My eldest is 4 and I’m trying to find a way to make the step over to stabilizer free cycling. I tried when the weather was warmer but he seemed to completely not grasp the concept :)

He has a step (called a scooter in my day) which he seems pretty ok on.

Sounds like I’ll just have to wait till he tells me….

I have a pair of Trek ZR9000 frames that are light at 1520g (Large size) and haven’t complained about my abuse until now (and I’m 90kg).
First was bought as a complete bike, the other 2nd hand for 100. :)
#1 is equipped with a 80mm travel forks and #2 is running a Pace RC31.

Frames seem unpopular so 2nd hand prices are good. Cheap + light + strong.

When I used to race MotoX one of my mates crashed his Honda in front of me during training. he climbed back to his feet and walked over to me with a similar question.
‘I think my collarbone might be broken?’.

He pulled down the neck of his jersey and yikes it was crystal clear. Bones sticking out at all sorts of angles (but fortunately not through the skin).
Drove himself to hospital though as he didn’t want to spoil the day for the rest of us.

Yep 100mm travel model with remote lockout

sounds promising so far (waiting for horror stories to arise now….)

Winter tyres are not just about getting up snowy hills…..

In cold damp tarmac conditions (which I think describes much of the UK over this winter) they will stop you in a lot shorter distance. You will likely never realise this benefit unless perhaps you manage to stop suddenly in an emergency and the driver behind with summer tyres doesn’t!

The effect winter tyres have on your fuel economy is a fraction of the effect your driving style has on it. Same message for claims of rapid wear.

And as for the idea that winter tyres wreck the handling of your car that is just untrue. For sure some winter tyres could negatively effect the handling but no more than a set of summer tyres that don’t absolutely suit your cars characterstics.

Noise is also not an issue as typically the tyre carcass is softer and therefore transmits less noise directly into the body of your car.
I am a tyre engineer by profession so I hope I know what I am talking about. I can say for sure that I have had the opportunity to drive more tyre & car combinations (including summer, winter, 4×4, nordic studded & non-studded) than most folks….

When I installed both of mine, I only got 1 or 2 revs when spun by hand (with new BBs’s) but after 1 ride they were also at the 6 or spins.

(I think that is a good sign that the bearings need a little bedding in)

A 4wd is useful if it snows but it makes almost no difference whether 2 or 4 wheels have drive going to them one you’ve lost tyre grip!! Only benefit is you can spin 4 wheels instead of 2 :)

That aside, normally the problems that arise in winter are not about driving up snowing inclines but come from trying to drive around corners or stop suddenly. When conditions are bad the difference is just huge between summer & winter tyres.

Without a doubt – very much worth it.
I use them and the benefits when it is cold & wet is surprising let alone when there is ice or snow.

Hard to find in the UK though…..

my leasecar is to be replaced tomorrow…
There is a huge cratch (gouge) out of the right rear wing where my lady failed to notice our big white house whilst reversing.
I am just hoping it is accepted as a freebie due to vandalism (we claim hit & run car park incident).

I ride every day through 80km of traffic between queueing cars and sometimes make the some journey with my car. I can say for sure, things appear very differently from the 2 different vantage points both physically & through driver / rider interpretation.

What seems nothing to a car driver might seem very different to the bike pilot. We feel very vulnerable at times and I certainly get at least 1 scare every day….

I think the message needs to be that both sides need to improve awareness & be considerate. Sitting in a car with the radio on moving forward at 5mph for 30 minutes makes us all drift off into daydreaming land.

It’s also been said many times before but spending some time on 2 wheels (be it motorised or not) really increases the road awareness of car drivers.

That said I have also done some quite stupid things on a bike when I was younger including boot in the door of someone who cut me up (deliberately) :oops:

It is not hard to damage tyres / rims but how big a hole is it to cause (I expect) the sump to make ground contact?

Get some photo’s of it ASAP.

I have read some time ago that local councils do budget for this kind of occurrence as it cheaper than having a reactionary repair team. That’s ok financially but doesn’t help when the poor fecker that hit the hole is riding a motorbike…

stick it in the bin :(

I had this happen on a brand new Dura-ace chain, due to my impatient gear shifting whilst trying to chase a mate down…

Hard to say – miss my mates and the sense of humour mainly (plus the occasional drunken idiocy).
There is a lot of humour in English that is completely missed by most foreigners even if they speak English.

I also miss Channel 4 but not ITV…

I received a Braun Cruzer3 for Xmas from my lady.
trimmer & shaver all in one….
For me it doesn’t work particularly well to be honest – seems to miss bits and leave some stubble.
I don’t really find any improvement whatsoever.
Much prefer a blade. (Mach 3)

And what exactly are you ashamed of?

Well it is most likely the people that work for me wouldn’t even get an interview without a degree….
Can feel a bit fraudulent sometimes but then I meet an unbelievably stupid graduate/ masters / doctorate job candidate or colleague and suddenly feel a lot better.

I’m ashamed to say I never got around to getting a degree. I did an engineering apprenticeship and ended up with an HND. I’ve done quite some vocational training since & some formal mgt training.
On the plus side I am 36 and have 18 years relevant work experience and earn around €60k plus quite a lot of benefits in kind. Took a pay cut when I left the UK from around 40K GBP but since the exchange rate has drifted salary sounds a lot nicer.
(but I would happily take a paycut for something that I enjoy doing)

I”m an expat living in Belgium & constantly had both cars & (fast) motorbikes during the 13 years between getting licence and emigrating – never once got nicked for speeding.

Moved to Belgium – get caught 3 to 4 times per year! They are so f*cking sneaky where they hide you wouldn’t believe it. The only positive is that there are no points so pay the fine and move on. Typical cost is between €85 – 150 so could easily have bought a nice carbon frame with the money….

I have a pair of 2007 Trek 8000’s (well they were originally). I like the ZR9000 frame very much – 1570g in 19.5″ – but have upgraded both bikes significantly. Rides very well – rigid but not too stiff, sharp steering.
I am quite a heavy rider and have no issues until now with either.

Hard to make any direct comparison with a fully framed bike… (I also have an Epic for when the going is dry, fast and bumpy).

I’m very happy with my ‘heavy’ 1500g wheels :-)… I’m also a rather big chap @ 90kg and have had no issues with either as yet. I run both with Conti supersonic tubes currently and exclusively use Schwalbe patterns but one of my cycling buddies recommends making the step over to non-UST and using sealant.
(considering the comments made on here about in-field repairs should you puncture with sealant tires I feel quite happy with my inner tube solution)

njee20

in the photo you showed of the 970 with double extralite chainrings what tooth number are they?
I’ve seen on the extralite website they offer a 2×9 conversion including a 30 tooth inner ring to fit to a standard 104 pcd crank.

I’m thinking of making this conversion…

Better chainline too?
One less spacer on the drive side…
Seen a few pro set-ups the same but I expect they’re obviously fit / powerful enough to push up the hills on existing middle ring.

If you live in a country that uses the Euro though it is awesome :)
Bike bits are really cheap in the UK for me now.

Sorry….

The key question is will it recover and if so, how far….

Don’t know any hotels (sorry) as I live over in Flanders. Are you just doing the tourist thing or anything special?
Lots of good MTB events organised every week even if the terrain is not exactly alpine….. :)

It is advsied that tyres should be swapped between front & rear to maintain even wear rates, though on some 4 wheel drive cars (early Haldex diffs such as first Volvo XC70 I think) they should not be exchanged if the remaining tread depth difference F to R is >1mm. This is because a smaller rolling radius on the rear axle causes the diff to believe the rears are spinning and sends drive to them constantly. The diff was not designed to have such a duty cycle and would overheat.
(I am a tyre engineer by profession so sorry for the waffle) :oops: