Picked up a CCDB in person from TFT, really impressive set up, all meticulously clean, everyone wearing headsets so good telephone support with queries. Took trouble to let me ride round outside and check spring felt right, checked frame had adequate clearance to allow the CCDB to fully compress.
Made to feel like I was their only customer for the day and nothing was too much trouble. Met one of the new owners, really open and happy to chat. A friendly positive vibe of a work place while I was there for about 1hr.
Also some really cool old Rock Shox forks hanging on the walls, Mag ti 21’s – I had a set – they were class!
I dealt with Matt from memory.

timmys – compay car – its the law to drive them this way.

I am lazy, the camera comes with software that does the edit for you.
Means you just up load all shots from the days riding then it cobbles together something in time with music you pick.
One day I will learn to edit myself, however having had friends do edits, they seem to take ages, so this is the quickest way of knocking something up. Editing software is the one which Panasonic supply with the Lumix range of cameras.

This months What Hifi has a mini/solo unit shoot out. Includes the Denon M38 amongst others.
I am on my 2nd Denon unit (having previously had the M37).
There is no hum to which you mention.
Sound quality is very very good for what it is, in terms of price.
I have a bose sound dock II and the Denon sounds like proper hifi, compared with the Bose ipod docking speaker.
I have bought decent speakers to accompany my Denon and suspect this makes a reasonable difference in bringing the unit up to sounding at its best.
I have listened to the Arcam solo – which sounds nice, but Arcam has a unique sound, I’d say which is overly light on the bass and it was loads more dosh than the Denon.
The Marantz unit is very nice, but again more money and only say 10% better sounding. For the money the Denon is hard to beat.
What hifi have kept it as their most recommended solo unit for a few years now.
Hope this helps with your deliberations.

I have the bose sound dock II.
I also have a Denon M38, with some monitor audio book shelf speakers.
The difference is night & day, the Denon blows the Bose away.
If you can source a Denon M38 for similar money I would recommend this. Gives you Ipod/DAB/CD all in one.
You could pick up a Denon M38 via the web for not much over £200, if you had any half passable speakers spare you could give yourself a far better sounding mini hifi set up.

I have the bose solely because you can re-charge the battery and take it outside with you.

As a bmw driver, its quite unpleasant how anti people are towards the badge, with no real meaning behind their dis-like, as far as I can tell and reading this thread.
Mine is a company car.
It has low Co2 so was a cost effective choice.
I picked the equivalent of a MKI Escort – the 120d for some rear wheel driving fun – I treat it as you would a hire car and it is great to drive – has real soul, versus say a golf gti or similar. Equally I pick my moments and always try to be a courtious road user.
Our family car for ages has been a clapped out Mondeo which is befitting of my earnings, when trying to juggle mortgage, 2 children, wife, biking, etc.
I had a friend in my car tell me cocks drive bmw, which is far from pleasant, yet beyond the car, we rub along well – strange behaviour?

A guy on bikeradar who I was trying to agree a price for a 456ti frame, said if I arrived in a bmw or similar the deal was off, that was an interesting lesson in the art of negotiation for him, as I pointed out I took offence to his comments and withdrew the offer I had made.

Does make me think I might pick a different car when it comes up for renewal to avoid this stigma that comes with driving a bmw. Which is sad, as I like driving them.

I like memory foam pillows, have this along with mattress.
Find I never suffered stiff neck in the morning which I sometimes get when stopping in hotels with work related stays and not using a memory foam pillow.
I am cold blooded so dont find either the mattress or pillows overly warm.

They are more firm than a conventional pillow, seem thicker, but shape to your head. Very good in IMHO.

Cheers guys, sounds like weather may decide which venue I go to!

Interesting to hear Chicksands considered slightly better 4x track (thanks mikey) suspect will enjoy either for a days playing.
Thanks

Panic over, I thought you meant the “proper” surrey hills.
Sigh of relief, its only Reigate/Epsom/Godstone rubbish bits- thew! :lol:

The cheapest way will be to ensure you have specified, all risks cover for your bikes when away from your home via your existing home Insurer.
Going for a bike specific policy always hikes the price, you are seen as a better “risk” when you lump your bike in with your home contents.
A contents policy has occupiers liability cover which would provide adequate cover to defend any action brought against you by a third party, might be worth also having Legal Expenses cover added to your policy to give you the right to pursue the driver who knocks you off! rather than worry about them pursuing you in this possible eventuality.

Where, I havent noticed?
I did spot that the path down from the tower @ Leith Hill to starvale carpark had recently had some work done to improve the surface. However I am guessing that isnt what your referring to as the best local DH……

A massive shout here for the Denon M38.
Has all you want, regularly wins WhatHiFi’s mini solo hifi shoot outs.
I’ve had the original M37 and now the M38 – which works with all Ipod variations.
I have used Denons own speakers which I believe I am right in saying are made by Mission, they are pretty good, but the system really benefits from something better. I use Monitor Audio speakers and it sounds class.
The Onkyo is a copy of the Denon IMHO, Marantz offering is meant to be good, but costs more. Arcam do a solo unit, but again loads more dosh.
The denon is hard to bet, I have one, My dad has one, really are brilliant. My LBS (Nirvana) is run by a hifi nut, he has one in his workshop !

I am into my 9th yr working from home, it rocks.
I operate a reward system, if I work a full solid day, the next day I start with a ride and then accept a later start.

Also I have just enjoyed a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, followed by wine gums, choc digestives, choc eclairs and fruitellers – where can you get such a fun lunchtime menu other than at home!

Other positives that spring to mind:

Any new CRC deliveries can also be fitted immediately!

You can surf the web near enough all day somedays and call it work.

You can have stress relieving hand shandy breaks when required (try not to get caught by the missus as that tends to be hard to justify as “proper work”)

Best of luck!

I can only think of positives, I worry about the day I may have to go back to “proper” work in an office.

I for a while took my dSLR out on rides, splitting the lens off the body to make it fit within a fairly compact camelbak. I then considered a chest bag but decided this would hinder my riding and didnt like the idea of crashing with that on my front.

I then got a Panasonic GF1 and took this out with a pancake lens fitted. Got better pictures/results, the HD filming was superior on the GF1 Vs my Canon 500D, you can leave the pancake lens on and it weighs bugger all.
I have since acquired the new Panasonic GF3 model with a 14mm wide angle pancake lens. The results are awesome for such a small bit of kit.
Video shot Sunday morning just gone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tafFcQRsmM

I would now feel odd taking the bulk of a dSLR out with me.
I also have a decent Panasonic compact TZ8, which does filming, but the GF3 is so much better I prefer to take this as the best compromise for riding shots/filming. The GF range make most sense when used with a pancake lens as it then retains its compact sizing. The zoom lens make the camera seem chunky once fitted and no longer able to effortlessly slip into a camelbak.
Hope this helps.

Cheers druff, appreciate your thoughts. I am tempted to give it a go.

Good forum name!
Appreciate your thoughts.
Normally I ride the Surrey Hills, techy singletrack my preference.
Is it family orientated tame stuff, or still worth a trip?

greg – please observe “fight club” rules and tell me nothing about this trip when we ride this evening!

As someone who went to a Jedi day with a specific goal- wanting to go bigger on jumps. I came away with more alternative benefits.
My cornering which I felt was quick and not needing tune up, has stepped up significantly, I can hear inside my head Tony’s mantra for cornering and forcefully have applied this ever since so hopefully soon it will become second nature.
His approach to getting the basics right seems to then under pin all other aspects of what you do, whether it be cornering, jumping, drops, etc.
I was also knackered at the end of the day – mentally. Take food and drink to stay hyrdrated! otherwise loose the aprehension and enjoy, he’s a top trainer.

The only issue with roof mounted racks is going under low bridges (I speak from a position of experience on this point).

Otherwise bikes seem fine mounted on top of your car, after years of using them I dont believe bearings suffer in anyway.

The Thule racks seem bullet proof. I drive like Mr Wolf in Pulp Fiction and even under hard cornerning loads the bikes have yet to make an appearance via a side window. I dread to think how much they waggle around, this has been tested with a heavy DH bike on top too.

Halifax will insure bikes up to £10K per bike; as a specified item.
They are usually middle of the road on premium and service tends to be good.

Had the same concern before going. Hardtail is my personal fav. for riding and keeps it honest, however full suss. gives some degree of insurance in reserve.
I went with the full suss. Jedi got me clearing a genuine 10ft gap jump, which I am unsure I would have ridden on the hardtail. Albeit if I had taken both bikes I would have liked the option to switch between the 2 and suspect having nailed it on the full suss I would then have tried it on the hardtail too.
If I went back again for another visit, suspect would take full suss. again (140mm turner 5spot nothing massive).
Think a slack bike helps with what he can get you riding, my turner has an angleset fitted and sits low with a CCDB.

Had a bmx on loan come into my hands recently, rode it round outside feeling the love, but cant seem to adjust from 26″ wheels back down to 20″ wheels. Feels like all tricks I am over cooking, fair play for adjusting so well and quickly.
I am grateful my local skate park is currently closed and being re-done by local council, otherwise suspect would be sad old git down there sessioning and trying to get the flow back.

The steep head angle makes them feel super quick steering, am keen to see how scary that translates into landings from big air. They do look lovely, I fancy a “We the people” bmx on the back of getting this one on loan (Haro).
http://www.wethepeoplebmx.de/master-series/versus

This is the danger of playing hide the sausage!

Are they ready for the new chapter of life that this could well take them on, if they are happy with each other, then hopefully they will be happy with the news regardless of not planning it.
In my 20’s I didn’t think I wanted children – am selfish (common male trait), now have 2 and they are beyond brilliant.
Good luck to your friend what ever the outcome.
Always seems a little sad though if the first reaction isnt joy.
When my wife told me we were expecting our first baby, my only concern was she had wee-ed in my fav. tea mug in order to do the test, she reminds me often of this re-action to this great news!!!!

its know as capturing the third party (direct).

Your neighbours Insurer is able to control costs by dealing with you directly, rather than waiting for a bill, for which they have had no consultation, to role up from your Insurer.
If you claim off your own motor Insurer your no claims discount (if unprotected) will be impacted, until the point of the third parties cheque arriving back with your Insurer. So if your renewal were on the horizon say within the next 3-6 months you could find your premium is higher as a result of this claim, if at the time of renewal your Insurer hasnt had the third parties money in by this time. Renewal is usually sent out 28days in advance as well.

Dealing with the TP insurer direct should be fine. Check to see what parts they will use to fix your car, pattern parts or original, the industry is awash with using non OE parts to repair cars – essentially sub standard parts which dont fit as well. Its reasonable to demand that your car be fitted with genuine parts.

Secondly, the hire car they provide is likely to be pants, think Vauxhall Corsa, if you went to a no win no fee solicitor you’d get something more akin to the car you normally drive.
This is a point of discussion, you have a duty to mitigate your loss (keep costs down), but if you are a family man, have a need for a bigger car (transport bike, etc) then ask for a car that is suitable, if they decline, say you will go to a no win no fee solicitor and I suspect they will re-think their answer.
Hope this helps, this should be easy as the neighbour had admitted liability so its only costs to agree.

I am 5ft 11 and ride a medium.
Friend I ride with bought a large and is same height, having sought Dave Turners opinion on sizing.
The head tube and seat tube on the large were a lot longer than the medium and meant that you couldn’t get the bars as low or the seat as low when using it for more playful DH type riding.
I am on the limit of my seat post extension, but it fits fine. I prefer a smaller bike (in a bmx stylie) to chuck around.
The 2009 model (which is what I have) has a steeper HA than the 2011 which got tweaked. I run an angle set in mine to slacken the HA off by 1.5degrees and its made the world of difference, also a good bike to fit a CCDB shock to – really transformed it.

I suspect your be better on a large as the biggest option, rather than XL, assuming you are very close to 6ft.
Hope this helps.

I have had a MKII and MKIII PA.

The latter really was brilliant.
I have also ridden the alpine.

I think what you ride will dictate any decision between these 2 dialled frames.

The PA really does do it all, and is slightly lighter than the alpine and I’d say a slightly softer feel (perhaps having less bracing designed into the frame).
To crack a PA is an achievement – they are bullet proof (IMHO), I chucked mine (both models) off everything I had the balls to ride.
Are you sure its cracked, I had a custom paint job done on my MKIII and the surface of the paint cracked around where the down tube joins the head tube, I rubbed the paint off and the weld was fine below, just the painted had fractured.

A riding friend got an alpine, which ticked some of the boxes for changes I’d want to make a PA perfect (for me), lower top tube, slacker HA. However the PA has a character when ridden that makes it so good, not sure messing with the ingredients would keep this.

Get another is my suggestion. They are ace. Friend uses my old PA as his chicksands 4X/dual bike and loves it too.

nosemineb

Your wanting to make a storm claim. Storm is usually defined by Insurers as winds of at least 55mph and/or 25mm rainfall in any 24hr period.
A good starting point would be go onto the met office website or similar and find a date fairly recently where weather that would met this requirement prevailed. Thereby, evidencing that storm conditions were present on or around the date you discovered the damage.

The next challenge is the condition of the pointing to your verge tiles. Often this area fails once the pointing starts to crack, frost causes further damage, etc until it leaks and your alerted to the fault.

Insurance is wanting to cover a singular incident of storm damage, not damage caused gradually over a period of time.

A possibly outcome is they may decline the roof repairs, saying the pointing to the verge tiles has failed through wear and tear. Albeit you could argue, if strong winds were present, that the verge tiles were lifted by said strong winds and this caused the failure of the pointing to the verge tiles.
Normally though an Insurer would still accept a claim for the internal damage, even if they decline the external work.
They are most likely sending an unqualified surveyor (its worth asking what qualifications the person who visits has), or a builder to inspect your roof, from ground level, and offer an opinion back to the Insurance company. A cup of tea and biscuits can go a long way to having an influence on the outcome.

consider your No claims discount and excess when thinking about claiming, as a rule of thumb if its under £500 its not worth claiming if you stand to loose some no claims discount.

Hope this helps. I work within the insurance industry (ducks head to avoid rocks being thrown …)

I did just this.
The view is that the freesat picture is slightly better than FreeviewHD.
I would also say the HD channels on freesat are slightly crisper than Sky HD. Most do series record like Sky+.
We got this box and its been great.
http://www.falconsat.co.uk/products/Humax-FOXSAT-HDR-500GB-Freesat-Twin-Tuner-PVR.html
You can watch a channel and record another, so it needs 2 lines down from the dish, which if you have Sky+ you will already have.

I have then combined our freeview and blu ray player into this (to cut down on the number of appliances underneath the TV):
Panasonic DMR BS880EBK

Freesat doesnt include DAVE, which was a shame as quite like monging to re-runs of topgear.

Hope this helps, I hated how much Sky ended up costing per month, just doesnt seem like value for money IMO.

http://www.ofanaim.net/has.html

Here is the link for the Israeli guy – Saar.
He was great to deal with. Headset arrived within 5 days. Cost $200, which by exchange was about £125.
LBS said bearings are normal size so in event they wear out/are crap can replace with Hope or similar. Have been running it for 3months now, did a hard day at Forest of Dean and it working perfectly still.
Does require you to line up the headset cups correctly and to provide your head tube length. Knocked 1.5degree off a 2009 turner dw 5 spot.

Right wheelie school time….(for those interested)…

Pick a low gear, say middle ring at the front, 1 down on the back.

Lower your saddle a little from normal riding height, say 30mm.

Pick a pancake flat bit of road/grass, or a very slight uphill incline.

Pedal along at a slow walking pace.

Put a finger on both the front and back lever. Very lightly engage the back brake so that you can feel the slighest of resistance.

To lift the front, push down on the forks then use their energy to make lifting the front easy, then its a quick pedal stroke and pull to get the front up. Aim past 45 degrees, the balance point is higher than you think normally. Once the front wheel is off the floor match the pressure on the back brake with the front brake so both hands are equal in terms of their pressure.

Think smooth pedal rotations and steering is mainly via your knees, which sometimes help if they are pitched outwards a little (think knees pointing outwards as soon as the wheelie starts). You use the rear brake and pedalling to keep at the balance point, if you pedal too much, squeeze the brake, if your not pedalling enough the bike drops anyway. Going over the back is no big deal, provided your not clipped in (SPDs aren’t helpful for wheelies). Just land on both feet and squeeze the back brake to stop the bike.

Then practice, practice, practice…..etc. It does come.

psychle – we almost laughed in the guys face when we saw his Mega number board, but then had to ask what the deal was….but he clearly had stumbled across the event and just decided to take part, rather than set out to be part of it. He said it had a proper running start with the bikes all upside down around the tower.

The snow is brilliant, in this regard better than the view snow special stages on GT5. When your driving you can get blizzard conditions which are as distracting to focus on as in real life driving in the same conditions!
Am probably about 30% through the game, other than not gelling with the gymkana bits, the rest is brilliant – mostly a wider selection of 80/90’s cars has made it more interesting for me.

Yes got it.
And yes it excellent. Perhaps best Dirt game so far out of the 3.

Is far harder driving simulation than Dirt 1 &2. Also the roads now have camber and gulleys at the side to catch your wheels in.

Some really interesting car choices, you can pick 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s, etc throws up things like Ford RS200, Metro, etc. Old Fiat abarths I am loving.

After at first feeling frustrated that it is harder, am actually enjoying it more now I’ve played the game for longer.

graphics don’t seem any improvement on previous releases. Thankfully no longer has the bit where they staged the meun options inside a static caravan (Dirt 2) instead its just meuns pick a race and go.

There is a gymkana which is a bit mad & very difficult, is Ken Block type driving demos you have to drift between posts, perform donughts, etc – not easy!

I’d give it 8 out of 10. GT5 probably IMHO still slightly better.

Hope this helps.

Mine has now got a CCBD shock fitted and really is a a transformation.
Earlier posts on this thread referred to having tried one, then decided to stick with the light weight of the RP23.

Have now had change of heart and best mod ever, the bike is a mini DH bike, mine has the angleset fitted to slacken my 2009 model to a 67.5 HA, the ccdb brings out the best in the bike.

I would highly recommend budgeting for a CCDB, mine was c/o TFT.

Like you assumed I’d want a an 18″ frame, Brant does odd sizing (no offence intended), his 16″ has the TT of a typical 18″ frame so you can ride small, have loads of stand over height, does require a reasonably long seat post, but nothing excessive.
geetee1972 had a ti on-one 456 before in 18″ size and was too big, he got the 16″ ragley and is about same height as me.

Nice build, looks v. nice.
I considered this frame as well, having had the Genesis alpitude and wanted something ti instead.
Be interested to hear what you make of it after riding it.

It f.rocks man!

This was the first statement that sprung to mind to sum mine up.
Search for past threads, loads of us have banged on about how good they are.
In brief, its a harder riding ti frame, think Cove hummer, the ti properties only become felt when riding hard and then it starts to take the sting out. A decent steel frame actually feels softer (IMO).
It is slack (very), it has a low bottom bracket – it flies.
Build is around 23.5lbs, including a 140 float fork and a dropping seat post. I got a 16″ frame and am 5ft 11 and it fits brilliantly, they have long TT.
has some really nice details to, bridgeless seastays, rear disc brake mount is inside chain/seat stays.
Both me and geetee1972 have them and think they are the nuts!
DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT (and repeat…)

Those that have ridden an Evil will recommend this all day long, myself included.
It is SO much better than the stifee – am tempted to add “fact” in David Brent style after this statement!

I so nearly bought an Evil, actually went with a Genesis Alpitude -which was possibly most fav. frame ever owned, was like the Evil only lighter and more “twangy”.
The Evil has something special about it, assume angles, short wheel base, low BB, all adds up to a bike that wants to be spanked. Hei Hei has one (original 853 tubed one too), it almost gives confidence like a long travel play bike to go mental on it, really is special.

I have ridden a Cove stiffee and found it pants, total dead material that battered you, not a looker, did nothing for me. have ridden 2 on separate occasions with decent builds and can’t have my view changed on this.
For something left field, the Genesis alpitude did it all, gave a very small jump type bike that could still cover Xc duties – really was brilliant. Mine was replaced with a Ragley Ti hardtail which is only a little better in my eyes, the Aplitude really was that good!

Ok, I feel encouraged, I will aim to go off-piste and see how I fair.
I have felt like riding shouldn’t be follow the sign posts, this seems too scripted, so hopefully tomorrow will prove inspiring to try and find our own way.

Brilliant, letmetaltalktomark – hugely appreciate the details provided.
HT it is then, which is good as friend rides my old Dialled Bike PA MKIII frame who is joining me for the day.
Thanks for parking tip and better lunch option too!

The reference to sense of direction……….geetee1972 or heihei (usual riding friends) will be rolling around at this, I am possibly the worse person I know for sense of direction. Might make tomorrow a bit longer I suspect!
Thanks again for all replies, all info. appreciated.
I’ll post up how I found it after tomorrow.