i'm a YouThinkYoureTooCoolForATouringBikeSoYouBoughtACrossBike Nazi actually

:-)

if you want to fit guards on a 'cross bike you've bought the wrong bike and should have got a tourer with the ability to fit a nice proper full set of mudguards on

;-)

they fit under close clearance road calipers fine, because they're designed to

if you haven't got a front caliper to mount them to i guess you could put a bolt through the hole in the fork and strap the guards to that, might require bodging

top-levers are very handy for cruising along the seafront with an post-ride hot-chocolate in one hand while the other hand covers the top-brake in case an errant dog/child/frisbee cuts across you path, that's about the only good use i could find for them

anyone that's interested mail me and i'll get back to you direct once i've made enquiries, the more that mail interest the more likely it is it will happen ;-)

joburtsheep AT aol DOT com

righto, i'll punt the idea to my favourite jeweller then

i'd rather you didn't to be honest, without going into details i was totally against these in the first place :-)

if someone wanted a totally new, different and very limited piece of Mint jewellry would there be interest?

the look of the thing and the cable routing suggests it is indeed a 'cross bike and i know someone that has one of their 'cross bikes with a Headshock, and he loves it

no_eyed_dear – using a bike to "commune with nature and each other's company" hasn't disappeared at all, the cost of the bike is irrelevant and it still continues with ultra-modern bikes, the machine is merely the catalyst

"You really are quite sad. Look around you some time, smile at the sheep, wonder at the ickle little birdies flying around. Smell the flowers."

there's plenty of time to do that while waiting for people at the top ;-)

i prescribe a mix of a 27 on the back and MTFU by the way

a money counting machine, just to check

those trails are more local to Eastbourne than Brighton

i've been told off by certain mountainbike magazines for appearing in photos with a cap under my helmet and asked not to do it again please, so it's definitely a fashion thing

so of course, i'll keep wearing one

Look – if you like spending money on new cleats every 6 months
Shimano – if your bike has Shimano on it
Time – if you want a bit more float

is the Raleigh rider on the far left Rory Hitchens?

one of these…

?

i've been using one of them as my workshop chain-breaker for years, you must have done something ham-fisted

go to your LBS, you can get spare pins

hopefully Hillingdon, bringing a spoon to a knife-fight

32:18 on mine

if i want to change gear i use my geared bike

i've been at quite a few races where 29ers have podiumed, and even won, but i'm not sure if those races included serious MTB situations

Height – 5' 10.5"
Frame – Enigma
Top tube – 568mm
Stem – 120mm -6 deg

i feel you're not going to get any worthwhile answers by looking at other peoples stats, your best bet is to go to a road bike shop that knows their stuff and get them to look at your position as it could have nothing at all to do with your stem length.
or as you're using the phrase "dark side" i'm going to assume that you're new to road riding and just need to get used to it and/or do some stretching

"jakes have a 'difficult' geometry to race with and can be twitchy"

tosh, and pish

as there's more clearance on a cross frame they will fit, they're only a tight fit on a road bike because it's all tight, as it were

you'll need to find something to bodge them to as they're designed to strap round a fork/seatstay mounted brake, and as the guards are narrow the protection won't be the greatest

it happens all over the country, people pre and post riding race courses, i don't understand it either, maybe it's because they can pretend they're fast, whereas in the race……

a Tricross is "Freeroad", cyclocross is different

Mens Pairs too, John and i and we've just seen the weather

i've been riding with them on and off for over 15 years with no problems, if you like thin gloves with no padding and want to look like you were in MBA magazine some time last century then they're fine, because after all they're just gloves

i use a Specialized 2D for both road and mtb, it does for both, but then again, why wouldn't it?

**loads** of people ride road bikes in the winter, but they don't talk about it because they're getting secret training miles in

if you're at all worried i'd ignore all internet "advice" and go see a qualified specialist (one that understands cycling is good)

i've run out of people that will ride tandem with me :-)

where's AP, he still does that kind of thing

i get mine from either the coffee shop or the cook shop, unsurprisingly

at five in the morning some of the flat bits are surprisingly steep

"not too hard really"

i must have been doing it wrong then. :-)

as above, it's not the racing that's the hard bit, it's the trying to stay warm and fed in-between times.
even if you're warm whilst out on the course you can freeze to death during the 'off' laps, take ALL your warm clothes, and then some more, and a big hat, and a sleeping bag to snuggle into while you have some tea and a little bit of food.
and take a big baggy warm jacket that you don't mind getting dirty to wear whilst waiting in the hand-over area, and leave a few pounds in the pockets so the in-coming rider can pick up some tea/food from the catering tent on the way back to base camp.

as for the racing bit, take it easier than full-on race-pace and you'll be fine, and make sure your partner has the same aims as you, do you want to race or just get round?

depending on your lap times you can decide whether to do single laps or doubles, if it's fast there just isn't enough time to recover/eat/mend bikes if you do singles.
but if you do doubles there's always the chance that you'll die halfway round the second lap, or your lights will die. that's all part of the fun.

does your race partner have a Bongo with a huge awning? that's a great help

and draft people on the fireroads

those bars *are* a bit high, or is it a DH road bike?

and your tyre logos don't line up with the valves

oh the irony of mountainbikers complaining about sanitised trails and wanting a trail-centre

"in my head high rollers on a hardtail with flat bars doesnt work."

8O

Buffalo Springfield – "For What Its Worth"

no simon, i got mine new out the box, then ruined it

i had one that's probably on its 16th owner right now, if it's got a dent in the downtube from dropping it onto a style, that's my old one.

i know of another smaller one that's done the rounds a bit as well.

good to see snaps is still at it :-)