mikew – a slight exaggeration! Perhaps. What is your build?

But, point taken.

TBH, with zero idea of budget, it’s hard to recommend a build. I’d say the split / ratio was a good one though.

My budget version would use the same GPU, an AMD FX CPU, 2 x 4Gb RAM and a Gigabyte (I love them for AMD builds) motherboard.

Probably the same PSU too.

I can’t imagine you’ll need more than 8Gb of RAM, but by buying 2 x 4Gb sticks, you’ll have the option of doubling it if necessary. Don’t buy a single stick as running two modules doubles the speed (Double Data Rate).

Considering the price of RAM at the moment, don’t get more than you need!

A workstation GPU might well (will) be out of your price range but would make a massive difference. A powerful GPU will make a difference to rendering but pure computing power is what’s needed i.e. the CPU.

CPU i7 4770k is what you need. A future-proof – as much as is possible – CPU.

Mobo – Asus Z87-PRO

GPU – GTX 640

When you say, “have the tower”, do you have a PSU? Is it a branded one? If not, a Corsair CX430 will be plenty. If you’re thinking about a bigger / better / future upgraded GPU then maybe 650W would be a better idea.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Builder-Series-Bronze-Supply/dp/B009RMP14M/ref=pd_sim_computers_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=08HMFFE0WE0DVV62AMAG

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Graphics-BX80646I74770K-Generation-Technology/dp/B00CO8TBQ0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Z87-PRO-Motherboard-Express-Intel-Wi-Fi/dp/B00CXK57KS/ref=pd_bxgy_computers_text_y/276-0390934-1074404

I have the Weeride deluxe and my son loves it. He’s now 2 but started at about 14 months. He’s never fallen asleep in it but he’s also never slept in a buggy, car seat or anywhere not a quiet, dark room!

Your knees are very slightly splayed when riding so long rides (an hour plus) do feel a little harder than otherwise but that could also be the weight of a child on your bike. Gentle off-roading is better with the child’s weight centered.

My son hated his hat the first time but now loves being on the bike so much, he’ll often go and get “Patrick’s hat, daddy’s hat” and stand near the front gate saying “bike thank yoooooo, yes please bike”

As above, I can’t imagine clearance being a problem. However, even though my bike’s got a 1 1/8″ steerer, because it’s carbon, I didn’t want to damage the bike. The front clamp only has a small area so I added a 5mm spacer under the stem and clamp the front around that.

One thing that worried my wife was that the child is hidden from motorist coming from behind who might have given you a wider birth. I bought a cheap hi-viz vest and wrote ‘child on board’ in nice big lettering.

D-Max or similar pick-up.

I’m a tart so car shampoo / polish on the Inbred – regularly.

I’m nervous about chemicals on carbon so just water.

I use Park Tools lemon degreaser for the chainset.

Great news.

Now you can give one of the ugliest bikes I’ve seen a Norse burial! ;)

What’s its replacement?

Thered beat me to it – although 823s or 817s depending no you weight / riding

I’ll have it done in the next year or so. I’m 30.

My wife and I have a 2 year old and another’s brewing at the moment (due in October). We’re both 100% sure that 2’s our magic number! Don’t want “a wee late one”

No
English
No vote

I listened to the R4 Drama of the week on my ride to work this morning. A very interesting (obviously fictional) weekend where Salmond and Cameron meet to discuss the details of the split after the Scots won a ‘yes’.

I would vote no as

1) Scotland will fail financially and politically as a separate nation (not trolling, my honest opinion) having negative effects on England

2) it will be sad to see the Great Britain disappear; obviously the UK will still exist.

3) I think the SNP are misleading the Scottish voters. Membership of the EU will be nigh on impossible, a currency union is ridiculous, a sustainable Scottish economy is highly unlikely. The SNP are a single issue party and these are doomed to fail.

If Scotland control their own borders and laws re. immigration, will we need a secure border?

Yes. On solo or small group rides. In bigger groups you spend so much time waiting / faffing it’s not worth it.

Years ago, I would take a single cigarette with me. Now, happily, it’s usually a sandwich. Pref. strong cheddar.

Miss Node the French teacher with the blouses…

Or Mr Maloney – English lit. The reason I wanted to be a teacher. He was inspiring. He’d had a really interesting life, teaching around the world and hadn’t lost his passion for teaching and poetry even though he’d taught for 40+ years. His last ever lesson before retiring was my A Level class. At 3:45 he said, “thank you everyone. Good luck. Now I’m going to f^&% off, drink beer, get stoned and read Keats in the garden. Heaven.”

disco_stu – now there’s a name I remember!

I live in Phuket. Send me an email makecoldplayhistory@gmail.com

I’ll have my wife send you the regular reply she’s composed for all friends of friends of friends (etc) who are coming to Thailand and ask where to go / what to do.

3 = too many

You need one you love and one you’ll happily drop in a beer garden / attach a child seat to etc

Got Kubuntu on the netbook

Open Office on the spare PC

Oracle’s JDK, Dr Java, Eclipse etc

The best thing(s) about my SS are a) it cost about 150 pounds b) I did the ‘work’ myself.

Roadframe + stw begging threads + LBS bargain bin + LBS “I need a… I’ve got biscuits….” + Dremel/tin of nitromors/can of cheapest paint & laquer from halfords

Although I’d never met him, it’s certainly a name (username) that stick out.

No age at all. Very sad.

iolo

I don’t really like to talk about it but I got our boy a Haro balance bike a couple of months ago and he doesn’t like it at all. He’s almost two so plenty of time yet, but I’m worried he’ll never like it. Wifey was away over the week and I ended up putting chocolate buttons on the bars, feeding him every time he went near it!

I have such wonderful memories of cycling with my Dad. One that just made me smile was a night ride with 2 friends, their Dad’s and me with mine. All with terrible mid-90’s lights, rigid bikes, narrow bars etc. It ended with us three lads having a don’t-tell-your-Mum half pint aged about 14. An awesome night and one I’d love to repeat a generation down the line.

how long before you can clip in again?

got lost clicking links on velominati and had to laugh at

CYCLING SHIT SANDWICH // A triathlon
Also referred to as the CSS, the Cycling Shit Sandwich is characterized by an event which begins with prolonged near-drowning and ends with trying to outrun the slowest person in your vicinity. May also involve a conclusive demonstration of a lack of motor skills.

They may be sour-faced, but they can be funny!

Isn’t it amazing :)

We got a WeeRide 6 months ago and our boy (2 on Thursday), often goes and gets “Patrick’s hat, daddy’s hat” and stands next to the bike saying “bike, yep, bike… bike yep, yep bike…yes pleeeeese, yep, bike, thank yoooooooo, bike yep” etc, until we’re off around the village.

We had a pretty small wedding (close family at the church, meal in a posh restaurant for brothers, sisters and parents (12 people) and then a party above a pub with a cheesy* DJ, lots and lots of family and friends and an aunty-supplied buffet; egg sandwiches, sausage rolls etc.

As we were getting married in Ireland but living in The Philippines, we could’t take the usual 5 toasters back with us.

We made it clear we didn’t want presents and gave the reason why. People read that as we want cash and we did turn a profit – I said it was a cheap wedding – and put it towards our Dublin, Belfast and Galway honeymoon.

I’d be annoyed if an invitation asked cash gifts. I think I’d give a little cash gift if I knew the couple didn’t need stuff. The last time an invitation asked for donations to a particular charity, we did that and gave a bottle of bubbly too.

*awesome

I took the day off on Friday so I got to spend the afternoon putting it together in the sun. Highly recommend!

very few batter things than that.

Enjoy

Honestly, anything other than an iPad is skimping.

Imagine, “I know you wanted that new carbon Bronson full sus, but this full sus was only £75 at Halfords… happy birthday!.

I’d chose between a 16Gb Air and a mini, if I were you. I’m not an Apple man (although I’m warming to the work-supplied MBP), but iPad’s just work. Samsung’s equiv. take more getting used to, especially for less tecchie people.

eat less, ride more (whilst wrapped in clingfilm)

or

a couple of years ago, I ate a bad curry. I think I lost a similar amount in 72 hours!

“roll it tightly and grease it lightly”

I think it was in a ‘sold my car and now it’s broken’ thread. I try to use the expression daily!

surroundedbyhills – Member
Someone else coined “TWATOS” = There Was A Thread On Singletrackworld it was a regular conversation starter between me and my ex.

I don’t use the acronym, but “there was a thread…” comes out of my mouth enough for my wife to make snoring sounds when I say it!

I know you’re a tart as I’ve swapped my chainring bolts for red ones too – it takes one to know one :)

I grew up south of Exeter. A village between Exmouth and Exeter Lympstone) and it’s a lovely part of the world.

Really just seconding what others have said re. it being a nice small city.

I’d move there tomorrow if I could!

I’ve always just driven a Screwdriver through the side to get them off and hand-tightened to put one on

this

friends of mine said 99% of it was great last Sunday.

Ride for a week or two in Whistler.

Jump long / high enough to look down and appreciate what I’m doing. I believe the kids call it “hang time!”

when he becomes a teenager, show him this thread to point out what a cool Dad you are.

I don’t have anything to add as my 2 year old’s a couple of years away from his first mtn trip.

Oh, I will say, I just added a trip to Whistler to my bucket list, you lucky bugger(s)!

Far better parts of Asia to visit Jekkyl (ex-pat in Phuket!)

cage dive with proper scary sharks

ride in Whistler

It’s slowed down too much to hold my attention.

I began mountainbiking with horse shoe calliper brakes, slippery flat plastic pedals, appalling tires, drive chains made of cheese, narrow bars, long stems, poor frame geometry, rigid forks… just terrible bikes.

It seemed like every month there was a genuinely massive improvement that made riding more enjoyable.

‘V’ brakes => parallel pull => hydraulic rim brakes => discs

Slippery plastic pedals => grippy metal pedals => spds

elastomer forks => springs => air

etc

all a bit of a plateau now which is why 27.5″ is suddenly being pushed by manufacturers. The good, truly innovative stuff’s been done. At least for a while. I occasionally miss those old days when it was a cross between a ride and Royal Marine survival course, dragging a breaking bike behind you. Most of the time, I love the fact that my kit works and I can simply ride*.

*don’t get me started on how trail centres and Dirt have ruined mountainbiking.

horrible story.

I only hope justice is done.

It’s extremely ugly…

however, it says it can be collected. Can’t you go outside the house (with a friend) and then call the police saying you know your property’s inside. If you have proof of ownership with you, I’d imagine it’s a faster method of getting a result.

I do it, because I like braking hard. By ‘it’, I mean I accelerate hard, brake hard and repeat x5 / 10 times. Then I touch the disc, think “ow, I won’t do that next time” and ride. It’s mostly so that I know I’ve set the brakes up properly.

I asked someone about it who was involved in F1 and the manufacture of brake pads (among other components) for fast cars. He thought the idea of us lot bedding in pads was hilarious; the pressure and temps that the pads undergo during their manufacture are many orders above what we can create. He said that we might burn off a little residue from the factory but that that would happen anyway; there certainly wasn’t any long term benefit.

However, what would an automotive engineer at the top of his game know compared to the average STW’er ;)

The other two thing’s he said were 1. buy a red bike for 10% extra speed (that’s why Schumacher won for so long) 2. don’t wash your shorts before a race and always put your right sock on first or you’ll never win!

A little compromised. There can be a small halo around lights. Nothing that remotely causes a problem or would stop me having the procedure again.

Some don’t because 1. it’s expensive 2. it’s scary.

I had mine done ~4 years ago.

I wasn’t able to have LASIK as my somethings were too something so I had PRK. PRK has a slightly longer recovery period but gets the same results.

I wasn’t anesthetised,, instead given valium, a blanket and a lazy boy and then, when you’re floating and smiling like a dimwit, you’re led into the theatre and they do what they do.

I suffered a lot for three days after the op. I was very sensitive to light. I wore sunglasses in a dark room and still felt uncomfortable. The surgeon said it was a much worse reaction than most people had. I was given 3 types of drops to use 3 times a day. One of them felt like a vinegar/chilli/lemon juice concoction!

For the 2nd and 3rd days, I had to wear an ‘eye bandage’ – a slightly cloudy contact lens. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.

I had awful eyesight. It’s now pretty much perfect.

My eyes are drier than they used to be so I occasionally use those lubricating drops, but haven’t for a couple of years.

I’d certainly have it done again. No more dropped, steamy, broken specs. Proper sunglasses, sports are easier…

Bomber – I remember the Mac thread.

Not sure you can say ‘close to being scammed’ when he refunded you!