Oh if anyone is going to get a pair of the Bose QCs don’t buy them in America, they are a lot cheaper there but that’s because you get a lot less stuff, most of the accessories you get in rest of world package especially the spare battery you don’t get in US bundle…

Bought The Bose for my mrs as she’s flying to the states every other week just now and she doesn’t like in ear phones.
Personally don’t like active ones, prefer passive in ear, if any of you have them treat yourself to the comply foam tips makes a massive difference in comfort, sound quality and isolation really good value upgrade.
At the moment I’ve got Phonaks but tbh I’m trying to find an excuse to get myself another set of Shures, had the i4 (not sure if they’re called that here got mine in Chicago) but after 4 years of near constant use they finally fell apart and my cack handed soldering and epoxy skills couldn’t fix them. Might go all the way for 535s this time with the custom silicon ear moulds seem to be the best overall but bloody pricy…

Seriously thinking about an 800 for Xmas from the mrs. The range of different bundles seems a bit confusing and not very well described even on Garmins own site.

Afaik there’s the basic one but I’ve no idea what maps it comes with, the trail one mentioned above with the OS 1:50k maps (any with 1:25k maps?) then a couple of versions with the HR strap and cadence/ speed sensor. I know that won’t fit my Whyte anyway what’s best package overall for most of the folks on here with one?

Originally wanted to use my iPhone but all the cases seem poo, wahoo one seems to fly off the stem at smallest bump and still no sign of their extended battery (since I want to ride my bike for more than 20 minutes at a time). I saw the iBike one in the apple store which has Ant+ along with an extended battery built in but it’s f*%#ing massive obviously longer and wider than the iPhone but it’s about 2 inches thick as well! And to top it off the version with the battery is £280 😯

Whs in Victoria have it.

Got a new pair of thermolite 3/4 today, this will be third pair I’ve had in last 10 hrs, good but not totally waterproof.

They do a 3/4 version of the mt500 s I think, but personally don’t like long baggies, rather have them above the knee.

I’ve got a couple of icebreaker 260 tops with zips I got for skiing and they’re fantastic, will be using one of them tomorrow out on the bike, not too cheap think they were about £60 each but that was 4 years ago and they still look like new. Wash them at 40 with all the rest of my gear and not had any problems.

Did quite fancy the on one top here but maybe give it a miss now… But you reckon the base layers are ok?

Be careful using ply or any other types of wood cos plaster doesn’t stick to it properly as I found out after filling holes in my ceiling where old lights had come out.

Best is a small piece of plaster board with some plaster cement on it, fed it through with a small screw in the middle to pull it hard to the back of the damaged board. Unscrew the screw when it’s set and just skim over it. Job done.

Lots of options really depends on how far you want to go. Currently I have the following options
HTPC running free view and ( when I finally get it all configured) freesat through win7 media centre with 12tb of storage 😆
Samsung C7000 tv which is networked so has the Samsung apps so iplayer, love film, YouTube etc. and records to an external HD plugged into it
Samsung blu- ray player which has the apps as well plus the option of cat5 or wifi connection £200
Wii which will do iplayer ( but as mentioned above quality not great) £ 150
iPad one of which will mirror (or I can just use my pico projector onto the wall) £lots

Overall best solution is still the HTPC can record, gets over the air and sat tv play any video file you throw at it, web with flash etc for midweek movies on here Mine even looks like a bit of proper av kit with a silverstone mc16 case but that was nearly £200 on it’s own, the silent fans and other quiet components along with all the drives (upgraded those this year) bring the price up to about a grand but it’s a proper bit of kit!

Oh and if you go that route definite +1 on the key sonic wireless keyboard, had mine for years and works a treat only need to replace the 2AA batteries every 6 months or so, one of the best £25 I’ve spent it looks like the bottom half of a laptop with compact keyboard and trackpad really excellent bit of kit.

Try to get some kip (difficult I know when its like Christmas) you’ll need your energy tomorrow to take it out! 🙂

Whyte 146S (if it was me) or a Devinci if you prefer DW links get a well equipped Dixon for that or frame and £1500 for forks and kit.

Get out and try as many as you can, it’s a lot of money if you get it wrong but a great investment if you get it right.

7day shop +1 had my 4 cell fast charger from them for years, using envelop batteries now most of the time. Alternatively what about the USB batteries, got a couple them too and really handy, 4 for £10 iirc at Costco, no need for a charger just flip the end off and stick it into USB slot.

Went to Finland skiing in place called Ruka went on overnight snowmobile trip up over the arctic circle and got to see them, absolutely amazing. Genuine awe inspiring moment.

Decent skiing for a beginner (like me) up there too but the best were the other things we managed to do. Thought I would love snowmobiling but actually it’s better than I ever thought it would be, however dog sledding with Huskies is even better than that so want my own racing pack now 😀

Killer elite, thought it would be a basic action flick but absolutely cracking, great cast with steatham, de Niro and Clive Owen. At least an 8/10

Used to live in Italy when we were doing a big project. Got 10 punto diesels for the team all of them had different problems right from the off.

Mine was relatively minor they hadn’t fitted the boot release cable to the handle in the passenger footwell oops.

2 had failed ecus within the first month and another wouldn’t switch off the radio (and Italian radio is particularly ****) and kept draining the battery as a result.

Wasn’t actually horrible to drive tho ( fiat 500 different matter didn’t like it at all) biggest problem I had was trying to find it in the supermarket car park, lots and lots of silver puntos in Italy 😀

Nope not a spoof unfortunately… Evening Standard

Surprised he’s only asking for £55k tbh

As mentioned above easier to use all from same brand. The so wise piggy6 is fantastic bit of kit, got my router, tv and HTPC all wired into it, it’s a round 6 socket surge protector with a 3 port switch built into it, just plug it in and instant switch plus power for all my av kit.

I run mine with devolo 200mbps av+ plugs to my pc upstairs and printer but in the old house had them connecting up to my 360 in the bedroom so I could use it as media centre extender since tv signal was so poor and have sat tuners in the HTPC running MCE.

That said getting the two brands to talk to each other was a bit of a pain since each manufacturer sets the network password to something different but after a lot of faffing and a couple of mails/calls to so wise got it sorted, their support nods were excellent.

Chorlton +1

First DVD I ever bought, still watch it whenever I get the chance

Got the Park P handled T 25 and it’s great. About £9 from crc iirc.

If you want something handy for out on the trail Maplin do small folding torx sets with alloy frame for about £3, got a set of torx bits from B&q for about a quid as well, and set of security bits from machine mart for £5 that actually gets used a lot more than I thought it would really handy if you need to change flexes on anything electrical

Slightly off topic as you can’t use Evans vouchers but for anyone that flies a lot and wants a nice SS start using Lufthansa or Swiss the you can get this

https://www.worldshop.eu:443/lws/product/wscatalog/1739474/detail.jsf?

You can mix points and cash too, got my camelback through them for about 6 flights from Manchester to Zurich annoyed at myself for dithering and not getting the Garmin 800 they had don’t stock it any more and I’ve still got over 100k miles left…

My lbs freeborn has them (bars at least) and they do mail-order but not the cheapest.

+1 for the feedback ultralight. Needed something that could be packed away and it’s really quick to put up very adjustable but most importantly really stable and esy to use. The feedback sliding clamp just seems a lot better than all the rest makes it really easy to use when lifting a bike into the stand. Easy to rotate the bike whichever way you want to access bottom bracket mounted cables and the like.

Realistically it’s the sort of thing you’ll only buy once so I try to buy the best I can afford but value wise I think I made the best choice.

What about crew cab pickup? Not a huge fan of the mitsubishis as they’re poo to drive unless fully laden at the back but should be decent choice in the Toyota, Nissan ranks and I thought VW do one too now (maybe only in US). Get one of the tailgate covers you strap the bikes to and you can get it as filthy as you want just hose out the bed afterwards.

If it’s a van the VWs and especially Merc Vito are great. Should be able to get crew version but maybe not at your budget.

I convinced myself that a stump jumper comp fs would be fantastic, good reviews, the derigur 140mm of travel, decent spec and good value at my lbs but at £1700 I wanted to make sure. Bloody glad I did hated it.

Tried a load more until I got a days demo on the T120 and knew within 15 minutes it was just right. Ordered one when I returned the demo and been delighted with it Just want to get out on it more but my magic shine 872 arrived today so will be exiting work bang on 5 next week to ride my perfectly fitting and grin inducing Whyte at least a couple of nights next week 😛

Shimanos always worked for me had a few sets of 530s cheap enough not to bother rebuilding if the seals go but got some xt trail ones now and really happy with them.

Horsham.

And the only stupid question is the one you didn’t bother to ask 🙂

Are you replacing the Outers as well or just the cables, also standard or sealed ( gore etc?) def recommend good set of cable cutters had a set of parks for over 10 hrs and going strong, also one of the 4th hand cable pullers but get the cycle or something similar the original parks are stupid price (£40???).

If you happen to be in wh smith or similar have a look at what mountain bike (I think, the one with the maintenance DVD on the front) as they have an actually quite useful guide to doing the gore cables but most of it applies to standard Clarksville and the like.

Was just in the Huws Gray in Heswall and very nearly bought a pair they’ve got the black full finger with a beanie hat for £12 or same but with open ended thumb and forefinger for £11. Both seemed really good, quite wide and fingers aren’t too long which suits me but my fox’s are pretty new so would have got shouted at by swimbo.

Good spot!

Been in plenty, mostly F50s to Holland and Belgium but lots of Islanders out to Islay when I was a kid and a particularly long and uppy downy flight to Shetland when we had to stay below the clods due to storms half way there. Did get to go in a Herc when I was little, visiting uncle in Darwin where he was RAAF base commander so we flew Cathay to Hong Kong and he had us collected there in a C130, I loved it but I was only 9 full helmet and MAE West distinctly remember parents hated it and made us fly to Sydney for a “proper” flight back to uk. I think I’d side with my dad on the Herc flight now tbh.

No real problem had plenty of hairy moments in jets only disconcerting thing with some turbos is when just after taking off they throttle right back and the plane goes so quiet for a moment you think the engines have stopped but never had one fall out of the sky while I’ve been on them and I have a couple of million miles between flying blue, miles and more and admiral’s club.

Tbh was really disappointed at the price when I was in the states and looking for a watch for the mrs but the pound was taking a hammering at the time. Ended up cheapest for what I wanted (women’s steel and gold constellation with MOP face and diamonds) was Schipol and as I went through there every week they ordered it in for me.
Almost walked out with one of the gorgeous Rose gold speed masters when I was in St Lucia last year until the mrs reminded me I had to pay for our new bathroom ;-(
No new watch this year for me just got my new Whyte but maybe in the spingarn for my big birthday…

Have you tried the US store, mrs is getting one for her bessy mates 40th pressie and as she works in the states every other week getting a fire from there (already ordered for the release on 15th). They have the new touchscreen 3G ones for less in $ than the old ones are here in £ I think the 3G one is $139 but you might need a us address for it, we did check and there is no regional tie to a particular kindle store or similar so no probes using here straight away. Actually works out cheaper (a lot cheaper) than getting it at UK Amazon staff discount as I know the boss of their new warehouse in the midlands and he only gets 10% off uk price.

I’ve got the “classic” blue wave omega seamster automatic would put a picture up but it’s in the watchmaker getting a long overdue service, my arm feels very floaty without it…
The GMT version is probably a better bet was very tempted by it as the extra hand would actually be really useful for all the travel I do.
The Panerais are lovely too but very tempted by those 70’s speed masters always loved them and a little bit jealous of the owner having such nice ones!
As an idea you could do what I did and get yourself a free holiday, I ordered mine from the main dealer in Gran Canaria and the tax free saving (about £600) paid for a weeks winter sun so I could pick it up, they also gave me the wooden presentation box rather than the standard leather one and a very nice book on the history of Omega with all the details on the movements etc. Also remember to contact the manufacturer to get your chronometer certificate, mine’s framed on the wall and looks lovely 🙂

I just got new Whyte T120 2012 after trying loads of fs bikes around 2k but just saw the deals Edinburgh cycle coop have on doing 15% off everything so T120 from them is bang on £1700

Moved down South a few months ago from the Wirral due to mrs getting a new job. Do miss the old house (despite still paying for it until it gets sold) and miss not getting to Goodison (especially at times like tonight with the game thats on just now). working in central London near Westminster too and it’s actually really good. Stay in Horsham about an hour out from Victoria but used to the commute now still not used to the prices though despite being able to write it off against my company.
One of the reasons for picking Horsham was that we already had a group of friends here (wife’s best freind and all our god kids are here) but I really like it.
Cost wise you won’t get anything like you do up north especially Wales we’re renting a terrace with no room to move all our stuff down but it’s still £1100 a month! On top of that the train is nearly £400 a month but Hardly use any diesel now.
Lots of cracking riding down here, still need to find folk to ride with ( and get fit and stop smoking) and more trails but what I have found so far with the small bits of the south downs and round peaslake have been fantastic.

Depends if it fits more than anything else, lots of spacers under the stem always looks daft on a road bike IMHO. Can you find any other shop purchasable bikes with same geometry to try? Still a lot of good offers on 2011 bikes about just now, was tempted by a Synapse 105 about £1500 and a very nice EMX with veloce about the same in on your bike a couple of weeks ago but decided to update the mtb first…

Mate of mine ordered about 10 for use by the engineers at Gatwick and they all pretty much hate them, had to eventually bolt concrete blocks in the beds to stop them skidding about. Handy for work but you need to load the axles as mentioned above.

They’re changing back to Defenders afaik.

I’ve got an old spesh seat pack on the wife’s bike that only mounts to the saddle rails but still has a quick release clip on the pack itself. Really stable as well no need for seat post clamp, maybe see if they still do one of those?

The badger for me. Had his poster on my wall next to Charlie Nicholas. Saw him win 2 tours when I was a kid.
Lemond was great too for me better champion and innovator than pretty much anyone else, was stood on the Champs Élysées watching the clock count down in ’89 while you could see Fignon in the distance coming in, amazing moment. Felt pretty sorry for the Frenchman tho.
On mr Millar, knew him when I was little, him and my older brother trained together in the wheelers, seemed a very quiet and focussed guy from what I remember but guess you need to be to become a pro especially a British one at that time. I did make my mum buy a crappy fagor cooker just cos him an Roche rode for them 😉
Did you know that Billy Connoly sponsored him and paid for most of his kit when he was an amateur? An unsung hero of Scottish cycling don’t know if he still does but there was always kit behind the counter in Billy Bilslands shop that the big yin had paid for or donated for young skint racers.

I’m a bit of a compulsive bike and car cleaner, I’ve got £00 s of cleaning stuff pro Karcher, snowfoam guns, wookie mitt, DA, and a selection of pro polishes and dodo waxes but for the bike usually use meguiars gold wash for most of the cleaning.
For an initial wash (especially if you can get a foaming spray bottle about £2 from decent car cleaning places) the best value all purpose cleaner is Daisy from Tesco, only about £1 a bottle but don’t use it neat for most cleaning dilute it down to either 50% if it’s something really greasy and dirty but normally to about 10% for most cleaning. I’ve tried some really expensive stuff but none of it’s been any better and lots has been worse.
Use finish line citrus for the drivetrain but it is pretty dear… Might try the fenwicks stuff myself for it tbh.

My local Lbs Freeborn in Horsham stock quite a lot of Dakine (fancy the slightly camo styled jacket they do actually) don’t know if they’ve got it on their website but certainly have quite a lot in the shop and do loads of mail order.

There’s some pictures of it in the manual and definitely on the SRAM website, flip the quick release down and you’ll see it in the centre of the axle, just remember not to tighten it too much or you’ll never get the qr closed