Of the 3 the Planet X would shade it for me.8.8 kg is pretty good for that price.The GT is let down by some really low rent wheels.
A friend has the Malt and thinks its a great bike and does one or 2 events on it.You’re not going to get outstanding frames at this money so i’d look at the specs so that you’re less tempted to start upgrading parts straightaway.

Have a look at the Gerardmer tourist offices website for the Vosges. I’m sure they do a guide with lots of mtb routes.Been looking at it for some road stuff next year.

You can get extensions with matching bolts but nowhere near 6 inch i think.That sort of length would certainly be unsafe for towing but should be ok for a bike rack.

Nissan Terrano 2.7 tdi.Had one for 9 years and no faults.Sold to a friend and now 14 years old apart from routine servicing the front wheelbearings needed adjusting.Probably just about manage 30mpg.Selectable 4wd and low ratio box.

Saw the Lotto Bellisol team out yesterday over the moors from Reeth.They got in my way a bit on the climbs !

The municipal campsite at Revin is excellent.
Right on the River Meuse and it has a tourist office with mtb routes close to the campsite.You can cycle a fair distance up and down the river off road with stops to have ” frites and mayo “.Campsite put a bit of entertainment on one night a week ,only for an hour, with a free bottle of local beer for campers.

Hope its still the same owners scruff.Andres and Helga i think.

Camping Ascou la Forge outside Ax les Thermes covers all you want except the beach.Regularly on the TDF route in the Pyrenees with road routes around there which will test you.
The owners run outdoor sports,canoeing,canyoning etc.Went on one of their canyoning trips and really enjoyed it.They have a big room full of info for the campers.Walking distance on footpaths into Ax.
Best sanitary facilities i have been to in France.Campsite really is just a big grass field and being Dutch owned English is spoken.

Not to pour cold water on it but friends who do a lot of touring don’t rate touring bikes at all.They use decent mtb’s.When i say a lot of touring i mean across continents stuff.

Mogrim,it was Arrixaca hospital in Murcia.
In the end we paid private in the UK for a new knee as the Spanish consultant said she should come back when she is over 60 which was still 11 years away.
A Spanish neighbours husband went to the above hospital for an operation.His wife stayed at his bedside for 4 weeks waiting for the op until they came and told them that the surgeon had gone on holiday so he would have to go home and come back again.
A French friend in the village cannot believe how incompetent and uncaring the system is compared to France.

My wife had to go through the Spanish NHS system for a knee problem as a resident not tourist.Dreadful.When seeing the consultant every patient had a strict 2 minutes only.This was timed ,you couldn’t sit down and had to stand against a wall.People were lined up 10 at a time ready to go in with about another 50 crammed into the waiting room.
In hospital the patients relatives have to change the bedding,bring food in and take the person to the toilet.Someone is expected to be at the bedside 24 hrs a day.You felt like you were in a 3rd world country.

Don’t ignore the quality of the pad in your shorts as well.

Have a look at Merlin.A couple of friends,one of them female, bought the Malt models and are really pleased with them.

The Yorkshire attitude that my dad used to tell me.
‘ear all,see all,say nowt
‘eat all,sup all,pay nowt
and if tha’ does owt for nowt do it for thisen.

Probably best getting your pedalling position right first.Plenty of videos on you tube.With the seat in the correct position for height and fore/aft adjustment you can then look at the stem and bars.Also maybe look at some core strengthening exercises so your body can help rather than all the weight being on your shoulders,arms and hands.

You can rivet Fiamma windouts.They also do a roll out one that can stay on the van and rolls back into a zip up bag.Again,you would have to rivet a straight piece of awning rail onto the van.

My Vero is a square taper.Have you made sure the allen bolt is tight ?
Remove both arms and turn the axle.Smooth or not.Is the bottom bracket tight in the frame ( special tool ).If these look ok rebuild with a bit of grease on the splines/ taper.Check tightness of pedals as well.

I’ve been using Aksiums for a couple of years with no problems at all.A bit heavy but i think that helped with some of the terrible roads they’ve been on in Spain.

If you’re going to be hooking up to the electric on a campsite you need a lead with an rcd safety cut out.Most campsites should have the eec standard 3 circular pin fitting but i would take the 2 pin continental adaptor as well.

Le petit trein jaune up the valley is really good.We used to get on at the walled town of Villefranche.Just up the valley from Villefranche is Vernet les Bains which has a nice little site called L’eau Vive with a large river fed swimming pool.
A great site is Camping Ascou la Forge just outside Ax les Thermes.
The owner runs outdoor sports such as canoeing and canyoning and has a big room full of info for getting out and about.The TDF also passes some years.One of the best toilet blocks i’ve been to in France.

Kooga from Sport Pursuit.Not silly money and mine have done the job perfectly on long road rides.They can be tight and need a helper to get them off.

Don’t forget to think about the pad in your shorts as well.Theres a big difference in comfort between the flat foam stuff and better quality shaped pads.

I hope you don’t get a good valuation as I gave mine to the scrapman !

Yes,in Spain.Mountain area with fantastic biking.
My wife doesn’t like it there and doesn’t want to go back.if I go out there its on my own.After much pressure from my wife I’ve put it on the market.However its pretty dire at the moment so I can’t see it selling.

+ 1 for the smile,agree,then go do your own thing.
My wife has to have the last word.She’ll ask what time are we leaving ? I say 8 o’clock.She’ll say no ,five to eight.She asks for advice on buying things she has no knowledge of then ignores it and wastes money.
If I said something on every occasion there would be continual arguing.In the end I say very little then she wants to argue about why I have no opinion !

I have a MK4 with the 1.8 tdci engine.Just the basic edge model but has everything i want,air con,cruise ,etc.A bit strange to drive at first because the engine has anti stall ( unless on a hill ).Better built than my old MK3 but suspension is a bit firmer.I tow a small 2 berth caravan with it and the firmer suspension makes it handle better when towing.
The car is pretty big so my wife doesn’t like driving it.
There are 2 belts on the end of the engine that should be changed at 100k and the 1.8 has no dpf , which appealed to me.
The 1.8 is an old engine with a more modern injection system.
I had a towbar fitted but the engine now” hiccups” occasionally when towing.Ideally it should have a Ford towbar with the trailer module and the electrics reset.

LD lines are running a once a week service from Gijon/Santander to Poole in Dorset.With the prices I’ve seen I wouldn’t bother driving through France.Loads cheaper than the 2 Brittany ferries routes.

The main political parties felt reluctant to mention the word immigration because it came with the word racist attached to it.There are a lot of people in this country concerned about immigration,whether positive or negative.UKIP is the only party to bring this to the fore and have an easily understandable policy.
The other parties vary their policies according to public opinion at voting time.
UKIP may not have a lot of policies but the public already distrust career politicians and their meaningless waffle so keeping it simple seems to have its appeal.

I assume you mean towbar.On modern cars all the fixing points will be there on the chassis so bolting up shouldn’t be a problem.You may have to remove the bumper and even put a cut into it for the bar to fit.
Wiring is a different thing.If your car has a plug ready wired in from the factory and the bar comes with correct electrics for it then just plug in.But it may need to go to a main dealers to have the cars electrics reprogrammed.My Mondeo has an aftermarket towbar and electrics and when towing the engine ” hiccups” occasionally.A sticker in the boot advises reprogramming if a towbar is fitted.

My wife ran our car into a signpost on a campsite while I was stood watching.Waiting for her to arrive at a café with a couple of friends that she had picked up she pulled into a parking space,didn’t brake,and ran the front end into a stonewall.
Both were my fault because I make her nervous when she’s driving.

I spent about 11 years abroad whilst renting out properties in the UK.
You can authorise things like repairs through the agent but it depends if you trust their tradesmen.If you are not using an agent then you must have somebody local you can trust to oversee any work.
This is sometimes not easy as family and friends don’t want the responsibility.
You may be able to find the first tenant yourself but what about when they leave,the property needs work to re-let and you have to find a new tenant.This is where you need a good agent if you’re not in the country.You won’t really know if you have a good agent until after the first let.
Tenancy agreements are normally 6 months and roll on from there.Ultimately if the tenant trashes the place and clears off recovering the costs would be really unlikely.
We did what you’re looking to do and don’t regret it at all.Back in suburbia now but just can’t settle.

I have a Cube road bike and would normally buy around a 54 size.However with the Cube I had to buy a 58 to get comparable dimensions with my other road bike.I’m just under 6ft and a friend of the same height bought a 58 Cube.Both of us have changed the stem to a shorter one.Mines down to a 70mm but is far more comfortable than the original 110mm.

I have a MK4 1.8 tdci Mondeo(2009) if that’s the model you’re talking about.It does have a cam belt and also a shorter belt at the bottom end of the engine that runs in oil.The interval is 100,000 mile or 10 years for changing of both.
I had a towbar fitted to mine and I find that when I’m towing my caravan the engine occasionally hiccups.Its an aftermarket towbar so not one that uses the cars specific connector for the electrics.A sticker on the tailgate says that the cars electrics should be reprogrammed when a towbar is fitted.

I had a problem bidding on a caravan when the seller cancelled all other bids except mine.He contacted me before bidding had finished to say I had bought the van and wanted to arrange the payment and collection.After some abusive e-mails from him I found out that the bids he cancelled were his own through another party.
He was registered as a private seller but looking at his history showed he was a regular seller of caravans.

I bought a pair of Michelin Lithion 2’s in 25 width for around £25 from Ribble.2,000 miles on no punctures and no discernible wear.Can’t fault them for the money.

I’ve been renting both commercial and residential property out for years.Maybe I’m a bit different to other landlords but I have pride in my properties.
When a tenant moves out I repaint the interior completely and wash the carpets.The only time I am reluctant to do this is when the tenant has only been in for 6 months.This should be up to my agent to point out any problems to the tenant for him to rectify.A property should not need a full repaint just 6 months on.If a tenant has been in many years then I accept that more work would probably need to be done.I have NEVER found a property to be in more or less the same condition as when it was initially let, even for just six months.

I just used a U clamp and various size sockets to remove and fit the bearings on my Reign.Need to protect the paintwork on the frame from the U clamp though.

I had a 5 for a year and just never got on with it.The geometry just felt wrong for me, feeling not well balanced.A lot of climbing where I lived and the 5 was hard work.
Changed to a Reign and I started enjoying riding again.The issue about the single pivot being easier to maintain doesn’t really come into it. I changed the Reigns myself with no problems for 20 odd quid. The Reign was miles cheaper,better finished and specced with a lighter weight too.

Sierra Espuna is ace but will be hot in July.Saturday morning at the bar Fuente del Hilo is where the Spanish bikers meet.Nearby is the Tourist info centre ( Centro interpretacion ) with 3 marked walks on boards in the car park.You can ride on any footpaths or wide tracks within the park and no motorised vehicles can use them due to being gated ( except officials ).

I was being paid 30 euros a day from a hotel for guiding groups,Southern Spain. No accommodation and own bike.

The owner asked if I could do it cheaper as he wanted to get more bookings.I jacked it in.