they used to play all the time when I was at uni in Newcastle back at the turn of the century, they were great!

I haven't done enough training(as I got a reserve place last minute), don't have a particularly ideal bike, have just lost my job, and definitely have 'The Fear' but isn't that part of the fun, I will be there without question and I WILL FINISH!!

looks very nice. I like the swing arm graphics, think they fit nicely with the new fox forks graphics too.

I like the look of the Kingdom bikes allot. Has anyone had a chance to ride any of them yet? I'd be particularly interested in views on the Legion.

thanks, must admit I over looked the search button in this case

I was there for 4 weeks last feb and tried to do as much as possible, I'd say the guided walk on Fox Glacier was the best thing I did, just an amazing environment to be in. If I was going back I'd definitely step it up to the ice climbing option, saw others doing this and it looked great.

If you're in to tramping I'd say read up and try to find less well known options, as the DOC great walks, while beautiful, are too full of people and too sanitised in terms of challenge.

Most importantly, stop at every bakery you see, they are all brilliant!

this

http://www.singularcycles.com/hummingbird.html

and a chap on here posted some pics of a white single speed for which he'd built the frame himself recently which was great lookin'

that stem looks incredibly disconcerting. My LBS had a customers tri bike like that in recently, the carbon seat thing-y was pretty creaky…

grip shift? maybe a 1×9 set-up with the shifter on the preferred side if one hand is less affected.

thanks, they both look good

bumps. any more ideas?

Thanks for the suggestions, Glen Brittle looks very nice.

There's a chapter on Lock Coruisk in Robert Macfarlane's book The Wild Places which sounds an amazing place to walk to, has anyone done this?

the lacquer around the insertion level on mine is a right mess, and I don't really drop the saddle.

thanks MM that's helpful, I'll definitely look into the Arch further. Shame no one could weigh in on the Spanks as they're a similar weight and claim to be 'stiffest in their class'.

I'm not heavy, 11st so I don't think that's a worry. But the 717s have come off my old xc bike and moved on to a bigger travel hard tail (chumba hx1) which is very stiff and last weekend I managed to dent and bend the rear rim beyond repair at cannock chase. I don't do big jumps, just small drop offs and was carrying some good speed through the rocky sections, I think with the frame being so stiff it leaves the wheel taking more of the strain. I'll probably stick with the 717 on the front and hope the fork looks after it but I want something I won't have to worry about on the back.

I love broccoli, especially in stir-fry.

I had a kona one from Geoff, it looks great.

Yeah I was looking at the stans stuff, flows look solid but I'm not really sure how to differentiate their other rims, they all seem to be super light. Would the Arch be OK for harder riding?

friday bump.

If no-one's tried the spanks, what else would you recommend for something more sturdy but not too heavy?

I love physalis.

that sounds fantastic.
these were the ones I was looking at:
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-trust/w-volunteering/w-workingholidays.htm

anyone else care to share?

mtb-rossi, if you're still emailing photos out could I have MM_15 and MM_16 please? emails in my profile, thanks!

joolsburger, did you get hit by customs on your forks?

any clues?

a decent bike cleaning facility would be a big plus for multi day stays.

any news on the forks brant?

+1 for kenco blue top.

unless you have very specific geometry requirements you may as well just buy a soul or something similar. A custom frame will cost you twice as much if not more

if you want 140mm forks on it I can't think of anything other than a carbon456

Mountains of the Mind by Robert Macfarlane. Much more than a travel book and totally absorbing.

I'd be interested but can't pass for a vet, do you know if it's transferable?
thanks to fubar for flagging it up

could I have MM_15 and MM_16 please? email in my profile. You're a saint for doing all these!

Thanks for the replies, forgot to check back until now.

TheDTs – what I'm after is just a copy of the original rim decals but in different colours so if I could find a template it'd probably be fairly straight forward, I'll see if I can find one.

Or does anyone here know where I could find a full scale template for mavic rim stickers?

just mailed you re my earlier thred, you're in!

I need any rider for Mayhem! drop me a line if you're interested, email in my profile.

any one interested today?

thanks Duc, will bear that in mind.
anyone else?

I'd say that's the best looking bike I've seen on here, really really nice!

I'm on the reserve list too, but if anyone wants to get rid of their entry I will happily pay full whack for an unwanted place.

yikes!