a longer deal earlyer. I'm putting the £250+ a month I'm saving in interest (by staying on the variable rate) into a savings account and leaving it there for a couple of years. If rates dont go up, I win! If rates go up a percent or two, I could look to fix and still have saved money, I still win! If they go up a lot, Ive probably got more than enough saved in said savings acount to ballance the extra cost and still have cost me no more than If I fix now whilst rates are good.

Its not perfect, but I'm playing the game and saving money with little to loose if things change. Ive already saved enough for a nice bike, but Its having the disaplin to leave the money alone, just in case!

Your call…Do what makes you comfortable. If your going to fix though, I think youd have to do it over a long period for it to potentially pay off in the end. If you fix for say just 2 years, and rates do rise substatially in 18 months time, your going to be facing higher rates without ever enjoying the lower ones, if you get my meaning.

I totally agree with the way Ebay removed the sellers ability to leave negative feedback. Why? Because its the buyer who is at most risk from any transaction with the most to loose. A seller dosent have to send any item out until they recive the payment, so the most they stand to loose is a little time and effort, and a few quid in fee's which are mostly recoverable. On the other hand, the buyer can loose a lot of money and may recive goods that dont live up to their expectations.

Sellers are always the last to leave feedback too, they would always wait to see what you wrote about them so they could retaliate. This led to a massive trend in sellers getting away with murder for fear of unfair retaliation in the form of bad feedback.

Raceface your thinking of a movie called "City of Ember" that is extreamly similar to the game fallout3 in that its about a kid trying to get out of the bunker. Not a bad movie, worth passing a few hours if your borred but nothing spectacular unless your a fallout fan, then I guess there may be more apeal?

Ive just watched District9 and I was pleasently surprised! I didnt expect much after reading a couple of reviews on here, however I quite enjoyed it! Id certainly recomend it.

**** thats steep! 😯

As Wors said, Garden Centers always carry it, especially now the summers over.

Let us know what you think of the ride when you get back! I'm seriously considering getting myself one but I'm concerned 120mm forks I've got will be a little short for it. What forks are you running?

I got one of these a while ago and the locking cap design it is a real pain in the ass compared to having a locking nut to tighten against the cone nut. I spent ages adjusting it just right, because unlike the old version where using a jig and a QR I could compress and hold the axle still as I adjusted the cup and nut, as described in the bennets guide, this one cant be tightened with the QR in place. That means you almost always adjust the cone slightly when trying to clamp the locking cap against it. I found the only way to get it right was to set the play in the bearings using the jig and QR, then once just right, cafefully remove the wheel from the jig/bike without anything moving, then get an assistent to carefully hold the oposite side of the hub with a spanner to stop the axle turning whilst I used two hands to hold the cup still with a spanner and the other on the allan key in the end cap. Still took a couple of goes untill it was perfect. Ive had no trouble with them backing off though?

YOur legs deal with the back. THey have lots of suspensions

I need to let a bit of air out of my legs then and speed up the rebound in my knees 😆

Seriously though, I run 120mm travel on the front, and that can soak up more bumps than my legs can for the rear. I say that because when I hit real rocky trails fast, my feet can get a little air time off the peddals, regardless of how relaxed my legs are and it becomes and little scary. Probably just me though.

Wors, I think I know what I did wrong. I didnt notice that the edge of the steps were at a slight angle to the direction of the trail and although I've ridden in before, you cant see the landing as you exit. I exited the drop square to the step, sending me to the left of the path, and into that bolder 😆 The bang as the tyre exploded said that it hadnt gone well 😆

My three mates were more intrested in the state of my bike than weather I was ok! but they did say it was the best crash theyve seen in years 8) Wouldnt mind but we'd had a camcorder out just minutes earlyer but missed my carnage.

enfht, It looks the same as this one sorry

Teetosugars, I live in manchester near the trafford center unfortunatly, so not that local. If only I was a bit nearer I'd be there now searching for the bugger, and looking up wondering where it all went wrong. If you have a spare though, can I send you some beer tokens in exchange for it? 🙂

The trouble is that the base rate can only really go up, so the banks have very little to gain by offering fixed rates, as they can only loose if the base rate changes. This is reflected in there quite frankly exortionate fixed rates. In 2004 when I bought my house, I got a rate of 4.75 and the base rate was 3.75%! shows how much there raping us now to fill there black hole of defecit.

I dropped onto the variable rate last year, and Ill be staying there! It works out about £2500 cheaper a year than the fixed rates, so i've been putting the savings in a slush fund should the gamble not pay off. If it does, Ill be significanlty richer, and as Ive already had 12 months on a better rate, it would have to rise considerably to have been less cost effective than a 2 year fixed.

When the rates go up, you also have to wonder weather the fixed rates will nessesary go up at the same rate which is the hart of peoples fears about not fixing now. I think that yes there will be an increase, but not directly linked because of other market factors.

looks like your riding a full suspension BMX, 😛

On a serious note, it does look a bit small to me, but you probably already know yourself from riding it.

Perhaps think about sticking with a Kayak rather than a canoe, youll find it easeyer to pilot, and a lot less effort to paddel any distance. Also, If your mainly paddeling canals, and tame rivers, I strongly recomend a more touring orientated kayak with a ridged hull that promotes straight sailing than a flat bottomed slalom kayak that will easily swing direction and dosent gluide through the water as efficently as a tourer.