Having spent so much time and money on a bike for your son,would it be to much to explain the joys of a padlock and chain.

If your brakes dont have to match.
Then merlin have xt front for £60 with 700mm hose.here

And buy the slx rear from ribble not a bad set of brakes for £100

@ Hairychested tell me your only kidding And thats not true??

And just for the record i grew up in mosside near inner city manchester. and when i was 14 my parents split so we moved to benchill in wythenshaw so not snobbish at-all if anything just angry.

As all ways T.J you missed the irony.

And lets not forget the so called single mums, with tattoos above there coin slots, holding onto a tax free benson bomber,whilst waiting for there 3 kids all by different dads, to come out of school so they can get in there pre paid taxi,and get home so mum can finish the latest level of halo whilst dominos bring tea for the kids,because dad number 4 hasn’t finished in the bookies trying to double his giro.

Also from speaking to other parents, most would gladly send there kids to the school our child goes, but when we tell them how much it cost,and what we had to sacrifice almost every one said “fucX that” he can stay where he/she is.

Also at lot of parents told us how powerless the teachers were these days, and how the street wise kids used this every day to there advantage, 1 child in a class of 15 can be dealt with a lot quicker,than 3to4 children playing up in a class of 30,were led to believe that these problems are more secondary school based, which is one of the reason we opted to get him in now whilst he’s young, and we can afford it, rather than when he,s older and we cant.

Like i said theres good and bad in both arguments we just felt there was more good if we paid for it.

@ grum i couldn’t agree more with some of your points,and i would gladly do my bit, for any school my child goes to,

but sometimes you just get a feeling that all is not well in the education department in general, and whilst i do agree with you that people paying more tax to fund the education system properly,is the way forward,i for one cannot take the chance that it will happen during my child’s schooling,

So we sold our cars bikes and piano just to get him in a good school,also please bare in mind that ive all ready contributed to the system via tax contributions . so the schools in our area,or at least in my eyes should be up to scratch, there not so we had to do something about it ourselves.

it stinks but we are by no means the only family in this situation.

Mb

Its worth every penny if you can sustain the cost.

Most private education goes up year on year, we expect to pay between £2,000/3,000 for the first year, and this increases at around £900 a year, if our son remains at this school until he sits his exams, then his final year of education is projected to cost us just under £17,000, all though this will include his exam fees.

Now the total cost for our sons education from 4yrs to 17yrs possibly 18. is expected to be around £132,000

Myself and my partner both went to the local secondary schools. we both feel that the education we received at our school was ok.

But how times have changed, when we went to visit the local primary schools in our catchment area,we were both amazed at how big the class sizes were, how many schools didn’t have permanent teachers in place for the coming terms,and just the general feeling that the schools didn’t have any money to buy the things they so desperately needed.

The notice boards were full of up and coming events to raise money for this, that , and the other.

There is 2 schools in our borough that have an outstanding reputation,but they are not in our catchment,so we either have to lie like some of our neighbours( 1 even went as far as to rent a flat near the school and used that as there address ) or put our child in 1 of the 3 schools that the council have told us he must go to.

so we looked into private schooling, and like has been said above they are good and bad in everything and private education is no different.

the school we chose has a very good reputation for the way in which it teaches the children,but also has a very snobbish element to it.

You only have to look at the car park at the end of the day, as they all stare at the poor couple in there Honda.
But we dont mind as its not about us its about our son.

But a few things did stand out, guaranteed class sizes of no more than 15 pupils,until the age of 7.and then no more than 20

All the primary teachers have all been at the school for over 7yrs.

But all this comes at a cost, we sold both our cars,my motorbike, our dirt-bikes,my partners piano and
bought 1 do it all car (Honda accord tourer)

We have just had to accept the fact, that for the next few years our son will be in private education,but we wont have to find the money as we sold the things that weren’t important just nice luxuries

We both just felt that as we can afford to send our child to a private school for at least the next 7 yrs then we should, based on what was available to us in our area,
If we had the chance to send him to a decent state ran primary school then thats where he would go,but until the 2 near us show dramatic improvement we feel its not fair to our son to take that risk with his education.

Hopefully it wont be for ever as i would like a new bike soon.

Mb

macbook pro here, and have had both.

as above really unibody + the key thing is a bonus i dint think i needed until i had it.

And if your quick theres a 4gb unibody refurb for £849 on apple.com

I dont think it matters that it doesnt have a hdmi socket. as you can just purchase the apple mini display to hdmi cable.

apparently it does matter apple state when you use this cable it will not transmit sound.

so thats crap.

Something for the weekend sir..

leaping rat.

And my son deep in thought at the m.o.s.i. in manchester

Both shots taken with a minolta 50mm prime. on a sony dslr.

kona hei hei fits the bill. as does the niner jet-9,both racey both light for fs 29ers.

suggest 300m spools as the cheaper option as there is no need to put 1000m on a reel. Most reels will not hold more than 300m anyway.this is good advice

you're obviously NOT a carp angler as the OP requested.. or you would be aware that most modern carp anglers habitually use a multiple rod/reel set-up. and all the thick ones have every real with the same line.

and you sir must stop and think before you comment, most carp anglers that are on the boil, will not always start with 3 rods that all have the same real line.

ive fished with many of the countries top carp lads and most make line decision based on what distance is needed for the cast,what size lead they will need to make that cast,and weather a shock leader is a better option.then most will start to think about what the bottom layer of the lake is like .is it clay,, does it contain pebbles is there dying weed, rotting leaves.and so on…

imo i would by the tfg line as its fantastic stuff. but you could buy 2x300m spools of 12lb line and 1x300m spool of 14lb line there fore giving you a much better spectrum for fishing.

Using 15lb braid – which would be as thin as 2lb mono could cause horrific injuries to a fish thrashing round in the net……. utter crap. .why would it. braid and mono offer no difference in strength when there not put under pressure,and as the fish is in the net, your line should not be tort, and your bait runner engaged, so you can freely pull of line.a net big enough for the fish to thrash around in comfortably might help.

I went over to braid for lure fishing for pike about 10-12 years ago, then started using it for long range drifter work and realised that its qualites – zero stretch, strength, longevity – make it a much safer, more sensible and cost effective main line.

and that is where it shines, there is nothing compared to braid when pike fishing with lures spoons or jerk baits. but this is down to being able to impart action on your lures due to your braid having no stretch.but braid does have its short comings,its not the best caster when the wind picks up.and is a right pain to undo when you get a knot or overcast on a multiplier.

when i used to fish for" team milo" in france we as a team lost count the amount of times carp lads had struck on braid and cut through another carp that was feeding next to it. 50lb braid when tort does tend to have that cheese wire property and for a carp angler to not use a shock leader of line would be foolish.

and dont get me started on the amount of times ive seen pike anglers chuck 8 to 14oz sized mackerel and lamprey baits to the horizon only for them to crack of on the cast,leaving a baited set of trebbles in the lake for a poor pike to find..or those pikers who try to cast under the local nearside tree get it wrong and leave a mackerel hanging for all the birds to get stuck on as it slowly rots away.or the pikers who think its ok to just sneak a quick live bait on when no ones looking.

as you may of guessed ive spent years on my life fishing and seen it all carpers and pikers. and in the last few years the barbel and big chub brigade.

Shibboleth – Member
….and a bolting carp can easily cover 50yds before you even pick the rod up, so you need plently of line.

Once you drag yer ass out of the bivvy, put down the beer and stub out the blunt, maybe lol.

i cant believe how much you spend on ear phones for your bike. i use" koss the plug" in ear buds there like a foam ear plug, give it a twiddle to make it small pop it in your ear and in expands filling in all the gaps.mind blowing bass and so cheap you'll think there crap.(but there not) or you could try the Denon AH-C551 Black,really nice sound .

i wouldn't say there fast rolling,but they do roll ok.

got them on my bike front and rear at the moment,and have done so for about 6 weeks,ive found them to be a peculiar tyre in that.that side wall says 35-65psi,but found that the front tyre offers fantastic grip when run around 24/27psi,a lot less sketchy when say ran at the recommended 35+(imo)

also found that the central tred pattern to be quite high,which is fine in a straight line,and for brakeing,but i found that when going into a corner at speed or over roots there seemed to be a definite transfer of grip,from the center of the tyre to the outer edge. (as if was just about to let go but then gripped again) ive also noticed that the faster i go into a bend the less of a problem this is,

so merchent bankers sunday morning round up of the maxxis ardent is.

a very grippy tyre wet or dry if the tyre pressure is lowish 24/27f 32/35r

a tyre that responds well the more you chuck at it,as in the faster you go the safer it feels.

rolls ok and not to heavy.

very soft rubber

ride in the peaks 2/3 times a week in all weathers and haven't found the need to change them, now ive messed with the tyre pressure.running tubeless on tn719s no punctures no pinch flats either.

this is my personal opinion and can be rolled up and thrown in the bin if you see fit.

knick name given to me by my buddies from darn sarf. apparently its cockney rhyming slang for miserable ****,

have you thought about the" Rocky Mountain Vertex 29er 2010" available in up to 22" from wiggle, take around 9days to order in,shouldn't be a problem as cycle scheme can take 14 days/longer looks a nice bike for the money.

Top Features of the Rocky Mountain Vertex 29er 2010
Frame: RMB FORM 7005 Alu
Forks: FOX F32 RL 29 100mm. Lock out / Rebound / 15mm Axle
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT Shadow
Front Derailleur: Shimano SLX Direct Mount
Shifters: Shimano SLX Rapid Fire 9spd
Chainset: Race Face Evolve XC 170-175mm 44/32/22T
Bottom Bracket: Shimano SMBB91 Press Fit
Chain: Shimano HG53
Freewheel: Shimano 29'er 12-36T
Headset: FSA Orbit Z1.5 Lower / FSA ZS-4D ACB Upper
Stem: Easton EA70 6° 70-90-100-110mm
Handlebars: Easton EA70 Flat 31.8mm 685mm x 9° Sweep
Front Brake: Formula ORO K24 Hydraulic Disc 180
Rear Brake: Formula ORO K24 Hydraulic Disc 180mm
Brake Levers: Formula ORO K24
Rims: Stans ZTR 355 29
Front Hub: Wheeltech Disc Cartridge Bearing 15mm Axle
Rear Hub: Shimano M529 Disc
Spokes: DT Swiss Competition
Tyres: WTB NanoRaptor Comp 29
Saddle: WTB Silverado Race SL
Seatpost: Easton EA70 30.9mm
Pedals: N/A
Grips: RMB Lock On Foam

lucas if you work in seismology i may have just sent you an email. if not then someones going to wonder whats going on.

Hi lucas tried to email you all day,keeps saying domain is offline and cannot be reached.
mail me on
xc-idiot@tiscali.co.uk
Andrew

Hi lucas its in fantastic condition and comes boxed as we have 2, unfortunately price does not include postage until i have checked how much it will cost. but if you want to split it 50/50 thats fine by me.

ive got a wee ride in the garage you can have for £40 fantastic thing and as you said much more fun to have little one up front.

mongoose sabrosa from rutland cycles. but you need to buy it, from there ebay shop.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MONGOOSE-SABROSA-3X8-MENS-HYBRID-CITY-BIKE-RRP-599-18-/380219013896?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item5886d1bb08#ht_4577wt_991%5Dnull

mega bike for the money

i just find it amazing that people will still argue until there blue in the face, when its quite clear to any rational thinking human being that they were wrong. but not going to admit it. strange

what??? we won the world cup in 66
that very important fact must have passed me by.

once again the stw dickheads are out in force, (must be an early finish) now i claim to no nothing about the physics of wheels and how they work.but it seems to me that Mr Bikewhisperer has got his knickers in a twist and wont let it lie.you sir are a buffoon of the highest order.oh and wrong as well.

Read and learn …..as some one once said knowledge is power

When a bicycle wheel is built, the spokes all start out loose, then they are gradually made tighter and tighter. When complete, every spoke pulls the hub towards the rim, but all the spokes are in balance, so the hub and the rim stay put. This process is occasionally referred to as pre-tensioning, because you are putting tension in the spokes, even before they wheel has to support any load.

It's hard to visualize (I suggest looking at a bicycle wheel), but every spoke is pulling on the hub simoultaneously, in all directions. The tension in every spoke is (very close to) identical. What's interesting is what happens to the wheel when a load is applied (when you get on the bike). If you measure the tension in all the spokes, only those spokes in the bottom of the wheel change tension significantly – the tension decreases. In other words, the bottom spokes become more loose, all the other spokes remain unchanged.

In mathematical terms it is possible to describe the bottom spokes as being in compression. They have less tension than they had before, so if you count the starting (pre-tensioned) state as the zero state, you have put them "in compression". The reason they can support this compression is that the spoke has been pre-tensioned.

The "compression" of the bicycle spokes is really a mathematical fiction. They are compressing only in that there is less tension than there was before. Relative to the starting (pre-tensioned) state, they have compressed, but relative to the totally slack state, the spokes are still in tension. In other words the lower spokes which are described as being in "compression" are still pulling downwards on the hub. Clearly, pulling downwards can not have the effect of holding up.

Only the upper spokes are actually pulling upwards on the hub. the hub hangs from the upper spokes. but Oddly this does not contradict the following statement, that the lower spokes play the most dynamic role in supporting the load.

im bored now, so im going out for that nice experience we call a bike ride.

2010 Fox F29 RLC with 9mm qr and the new FIT damper system. fantastico………

note to self…learn to look a little harder

just buy here a second hand macbook of ebay theres 2 on there at the mo with b i n of £425 and £450
i presume the extra £50 will be money well spent..if youve got a mac.

Hang on a minute! ive got mavic a317s on my 29er running maxxis rampages tubeless,does this mean iv e built my wheels up using road rims??? and if so is there any disadvantage to this?

i presume that if you've got the cash, then you can have the bomb of your choice. but. as the average Russian nuclear sub is currently for sale, on the black market for around 30 million us dollars complete with ageing reactor. then factor in the cost of making said bomb without being detected. i think your average towel wearing goat herder with a grudge on western society might find this a jihad to far.

on the other hand a well financed, well organised politicly motivated saudi royal family member ???????????

you can get a 2010 Motobecane FLY Team 29 Ti with Reba Race 100mm
+ Avid Elixir Hydraulic Disc Brakes from bikes direct for $2000 which is quite good value

just gone through a very similar process with a college at work. but the forks arnt disc compatible and neither is the frame,and as she seemed quite keen to only have to buy one bike we ended up buying a mongoose sabroso after we phoned rutland.the bikes are on ebay only i think and are really good value for money.

21lb you say runs of upstairs to get axle grease/swarfega combo,and gimp mask

tease me tease me tease me….

i think a light weight dolly is just another name for a trailer.so i presume hes selling the bike with a trailer.

9spd deore sti on crc for half price brake/shifter combo worth a look.

might i recommend the sony a200 fantastic little dslr around £250 with the 17 80mm kit lens.bought one around 18mths ago and still getting great reviews now.on the plus side sony have also bought minolta and all the auto focus minolta lenses work on the sony range albeit some arnt full frame.this opens up some very well made lenses for not mega bucks and are quite easy to sell on if you don't like them.
for around £500 you could get a camera plus a 50mm prime and a small telephoto and still have a little bit left.