I’d probably say around £70 odd if it’s in pretty good nick

I once went there to try and track down a stolen bike. It wasn’t there, but I saw plenty of other ones.

Main reason I go there is for the bagels and Rough Trade Store

Well, not too fussed abut paying that if I’m using the trails…but if not it’s free to go in there for less than 20mins…

My base fitness is pretty good, but probably only do about 6 hours a week at the mo with about an hour of swimming a week as well. Reckon I can easily handle a few hours a day but 8’hour sessions will be tough with all the choring I’ve been set!

Mapmyride doesn’t seem to exist anymore…

Yeah, not sure it does exist but wondering if anyone has discovered some kind of hack that would make it work…I can’t see why an app couldn’t be developed that spat out a gpx file that would work for garmins.

Kind of weird the garmin ipad app is so ‘meh’

I had exactly the same problem and did what you have done with the spring. Afraid it won’t last long, I wouldn’t rely on it. I did and ended up walking an hour home! Not the end of the world but annoying. My next badge was to remove the washer…again, didn’t last long. Now got a new freehub and it works lovely! £60 but wheel feels like new.

Incidentally, the day after ordering from justrdidingalong I noticed they had them in the bike shop at Bedgebury. So if you’re impatient and based in kent you could always give them a ring and see if they still have it

Apparently we used to until I joined and for the last two years we’ve just been ‘reinvesting in the business’ …think we’re supposed to be pleased about that but given we don’t own the business not sure why we’d care!

+ 1 for Charlie’s Fat tire flyer. Just got it myself…need a coffee table now

Giro privateer are worth a look

Cool. Will have a look at Seven…Jameso, what ti bike do you have?

I know what you mean jameso but part of it is I am looking to treat myself with a luxury item too :) Have never bought a new bike and want my first big purchase to be something I’ve always wanted…

Moots Divide looks lovely but I’m after a hardtail really…

thanks all.. THe sync looks lovely but a bit too ‘aggressive’ for my liking…would love something like a Swift in ti (I have an old swift at the mo) but not sure Sam does one anymore? Not a huge fan of On-one (sorry!) so probably rule out the Fireline…

adsh like the idea of your Curtis. Got any pics? Guess I could always get something built in ti. Which was my original plan but saw a scary thread on here that I suspect was about the guy I wanted to use.

Well…I do love a kona so could be very tempted by that. Any more info would be ace

Not sure which ones you mean, but I have some of the seamless ones. Bit too warm for a summer ride but not crazy toasty…

+ 1 for bungees to the side. I also keep a couple of old towels and a couple of manky old sun lounger cushions. The cushions getup between bikes so they don’t get tangled up in each other’s spokes/pedals etc and then the towels get wrapped round the stanchions when I remember. But generally the towels are used for getting the worst of the mud off myself so I get out of soggy cycle gear for the drive home

Just back in after 25 miles of very wet and muddy riding on the North Downs…nobody else out there today at all which made it all feel a bit more grrrr that it really was.

Now at home with that slightly unpleasant itchy feet and hands thing you get when you heat up frozen limbs too quickly

+ for dfyi, although i think the medium i bought might be a tad small for me.

so if you’re interested its yours for £25 posted

Another good one is the west coast of the US. Or…do my current dream ride…The Tour Divide. 2500 miles off road

I’ve just come back from a week of riding through hungary, serbia and Bulgaria…I was going fast and light so didn’t do much sampling of the ride wine etc but it was definitely warm and super cheap.

Not the most inspiring riding in serbia if I’m honest but some pretty cool stuff over in bulgaria if you’ve got slightly fatter tyres than the 28mm I was riding.

But a much better tour if you’ve got the cash for the flights would be to fly into Mexico and ride down to Panama City. I did that (as part of a much bigger ride) a while ago and it was awesome. Really cheap, people were really friendly and the food is great. Had some funny nights on the mescal too…

P.s. Think the bike box is about 5ft6

Afraid I’ve not had the same success. Took 4 days (admittedly with a weekend in the middle) before getting the email saying it was on its way to Royal Mail.

so best to stick to quieter roads I’d imagine…any idea what the surface is like?

Like it. And is that a jones frame and fork?

Is the steel voodoo frame a 26er with a 29er wheel in? I did think of putting a singular swift fork on my lava dome but wasn’t sure it’d work…

Because if you’re doing long distance tours the conditions change a lot…on the Americas trip we had lovely smooth Tarmac in California, off road trails in Guatemala and then terrible potholes and rumble strips in Bolivia…

Amp thill, is that a kona lava dome? Me and a mate did Alaska to Argentina on a couple of lava domes in 2002. Great bike for the job but quite fancy bigger wheels so I can get a bit more speed on lighter weight tours. For example next month I’m doing a blast through serbia and hoping to cover 120 road miles a day (and will be taking a road bike) but would love something that will allow that as well as tackling Africa in a couple of years time.

Also agree suspension would be v handy on rough roads. Maybe just 80mm or so…

The reason for dream bike build is my v generous fiancée who is talking of rewarding me for my engagement ring with something bling cycling related to remind me of her evermore…isn’t she ace?

fair point, guess I could get some wider bars and maybe some suicide levers for more serious off road duty

Cracked top tube on my swift…no idea how!

I posted a similar question for half the distance (which for me felt punchy) at the beginning of last week. Just finished day 2 of the second week and have to say I’m loving it. In fact just shaved another 4 mins off my best time this eve – been amazed at how quickly it’s affected my fitness. Not even tired now. Because I have to get train as well at the other end my door to door is two hours but it doesn’t bother me because I see the ride part as a bonus and not part of the commute.

If you’re fit enough I’d say do it!

I’m riding a swift with midge bars and love it…didn’t worry about shorter stem or anything because I like having a slightly longer top tube on the road. Rides well…

A few of you have commented on the bike of choice…I don’t use my road bike because I’m worried it’ll get knicked or some scrote will damage it. Am I being overly paranoid? At the moment the bike I am using is an old swift with really crap heavy wheels. I have nice light wheels but again worried about the thieving…what do other folk do?

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. Off to start day three now :) and yup it does include polhill and riverhill. Am sure I’ll relish them one day!

some interesting thougts here guys thanks.

I’m not sure about training to Chelsfield and then last bit on the bike into London though – surely the nice countryside bits are way nicer riding? Lived in London for 15 years and whilst I always commuted through town I never felt it gave me any real fitness…

Sadly can’t really ride in and train back. Can’t take bike on the train.

I’m riding a Singular Swift with Midge bars and 37mm hybrid type tyres with a fairly grindy alfine hub…Would love to do it on my road bike but on balance I’d rather the Swift was knicked than the road bike. Or maybe I’m being overly paranoid? Not carrying much. An ipad and some jeans and a t-shirt (work in w@nky tech world so smart not a problem…)

And not too bothered about a seat – I usually slump on the floor in a sweaty mess because I fel bad sitting next to anyone!

Good point prawny…my girlfriend might think just because I ride every day I don’t need a pass for the weekend…

Another idea I have is to do what njee suggested but make the 2 rides I do do a bit longer. So ride in as per and then ride back with a nice 50km route on better roads…

I’ve literally done it twice and staring down the barrel of the rest of year doing it makes me feel a bit anxious! But you’re right £2400 buys a whole lot of bike. How long will it be before I start feeling alive at the end of the day though? Feel great in the morning but pretty dead when I get in at 8ish…which might not make for a great social life!

Know anyone who can service? Ideally in kent?

Do you like riding it? If answer is yes, then on it’s not defunct. If answer is no that answer is yes. Or something.

Personally I’d love a 26inch ti hardtail with 120mm forks. You’re a lucky man

Thanks maramaduke, I have the euro map sd card somewhere, didn’t realise it went that far into Eastern Europe. Bonus

I had really av service this week. Ordered on Monday and only shipped today. Disappointing as id hoped to build my bike this weekend

i know im being impatient but the decent sites have raised the bar and planet x haven’t stepped up.