someone has posted something on the cycling stupidity thread, but as I'm avoiding all possible TDF news channels, TV and radio, I can say whether it's true.

Matt

Kramer – Member

Think that Lance was a bit stupid to try and come back in the first place.

Because, second, third or top ten in the Tour de France is regarded as a failure in the Kramer house?

Matt

Euro, 'What tyre thread' backfire on you?

Alternatively, there's excellent instructions here I hope

Matt

edit: to fix link

CFH, thanks for the heads up, appreciated.

Matt

I was going to post something mean about the OP, but when I read he'd been engulfed by a horrow I came over all sympathetic and decided not to.

Horrows are the big ones with the slime aren't they?

Matt

The Barracudas – Summer Fun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhvHZ__0dPs

The Undertones – Hers comes the summer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUg7OO1gZk0&feature=related

Might be showing my age a bit!

Matt

simonfbarnes – Member

Juice just concentrates the sugars…it processes food…processed food makes you fat!!!

no, no and no. Homogenising is not concentration. Processing is usually taken to mean cooking, denaturing or adulterating, which it isn’t. All food except perhaps lettuce makes you fat.

I don’t know anything about diets, but juicing is not homogenising, if anything it’s heterogenising (I’m hoping that’s a made up word).

Matt

uplink – Member
Presuming he’s clever enough to have never been caught doping – I suppose there’s always the chance that as others get caught with their noses in the medicine jar, he could inherit the win

I wonder how many this year will get the ride to the local gendarmerie?

I reckon 5 will be about par for the course (whole teams being booted doesn’t count, except maybe Saunier Duval last year). There are probably at least that many who are being ‘monitored’ as a result of previous tests and the biological passport scheme.

Matt

Clearly he is good enough to ride in the pro peleton, so if he wants to why shouldn’t he? I’m fairly certain he hasn’t considered your feelings on the matter daisy and I’m also pretty sure he wouldn’t give a rats ass. It is not up to him to mediate the output of the worlds press and the fact that it’s not always very well informed is hardly his problem.

Contador will have to get used to the constant speculation and media attention, as it comes with the territory of being the best stage racer in the world. When Lance Armstrong was winning his tours there was always a huge focus on who was going to beat him this year (Beloki, Simoni, Ullrich etc.) and how they were going to do it.

Matt

I run them tubeless on my hardtail. I have always run pretty low pressures on the front, which may well give me a bit more grip.

I rate them as a really good all-round tyre, when you get to the extremes in mud etc., then there are better tyres, but if you’re only going to run one pair I’d reccomend them.

Matt

It hasn’t really been loved recently, the chain looks rusted solid!

Matt

Great result for Emma Pooley!

Nicole Cooke also won the Giro Del Trentino recently, are we looking good for another Britsh winner at the Worlds?

At the very least the British Champs should be a decent scrap.

Matt

+1 for bartat

That is exactly the reasoning a number of cricketers have used over the years, specifically Michael Atherton who never walked throughout his career.

If you can stick to it and not whine when you get a bad call I think it’s a good way to go.

Matt

BigDummy – Member
It makes me feel a bit grubby. I don’t care whether someone in a British vest wins whatever running really fast for a while event he competes in, and it makes me sad that whoever takes these decisions would rather field a known cheat who can win over someone who is clean but can’t necessarily win.

I find David Millar fairly convincing in his contrition, and the fact that he isn’t much good is rather touching. Tyler Hamilton’s endless spiral of Oh For Pity’s Sake Go Away and the great soap opera of Being Floyd Landis by contrast are contemptible.

I agree, since he has stopped bleating and started talking Millar is very convincing and actually sets a good example to the younger riders.

I can’t agree that he isn’t much good. Ok he won’t win the one of the grand tours but then it’s a fraction of a percent of all pros who do. If he chose to ride as a super domestique I think he could be up there with some of the best.

Matt

It does seem to be beasting quite a few of the athletes, but whether it’s adding to the spectacle I wouldn’t like to say.

I guess the idea is to mop up the stragglers.

Matt

I think his lack of contrition has annoyed a few folk. The rules are the rules, he knew them and the authorities knew them. No-one has to like them!

He does seem to get a harder ride than someone like David Millar for example.

Personally I think he has a contribution to make, both in performing and to the fight against drugs.

Matt

I had one stuck so badly the only way was to remove the crank arm.

Stick the crank arm in a vice and use the longest pedal spanner available.

I had to take it to the LBS (DJ Cycles, Holcombe Brook) in the end, this was the technique they used.

Matt

I’ve ripped the middle sprocket clean off a SRAM 9 speed cassette. Never happened before or since with cheaper or more expensive Shimano products.

Unless Shimano go out of business I won’t go back to SRAM.

Matt

miketually – Member
I’ve only been into a gym a few times (nasty horrible places). Lots of people exercising on the machines are reading magazines, which implies that they’re not working very hard, so producing very little power.

Or frickin’ talking, all the way through a spin class. Now if there was a way to harness the power of their jaw muscles, we may be on to a winner.

Matt

+1 for Fred Williams in Wolverhampton

My new LBS is DJ Cycles in Holcombe Brook. So far they have been absolutely spot on, friendly, knowledgeable, good prices.

I almost wish I broke more stuff!

Matt

But did you see the size of him? Its like Cadel and Bert Grabsch have been having a pie-off all winter.

I might have to take my hat off to him later, but just I can’t see him making it up Ventoux with the likes of Contador, Basso and Nibali.

Matt

Great event, the first I’ve ever done. The start was a bit of farce, both times, and the first lap was just mental. Perhaps they need a longer run? The course held up really well and dried out really quickly, my Spesh Eskars were a bit draggy until it got drier, but they were the only tyres I had.

Loads of friendly soloists to chat to as I went round and plenty of thanks for making room from the quicker riders.

Where do I sign up for next year!

Matt

I’ll be tootling round on my black Cotic Soul, weather permitting in a Burnley football shirt for a couple of laps.

Metcheck now has sleet from 19.00!

Matt

+1 for the spesh Eskar 2Bliss here.

Also got a good deal from Tredz.

Matt

Eskars on 819 UST, can’t recommend them highly enough.

I’m in for the 12hr solo. First event even vaguely like this.

I’m not expecting too much, but by the same token I’m not expecting to die. Hopefully riding at Cannock will have prepared me for the roots.

Hopefully meet some of you guys there!

Matt

The brotherhood of the wolf,

French subtitles and a kung-fu indian, an absolute out of nowhere hit for me.

The Dish, three geeks try to bugger up the moon landing!

When I went to support my sister I saw her four times. Greenwich (at 6 miles), twice at the isle of dogs (15 and 18.5 miles where the route goes either side of a pub) and parliament square (where an official photographer took her picture and got me in the background).

The tubes weren’t as busy as I’d imagined, but it would be a hustle if your Mrs is planning to run under 4 hours.

Matt

I’ve just had 5-6 little payments taken off my card for phone top-ups, what looks like a taxi firm and registration to a Danish sports club. Nothing over 30, which is why it wasn’t spotted for almost a month.

Halifax have been spot on so far, just going through the disputed payments process.

Matt

steve_b77 – Member
“He must have thought it was white boy day”

True romance

“Everything ends badly, or else it would never end”

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don;t stop to look once in a while, you might miss it”

Ferris Buellers Day Off

“Don’t think (name is a dead giveaway) it makes my d!ck itch”

1. None.
2. Branches and stuff, many.
3. None.
4. 60% (no helmet for road riding)

aw – Member

I think I want one geared MTB with front suspension (something good like a cotic soul, rocky mountain blizzard or a Klein altitude). Then one awesome road bike around £1000 (carbon or alu and carbon fork) and I will keep my shonky alu cyclo cross SS.

Have you been following me! :-)

I have a Soul for all off-road duties and have just taken delivery of a Dolan Mythos via the cycle to work scheme. I’m hoping it will be the perfect combination.

Matt

Just resurrecting this post to give some thanks to DJ Cycles in Holcombe Brook near Bury.

After putting most of the STW suggestions to good use it was still knacked. The folks at DJ Cycles had it off in minutes, using a 2ft wrench and a vice. Much appreciated and I will be back (not just when I get another pedal stuck!).

Matt

Thanks, I’ll have a crack at some or all of these when I get home.

Who are the most likely retailer to sell plus-gas, Halfords?

Matt

I’m running spesh 2.3s at the moment. They seem pretty wide by comparison to some and they are no problem.

Matt

Slight hijack, but does anyone know what the security is like at the Bikefest?

I’m hoping to be riding most of the time but seriously is this going to be an issue?

Matt

Series of bigger and bigger drill bit, attacking the central portion. By the time you get to about 14mm you can drag the remaining pieces out with a pair of pliers.

Top tip from here, can’t remember who originally posted it though.

Matt

Rush out and buy a copy of American Flyers and learn to ‘drop those wheelsuckers!’

or modify your bike in some sort of James Bond style :-)

Sorry for the hijack (the thread was heading towards nationalistic insults anyway) but there seem to be some knowledgeable rugby fans on the forum.

Do any of the Wales fans think that they can push from 4 in the world and challenge the southern hemisphere?

No doubt Wales are the best team in the 6 nations, probably by a distance, but are they going to start sticking to the Aussies et al.?

Oh, and what has happened to David Strettle (sp)?

Matt