Condition and history over mileage each and every time. Last two cars have been ’96 Audi A4 TDIs on 218k each and current A4 is a petrol 2.8 quattro on 185k – all three ran fine.

Of course, it does help that the OH works at a German specialist garage and thus I don’t have to worry about repairs, but none of them have needed anything more than routine servicing.

Oh, to add – I also plugged in the Smudge battery to the cheapy head unit to check it before realising they ran off different voltages.

Having looked at the typical drivers though, they seem to be able to handle up to 17V nominal, so it shouldn’t have really damaged anything, right?

Muirwoods was yellow, Palisades was green. Grey zolatone with coloured forks/stem was ’90 and ’91, ’92 was satin charcoal with coloured forks/stem/rear end OR zolatone with coloured forks/stem, ’93 was satin grey with coloured accents, ’94 was satin grey with coloured accents and forks.

HTH ;)

Service and calibration tech for aerospace ultrasonic NDT scanners.

Sounds like a 94 – http://www.mtb-kataloge.de/html/marin.html

Get thee to http://www.retrobike.co.uk :)

sonofapitch+2

Bone stock except for Nanos. Used for everything, including a 7 mile each way commute when it’s dry..

Alfa Romeo 159?

So, those of you that do use them, apart from having them as mates (I have friends I ride and drink with already), what am I missing out on?

Running repairs to bikes tend to be things like cables (10mins, and I’ve never understood how people have difficulty indexing gears), pads (10mins), tyres/tubes, maybe replacing a broken chain (5mins) – with stuff like brake fluid replacement/suspension service/pivot bearings being a yearly thing that I’d rather do myself so I know how it’s been done. Am I just not hard enough on my bike? Should it need more work than that? Or are the people who use LBSs the less mechanically-minded?

I don’t have much money spare to indulge in impulse purchases and consequently anything I buy needs to be the best cost:quality ratio that I can get within my budget. Comparing stuff across 10 or so online retailers takes half an hour at most, whereas it’s at least that to visit just one bike shop.

keep them under 2000 rpm and you will notice a real difference

Yes, an engine full of crap as it’ll never get burned off… ;)

Audi A4 2.8 Quattro petrol, probably around 27mph/25mpg if it’s been used for commuting, 45mph/30mpg if there’s a couple of motorway runs in there too.

Orange Blood?

Same thing on Win7/Firefox 15.0.1 here. Very annoying. Might have to look at <shudder> BikeRadar instead…

Then your experience of hunts is vastly different to mine.

I support everyone’s right to protest against that with which they disagree, but I draw the line at groups using borderline terrorist tactics.

How many of you would commit direct violence against, say, Nestle, because you believed them to be engaged in illegal activities (even if you had no proof that this was so) – and not just employees but people who bought their products?

Don’t really properly boycott anything, but I will never, ever buy or use anything from Lush due to their funding of hunt saboteurs.

Not completely inappropriate but my only bike is a Pitch on 2.3s, using it for a 7-mile each way road commute at the mo. Lock the forks, ProPedal on the rear shock and it’s tolerable – can average 14mph if I try.

Mate of mine uses a 45lbs Kona Stinky with Fox 40s as his only bike – Swinley, Surrey Hills, Fort Bill World Cup DH, uplifts, commuting occasionally, the lot.

Original Jeep Cherokee XJ in 4.0 petrol Limited guise. Twin live axles so proper axle articulation for serious offroading (if you do ever want to). Build from cast iron so go on forever. Parts cheap on eBay, not that you’ll need many. Leather wipes clean after muddy rides. Spare wheel internal so towbar-mounted bike racks not a problem. Wheels camber over for a really small turning circle, body is no bigger than a small estate. Only downsides are fuel consumption and watch out for potential cracked head on the 2001 models.

Never should have sold ours… :(

Mk4 Golfs are lovely places to sit – interior is far nicer quality than the Audi A3 of the same vintage. Friend of mine has a 5-door and easily gets his DH bike in with just the front wheel off.

Regularly do 7.5 miles on-road commute on a Pitch with 2.3s, no bother.

Mate of mine rides bikes downhill at speeds I can only dream of, hits gap jumps like they weren’t there and doesn’t seem afraid of stacking it spectacularly. I envy him!

Smudge’s new V2000 Lumenator looks good for £115: http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/mountain-bike-lights/v2000-lumenator/

In the same way that I would wear a helmet in a car whilst on a trackday but not during everyday driving, if I’m going for a proper ride then I wear a helmet. Taking the dog around the local common, usually not. To those who always, always wear a helmet – do you feel nervous sitting on a bike without one? If so, why?

Here’s a question (kind of in context) – would you consider F1 drivers to be sportsmen/athletes? Given the physical strength and endurance training they go through, I certainly would..

You could always try using JB Weld over the existing threads, leave for a couple of weeks to harden, then try cutting new threads in?

Mayo Fish Bar, Brookwood – not stellar but just a good honest everyday chippy.

Don’t overlook the psychological aspect of being made redundant (if it happens). I got made redundant at a day’s notice just under two years ago when the company I’d been at for nearly 12 years went under, and dealing with the mental aspect was really hard.

If it does happen and you don’t have anything to go to, treat looking for a new job as a job in itself – work regular hours, be accountable for your time to someone, keep written records of everything you’re doing, etc. Contact every agency with even the slightest link to your field of interest. Follow up every emailed CV/profile to agencies with a phone call a couple of hours later to chat to them about it – I found this really helps them to see you as a person rather than just a paper/online application.

Follow up every lead, chase everything, look in local papers, Gumtree, all the job websites, etc. Tailor your CV and covering letters for the positions applied for. I found my current job after my OH told me to cycle to all the industrial estates within easy cycling distance, write down the names of any companies that sounded interesting and look on their website or phone them to see if they had any vacancies!

In the age of emails an anonymous contact, telephone calls or even face-to-face meetings will make you stand out and memorable.

Be prepared to accept something that isn’t perfect if you need to keep your head above water (as I did) – you don’t necessarily need to stay there long-term. I went through three jobs in the space of a year after my redundancy before finding something I was happy to stick with.

Good luck, keep your chin up, and if it happens, see it as an opportunity not an obstacle. :)

OP, as people have said, sounds like you did the right thing – possessions are just objects that can be replaced; people aren’t.

As for those TopCap Tracker devices, I thought of that too, but from what I can see they can only be armed with the little fob and hence would only be of use if the bike was being locked up and left somewhere – unless you could arm it remotely, say via the web or from a phone, then they wouldn’t really be of use if you got bike-jacked.

Anything Seiko.

From the measurements you’ve given, you technically have room for a 296mm long post (163mm rails-to-clamp + 133mm clamp-to-weld). The KS 300mm post is obviously only 4mm longer which I think you’d barely notice to be honest.

Granted it would only give you 75mm drop, but I think with the limited amount of seatpost you have showing at full height anyway you’ll struggle to find a 100mm drop post that will fit even if the internal weld on the seat tube were reamed out to allow more post inside.

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1136501/ – one for sale on PB in Canada that they might ship internationally if you ask nicely.

Whereabouts are you btw? If you’re anywhere near the South East you’d be welcome to try my OH’s one (with a temporary shim) to see if it suited?

Small Pitch @ £700 I still reckon… ;)

As lots of people have suggested Boxers and Spaniels, I’m going to suggest a Boxer/Spaniel cross (mainly because that’s what I’ve got and everyone else is just suggesting what they’ve got!).

He’s not destructive in the slightest, perfectly happy getting a few hours kip during the day whilst we’re at work, great with kids (goes for playgroup walks several times a week during the day with next door’s two terriers and 4yr-old girl, and she has total control over him), will happily run 10 miles with the bike, is a proper rough-and-tumble dog that you can playfight with but will also switch it off and be calm in an instant.

Only downside is that he can occasionally have selective deafness where squirrels, rabbits and deer are involved! And an inability to know his own limits in terms of trying to uproot and carry small trees… ;)

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Pitch-Pro-Frame-4519-92-0.html

:)

Job done.

Specialized make great tyres, just most people never get past the default Maxxis/Schwalbe option to find out.

You mean if you quickly shake the bars from side to side, the vibration travels down the length of the bike? Yup, my steel Marin did that, as did all the steel-framed bikes I’ve ever owned, and they were fine for more demanding terrain than bridleways!

Like I said, KS do the i900 and i950 in 31.6mm diameter, 75mm drop and 300mm length which sounds like it’ll be the only thing to fit without a shim.

You need the exact post my OH has (but hers is 30.9) – KS i950R 300mm length with 75mm drop. Bottom of collar to rails is 150mm, bottom of collar to bottom of post 150mm. Can send you pics with measurements if you like?

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FROO4561/on_one_456_evo_frame

Probably a 20″ given your height.

I’ll second the recommendation for the BBG bashrings, bought one each for me and the OH and they’re spot on and really cheap too.

Specialized’s The Captain. Fantastic tyres.

Please report back on the stiffness of those Vans please – want me some of those!

Ahhh, the joys of having someone on the yard where I live who keeps chickens – fresh poached eggs every morning! Pan of simmering water, no swirling/vinegar, crack eggs in, put toast in toaster. When toast is done, butter toast and remove eggs from pan. Salt, pepper, bit of ketchup, give the stray white bits in pan to the dog, go eat outside on the yard with a cuppa whilst the horses are eating their breakfast.

Job done :)

Specialized Eskar Control 2.3 on both my Pitch and the OH’s Camber – though I liked the The Captain 2.0s she had on hers before that, really nice all-rounder.