Race MTB = SS
Winter MTB = SS
CX = Fixie / SS

Building up another bike for more burlier stuff that will be 1×10 for big hills as I got tired of swapping the SS bits for a 1×9 setup for the occasional trip to Wales.

Took a (borrowed) road bike for a spin at the weekend and thought it was lovely, though gears slipping and found the hills less of a challenge and after a while found I missed my fixie.

I rode SS for my first 24. It was Clic 24 and it peed it down for most of the race. SS is a worthwhile option if you don’t have a pit bitch who is handy with a spanner.

I would also add that a 24 is more of mental challenge than a physical challenge if you do a “proper” 24 and don’t sleep on the job.

Edit: I have only done one 12hr with gears and hated it, too much too think about. All other 24s and 12s have been SS and I prefer this setup as you can just pedal like a mindless zombie. Braking and cornering is done by instinct.

Try this forum. There are loads of real world examples on here.

linky[/url]

Cup ‘n’ cone bearings also have a habit of becoming loose over time. Cartridge for me.

Rice pudding!

how do you count your rpm at that speed when going down a hill?

Speed computer and a calculator. Get the max speed off the computer and work it out.

doesn’t google say?

Nope.

I had an Etrex Vista, cost me £300+ new. Not entirely waterproof. I “upgraded” to a Geko 201 because it’s lightweight and more importantly simple to use on the bike and you can swap the batteries over.

If I am using the GPS and I upload a route the night before. Print off maps from Memory Map 50k to A4 sheets (1:40k scale works well for me), I can wip out a map and check my position as quick as fiddlying around with buttons on a newer GPS. Oh an compass and proper map in the pack.

I don’t solely rely on one element but a combination of all three depending on how lost or if I need to change the route.

I would recommend a Sony Walkman

E series

The E series is a comparable size to the previous generation of Nano Ipod. The battery lasts 50 hours on the new models. The screen is good and the sound is a touch better than Apple Nano (according to some audiophile website when I did some research).

The best thing about the Walkmans is that you can use it with iTunes, Windows Media Player or old style drag ‘n’ drop via Window Explorer (or OS equivalent). It plays AAC files to all your iTunes purchases will still work and don’t need to be downgraded to MP3.

Another reason could be the position of your chainring and that it is not truly centred.

To test spin the cranks slowly and every eighth turn of the crank grab the chain and see how much it wiggles. If the chainring is not centred you will find that the chain is loose at one point and tighter in another.

To fix tension the chain so the chain is tight, spin the cranks till it is tightest, then loosen the bols though best to do in pairs. Then tighten up the chainbolts then retest. The chain should be an even tension for a full revolution of the crank.

One trick is to create an oil bath for the freewheel without having to remove the freewheel.

Find a plastic tub or an old bottle, cut the bottom off and the height should be around 5cm or so (you will need to experiment). Fill with oil then remove your back wheel and lay the wheel on the side with the freewheel dipped in the oil bath overnight.

Anyone know the SKU for the new battery pack (battery only)?

Cheers

GIMP, bit different but does everything Photoshop does (almost).
link[/url]

Crystal Reports PITAS…

If you set the report to auto-range on a given axis and the report is say 5 pages long. The x-axis max range will be set to the max value for that page. So the max range for page 1 may be 8000, page 2 is 200, etc.

My idea was to set this programmatically and disable the auto-range property. My mistake was to assume that CR2008 supports setting the max-range value dynamically.

If you want to know the gory details it is to calculate the order of magnitude of a cost (so this will always be positive as in business there is no such thing as a negative cost and the system does not allow negative values via the data entry validation).

The plan is to figure out the order of magnitude of the maximum value of a data point plotted on the axis of a bar chart. And this needs to be a round figures to look nice. eg

max x value = 965 -> x-axis range = 1000
max x value = 6713 -> x-axis range = 6800

i.e. 965.

Math.Ceiling(Math.log10(965)) = 3

Minus 1 from [order of magnitude] (if greater than 1)

This would be 2.

Back again

Math.Pow(10, 2) = 100.

Calculate the max figure to the nearest 100 = 900

Add the interval to this figure = 900 + 100

Max x-axis value = 1000

Voila

But Crystal Report 2008 does not allow one to programmatically set the x-axis max range (you can only do this via the designer).

So its all been for nowt, ah well that’s dev for you. Back to my cup of coffee and the next bug…

Anyhow for the avoidance of any doubt, Torm’s code is now embedded into the codebase of a future production release.

I only need to deal with postive values so it does what it says on the tin. I think I’ve spent too much time coding PHP and forgotten what C# looks like!

Cheers Torm, that did the trick perfectly you win first prize!

Bigbob38

14 pints of cider and loads of sausages!!

Aye not bad also considering you did it on a rigid SS.

PS Thanks for lending me the brakes!

when it gets cold and the can is half empty the gas will not vaporise properly and the gas stove hardly works

I did the SDW a few days after New Year (few years ago) with a couple of mates bivi style over two days. The morning was a little frosty (below freezing). They had to give their gas stoves a rather serious shake to get a semi-decent flame out of them.

I had solid fuel tablets which just worked.

I think I understand more now. I was thinking of the equivalent of heating a steel plate with a hexy tablet underneath (albeit with a windbrak) and putting the mess tin of top, bit like a smaller version of an arga cooker.

Yeah, 2 complete tablets. That was with the usual army style folding stoves with zero wind. If there is any wind I could easily use double that.

My setup now uses the Caldera windbreak and my Ti-mug sits in the top of the windbreak with no gaps underneath the wind break. I can use solid fuel tablets with that. Might try that to see if hexy tablets work well with it.

I’ve made myself a “chimney” stove for it..steel can top

Isn’t that less efficient, how many blocks does it take to boil 500ml for example?

I used to be able to manage with two blocks.

I used to be a big fan of hexy stoves for that reason. Though got tired of having to clean the soot from the bottom of cookware.

I have heard that if you rub a used tea bag (wet) this cleans pots a treat. Never tried it.

The secret to using alcohol stoves is having an effective wind-break. I can get 500ml of water to a near boil (noodles don’t need boiling water) with only 20ml of meths.

If you want to see some empirical evidence then this web page may be of interest.

It compares different fuels and stoves and shows the trade off between weight and cost versus length of trip. An alcohol stove for a few days use is always going to be lighter than the equivalent weight with a gas stove. Though when you look at carrying more than 5 days fuel a gas stove is lighter.

Stove Geek Zone Test

My personal setup is one of these

stove

Very lightweight and fits in a ti-mug (though mine is the aluminium version which was cheaper though discontinued now).

There is a youth hostel a couple of miles from the start (to the north of the valley trail) of the Doethie valley singletrack. You can get to the start of the trails without even going on roads, that would be my recommedantion.

I would break you goal down into bitesize chunks. For example

Primary goal = 52miles in less 3 hrs (avg. speed = 17.3 mph)

Bite size goals =

Month 1 = 1hr ride @ 17 mph avg
Month 2 = 1hr ride @ 18mph avg, 2hr ride at 16mph avg
Month 3 = 1hr ride @ 19mph avg, 2hr ride at 17mph avg
Month 4 = 1hr ride @ 19mph avg, 2hr ride at 18mph avg
Month 5 = 2hr @ 19mph, 3hr ride at 18mph avg

The rationale being that you can focus on short term goals, achieve, give yourself a pat on the back, and slowly progress. This way you will achieve your end goal without even having to worry about it, it will be a foregone conclusion as long as the intermediary goals are realistic and measurable. The hardest thing about a plan is what someone else mentioned and that is when NOT to stick to a plan. If the plan is not working, change it or review the bigger picture.

If you are not hitting your goals, ask why. Too tired – not enough recovery time, can’t keep up the speed – build-in 30 minute rides i.e. 15min warm-up, 30 min @ 18mph, 15 min warm-down.

Good luck!

1st – You need a goal / event first.

2nd – A plan to achieve the goal.

3rd – Some short / medium term goals to maintain motivation for your primary goal.

If you have no particular goal/event in mind just ride.

IMO

nbt – Oh yes!

An absolute classic…

Cut to the scene where the camera pans out showing a chainsaw reved up and ready for action attached to the chap’s handless arm (his hand was eaten by a zombie). Whilst locking ‘n’ loading a sawn off shotgun in readiness to deal pain to zombies with the immortal line, “groovy”.

Edit: image got a bit a skewed

You will probably also need a vice / workbench and a large adjustable spanner.

Usually it will be a git to get off.

Best way I found is to clamp the spanner in a Black & Decker workbench. Attach the removal tool to the freewheel and clamp this in place with a quick release.

Grab the wheel (with the removal tool attached) and simply put this in the spanner / workbench and turn the wheel.

On One chainring works fine and lasts ages as it’s steel. I’ve had a Surly ring as well and that worked well also.

Yep.

Excellent post. I’ve been Alfine-curious for a while. The link below is a review on the roadcc site. I read this post with interest and especially that the 11 speed is 90g lighter than the 8 speed. Hoorah I thought until I read…

linky

The claimed weight of the 11 speed is 90g less than the 8 speed though in this review it is 68g heavier than the 8 speed. Is that a poke in the eye for folks waiting for the 11 speed version?

And yes I am an anal retentive weight weenie which is why when I ride with gears it’s using a 1×9 setup.

I had a 3.2l DSG V6 for 3 years. I used it for long distance drives to visits clients and everyday driving. Also used it for a road touring holiday with the missus from the south coast, through the Lakes and upto Scotland and had no issues with comfort.

Great fun to drive though. I second the comments about the turbo 1.8 versions about the lag. I test drove one of these and the V6 was far smoother (I also had an A3 1.8T Quattro for 3 years before which has the same engine).

With the mk1 version you do get alot of understeer when pushing it into corners (especially with the heavier V6 in the front) but the car is very comfortable for driving distances. So I would second the comments about the mk1 being a good tourer rather than an out and out sports car.

Nice one, cheers.

Depends on the type of/depth of snow.

Freshly fallen fluffy stuff about 10 cm deep.

I’ve got a slot dropout Scandal, I got one for similar reasons to yours (apart from the road bike bit). When I was looking there aren’t many cheap options out there for an ally frame SS (assuming steel is too heavy) unless you get a vertical dropout frame and fit a tensioner.

Hello Harrison, I think SSers were in the small minority, I think I only saw 5 or 6 SSers out in the 4hr category. Even if my brakes were working I would not have been any where near the chap on the brown Singular SS, I got lapped by him twice and I did 5 laps before giving up.

Good course, I was on a singlespeed as well. Though my brakes went (air in the system after storing bike upside down). Was fun going round with minimal ability to stop and had to pump the brakes to get the pressure up before starting any singletrack sections. Was going to jack it in after running into a tree though. Though enjoyed simply riding the course so plugged for another few laps.

I’ve been using some of the routines from this site.

MTB Strength Training[/url]

One of the few MTB specific weight training website I have found. I use mostly freeweights at home (Powerblocks – expensive but very useful and don’t require any storage space).

Another tip that I would say when considering weights is to use compound moves that have more than one form of movement. Say performing a front squat with a shoulder press on the up movement. There are a few places to learn compound moves and this is great way to get more exercise in less time, and it exercises the core muscles as well.

Also don’t forget the core muscles, it is all well and good getting strong quads, biceps, etc but if the frame that holds them together is weak this will translate into back ache and overcompensation from inefficient muscle use on the bike.