I’ll second the left-handed golfers one – even though I’m left-handed I play(ed) golf right-handed. I feel like I need to watch the TV in a mirror every time I watch Phil Mickleson play. It’s just wrong.

Home, grab the dogs, go meet OH at the yard, see to four horses (occasionally riding) whilst the dogs exercise themselves by running around daft, home again, food, bit of tv, sleep. Repeat until the weekend!

In the summer I get in a few evening rides a week as the horses are out 24/7 so no stables to see to.

Nobody middle class shops at Tesco or has an Audi (unless it’s an immaculate 1980s model)..

We have four ex-racehorses, the OH has lessons with the #2 ranked eventer globally, and both of our dogs are fed exclusively on raw diet. Oh, and our most common evening meal is either something involving sweet potato and quinoa, or something in red wine from the slow cooker. And the cars are a VW diesel estate and a battered high-end 4×4 for horsey duties. So 😛

Am still on 26″ wheels though..

That ride was on 2.3 street tyres @ 45psi or so, so the speed itself is nothing to boast about! It was more to show that @ 18mph with that gearing it’s around 100rpm and it didn’t feel uncomfortably high – all my geared bikes are 1x and part of the reason I undergeared the SS was to train my legs to spin better. Flat pedals too btw, not clipped in.

ETA: 18mph on 42/11 on a 29er 2.3 tyre is 54rpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/467265176

25K on road on a SS 26er running 34/15, so 60gi – average speed just shy of 20mph and I’m hardly the paragon of fitness!

All going swimmingly til I snapped my chain with no tools on me..

My personal limit is 30mins by car or 45mins on the bike. Currently have 7mins in the car or 11mins on the bike which is perfect as I can now go home for lunch every day. We (as a society) spend enough time working as it is, why increase that by another 40% commuting?

I had no problems with the Kenda Kwests I ran for several years, cheap too.

Running £6 Geax Booze Lights in 2.3 from OnOne currently.

Not quite a full-on road bike, but I use flats on the SS slick-tyred commuter hack bike as my commute is short and I can’t be bothered changing shoes. Did a quick 25k spin at the weekend, averaged just shy of 20mph. Never felt like I needed to be clipped in. AM41s and V8 copy pedals.

If you want to run flats, run flats!

Paul’s have the Anthem X 29 at £1500, can’t imagine it’s a prticularly hefty beast.

http://paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s154p5856/GIANT-ANTHEM-X-29ER-2015

The new Pole Evolink range does, though one is under the down tube.

If you do need to go with an easy microwave option occasionally, the Sainsbury’s Basics microwave meals are surprisingly free from processed crap, and any meat in them is British to boot.

Blade has asked me to share this on his behalf – please share it on any social media you think appropriate. Cheers 🙂

Note: Might not work on mobiles yet due to to (to be lifted) copyright restrictions.

Yup, I’ve used the crystal cat litter as a moisture absorber to good effect in an old 1980s Polo that had a leak somewhere. Need to sort some out for the current Jeep as wet dogs tent to drip everywhere and the condensation inside gets pretty bad.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rockshox-Lyrik-RC-170mm-Solo-Air-/151900147151

Brand new 170mm (will come with the spacer to reduce) 1 1/8″ 20mm axle Lyriks. I have a pair of the RC2DH on my Pitch, they’re great 🙂

As above – Command Post. Never felt like I’ve needed any more positions than fully up/35mm down/fully down. Less than half an hour to strip and service too.

In the STW tradition of recommending what you’ve got: Pitch.

Mine’s a 2011 Pro, running a Command Post, 1×10, SLX brakes and RC2DH Lyriks at 170mm – it’s perfect for BPW, Peaks, Wales, etc, but I also use it for flattish XC rides round Surrey/Hants in summer as it just makes everything fun.

A word of warning though on the sizing – they come up big so sit on one if you can. I’m 6′ on a Medium (geo here: http://specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/archive/2011/pitch/pitchpro#geometry) and whilst it feels a little short on 50k+ rides, for anything less, and when stood up, it’s great.

I see you’re only in Berks so let me know if you want to try it for size.

Have a look on PinkBike, there’s several decent ones. 2011 models came with bolt-on clips on the TT for dropper post cables.

Another vote for the Grubs boots – I have the Frostline 5.0 and they’re superb. Like a lighter, better version of Muck Boots. Currently wearing them a minimum of three hours a day on the yard with the horses; £10 Dunlops from Sports Direct just don’t cut it in that environment, I’d kill them in under a week!

This is pretty much me, but I do have a couple of preferences:
Specialized
Superstar <dons flame suit>
Sony

There’s also only a few brands I wouldn’t ever buy…
Trek (the Lance thing, the brands they swallowed and ruined, and the way they treated Greg LeMond)
Apple
Hayes brakes

Heavy feet, light hands.

FYI, also works for horseriding 😉

Both of ours have the Danish Designs ones with the removable inner liner insulation. Make sure whichever one you get has hind leg straps otherwise the back of the coat tends to ride up and flap about.
http://www.muddypaws.co.uk/dog-coats-clothing/dog-coats/2-in-1-waterproof-coat

How do you know that the people likely to be able to afford a PP aren’t also philanthropists who give a higher percentage of their income to charity than you do? See, we can all make generalisations.. 😉

As woodster says – it’s in the right position but you need to flip it over so the built-in spacers on the ring space it inboard of the crank tabs.

http://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/tustorefront/?pagetype=product&productcode=124853110-Black

Job done.

When I was a kid the rule was: stocking presents could be opened as soon as you wake up, after that everyone in the house had to be dressed and have had breakfast before main presents got opened. Worked well and we stuck to it!

Try five… 😉

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/geax-goma-tyres is what swayed me to the Gomas…

True – should have said these are mostly 26″, sorry!

If you need expensive kit to have fun you’re doing it wrong..

£1500 AM full suss
£250 HT
£160 rigid SS
£35 retro rigid 1993

If I only had one, it could be any of them and I’d still ride, and still enjoy it.

Pretty clean over the Army ranges round here – bit wet and soft in places but being a sand base there’s none of the claggy stuff.

Not that it’s much help but I’m 6′ and comfy on a 19″ 26er.

My sister swears by her Schwalbe Land Cruisers – think you can get them in 700c. Heavy though, but bloody tough.

Same as the posters above – I have no idea about LBS prices on anything as I can’t remember the last time I used a bike shop for anything. Actually, I think I bought a tyre a couple of years ago, a Specialized, as it was the same price as online and I happened to be passing.

Apart from that it’s online for everything as I can get it delivered to work and the choice is infinitely larger than anything a single shop would have – that goes for everything really, not just bike stuff.

I think you’d be surprised actually – of the VW forums I’ve been on, changing suspension/gearboxes/engines, turbo conversions, etc, was a lot more common than you’d think.

Besides, you can’t really compare car mechanics and bike mechanics anyway. The former undergoes usually a 3-4 year apprenticeship and works in a garage equipped with tens (possibly hundreds) of thousands of pounds worth of tools and equipment. Whereas you can reach the highest level of Cytech training in under a month and fully equip a bike workshop for pretty much every job for £10k.

Add to the fact that to do most jobs on a car properly you’ll need a ramp (where is your average person going to put one of those?) and it’s dirty, physically tough, sweary work. Change brake pads and discs on a car? Bank on seized bolts, filth and grime, and it’ll take at least half a day off you’re lucky. I’ll pay someone to do that to just not have the hassle. Pads and discs on a bike? Basic tools, under an hour, and I can do it in my kitchen in the warm and dry. Hell, you can strip, clean and rebuild an entire bike in a weekend. Doing basic maintenance and repair on a bike is just not that difficult, expensive, or time-consuming, sorry.

Even so, the average car mechanic salary is only around £20-22k, so why are people surprised when a bike mechanic isn’t earning higher?

As the two others above, both of ours are on raw diet so no need for dentistix or anything like that. Cleft lip/palate pup’s breath stinks but that’s common with clefties apparently.

PowerGrips?

I use the Wellgo V8 copies, but I don’t wear smooth-soled brogues, so…

Grubs boots, cheaper version of Muckboots but with a trainer-like sole.

Long front, short back, do-it-all? You want an Enduro Expert 29 Carbon, you do..

Bump for the daytime crew – anyone?

I’ll second getting a rescue -rescues have puppies too. Otherwise you’re just fueling the breeders, and there are far too many awesome dogs already needing homes.

Nothing wrong with crate-training a young dog either – it gives them a safe space that is theirs and theirs alone. In an ideal world they wouldn’t be needed but it’s not, so sometimes they are.

7hrs is too long for a young dog to be left though; either get an older dog who is used to that sort of routine, or find a local dog-walker who can come in on those two days when you’re not able to. If you do get a puppy you really need someone there full-time for the first six weeks though.

I come home at lunch to see to ours but occasionally I have to work away at short notice; we have an awesome local walker who is literally just round the corner and pops in to see to them.

FYI, we have a Boxer X Spaniel and a Boxer X Staff, who is the rescue. The Sproxer is much easier work and much lower energy than the BullBoxer. Whatever you get though, please give serious consideration to feeding a pure raw diet. Ours are on a combination of Natural Instinct meat and bones like duck necks, etc. There’s so much rubbish and additives in “ordinary” dog food that it can cause all sorts of behavioural issues, and it’s not fair on the dog.