If anyone wants a FF camera, I will be selling my mint Canon 5D soon……

If you were on a bike then this is different.

It is funny, the vast majority of people think they can get away with being extremely rude from the saftey of their metal box on wheels. As soon as someone steps out the car then this all goes out the window.

The answer is to not be rude or argue with people in cars or if you do, be prepared to get out and speak to them face to face (and risk physical confrontation)

Being in a car does not give you the right to act like a prick, but then again being on a bike does not give you the right either.

Sometimes I find it hard to follow my own advice.

Anyone want to swap a set of coil 454’s for air? I love them but they are a bit overkill and a tad too heavy.

Ok think I will try and swap them for the air version, sounds like too much hassle.

A heavy ‘do everything’ full susser. I’m not fussed about the time issue, but if it is going to cost me an arm and a leg I don’t think I will bother.

Forget about crank bros. Hope pro 2’s on 521’s will do the job nicely.

I have an 18″ alpine frame for sale if you are interested :-) I am 6’3 with long arms and legs (35 inside leg, 6’8 wingspan) and it fits me fine.

Send me an email if you want any more info.

o genuinely people feel that these innovations are clearly noticeable to the average rider? The reason I included talent in the OP was talented riders are typically faster and / or going bigger..

Notice, yes (assuming the person has ridden a number of different bikes and setups). Make any measurable difference, no.

I used to work in a bike shop and a few of the guys in there could tell you everything about frames, forks, stiffness, geometry etc. They were however, mediocre riders who hardly ever rode, so it didn’t really make any difference in terms of performance.

Depends how hard you hammer the bike. If you really push it, you start to notice flex more. That is not to say you don’t notice it when riding at a lower intensity, but it is not really that important :wink:

Saracen kili. I built one up when I first got back into riding and it was cack. My old Diamond Back was much better.

Didn’t like the camber either, couldn’t see the point of it.

Mainly geometry now. I know what I like and buy frames/bikes to fit my needs. Long(ish) tt, short chain stays, bb not too high, slack head angle.

Suspension wise, most of the common designs are decent so it seems much harder to buy a bike with crap suspension these days.

I take into account reviews from dirt, STW and sometimes mtbr, but take these with a pinch of salt.

Also I talk to friends who are good riders and ride similar stuff to myself (a bit of everything)

Does this stuff go within the first few hours, or can you turn up at lunchtime and still get choice bits?

I have one bike that is new, the other 4 are all mixtures of 2nd hand with a few new bits here and there. 90% used I reckon. Mix of ebay, here and pink bike.

Sounds great. I’ve always liked the don as a rider. From what you have said, to learn from him would be brilliant

I’ve spoken to your wife and she has said no. It will be too expensive to buy another bike.

Cheered me up no end.

It is a really nice looking frame, with almost perfect geometry for me. To bad its a bit too expensive.

I agree it does look a bit like a surge, which is no bad thing as it is my favorite frame ever, but they don’t do it in a big enough size.

I would snap one up if they were 100 quid cheaper. Not really too fussed that it is made out of 853, my surge wasn’t and it was brilliant.

So how good is the 60a swampthing for mud/roots etc? Not sure I’d want to go for the supertacky, as I imagine it would be too draggy.

I’m guessing you mean mud x rear, swamp ting front?

You’ll be fine.

Looks ok, would prefer a blur 4x though.

A lot of micro interval routines are around 15-45 mins and are very effective. A recent study quoted in this week’s cycling weekly demonstrated that micro ints can increase VO2 max and endurance.

This may be the way forward. I used to do HIIT on my turbo, but it damm near killed me.

Doing intervals for about 20 minutes seems like it would be beneficial and about my boredom threshold.

each turbo mile is equivalent to 2.5 outdoor miles, simply because riding a turbo is like watching paint dry.

looks like a good one. I did mine 3 months ago and now have a nice lump of callus where it has healed.

Make sure you listen to the doctors about recovery time. I took a tiny fall after 7 and a half weeks and cracked it again. :cry: In total I will have had about 4 months out.

Bearings in rear wheel went but were replaced under warranty.

Replaced under warranty. Seems like this is a common theme with cb products….

I too was concerned when I opened this thread…..

I go for a 1 1/2 and a 2 1/2 on top. Avoids the POW look, but is still nice and short.

Gym all year round. Sorted.

Astroglide.

Hello mate,

Is that a tabletop I see ;) I’ve still got about 6 weeks off the mtb, so I’ll catch up with you when I’m healed and come and lend a hand. Try and get pat to come and help out with the jumps!

Jules

Yes the 18″ is largest. I think it comes up about average for a large. The top tube is 23.25 which is just a tad too short for me at 6’3 with long arms and legs. I’d imagine at 6’1 it would be a good fit.

The one I have is a mk2 in red http://jacobgibbinsdotcodotuk.blogspot.com/2011/01/dialled-alpine.html

I have one in an 18″ for sale if you are interested :D I love it, but I want something a tad longer in the tt.

Cushioned running shoes do nothing to prevent injury. You can run in sandals if you have good technique.

Are they worth the money? No. Do they enable you to run with bad technique? Yes

Jesus, the thought of spending near enough 5 grand on fuel is disturbing.

I probably spend about £60 per month. Loving the diesel hatchback. :-)

Tut, tut, poor choice of bar tape. Other than that, not nearly as bad as I had originally thought.

3 are 2 aren’t.

Car £650

Enduro is worth about £1400

Chumba about £900

Dialled alpine about £700

Why on earth would I bother to spend loads of money on something that depreciates rapidly, and costs loads to run?

I’m 6’3 TSY. Not really a fan of the TDF look so I prefer to be just over 13 stone at about 12% bodyfat.

@ southern yeti. I am 12 stone(ish) at the moment, but am eating like a sparrow as I haven’t been able to exercise properly for about 3 months. Muscle has been lost and body fat has increased.

I feel best at about 13 stone. At 14+ I find my CV suffers too much and it is a pain in the arse having to eat the required amount of food.

Jeez I thought I had bad luck!

I’m broken at the moment, second collar bone in 3 months :( Learned my lesson though, collar bones take ages to heal.

Heal up quick and hope things are ok long term.

Over the years, I have been frustrated with lack of progress and injuries. I used to be focused on size, but as my genes are more xc racer than bodybuilder, I would have to eat so much food and would end up falling of the wagon.

Now I am training for all round fitness, strength and for the love of it and it is easier to keep it up.

I’d like to re-gain a stone of muscle as I’ve been injured for most of the year (mtb’ing doh!) and get my bodyfat back down near single digits.

The gear thing is annoying, but as mtb’ing is my no1 pass time now, I know there is no point in getting too big, so I’m not as bothered now.

LGB and dirtygirl, either of you single? ;) A mtb’ing, gym loving woman sounds ideal :mrgreen: