druidh – you must be one of the good guys, there’s plenty who just want to point and criticise…..

Makes me smile (in a sad way) that the OP comes here asking for help, and most people offer no help whatsoever by advising punishment or apportioning blame etc etc. This doesn’t help reduce or pay the bill, it just helps stop it happening again (maybe). Just commenting like….

Yes, similar situation a few years ago.

Your best options (in my opinion):
phone the phone sharks, and plead poverty, asking for their help – can they can put you retrospectively on a different contract that will help you pay the bill (or reduce the bill) (I got 25% taken off this way). Accept that it’s all your fault (in the eyes of the phone company anyway) so any favours they can do will help you stay a loyal customer blah blah. Do you have any other contracts with them to show how loyal a customer you are? (Creep a lot). Remember that being nice and vulnerable may make them want to help you – being an arse will make them want to sting you.

Then, to prevent such an issue in the future, ask for a lower phone credit limit or swap to a unlimited texts contract.

Then give your daughter a good talking to?

Good luck, but the sooner you talk to the phone company the better (just calm down first!)

There is meant to be a method of recovering ni-cads, it involves connecting across a car battery to break the whiskers that grow between the cells. Try googling for the method (ebay sellers also sell these instructions for a couple of quid).

I haven’t tried it, and it sounds like a risky strategy to me (definitely one to do outside with a lot of space around you), but it is meant to work.

I have 2 Bosch batteries that I need to recover, but as they are 14.4V, it means connecting 2 car batteries up which is both a pain in the butt, and twice the firepower, hence I haven’t done it yet….

Or spend £20-£30 on 2nd hand ebay ones.

There is a “non of the above” option – it’s called a spoiled vote paper – ticking 2 boxes/scribbling etc etc all have to count as votes but in the “spoiled vote” category. This is normally (never) reported as it isn’t seen as in the best interests of voting, but if enough people did it, we could have proper anarchy. And the numbers are never enough to warrant reporting.

I use the term Cyclist in the loosest sense as I don’t consider these people as cyclists.

Unfortunately, everyone else does consider them cyclists hence they give us all a bad reputation.

Trout – you nearly hit a ninja jogger – I do hope you did a bit of a selling job here! 4000 lumens for night time jogging?

On another note, those with overbright lights or bright lights on blink mode or helmet only mounted lights – you can be your own worse enemy as drivers can struggle to get a fix on where you are. They can see you, but it can be an effort to get a fix on distance. This is why I think 2 lights are better than 1 – it helps people to get a distance fix. Remember that peoples night vision can be different, and not everyone eats carrots!

I haven’t done the SDW100, but have done the Kielder a few times (100miles, 4500m climbing, the BearBones200 (221km, 5500m climbing) and I would say it sits in between.

Harder than the Kielder, not as hard as the BB200.

Climbs are generally long, no, very very long, and not that steep. There is a very steep bit at the end that is actually a push, but the descents more than make up for it.

As with any endurance race, most of it is in your head, so as long as you have a good level of fitness, finishing the race is a head job not a skill/fitness job.

It’s called a Unique Selling Point – this appeals to that type of buyer who has to have the newest latest kit (just look at the queues for the latest iPhone, iPad, Windows8 blah blah) – there’s a lot of these people about (and there was probably nothing wrong with their last bike light/phone/bike etc, and they only use 1/3rd of it’s potential, but it’s fantastic!

It is, however, a small step towards the next generation, which may have GPS enabled features, vibration sensing light output (more vibe = more output etc), interface to your HRM – I can’t see a use for it yet but then the bloke who invented the mobile phone probably said the same thing

Awesome riding – looks like he’s heading down to the snooker club?

79,000m to date this year
Biggest climb 1588m
Biggest MTB ride 221km
Biggest road ride 211km

Nov/Dec off the bike (hernia op)

79,000m to date
Biggest single climb 1588m
Biggest ride 221km (MTB)
Biggest ride 211km (road)
Nov/Dec going to be feet up months post hernia op

Hi,
if the frame is a large then my eldest might be interested in it for £300.
Is it pretty good nick (not so much the paint chips, but the chain, cassette, tyres, tubes, brakes, rims etc)?

Drop me a line – ta

Wearing Hats indoors – is it poor etiquette?

Have we time slipped to the 1950s?

Hence the question – I wasn’t born in the 50’s, but I do think that wearing a baseball cap to a mealtable is poor manners/etiquette. The general consensus on here seems to agree.
There are such things as “standards” and it appears to many that they are slipping…..

Glad it’s not just me then – my comments were aimed at blokes who wear hats – it is a different rule for women!

The youf of today have so much to learn!

I had this a few weeks ago when I bought some bits and sent the money to the wrong paypal address, who then refunded it to my account. The refund was on hold for a few days. I think it’s because:
-Paypal want to check out any possible fraudster links
-Paypal want to make sure it’s legit payment (not a mistake)
-They might want to sit on the money for a few days to bolster their cash reserves (sheer speculation, but I would imagine the immense amount of cash going through their books may make this quite a profitable little side effect)

Often tyres are blamed as being crap when it is just the pressure that needs adjusting.

There is no correct pressure, as it depends on your weight and the trail conditions (and other stuff probably), but are you running them too hard?

FWIW – I am 70kg, and my front 26inch N/Nic (ghetto tubeless) normally has 30psi and grips well in wet and dry conditions. If I stick 40psi it skates like a good un.

Don’t boycott much, but here’s a few I feel strongly about:

Starbucks – as they don’t support our armed forces
French goods – Due to the way they banned British beef / lamb for years
Dave Hinde – too many bad reports
MacDonalds – they represent obesity

Having just bought a Maxx D, my old setup is up for sale if you’re interested – Trailtech 10W or 12W HID (I guess it’s 700 lumens or so) with reasonable Trailtech battery and Smudge lumicycle battery (haven’t tested the batteries this year, but last time I used them they gave 2.5 hrs and 2 hrs runtime). Cosmetically the light is a bit rubbish (chrome is peeling, and the switch was opened and resealed to fix a broken wire), but it’s cheapish – £70 posted?

Legally, dogs should be under control in public places, but this does not necessarily mean on a lead. Also, legally, bikes should have pedal reflectors and a means of warning people (such as a bell etc).

Dog owner sounds like he was in the wrong, but could you have announced your presence earlier to give him a chance of getting his dog under closer control?

Competency tests should be applied in many areas of life – dog owning, bike riding, children, even eating (obesity would appear to suggest that some people can’t even control that!)

Sort of looking forward to it. Heading up to the Northumberland coast today for a weeks holiday, and conveniently there is a bike race at Kielder on Saturday so it would be rude not to do it. If it’s wet I won’t even start, as last year although I finished it wrecked my bike and the enjoyment turned into endurement.
If dry though it could be fun.
Will take a small 1.5l camelback as I only have 1 bottle mount and at approx 2 hours between stops I think I need more than 1 bottle.
Stuff to carry – small waterproof (OK, so showerproof might be stretching it!), tube, blanket, whistle and spare pads/tools, then some bars and gels.

A long time ago, when I was about 8, there was a robbery at a local off licence – a day or 2 later me and a mate found a holdall full of beer and spirits in the local woods. Naturally, we hid the bag while we went home for a bottle opener and then spent the next week getting pissed. When we finished all that, another bag appeared, this time only half full of booze, which we decided to share with another couple of mates. Happy days! I still can’t understand how 2 bags appeared a week apart, but it kept us happy.

Drill it – about 20mm diameter drill should do it. Then fit a blanking plug to take it down to 8mm for a presta valve. Carry a spare schrader tube to keep everyone else happy.

I guess you could argue that drilling the rim will weaken it, but you’ll be hard pushed to find someone who has kinked the rim at the valve.

Choice is yours but I would find out what is covered by the warranty before you drill……..

I did this a year or so ago, and replaced the discs whilst I was at it.

Fronts – pistons just push back in and don’t need winding in.
Rears – pistons need winding back in. I managed it with a G clamp and pipe wrench, just be careful not to damage the dust seal. Took ages though and wasa right faff – if you can get the correct tool then do so – it will save a shedload of hassle.

Yes, you have to push the recovery along a bit – make sure you do the stuff the physio says, and tell them that you want to get back to how you were (or better).
It took me weeks of bending the ankle joint to get full mobility back, and then the daily (or twice daily) standing on tip toes type exercises, plus endless ankle wobbling whilst sat in mtgs etc.

There is no generic answer to “how long will it take” as each injury is different, but I was lucky enough to have a boot rather than a cast that allowed me to move the ankle during the first few weeks. You’ll have to work at the recovery to get all the strength back (and don’t stop when you’re nearly there – keep going past this point to get yourself even stronger.)

127km and 5000 m of climbing on the grand raid cristalp from vernier to grimentz. Fantastic riding, even better views and 30degree heat. Rest day on Sunday!

Propshaft for the front wheels comes forward from the rear of the transmission, and the steering column fouls this on RHD, so no RHD available.

Funny, the German auto press reckoned the XF was better than a 5 series – they are normally quite hard to convince that anything non German is any good!

There’s one for every type of driver – 2.2 diesel, 2.7 diesel (older), 3.0 diesel (newer), 5.0SC V8 petrol (and if you live abroad, a 3.0L V6 petrol and 5.0NA V8 petrol). Fantastic cars – very quick, pretty economical, roomy, reliable and a great place to spend time. I’d have one in a flash.

Road and MTB derailleurs are the same,so an XT shifter will work with a road mech.

Gearing is up to you and the terrain – I use 48T front and 11-32 rear cassette,but my commute is undulating at best.

Replace it as it wears out – MTB chainset will get you going, the only thing a road chainset might do is foul the chainstay. You could try one though. Road cassettes are the same as MTB, just closer ratios normally.

Many events are the same old format – Mayhem is in it’s xxth year, and I have done it 6 times or so over the past 10 years. Due to entry costs and crappy course when wet I won’t bother next year.
XC races – would like to do more but they aren’t local enough – but the FNSS is an ever growing series – I would like to do these but my Friday nights are a “me and her” night. These are growing as they a short, cheap, friendly and open to all.
Trailquests – I love these but am having a year off to focus on other stuff. Sportives – did the Dragon, thoroughly enjoyed it, but £30 plus fuel to ride a big loop I could do anytime is getting tiresome.

Kielder – will do this again (but I’ll only get in the car to travel if the forecast is OK, as last year my bike repairs cost was prohibitive). Dusk til Dawn – will do that, but if the weather is crap I won’t travel, as again, bike repair costs are too steep.

I think I am moving towards a couple of major events, rather than lots of little ones – am doing the Grand Raid Cristalp this year, which although expensive, is worth working toward.

So, reasons for not entering as many events – tired format, costs and time.
Reasons for entering the ones I am: challenge and good riding.

My 2002 Stumpjumper hardtail picked up for £150 on eBay. Great fun – who needs any more than that?

Thanks, just had another crack at loading routes and I have remembered how to do it.

I bought one with 50k OS mapping from Halfords last October. I really like it – the screen is clear and mine is very waterproof (although it hasn’t had a swim yet). I put a screen protector on, and that hasn’t really affected the reflectiveness. The menu system is pretty good – it takes a bit of playing with to get it set up how you may want it, but when it is set up it seems to work.

The biggest downside I have found is getting routes (or “courses”) into the 800. You need to use a third party software like bikeroutetoaster or something to create routes and get them into the unit. I was able to do it early this year but have now forgotten and am struggling.

I used to have a Magellan GPS – and compared to that it is fantastic, however you need to have an idea of how you are going to use the 800. Do you want it as a training aid (with HRM and Cadence), or as a route planner/satnav, or as a way of recording your rides?

There’s a couple of help websites (Frank Kinlen – google him) that are really useful.

Oh yes – I paid £250 with OS mapping. Plus another £30 for a HRM strap. If you can find a similar deal snap it up, but the cost should be coming down as it is now 1-2 year old design and probably in another 6-12 months will be upgraded/replaced.

2002 Stumpy hardtail with Roval control wheels, DT Swiss forks and xtr drivetrain and carbon bits. Around 9kg.
It’s a great fun bike and quite quick

A PortaPow charger is what you want. They do 2 sorts – a 2x AA charger for £7 (without batteries) and a 3400mAh LiIon charger for £20. The LiIon charger is the monkeys nuts – it has little blue leds that look brilliant. No idea if it works but it does get good write ups and it looks good. It’s 100g so nice and light, just needs taping to your stem. Can also be used to power phones/ipods etc (any 5V USB device).

I just bought both, as I wasn’t sure if the 2xAA one would be any good, so bought it to have a look – haven’t tried it yet.

I use stuff I get from a wood yard – not sure what it is but is smells and is harmful, but it is £12 for a 5 litre tin. It’s probably oil based, but is clear. You can soak the wood in it, or paint it on. Seems like good stuff (the wood I have treated has not rotted since the start of last summer when the rain started).

There’s one by the Science centre or something about 4 miles north of Mach. Midge infested with crap toilets. Sorry, it’s the only one I found.

Been following this post as I booked my flights in March for an August trip, and once again, the power of STW has triumphed!

Until I get to the checkin desk and get stung, then I’ll be cursing!

22,24 and 26 for my three. Now the youngest is 19 and all are independant (1 even financially!) it’s great. The Mrs and I do disagree on how much rent to charge them though (£10 vs £500 per month)

There’s the Carningli area as well, just south of Newport – lots of bits to ride. I was told by a local last year that footpaths are also fair game (I have to say that, away from the coastal path, I have rarely seen people out walking, so using footpaths could be good for keeping the trails open).

Aside from that I haven’t found much for epic rides (but I only get down to St Davids a couple of times a year).