Here's one taken today from one of the same places as I put up before

It's not as bad/muddy as I thought it was going to be, maybe one 50m stretch was really muddy, grounds just soft so bit power sapping, but still got a strong westerly wind up there – don't need your brakes going downhill just stop peddleing and the wind will stop you 😐

Just get out you'll enjoy it! 😀

I would, but I'll be in the (hopefully) sunny Atlas Mountains in Morocco 8) … I can't wait!

The large pot of yoghurt I used to buy was 49p, now it's 75p, 50% increase! … And, you no longer get the re-usable plastic lid, oh no, just the tear-off bit of foil! 😯

Here's a few … although not taken recently

Own and ride the bike you've always lusted after or wanted

Freeview, digital … load of rubbish!

Everytime 'they' change something or update or retune or change 'their' software I lose channels, yes I've retuned/scanned etc, but whereas 2 to 3 years ago I used to get nearly every channel in 2 rooms, now all I get clear is BBC4 which, IME, is next to useless as I've never found anything worth watching on there! They did a retune thing recently didn't they, used to get Film 4 and ITV2, now I get a pixellated Film 4 and ITV 4 … uh?

Admittedly, I live in an area that's not suppose to properly change over til 2010 or 2011, but it used to be fine!! Grrrr 😈

Plenty of marine/waterproof grease on ebay or I'm sure you can mailorder it from somewhere, get a big tub of it, I used to get Morris stuff from my local boatyard when I had a canalboat and this was used in the stern tube, so figured it ok for my bike …

The special edition of Modern Warfare 2 has a pair of working night vision goggles in the box.

I can't wait for the next special edition that includes a Desert Eagle !

Sunny in Sussex! … No it's not, it's raining now … no, it's sunny … oh, hang on, it's raining again … wind and rain … sun's out!
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Did I mention it's raining??
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Been like this for 3 weeks now, or is it 3 years? 🙄

I use the Ultraflate Plus like here:

http://www.ultraflate.co.uk/inflator-repair-kits/innovations-dlx-ultraflate-repair-inflation-wallet-uses-only-innovations-co2/prod_572.html

if you want to use the non-threaded cartridges you need to buy their own but otherwise they take the normal threaded one's, you can store a cartridge in it upside down until you need it, the plastic cover stops your hands freezing and it has a safety catch to stop it accidently going off while you're fitting it, fits presta and schrader without having to change anything.

Brilliant piece of kit, I buy the cartridges in bulk, first time I used it my mate was amazed when I fired the thing and the tyre went up instantly! 🙂

Yeah, fashion police, and we end up buying new forks/stanchions/parts when they wear through cos of all the mud/grit/stones wearing away the coatings … on another note, the anodizing/coatings on the alloy stanchions seems to be a lot thiner than say 5+ years ago ?? ??

Yeah, but, once you pay postage etc. from on-one it's not so cheap, eh?

The classic Lhasa to Kathmandu bike route visiting Everest base Camp – bloomin hard work getting over the Himalayas, lots of swearing and cursing but I definately want to go back there. Cycling in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, MTBing in Morrocco, cycling France to Spain over the Pyrenees, er, cycle to Amsterdam. There's loads of great things to do, no excuses, go and do them! 😀

Nice to see that bike.

Interesting that the rear rocker thing looks like a cnc'd and welded together piece rather than the 2 separate pieces that came on the production bikes … have one of these frames in the loft, always thought the rocker could have been made stronger/stiffer, and that's what they've done there.

1995 ! 😥

Put the NDS back on and ride around on it – without the bolt in the DS – this'll usually loosen it up, but dont go to far from home.

Er, not much help if you've just got the frame though??

It's easy to do, there's some videos on the fox website how to do this and some on youtube, shouldn't need the strap thing as they should just be hand tight, use it to get you started, but you can get them from b&q – boa, think you'll find it in the plumbing section? – I haven't used that tool for the bushes but it's worth getting one as it makes it so much easier.

Dt Swiss were doing a limited edition 4.2 rim in white, never seen mavic's in white as far as I can recall …

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=30557

I like that! Might be going to Peru and Bolivia next year so I'll have to put this on the list … and I'll need to put a large pair of balls on my christmas list too cos I think there's some of that I'd be walking 😳

Prefer the first one to be honest, more like the sort of riding most of us would do and not like the over produced, look at me in my sunglasses in slo-mo, show-off fest … impressive though it is!

Erm … which one's are the chicken runs then, they all look more or less the same to me?? Apart from the right one having a bit of a dip in it??

good plan but im forever putting the seat up/down so qr

Try putting a large tight O ring on the seatpost and push it down onto the the frame/QR – this can help stop water seeping down the seat tube too, and you can move it up and down easily.

Yep, if you have an extended seat tube and bolt up clamp, bit of old inner tube over the seat tube, clamp and seatpost can help this time of year (needs to be tight, of course), and waterproof grease on those bottle cage bolts.

Brilliant, 55mm seems to be the consensus for the 2.25 then, I'll measure up my frame later…

Thanks 😀

Ah, typo 😳 I meant 2.25 … so more like a 2.1 then, should be ok for my older frame, although would appreciate it if someone could measure it just to make sure?

wheelz, you must have the 2.4 ?

I wouldn't use the fork ones, they are tight on the stanchion and if something does get in there it'll be held firmly in place and cause damage – bring back fork boots I say, never had problems with those back in the day!

I use the shock one both on coil and air shocks without any problems – the coil spring holds it off the moving parts so no problem there, but I wouldn't use the one that goes on tight on the air shock, just a normal one and don't do it up tight on the slider, just have it there as a sort of protective sleeve to keep the muck off, never had any problems. But, I also take it off and clean regularly.

I'm sure you'll get lots of differing opinions, but that's what works for me.

Heavy, yeah, the info I found on the Jimmy was that the puncture protection version weighs in at 835g 😯 but I've also been recommended to look at the Nobby Nic Double Defence which weigh in about 600g, bit of a difference, but also about x4 the price !

Cheers for the input 🙂

Thanks daveatext….., I'm not typing that lot 😉 , the smart sam does look more like a hardpack tread to me so might not be too good in loose, rocky, sandy conditions?

Anyone use Jimmy, any opinions?

Or, recommend other punture proof tyres? So far there's a couple of panaracer, and not sure about the continentals as they just seem to be resistant to snakebite type punctures?

Specialized armadillo tyres any good?

Thanks for the name Roddy, found some on ebay, but how do you get that into your innertubes – I have presta valves and to be honest wouldn't have a clue if they come apart as I've never needed to, or can that only be done with schreader type valves?

No one? Nobody ever used these? 😕

Looks like Trailraker PR's, Continental or Schwalbes then, want something not too heavy so 2 ply tyres might be heavy or big as I'll be going up hills as well, I know some puncture protection will add a bit of weight. MTBing somewhere that looks like lots of accacia type trees/bushes. Might give the slime tubes/liquid stuff in the tube a go though as a cheaper option? Anyways, thanks for the input.

😀

'goat tippers' … Eh? 😕

I read a while ago about a route they were going to make from Dieppe to Paris, the Avenue Vert, not quite 'proper' off-road, more of a track/old railway type route I think, did a quick google so some info here:

http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/countryside/cycling/cyclinginfrance/default.htm

copy/paste if it doesn't link, but just google Avenue Vert and see what you can find?

🙂

DeVs 🙄

Yeah it's sealed bearings

no idea whether the split races are made of a tougher material

that's what I was wondering, the split race version is listed as 7075/T6 and the info on FSA's website is 7075/T6 but doesn't say anything about split or normal races.

Got it off Ebay, a business/cycle parts company, half RRP. I'll contact them and see what they say.

Ventile is ok for cold dry conditions and even warm conditions, can handle light showers but once wet or in continuous rain it's not good, I think it was used when nothing else was available as it's quite old technology. Maybe you should be looking to buy a different modern fabric, Rohan use a cotton like manmade material called Polyamide Supplex in some of their older windproofs and a company called Calange used to have something called Sofitex – my favourite windproof still, both of those are like cotton but dry quick being manmade, not as quick as normal pertex type material as they do hold moisture a little longer due to the surface of the fabric, but feel really comfortable to wear. I'm sure I've seen a 'soft' feel material by Pertex so might be worth looking into that to send to this company to custom make you clothing?

Erm, high volume and regular – what's the difference?

I'm guessing one holds more air, but any difference in performance, or something else?

Why you would you not want a high volume version?

❓

To lay off the pot & get your arse out on your bike!

+ another … although I managed to do both, maybe it's because I didn't inhale 😉

But I'd tell myself: don't stick to that dead end job, put the rack on the bike, get ya gear packed and go to Mongolia/Tibet/South America/Cambodia/etc before it all changes.

Quick piccy

Dunno if you make it out in the pic? Plenty of room for the chain on the middle ring which is where I got chainsuck.

I'm running square taper on my on-one and decided to go with 10mm more axle – can't remember what size though as it was a while ago I fitted it, works out about 5 mm extra each side, lots of chain clearance, no shifting worries, might excellerate the chain wear a bit but I'd rather that than get that crunch of chainsuck, but chains flex quite a bit?

You mention maybe using a 115 or 118 over the 113 recommendrd but that's only another 1mm or 2.5mm diffence each side so not much really?

No mount needed unless your going bigger than a 160mm rotor, just remove it from the IS adapter and fit it straight on.

You might just as well buy another set from DX then you'll have spare everything, surely by the time you add shipping from somewhere else just for a battery pack it will be the same anyway, and I think you're more likely to get customs poking their nose in with stuff from the USA?

Oh, and if you connect 2 batteries via a Y cable to one lamp aren't you doubling the voltage and risking something blowing, 1 battery (for eg.) gives 5 volts so 2 would give 10v ?? Correct me if I'm wrong ❓ I'm no electrician? … Isn't there a laptop battery or something that would put out the correct voltage with a longer output that could be fitted with the correct fittings??

Blimey 😯 2 frames in 2 months! How'd you manage that, are you 30 stone or something? and/or really hitting stuff hard and fast?