Hopwas woods near tamworth. Not very big, but fair bit of gradient change and some great bits of trail if you have a look.

Is the cable clamped tight enough?

Dounds daft but more than once I’ve been trying to index my gears but its proved impossible, only to realise the bolt that holds the cable to the mech isn’t tight enough. When shifting the cable slips slightly and goes loose, it kind of causes the effect you describe.

Worth checking before you fork out £15 on a little piece of metal

The first vid about 40s in, did he magically float up those stairs?!

Anyway, that’s how you ride wet roots

That ring is something else!

It’s like the ultimate set of corporate knuckledusters. Somewhere there is an office temp with the ringfenced unicorn imprinted on his forehead

I rode my first ever fixed gear bike.

My legs nearly fell off

Just been to pick mine up, and they seem to be having a big clear out. Also got 2 ss chains and 2 full sets of brake cables all 50p each.

Worth a look if your passing a halfords at the weekend

How about ‘nettles’ next week? Might as well get something good out of the stingy little buggers

Brilliant PSA!

Bits all reserved, I’ll nip out at lunch and pick them up. Not bad for the price of a greggs steak bake!

Taken using the standard 4s camera software and then just selected enhance. Not bad really

Aeromatic/tauchmeister are not bad for about £70.

Ignore the ‘its not really German’ watch snobs, I really like mine.

If they’re not to your liking I’d second the orient

There was a classic on here sometime ago about going in the back door sas style. It even advocated the use of flash bangs, I chuckled about that for days.

I think it even resulted in a banning…?

My local trails are a little short on nice views, but if you look real close you can see rugeley power station.

Greybeard – i think your right

After a closer inspection it seems it might have been the stem that caused it. The stem isn’t a very snug fit around the steerer, about 1mm clearance all round, so it has ovalised the steerer when it was tightened.

I will have about 175mm of steerer left when I cut the cracked section off which probably isn’t long enough for most bikes so I won’t get much for the forks on eBay. So now im looking for a cheap second hand frame with a short headtube, a medium on one inbred seems a likely candidate

Great excuse to build a new bike i suppose, every cloud eh…

I have nothing to contribute other than to congratulate you on your choice of headset.

Goes with my colourway innit, besides onza do surprisingly good headsets.

I like the idea of cutting the steerer tube and getting a zero stack headset, I always thought they were the same as integrated? I’ll do a bit of browsing on crc.

Cheers guys

How the deuce did you do that?

I’m no engineer but I believe the technical term is ‘ham fisted pillock’

Changing chain to preserve a £15 cassette strikes me as a false economy,

Not when it’s preserving my chain rings too

Deore ones are available for £15 and my last one has been on the bike for years. But i do change the chain regularly.

Unless your a real weight weenie it’s probably not worth the extra for the XT.

Front wheel washed out on a dreadful dry dusty trail. Bring back the winter mud I say

Count me in for a group ride.

@ l_ache fancy meeting in brum and riding over, we can get some urban mtb* in first to warm up?!?

* catching a lift to the top of multi storey carpark and razzing down.

Saw him in the distance and hunted him down.

I hope when you spotted him a little voice in your head said “target acquired” and as you started to reel him in that same voice kept saying “stay on target, stay on target”.

Overtaking people is great if it makes you ride faster and enjoy your bikes.

Ignore the whineycockbags on here

I think we both clipped them

Yeah they got me, had a wobble but stayed upright somehow!

Was the bit with the weirwodl drop closed too

that bit was open, but we were there early, so it could have been closed later.

Loved that new temporary bit tho, made my eyes water it was that fast!

Just reclaimed one in Sutton park on my lunch ride, been after it for a while – boo yah!

is boo yah appropriate?

Cheers for the ride fellas. Dry, dusty and sunny, almost felt like Spain!

Cool, see you tomorrow. I’ll be in a grey punto, ride a genesis io

Room for one more?

Fancy getting in an early ride, so I can spend the day lounging in the sun we’ve been promised.

Nah, given that Boba is such a BAMF he’d have blasted his way out by now.

This.

There are loads of novels that were written before Phantom Menace came out, that Fans pretty much took as an extension of the universe Lucas created. In one of them Boba Fett escapes and is rescued by another bounty hunter. He recovers and is still badass only with a gammy leg.

His background (in the novels) was much better, he was basically a dissaffected youngster turned bad. And im sure they hint at him being frustrated virgin too!

Obviously Lucas ignored all that fan stuff and rewrote Boba Fett into a doctor from Shortland Street. I preffered him before.

“You’re not a d–k, pal, he is. Keep it going.”

Brilliant!

When people ask why I love riding bikes, I tell them it’s the bite of knobbly tyres on a woodland trail (you know when the grounds not muddy but moist and grippy?)

I get some blank looks when I try to explain it.

But spiritual? Nah I just love my bikes

Defintaley go its brilliant!

Did it a few years ago somewhere in mid Wales and had a right laugh

Frosty – it was the fun category. It was my first proper race but I didn’t want to enter the first timers category.

I expected to be really slow, so when I got to the start line I went to the very back so I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way. I actually finished 18 out of 53. I’ve entered the next one in July, and if I get a top 5 finish I’ll enter the enthusiast category next year.

Saying that I’m actually considering changing this summers entry to enthusiast as there might be less ‘spinners’ to get stuck behind

Yes, but only if you start at the front.

I did the Cannock winter classic on my ss and the course consisted of short, sharp climbs which should have been perfect for a single speed. Thing that killed me was I constantly got stuck behind geared riders slowly spinning up the hills with no room to get past, and ever-so-slowly turning the pedals with a 32:16 up steep inclines battered my legs.

But on the few fire road climbs I powered past the ‘spinners, and made up loads of places and did quite well.

So I reckon on the right course single speeds can be great – just get out in front quick!

Sure you’ve got the right kit?!

I presume so, I spoke to mojo over the phone and they explained exactly which one was needed.

I have the guide printed out(even put it in a ring binder) got the oil ready and a big work space. I like the photo idea, I might even film it.

I’ve done work on every part of my bikes including builds, a fork service was the one thing I’ve always put off. Right ill finish work early this afternoon and get started, here goes…..

Overtake me on my commute and I will hunt you down!

Light blue goes nice with gold. Or brown?

Any good riding near where you work?

I have a spare bike and kit at the office so can get in a lunchtime ride most days.

I have a naturally low resting pulse of 45ish, I’m reasonably fit but no athlete.

One visit to hospital I kept setting the alarms off on the ECG with my pulse dropping as low as 36. Doctor said its nothing to worry about and mentioned brachycardia.

Obviously I did worry, but after lots of furious googling I decided its just the way my body works.

My brother is the same too so it’s probably genetic.

Yunki – I get that, and I found it was my front hub being a bit loose (old cup/cone bearings) but after tightening the hub it doesn’t do it. Until it works loose again! My theory is that while the wheel rotates the hub gets a bit of lateral wobble and makes the disc resonate against the calliper.

Bloody annoying it is

Howard from the old Halifax adverts. He comes across as so harmless and nice surely he’s hiding something?

I have no idea why, I just hate his stupid face

Why do you guys do this to me,

Yep, got me too. Raw fixie project begins this weekend….