Just for JonT
Niner fork still rideable after hammer blows[/url]

bottom out bumpers.

thread them back onto the prongy bits at the bottom of the stanchions before you re-install them.

I know they are cheesey and formulaic, but because of that they are perfect for a turbo session.

I'm going on about the Rocky films of course. Warm up while Mickey, Adrian or Apollo dies. Up the pace while Rocky whips himself into shape. Then throw in some sprints while he ****ts Apollo, Mr T, Dolph, etc.

Rocky III is particularly good for a turbo session. I think the fear of Apollos gay sex dungeon and his un-feasibly tiny shorts motivate you.

It look even more like a Marin now.

He reviewed a Trek once as well.

Schwalbe make some great 'light' tyres. Fred, Ron and Ralph, take your pick.

If you can find them Michelin latex tubes are the dogs danglies. If I remember right they weigh under 130grams, less prone to pinch flats and because of the high elasticity of latex they give a ride feel similar to tubeless. Only problem with them is they are more porous than normal tubes so they will need pumping up more often.

GT got well and truly shafted on the 'Horst Link' patent. GT were selling bikes (LTS) with what we now call a 'Horst Link/FSR' in Jan 94, Horst Leitner filed the patent in Sep 94. The patent wasn't granted until Apr 96, and I might be wrong on this but I think Specialized bought the patent sometime in 1998. The US was the only country that would grant the patent. They tried in other countries, Canada, UK, etc, but could not get it through because other companies such as GT were already using the design.

Anyhow, GT had planned for the I-Drive to replace the RTS in their suspension range and were going to have ranges made in the both the LTS and I-Drive platforms. In 98 and 99 GT made both I-Drive and LTS bikes, then the lawyers for Specialized started waving patents about and GT dropped the LTS. It was a bloody shame as well as the last LTS bikes came with Fox air-cans and cartridge bearings on all pivots, when most manufacturers were still using plastic bushings (I think Spesh started to use bearings instead of bushings in 2001).

Sorry for all that waffle I just thought I'd point out that GT didn't develop I-Drive because they couldn't use Horst Links. GT developed it as an alternative to Horst Link bikes as it addressed some of the inherent short-comings with the FSR design.

In this months Mountain Bike mag (the yank one) a spokesman for Conti said that they are all for people running their tyres with sealant and it doesn't invalidate the warranty.

The Gimp

AHHH it's driving me nuts. I'm sure 'like a fat kid loves cake' is either a lyric from a song or a quote from a film. I can't for the life of me think where it's from though.

To be fair to no-eyed-dear he's not just using his nose. He's noticed that a cheap product that is used for it's ability to bond to materials and form a water repellent barrier has a similar smell to an expensive product that bonds to material to form a water repellent barrier.

If I had some ancient goretex knocking about I'd give it a go myself.

When I did my first post I was getting ready to go for a ride so I thought I'd go over to 'degla and have a look for myself.

It is considerably colder in the South of the Clwydians than the North at the moment. 1.5 degrees compared to 4 degrees.

The access road to One Planet is iced up pretty solid. None of the main roads are so it looks like nobody has bothered to salt that road at all. The trails were alright though, a bit of ice here and there, but nothing like the access road.

There were plenty of other people parked at the bottom of the access road braving it so they might be along in a moment to give their two pence worth.

It's over 6degrees in Caerwys (it's at the other end of the clwyds) and chucking it down.

I'd be surprised if the access road up to Llandegla is still iced up. There's no remaining ice or snow up here.

If you've got a proII hub it could be that the bearings need re-seating.

For a filter machine If you like a full bodied coffee then Lavazza Gran Filtro is the mac daddy. It only comes pre-ground, but you can buy it in single serving vac-pacs. It settles pretty quickly in the jug though so you have to prepare it and drink it pretty quick.

If it really has to be beans then you want to keep it as simple as possible. Avoid blends that are a mixture of arabica and robusta. In fact for filter machines single-source coffees work quite well, it has to be a blend for espresso though!

So in answer to your question any med-roast 100% arabica single-source coffee will be alright, but Lavazza Gran Filtro is better.

Will the real Rocketdog please stand up?

Dare I say a Durance?

A higher rise stem will be lighter than a Thomson

Really? by how much? How much do each of these stems weigh then? Even with all that extra steerer and all those nasty spacers that must weight, ohhh grammes….it'll make such a difference…

Yeah, you're right. It is only a difference of grammes, over 100g mind you. That's based on the lump of steerer you'd chop off weighing as much as the headset spacers.

I've not done any empirical tests. I have done some real world riding on them though (just like every stem tested in magazines), and a more direct route from the headset to the bars makes for a more accurate front end.

So I'm correct about it being lighter, and unless you can prove me wrong with your empirical tests I'm also correct about it being stiffer.

I love this forum sometimes.

TooTall – Ditch the Thomson stem and get one with more rise instead. Bonty do their range with a 17degree rise option.

A higher rise stem will be lighter than a Thomson with a load of fork steerer and headset spacers, it will also be stiffer and therefore sharpen the handling.

That has got to be a good idea for £25.

Bloody nice bike though.

awh- who's got them for sale? wouldn't mind trying a pair of these myself.

I'm presuming with a name like Brumsgrove that you live in Bromsgrove, Worcs.

Speeds your LBS has some bike bags that they lend to regular customers (well they did a few years ago). If you don't frequent Speeds, shame on you, but they might rent you one if you leave them a deposit.

yep, you should.

Repack Rider – Are you really Charlie Kelly? If you are it's nice to know we have MTB deity posting on here.

Oh and who'd win a fight between Gary, Tom and Joe?

For the less culinary educated posters, prey tell what is a quesadilla?

There is no way that Scott weighs 10lb or that Inbred weighing 20lbs.

Manufacturers weights are never accurate, and surprise-surprise they always seem to state that they are lighter than they actually are.

Oh to be a dwarf. I'm presuming that's a 16". You little fellas have the nicest looking bikes.

aids to correct knee position

That seems a bit drastic.

Single origin coffee's taste like sh1t for 10 months of the year.

But at least they are eco-friendly as they deliver it by bike if you live within 5miles of the roasters. I wonder how it gets from El Salvador to San Fran though?

I normally price up my second hand stuff on a basis that if it's in good nick, and less than a couple of years old, then it's worth about 2/3rd of the brand new value.

Therefore I'd expect about £500-£550 for a Ti456. Considering the new price is currently £800.

It's difficult to say with Ti456's whether you are better off holding on to the frame in the hope that the RRP goes back up and therefore the 2nd hand price, or sell it now as if the price sticks at £800 the older it gets the less it's worth. Another factor to consider is that I'm not sure if the Ti456 had been designed to pass the new CEN testing, if it hadn't then I'm sure On-One will be changing the design therefore leaving you with an old model which will obviously lower the 2nd hand value.

I don't think the tubeless ones use the black chilli compound.

This is brilliant! 6 pages of arguing caused by a bloke who owns a mtb holiday company in Spain trying to drum up some trade by saying that it's lovely and warm here in Malaga at the moment.

Out of interest, as you have bought her a new bike why didn't you buy her a lady specific jobbie?

Can only get Contis or Schwalbe at the moment.

I bet you have Magura brakes and forks as well.

You are Hitlers grandchild and I claim my £5.

If you like the Pronghorn get that. Personally I'd be scared of catching my shorts (or worse) in the suspension linkage.

I think it should be in 3 sections. 'For Sale', 'Wanted' and 'For Sale at a ridiculous price because I think a 3 year old frame is only worth a fiver less than I paid for it'.

I can't believe the amount of posters on here with cracks, it seems that 90% of the people who have read this thread then gone and checked have found cracks!

go to West Ham Football Club and pay there therapist and
Physio to check me over its about £ 65 per one visit

Their ability to get Dean Ashton back on his feet would not install me with confidence. I'd rather pay a fiver and get a wipe down with Leyton Orients magic sponge :wink:

On a serious note it sounds like the kind of performance drop that comes with a viral infection.

I'm well thanks and Paddy's doing great. Can you believe he'll be 1 on the 21st!

Has Dan killed the forks yet? For someone who weighs 10st dripping wet he ain't half tough on kit.

Diolch yn fawr. I'll pop in the Chester branch on Monday and see if they've got any.

How's the Mav?