have to say I rode today with nothing but a pair of baggies and everything was fine- didn’t notice any difference. Agree with TJ, I have used Sudocrem before, and find it’s worse than nothing atall, especially if it gets any bits in it, which then just turns into grinding paste. then you get really red raw!

Sorry for the slight downer, but I really don’t get the fuss about turners. To me, they look quite ordinary really. Faux bar, nicely welded, nice colours, a bit different – but nothing mega exciting. But then i’ve never ridden one, so I appreciate my opinion doesn’t really carry any weight.

Still, much nicer than my bike – hope you enjoy it!

was up in town today, guys in the shop were just bored, as no one is venturing out of their buildings for fear of being lynched for being capitalist pigs. Seems like the threat of the protest has probably had the effect of making lots of peoples day a bit harder than it should have been, despite them not really having anything to do with it.

protesting peacefully – great – threatening violence = knobbers.

no, under no circumstances never will a bike shop ever supply only a frame. Never. No. (yes)

HMmm. not sure about this. The schem is definately set up with a view to new bikes, as it gives employers a little more confidence in what they are paying for. I do’nt think there is anything in the guidelines that you can’t, but then I would never advise employers to buy anything other than new, mainly because employees might not necessarily know what to look for in a bike, and they can buy new with more confidence. Also Fair market values are easier to work out at the end of the term with new bikes.

For employers to take up the scheme, it really has to be as simple as possible, and second hand goods tend to complicate the scheme somewhat.

you need moutiers for the three valleys area. all resorts (meribel, courchevel, la tania, val thoren, les menuire, and a few more) are within 45-60minutes drive from here.

Bourg saint maurice is the end of the line, and good for les arcs and la plagne.

Not sure if trains run direct during the summer though, I’m pretty sure you’ll need to change in paris. I thought it was only during the ski season you could get from London to the Alps without changing.

have you thought about getting an LPG van – tax is **** all cos of the emissions, and LPG is going for 50p a litre. My mate loves his LPG transit for riding and windsurfing.

brand new cable on my shimano set up, compared with few months old demo bike with Sram on it.

no contest from what I experienced yesterday

p.s. not a troll, but a genuine question – not meaning to offend any Shimano lovers either!

what Andy said – I did it for the first time a few months ago, it’s one of those things that’s slightly daunting the first time you do it, and once it’s done you get a sense of manly satisfaction.

it’s really not too hard. thats why shimano brakes are ace 🙂

so who else has googled chainsaw injuries?

plumpton farm campsite is pretty nice…..

hackmans farm is pretty nice, and with showers. There is another one that is super basic bu they do let you make FIRE!

sponging – if you do a charity bike ride, say, isn’t the idea to get people to sponsor you to do it? I didn’t reailse that you also had to put a % of your hard earned in there too.

Quite a few people on here need to get a grip. frankly, I don’t really care what they do, the fact is they raised a shed load of money, and, probably going to save peoples lives as a result. I put my fiver into it quite happily. was good to see cole in outdoors mode too, and cotton really did look in a bad way at times, so fair play to them all.

crumpler, comfy, very well made.

however, not very niche, so other messengers may laugh at you.

I love mine though.

paceman – I live in brighton too and am thinking about entering this, but the one in july. if you’re up fro some training rides then let me know!

thumbs up for the airbike sl1 from on one. holding charge very well, an well sorted light and great value.

frank turner is a little known gem – an absolute lyrical genious. Doesn’t like thatcher much either 🙂

have a look on spotify, he rules!

A trek 1.2 is a good budget bike – nice wheels, though it does have sora shifters, which frankly aren;t all that bad really.

around the £550 mark I believe.

OK, cheers for that – don’t have a booot cd as it’s a work laptop, so I’ll give it to the IT chap on tuesday and wait for lectures on installing spotify on work computers blah blah blah.
…

Thanks for your help everyone, looks Like I’ll have to face the music next week!

tried that – message I get is:

‘windows could no start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\windows\system32\config\system

arse – I need to work tomorrow too….

:-/

I put together a merlin malt for mrs JB (thanks to classifieds on here), with recons/deore. lovely bike, I wish it was my size. Hannah loves it too and has given it a pet name. comes in around 25lbs I reckon.

merlins are fantastic imho

I put together a merlin malt for mrs JB (thanks to classifieds on here), with recons/deore. lovely bike, I wish it was my size. Hannah loves it too and has given it a pet name. comes in around 25lbs I reckon.

merlins are fantastic imho

we are in with ‘tale of three cities’

best not ask Gary M though.

😉

I’m really glad you replied to the pointless post. is there a reward for the most pointless reply to a pointless post ever?

Sorry for wasting your time Gary.

😉

no opinions on the mavics?

linky

willier triestina mirage.

well nice and looks like a 2K bike.

very nice to ride too.

that’s my plan too… quite full on to drive over to his house eh?
last time I did it was 2005, when I smoked, was fatter, and a lot less fit, and couldn’t ride a bike.

really hope we get in this year.

andym,

just commenting that if you are planning on introducing clothing that doesn’t need washing as much, maybe pants aren’t the first place to start?

I am actually fairly ambivalent about howies marketing.

all excellent advice – much appreciated people – Mrs JB is on the case with her calculator!

cbike – thanks for the feedback, but regarding the question, do you know how much it costs to get a website built?

found the logo it reminded me of…..

cheers chaps – all good stuff – I’ll pass on the feedback to the missus.

Jimbo

that was pretty harsh. and apparently unprovoked.

weird. I hope the copper got the book thrown at him

I have to say though, that critical mass doesn’t really do cyclists many favours, simply alienating them from the rest of society. there is enough tension between cyclists and other road users already – I don’t see the point in making things worse.

The copper is still a complete unit though.

what a unit!

anyone had any experience of sigma flashguns?

they seem pretty good value too….

yeti – It’s great. super breathable, I’ve had a day out scrambling up snow covered slopes with my bike in Kettlewell, kept me warm and dry, despite sweating like a horse.

super rainy evening in north downs, although it’s not touted as completely waterproof, it actually is pretty much watertight. it hosed it down and I was bone dry underneath with a base layer.

I was out in brighton sunshine on the south downs at the weekend. 8-10c and I didn’t overheat.

in short, it is the absolute nuts. recommended to everyone!

snug is the right word for these jackets.

🙂

didn’t hear mine snap, but bloody hurt.

had to walk the last bit of the energy loop at afan, and then rode back to village one handed with bad arm in a sling made out of inner tube.

the real pain started when the NHS got involved.

A&E mate, don’t even bother with your GP as they’ll only send you for an xray.

agreed. 5’11, 80kg, I have the large tool jacket.

best fit I’ve ever had for a jacket. worth absolutely every (expensive) penny.

🙂

I broke mine clean in two but didn’t have a noticeable lump until swelling went down.

I’s say the most obvious thing is a LOT of pain if you move your arm, you won’t be able to lift it. I got shooting pains right down to my elbow, which got worse after I had an op to fix the whole thing.

It’s an absolute bugger.

Best get it checked out though, as the sooner you get into the system, the better (if you need an op to fix it, time is of the essence, as the bone starts to die, and doesn’t like growing back after a while (I had two ops over 9 months last year too fix it).

All in all, Mine took exactly a year to mend.

Hope it’s not broken.