easy – I managed to pop air rod through top of fork leg. 5 minutes, and some fork oil.

peter poddy has the guide you need.

north downs have some great trails. both naughty and non naughty.

4wd not really necessary – you'll see out there many locals will drive low powered FWD cars (fiat pandas are a favourite) with skinny tyres.

That said, roads rarely so bad that you can't get thorugh with snow chains.

I'd rent one of the cheaper cars as they are more likely to have skinny tyres and not too much power.

ah well, they're comfy, and it's nowt a bit of tippex won't sort out…

yes – we got a camera from there a few weeks back arrived by courier next day. can't fault em.

edit – cheap too. 🙂

Yes – He's a human being. We all act like ****s from time to time.

granny ring – YGM

had some scott ones – 4 years and counting – reckon I've got at least another season in em.

humvees – comfy and full of pockets. have required a few sewing sessions though. My croth must have some extreme corrosive properties though.

Nice car. Is that the longest tunnel you could find?

AndyRT – Member
It's alright for you lot up north n stuff, but spare a thought for us southerners, with more gloopy mud and clag and stuff to bind your bike to the surface. This is the time of year you have to pedal down hill. ITS NOT RIGHT!

But I have seen snow drops, and dafs are coming.

Wished I lived in the hilly north, where the rock just gets wet, not 'sink to your hubs' muddy

MTFU?

I'm a feb fan.

the days get noticeably longer every day.

you start to see signs of spring, lambs, daffodils, sometimes bluebells etc.

it's a short month, meaning more money.

next month = clocks forward

biking resumes in earnest for me.

altogether, ace, one of my favourite months actually.

as someone said, I'd like more months – best not to wish your life away – you'll only get one stab at it.

15-20 minutes each way, but that's after an hour drive (I do the park and ride thing) – reduces in the summer as I'm more likely in london going to appointments etc (where I ride a folder instead of tubing it)

hoping to extend the ride home in the evenings once it gets a bit lighter. need to get some road miles in before summer.

I run 'Tax Free Cycle' a Cycle to Work scheme for CycleSurgery.

Convert, you are wrong. Ime vast majority of ctw is used for commuting. Mainly by professionals who pay plenty tax anyway. We would all like to see vat cut on bikes, but this is what we've got right now.

off the bed before I see anotherctw threadandstart typing!

HMRC guidance recently out says that the scheme must be made available to all employees, regardless of whether they have company cars or not. techinically, cycling 10 yards from your car to the office door qualifies as a commute by bike.

you'll be fine. get the bike.

I've got one. they rock. had it just short of two years now and wouldn't be without one now.

sturdy? not as sturdy as a workshop stand, and you wouldn't want to swing off it trying to remove a set of sticky cranks, but you won't get that kind of tougness for less than a couple of hundred quid.

shop around, I'd say you can pick one up for 60 notes. well worth it. (and acutually lighter and more convenient than most stands that are more expensive)

…or a whyte 901 for the same cash? same geometry as crush, slight shorter fork (120mm) but you get a bolt thru.

stiff as **** and rides like a demon. I love mine….

Jimbo – where were you to get that bad? Wasn'tr anywhere near that bad around QECP? The clay is becoming very slippery at the moment

taff – coming out of the top of Stanmer park on the way up to Ditchling. On the whole though it's not quite as bad as that, providing you avoid the usual horse/tractor trails.

this time of year makes me laugh when people start talking about MTBs churning up the trails. If you've ever ridden anywhere where horses/cows/tractors go, a 2" tire makes very little impact!

Last Saturday. Not trying to put you off, mind.

geetee1972 – Member
NikNak – how long was the recovery after having the pins/plates out?

I'll answer that. virtually zero. I could have happily ridden my bike the day I came home from hospital (and it was only a day case anyway)

Wound sealed up in a couple of weeks. Though I kep having bits of the supposedly self dissolving stitching work it's way out of the following 3 months.

yeah, I'd say it's worth getting the metalwork out if you can. I got all the metal out of mine after a year. while it was always supposed to come out (a hook plate, so I couldn't lift my arm above my head for a year due the the size/shape of the plate) I felt like a new man when I woke up after the op.

1.5 years on, and my shoulder still gives me grief in the cold, though more like a dull ache in the mornings/in bed.

sounds like something could be coming loose*, so got to see doc I'd say

*I have no qualifications whatsoever, so please give my advice the same credence you would to a five year old.

don't sell them. I know for a fact from my own experience that doctors are frequently wrong, as are experts that write books, blogs, articles.

keep em. pace yourself. don't give up.

don't sell them.

Sonor – Member
(edit – I would do a discreet mini-cap-doff to people who put the effort into building trails – it shows a passion and commitment for the sport while most of us simply go and ride what someone else has toiled over)
Passion and commitment, but also a complete and utter disregard for anyone other than themselves.

to be fair, it's the disregard for anyone but themselves which gave the the MTB community such good trails around there in the first place. I'm sure that had hurtwood caught on a little earlier, then no one would be allowed to ride around there.

still, as things are now, I'd say you'd have to be pretty silly/sneaky to be riding around there with a shovel strapped to your camelbak. But I won't grass if I see you 😉

can't see how you'd actually enforce a ban in that area unless hurtwood employed A LOT more people.

That said, I'm all for peace and harmony, so will be riding stuff I believe to be established. Gives you the high ground when getting shouted at by the red sock brigade. 🙂

(edit – I would do a discreet mini-cap-doff to people who put the effort into building trails – it shows a passion and commitment for the sport while most of us simply go and ride what someone else has toiled over)

Wally – Member
When I had mud like that, some forced it's way under the fork lip seals, IMO drop your lowers and give them some TLC.

I'd love to. but I know myself, and as much as I will talk about it. I just know it's not gonna happen. That said, at least they're not Fox. riding through mud like that would probably invalidate the warranty 😮

yes it does look suspect. Thankfully, it's just a different sort of mud!

I was sad to see lots of dog walkers yesterday sheepishly kicking leaves over their dogs sh!t and walking on. annoyed at myself that I didn't say anything. :-/

liking the white spoke thing going on. nice

it's what cats do innit.

that said It must be annoying. Supersoaker option sounds like the most fun!

neilforrow – Member
The cyclescheme.com is a rip off, you don't have to use the voutcher route.

not a rip off – cyclescheme take a margin, but it's not ridiculous given the amount they invest in promoting cycling to various organisations. I can promise you that the scheme would not be nearly so widely available to employees in this country if CycleScheme didn't exist. I work with them (not for them, mind) closely, and while they have to take a margin (as any business does) it's not unfair, and definately not a rip off for anyone taking part in the scheme.

As an aside, you talk of the rules in the scheme and you're not quite right. topping up is at the discretion of THE EMPLOYER (its their bike), and has nothing to do with the bike shop.

Let's keep the scheme alive (and therefore me in a job!) and not openly flount it!

sailor jerrys seconded – lovely summer drink with lime and coke!

yeah private fuel is not a great benefit – you'd need to be doing some serious mileage to make it work.

I pay about £50 extra in tax a month for my company car. I like it, it's hassle free and nice to know that if anything goes wrong the company picks up the tab, and I couldn't run a car of the same quality for that much.

general consensus from our mechanics is that SRAM is better, but tends to snap more readily, whereas shimano tend to bend a bit first.

shame as I actuaslly prefer the SRAM when they aren't broken!

lots of subtle bits in stanmer (on the way to the unvirsty)

including "the hill that no man can climb" 😆

for a ton fifty I'd give it a go.

I think I currently hold the record for cheap, new bike on ebay @ £125 for Sora equipped bike, truatix chainset etc. It's done over 2k so far and still rides great (a bit of wheel trueing).

so don't always say no to cheap bikes on ebay, sometimes it's genuine.

🙂

looks like team yassu nafty will be back on the start line in 2010, this time, possibly with a WOMAN. 😯

I wasn't getting excited about it until I read this thread, and now can't wait. boring course. absolute hell when it's wet. lack of nice beer in the arena.
BUT
It really shows how an incredible atmosphere can really make an event. it really is a special weekend and I can't wait.

40mpg – Member
Thanks Miketually, although I cant imagine HMRC will track me down here?

They're everywhere.

nice bike though for the money – I'd go for it. maybe replace the fork once you've taken ownership of the bike.

incidentally, recent review actually rated the own brand giant shock as as good as the fox equivalent.

I'd get it.

30 litre dakine bag thinks its a 101. looks a bit like a schoolbag, but it's excellent, comfy, lots of pockets and plenty of protection for llaptops etc. love it.

http://www.interparcel.co.uk

strictly speaking they have a limit, but I've posted stuff way bigger and it's been fine. and cheap.

parkesie – Member
everyone stops for a chin wag and jelly babies

+1 good idea

re-reading this thread makes kiting sound suicidal. it's not. there is a risk (as in biking) but that's where you get the pleasure from. it's technical, it's physical, it's inclusive (most people can get to grips with it, though not as much as biking, admittedly)

kiting on your own ain't clever.

kitesurfing when you can only "swim like a cat" ain't clever either.

don't go further out than you would be happy to swim in (preferably not as far as that)

if you're a bit worried about conditions, that it might be a bit much, stay on the beach and watch others for a while, then if you still don't feel good. sack it off and go for a bike ride.

get lessons. get insurance. You'll love it. nowadays I have real trouble sitting still in the summer when the trees start swaying under the wind.