This would be using a sram 1:1 10 speed shifter and an older x9 mech. Is it the mechanicals of the mech which mean the ratio won’t work i.e. pivots/ springs lengths of rockers etc?

Just by a few small bottles of motorcycle suspension fluid. You’ll save quite a bit that way. Not sure about bushes though.

I may get some stick for this but off the mass produced razors I’ve tried the venus is by far the most comfortable, least irritating.

My mate’s just bought a trance x3 and that felt awesome. Good spec for the money and very worth of upgrades over time. Anthems are also great to ride but I reckon you’d be better served by the trance.

Depends on the forks some are more complicated than others. Newer rock shox are very simple but I think fox Talas forks are more difficult. Check the online instructions for servicing and if you feel confident that you can do it give it a go! One tip. If the bolt is alloy treat it as such!

I’m afraid it’s down to the postage people. CRC dispatched my girlfriend’s new fritzz on the 6th and it arrived on the 12th, 48hour express my arse!
Then again parcelforce are always a complete disappointment.

Here’s an example of Brakes being amusing http://youtu.be/wmH7Dki_Fro .
However they do have lots of proper songs too!
http://youtu.be/ry8i5i_aLes
The lead singer in Brakes (Eamon) used to be a multipurpose guitarists/percussionist/silly bugger in BSP.

Overtook some one doing 48.5 coming down from Hartside pass on a MTB doing the coast to coast a few years ago. That felt fast on a stable bouncy bike so I don’t know what 60 on some taught road bike must feel like!

Get the five with some 150mm 32s or revs. It’ll be so much more versatile for your specified riding. If you’ve got the money the nomad is obviously nice but you could have a well speced bike plus a biking holiday for the same price.
If you like the vpp the butcher might be worth a look for a nice saving.
I’d also point out the cube fritzz or stereo, great value for money.

Fan here too, seen them a few times, always great fun! I’d still say decline is my favourite though.

Yep qualifier was the best period of time I’ve had on a bike it was fantastic the track is very fast but reasonably technical too. Make as many places up as you can in the first 5 minutes though as overtaking is hard. Top tip is to say you’re sponsored. My friend said he was (he works part time at the bike shop rides in their colours etc) and got put next to Fairclough and Blenkinsop on the front row! I just said I was an amateur and got put back in 175th of 200 : (.
I built it up as being super difficult before I went out but found the mega course fine. The qualifying track has a few sketchy bits but they’re good fun and won’t be ride able on race day due to bottlenecks.
Oh and I was expecting a higher level of mincers than was actually the case.

I went last year but forgot my helmet on race day which was pants. The top guys will be on 140-150mm rigs but 160+ would be more comfortable. I did the course(Though not at race speed obvs) and the qualifying (great fun) on my prophet with air forks and shock and it was fine but a bit more bounce would make me feel safer. There are a few difficult bits but in the race they’re usually bottle-necked anyway (If you’re in the middle 70% of your race)so you’d be faster walking.
I would recommend a double and bash as in the lower wooded sections there are some steep (But short) climbs in addition to some shallow climbs and flat bits earlier on. I really enjoyed it even if I didn’t get to do the full race.

Laggan, Balblair and Golspie make for an excellent weekend. Golspie is something special though. Both times I’ve been I’ve got so ‘pumped up’ on adrenaline or endorphins or something that I’ve ridden way beyond my capabilities and doing crazy speeds/ lines. Fun climb and probably the best man-made descent in Britain. A bit like whinlatter on steriods.

I’d go mondraker Dune, Alpine 160 or the new Chumba Evo.

I’ve shared a pint and a chat about salt marshes in Italy with Ian Mathews of that making Scotland’s landscape series. Got first aid of some Emmerdale GILF when I had a childhood fishing accident involving a fly and my lip.

Electricity beats springs and cogs.

I love how fired up people get about the potential drenching or kicking of cat when there are millions of other animals in kept in battery farms and killed in slaughter houses every day. I have cats and dogs but if another one did something I didn’t approve of I’d give it what for. I rather expect that much of the issues of this threat are to do with the ownership of the animal rather than the actual welfare of it. What’s the difference between a pest cat or pest rat other than the cat belongs to someone?

685 race face atlas am low rise with 60mm stem, want 70mm stem, maybe 700ish bars (I only have wee arms and 38″ chest)

Not in the middle of Chester but Peckforton castle was nice when I stayed there. EDIT – didn’t see thread was dead.

Even worse value than the five! There are tons of bikes out there now that (at least look) almost identical to this. I know a lot of people will evangelise the usual orange/buying british stuff but you could get a scott spark 20, fuel ex9 or a trance x1 and 900 quid in your back pocket.

Captain Crash I have to say that you seem to be contradicting yourself massively. You argue that the obsession with buying from global markets at the cheapest rate is wrong as it causes job losses etc in domestic markets. However this view (most utility per $ regardless of externalities) matches with the ‘capitalistic’ method of selling something for much more than it’s worth. i.e. does it not seem absolutely ridiculous for a load of British companies to import components, pay British wages to assemble and forward to distributors who make a mark up rather than being produced ‘at source’ in the far east? You’re being hoodwinked, you’re getting the same product for double the price. I would say that any person here could assemble a torch from parts so why is it a good example of British industry declining? not exactly rocket science is it, it just requires huge scale and cheap labour/mechanisation. The people that research and design the components are often western e.g. Cree, Philips etc. and these are the people that make the money, not the people that play lego putting the parts together. As for the trading deficit what would you do? Legeslate that everyone must become an inventive engineer and we should buy British? (even though that means buy Chinese have someone put it together for you for a 200% mark-up)

Well I think the new evo has lost it’s good looks, I mean look at that straight down tube? 😆

Whats the seat(post/tube) angle on the new bike?

+1 for u turn revs, very light and very capable, or a 140/150mm talas fork.

+1 for les arcs, plenty of through the woods blues and reds but has the high altitude open runs too. Some very long, easy blues with great views too.

Millzy, what’s your degree? I’m just finishing one in SD I could send you some papers if you’re interested.

The OP means Hannah Barnes as in Joe Barnes’ sister, the one who did fairly well in the mega ladies. Not any of these 12 year olds. She must be 18-20ish, with the OP being only a couple of year older so I guess it’s not too pervy in that respect. Kieran- the sitting-on-the-fence one in the house.

Are you actually descending faster or do you just feel faster? It’s fairly common for people moving to a more bouncy rig to feel slower. I felt tonnes slower on my prophet than my hi-fi but in reality I was keeping up with the faster riders much better. Dirt did that 140mm bike test recently and found themselves feeling uch cslower on the last than the 5 but were actually considerably faster. Oh and I’d go for the mythic, or a fuel ex!

Wouldn't recommend it on a bike….

good luck with getting some justice/ compensation. That could very easily have been a fatal accident!

the new ones are high density foam rather than proper plastic. work well but I still got a cut knee through the padding on a pointy rock (though would have needed a new knee cap if it wasnt for the pads)

Minion, I tried a 2.5 supertacky hi-roller this weekend and foud it to have much less cornering grip than the 2.4 fat albert and 2.3 specialized clutch I've used before so the minion must be better?

I picked up almost new pro2 xm819s for £150.

if you're looking at the virtue then i'd recomend a boardman pro, very decent spec for £1200 never mind £600ish!

Seriously, just spend the money on an actual penis extension.

If you're lookinga t a minion I would reccomend a specialized clutch. I swapped a 2.4 fat albert for a 2.35 one and it's much grippier and not noticeably slower rolling it's got a '1.5' (slighly thicker) casing too and isn't ridiculously heavy like minions are. Very cheap too. I rode it at forest of Dean and tried to loose grip on the front end but it held true where the albert would skid.

A big hook is great to have to fish out edible crabs and lobsters which can obviously give you a nasty pinch. a net bag is also good for stuffing them in. I have a friend at uni who eats lobster/ crab many times a week for free and sees some amazing wildlife whist doing it.
http://www.youtube.com/user/tjashton

The lobster's last moments vid gives you an idea what your putting the poor crustacean through though! Enjoy!

Edit: all the underwater videos seem to have gone.

http://flickriver.com/photos/nativemarine/

What's the problem with the mouse in the first place?

Colourway.

It's a friggin's colourscheme!
This has to be the one that most annoys me. It fills me with rage everytime I read it.

£229 for heavy brakes with relatively little power would not be a wise choice. My choice for that kind of money would be formula rx. much more powerful and much lighter (100g per end) or save a wad and go slx for more power and slighlty more weight.

smashed into a rock and put a hole in the reservoir cap

.. Suppose that's fair enough!

I've had a pg990 for a while and no complaints. It's a chunk of metal with some spiky bits. Can't go far wrong really.