For those that are buying the work stand.

I have had mine about a year now and for £30 have found it great value for money. It does however have a flaw in that the plastic clamps on the painted metal move once you put a bike on it.

There are easy fixes for it though.

1 – Wrap a section of cloth backed sand paper round the metal tube sections prior to inserting it into the plastic housings (chuck section and top of stand section). I used 80 grit and it has worked a charm, was a bit of a faff to fit but it only needs to be done once.

2 – Drill a hole through the clamps and the tube and secure a bolt through it in the same two places as above. I would think something like an M8 bolt would probably be enough.

I figured drilling a hole would invalidate the warranty and had the sand paper lying about as I was and still am decorating my flat. The stand can now happily hold my full sus by the seat post without twisting.

+1

I used the bolt method, works perfectly. For people living in Manchester struggling to get hold of one, try Lidl in Prestwich, they had them in for ages after they’d sold out everywhere else last time.

It’s a known phenomenon – The French Paradox (sounds like a film) – they eat lots of cheese, bread, cook with cream and butter etc. Maybe they’re more active, but I think we eat a lot more convenience foods in the UK, which contain lots of added sugar and fat*

I have no data or evidence to back any of this up, pure conjecture so essentially meaningless 🙂

I’ve got 3×10 – it came with my bike, but I rarely use the big ring. I do use the granny though 😀

I’m certain that conversion kits are available

100mphplus – You’ve hit the nail on the head, they looked good on paper and with 50% off I was seduced, but I think I’m going to stick with the Hope.

To be honest I’m not too bothered about bling, I bought a Canyon! My head was turned by the 50% discount and good weight to strength ration, but I did a bit of googling and found more than a few reports of dodgy feehubs. Think I’ll just go with the Flows.

Cheers, I was going to go with Flows or XM719s for the Hope Build. Eastons do look nice but don’t want to be worrying about them all the time. Practical v shiny bling – I hate these decisions 😀

I had a Reverb and sold it. I do miss it but not massively. Would I get one again? Probably but it’s not a priority.

Just mention it in a jokey way, something along the lines of “You owe me a beer you tw@, my wheels ****”

I’ve was thinking Sykeside, I’ve been there before though and wouldn’t mind trying somewhere new.

Why the Benny Hill pics?

Riding flats gives you the skills spd make you think you have.

I know what you mean. I used SPDs for years and they were allowing me to ‘cheat’ to an extent. I went back to flats to improve my technique but with 3 recent crashes since the change the jury is still out 😀

Guy at work has a similar story. Faced with a gastric bypass operation his Dr advised him to loose some weight prior to the operation. He decided to start cycling, initially enduring ridicule from the local scrotes and pain/exhaustion from years of inactivity. He lost so much weight that the Dr postponed the operation and asked him to continue whatever he was doing. He continued as advised and ended up going from 39 stone to 14 stone!

This is his blog:

http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/

They seem very popular with Premier League footballers and hairdressers.

Has anyone actually noticed any dodgy classifieds then?

I did once

TFTuned or Mojo.

Me grinning, raising a pint, looking dusty, sat in a Jacuzzi, etc etc with me saying wow it was bloody brilliant – would really put a smile on the persons face though

That does sound good. I’m smiling just thinking about it.

If you like Indian Kushi’s on Antigua Street is nice, BYO as well 8)

I’ve got a Cannondale CAAD10 and a single speed basher for commuting.

That new POC one looks nice too.

I was very close to getting struck by lightening once. It hit a car I was walking next to and the alarm went off…ruined my Calvins.

Dammit, they only have an ASR5 in M.

Cae Du in Wales is great. Basic facilities but beautiful location and they let you have fires.

You’re a bum Jools

I’ve used Osprey, Deuter, Vaude and Lowe Alpine for commuting/hiking and find the Osprey to be the most comfortable. It’s a case of try them on and see what fits you best though.

Does the 200 have the ability to follow a breadcrumb trail or any downloaded routes? I don’t need 50k mapping, just the ability to point me in the right direction!

It allows you to upload a route and will display a little arrow telling you which way to go.

Can the 200 work with HR monitor and speed/cadence monitor?

Unfortunately not. If you’ve already got an 800, I wouldn’t bother.

It is very cute though.

Great, I’m ordering one. Cheers Mister P.

I don’t think the cashback offer includes the Garmin bike computers. I’d love to be proved wrong though.

I’ve been to Thailand twice and Malaysia once. Absolutely beautiful part of the world, I’m very jealous.

Definitely visit Ko Phi Phi. Phi Phi Don is inhabited but Phi Phi Leh is a nature sactuary, so day visits only. If you like scuba/snokelling then they are definitely worth a visit if you’re in Phuket.

On the East side Ko Tao was my favourite, but I like a bit of peace and quiet and went mainly for scuba. Check out Ang Thong National Park for a nice day trip.

Malaysia is more of the same really but a bit more laid back, Penang and Langkawi are nice but a bit over developed. The Tiomen Islands are lovely.

Enjoy!

For a wedding it’s definitely not worth it. If it was for a bike on the other hand…

Jokes aside, if it’s 0% and you are disciplined then go for it.

Congratulations and good luck!

Horrible news. Don’t know why, but it seems to resonate more when you know the place.

Tell him you’ve arranged for your cousin Xavier to pick him up.

I encountered a similar thing on Gumtree recently, a buyer wanted me to send my brand new macbook to her friend in Nigeria in time for her birthday, on she assured me that she’d pay me once her pay-cheque cleared.

The sad thing is, people actually fall for it.

I can sympathise with you on this. I’m also 34 working in an unfulfilling office job. I have a degree in Multimedia Computing but didn’t pursue that route because I didn’t really enjoy it. My Mrs is a teacher and I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a PGCE but have no great passion to be an educator if I’m honest. Also looked in to postgraduate course in Surveying but the cost is prohibitive.

Another Canyon Nerve XC:

It was by far the best value bike for the money. Still wish I’d got the AM though.

I’ve got an XC 8.0 and can confirm it’s QR on the rear. Good move changing the wheels, look what I did to mine:

Reckon I’m going to go down the Pro 2 route too.

That’s a really pleasing shape, well done!

I’d definitely stick that on the garage wall as a trophy and get a new one…

I thought that, it has a nice wobbly symmetry.

I must get that bench varnished.

@Speshpaul, nice one for the offer but I’m based in Manchester. From what you’re saying it’s not going to be up to to taking a bashing in future anyway.

I’m looking at rims that will take a 2.35″ tyre and be capable of general trail duties. I’ll take a look at the above rims, thanks again for the suggestions.

Depends what you mean by “work” and what the objectives were on invading.

Exactly