Thanks for the thoughts,folks.

Thats what i plan to do with the progs i wont be using,keith.I hate stuff running in the background or being on the computer that never gets used.

well today i asked pc world if they could get a samsung nc10 into the local store.. it wasnt going to happen so i just got them to send one out freepost.only one place in Inverness had one and it was filthy with a key missing.. with only 20 quid or so knocked off it so online was the way to go. (if ye dont stock it..you WONT SELL IT!) that goes for bike shops too.

I decided on the NC10 as it seems to get rave reviews and its also only 49 quid more than the cheapest of netbooks in the town here. Ive also read that the screen is better than the newer version glare-wise? so i decided to go for the older version seeing as how its now being discounted at a reasonable price.

One more question.what options do i have on surfing with dongley type things? I use aol as my provider but was wondering what ways i could be surfing away from home for next to nowt. or are they all much and such price-wise?

I recon they would make a good job of making a race frame out of carbon. monster sized tubes and aww that.It would be thee bike to have on the gate.

Ton , are we getting pics of the VPP or VPL?

rofl,grahamS.

would jordan etc not be better off injecting piers morgans saliva?

will they ever do a full page ad showing rob spewing up vpp pivot bearings or something? all made to look like the ad from back in the day. we need a sickening advert in a mountain bike mag!

will they ever make a carbon bmx?

That was ::::swallows last mouthful of battered mars bar:: good reading folks. cheers.

Theres 2 diff types of spline drive spoke keys. the 3d version is the easiest to use and the alloy one is fine to carry around on rides.

splinedrive.ive got a tool here and i know a few others with them as well.i think ison distributed them about 10 years ago. i built open pro on dura ace and rode them thru a few winters and expected them to be crumbling but the rinsing down of the wheels was good enough to keep them in great condition. a normal dt alloy nipple would have been dust after 2 years! great to build with.

Forget the torque on barends and grips fitted to carbon bars.

Grease the bolts in the lock-ons lightly and tighten them by hand evenly until they hold enough for what you plan to put them through.. and no more.Dont go by the recommended torque as a lower torque could be all you needed in the first place.bonus! Just remember to give them a decent real world test without swinging from them like a monkey if its stuff you are fitting for a customer.No point in stressing stuff for no reason either so use yer head on this one.

Obviously diff riding styles will be more of a problem (like grips that need to be tight for 4x stuff like coming out the gate or the likes of carbon bars on bmx racing bikes like Answers expert bars) but for me, i tighten enough for my loose hold of my grips on my mtb as i dont heave about on the bars on the mtb at all.Its the same when fitting carbon bar ends to carbon bars.You can go by the feel and often torque a bar end enough without getting near the recommended torque.. and not budge the bar end unless you were to really give it a good tug.. Something that they shouldnt be put through during normal use and another reason that could help save them if you crash.

Any manufacturers that would rather go against this idea, feel free to post and tell everyone to go right up to the recommended torque.

http://martin-james.fotopic.net/p2178115.html

i rode the motorbike over there before this recent dump of snow and the hills were all snowcapped.i dont think it will be too good over the next week by the looks of things. stay low in a forest!

come again?

:::sifts through thread,chortles and moves on:::

could always buy a confederate wraith. mmmmmmm.

or maybe buy a bike with a nice looking exhaust system.. but have a manky looking machine surrounding it. http://www.uncrate.com/men/cars/motorcycles/vyrus-987-c3-4v/

I feel faint looking at that break.. and shes having a smile!

mr munque i like the 04 model in that colour.I saw a W reg r1 in local bike shop the other day and it looked really tidy condition.. some 23 year old has put a deposit down on it though. I said to shop owner to get in touch with me if the sale doesnt go through.. so hopefully hes still having problems getting insurance.

micka.. oh i see you got the bike. colour looks good. not the usual blue and white same old colour scheme. i started to type this to mention about that original can. its awful eh? should look spot on with something plain and simple.(anything can look plain and simple compared to the original lol)

since octoberish? last year they have been talking about it in MCN and i remember them questioning the designer on why the tank range was so small. would be good to hear of real world experiences from folk that have done tours on theirs to get an idea. imagine going west coast of scotland with a tank range not quite big enough.

..you could take fuel pillion instead of the wife i suppose ;O)

This is the cuillin sunrise pic http://martin-james.fotopic.net/p34084871.html

The top track of Glen Einich descending towards rothiemurchus with a heavy tail wind on a warm summers eve with the sun out.it might not be technical but it sticks in my mind because of the wild wind.without it i wouldnt mention it,but its worth going up if you can judge the wind right.does this sound chit?! its just the scenery etc that alll went with it, you had to be there! big ring and the 11t and hardly having to pedal and also doing the ghru singletrack to picadilly to finish off. http://martin-james.fotopic.net/p7420057.html

Coulags,over the hill,then back round into the valley towards achnashellach. http://martin-james.fotopic.net/p16053749.html

sunrise descent from black cuillin towards sligichan. http://martin-james.fotopic.net/p14273481.html

::swipes her fairy liquid off sink::

happy 4-0.recent pic?

Ive seen this new brown 2010 version in the mags etc and it looks nice mick. post pics up in the daylight so we can see how it looks out of the showroom!

Turner = Priced/rated. get over it.

Was it Jimmy Carr that said.. "I could have gone to Beijing.. but i wasnt given a bike aged three nor performance enhancing drugs" ?

Nice pics. I like M0nsters ice.

I took a few shots in black and white of some snowy mountains on my motorbike ride over the west a few weeks ago and was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to host/post it on here?

the past few nights driving home ive kept at the speed limit. so that means going up to 70 in the duals after sticking to 60 in the 60`s.. and it seems to be pissing more folk off than if i drove about 75/85.driving through the roadworks over the past week just north of aviemore at 30-35 is seriously causing a lot of people behind me grief.then when i go up to 60mph they are miles behind and seriously pissed off. which means that approx a mile later they are now closing in on me and deciding to go right up behind me.

come the dual carriageway.. i nip up to 70 and it rages them as they are yet again, miles back because they have a shit slow vehicle and ive pissed them off by getting upto the speed limit.sometimes the ones that like to annoy will then sit behind you at 70mph thru the dual carriageway only to be right up yer tail come the 60mph again.

were they dropped at birth?

wtf can you do?

lol.chavs in novas always crops up. some novas might look slow but ive seen one blow away an elise amongst other cars on the 1/4 mile. dont judge a book by its cover.

when i leave the house on the bike i dont go over 2k with the revs so nobody moans..

..and stick to 2k for the rest of the ride :O)

The dead weather – are friends electric?

Just back from a trip to Kyle of Lochalsh from Inverness on the zx9r.roads were so quiet and dry.once you get out of town on it you soon realise that its a comfy bike for what it was designed for. Its just a pain at slow speeds around town or touring around the likes of Plockton just around the corner from Kyle! the sun behind me lighting up the snow capped mountains with a bone dry road up through Kintail was heaven.wild goats and deer were the only probs but all stayed put without running out onto the road..

just get a bike and ride it asap before the best of the winter scenery goes. ;O)

a pork sandwich.

pass me a tissue, my eye has gone a bit drippy..

http://magicseaweed.com/photoLab/viewPhoto.php?photoId=1847

yeah but the folk that do pull out of these crazy long/hard enduro races before the end get the chance to sulk over it all and put their feet up fairly quickly.

you chicken out of surfing like the guy above, you arent going home.Its those sports with those moments that make those kind of sports the hardest in my eyes.

wheres stuartie c, i can see him saying climbing would be one of his hardest sports. another sport you cant chicken out of and put the kettle on whenever you feel like chickening out.

a hard looking sport – no time for rest whatsoever. well,you could have a rest.. but then you die.

http://magicseaweed.com/photoLab/viewPhoto.php?photoId=1818

bodyboarding.especially on the north coast.i cant hack it,i cant get out in 6ft+,the board is nowhere near as bouyant as a surfboard and even if i do get out,each pummeling in water thats around 4c makes yer eyes pop out yer head.to be supple and fit enough to pull yourself through the surf on a piece of sponge in water that cold, and to repeat it when it takes so long to get out on something thats so crap to paddle on.. takes something else.

wish i kept at it after the first time i tried it in the late 80s but hey ho.still great fun getting hammered to hell though. especially alone with nobody else around.adds to the fear.

you know how high the tow lines are when standing on the ground. wow.

aye sorry, 42cm! but 250cm on slopes.

anyone want imperial?

I would like to see the Cairngorm workers measuring stick for the 2.5metres of powder lol.

oh sorry, possibly wrong forum.

"Hmmm… interesting. I've had big watches and small watches. Does that mean I've varied in 'size'?"

Its flacido`clock.I shouldnt be replying to this.

The first bunnyhop i saw was the lad around the corner on some californian something or other. he held the grips with his hands upside down and was managing to lift the back wheel off the ground.. then he got both wheels off the ground together.I was so amazed at this.this all happened about 29 years ago now fs.