I think the figures are a little tight given the current interest rates. Obviously capital growth depends massively on the area – my house has probably increased 15% since 2007 but one of my BTLs in what is a pretty decent part of London has probably seen no growth in the same period (but no drop more importantly!).

I started off with BTLs 9 years ago and the capital growth has made it very wortwhile, but without that it wouldn’t have made much sense as although the rent generates a small income each month and we’ve had very few void periods (probably less than 4 weeks in 9 years), there is always something that needs doing and I could put the capital to better use today I think.

Although it’s never easy to do fully detatch your emotions when it comes to a decision like this, I think the question about would you be interested if it was a similar deal but in a block where you didn’t live, is the key consideration.

I’m pondering one at the moment but have a question regarding the lever. I run XTR shifters but generally use my thumb for up and downshifts as I use my index finger for single finger braking. Will running a RH lever on the left upside down get in the way of my gear shifting at all? Currently run a Speedball R with the lever on the left but on top.

I’ve got one on my FS but not my HT and I have to say I love it. I’d only get one with a bar remote as I literally use it on almost every single ride I do. I was at Swinley on Sunday and probably dropped it 20 times. I have done an identical ride on my HT without a droppy post, but it just gives you far more freedom to move around on the DH sections and drops when the saddle is out of the way and can pop it back up immediately for the climbs.

3 more guys in my group have them but without the remote and probably drop them twice on a ride – they are all now adding a remote!

What sort of cash?, I own a house but don’t have a mortgage
Should I have piles of cash available to invest?
I take it you think anyone who doesn’t have a mortgage must be rich?

Not at all – my mum doesn’t have a mortgage but is far from what I’d describe as rich. My company installs very high end integrated AV/automation systems and most of my clients are rich list type people – all I was saying is that even people worth several million like many of my clients, still use finance to buy homes or depreciating assets (such as cars which are no different to bikes in certain respects) as they can put the cash to better use elsewhere.

I think at 2 1/2 just spending time doing stuff that makes him smile is all that matters! I was probably too pushy with my eldest (now 5 1/2 and probably 18 months to 2 years ahead at school which causes some concerns of its own) whereas with my son we’ve been far more relaxed and it doesn’t seem to have hampered him in any way shape or form. My eldest loves riding her bike but sometimes can’t be bothered – she has done 2 years of gymnastics but has now lost interest in that! We’ve taken them swimming from an early age and she can swim OK but now has asked for lessons as she lacks confidence at times. Basically kids get bored very quickly so just let them do what they want unless you’re trying to create the next Tiger or Venus!

A mate has just sent me this video clip of a 7 year old doing a 20ft tabletop! Looks like Charlie’s got plenty to live up to!!!

Check this out!

My conclusion would be to do whatever suits you best! If you want a £2k bike and have £5k sat in the bank and no time to look how best to invest it then it probably makes more sense to buy it outright and haggle for a discount, but if not and it would take a year to save up and you need/want a bike sooner then I’d probably opt for the finance route!

It does make me smile when people say that their mortgage is their only debit/finance and that they save for everything else. A friend who works in the city (earns 7 figures but still finances his cars etc) says that people who think like that haven’t thought it through.

Think about it – if you saved up £2k to buy a bike, that is £2k you could have paid off your mortgage and saved interest on so that money is in effect financed anyway, and also, it could take you 12 months to save up £2k at £180/month so how is that ANY different to getting the bike a year earlier and paying £180 a month to the finance company?

In reality, until you have no debts at all, mortgage (or rent) included then anything you buy could have reduced that debt so therefore is effectively being financed anyway.

Cashflow is all that matters – if you prefer to save each month or pay a finance company the same amount each month, as long as you can afford the payments it is no different at all and entirely down to the individual.

A lot of my clients have no need for mortgages but still have them as anyone who has that sort of cash can make it earn far more for them with investments, than they’re paying in interest on their mortgage.

For what it’s worth, I have a mortgage and a leased car but wouldn’t have any qualms about getting a bike on finance should the need arise.

Quite reassuring it hear it is pretty common and pretty quick to heal generally. Am hoping mine turns out to be a Type 1 separation as I don’t have any visible lump and the movement seems to be OK.

Got a trip to Les Arcs planned for July so as long as it’s 100% before then I’ll be happy!

Thanks for the advice Lummox. TBH the pain isn’t an issue most of the time and i am sleeping fine although very stiff first thing. Too busy at work to slow down too much but find typing for any prolonged period gives me cramps in my shoulder and arm muscles as I must be holding it in a funny way.

Hopefully once the ankle goes down I can get on the spin bikes at the gym to keep my fitness up. Did you have any physio? They’ve referred me to the fractures clinic next week to see a physiotherapist, presumably to get some exercises to do.

Have once snapped some carbon bars when overshooting a tabletop which could have been nasty, but never a seatpost…. Ouch, now that really would bugger things up!!

Well 4 days later and zero sign of improvement and now my ankle and knee have swollen up! Obviously not as young as I used to be!

I was days away from buying a J E James frame last year but spotted a frame and forks/wheel for the same money on here so snapped it up. I think theirs are the 08 model with improved rebound damping.

Oh and Loddrick – I don’t think I’ll ever sell the ML8 it really is just an amazing bike and I’ve yet to ride anything that does so much so well. It’s built up to about 27lbs which for a 160mm bike capable of some pretty burly drops yet climbs like a race bike is fantastic. Another mate I ride with tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and said he had never ridden anything else that felt so ‘right’ the instant he got on it.

Thanks for all the input – will keep an eye out for some deals and see what I can get hold of. My rims are Bontrager Rhythm Pro (as found on high end Remedys) – any idea if there is a width limit?

I’m in Les Arcs for 16th-19th of July staying at a friends apartment in 1950. Can’t wait to pop my alps cherry!

Bump

It’s great seeing how much they smile when riding! When Charlie falls off, he’s usually shouting “I’m OK” before he hits the deck! Unlike his dad who hit a tree at speed on Sunday he doesn’t need 5 minutes to compose himself after an off!

The future is looking bright for the next generation of mtbers!

Would be interested to hear how you get on with it as they do seem amazing VFM and I feel the need to add a new bike to the fleet later this year maybe! Unsure if I’d go for an XC racer to fit between my Whyte 19 and Maverick ML8, but the Mav climbs so well and only weighs 27lbs that I’m not sure I’d use it much.

I have them Stratos shorts, very lightweight and comfy but only ridden in them twice so no idea on durability. Seem well made though and the cut is v nice. Small pockets.

Paid a lot less than RRP so am happy with them anyway.

May I ask where you got them from as I’m looking to buy some so any discount would be welcomed!

It’s an awesome place – I have been twice, once as a passenger in a friends BMW 130i and another friend in a Hertz TT, and then a year later in my own 130i with a group of M3s, DB9, 335is etc. The roadtrip is as much fun as the ‘ring itself.

Best advice is go at your own pace, be VERY aware of things in your mirror, don’t be ashamed about letting a local past in an old banger, and keep very clear of bikes!

Vids from my last trip:

First lap on a very wet Friday evening (being held up by a GT2!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUvCNxz01Fc

Great lap where I was filmed from my friends M3 and then passed by the ‘ring taxis and a couple of crazy irishmen in M3 CSLs.

Pmsl!

Yeah – I think it looks fine!

http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/cjk007/4886045801/sizes/m/

Same issue here on SLR and Spoon but thankfully the actual seat post angle on my Maverick frame means I can run the post reversed which cures the issue completely.

Used the hill descent button for the first time today in my RR Vogue and it was very impressive. Have been dozens of stranded cars around these parts these last few days and I am ashamed to say I have smugly cruised past gripping my heated steering wheel! The wife has a CR-V and the Rangey just nails it in the snow and ice despite being on road orientated 20″ wheels. Love it!

I’m on post mount, but for the sake of a £2 shim, I’ll give that a try first!

Good old STW! Will get a shim ordered and see how I get on.

Cheers

Chris

He’s knocking on for 3 and has been riding his balance bike since he was 2 1/2 (since the summer). We got his sister a wooden balance bike when she was 3 1/2 and then got a (pink) Ridgeback Melody 16 for her 4th birthday and she rode it immediatley without stabilisers. As the wooden balance bike was getting a little tired and he was always wanting to ride it, we got him the Hotwalk when he was 2 1/2 as he came with my to my LBS and started whizzing around on it with massive confidence compared with the wobbly wooden one.

He’s so much more into arsing about on it than his sister ever was and is always looking to ride along beams and down steps etc – they love watching the Danny Macaskill videos and without any encouraging, he pops wheelies on it (with his feet on the ground of course) and does 180s and bar spins! He also doesn’t care about falling over and despite a couple of big offs at the BMX track (usually after not quite making it up the steep bits and rolling backwards into a heap before I can catch him!) he just picks himself up, tells me how brave he is and carries on!

That isn’t his sister in the clip (she’s still only just 5) but a mate’s daughter who’s showing great promise after a season’s racing in the nationals, so a good inspiration for my two!!

We were in Devon during half term so I stuck him on his sisters Ridgeback on the hard sandy beach and with a bit of a help starting from me he managed to ride it quite a way on his own so the balance bike has worked wonders. Am confident he’d be riding a pedal bike very quickly if we bought him one for his 3rd birthday but he enjoys the balance bike so much I think we’ll wait until the summer.

The kids see me coming in twice a week covered in mud with a big smile on my face and I’m sure that has inspired them to follow suit and it is a great feeling to see them getting so much enjoyment from something I enjoy so much myself.

Not been to Glentress myself yet so maybe that’s next years holiday sorted!

Try these people – fixed various items of cycling and boarding gear for me and my mates over the years at amazingly reasonable rates:

Tundra Outdoor Ltd
0191 4193444
tundrarepairs@googlemail.com

I’ve commissioned all of my wife’s jewellery (gold admittedly but she does silver too) from D’argent who are based at the Oxo Tower and Liverpool St station. They do some nice off the shelf stuff but the commissions don’t costbmuch more and it is nice seeing my sketches brought to life.

Louise is the owner I dealt with http://www.dargentonline.co.uk

Fantastic! I regularly take my 4 year old girl and 2 year old son to the local BMX track – she can do full laps on her Ridgeback Melody and he can get round on his Hotwalk balance bike if I help him up the hills!

The difference between boys and girls is amazing I’ve found – She is very sensible whereas he is a complete nutter and is always looking for kerbs and steps to ride down or up! Last time we were out she said ‘Daddy, how can a 2 year old boy be braver than me’! When I explained that boys are generally more bonkers than girls when it comes to this sort of thing, she shouted ‘watch this’ and shot off down a steep hill, faster than she’s ever been before!! They both ride 3 or 4 times a week (Charlie rides his balance bike every day to nursery) and Kate even managed a 10k ride along the Thames a few weeks ago although she had the best night’s sleep ever after that!

I run the 2.0 versions tubeless with Bontu super juice sealant on Rhythm Pro TLR rims. Managed to get them on with a track pump but as the rims are wide and the tyres quite slim, it was a bit of a faff compared with the Conti MK 2.4s which go straight on without any problems.

Fantastic tyres in anything but done dry condtions

I am planning a trip to Cwm Carn soon so think the FS will be better suited if I fancy giving the DH section a go but concede that Afan would probably be better suited to a HT. Looking at the pics remind me that I need to sort that front hose out!

I can’t help but suspect that the police investigate the said gentleman following information obtained as part of their child sex exploitation investigation and if he decided that a jail term was worth witholding the password for then I would also suspect that what he had on the hard drive might lead to a far heavier sentence.

I hope they crack the password and give him what is coming to him (be it a life of showertime buggery or a formal apology…)

Ditto the Maverick comments – keyboard warriors generally slag them off for the way they look despite the fact that I have yet to ride a bike that does so many things so well as the ML8.

I ran 1.95 trailrakers 2 years ago and whilst amazing in mud, they were VERY squirmy on anything slightly hard (fnarr fnarr). Switched to Mud X and find them a better overall tyre on anything but gloop.

I’ve got the ubiquitous Magicshine and think it’s a fantastic bit of kit, totally reliable thus far and plenty of output.

D28boy

Looks like a nice stove though

It is, but a total bitch to keep clean I am told!!

The window needs ripping out, not painting! Plan to rip the kitchen out and do an extension so haven't done anything with it since we moved in!!

I've spent about £850 all in which is pretty good going I think as it must be heading for £3k if all bought new at full price.

Just want to get out and ride the bloody thing now!!

Not got the legs for SS I don't think!!

I had a Camelback one that leaked so I bought a Deuter one and although it is a little too big for my Mule, the bladder opening is vastly superior and it hasn't gone at all manky yet.