25 years now of a joint account that we pay a proportional amount into depending on income at the time. This pays all aspects of bills and mortgage and leaves our own money to ourselves, no guilt, no grief and all fair – it’s seen me thru many years of spending too much on racing cars and bikes…… And kept us happy because our own money is our own to do with what we want to.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
Iain.

Something’s I found useful when having an ‘off-day’ on the road was;

learn the course and ensure that at the start of every climb you are at the front- that gives you about 20/30 bike lengths to drop before you go out the back of the bunch.
Stay in shelter at all times unless you are absolutely sure you can make a big effort and sustain it.
Eat well.
If struggling, pull the next guy’s jersey…….just joking :wink:

Good luck
Iain
Ps it was a long time ago since I was ‘on the road’.
Pps plus all of the above post

Or xt 11-36 for £43 in Rose bikes. Plus postage :(

Brilliant! Good result all round :)

Good news (so far), I stripped the crankset, cleaned everything meticulously and put it back together and it’s stopped clicking, yippee!

Hopefully it will stay like that way for a while!

Thanks again for all the help.
Iain

Ps did not change the bolts.

Thanks, that all sounds sensible, I think the ultrasonic wash at work may be getting used and a set of new bolts!

Hi Gee, tried three different sets of pedals but not fully cleaned the threads on the cranks, will try that and the spline on the axle, thanks, good advice.
Antares, will let you know if I get a solution.
Cheers
Iain

I did mine about a year ago, clean break in the middle. Back on the bike after 3 weeks but only very gently and it did hurt a lot….. Took about 3 months to sort itself to decent level but still struggling to pull on the bars. After six months it was nearly fully sorted, now completely ok.

Beware of the painkillers with a high amount of codine, the constipation from them was worse that the broken bone! :(

Also don’t try and move it in the early stages and keep it supported to allow the bones to knit. However I did get out the sling fairly early and it seemed not to be a problem.

Good luck!

My ibis mojo was 24lbs when I got it first, 140mm rear, 150mm talas front, it’s now got middle aged and spread to a more portly 27lbs with heavier wheels, bigger tyres and a dropper. I really still do not like pushing too much weight up a hill :)
Iain

Walna Scar road from the Duddon valley side, great fun, lots of good trails to link them. Let me know if you need a gpx.
Iain

My last resort is a co2 cylinder, nearly always works :)

I put a Revelation compression damper into a Sektor and it worked fine, if that’s any help.

Open to offers :)

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/crank-brother-egg-beater-pedals-for-sale

Wow, no mud! Entry on its way!

Thanks for the video.

I ended it up buying a small compressor, great piece of kit for not just tubeless tyres but drying the bike bike off on cold days after washing.

Thanks oldmanonabike, I’d heard that, how long to get round the full route at a reasonable but not ‘whippet’ pace?

Planned to do it last year but broke a collar bone two weeks before, having just grinded my way through the honc in 100km of thick mud I reckon the rough ride can’t be as bad, can it?

Probably on a HT as that seems to be the popular opinion.

Good idea, why didn’t I think of that, look forward to hearing if it fits, thanks!

If anyone else knows whether this would fit I would appreciate knowing, thanks.

I started the honc at the weekend with a Rocky Mountain vertex weighing in at under 22lbs, when I finished it was 28lbs with all the mud, brilliant really! :)

I’m not sure if this the right one or not, I think it is so bought one as I intend to get a whippet for Mrs Iain at some point soon.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=12760

The price is good and CRC returns are great so thought it worth the risk.

Hi D0ugal, had a look at the photo’s today, really good effort, I seem to have 20 of them taken of me, thanks. Iain.

Also third honc for me, bloody tough! Came in in just over 6 hours. Nearly lost my sense of humour when clearing out mud from locking the wheels for the tenth time, mud tyres next year, not Ralph’s!

BOARDSI – did I ride the last 20 miles with you to finish at 15.04 hr? if so thanks again for company.

Cheers

Iain (on the Rocky Mountain HT)

Going with racing Ralph’s this year, when I saw the route on Tuesday I ordered a furious Fred from CRC, now it’s raining constantly here so stiking with the Ralph’s. hopefully the mudx’s that I’ve been using so far all year won’t be coming out!

I’ve got 12, but it seems no one else has ridden some of them :)

I bought some spike tyres a few weeks ago and they did not stop the snow and ice coming…….

Hi Deneo, my family have now watched the video and it looks like we will all be riding it soon! I’ve not ridden in that area as we tend to ride in th SW Lakes as my in-laws live at the bottom of Walna Scar Road, however, that area definitely on the agenda now.

Thanks again.

Iain

+1, nice video, was meant be riding there last weekend but unable due to snow, will grab gpx. Thanks.
Iain.

^^^ My in-laws live in Seathwaite so have done the Walna Scar / Stephenson Ground / Seatwaite loop a few times and it’s well worth a try – but it’s under a lot of snow just now.
Only comment on the route is to maybe try taking a left after Stephenson Ground towards Carter Ground as it’s really boggy going straight up through the valley.

Mud was okay today in the area, although I was a few miles north east, however the three foot snow drifts made it interesting! What was funny was that my bike started the ride weighing 27lbs and finished at over 40lbs with the accumulated snow and ice (a bit sad that I checked this…..).

Expect it to be a mud fest for the Honc though.

Currently debating whether it’s ice spike tyres or mud x’s…….

Iain

Born in Edinburgh, lived there 30 yrs,

8 years in Cambridgeshire

Last 10 in S Warwickshire

Always Scott’s

I just bought a 15” frame for my 11 yr old lad from Bikescene in Decemeber that I’ve built up, can’t comment on riding but good value as 2012 frame at £199 with a CRC sale Sektor fork at £179.
Frame is well finished and robust (2.2kg!) and he likes it!

Hi Andy, thanks, that’s a great help.
Cheers
Iain

Don’t know what they are like in 16′ but my lad had them on his 26′ Creig and they worked really well until we changed to tubeless – too many thorns on the tracks in my area. They seem to work well with small people as the knobles are quite spikey and dig in well, not a very technical reason but more an impression!
Iain

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o722/Iain65/image_zpsbba09b6c.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/img%5D

Must be a moron…

Not sure if this is right….

I got these for my 10 year old’s bike, great value, thinner than Ralphs in the casing (so not good for heavy riders) but lots of grip and 465g, ideal for a small person.

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k371/a43595/rocket-ron-evo-pacestar-225-tl-ready-folding.html

Pretty good overall, cuffs need stitching and as I have nothing to compare it against I’m not sure it breathes brilliantly, however it’s very warm, windproof and comfotable to wear. Detchable sleeves are great.

iain

Just back from skiing there again and really thinking about riding there in the summer with my family, thanks for all the info and great pics.
Iain

Did the Luge run in Couchevel 1850 today, basically a big sledge run that drops over 1,000 ft in too short a space of time! Kids loved it, my wife is still giggling several hours later, definitely recommended!