What tyres for nonsense threads?

Is it wrong to have bike envy?

16.5 stone here – used it for all sorts of things in a clumsy and enthusiastic manner in the Peak/ W Lancs Moors/ trail centres for the last 4 years. Still on original bearings and once a year has the back end taken off to be fettled. Replaceable hanger is hellish expensive, but cheaper than a new back end.

Has endured where Orange Patriots have snapped/cracked/ broken.

Can be ridden XC but happier with gravity on side as you suggest.

All the best. I had part of a herniated disc out in a hurry. The surgeon did leave me with the other choice – incontinence and impotence.

Best of luck and take the recovery easy – for the sake of your mates. They'll be more concerned than you are. Possibly.

Lycra unless it's biking to the pub and if it's post 4 hr ride collapse in beer garden with pint and crisps – lycra for that too, especially if near closing time.

The 'hung up and crash' experience with baggies made me think that people pointing and laughing was a small price to pay for staying on the bike.

But whatever works – we all ride bikes and fundamentally bike wear looks a bit cockish to the untrained eye.

After bowel loosening episode on a roundabout

Instructor Question ; 'What are you?
Me Answer ; Err, a **nt?
Instructor; 'No. That would be more attractive and useful.'

Kind guiding words from Instructor Steve in his Micra, Bedford, November 1987. He did have a point.

6'4" and an XL. S Manchester if you fancy a go.

rode it for about half the Mayhem in 2007 with 1.5 Conti mud tyres on it. Looked a bit odd, worked a treat in the clag. XT, Fox TALAS, UST and Thomson stuff mostly.

39. Surveyor.

If there were 3 of us – yes. I particularly liked the big flakey snow. Not overly keen on the wetness and wind. The ride was out from Manchester – Marple Loop – Timperley. About 4 hrs all told and a v hot bath after.

Get it bought.

Doing the Vitruvian in September in glamorous Rutland Water. Done some 24hr racing including solo and 12hr time trials on the road as well as Olympic distance tris, sprints, the odd marathon and nonsense like that. Happy to let you know how it compares – on the bright side it's finally making me learn to swim properly, on the down side it's a lot of training and the cost is silly.

But as I'm knocking on 40 it's cheaper than the usual mid life crisis cliches. Unless I buy a new TT bike with Zip wheels…..

Hipflasks good. Cufflinks good.

Bespoke shirts from Frank Rawstrom of Manchestershire were well received and provided an opportunity to all get together before the big day, without being bladdered/ surfing/ driving a hovercraft/ frenzied drunken Dad dancing – all of which are more exciting than a shirt fitting.

£28 for a hose for the Juicy 3s that cost my £40. Normal hose, not fancy at all.

OR there’s BOundary Breeze on Thursday evenings. Which is nice.

The swim coach at TriCentral is also very worthwhile. A bit spendy, but it should now take me appreciably longer to drown and I’ll be further from the shore. A mixed blessing then.

Yes. You can get bands/adapters so it can be made to work. SJS is a good place to start the quest.

Nope – the arrival of the Pleases Jnr made me go out more. It was a childish reaction on my part. The BikeRadar 12hr event was sufficently poor to put me off the bike for 2 weeeks. That or riding from Manchester to Cambridge in one sitting.

Ribble Winter frame on their bike builder/ special thing. Under £500 and you’re unlikely to get emotionally attached to it. Mine’s in Central Manchester if you want a look.

Move them to a neighbour’s/ mate’s/ kid’s friends pond. We did this and it has worked a treat. The frogs have travelled across the postcode to populate anew. Hurrah for biodiversity.

Net, bucket and 6 yr old was the technique we used. The net was discretionary as she rather liked handling them. But she’s a bit like that.

We must be due a dry Mayhem by now, surely?

17st and Selle Italia Flite, Fizik Arione, SDG Bel Air (old type) OR a dead cheap Planet X one. Frasnkly al lequally good for a couple of hours, If going over 6 hrs then Flite, Arione or Bel Air.

The Brooks creaks a lot, but isn’t bad at all if he can stand to break it in.

My mojo is recovering as I’m road riding. The rubbish course and organisation at the BikeRadar enduro nearly did for mine. Now road riding so mojo is recovering , albeit slowly.

Eh up.

I sold my 29er and regretted it. A fine bike, very groovy in the original rootbeer.

I bought mine thinking as I rode it home ‘I am a knob. I have bought the nichest of niche bikes for pots of cash and it only has one gear, but it’s pretty.’

Got it set up right – what a pleasure to ride. Tubeless for no additional cost is a fine thing too.

Now looking at another 29er on the Bike to work scheme. It all works for me. Well done Trek.

On a stupid long ride eg 12hr TT it’s nice to be able to swap shoes/bikes/legs.

Road for road use when there’s no walking to be involved, in the summer. The ‘fixed in’ feeling is good but my carbon soled Shimano race shoes make my feet ache. Or rather pressing hard in them does.

SPDs (MTB) for winter – for me because I’ve only got winter MTB boots.

Once the pistons are out it’s easy to get new ones in. Just remeber to put a bit of brake fluid around the seals before pushing them in and then bleed in the prescribed manner.

The difficult bit for me mirrored Mikkel’s experience – getting the blighters out.

Good luck

Caffeinated energy gels after 10hrs.

I was there. The stands etc looked jolly.

The organisation was shameful. It was when one of the staff didn’t know what ‘pits’ were. At a venue hosting the World Super Bikes it’s a bit of a worry.

The 12hr enduro was not at all clever, in terms of course layout, length, starting order, wet weather rideability, or administration.

The timing on the other hand was fab and there was lots of parking/ camping, albeit guarded by zealots and the unknowing in equal measure.

I hate to knock events and it may have been OK as a trip out with the kids to look at some 4X and trials – but I’m not going again.

You need to find the benficiary of the restrictive covenant and seek a release from it. Usually for cash.

Also there may be no power of compunction over the benficiary, i.e. you can’t make them relax the restriction regardless of how much cash you feel minded to throw at the problem.

Also worth checking what the beficiaries remedy is – forfeiture, damages, specific performance? I don’t know – it’ll be in the Deeds and may be registered at Land Registry.

Sounds to me like it may be worth speaking to your conveyancing solicitor in the first instance, getting a contact and seeing what their position is.

Good luck.

Trying Ergons for the same reason – not overly convinced.

Have always got on nicely with the ODI Rogue OR the big fat Sunline jobbers. But then I have big hands.

Morning – I’m about 17st in riding kit anfd like to descend in hope that it’ll be alright which generally means a bit of somethimes purposeful rear wheel steering. As such my experiences mirror that of Mr BadlyWiredDog. Most of my riding is Peak/ W Lancs, generally with long road approaches so fast tyres are a bit of a must – no flint or slate to speak of.

Mr Badly – what tyres are you running for round the Peak?

Mr Nutty – I suspect it may be riding style/ lack of ability on my part, so I’d not fret overly.

I think a note to the nice men at Schwalbe and we’ll see if that gets us anywhere. Mr Badly – alright to mention your comments? I appreciate 2 folk’s not conclusive or statistically meaningful, but it does suggest it’s not only me.

Many thanks

Paul

Heckler nice fun and comfy- doesn’t really like to go pedally fast, but like gravity fast very much. Also, after 3 yrs tohught I’d best check the pivot bearing – they’re fine, but liked being rotated fully.

My Blur LT likes pedally fast best. It’s the choice for longer days out, I also think it’s probably ‘worth a gear up’in pedalling terms. Not so keen on gritty winters and it takes about and hour to strip it down for an occasional bearing twiddle.

They’ve both got pretty much the same build, even down to the TALAS for and finishing kit. For fun riding with entertaining descents <3hrs – Heckler.

What point is mid life crisis territory? 39 this month and wondering at what point I can pass off a tendency to marked over enthusiasm as a mid life crisis?

Mrs Hillsplease seems to have accepted it’s the former. She’s usually right and didn’t even blink when I told her my new race wheels were coming today. Is it right to stroke your new wheels by the way?

I have. It worked – from memory it was a Schwalbe Nobby Nic one of the older enduro type rims. worked – rode it.

There may have been a fault/wear with the fairly well used tyre as I came down one morning it had blown off the rim. As luck would have it the goop stayed in the tyre rather than distributing iself all around the kitchen.

Give it a whizz and find out. In the meantime some new Hope Hoops have turned up with Stan’s rims on, to compare and contrast against the UST set up on other bikes. Further adventures in (hopefully now weight saving)tubeless await…..

Mr Tall is a jolly nice chap to buy a frame festooned with nice bits from. All 6ft 7 of him. I owe him a bacon buttie and a brew when next we meet. And half a dozen other chaps too.

A lass shouted i had a ‘nice arse’ yesterday on the ride home through Rusholme. I presume she had been drinking and was wearing mahoosive sunnies – but it cheered me up all the same.

A pleasant contrast with ‘you’re not allowed them up here’ on the W Lance Moors. Miserable blighters.

Heckler. It’s nice, but only likes to go fast downhil. Nice if you’re feeling a bit pootly or are a fat lad on the climbs, like me.

On the bright side even in the filth more of it is rideable than the one time it was a ‘proper’ BCF race. It was a nice field to ride around (with a bit of MX course and wood, but in a team of 4 after 17 laps apiece it was a bit wearing. Oddly entertaining that only about half a dozen folk of the 3-400 rode it. Including the singlespeeder in a tutu. I remain in awe.

We’ll be reet.

I’ve got some ludicrously expensive Oakleys that fit a treat – I too suffer from big thigh/arse syndrome. Tried some Sombrio ones – looked good on the rack, didn’t fit over the thighs. At all.

Not sure all the Oakley zips/vents pockets etc are strictly essential, but it does mean you can stroll into the office looking vaguely normal.

Llandegla – you’ll be reet on some Racing Ralphs, preferably in a tubeless guise, an outer ring and you’re there. The forks seem a bit much on paper – but they ride great (presumably) and weigh naff all more than the alternatives, so best hang onto them IMO.

Rotating weight is the thing to sort, I reckon. It’s also relatively cheap so resolve, in part with tyres. Happy pedalling.

No, ta.

Like voting, but seems complaceny will do just as well in this instance. Sadly.

Brill. Like it and you’ll not lose it in a crowd. Happy pedalling.