mushrooms. Brennivin.

freezer, cos they are cheapo morrisons crud! Why they were in the frozen aisles i have no idea, but at that price it was worth the gamble. I stand by my original gambit of Fortunes Kippers in the hope that they see this thread and send me some freebies!!!!!

usual ride is a merlin malt for the peaks on 1.95'' tyres, so that's perfect. The marin quake on the other hand, can just about justify it for wharnecliffe (if someone else is riding it!)

they're in a bag so i'm not expecting great things. Good,i thought boiled would be atrocious. And, if you're after good kippers, it's Fortunes of Whitby. Them two fat ladies know their food!

can't make it due to money needed to for placement starting in a few weeks. Bloody annoying seen as i spent a lot building up a DH bike for BUCS! It's BUCS old man! Enjoy the midges :D

i did the kielder avalanche a race orientated hardtail. Lightweight wheels, 1.95'' mud tyres, 90mm suspension, 3×9 and spd. Didn't get many good times but it did wonders for my riding and confidence afterwards.

I think a 5'' FS would be ideal for most. I got my marin quake for such events (and DH).

and put some nice carbon rigids on too

i'd put some magura hs33's on it, front and rear. I've got a set of the very first to be made, and they're working the same as when they were new. I've also got a new set, and they're wicked, and expect to be working for the next 20 years. Perfect for a low maintenance hack!

that looks nice! how much would a frame typically set me back 2nd hand? Love the build!

i know of two routes around dore drop which are bridleway classified, and are nice, quick dh routes. Obviously i wouldn't know of these blocked off routes though …. http://www.wildsheffield.com/Sheffield/uploadedFiles/Sheffield/Reserves/FINAL%20Leaflet%20Blacka%20Moor.pdf

you could also go to hollinsclough. I've heard that it's nice and steep around there

what about looking at routes on blacka moor. Dore drop…. otherwise, all the purpose built tracks not listed previously are secret. Good luck!

whisky! i like that idea!

if it's a cougar bar, i'm going! Down eccy road there are better places to drink (e.g. lescar) and as for food, who needs more than a BBQ in the park?

there's a guy on stw who sells Ti bashguards every now and again….

i'm not old enough to hire a van :( And i've checked ferries, but ferry-train transfers from europoort and zeebrugge are difficult.

The only other option is to fly, but i may aswell just break up my bike into tiny shards of metal to save ryanair the privilege!

hi, yes i've read that tandems aren't allowed. I'd like to put my bike in the bike storage area, but i have to take a connection with Thalys and they will only let you bring a bike if you pack it suitcase/bag style. I would have liked to avoid this as i'm moving to eindhoven for 5 months and i'm taking a reasonable amount of kit with me… oh well!

It's good to hear that you haven't had much bother olaf-hansen. I think i'll be on the look out for some big suitcases, that way i can pad it out with clothes.

Any packing tips, or cheap bags for sale at the minute?

i have solo airs. They're hard work for usual XC jobs, so i only save them for the silly xc rides (or DH). I've heard lots of problems about 2-steps (opens a can of worms)…

got 3 bikes.

Marin Quake – DH, silly rides
Merlin Malt – all day rides out in the peaks and NYM, commuting in Holland
GT Hans 'No Way' Rey – trials, jumping and commuting about sheffield

i've also got a road bike build in progress, but i'll probably never finish that as the merlin is good enough for my needs. I'd never buy a FS for xc duties. If i had to have one bike for all purposes, it'd be an early 90's GT Zaskar (about 12.5''!)

i'm moving to eindhoven for 5 months in April, before completing a master's. I've been getting myself used to visiting old friends infrequently now, and i'm trying to stay single, so that come graduation i'll be free to go where ever i like. I don't think i could do it in one great leap

i'm not the real hans rey, or the real slim shady for that matter

i winter, i wear the baggy shorts and tee shirt i'd wear in summer, with full length bibs under. Helps keep you warm and dry, and stop crap getting into sealskinz socks. No big deal

if you have unlimited/ lots texts in your contract, send him/her 100 in a minute. It'll crash his/her phone and render it useless for a few minutes. Repeat as necessary

this sounds like the saltpath to me. Am i right? As for lessening the road miles, what about going to Bamford afterwards? There are a few offroad routes

the cheap totems off merlin and CRC sold out a while ago. It seemed to be that 1.5'' steerers were much cheaper, so it's worth considering putting a 1/5'' headset in.

coil Domains are well worth looking at too, even if they weigh more than vanessa feltz

just go big (but not too big) and get a marin quake :) But, if you want something for those long rides, a 5 is fantastic. Have you considered any of Rocky Mountain's offerings?

how about the chromatic paint, that changes colour depending on lighting and viewing angle. It'll certainly be different

have you heard about tartan paint?

oh, and we usually meet up at the arts tower. You can't miss it as it's covered in a great big white plastic hat atm

i ride with sheff uni. Check out http://www.weridebikes.co.uk . We officially ride on Weds and Sundays, but there's usually a group riding on saturdays too.

If i get my xc bike fixed in time, i'll come out. Post a message up on our forum. And there's a lot of snow, which is superb!

seems to be two trends.
1) Call ahead
2) buy a spare in advance. (If you don't use it by the time your bike is broken/ sold/ mothballed then sell it on.)

there are some awful bike shops. I could name two LBS but i won't. However, Langsett Cycles of sheffield are superb.

despite my moniker, i'm not as good as the real Hans Rey. On the XC bike, i can't wheelie or trackstand for toffee, but the trials bike (and dh bike) i'm pretty adept. That said, i don't tend to wheelie, manual, bunnyhop or trackstand out in the peaks, unless i'm messing about in a carpark or waiting for the pootlers and bimblers behind!

no, but i've got a copy of every cd they've released, so i've paid my dues

26'' trials bike with 22:16 gear ratio in sheffield. Useless pedalling downhill and useless pedalling up hill

if that happened to me, i would punch the lights out. But i'd post bags of dog turd through his letter box, smear it on the windows, car and whatever else. cheeky gets

in the early morning i'll be clutching a near empty bottle of rum trying to work out what drunken messages i've sent during the previous nights house parrrrrty. Wahey

you could help me get a seized bb out from a steel road frame

looks dodgy. No feedback and no description. Simples. BTW, what is it?

well, what i mean is… there's an american brew in the mid 20% range that's expensive, rare and tastes atrocious. I'm a big fan of brewdog but i don't know anyone who's had this particular beer.

So, if it's nice then yes £35 is fair. If it tastes like kerry katonas feet then it's not worth it.

If a few people reckon it's nice then i'll get it. Obviously, that £35 could be used to buy loads of other beers i want to try too. In my experience of sub 20% beers, tasting notes and guides offer very little to me. I guess that may not be quite as true for TNP (i expect it to pack a punch tastewise) but always worth asking others

So, anyone had any tastes of it?

or this, if you can source some cheap disc brakes…

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=35237 .This looks like a good longterm investment