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Viewing 40 posts - 121 through 160 (of 339 total)
  • Fresh Goods Friday 719: The Jewelled Skeleton Edition
  • jimmers
    Free Member

    Aye have thought of the monitor idea but I sometimes work from home and I don’t have a monitor at home.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Yep I’ll be there.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Cheers guys.

    Will see what Merlin and On-One have to offer :-)

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Just seen this. I’ve got a C456, in black.

    I think I would be afraid to take it out of the garage if I had one of those!!

    jimmers
    Free Member

    chinook

    Got one of these. Good fun and it comes with stabilisers so you can use them to get the hang of it and then take them off to do more advanced manoeuvres.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    To directly answer the OP’s questions. I had a SS MTB and SS CX for a number of years. I had a 1 x 9 setup for the MTB when I went to Wales or the Peaks for example.

    I have got tired of swapping the gears on my SS MTB so this year I got a geared long travel hardtail for something different.

    It’s all swings and roundabouts at the end of the day. But the bike I enjoy riding most is one with no gears though I live in an area where I can ride up most hills without gears.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    What are the chances of making the rock garden / motorway embankment descent fixed?

    For the bet of a pint of beer, Thom did it…

    jimmers
    Free Member

    My recommendation would be to setup a server on Amazon EC2. You could get an account setup and a server built within an hour.

    You can also attached EBS volumes which is a virtual drive. You may script or simply use the EC2 control panel to backup the virtual drive or the entire virtual server.

    A basic micro Windows instance will cost you around £10 – 15 per month.

    BTW when you setup a server instance the operating system is already installed. Email in profile if you need any other tips on EC2.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Live in Southampton so would also be interested. Keep us posted.

    (If I managed to escape the in laws in time)

    jimmers
    Free Member

    I’ve ridden round a Cannock as few time as the in-laws live within 30 mins driving.

    I was trying out the Monkey trail for the first time and on the first section just after the skinny across the pond there were 3 riders in front. I wasn’t in a hurry so just stayed behind them for a while. When the trail opened up to double track I asked if could squeeze by with a polite please at the end of the sentence.

    I got silence back but the riders stayed on the left hand side of the doubletrack. So I took this as a signal to squeeze by as they knew as I was there and there was plenty of room. Speed was no more than walking speed as it was slightly uphill.

    The rider at the back then moved over to the right and blocked me and put me into the bushes. There were no obstacles on the trail so I assume this was deliberate but gave him the benefit of the doubt and stayed behind until the fireroad.

    Once on the fireroad the same ride then blocked me twice trying to get round.

    Everyone else were happy to have a chat or respond to a cheery hello. The previous comment about 2mil people living within 30 mins of Cannock is the issue. More people = more chance of a negative situation.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    I’m out of suggestions other than to push the pistons out to around 5mm and lube the sides of the piston with brake fluid and try again.

    I’ve got old Shimano XT calipers and occasionally the pistons may pop out enough for the brake fluid to leak out from the pistons but I’ve always managed to get it back in.

    Maybe the seals have become dislodged somehow.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    That’s sounds ok. If my pads are worn down I can get 2-3mm showing.

    Try something like a wrong end of an external bottom bracket spanner. It’s flat, chunky and just the right size. Try to use a bit of force (but not too much) and see if that makes any difference.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    The reason for suggesting taking the reservoir cap off is that I once tried to bleed the brakes during a race with the pads left in the brakes and quickly realised that the pistons needed to be fully reset and by taking the reservoir top off I reset the pistons and saw the brake fluid rise is in the reservoir.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Has the piston been pushed out of the caliper too far? How much of the piston is exposed?

    Also are they 2nd hand or new?

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Take the pads out and gently try and lever the piston back in with a tyre lever / screw driver or something (best to use a non-metallic item but if you’re desperate a screw driver will suffice).

    The piston should go in easily without using alot of force. If it appears stuck then it try taking the top off the reservoir cap at the lever end and try pushing the piston in again.

    If you had bled the brakes with the pads left in then the pistons won’t be reset properly and you’ll have too much brake fluid in the system. When you bleed the brakes you need to put a 10mm allen key in between the pistons (assuming this may be the problem).

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Thom: good call, I recall renaming Foreplay as Fumble in the Dark! Cheers.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    A few more trail name translations for you

    Redundancy trail = Lord Thorne II
    Down Hill I = Matt T’s Signature Trail
    Bike Graveyard = Hanging Bike Trail
    Narrow Bridge = Foreplay
    Rock Garden = Motorway Embankment

    jimmers
    Free Member

    KMC Z610HX

    jimmers
    Free Member

    +1 Sektors

    I have the u-turn version and useful for setting the travel. I don’t really change during a ride just to suit different riding locations.

    Local woods 130mm
    Out in the hills (Peaks, Wales) – 140mm
    Descent with big rocks – 150mm

    Edit: I have the coil version, cheap as chips and just work.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    I did solo a few years ago and the chap next to me had a plan that he didn’t need lights as when it got dark his wife would pick him up (lived local), sleep in a nice comfortable bed then bring him back in the morning after a nice fry-up and a cup of tea and resume where he left off.

    Each to their own and I guess and its what you make of it. Personally I find the mental challenge of not sleeping quite enjoyable but then I am strange.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    I’m on a single speed. I hope it rains!

    jimmers
    Free Member

    +1 Motorola Defy

    Only had it a couple of weeks now but its suffered river water (canoeing), sweat (running) and rain (biking).

    Reception is clear and no complaints from me about the spec of the phone. It can play back video quite smoothly and the built in Motorola software is good especially the swipe typing thingy. Instead of tapping letters on the keyboard you can simple draw a line between the letters and it guesses the words.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    “Aha!”
    “Lynn! You couldn’t present a… cat!”
    “Oh cook a cat!”
    “Well there’s no need for that!”
    “Mrs Moneypenny’s an egit! she’s an egit!”
    “I’m leaving you, you cow!”
    “Bash your ****!”
    “No not my face i’m doing a photo shoot tomorrow for vision express”
    “Can I just read you something from Top Gear magazine”
    “Not my words Carol the words of Top Gear magazine”
    “Well, you’re in the right ballpark. No, it actually says ****, Piss, Partridge.”
    “There’s never any graffiti in the hotel. Although in the Gents a couple of weeks a go I did see someone had drawn a lady’s part. Quite detailed. The guy obviously had talent.”
    “Guide dogs for the blind. It’s cruel really, isn’t it? Getting a dog to lead a man round all day. Not fair on either of them.”
    “I’d love to get my hands on the bastard. Or *****, might be a lady.”
    “I’m sorry, that was just a noise.”
    “Do you want some sugarpuffs”
    “I’m gonna hump ya….like Deputy Dawg would hump ya”
    “Good. Got my fungal foot powder? Ah, it’s a lifesaver, you know. I’d effectively be disabled if it weren’t for these.”
    “Right, dry skin cream. I’m having an attack of the old flakes again. This morning, my pillow looked like a flapjack.”
    “I’ve been working like a Japanese prisoner of war. But a happy one.”
    “Rolled on the thighs of a virgin.”
    “Lynn’s not my wife. She’s my PA. Hard-worker, but there’s no affection.”
    “In fact, you know, the best thing I ever did was get thrown out by my wife! She’s living with a fitness instructor. He drinks that yellow stuff in tins. He’s an idiot!”
    “BANG! I’m James Bond”
    “Do you know what this bathroom says to me? Aqua. Which is French for water. It’s like being inside an enormous Fox’s Glacier Mint. Which, again, to me is a bonus.”
    “Yes, it’s an extender! Fantastic. That is the icing on the cake.”
    Alan has a confronatation with a former schoolmate regarding being caned as a teenager for having a chalk penis drawn on his back. “That was a long time ago Alan!” “That’s what Nazi war criminals say!”
    “I do like that toilet. It’s very futuristic, isn’t it? Very, sort of, high-tech, space age. I can imagine Buck Rogers taking a dump on that. In the twenty-first century. Can I, have a go?”
    “We managed to rectify it, though, because it now says, by adapting it, “Cook” where it once said “****”, and it says “Pass” now where it once said “Piss”, so it’s slightly less rude.”
    “All this wine nonsense! You get all these wine people, don’t you? Wine this, wine that. Let’s have a bit of red, let’s have a bit of white. Ooh, that’s a snazzy bouquet. Oh, this smells of, I don’t know, basil. Sometimes you just want to say, sod all this wine, just give me a pint of, mineral water.”
    “Can I just shock you? I like wine. Despite what I just said earlier. At any one time I have nine bottles of wine in my house.”
    “And, can I have the same, please? But with different shaped pasta. What do you call those pasta in bows? Like a bow-tie, but miniature? Like an action man bow-tie.”
    “Alright, I’ll rephrase the question. Can I… no, actually, I’ll just repeat the question: have I got a second series?”
    “Yeah, give me another series you ****.”
    “Tony, I’ve, look I’ve just bought a house. It’s got a Buck Rodgers toilet. One yank, all gone!”
    “Textbook sexual intercourse.”
    “Jurassic Park!”
    “Kiss my face.”
    “I like your berets.”
    “Back of the net!”
    “Smell my cheese, you mother!”
    “Lynn I’m not coming to your baptist church! They always get people when they’re down.”

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Back of the net!

    jimmers
    Free Member

    +1 try Ubuntu

    Old Windows programs I run from VirtualBox

    jimmers
    Free Member

    I’ve got a Netbook running Ubuntu and occasionlly I need to run Windows programs using Virtual Box. I don’t want to slow it down with a resident scanner. And yes VB does connectivity to the outside world.

    Will see if MSET is compatible with Win XP.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    This is true but unless you were in the leed bunch you were in a pack of about 100 plus for the first 20 miles, so its like your in a trafic jam on/off the brakes all the time

    Sounds about right, the majority of my pads went in the first 30 – 40 miles of the race. I started at the back so there was a lot of traffic to contend with.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Had a look at the results.

    Does anyone know the distances for all the checkpoints listed on the results (CP1, CP2, etc)?

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Six sets of pad wore out for me. KIA list for pads is as follows.

    – 2x Superstar Kevlar (bedded in, almost new)
    – 1x Superstar Kevlar (new not bedded in lasted 5 miles)
    – 2x BBB Sintered (new not bedded in)
    – 1x manufacturer not known (part worn)

    Many thanks to the lady who lent me two used pad at the Newcastleton otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to finish, hope the gels got you to the end!

    For the last 38 miles I had two sets of pads, so I just used the front brake and replaced these when they went which was on the last 1 mile from the finish at the top of the swoopy downhil red section into the finish.

    I didn’t bother with gears so other damage to the bike was limited to a sticky lockout lever and a rusty chain.

    Really enjoyed it so will be back next year with more (bedded in) pads.

    Also thanks to all the marshals and organisers. The support and organisation was superb.

    Edit:
    Also thanks to the other riders who helped support at the different checkpoints after retiring due to mechanicals and mishaps. A bit of banter and encouragement goes a long way in getting your head together for conditions like that.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Yep!

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Lordy. There’s something seriously wrong with people like you…

    Aye, I missed the BBB because of it (I’m the chap who did the website) but my main event this year is Kielder so it is a build up to that.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp. Or what’s a heaven for?

    Depends on how long your arms are I guess…

    jimmers
    Free Member

    I did the SDW at the weekend, one way. Done it a few time before in a group. Done it there and back in 48hr bivying. In a day with a group and 3 failed solo attempts (when I was less prepared and less fit).

    I’ve also been thinking of doing the double for a while (under 24hrs) and my personal qualification is to do it one way solo unsupported in under 12hrs. Managed this at the weekend (11h 15min on a SS).

    I’ve been doing 24s and 12s and a number of years and I would say that the SDW is a different kettle of fish, you need to get your food right. All of my previous attempts have been thwarted by being sick at the side of the trail through eating just energy bars. Whilst with a 24 you can dip into your food box for something different.

    So my advice would be to do it one way in around 11hrs and test the kit, food, preparation. Once you’ve done this then proceed to the next stage which is the double itself.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Looking forward to Kielder.

    Cracked the SDW at the weekend for the final push of training. First time I’ve done in it solo in a day (though ridden in a group in a day). Fuelled by a experimental home made flapjacks incorporating scientifically random ingredients.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    You should know it like the back of your hand by now.

    Yeah should do! Though it’s a fair few years since I’ve done Winch to Eastbourne.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Cheers Bez, that’s cracking.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    UPDATE: timetable of events uploaded on BBB website

    http://www.bigbikebash.co.uk

    jimmers
    Free Member

    BBB Not mentioned on New Forest mtb club web site

    Oops, is now.

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Update: QT Pro crashed on Windows so a none starter.

    Found this instead. linky[/url]

    jimmers
    Free Member

    Cheers, will give QT a try.

Viewing 40 posts - 121 through 160 (of 339 total)