A mate of mine swears by Norbar, but have also heard good things about Sealy.

Were you at Swinley last Sunday, albeit not riding with the STW posse? If so, I think I saw you when I was getting out of the car to get ready…

Yes I was – had my black DUC32s on last week but swapped to some hard ano ones this week. I had the DUC32s on a Klein Palomino previously which was designed for a shorter fork and just ran them with a little more sag than usual which helped out. The ML7/5 seems fine with the longer fork and the Mav certainly handles pretty much everything better than the Palomino.

Do you plan to head back to Swinley anytime soon? I am there most Sunday mornings so would be happy to meet up and give the Durance a whirl if you're up for it!?

Love it! Got an ML7/5 with DUC32s in the same colour and it never ceases to amaze me with its overall ability! The climbing really is amazing, but I spent the day arsing around at Swinley on the jumps and drop offs and it lapped up the black runs at Afan. Certainly never noticed any lockout when standing – it really is minimal.

As an XC rider who likes to do the off bit of freeride, it suits me perfectly. Would like to see how the Durance differs to the ML7/5 as the Durance is the only bike I'd fancy changing it to! Have you ridden both?

My LBS called Hope and was told the XTR ones were not yet available too.

Wiggle service had always been exceptional for me – got a duff muc-off chain cleaner last week and they even paid for the courier to send it back to them!

Not always the cheapest but worth it for the peace of mind IMHO.

Have a fantastic day the pair of you!

Good choice. Just gone for the same myself.

Should be up for this!

Maverick ML7/5 here too – attracted a lot of attention at Afan last month with most people saying they had heard of them but never had seen one in the flesh.

Still to ride a bike that does everything quite so well!

Maverick Durance – I have an ML7/5 and they genuinely climb like nothing on earth!!

Went our on Sunday with West Drayton MBC for the first time and had a great time! Very friendly bunch of people!

It has been fantastic for my daughter, who is 4 later this month. She was an early talker so started there at 23 months and has absolutely bloomed. She goes 2 mornings a week and then does 2 mornings at a normal nursery which is obviously more 'play' orientated.

She can now just about read and write and I am sure that Montessori has helped a lot with this.

My son is 22 months and is talking very well too, so we plan to send him after xmas. He went last week for a trial day and loved it!

I do think some kids will benefit more than others, and obviously there will be big differences between the schools/staff etc. I am unsure my son will benefit as much as he is much more of a 'boy' whereas my daughter is a bit of a swot and gives herself homework!

Would be interested to hear what 'damage' it did to your son THS.

The govt. scheme did contribute but it is more expensive than the normal nursery. From memory it is about £500 a term for 2 mornings a week, whereas the other place is £200 for the same time.

I get the nursery vouchers through work which saves 40% so is worth doing if you can.

Here is my daughter, aged 3, getting some downhill practice in on her wooden balance bike! She is getting a pink (it had to be pink!) Ridgeback Melody for her 4th birthday with matching Giro helmet so my 22 month old son will be inheriting the balance bike!

I'm 6' and ride a large and if anything, the stem is slightly too long with the large build kit, and with a 32" inside leg I have about 5" of seatpost showing. I'd maybe go for the medium, or a large with a medium build kit ( which I think has a 90mm stem rather than 110mm)

I went down to Gloucester way for a fit out at one if their guys homes which was useful but unsure if that is local enough or still available.

Where in London are you based? I have just joined http://www.westdraytonmbc.co.uk which seems to be pretty active, but haven't actually been out on any rides yet!

SV – what is your email?

Ended up having a great curry at Mumtaz in Maesteg. No sign of Elvis but perfect food after 50kms if W2!

I use DUC32s and LOVE them. Only time I have noticed the flex was when doing some jumps and things in the gulley at Swinley which was a really fast, tight banked exit chute and when I rode it on my mates Ransom with Talas 36s they were noticeably stiffer, but they weigh loads more and I hadn't ever noticed the flex in 3 years of normal riding. If I was a rock garden monkey I would probably look at something else like the new Revalations (same travel and not much more weight) but for my riding they work perfectly. I quite like the fact that they are a bit 'different' too!

Maverick don't advise the Hope hub as the axle is smooth rather than knurled and they say the dropout design needs a knurled axle to work properly. I read on MTBR that someone sent them a hope axle to look at and it was about .2mm smaller diameter than the knurled Maverick axle so they advised firmly against using it.

They only recommend the Maverick, Bontrager and King hubs,

Awesome car! Always loved the Integrale..

Unsure which ones are chavtastic?! :?: :mrgreen:

The green M3 was a 3.0 and 295bhp – the wheels are the standard forged Gt wheels with black centres, and the violet M3 was a 3.2 but with a carbon airbox, remap and racing cats so up from 321bhp to about 350. The wheels on that again were the standard 3 piece Schnitzer racing wheels with 285/30/18 rear tyres (don't miss buying those!)

Went from this:

to this

to this (my favourite by some margin)

and now drive this (arguably the 'best' ownership proposition)

Both of the M3s and my current steed have all ended up with uprated suspension and big brakes, although with 2 small kids now I don't have the time or money for any trackdays other than my annual Nurburgring pilgrimage but my bikes take up what spare time and cash I end up with!

Drop me an email chris at prestigeaudio dot co dot uk

I have just fitted a Maverick Speedball R seatpost to my ML7/5 and absolutely love it. The small amount of play isn't at all noticeable when you ride and the handlebar remote is a nice touch.

I actually bought a new i900 (with the new seals) before I got this so I'll be putting that up for sale if anyone is interested?!

30.9, 400mm long and 5" of drop. All black version.

I don't think the rear end would fit on the Palomino as looking at my side by side photos, the shock appears to be longer. Could be mistaken though!

The seat feels fine when dropped – I have had to install the seatpost the 'wrong way' round as the SLR flexes a lot and I found myself inadvertently pressing the lever when I sat down, but I actually think it looks better this way round due to the angle of the seat tube.

My wife recently bought some Waitrose Four Grain porridge from their whole foods cooking ingredients section (not with the cereals for some reason!). Cheap as chips and tastes amazing. Used to always buy Scots or Tesco Finest but this is cheaper and beats them all IMHO!

http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Wholesome-4-Grain-Porridge-Waitrose/33659011

I cook it with goji berries and sprinkle pumkin seeds and honey on top. o idea why but the wife has started eating them recently so I thought I'd join in!

Just the ticket!

I have one and don't find it harsh at all. I haven't much road bike experience and yes, compared with my friend's Pinarello it feels a little twitchy at times, but I have a skinny arse and an SLR 135g and can easily spend 6 hours in the saddle.

mtbmaff – Member

Hi Chris, I've got a ML7/2 and use a ibeam and fly saddle, I've had no trouble and love the adjustability.
I suppose the ugly is only an opinion but I reckon it looks great. I have seen a Maverick on the mtbr forum with
a layback thomson post used but in reverse, now that looks weird but so right! I think the owner is kidsuma?
Look on the Maverick mtbr forum.
Matt.

Have you got a picture of your bike with the i-beam on it? Saw that reversed layback and agree it looks a little 'odd' but quite cool at the same time!

I very nearly bought a Santa Cruz Blur LT but it was the climbing ability of the Maverick that swung me this way having had a Palomino for the last 3 years.

Maybe I'll just get the DUCs serviced and see how I get on with them! You know what it's like though when you fancy a change!!

Revelations look like a good option – will they be much stiff than the DUCs do you know?

I think they are probably overkill for what I need to use them for, and I don't think I would ever used the adjustable travel facility?

They are also fapping expensive!! Wouldn't really want to spend more than I could sell my DUC32s for (£200 or so I would guess).

I have the Merstons and on a number of occasions over winter wished I had something a little warmer when used on the road (no baggies) but it was mainly wind chill. Guess it depends on when you plan to use them but I haven't found them to be that warm and being northern, I am normally OK with the cold!!!

To be honest mate, I can't really think of any family which doesn't have cancer in it somewhere.

On my dads side, my gran died of breast cancer at 55, my grandad died of lung cancer at 70 (smoked but gave up years ago) and my dad died of lung cancer at 60 (again smoked, but had given up 10 years ago).

On my mums side, my auntie got breast cancer at 27 and survived, and my nan died of some sort of cancer at about 65.

There isn't really a great deal you can do about it apart from live a healthy life and avoid things which are known to increase your chances of cancer, whilst keeping an eye on the fact that you only get one life so make sure you enjoy it!!
When my dad was dying I did a lot of research online and remember reading that if men all lived long enough, they would get prostate cancer if they didn't die of something else first. My dad died quite young at 60, and it p*sses me off a lot that my kids don't have a grandad anymore, and I do wonder if we had found it earlier he might have survived, but on the other side of it, he was on holiday having a great time 10 weeks before he died and I am not sure his life would have been any better if he'd had a 2 year struggle with cancer and then lost anyway?

I know I am waffling a little, but I guess what I am trying to say is don't waste time worrying about something you probably have no control over, just make sure you keep healthy and keep an eye on yourself (or a hand!!)

They all have to adhere to the same standards so safety wise I doubt there is much in it. Expensive helmets are generally lighter, better ventilated and look cooler though!

For companies with large members of staff, or small companies with tight cashflow, there could be some cashflow constraints which could prevent them for wanting to offer it. Unlike the nursery scheme which is done month by month with little risk to the company should the employee leave, with the cyclescheme, the company is buying a depreciating asset and in the current climate I can understand why an MD might not want to do this.

We looked into the option of someone paying for the bike upfront to remove the risk, but this then effectively becomes a benefit in kind so is therefore taxable. The idea of the scheme is that the company owns the bike and rents it to the employee by salary sacrifice. At the end of the rental period, the company can then sell the bike for a nominal sum to the employee.

The ideal bike for jumps is a hardtail with 3-4" travel forks so I wouldn't base that for getting more travel, specially for small smooth jumps like those in the gulley.

Not when you land like me!!! :)

BluePalomino – Member

I have also thought to get a Mav7.5 as i love my Palomino too, but i would never lose the Palomino. I would rather expand towards a Heckler or Superlight i think and still keep the Palomino. Of course in ideal world i would have all of 'em and if a 7.5 frame came along cheap i would snap it up.

ps do you take the Palomino to Swinley much? maybe we should organise a 'Palomino Only' forum ride

That was another option – keep the Palomino and try and get it sub 25lb and then get something like a Ransom which is better suited for tooling around on. What I love about the Palomino is the fact that I can do some fast XC laps at Swinley and have no excuses on the climbs, and then go and have some fun in the gulley, but as I was getting braver last weekend I started noticing the limits of the rear end on landing!

Having had 2 cars in the past, and never using the 'fun' one, I now have one car that pretty much does it all, so I think my bike probably needs to be the same.

Hmmm, decisions decisions!

Anyone got an ML7.5 I can test ride?!

I go to Swinley quite often – usually on a Thursday evening and then on a Sunday morning, family allowing. Will be there tomorrow.

The durance would be ideal for me but they are too much money still so the 7.5 could be worth a try.

Any guesses as to what a 2004 Large Palomino frame would be worth with XT front mech, Thomason post and recent Cane Creen S8 headset?

Wasn't slagging off the 46 in case anyone who has one is reading this! It just felt very 'wallowy' after the Palomino, and didn't climb anywhere near as well.

Cheers

Chris

Another big fan of Maverick forks here too – have DUC32s and always get great comments out on the trails. Cracking value at the JEJames pricing.

I haven't got the Monolink upgrade and now figure I would be better off putting the cost of that towards a new frame. To be honest, it doesn't run out of momentum that often, but you know what it's like when you fancy something new!

My mate has a Whyte 46 and it is horrible most of the time – only like it on the really big stuff which isn't the norm for me.

I figured maybe the 5" ML7/5 would be the perfect solution and my DUC32s would be right at home too!

Best of luck to both of you. Have been through it with a couple of close family members and it really can get impossibly hard at times, but just keep positive and as already said, don't be scared about making a nuisance of yourself at the hospital. The staff are all generally amazing people who do I job I couldn't even begin to imagine doing, but they are invariably over stretched and under resourced so keep on at them.