Jivehoneyjive -I’ve just patented an odd chain, it should work well with your chain rings when you get them sorted :wink:

Even getting hold of. 120bcd XO chainring was a bit of a hunt 2 months ago, there seems to be very little stock out there, and that’s something like 4-5 years after it was released….

RM Element 50 MSL..

It is up for sale – saw it on rightmove a few weeks back. Would be alright to live there if you didn’t have to stay in all day feeding bikers!

About 6-7 quid a Pint in Perth, WA. Lets just say there’s not many hangovers being experienced after a drink around here….

Vanish power foam – big pink aerosol of the stuff – its some kind of voodoo magic – not yet had anything that it wont shift….

I’d like some industry nine torch wheels but they’re a tad pricey. I think about 1700- 1800g is the norm for a decent set of 29er wheels at a reasonable price

Have a look at moneycorp, if you open an account with them I’m sure that the company that wants to pay you can deposit the money into your moneycorp account and then you transfer it for far less than $80.

My 26ers are still alive and kicking and they spend their nights sleeping next to a big, bad 29er. They all seem to get along well, even though they are different :D

18 months of 10-11Km each way, 9km of which is on cycle path. Been knocked off by a car once on a roundabout, a couple of other occasions where I’ve had to slam on to avoid the same again.
The worst I see is on the cycle paths when people overtake coming towards you, expecting you to disappear up your own backside as they carry on regardless – I think a lot of it is due to Strava etc. and trying to best their times – not really thinking about what a combined 70Km/h head on collision would feel like…

I’ve got some older Northwave shoes with a Vibram sole, they do a boot called the gran canion which looks pretty good.

That looks fine as a “starter” SLR. I didn’t realize they’d got that cheap TBH. That’s got more features/spec than my 350D and I’m still happy with the body – I’ve got a better lens.
I’d suggest that the best way to go is cheaper body/expensive lens. The body will always depreciate faster due to new tech and if you upgrade you keep your good lens.
The great thing about a digital SLR, as opposed to the old film ones, is that you can get instant feedback on what you did and what effects the settings have – no need to jot every setting down in a notebook now as the info. is all attached to the image file, I found it allowed me to improve my photography very quickly.

I just shortened my R1X yesterday without the need for a bleed, of course, if I didn’t have the bleed kit to hand then you know they would have required one!
The bite point on mine arrived very early with little lever travel when the bike was delivered, so I actually let some brake fluid out of the master cyclinders – totally oposite problem to yours…

8 months would have driven me mad, well done for surviving that- I was climbing the walls for just six weeks with mine earlier this year, that was bad enough!

As said above, the recuperation isn’t too bad. I just get a sharp pain when braking over bumps now – I think the worst after effects are more psychological than physical, I seemingly think I’m going to snap at the merest sight of a drop off at present……..

Yup – there seems to be a lot of pseudo pros over here in Perth who treat it all like a crit. It’s very noticeable that the real pros (team GB) when you see them don’t treat it like a race…

It’s the draughting that gets me – a total stranger glued to your back wheel like a leech.
It’s been funny over the last couple of weeks – I’ve been going slow on the mtb trying to shake a cold off and people are willing to slow down a helluva lot just so they can get a tow off you at 25km/h, I think the threshold is about 15km/h before they realise you’re taking the micky and then they scoot past.

One more shout for the RM Element, had mine for a few weeks, done a couple of rides and slowly getting dialled into it. It’s great in the twisty stuff and the suspension just feels very unintrusive, no pedal feedback and plenty of speed. Just gotta get a bit more of an aggressive tyre on the front for the local pea gravel around here. Reasonably light too :-)

When I worked in the sewerage works there and lived in Chester it was an early dash up the M56 and then take the back roads through Lymm. I’d try and avoid the top half of the M56 and certainly the M60 at the time your going to be going. When working in Stockport it was get to work at about 7.15 to miss the worst traffic.

I’d go for 900mm then place the grips inboard at about 700, then no one will be able to overtake you on the singletrack! 8)

Yeah, definitely :)

Going good Andy, only just got in, school assembly this morning :D

Gotta check the “news” first thing before getting any work done!!

I’ve just had to look into the road BB’s and it seems to get even worse, my FSA BB has given up after about 900Kms and even they do different standards for just their chainsets!

Luckily it’s a warranty job so teh shop can scratch their heads over it next week :)

39 at present and have regularly hit over 210bpm this year, usually brought on by a rowing race, if its that high on the bike then I know I’m ill because there’s no racing on that! It’s just a case of listening to your body a bit more, I’ve found that its the recovery that takes longer, I’m tired for a day or so longer after a big ride nowadays, especially in the legs.

Check out Merida as well, Nick at Sixty Nine cycles in Hoole does them.

Also, Get out with the Monday night crew around Delamere, there’s no pressure to perform and there’s cake afterwards!

I had one for 6 years and did 144k in it – my brother’s got it now and it’s still going strong. Built like a tank, and although it is a focus platform it’s build quality is another level up. I only ever replaced tyres, discs/pads, 1 wheel bearing and a fuel filter housing in that time, so it was probably the cheapest car I’ve had to run.

Not as dull a drive as some would say, the steering was pretty inert but it went round a corner well once you learnt to trust that steering.

Was a cracking car for sitting in for several hours, really comfy, easy to drive over long distances reasonably economical, but the bikes outside was the way to go – certainly not an estate.

I’ve just replaced my outer over here in Oz, surprisingly I found that the cheapest options were the truvativ rings, because of their unusual BCD its hard to get hold of alternatives and they’re often more expensive.

That was a beautiful interview, as has been said, no remorse about what she did, only about the creek she now appears to find herself in without a paddle.

I’d suggest she change her name to Emma No Way on her CV, but Hans Rey might get upset with the association!

Great stuff – 400 days though – that’s a log time off the bike. I had 6 weeks off when I broke my wrist and that drove me mad (considering that a spell of inactivity usually leads to more guitar playing in my case!)

Enjoy riding again :)

No need to have the resistance set on 10 for a good workout, I’m your weight and used to go over a piece on 6-7. Any heavier and it just feels like a flogging, if you’re not a heavyweight why simulate pulling a big body down the river!

The biggest tip I can offer is always keep pressure on your toes/balls of your feet – do this all the way into the catch, with your body already having leant over at the finish, and then as soon as you slow down on the slide at the catch, push on the toes and you have an instant connection with no jerking the shoulders. This alone takes a good few seconds of your split times.

Introdcde your arms and shoulders just as your legs are straightening and keep the handle moving all the way to the finish in one smooth motion :)

Repeat another 500 odd times and you’re done!

Same with my Cannondale Six and Wilier Gran Turismo – the Wilier has by far the smoother ride, and I thought the ‘dale was already good.

Speaking as an expat in Oz at the moment I don’t think the problem is usually the people or the locations you choose to go to, it’s the fact that, no matter where you are, you still have to work for a living. If I can find a way of shortening my working week when we go back to the UK than I’ll be a happy man. As it is, if we settle here it would mean a big mortgage and a long working week.

I’m using a moon meteor along with a comet on the back, very much under budget, 200 lumens but a very good beam shape and spread. Battery life is good and its USB rechargeable which is a very nice feature to have when you see the battery meter turn red on the way into work!

That’s pretty sad to see the city like that. There does seem to be a growing number of kiwis in Oz and I’ve heard from friends that quite a lot of kiwis they know will probably never go back….

I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the young ladies tragically killed would have been noticed a lot sooner by the drivers had they been wearing Lycra…

His comments seem to assume that because someone is unaware of the dangers they may be facing then it becomes their fault if they get squashed. The truth is that every road user needs to be aware of everything and everyone around them and look out for one another.

After this thread I dug out my old PC speaker system,a Roth Audioblob setup, probably not the best when judged against a good specific TV system but it really highlighted how bad the sound is on the standard speakers. I paid 40 quid for them when I was in the UK so why can’t a TV come with something more decent than they already have…..

It’s more like a free-to-air advertising service with a few excerpts of programme in between Marcus – thank god for smart TV’s and the internet :-)

I looked into a sony system that would hook up with my Bravia – not sure if it would be discreet enough for you but the sound off the bookshelf speakers was pretty impressive and it would integrate with the TV very well. Also had an ipod and wifi connectivity to wrap it all up. Still considering it but it’s even harder to justify than a new bike!

I was going to say I got all of my bike boxes opened up when they were shipped here – the powerful aroma of Jeyes fluid clearly convinced them all was good and they got through no problems.

I rode home last night in the wind down the kwinana PSP, most entertaining – strange how you don’t mind getting rained on, waves breaking over you etc when it doesn’t happen every time you sit on the bike!

Agree with Aphex on the ‘burbs – there’s also not many trees up there, which makes it feel a bit odd….

All above points are very valid. It just takes a bit of perseverance and perhaps taking a job that you don’t really want just to get you started. I had to start with a Contractor when I was looking for consultancy work when I graduated as a QS as there wasn;t a lot of jobs around. It’s stood me in good stead – stayed for a few years and then moved on.

On the Oz/Canada thing – I’m over in Oz at the moment and it’ll be hard to break into this market at the moment due to a slight downturn in capital investment slowing things down and some more pressure on the whole visa process.

I’ve only just got on the MTB after spending far too long on the road bike commuting etc over the last few months and being kncked off it. I just forgot ho wmuch i loved it, first ride was a bit wobbly, no confidence etc then second ride on a test bike I just thought “sod it” and started riding stuff like I knew I could – had a great time :D

Your right that its not about the bike but the test bike was an FS 29er vs my 26″ HT, 2 minutes faster on the FS due to the downhill sections being a bit quicker (exactly the same time spent climbing according to my GPS) and a bit less beaten up on it, but both bikes were as much fun as each other..

Mines like that and its a 2004 version, I threw an X9 bolt in when it seized, a bit heavier but it does the job. Can’t believe the things still going strong realising how old it is.

I think a good old fashioned pub crawl would be 1st on my list, followed by an 11pm curry where you don’t feel as though you’re keeping the staff up!

Getting up a proper mountain somewhere in Snowdonia

Sitting in a traffic jam – just to reminisce about the daily commute that was :D