I’ve just bought a Cube Agree Pro Triple from Chain Reaction.Triple butted frame,mostly Ultegra,Mavic wheelset,FSA finishing kit.Claimed 8.1 kilo,which is lighter than carbon bikes with lower spec kit and it seemed difficult to beat at £980.Not ridden it yet but mates into road biking rate Cube.

Just purchased an older terraced house with the loft conversion.
Our solicitor asked for the building regs certificate and the owner couldn’t provide.The owner argued it was only storage but a friendly guy from the local council came to have a look and said they would class it as a living area.The owner had fitted a window,carpets and tv point so couldn’t really argue against it.
The staircase was too steep and there was no hard wired fire alarm.Also the ceiling had been boarded and plastered but no external air vents had been fitted to the roof to get air to the roof trusses.
The council guy said there was a possibility of the roof woodwork trapping damp because of the boarding and no vents.
As we were not going to use it as a room(i couldn’t stand upright in it)to take it out of building regs scope the council guy advised that the boarding be removed to reveal the roof woodwork and it would be better for the roof as well.
We could not have taken out indemnity insurance as the owner contacted the council and told them of the problem,which is not allowed by the insurance providers in the very unlikely event the council prosecute.
Ultimately the boarding was removed,and the council guy looked at the floor together with the chimney breast removal and said all was fine,so the sale went through.

Been using them for roughly 7 years and never had one problem,and they have had some heavy use as i lived in Southern Spain with very long technical descents.I did keep on top of them with maintenance though.

If theres no fluid leak then its still air in the system.
Have you got a Hayes bleed kit?
They are bled from the caliper pushing the fluid through the bleed nipple and up to the reservoir.I’ve got 9’s on both my bikes and never had a problem bleeding them with the kit.Air pockets can stick around the pistons so giving the calipers a tap while forcing the fluid through usually dislodges them and you can see them appear in the pipe from the reservoir.
Hayes 9’s are great,reliable brakes.

I kicked myself for buying a 5.Yes,it was a bag of spanners.Giant all the way !(mines a Reign ).

Follow “monstermarrow’s advice if you want a hope of recovering any money.
I had a similar problem and my solicitor said forget about recovering any money,write it off.Try to keep your losses to a minimum which means the condition of the property, as rent owed is small beer compared to possible cost of repairs.

The magazines pander to the advertisers.You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
As for the bike tests !
I’ve been on a foreign test with British journos and a model that was never ridden,it was left in the van, managed to get a glowing review in a magazine a few months later.Farcical !

Save your money and go to the British theme parks in the Spring.I thought Disney Paris was really poor.Have a look at Terra Mitica outside Benidorm with cheap flights to Alicante.

The problem with tax on fuel is that it doesn’t take into account a persons income.Generally the more you earn the more tax you pay.
Fuel duty is a blanket which covers everybody,regardless of income.
This is not a fair way to collect tax as wealthy people wouldn’t notice £2 a litre petrol.Camerons “we’re all in it together ” is untrue.

If you’re thinking of a 5 get a demo.I hated mine,probably the worst bike i have ever ridden,but my next bike a Giant Reign was excellent.

Cube Agree Pro Triple on Chain Reaction.Nearly a full integra groupset,FSA kit,mavic wheels.Less than a grand.

Sierra Espuna is the place to be.Don’t bother looking anywhere else.
Steve Wade,a partner in Orange bikes has a house there,and they normally do rides every Sat morning from the campsite in El Berro ,around 10am.They may also do a couple during the week depending who’s available.You may get to see some Orange prototypes.
I’ve visited many times and the riding is superb.Forget trail centres in the UK,they just don’t compare.
If you’re on your own a good starting off point is the Centro Interepretacion,which is on the main road through the park.There are 3 info boards in the car park which you can use for Biking routes,but its better to hook up with some locals.The Fuente Hilo bar close to the info centre is a meeting place for bikers on Sunday mornings,normally about 12.
Simon,a spanish guy ,is usually at the campsite bar on Saturday mornings,with Steve Wade,and possibly one or two more Spanish.
Steve would love more British bikers to come out and explore the Espuna.

Nissan Terrano.Had one for 9 years to pull a caravan.Went around europe with it and coped with mountains no problem.Fantastically reliable,low ratio box,2.7 diesel,could pull up to 2600kg braked trailer.Sold it to a friend and its 11 years old now and has just passed its MOT again with no work needed.Never spent anything on it apart from the routine servicing.I cannot recommend these highly enough and seem cheap to buy.Only negative point is fuel consumtion but no worse than most other four wheel drives.
Discoveries really are crap,stick to the Japanese.

I.ve got a Clarkes,but not the skeletal,S8 i think it is.Works well but needs a good squeeze to bring the power in.Also it feels like the disc is warped with pulsing at the lever.Good for the money,£37,but wouldn’t fit it on a higher end bike.Nowhere near as good as my ancient Hayes 9’s.

There are still people with cash to spend who want to make a statement rather than look at the performance of the machine.
I know of 3 people who live close to me who all bought brand new Orange 5’s,and 2 of them had never ridden an mtb before.None of them are even average riders and one is disabled and walks with the aid of a stick.
But it gives them an air of a little bit of superiority outside the cafe as people will look at a strange shaped bike with Union Jacks on it.
I’ve had a 5,didn’t like it,and i think there are better specced bikes out there for a lot less money.
Any of the Orange brand loyalists ready for a road bike next year?

Replaced mine with a Giant Reign 0.No way would i go back.

You’re not going to find much in the way of hills as its all pretty flat around Bordeaux.Probably better off with a road bike.

Manitou Nixon Platinum forks from a few years ago.£500 and failed straight out of the box,and repeatedly after fixing.
Race Face x-type bottom bracket bearings.2 months in dry conditions and then had it.Utter junk.
Finally,and controvercially,the Orange 5 i had for over a year.Would be more at home on the Antiques Roadshow than on the trails.Just right for middle aged overweight baldies who have more money than riding competence.

Had a 5 for a year and hated it.Bought it because of all the hype and really regretted not test riding one.Downhill in a straight line it was good but anything else and it felt dead.Paint finish was pretty awful as well and the stickers peeled off at the first sign of rain.
Sold it at a big loss as i preferred to ride my £300 hardtail.
My Giant full suss does everything better for me,especially climbing.
I think the marketing by Orange is spot on as i know people who have bought a 5 that have never ridden a mountain bike in their lives but it looks good to own one.

I have a Thule which has a bracket that bolts on permanently through the bolt holes and then the rack sits into it and you tighten it up by hand.
It tilts so you can open up the rear door and it can be padlocked on.
It is the slide on type for the bikes as i can’t see any advantage for the wheel supported ones and it can fold down the arms when not in use.Really well made and secure.

My towbar mounted Thuile was less than 90 quid off the internet.
Its not the one where the wheels sit in a channel but the type where you slide the bikes on.I’ve been all around Europe with 2 bikes on it with no problems.You can get lighting boards cheap as well.

I use a Thuile 4 bike one which has a mounting plate permanently bolted to the towbar through the 2 bolts.You can still continue to tow with it on if needed.The rack is really strong and taking it on and off is easy.
I have a Reign and it goes on no problem.

I have used Avid,Tektro,Hayes,Shimano and easily the best one is the Avid.Have a think about Clarkes budget hydraulics S2 at CRC.They need a good squeeeze but are pretty powerful and come with a braided hose.

Doesn’t matter which colour combo you get the 5 is still pretty ugly!

I’ve been at a manufacturers test day with British journos present at a fantastic riding spot in southern Europe.The manufacturer pays for everything,accomodation,food,beer etc.The main test bike was “doctored” with higher grade parts so as to perform better(it rode terribly on showroom parts),and one model that was not even ridden at the test received a glowing report a few weeks later in a British mag.
As one of the manufacturers reps said at the time a bad review of a bike can kill a model stone dead.
I’d much rather read riders reviews but some people won’t admit the 4 grand bike is not actually any better than their old bike.

Oh,it should be CRIS registered as well,like a log book,and stay away from twin axle vans as the Gypsies love to steal them(some campsites in France won’t accept them because of the Gypsy link).

If you’re looking at secondhand caravans watch out for damp in the walls and delamination in the floor(feels like its sprung).Delamination can be cured but damp in the walls could technically right off a caravan.Look at the mastic sealant on the caravan body to see that its not been bodged up.Check that the fridge is working on all the settings as these can be expensive to replace.
Buying privately means that you may get all the extras thrown in.
Don’t buy a caravan bigger than you need as it will cost you more to tow(especially with fuel prices as they are).If its got a hitch head stabiliser so much the better,but if its an Alko then you’ll need the correct ball for it.
I’m off to the Pyrenees with mine in a couple of months and i can’t wait to get on the road.

A few years ago i was at a test with european journos sampling a few new models from a manufacturer.The test involved 2 downhill runs on the full sus bikes,about 40 minutes in total.The new model hardtail never left the van as nobody fancied it on the tough downhill.Surprisingly,it did get a good review though a few weeks later in a British mag .
The main full sus bike on test had its suspension lets say “tuned” in order to give a better ride than the showroom bike.The test wasn’t thorough,more like a free junket in a foreign part for the journos.

This thread really was covered days ago with a price comparison of an Orange 5 and SC Heckler.
Supply and demand.If your product is in demand and you are selling out then you can raise the price.Sorry,but its capitalism.
Its up to us,the punters,to decide whats “value for money”,but really we’re pretty heavily swayed by marketing.
Orange market themselves as a premium high end brand and price their products as such.The clever bit is knowing just how far to go before sales start to suffer because of the pricing.

I’ve used a single pivot bike for 4 years,Orange 5,and my current Giant for 3 years, with the multi link rear suspension, and for me the multi link bike pedals far better than the single pivot.Its most noticeable on rocky climbs but its equally as good on smoother fire roads.
Downhill there is very little difference,but the Giant just seems to cope with square edge hits a bit better,and the back end feels more composed braking hard into rocky corners.
If the Orange 5 is considered one of the best single pivot bikes then i will be sticking to the multis.

Get a test ride before you decide.5’s don’t suit everybody,and a 5 with a 160 fork is great on steep downhill but nothing else.
I’ve had a 5 and found the angles wrong for me making it a really horrible ride.

I really like sprouts,but my wife,who is no domestic godess,chose to make a sprout pie for me.The gravy part was condensed mushroom soup and she served it with lasagne.I ate it out of sympathy as she spent hours in the kitchen preparing it.
My stomach was off it for 2 weeks and i have just recovered,but she came back from the supermarket yesterday with a big bag of sprouts!

I’ve got Laser disc lite wheels on my Giant Reign,2007,and they are still going strong.They have had a lot of hammer as i live in Southern Spain and the trails can be quite brutal.
They are pretty light for their width and the hubs spin really freely.No broken spokes but the rear rim is just starting to go at the joint.
I’ve replaced the hub bearings once,which is an easier job than Hope hubs,but they were an awkward size to find and hence quite expensive.
The only problem i have had is play in the bearings from virtually new.Even the replacement bearings had play in them and it can’t be adjusted out.I think the design may have changed on the newer ones.

Orange can’t keep up with demand for some of their bikes,and that probably includes the 5.If you market your brand towards the “premium” end of the market then you don’t charge poundstretcher prices.
Its up to the buying public to decide if they believe the marketing(hype) and that the product is worth the premium.
So long as there is high demand then Orange will charge what the market will stand.They are a business which means profit,not to be symapathetic with some bikers who may desire their product but don’t have that amount of cash to spend.

My Orange 5 was really reliable for the year that i had it but rode like a bag of crap.I’d rather change the bearings of my present multi pivot bike every year than ride a 5.
Buy something that you enjoy riding as its normally the components on the bike that fail first rather than a frame if its from an established manufacturer.

For some people mountainbiking is about having the latest “name” or most exclusive badge.A couple of years ago it was Commencal,now its Lapierres(preferably in white around here).
The Giant marque has never been pushed like this by the media and i don’t think it needs to.I’ve got 2 Giants and both are great,finish,value,perfomance.My previous bike had an exclusive frame which cost more than my complete Giant full sus and was massively overrated.The Reign beats it everywhere.

I’ve rented property out,commercial and residential for years.
A student house may bring in more rent in the short term than a single occupancy property but repairs and maintenance costs could be appreciably higher.
You could have a look at auctions where the property in question is already let on a tenancy agreement and potentially can be bought at a lower price.
Deposits are rarely high enough to cover damage caused by outgoing tenants and the cost of legal action against someone who probably has no money makes it not worthwhile.I know this from personal experience.

Been using both for years and the SDG edges it in the comfort stakes and i’ve found it to be more durable than the WTB’s.Would still buy a WTB though if the price was right.

I’ve just ordered some stuff that was discounted from rrp.I have an e-voucher but found i couldn’t use it anywhere on the order.
Does it just apply to goods at full retail?

The men out here in Spain have been using man bags for years.
An English friend uses one but does imagine he is being looked at in a gay sort of way.