that £378 pc is broadly the same spec as this

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&kc=D4X23001&l=en&m_30=143699&oc=D052306&rbc=D052306&s=bsd

£209 + vat & shipping

seems pricey for 2 gigs extra ram and a slightly bigger hdd?

add 1gb ram and up HDD to the same and the Dell one with VAT and delivery is £386 so 1gb RAM and a tenner worse off – and its a Dell, I would feel like I was at work staring at that logo every day ;)
OK I maybe dont need the bigger HDD but the RAM probably useful and sure I could get the HDD downgraded accordingly if I phoned them?

ok then –

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-239-OK&groupid=43&catid=1078&subcat=
£378

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-258-OK&groupid=43&catid=1078&subcat=
£422

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pc/range/realm.html
£462

is it worth the extra £90 for the novatech one?

ok looked through ebuyer and completely confused
Anyone recommend anything off there?

I assume whatever I get off there I would need to add in a wireless card?

waderider – not an option, existing PC really is crap – processor is slow, no hard disk space etc, its about 8 years old at least and was cheap and cheerful even then and besides that all sounds way to technical for me
Ive always used windows, anything else would just be too confusing I want a plug and play type solution

I am a tart ;)

Fingers crossed I haven't roused Mark's unique style of customer service with my small criticism.

:lol:

Hevent got round to reading it all yet but the couple of articles I read where very good (as usual)
Quite welcome articles on different outdoors stuff so long as they are not too often or at the expense of bike stuff. Its good to broaden ones horizons!

any with some air in

the one pair of superstar I ever used where like that
Moved to Discobrakes now and had same problem twice
Guess they are all made in same place and are all actually the same anyway so will just continue to buy whichever are cheapest
No way Im paying 4 or 5x the amount for 'proper' ones that dont last much longer

great vid hope he is okay soon

For SP – little bit lighter, look alot tricker, supposedly stiffer
Against SP – more expensive, spokes not as easy to get hold of or replace, less proven straight pull design

Personally not had any issues with my Pro2 SP's with Stans 355 rims yet but its still early days

Names on bikes
Its a bit of fun nothing more nothing less
hardly worth getting all worked up about STWers

I was going to do that but instead I just changed my name by deed poll to 'Shimano XT powered by Sram Rockshox Fox'
Bit of a mouthful and a complete bugger when writing a cheque but boy does it feel good when everyone at the local trail centre has your name on their bike ;)

Bearing Fit would work

http://www.bearingshopuk.co.uk/loctite-641-bearing-fit-10ml-3142-p.asp

I don't think it would ever come out again though.

groans
another thread managed to mention bearings
is there no hope….

I have wrapped some electrical tape around a 26.6mm post to shim it out to fit a 26.8mm frame before
Worked a treat although I never really moved post up and down or took it out very often (if ever)
If you are adjusting height a fair bit I imagine the tape would tear after a while
(I did it this way because even a coke can was too thick a shim / too fiddly)

Get a deodrant can and a lighter, singe it's wings and torture it

been reading too much Iain Banks me thinks!

wow you go Klunkerbill!
Thanks for bringing us the film, your passion does definately come across in it despite what Northwind may think, and personally I find it much more watchable than Z-Boys (and I grew up as a skateboarder before switching to bikes) which I felt was now where near as 'personal'

Klunkerz good documentary but sort of thing you only watch once or twice, not really a film you can have on in background whilst you do other things like the other 'riding' films

1 The Collective
2 Roam
3 Home (love the Scottish scenery and that its trails you can realistically ride yourself, we can't all visit Whistler!)
4 The Tipping Point
5 Seasons
6 Dirt (the riding would put it top of list but the production shows its age now, and being VHS isnt that easy to watch (my video player died along time ago)

The Earthed series are good (esp 5), some of Kranked series okay

Seasons is on itunes for less than £2!

thats cause with a 3 week old baby at home I havent had time to edit the footage but also cause I dont have to prove anything to you mate!
(and besides you wont see anything as my cables are so overly long they completely obsured the camera lens ;) )

you seriously expect him to post his bearing puller for everyone to lynch the idea regardless?

Its easy to be clever and make snide remarks behind the anonominity of the internet but how many of you have actually got off your arses and tried to actually do something productive?

If you dont agree with him, dislike his sales patter, attitude or product then just ignore him. Don't section him out and try to destroy his business, thats not really very fair.
I thought mountain biking was generally a friendly sociable scene and sport
Each to their own, he believes he is providing a service, he stands by his beliefs and it seems to be a service enough people want.
Yes he can come across as an arse, yes his theories may be questionable to the more educated of you here but at the end of the day, if you don't like it, just don't read his patter, buy your bearings elsewhere and you will be none the wiser and non the worse off

If other people want to buy bearings from him thats up to them, personally I need new bearings, I normally use my local bearing supplier. I am willing to give this guy a break just once as until I personally try something then how do I actually know its any better or worse
I may be making a mistake, I may not, at the end of the day I cant be ar$ed removing seals and messing with grease myself to see if it lasts longer so Im not going to loose out by much am I, a few bearings are hardly the most expensive bike part I have ever had to buy

I think this thread and the abuse in general (on both sides I add) has run its course and gone far enough
Initially I kind of agreed with the mob and laughed along but seriously its looking a bit pathetic and childish now

is this still going on?
How easy is it to put Cannock locals noses out of joint!

You all did a great job building the trails, generally they are fantastic, possibly the best ENGLISH manmade trail
Thank you very much for all your hard work and giving up your time you are absolute Midlands mountain biking heroes

however human nature means you will never satisfy everyone all of the time
Accept it, get over it, move on and enjoy your trails for what they are!

(shame you couldnt make them a private memebers only club, seems to be what you would have preferred :roll:)

My bro lives up that way and Ive ridden ther couple of times
signed trails in guisborogh woods (Its a singletracton site sponsored by Pace) was ok from what I rmember but not signed the best
few DH and jump spots nearby too (Ayton etc)
some info on moredirt or google guisborough mtb for the local club website (or pop into the bike shop in town – bikescene?)
also not that far to Dalby

About how long is it to get round, I've a limited time on sunday morning for a quick blast.

depends if you believe all the willy waving 1hour lap time bull on chase trails :lol:
If you want to go at a sensible pace, enjoy it, take in the view and have a breather ocasionally rather than hammer round head down I would say about 1.30-2hours for Monkey and FtD

Parking really depends if you want to pay to park at the main centre and give something back for trail maintenance or not –

Birches Valley Car park (£3) cafe, bike shop, start of Follow the Dog / Monkey link
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=401852&y=317105&z=120&sv=401852,317105&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=742&ax=401852&ay=317105&lm=0

Marquis Drive car park (free) cafe, join FtD near last section (The new Tackeroo ending) and ride around back to this point
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=400624&y=315385&z=120&sv=400624,315385&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=742&ax=400624&ay=315385&lm=0

Monkey Trail start proper (if you are short of time and just want to do the Monkey – Monkey and FtD link together anyway so can always park near here and do the lot just starting in different order)
There is a large layby nearby you can park in for free
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=402446&y=315020&z=120&sv=402446,315020&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=742&ax=402446&ay=315020&lm=0

Style Cop car park (free)- for the downhill trails, it is possible to park here and go down the hill (red DH run is very straightforward and easy) to link up with Monkey at the Lower Cliff section (M8)
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=403893&y=315775&z=120&sv=403893,315775&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=742&ax=403893&ay=315775&lm=0

Petra Cycles maybe?
(Not checked their full DT Swiss lists)
http://www.petracycles.co.uk/index.php?manufacturers_id=117&sort=1a&filter_id=261

Castle Hotel Neath
Has big lock up (not really advertised) you can drive car into with bike inside
Failing that try some guest houses around Porthcawl

Roval rim IS a Stans 355
(I think Stans even took Spesh to court in US over the design)

Ti29er

Furthermore, for a route that takes you out beyond the more populated areas, I saw no "Escape" signage, surely a given on such Red graded route?

perhaps your tall wheels place your head in the clouds above the signage but I remember seeing at least 3 'short cut' signs along the route – they are grey in colour. The new Monkey route also crosses several paralel running fireroads that anyone with half an ounce of direction would realise lead back to the main road (my mate certinally did whwn he had to walk 3odd miles back to Marquis Drive)

I originally said I could kind of see some of the OP's points but I would now like to distance myself somewhat from his later posts
Yes the road will need signage ideally due to increased numbers crossing, but that is down to the Council not CT to do the studies and fund

With regards to trees, there are 2 trees just after the start of the first descent after the first big climb where the gap between was only just wider (3-4")than my handlebars (and they are only 680mm), also a tree that has been cut off at chest height on M6. Both these are just as you are picking up speed and are relatvely blind until you are upon them. They didnt cause me any problems but I can see they will for less experienced riders, and they definately could slow you down, therefore you could say this disturbs the 'flow'
Also there are some stumps on the edges of the trail just over humps or jumps, right on the landing area where if you mis judge slightly you could land on one, this happened to my friend and completely trashed his wheel despite only going quite slowly at the time
Familarity with the trail though will obviously help with this
Im sure will be less of a problem when the surface has bedded in as at the moment there is quite alot of loose top dressing that means grip is not great in some places (to be expected with such intense use and dry weather)
Not saying that the trail should be fireroad esque but there are the odd bit where I can see why people would complain it didnt flow

Certinaly not enough to ruin the trail though, which is pretty much fantastic and a great achievement so thanks to everyone involved
Compared to somewhere similar like Sherwood Pines or Thetford it certinally sets a new benchmark in what can be achieved

(oh and I saw the two kids with no helmets riding with a girl in flipflops on Wednesday, stupid attire, or lack of totally agreed but the two lads where reasonably proficient on their bikes and almost cleared the FtD skinny log when I was passing)

I am about to replace the bearings in my 2008 Commencal Meta
I know how long the ones in there have lasted so far and when I take them out I can photograph the condition etc and happy to send Kaesae the removed bearings if he wants
I already have some Enduro max bearings for the main pivot however still to source 6 bearings for the 'contact system' rocker

If Kaesae wishes to contact me (email in profile) I am quite happy to use 3 of his 'cheaper' and 3 of his 'better' quality re-packed bearings and see how they all compare to each other and to the bearings I have just removed

Think of it as a road test

I will remain impartial as whilst having read these posts and others I do think Kaesae could do with better PR skills I also think he gets an overly hard grilling on here everytime he appears
It should really be about his product and not him so hopefully in 6 months time we can put this packed/unpacked max/caged debate to bed once and for all

If I dont hear anything then Im off to the bearing supplier down the road on Friday to get some INA bearings, that he can do me for £2.05 a pop

the original 'cheap' bearings in my commencal have finally after 2.5 years given up the ghost and i need new

any chance of a freebie?

balls to this
cant believe so much cr@p can be spouted about greasy balls

Ski
my vid – http://vimeo.com/11094588
curerently working on a better one

I kind of get what the OP is saying and it is going to need a hell of alot of maintenance at the end of the month
Its good though that it has aspects of all those as it was badly cut up on Monday and worse by Wednesday various places. I think it generally flows okay and the switchbacks are definately preferable to endless (a la The Wall or Penhydd) fireroad climbs There are a few places where the tree stumps could do with removing or the odd tree thinning out as they are too close, or just on the edge and easy to catch when you are going full chat and maybe one or two (max) corners that are a touch to tight but apart from that, assuming it beds in okay (rain needed me thinks) it is pretty good

Oh and I cleaned all but one tight loose corner, and I reckon I would definately clean the lot on my hardtail

can't speak highly enough of Real Cycles
Steve is an absolute legend, sorted me out with help and advise no end of times and all Ive ever actually bought off his is a set of tyres

Also that Ti frame is mint and at that price an absolute steel
Unlikely to see many others on the trails either – less than 1000 wordwide and 300 in UK (and I have one)

See the bearing bloke is spouting sh*te again. Still on original bearings in my 2 year old Meta5, only now are they ready for replacement. Treat them right they will last as long as bearings in any other bike

Ive never heard of any Commie completely snapping before either
Yes plenty of large / XL had hairline cracks at the seat/top tube or shock mount welds but none where overly dangerous to ride and as far as I know all replaced under warranty no questions asked (although for some it took a while to get the replacements)

see you troll on here as much as on the chasetrails forum snakebite?
Do you spend all your life searching biking forums picking fault with other people? – sad, get a life!
If you dont have anything productive to say then don't bother

Brake cables are pretty much exactly as they came on the bike, gear cables have been changed and are not too long, the only one that is maybe a touch long is the front brake cable and TBH for the sake of an inch or so is it really worth f*cking around shortening it and bleeding the brakes etc – Formula Oro's are a pig to do at the best of times
Im really not that anal about brake cable length to loose sleep over it
The rest of the bike, gear cables included are well overdue a service and will get sorted as soon as I have a spare afternoon

Yep its not the best view for seeing the trail, but I did also have the Muvi mounted on the headtube and also on the camelback strap and have some footage from the camera mounted in same position but pointing backwards that is pretty cool
That is one of the big problems with the VHoldr / Contour over the Hero or other cams – mounting options are quite limited or brackets quite bulky

Like I said – 1st edit, when it rains and I have more time to sit in front odf a computer for hours I will finish the vid off.

yes to all
definately red, lots of climbs
vid of best bits – http://vimeo.com/11094588

Dave E its a 20:Twenty VHoldr (The older non HD vesion of the Contour HD)
Quality is actually much better than that but my old computer cant handle big video files so I have to compress them to a smallish file size, Vimeo then makes it even worse!
I also have footage from my Veho Muvi £45 job that I will edit in to the same vid as well as backwards facing footage that is pretty good

Ref Rock Garden – was our first time round, have since done it on the second run round and yep it is no major shakes ;)

Steve B I would say definately
Im from Derby so it takes me 45 minutes and Ive been twuce this week! (currently off on paternity leave)

whats it worth to you ;)

Vid from Monday – http://vimeo.com/11094588
Been again today and done the full loop – its ace but breaking up and dusty at the mo, prob needs a little less traffic and a bit of rain to settle the trails dowen abit and wash the 'marbles' off some of the corners

Midnight Pumpkin Trucks

Dodgy name but great band
Covers from '60's to modern day, they do a great Beatles medley, brilliant Adam Ant and loads of Oasis type stuff etc
Really got everyone on the dance floor at our wedding from Gran right down to the kids
All our friends commented how good they were
Typical pub / wedding band stuff really but very very good quality
only charged something like £500 (most others wanted £1500 or more)
Given there was 4 of them plus sound / lighting guy etc that seemed pretty decent
They are based in Derby and regularly play around the East Mids so you should be able to check them out

Guy that takes the bookings I think is called Ian

The Collective is the best film in the 'trilogy'
Follow me also looks awesome