I’d be paying £250 – £300 depending on the condition of forks, drivetrain etc. If they’re worn out pay a lot less, if newish pay the higher end.

I have a 2002 M4 hardtail as my race bike. Love it to bits (and picked it up for £150 in great condition 3 years ago). It has had light bits lavished on it and weighs around 20lbs (roval wheels, DT swiss XRC100 forks, Mt Zoom stem, bars, XTR drivetrain etc etc. Have ridden it for 12 hour races, 2 hour races, 220km race, and am about to do a 24 hour ride on it. Good shorts and a well fitting saddle are key as it is a firm ride.

The frame on mine is 1500 grams – I guess the M5 is around 1300g, so still competitive (although you can obviously get lighter carbon Scott Scale’s, BeOne’s etc etc)

Only you can decide – take the risk or sit back and be safe.

Safe route – you’ll be pretty sure you can afford it, but you may not have the nicest house/area

Risk route – nice house/area but strapped for cash – what happens if little jimmy’s or jimmima’s come along and you’re down to 1 salary etc etc?

Notter Bridge in Cornwall – if it’s notter bridge wtf is it?

Halfway – it always seems further than that.

Diggle – rhymes with giggle

Tintwhistle – makes me smile for no real reason

Take it apart, be a man!!

Air filter off, undo 2 bolts and it will fall off (empty the petrol tank first as it’s gravity fed and will piss everywhere).

Take it apart (there’s only a couple of bolts/screws), and clean it all up. Put it back together (replace any split gaskets etc, have a look on ebay for carb rebuild kits – you’ll probably get one for a few quid), put fresh fuel in and fire the baby up.

Then scratch your head for a bit (after you’ve washed your hands obviously – they’ll stink of fuel). Then come back on here and ask the same question again, but at least you will have ruled the carb out! Sparks next!!

Treat others as you would like to be treated

I would strip the carb and give it all a good clean, could be a blockage but it sounds like it’s overfilling not running lean. Then have a stare at the choke- does yours have a manual choke? Is the cable adjusted ok?

Have a look at the crancase breather as well – can’t remember where it is on these though. If you’re near Warwick you can swap bits out with a spare scrap engine I have if you need to.

Sounds like a 2 dayer to me.

I had a few walls injected 15 years ago because of a damp problem.Because we were refurbing the house and not living in it, I did all the messy stuff myself (stripping plaster etc). This saved a load of cash. Injecting the walls cost £150 with Rentokill, then I had it all replastered (this was part of a much bigger plastering job that was happening anyway).

So, if you do all the messy plaster stripping and clearing it is not expensive.If you get the contractor to do the whole job expect to pay anywhere between £500 and £x000 depending on the size of the task.

My lads insurance last year (19th birthday, just passed test) was 2300, it went down to £1800 by adding his gran to the policy (even though she would never drive the car). This year it’s gone down to £700 with “Insure the Box” and he drives quite well (you amass extra miles on the policy through good driving). This is all on a 1100cc Fiat Panda.

One big hill between them though. Come on you nutters!

Never got this “cyclists are a different type of people” shyte. Everyone’s just people.
It’s only the small minded ignorant inconsiderate ones who categorise people who enjoy different things as belonging to another “tribe”.

I am in the same decision making point at the moment. RS80’s are currently getting my vote, although member GMF74 had a pair of DuraAce C24 wheels for sale earlier this week for the same cost as the RS80’s so you could take a look at his ad. (on STW).

Anyway, weight is significant, but maybe not for the actual riding bit of cycling – it’s more the “my bikes got xxx bits that weight yy grams” discussion – and that’s probably more important! That’s how I justify ally bolts and I need those Alligator cables…….

Roval Control SL’s – have 2 pairs – DT Swiss copy hubs, about 1400g per pair. Good wheels for someone of my weight (75kg) and capability (average)

When I emailed Madison they said the LBS would need to order them. The LBS is currently trying to get me a set of bearings for my M985 XTR pedals.

Radoggair – my LH pedal is good. RH one has knackered bearings (and the bearings are not covered by the warranty). If you want to flog yours for not much I may be interested

Give the police the details of the seller – it may be another piece of the jigsaw they need to nail him/her for stealing/selling on stolen goods. Then go and visit the seller to request your money back (with some mates??)

Good luck

How far is your commute? If it is less than an hour, don’t get too “bike specific” about it. Any old rucksack will do (I use a Karrimor £15 15litre or 20 litre (can’t remember) with a £5 waterproof cover.) I fit alaptop in it (twice a week) and leave all the chargers and crap at work. Shoes, towel, shower gel and trousers left at work (with another pair at home for those days when I have to go elsewhere. Just need to take shirt, grunts and socks and lunch every day. 45 minute commute each way and I find it fine.
Never got the need for panniers though (although a lot of people seem to use them)

Come on Matt, how did you get on? Bit warm for it!

Good luck Matt, 3 of us did the great ormes head to worms head c2c last weekend and it is a great route. Are you doing carnaerfon to Cardiff or the great orme to worms head? You’ll be glad to know that the trails are running well, and apart from the hills, it’s all rideable and pretty dry. One tip, there’s some forest track near Corris that is closed due to forestry work, so if you’re doing this bit, there’s a parallel road option. Have a great ride and I hope you get the record

Knowing that another reason to get people cycling or running into either site is because there is a massive parking problem at both sites, I am all for people to be charged for driving into work and using parking facilities. Even just £2 per day would see another 100 people getting on their bikes out of principle (and 2000 moaning about the unfairness of it and how could they possibly cycle as they have a 15 mile commute).
Plus all cyclists/runners/walkers given free hi viz tops with “OEM name” on the back so the drivers who work there give lots of room (this idea was floated years ago but not implemented).

I still think the sad truth is that those who want to do it will do it, and those who can’t be bothered will never do it.

Didn’t realise they closed the course, guess that explains why the carpark emptied so quickly. Just under 4 hours and bonked on the last lap just after the feed station, didn’t feed myself properly. Very cold by the end and very very wet. Cracking course though and worth the 440 mile round trip!

THis warranty thing – do you think it would cover a Hope Ultralight hub from the mid 90’s?

I have one that has failed just like the OP’s hub but it feels too old to be a warranty item!

Hi,
I have an entry for giveaway as well. Was hoping to flog it for a charity donation, but now it might as well be free to a good home. Email me and I’ll send you the entry details and GPX etc.

I also have an entry for sale. See classifieds ad, but £10 to a charity will enable you to scoff as much cake guilt free at Guiting Power. Drop me an email (I’ll get back to you late PM Friday as I’m on a course all day Friday). I can email the route and entry details etc etc.

Pay the extra – there’s a few horror stories of people who’ve had a roof fitted and then had it turn inside out on the motorway as “they forgot to latch it down properly”. Actually, probably crap latches. Avoid wooden framed ones – they smell of cheapness.

Once you have chosen a couple, go and see them fit a roof to someone else’s van – walk away from the ones who let 2 17 year olds stand on your pride and joy with an angle grinder in one hand and a big hammer in the other.

Good luck (and get over to the T4 forums)

I know it’s only a bit of snow and ice, but for some of us it is also a 200 mile drive each way, I already have to be on the road at 5.30am to get there for 9.30 – any earlier and it starts to get impractical.

I guess if you’re local it’s a lot easier to get there (you could even ride to the event if the roads are shut), but there’s a lot of people not quite so fortunate.

In the interests of protecting the event for future years, I think they should cancel. Subtract their running costs to date, offer a refund, but give people the option of refund or donate their entry fee to Mountain Rescue/Air Ambulance (both of whom would be needed if the event went ahead!). I would happily donate my entry (or maybe £20 of it) to those causes.

Or postpone a few weeks.

I suspect it would be wins all round:
no wasted fuel
no broken bones
no loss of money for the organisers
500 people give £20 to charity
500 people don’t spend £xx on fuel

Had a rubbish first lap (tried too hard to be fast and technique went out the window), and just seen the results. If I were elite and a girl I would have won! Shame I am in the huge pack of 40 something highly competitive blokes.

Great race, but a hard course (slippery, twisty, rooty, hilly, muddy) and great fun after it finished!

Try drilling some water drain holes under the bottom bracket and squirt some waxoyl into the tubes. I had a frame rust through at the seat tube to bottom bracket junction as the seat tube used to let water in at the seat post clamp. That frame was 25 or so years old and is only good for the turbo trainer now.

It’s a consumable, so buy 10 off ebay for a tenner, get yourself the tool to push it out for £20, and every time the bush wears out, treat the shock to a quick service while it’s out. It’s a 15 minute job to change the bush, and another 15 to service the shock. And it’ll cost less to do it 10 times than a bike shop will charge for one time.

Give it a go, but you will waste your money of you don’t prepare. By prepare, I mean lots of long rides at weekends both on and off road, with lots of climbing, and a few mid week rides as well. If you are a bimbler, you might want to try the Kielder 50, or at least some local distance rides first. If you are a racer, you should be OK,just get your head into the right mindset – that’s more than half the battle.

You may also want to make sure your bike is matched to the job as well – well maintained is the key, after that it’s choosing the right bike (an 8″ travel DH monster might not be the best choice, but hardtails, FS, 29ers, 26ers, singlespeeds, geareds all make appearances – you just need a bike you are comfortable pedalling up hill and downhill for 12+ hours).

Good luck!

rockhopperbike – you seem to have a disturbed sense of reality. Mummy sheep giving birth the stillborn lambs because a combine collected a bit of a molehill in the hay bale – stark raving. Combines generally collected from 100-150mm above ground level- molehills are generally less than this. Sheep can withstand a bit of earth eating – they are quite hardy things you know.

Why do some people want to kill anything they don’t like? Typical behaviour of a real coward.

A neighbour puts sticks in the molehill with an upside down bottle on the top – seems to work as any moles come into our garden and not theirs.

So there’s no clear answer then. I guess I’ll think about a 29er with 33mm tyres for Cross events (and MTB tyres for non Cross riding). I’m not too fussed about UCI events – they mean too much travelling for a 1 hour race, so drop bars aren’t a requirement. 1 bike, 2 sets of wheels seems to tick all the boxes.

Leave the polo running for 10-15 minutes with it connected to the van.Make sure the jump leads are well connected at both ends, it sounds like a poor connection at one end could be the reason it’s not cranking.

Also, just a thought – make sure you are using the T5 keys, not the Polo keys??!

Anyone else have hair loss on their legs? I’m 46 and lost a lot of hair on my head, but now my legs are going bald as well. Sort of balding from both ends – I might have no hair at all in 10-20 years 8O

Don’t shave my legs (or body) though

I would like to say I feel sorry for him, but I don’t. His eyes in that photo say he’s worried (to me).

Try Tim at Fork English (if he’s still going). Used to be a Pace bloke and now runs a service business – quick, helpful and competitive. Last used him about 4 years ago though so he may have moved on.

Had 4 new tyres on my lads Fiat Panda – all good. Asked them to check wheel alignment as I had just fitted new suspension bushes on the front. Watched on the screen in the waiting room as they fitted the alignment rig and the tracking was spot on (less than 0.1mm off the centre of the spec (the spec is +/-0.5mm). Fitter called me in and was trying to convince me that it needed adjusting so it didn’t wear the tyres out etc. I said it’s bang on – don’t adjust anything – 5 minutes of me saying “look – it’s bang on”; him saying “it’ll wear your tyres out”. Ended up as a free check, if he had touched a spanner it would have cost £40. Unnecessary profiteering – I wouldn’t allow any one else in the family to go there.

Yes, normally I like the solitude, but I know not to do the Cannock MTB trails at a weekend unless I am in a good “people” mood. It felt like a “festival of cycling” type day today.

Or search ebay for Fox Bush – I just bought 10 off bushes for £8 +p&p. They are 08DU08 bushes if you go to a bearing seller, but the ones on ebay are the same. Get a tool as well as it makes it a 10 minute job, if you use sockets and washers etc it’s a 20 minute faff.

I treat them as disposables – that way the shock gets a quick oil change and clean every time I change the bush (which on my Spesh FSR is about every 4 months)