They do look to be great quality. I guess the proof’s in the pudding.

defenestrate

To throw out of a window; I suggest it daily!

defenestrate yourself as the amount of f’ks I give is slightly below 1!

Thanks again.

I’ll have a look in the airport next week and see what difference duty free makes.

I work with PCs so have all the storage / software I need. 1080p is certainly high enough (prob too much) quality.

Thanks guys.

I’m moving to Thailand in a month so the scenery’ll be good. I’m not a great rider by any means but not bad. I’ve been mtb’ing for 20 years but had a break recently due to living abroad.

My PC’s got 8 cores (hyperthreaded), 16Gb RAM, an SSD etc. Is a fast SD card necessary for the Go Pro if you’re going to take the files and put them on a PC before doing anything with them?

Thanks

I got my first pair of clipless about 18 years ago and feel nervous now riding flats.

As Northwind said, it’s when you get a little more confidence you do a Del Boy-esque fall off to the side.

Yes, you should have done it years ago :)

“4 stroke vs 2 stroke”? What does that mean?

righty-tighty lefty-loosey?

Try giving it a tap with a) a rubber mallet b) a piece of wood beteen it and a hammer

I use a computer forum quite a bit.

People there get really pissy at anything even slightly OT. The site seems to make quite a bit of cash through sponsors so everything needs to be, absolutely, 100% professional and on topic. There’s an (unofficial) IRC channel which gets much more use as it’s unmoderated.

Made me laugh when I came back here after a hiatus and saw the thread

“recommend a handheld vacuum”

It got three obnoxious (but good natured) responses; nothing remotely helpful though!

I would start by getting into some general chit chat, being humble and looking like you are aiming to buy a lower end bike. Eventually work your way up to the actual bike you would like and give it the “hey that looks nice, but a bit out of my budget”

Haha. I can just imagine it. “Hi I’d like a bike with those springy forks. I think they’d make it a bit comfier and my friend has them… how do you say that? Santa Cruz? I like the green colour. So, is XTR any good?…”

I’d always ask for discount. It’s the way I was brought up. I actually don’t ask in my LBS but am given it anyway. Last time I built a bike from scratch (mostly 2nd hand parts), they let me use their workshop after hours if “You bring us fish and chips”.

I play the lottery at Christmas and I’m not sure if my £10 bi-monthly poker games count.

I’m never going to be a gambler because a) I’d rather not waste my money b) better shoops still look like bloody scary places c) go knows how you even place a bet!

It depends what you want it for?

If you’re going to access files regularly then 7,200rpm and USB 3.0 for when your PC’s replaced.

If it’s more for keeping a back up every week or two then a slower drive and less cache.

If you don’t need it to be portable, then you’ll get more Gbs for your money buying internal. Don’t be afraid of fitting a drive inside your PC. A 3 minute job. If you need it to be portable then a dock / internal drive will be cheaper although often the docks aren’t as high a quality as if you bought a purpose built drive.

I’ve got 3 x docks with internal drives in them (functioning as external drives) only because I’ve used all 8 internal sata ports!

Get Western Digital / Seagate. They have warranties far longer than many people imagine. My WD had five years. Posted it off and got an upgraded, new model sent back within a week.

If you’re storing important data then remember, the bigger the drive, the more you’ll lose. Losing 500Gb sucks. Losing 3Tb makes you want to cry.

If your drive’s dying, unplug it, wait until you have a replacemernt and you should be able to save a lot of its data.

I had a FS (Specialized Enduro), didn’t like it, back to hard tails.

There’s so much of a disconnect when riding a full sus. I missed the direct reward of riding on your own merits without 5″ of airsprung trail monkey looking after you when you ride beyond your limits.

Don’t get me wrong, if I was a rich man, I’d have an AM/DH bike in the garage; it’d still be the hard tail I automatically reached for though.

I’d want it unlocked.

Also, when you have an idea of what you want for it, can you send me an email? My wife’d love one.

makecoldplayhistory at gmail dot come

Great to see that there are some great LBSs still around.

Bikeind – which is you shop?

Love it!

Klipsh Image X10

Review

The headphone wires are tangle prone, but take care of them and there’s no problem. Had mine for over a year and, if I broke them tomorrow, would buy another pair immediately.

Edit: feel slightly ill seeing the reduced price on amazon; even better bang for the buck now!

Some are, absolutely. I was in a bike shop in E. Sussex. I was on my £50 commuter and needed some new tires. The guy stopped serving me to talk to a guy on his expensive full sus. Another person working in the shop ignored me and went to the other customer too.

A few weeks later I was on my MTB and needed a tube. Got excellent service and asked loads of questions about my bike, where I rode etc.

Looks fun. The kind of bike you injure yourself on (in a good way!).

For out of the way, it would need a really large stock of bikes and components. I think I’d only travel when I had cash in my pocket and a) wanted to buy it but see it first b) buying a bike and wanted to ride it first.

I’m lucky, my LBS was / is always great. Friendly, reasonable stock, fair pricing and you were happy to pay an extra 1-3% vs CRC et al to ensure it hung around. One of those places where tea’s offered and they organise rides, cycling proficiency and maintenance at local schools etc.

90p a litre – Philippines :)

Should’ve given more info.

I live in The Philippines but haven’t riden since I’ve lived here. I’m moving to Phuket this August and taking a bike(s) with me.

In The Philippines, I’ve been diving a lot so haven’t thought about other sports clothing.

I’m as used to the heat out here as anyone ever can be.

I’ve got a superlight waterproof in case I do get caught in a monsoon!

Thanks

ducktape (if it moves and shouldn’t) and WD40 (if it doesn’t move and should)!

Seriously though,

a set of allenkeys (worth spending a little more for a quality set)

set of common torx keys.

good wire cutters

small headed screwdriver (philips and flat)

a BB / crank tool (depends upon your choice of BB)

I don’t know if I’d buy a chain whip and cassette tool; make friends with your LBS. I can’t imagine they’d charge you for doing it if they know you and you arrive with biscuits. Esp. not if you’re buying the replacement cassette from them.

Chain tool

Tire levers

track pump

spoke key

and, as others have said, a workstand makes the whole operation much simpler. You’re alos (IME) less likely to put of maintenance when it’s so easy to hoist the bike up and quickly fettle.

I’ve got a Samsung NC110[/url]. It’s great. Of course it’s a netbook so can easily get bogged down but for watching the occasional film, internet surfing, emails, word processing, excel creating and simplish java / html writing, it’s great.

Battery life is excellent, the keyboard’s good and it’s small enough to pop in my bag on the off chance I’ll use it.

I have an iPad too, but it’s much more efficient to use a proper keyboard, mouse etc.

I’m well aware of it’s limitations and if I need more processing power, I use my ‘big rig’.

Mine dual boots with *nix and Win 7(32bit) Ultimate.

Thanks everyone.

There’s a Specialized shop close-ish and I think they do saddle ‘fittings’.

What’s that saddle Brakes?

Brother had a Focus ST-2 WR300 (through Wolfracing in Germany). Brilliant fun but a sobering experience at the pumps. Surprisingly comfy ride.

He’s just swapped it for a 330d (Estate) and saves 200 pounds a month on fuel.

Thanks.

Guess I’ll have the wife get a tape measure out when she gets home from the pub and measure those sit bones.

I loved those ‘wing’ design saddles but was always afraid of

Nuke – I’ve always been a mile cruncher/ XC type and can sit on hard, narrow saddles all day long; I’ve got a narrow, bony arse. The numbness certainly wasn’t unpleasant! The Phenom does look good.

Sounds like you did some research. Can you shed any light on the “poor technique”?

seosamh77 – and if it gets uncomfortable, you spread the blanket over the seat!

Dannybgoode – doesn’t really fit the bike’s aesthetic :)

Thanks for the replies.

edit: that saddle’s broken and not mine – looking for a replacement.

winrar’s the fastest. Esp. when it comes to multiple threading.

That was for iPhone 3 – 4 and Touches (IIRC). When the cables were the same size but apple needed extra money, they did stop older things such as ipod > TV out working with newer models; jailbreaking soon sorted that!

My son was born with ToF, a congenital heart disease.

The hardest part I found was the helplessness. You want to be the one to sort things out, but need to leave it to other people.

Being there for your wife (and vice versa) is about all you can do. Different people cope in different ways. My wife wanted to know all about every minute detail of his surgeries, drugs etc. I wanted an overview and to be told what I could do.

Also, make time for yourself. A short ride / walk / massage / beer can do wonders for your state of mind. It’s not selfish – you’ll cope all the better for it.

All the best to the three of you.

Good luck to your wife. Hopefully she’ll get a satisfactory result.

I should have added that I went to my (very good) lecturer first who told me that once he’d submitted the marks, I needed to go over his head.

Your wife’s lecturer clearly doesn’t have as good an attitude!

Looks fast standing still! Why not put another rest on the steerer for your chin :)

Keep us informed incase TFL get in contact.

I once saw an enourmous guy in Kilburn (6′ 6″ and almost as wide – SAS tpye guy), after being cut off similarly to the way you described, calmly lean his bike against the front of the bus, pull of the windscreen wiper and ride away. All of the commuters had to get off the bus and wait for the next one. Glad you didn’t go that far!

There’s normally a fairly clear policy for appealing grades on the particular Uni’s website. Sometimes costs a small amount.

I challenged a mark when I was at uni. Think it cost me 20 pounds. Refunded when I ‘won’ – something like 20% boosted to 75%.

A degree in a year?!!?!?!?!?!?!!? Very impressive!

I found / find writing to be the hardest part of being a leftie. Other than that you learn to cope. Lets face it, it’s not really a problem like being vegetarian or ginger.

I think that with most lefties, I’m a little more ambidextrous than most right-handed people. For example, I use a right handed mouse, brilliant for using a PC with a drawing pad and mouse at the same time. I can eat right-handedly and catch / throw with either hand.

A 5 year old boy with very strict Muslim parents was left handed. They came in after school and asked if their son could be encouraged / forced to use his right hand. It was explained to them why not but all the time, I was thinking about how he was very, very clearly gay and the father would forget all about the leftiness in a few years time.

Another vote for booting from another disk / live boot CD / drive and trying that way with the original drive running as a storage drive.

Also, try software such as http://www.piriform.com/recuva

It’ll try multiple passes to hopefully recover more than simply copy / paste to a new drive.

are they wooden bar extenders though oddjob? Also, where do you keep the oars / gaff / mast / foils etc while travelling. You want to get yourself a good combi :)

A Mirror* on a roof rack? The gunnels are too wide for normal bars and the min weight is ~50kg! They are excellent for everything from racing to rowing though.

Honestly, if it’s just a pootle on a river you want, go to your local yacht club and look for 2nd hand tenders.

*ex UK Team

We got the Kathmandu Baby Carrier.

It’s got a million (at least) adjustments for both the barrier and the carryee, but when you’ve fine-tuned it, it was comfortable for both of us.

It’s quite bulky but that;s the only downside.

It’s also incredibly expensive ($350AUS), but we bought it 2nd hand.