so a positive reaction.

I may have to move this to the next level: political household discussion.

cheers chaps 🙂

Mrs JB just went and told me the result. bang goes the F1 afternoon! Bet she did it on purpose so I have to get the hoover out.. grrr.

Lady Gresley – Member
Well if you only spend 3 grand then no wonder you get just a dump that no-one in their right mind would live in.

Beauty = Eye of beholder.

This will be prone to damp & rot and infestations. It's a fine idea but will cause a lot of heartache through needing constant maintenance I reckon.

I guess living in a place like this is all about maintenance and upkeep – it's a lifestyle rather than simply a house. For us, with regular jobs means that we are short on time and therefore we want minimum fuss/maintenance. If you've got a lifestyle where you are to a large extent self sufficient (would any of us do our jobs if we didn't have to pay rent/mortgage – I'd certainly reconsider)

FWIW I like it – especially their new project.

what tosh.

yes they have a bit more flex, but do gain strength from generally having a slightly thicker wall thickness.

I like 27.2 due to the flex, but you're just as likely to snap an ally one.

The bike industry seem to be the only people left in the world who think Ally is stronger/safer than carbon

have rideen the 19 steel, carbon, ti, alloy, the 905 and the 901 (all in the same day last week, at work 🙂 )

905 and 901 are excellent bikes. very capable, great on technical stuff, and happy to eat up the miles too. I've got a 901 and love it.

not much to pick between the 19 steel and the 905 – 905 has stiffer seat stays with less curvyness, and it is noticeably more comfy (or was after 40 odd miles of riding). 19 steel is BB30 though so worth considering whether this standard is here to stay or not.

As I said, All the Whyte hardtails ride brilliantly, IMO much nice than the Full suspension range, and a lot cheaper!

19 carbon however, is a very different beast – full on race machine. long, light, fast! (not very comfy though)

Hope that helps.

can't beat deore for the money. fantastic brakes.

wot fadda said – I changed mine around on my bike to have the brakes inboard of the shifters for exactly this reason. 1 fingered braking is soo much easier with this set up as you've got more leverage and it's more comfy.

the way forward*

*depends on your brand of shifter/brake – I've got SRAM/Elixirs so they work well together (as you'd expect)

excellent, not one MTFU from STWers. weekend of beer, grandprix and curry awaits.

Hoo rah!

🙂

lobby_dosser – Member
if it means one less X5/6 driving in town it's all good.

Good point.

woodland spots to stop for a chat.

good viewpoints for photos of other riders

couple of technical climbs

NO false summits

something akinf to whites level descent really. but with more interesting woodland.

🙂

Lots of it's good – I really love this country for the diversity. If I had to show england to an alien, I'd take them to the following:

london

south downs

pennines

north devon/cornish coast

highlands

giants causeway area

surrey hills on a misty summer morning

brighton

lakes

cathedral city

somewhere with very good tradiditonal pubs

somewhere with industrial revolution heritage (leeds/manchester)

somewhere with lots of canals

I'd end up somewhere like Fowey, cornwall, as it's like a concentrated version of everything british – pubs, very changeable weather, hills, maritime history, farming, folky stuff. seriosuly if disney did the 'english countryside' zone at epcot, it would be Fowey.

What I don't get is why a locking blade is considered any more 'weapony' than a non locking blade. A locking blade is really only there to stop the user from chopping their fingers off – doesn't stop em stabbing somone does it??

Drac – Member
Cheers Drac. top advice.

My pleasure.

They never noticed my Alien multi-tool.

so better to smuggle it onto a flight rather than be honest with security. hmmm.

coffeeking – Member
IF you're walking down the street carrying it they'll get angry. If you're out on a bike or camping in the woods they'll be a bit more lenient. Technically it is very illegal AFAIK, so don't get caught doing anything else wrong at the time.

Best advice on this thread I'd say.

But if your foolish enough to carry it in an airport in your hand luggage then that's a different matter.

Cheers Drac. top advice.

I got in a bit of bother about 5 years ago over this.

I was going on a photoshoot to italy and took a gerber multi-tool with me (useful things for setting up shots/tripods/cutting gel etc). forgot to put it in checked baggage and realised my mistake bfore I went through security. Took the tool to the security guy and explained I had forgotten to check it.

He called the cops and I received an official caution for carrying a lock bladed knife in public. and nearly missed my flight. and had the tool confiscated. (never seen it since). the anger has only just subsided.

Generally, you've got to have a bloody good reason to have one these days, which makes me laugh considering how easy it is to buy them here. That said, you could argue if it stays in your camelbak, it's a useful tool to have if you're in the middle of nowhere and something breaks.

no regrets – it's a great scheme. (but then I would say that – it's my job!)

I would say it's best to play by the rules though in order to ensure the schemes longevity.

As for the OP – the scheme has to be a complete bike, so no frame and forks if you want to remain within the rules. As for usage, a trip to the station is absolutlely a qualifying journey so it sounds as though you would be fine for using the scheme free from guilt or fear!

HOpe that helps – email in profile if you need any more info.

jim

yes it's fine – you can do it via email or on the friday usually. not big deal.

we changed our team name last year because our first one was a pile of toss.

memories are slowly getting fonder through my slightly drunk fug at the moment. good day, cracking sussex/kent countryside. Not much banter on the bikes though.

I need to work on getting a position on the bikes I can hold for longer periods though. My back is in pieces!

Anyone care to back me up?

*sniggers*

At the moment?

Frank Turner – Lyrical Genius
Have a listen

I went fo 'the quicker line' around a bunch of people queuing thorugh an off camber section that someone had come off.

Ran straight into a thick branch just out of my eye line and knocked myself out. 😕

chilli tonight with a ton of rice.

maybe some sour cream if I can get the mrs to go and get it 😀

good mag. I like it. Good to see a bit of life at STW towers.
Things looking up for mark too

1 road, one HT. that is what Mrs JB calls bike saturation in our top floor flat. She doesn't know how good she's got it.

tragic news Sammy, made worse by being unexpected.

Take your time, speak to your friends, speak to your family – It's a cliche but over time you'll learn to deal with it and remember your mum with smiles.

thoughts going out to you.

west kipper – Member
jimbo, while it may/ may not be true of BA, (I'm not to say),
I do question the automatic mantra many always repeat of 'change is essential and inevitable'
Most changes I've seen are not to benefit anyone other than shareholders, at the workforces expense, absolutely not to improve service to the public.
I'm willing to bet that if 'essential, inevitable' change came knockin' on your door you wouldn't be so philosophical…

I'm an ex BA employee. conditions changed due to the needs of the business. The job wasn't what it once was, though I understood that this had to happen. I decided it wasn't for me, so I went and found a job I wanted to do. I chose to leave.

As for conditions for cabin crew. It's no secret that they are simply the best in the industry, for perks, pay, holiday, pensions – you name it. IF crew employment conditions were benchmarked against the rest of the industry, they would be a lot worse of than the conditions being proposed now. though I admit that it COULD be seen as then thin end of the wedge.

I just hope that the union doesn't lead the workers down a path that results in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs – this particular strike is costing circa £25m…..

BA need to compete. simple. Change is essential and inevitable. That said, given the volatility of UNITE I would have said that I would have gone about applying these changes in a mores sensitive way.

The thing that UNITE never, ever seem to grasp is that a business losing £350m a year is not sustainable, and will lead to the demise of the union itse;f as they'll have no one left to represent!

DezB – Member
Thing is though, they are not actually riding LE to JoG are they. They are actually spending most of the time on a bus.
Reasonably entertaining though.

As we spend most of the time in a tent/munching burgers at mountain mayhem, rather than riding a bike. Still feels like bloody hard work when you're doing it though.

I liked it, and respect for riding in those snowy/icy bits. looks like bugger all fun.

Wonder how much longer the pacemakers had to go?

We;ve got em in the warehouse – going out to store in april I believe.

IMO, they are camelbak beaters – **** awesome packs.

oh dear, this has all gone terribly, terribly wrong.

glenfiddich 12yr old right now.

Had the same problem when I got some egg beaters. Thing I found annoying was the lack of a positive click when you engage the cleat. Got used to them, and they worked perfectly.

However, I've now gone back to spds, chiefly because of witnessing 4 separate occasions of the spindle snapping on mates bikes. While I have no reason think mine would do the same that sort of scenario features quite highly on my list of "f*ck thats".

Main reason I started using CB was for mud clearing ability, but decided it wasn't THAT important.

tora much stiffer, 32mm stanchions vs the 30mm darts.

both pretty good forks for the cash though.

Solo air Tora would be the best bet for tuneabiliity/weight/stiffness.

this thread stinks of troll

jedi – Member
as long as i'm on the bike it's never dull, it's wonderful!

+1. And on that note – I'm off out to ride my bike (on the south downs!)

WRT tot eh fair market value payment, the is a little confusion on this.

Companies are free to charge what they like for the bike, but if what they charge falls short of what the perceived market value of the bike is, then the difference becomes a taxable benefit.

This means that you actually are only required to pay the TAX on the difference, not the difference itself:

£1000 bike
5% = £50 An employer can charge that to their employee (they can charge whatever they like)

Actual value of bike on market = £200 for instance. this leaves a £150 deficit – HMRC would like you to pay tax on this £150, (20% of £150=£30)

You pay a further £30 for the bike. It does eat more ito your savings on the scheme, but it's not as bad as everyone thinks.

Finally, HMRC guidance states that in order to comply, ALL employees MUST be offered the chance to join the scheme REGARDLESS of their location in relation to work (whats stopping you usuing a park and ride scheme, for instance?) –

I'd let your boss guy know that by not offering it to you, he is making the scheme for the whole company un-compliant.

mixing your drinks = HANGOVER

sticking to a single, preferably quality ale = A WOOLEY HEAD

The Shakespeares Head

I have spent thousands of pound in this boozer. Happy times 🙂

ABCD – it's a 24 hour event, sleep deprivation is part of the fun :-/