I had labyrinthitis a couple of years ago and had a spinning head, usually after standing up. Lasted about 2 or 3 seconds at a time. Also couldn’t focus on close objects without my eyes darting around a few times.

Couldn’t ride and it lasted for about 4 or 5 weeks.

No treatment available so just had to let it pass.

I had the same thing and found a small piece of wood jammed inbetween the two small cogs that I didn’t notice when checking the mech and hanger etc.

Might be worth a check if you haven’t already.

Rapha and Abercrombie & Fitch are pretty bombproof if a little pricey. Just bought some Morvelo ones which don’t feel great quality tbh but are cheap enough not to matter.

Whereabouts in London are you as it can take an hour to get from one side to another!

passtherizla – Member
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29671

Ti for less than the cromo… tempted.
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

Thanks for that – combined with £12 off this weekend that’s a steal!

If you want something smart then http://www.knomobags.com/ are very good.

Anyone?

wwaswas – Member

a section of my garden … that’s maybe 6m wide and 25m long

not a victorian terrace then

No! The garden is about 40m wide and x 35m long there’s a 6m wide section up to one corner that is just meadowgrass etc and overgrown with brambles etc which isn’t really visible from the house, so would probably (possibly!) get past the boss if it’s converted for the kids! Think she’d rather put a vegetable patch on there but we don’t have enough time to look after the garden as is so making it fun for the kids (and me!) makes more sense I think!

Just googled it actually and came across this – it looks rather American but some of the ideas could work quite nicely!

There’s a section of my garden which we never used that’s maybe 6m wide and 25m long on a slope so I might have a go at something this summer!

http://www.ihatebikes.net/site/pump-tracks/backyard-spotlight-john-and-maggies-pump-track/

Just found this pic of how much grass you get when you don’t mow for 3 weeks in summer!

We moved 3 doors along to get our garden. It’s fantastic for the kids to play in (and ride their bikes around) but it’s bloody hard work to maintain and I’ve conceded defeat this year and agreed to get a gardener to at least come and mow the lawn and keep the weeds at bay. Bought a ride on mower when we first moved in which is quite good fun, but it can still take a couple of hours to mow if I don’t keep on top of it.

and looking very pretty covered in snow

The giant Yukka didn’t survive the snow sadly but has started growing again this. Despite being a cottage garden, I quite liked how incongruous a giant palm tree looked!

and a quick lap when I was testing my GoPro!

TVR Chimaera – Always used to wind down my window and listen to them drive by and the guy that owned Sharrocks Cycleworld in Ecclestone (anyone remember them?) had a TVR 350 when I used to work there at 15.

Got one when I was 24 and loved it! Had some amazing weekends away in it and even commuted into central London with it for 6 months. Sold it and bought an M3 which was far more reliable and much quicker in the real world, but just nowhere near as much fun.

I’ve got a Cooper D hatch which was bought to use as a city car alongside my RR Vogue, and I have now sold the Vogue and just run the Cooper D! It’s brilliant fun to drive, has been 100% reliable, does 50mpg quite easily and is c charge exampt and easy to park in London. Can get either of my bikes in the back easily with the back seats down and both wheels off.

Great cars – the clubman is usefully bigger – my sister has a Cooper S Clubman and loves it.

Dogs and kids might be a squeeze at the same time depending how big the dogs are as the boot is pretty small with the seats up. A countryman might be a safer bet although I’m not sold on the looks and the fact that it isn’t at all mini!

Maybe get some training and focus it on cornering. I went along to one of Jedi’s jumps and drops days and we did a little bit on cornering and it made me realise that it was by far and away my weakest area so I plan to go back and do a full day’s training on cornering. I cleared a 9 foot gap jump with ease but fell off on a simple corner!

I keep being told that I should try flats to ‘make me a better rider’ but I’ve ridden SPDs since the very first PDM-737s back in the day and have never once not been able to get out of them, so don’t see what I’d gain goig to flats. My foot position is fine with heels down etc and although I do sometimes cheat and pull the bike up with them, I don’t see what the problem with this is?

If they’re good enough for Danny Hart…..

I started my own business in March 2010 after working for a company doing the same thing for 6 years previously. I had my own IT company prior to that earning good money for someone in their early 20s but feeling very unsatisfied with it all. Halved my income to work for that firm but doing something I loved and then had a family. Once the wife had given up work and I had 3 then 4 mouths to feed, I soon realised I wasn’t going to get to where I wanted to be working for someone else and made the leap back.

Haven’t looked back once and whilst I probably do a 50 hour week on average, it often doesn’t feel like work and I’ve always worked that hard regardless. Yes, the pressure is there but it’s nice pressure and business is going very well. 35% growth Y1 to Y2 and forecasting 150%+ growth Y2 to Y3 and am approaching double figures on the staff side of things.

It’s not for everyone but I’m quite a laid back character and the pressure doesn’t really stress me out, but having gone from being my own boss to working for someone else and then being my own boss again, I think having a break from a business can do you some good and helped me decide what exactly I wanted to be doing. If I’d stuck with the IT stuff 8 years ago I almost certainly wouldn’t be doing what I do now and enjoying life so much.

I’ve got a Uvex XP100 and love it buy the peak isn’t removable. Unsure of their others are.

Did anyone watch the documentary last night? Hadn’t realised he finished the bike ride at 4am and had to get up at 6 to row the channel?!!

Mental.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/stuff-to-do-with-family-in-london

pmsl

I guess beauty must be in the eye of beholder when it comes to bikes and penii!

Mavericks have always been a little marmite I guess but it rides so well I don’t care! The build quality is incredible – far better than friend’s Santa Cruz’s etc. The new XT brakes are on a different level to the Hope’s in every area apart from looks, feels like at least 50% more power for any given finger input but with equal modulation and feel.

The speedball is reversed as the lever was pressed by the saddle flexing when it was the ‘right’ way round – its OK on some saddles but not the Spoon.

Found it

http://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/products/2215901454009/shirt-button-scott-roarban-l-sl-blue-orange-xl/

Scott used to do some funky checked shirts made from proper tech fabrics. Can’t remember what they were called though which doesn’t really help!

Natural History Museum is amazing and my 4 & 6 year olds love it. The parks also have great playgrounds if the weather is nice (Hyde Park and Holland Park are our faves). Mine like eating at Giraffe which does sensibly priced family friendly food (in Kensington, Marylebone and Holland Park) and also the noodles at Wagamamma which are everywhere. Regents Park does pedalo and rowing boat hire which they enjoyed for 15 mins max.

There’s usually some good family shows on in the west end (went to see Thw Gruffalo and Snowman recently which both of mine loved).

The zoo is good but I always find them quite depressing and the eye is great but lasts a long time and they’ll get bored of you pointing building after building out to them I suspect. A river taxi is cheap and always goes down well too (and they love the tube in short doses for some inexplicable reason!!)

I wouldn’t ride bikes anywhere but the parks.

I did think the DUCs were great forks and suited the bike really well for general riding (looked great too!), but the Talas are 20mm longer A2C and the slacker head angle makes a big difference downhill, as does the huge stiffness increase. The shock is Maverick’s own which I had tuned to slow down the rebound a lot which again, helped on the bigger hits.

Here it is with the DUCs:

t’s also rubbish Skyline is around 935m whereas W2 is 890m including the black section.

I think it’s a similar amount of effort to get round either of them, but far more forest road climbing on Skyline.

Well that makes sense – when I used to ride on the dark side, I took my bike to France and rode the Col de Tourmalet which was 1600m of climbing over about 24km and it was mentally tiring – couldn’t see how Skyline had more than this! How’ve they got the published stats so wrong?

Looking at the stats, W2 has 975m of climbing and and Skyline has 2000m of climbing which is a big difference. I did W2 last year and found it great fun but quite easy but some friends did Skyline this weekend and it nearly killed them!

Here’s my boy when he was 2 1/2 having it large on a balance bike! Went straight onto a pedal bike without stabilisers at 3. Guess a lot depends on their height and strength and whether they enjoy it or not. My son’s a nutter now at 4 and and zooms along on his CNOC 16, standing on the saddle and doing skids everywhere!

Just found this thread. Have booked into the pairs with a local mate of mine who’s marshalled there a couple of times. Very excited and slightly nervous at the same time as not raced since 1993!

It’ll be great!

Does seem to depend on when you go. My business partner is a member of The Club at The Ivy which is the private bit upstairs. That is always fantastic and always full of properly famous people. The main restaurant downstairs can be a little hit and miss. Always had great lunches there, but in the evenings it can get a little busy and noisy. Would suspect Valentines Day should be a civilsed affair and I’ve always found the staff seem to know if you’re there for a treat and make an extra effort.
Out of maybe a dozen visits in the last couple of years I would say I’ve had a 90% satisfaction rate.

Fourthed – took out a couple of bikes there 3 or 4 years ago when a mate was after a new bike. First and only time I have ridden a Five and was completely underwhelmed! Loved the Blur LTC though!

The sag is when it’s under load and at the bottom, not at the top when freewheeling which is what a draggy freehub would cause.

Will give it a quick strip and relube and see how it goes.

Saw the first Swedish film first, then read all three books. Watched the Hollywood film last week. Not seen the last swedish film yet but intend to.

Loved all of them and think that the Hollywood film was very well done – though Salander came across as more vulnerable in it which is more in keeping with my interpretation of the books. I though the Swedish Salander was a little too Lara Croft at times!

I have XTs on one bike and Tech M4s on another. Hadn’t ridden the M4 equipped bike for 3 months and the first thing I noticed yesterday was how little power the Hopes had relative to the XTs. Plenty of feel and arguably enough power for the UK, plus they look bling, but I have some XTs to replace the M4s and will put it on my list of things to do before taking that bike out again!

Nespresso convert here too. Had several German and Italian ‘proper’ coffee machines over the years and had issues with all of them. Now have an Nespresso machine at home and at the office and love it. Bought the new Delonghi Latissima as I like a frothy one every now and then but even the cheapy ones make good espressos. The capsules are 29-35p each depending on the blend online or from certain shops (the queue at the Nespress concession in Selfridges is always mind boggling!). Heats up in 45 seconds and switches itself off after a few minutes of inactivity.

If it’s good enough for Heston at his £250 a head restaurant, it’s good enough for me and just no hassle at all which can’t be said for all the machines I have had the past. The milk-less ones have literally nothing to clean.

Had an amazing day riding at Surrey Hills – didn’t get any pics but took the GoPro which captured the day quite nicely. Stayed really clean until the field at the end where my esteemed co-riders managed to fall off whilst riding in a perfectly straight line (last vid)

Mate of mine who works for BMW has had several of these as company cars and think he gets around 40-42mpg with a mix of slow London traffic then a 65mph motorway cruise (probably 80/20 motorway/crawling).

Yes, quite right – they are turbine blades!

Here is his demo case which shows the 4 stages of single crystal turbine blade production from the ceramic moulds for the cooling holes on the right, to the wax mould for the blade itself which is then ‘feather and tarred’ with ceramic before the wax is melted away to leave a mould for the molten metal to be poured into and some clever crystal jiggery pokery takes place. It’s then dipped in hot acid to melt the ceramic and leave the raw blade behind and finally machined.