It was £5 for 5 in Aldi last week.Be quick because the cycling promotion is nearly over and there wasn’t much left n my local one this week.

Fully paid… Arrghh.
I`m sure new bike euphoria will kick in and it will be quickly forgotten……..
Spec pretty good for £900 so pretty happy.

I’ve just ordered some of the matt tape from Paragon on ebay. I`ll post back here tomorrow after I’ve tried it.

I was looking at their clearance sale the other day ,full of obscure brands and seemingly random items.Im not sure where they even source half of the stuff they stock.

I was a cub leader.I volunteered as a way of getting my son in ,past the very long district waiting list 4 years ago. I’ve now moved up ,to being a scout leader. It’s been very rewarding,though I have to say being a scout leader is easier. It also helps that we have 5 regular leaders so we are able to share the workload,all of whom contribute to programme planning.

Gears…….. ;)

Ah, brings back great memories.I got to see them at the Royal Albert Hall on the Mind bomb tour featuring Johnny Marr on guitar.

To the OP,one of those cases when price of the complete bike seems high,but prices of individual components you quote seem reasonable.
I’ve almost sold all of my unfashionable 26″ bike here and I’m at £750,with a few minor bits still to sell when I know most here would have balked at £600 if I’d sold it complete.
Split it and be patient!

The hardtail I currently use manages to feature, a triple chainset, 26″ wheels,9 speed cassette,bars narrower than 700mm, rapid rise ,”lightweight” inner tubes,stem longer than 80mm,dual control shifters, QR front forks with straight steerer and a racing Ralph……….
I think the term is ” quaint. ”

Panaracer Fire XC

Dual control
Rapid rise

As a slightly less obvious choice I’d get him to look at the Pinnacle Ramin one at Evans cycles. Currently £400.

Factory fit DAB in my f30 3 series worked well. Factor fit DAB in 3 insignias worked OK too. Missing DAB ,in my Merc so so will look at those plug in options.

I’ve had good experience with the Blackburn slick cage, cheap, weighs just 23g ,good bottle retention.

I have considered buying a Scandal but the few I’ve seen seem to be almost the price of a new Bizango.£540 once you add in the BC discount. Not so many of the V2 about either which I’d want for future proofing.

Good replies all. Most of my riding will be local,single track interspersed with frequent road and bridleways , with the odd day out to Swinley or Woburn so sounds like it would be fine. Will go try one for size. At 6ft ,18″ or 20? Always fell between m and l with Giant.

Seems there might be a market for cheap dropper posts! Nice as they are ,anyone else think reverbs and the like are over engineered for their function….?

If I end up upgrading things like forks I should probably just stump up the extra for the Boardman…….

My mate has had two road bikes from Enigma. Lovely frames.

What’s spares availability like these days for Suntour? Are they easy to service?
Also the brakes are m355 acera? Are they OK? I believe they only take resin pads. Is this an issue?

How do you find the forks Alibongo? I’d imagine coming from 2006 vintage Rebas they might actually be OK?

I managed to get a go on one today. Geo and sizing of the 19″ was spot on.This looks like the leading contender for me at the moment.I’m also going to try the Pinnacle Ramin.

Pipedream sirion or a Genesis Altitude/Latitude?

Disagree, I’ve split my Anthem this week. It was a 2010 model,unfashionable XC bike ,straight steerer,QR front and rear,3 X 9.
So far frame,forks and wheels have netted over £600. Still have the groupset and finishing kit to sell by which time I should get back about £750 which is what I paid for it 3 years ago.

I think people still see the value of a good bike,regardless.

Also, how do you find the sizing? Guide seems to suggest at 6,0 ft I’d be best on the 19 large……

Thank you 7600e. As I’ve always had Shimano the sram stuff is a bit of an unknown for me. I’ve read good reviews of the Guide brakes but hope they turn out to be more reliable than previous Avids.
Good tips on the discount.ID heard about the British cycling discount but not the other tips. Time to sign up to Halforda newsletter.

I’m in the process of selling my Anthem and looking at going back to a simpler hardtail especially 29er hardtails.
In the last week ive considered second hand On one Scandals,the Boardman Pro 29er and the Voodoo Bizango, which seems particulary good value.

However the 2015 Pinnacle one really appeals at the £400 sale price as its the same money as the Genesis High Latitude frame only which I also considered and gives a good base for upgrades.

Is the rigid fork a straight steerer,and will it take a tapered steerer fork?
Looking at the higher spec models they seem to be taper but I’m wondering if the headtube is the same on the one as higher models? Also is the One dropped compatible eg 31.6? Just trying to work out how future proof the frame is……

Are some forks such as the Fusion Slant adjustable?

I have a 2nd gen moto g and it’s been great. I’ve long said I don’t understand why I phones are so expensive when you can get all this for £150. My work phone is an I phone 6 so I can make a direct comparison too.

A few years ago I had an interest only mortgage of £280k on a £40k salary in a very desirable area with repayments of approx £1200 per month.
Sounds nuts but we probably paid the same for our mortgage, as some do for rent.
We did have over £200k equity in the property and the property went up by over £100k in 2 years in the period 2008-2010.
I now have a much more manageable capital and interest mortgage on a smaller property on a less desirable but still reasonable area ,but it’s not made anything like the same increase.
I prefer having a smaller mortgage now but as always it’s a considered balance between risk NM ow and potential future reward. My brother has just moved from a the same size house in a nice area to a similar size one in a slightly less nice area and is now almost mortgage free.

I’m contemplating splitting my large 2010 Anthem x if anyone is interested…….

Is there an option if you want to retain fibre? I have BT infinity at the moment, as the speeds with copper in my village are poor. Paying nearly £30 a month as well as the £17 per konth line rental and never use the landline………

Yea should just need pads (inserts) if you have separate holders (shoes). Normally there is a small screw which holds the pad in place.

I’d recommend Sikaflex and they do a specific primer for perspex and acrylic. Will be better than silicone.

Could the varying results with gorilla tape be due to the fact that it now comes in various forms,repair tape,packaging tape,etc?

Seems a strange way to do business.I wonder how many are put off from using them as a result of their poor communication?

Remember swisstop are sold as 2 x pairs per pack. I bought my swisstop greens via absolute cycles on eBay and paid £17 which made them no more expensive than koolstops.can’t find the same deal now but think Wiggle wasn’t too bad at last time of looking. I’ve used koolstop salmon too, which were better than than standard.

Bill Beaumont
Barry Sheene
Daley Thompson
Steve Ovett

Genesis Latitude?

I had one of those on my Giant Anthem. I replaced it with a shallower carbon top cap though I forget the make.