We did the Virgin 0% offer and we had one statement come through with interest, the wife called up and they said it was a mistake and sorted it straight away for us.

We however pay by direct debit each month and keep the card locked away so we don’t accidently use it.

Number 372 and will be on a green Dialled SS.

All packed and ready to roll, it’s only 20 minutes from my work and I finish at 3:30 today so I might be the first in the field or if the weather isn’t too bad might do a quick spin of the course ( or if it is really hammering down I might just go home and come up in the morning).

I will be billy no mates this weekend so if I camp tonight and anyone needs an extra pair of hands, just look for a silver Seat Alhambra and a green dome tent (or someone sleeping in the back) and come over and ask, happy to help put up a tent or change tyres etc.

Lee

You could always go 2.4 up front and a 2.25 on the rear?

I’ve got the 2.1’s on my HT and they are certainly a lot bigger than I expected, great tyre too!!

Bikes aren’t cool, and anyone that thinks riding bikes makes them look cool is sadly mistaken

The local kids thought I was cool when I pulled a wheelie past them the other day

Arghhhh Jamie Oliver

Spongebob

Everything has a ‘cool’ alternative 8)

Commencal, Lapierre, Charge, Curtis and those Corsair(?) bikes seem cool brands to me.

Pashley and Spooky if you want to impress your older MTB buddies

I bought a second hand Balfa BB7, it was ragged and needed some work to get it going which put a downer on it before I even rode it. Then rode it and it just felt so wrong. Alu front end and steel back made it feel unbalanced and on a couple of times I felt like I was going to flip off the back as the rear end dropped so much quicker than the front.

Replaced it with a Turner DHR – Now that was NICEEEEE!!

Having riden it last night, the ground was still very hard with just a little greasy top layer in places. No real mud just more muddy spray from the wet grass so if the weather holds off you’ll be OK (although the bottom section was a little muddy but always is). On saying that if it hammers down for the next 48 hours – crud catchers and mud tyres are worth their weight in gold!!

Swamp things will packed!

I asked myself, what was the point of that

So when the sun is shining on the start line at 12:00 you can dazzle all the other riders with your clean, perfectly working bike 😉

You can carry speed across the step and before you know it you’re off camber heading into the stream, on clay with no grip.

Just thought as well, last year the photographer was there ** peers over monitor and looks at last years photo on wall ** could be some comedy photos as well 😆

Rode the loop last night, it was a bit greasy in places but pushed out 2 45/50 min laps so it’s still riding pretty quick.

Got caught out as you go into the second stream crossing where there is a slight split level on the track and where it was greasy my wheel nearly washed out and then sent me up the bank! – lol

There was 2 cheeky ladies riding on the mendips as well last night 😉

I ride 36:20 (1.8) which is OK, spin out on the road section but thinking my legs will appreciate the break come Sunday morning 😉

Yeah I rode it on wednesday for the first time on the SS (have riden the course many times including Clic last year) and my gearing seemed pretty good. I get to pump all the downs and the fire road climb wasn’t an issue (even managed the last bit up to the gate when you go across the top).

Anyone riding with Neil on Wednesday night, seen something on Facebook?

Im riding, did a dare with a mate to ride solo and see who could do the most laps – somehow though he never entered so billy no mates is riding solo with no mates there either 🙁

Doing it SS as well, not sure how well I am going to cope but been training – aiming for 10 laps!

Im on the green Dialled Love / Hate so say hi!!

I’ve recently bought a second hand OCR 2 and I just can’t get comfy on it (part of it is a size issue) but after riding my old Charlton steel commuter this morning I really noticed the comfort different between steel and alu. Steel has got a real spring to it and certainly made me smile again riding it.

I bought a bottle cage from them that broke on first use and I only discovered it had broken after reaching for my bottle to find it was no longer there. I wrote a letter with the returns form saying I felt annoyed that I would now have to buy a bottle that cost the same as the cage just because it had broken and they sent me a CRC bottle as a good will gesture.

I know it’s not mega and I was being a bit tight but if you don’t try you don’t get and they certainly got a happy customer with it.

(who has since spent another £50+ with them)

Well the last time I was in A+E it wasn’t due to a bike related accident but certainly a good one:

After I left I had good comedy finger but did mean I couldn’t ride for a couple of weeks and my gloves stung like made the first few rides out

Oh and yes they are burnt, hot oil splashed up and did that!

Oh forgot bike related:

4 dislocated shoulders that were bike related (6 now in total)

Grumm, thanks but I think 70mm will be just too short

No worries Ed, good valid points!!

Might see what cheap stems pop up on flea bay and once decided spend a bit more money on a good stem.

Anyone got a spare 80/90mm long 1-1/8th steerer stem for 26mm bars going cheap??

I got it very cheap so there isn’t a worry of making me feel like I got a good deal. He hasn’t done much maintenance on the bike over the years and this weekend I striped and re-greased the wheel bearings and headset which needed doing.

The bike is a medium which I think is a 54. I am 5’7 so should be right. As with all bikes we all change a few bits to make it suit us so swapping a stem isn’t a big deal.

Would a 80mm stem make the handling that twitchy?
I have also considered a 90mm but not sure 10mm would really make that much of a difference.
I must admit it felt pretty scary being that far forward going downhill!!

Im lucky as I agreed to help out with a camping trip that the kids at the school I work for are going on to Exmoor this weekend so got into work late ‘packing car’, casual clothes ‘cos Im going camping’, heading off after lunch!!

Oh and bike is packed for cheeky early morning ride on Exmoor this weekend!!

ooo I don’t live far from Wellington – might get a cheap bike….

I have seen a lot worse ads than that though.

umm yeah!! and if they did back pay I could retire!!

I am in charge of the IT in a school and they have recently gone over to doing computerised registration in the morning. Now most teachers leave their computers on as it apparently takes too long to boot up after they have got to their class room late from drinking their coffee. I have setup a shutdown command from the server and that seems to be doing the trick!!

Do it!

Wow, I have been slowly getting into road riding with my daily commute and have been thinking about doing a bit more. Not sure I want to now after reading this!!

Seems very regimented all this club riding.

Sorry brand new chain and new cog. Couldn’t see rotation markings but might be worth switching it around and trying.

I haven’t tried the Time ones but used to have issues with SPDs and my knees and in the end went to flats. I then bought a new bike which had Crank Brothers Acids as standard and gave them ago. No problems at all now!

I’ve just had another frame done by my local guys (Yeovil, Somerset). They powder coat curtis bike frames for them and Talon who do MX stuff apparently get all their stuff powder coated there now as the MX boys were finding after a few jet washes the anodising was coming off – WTF!! He shot blasted and painted the frame for £35 which is crazy cheap so shop around as some places can be cheap!

When I was in there, someone had taken in their MTB wheels, taken out the hub internals and the guys had powder coated the whole wheels white, looked cool if white is your thing!

Rims plump out the tyres fine, I have 2.35 Nevegals front and rear and they fill the frame space nicely, heres a ‘front on’ pic on the Lyrics
and they certainly aren’t narrow!!

I have recently swapped to some 2.35 Minions and they are the same and fitted great.

I’ve got DP25s on my 08 Marin Wolf Ridge which is setup for freeride / DH.

I would say I push them, I have dented them but they’ve stayed true and they are certainly strong (apart from denting). Have stood up to cwmcarn DH, Megavalanche and the new tracks at Gawton as well as the Clic 24 enduro, cwmcarn and Afan XC loops.

Good rims – for the strength / weight and I wouldn’t worry about width issues as there aren’t any. If you are riding and not pushing it to the limits then you don’t need to change. If you are flat spotting, denting consently or badly buckling them then yeah maybe you need harder wheels.

Keep’em and save the £££

still clipped in

Ah the good old wheelie flip with SPDs – school boy error that one 😳

I used to own the cro-mo absolut and loved it, I wasn’t very good though at dirt jumping but it was great fun to raz around the local woods and tracks.

I’ve worked in IT now for too many years, am in charge of the IT in a private school and certainly don’t come into that 35k bracket!

The trouble with all these courses is that it doesn’t give you any ‘real’ skills in IT. It’s those common problems that you pick up on over the years that course after course won’t teach you.

Yeah you can reload Windows or replace a hard drive but what about getting system critical data back online within an hour after 2 drives in a raid configuration has failed!

The website does quote having the 27.2 AM version in stock though, pay by CC and you’ll have some insurance 😉

Lardy sorry to hear your pain but you’ll be back on it soon!!

When I was in my early teens (28 now) I dislocated my shoulder, NHS popped it back in and sent me home.
6 weeks later arm out of the sling and back to normal – so they said! Anyway over the course of about 4/5 years I dislocated my shoulder another 4 times giving me a total of 5 dislocations, some so ‘out’ that I had to have a general to get it back in.

This had a major knock on effect on my riding and confidence and I basically gave up.
When I was 17 I did it the 5th time in a non bike related accident and they finially decided to operate.
A few years after the accident / operation I was in a part of my life where I was down, fat and unfit and decided to give this cycling another go.
Through the last 6 years I have got more and more into cycling where now it could never not be a part of my life – In 2007 I did the Megavalanche and that was a major achivement for me so decided to do it again last year.
However whilst riding the mega course during practice I had a silly fall and dislocated my shoulder AGAIN!!
It wouldn’t go back so spent the night in hospital, got put under and they popped it back in. With all this I decided not to let it get to me this time and as soon as I got back from France I PAID for physio treatment on my shoulder. I was supposed to be off work for 6 weeks but was back after 4 (was working from home during week 3 purely because I couldn’t drive) due to GOOD physio and hard work I recovered much quicker. I gave up off road cycling till Christmas and have slowly been doing more and more. Last week I did my first uplift at Cwncarn. I felt so slow and careful at first but by the end of the day I was picking up speed again. These things take time but we can do it if we want!!

I wear 3/4 lengths under my baggies on my commute to work and the kids at the school I work out don’t point and laugh!

Well I am building up a Dawes for the misses atm and I guess it’s a dutch style bike! – One step ahead of the game for me as I only paid about a quid for it on flee bay – might sell it and make a profit if it becomes ‘trendy’.