Mostly Balanced, I asked about this and got some interesting replies on the Thorn forum.
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=2056.0
Short answer, kink the rim at each spoke hole. 8O

i strongly recommend that you take a trip to your local A&E to see what excessive speed (car or motorbike) does to people and there families.

Do they allow sightseers in hospitals these days ?

"This made a big enough impact on your day to warrant starting a thread about?"
Well, the thread made a big enough impact to get 18 replies so far, so if that's anything to go by, yes.

"…fat middle aged IT manager decked out in lycra sitting on his bike behind her"
Did you miss this bit;
"Driving through Bewdley today…"
And I'm a fat, middle aged bus mechanic, I'll have you know.

"How do you know she was shaking her head at the motorcyclist?"
I did wonder that myself at the time, but as she was in an open topped car I got a good view of her head movement as she watched the bike go past and that theory best fits the evidence.

I can only presume what the driver was thinking, but after all the "I saw a motorcyclist doing something naughty, therefore all motorcyclists are naughty" and "Don't do anything naughty on your mountain bike because then car drivers will think we're all naughty" threads, it came as first hand experience of watching someone tut tutting at a motorcyclist causing a minor hold up, then finding it acceptable to do almost exactly the same thing themselves.

I guess you city types see this sort of thing every day. It was a bit of a novelty to me.

A friend of mine made one and his son could ride it like a normal bike.
I got about 3' :oops:

Thanks for looking Stevo. We'll try the front twister and if she likes it we may get back to you if she wants a matching pair.

Will, I'm in the process of upgrading from 26" to 29" wheels myself. By the time I've built up a race and commuter 29er for myself, there should be enough bits left over to build Mrs militant a 26" Rohloff hardtail as a spare bike.

stuey, I've got some Cane Creek short grips spare. I'm currently using Specialized's version of the Ergon grips. They're lock ons, but they only clamp at the outer end, so it was easy to cut the inner end of one of them short to suit the Rohloff twist grip.

Thanks clubber.
I've learned a bit from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derailleur_gears, but it's always nice to have a definite "Yes it will/No it won't" answer from someone who really knows before spending the money.

Willsimmons, I don't think there's a problem with the current trigger shifter.
I've ridden the bike, both sides feel the same to me and she has no trouble with the right thumb.

GrumpyStevo, if you've got an X9 front twist shifter that currently retails on CRC for £36.07 going for nowt, that sounds like a bargain.
If you email me tonight on aecmilitant.tiscali co uk I'll paypal you the money for next day delivery if that's OK so she can ride it at the weekend.

Tron, yes, I got that bit, but I've been riding a Rohloff for a few years and lost track of recent developments in derailleur shifters.
I've heard of top swing/bottom swing, top pull/bottom pull, high normal/low normal, 1:1/2:1 and don't really know what it all means.
I know I could do some research, but I just thought it would be easier to get an answer from someone who is more familiar with them.
I didn't want to end up buying a shifter that pulls 20mm of cable when it should be pushing 10mm.

Ok thanks all, and yes it's just for the front, she's got no problem with the right thumb.
I think we'll go for an X7 shifter though, as the front's on offer at CRC for £15.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5723
I take it the advice still stands and it's also compatible ?

Somebody must know.
We're both riding Set2Rise solo next weekend and I want to get it ordered, delivered, fitted and test ridden by then.

They made one guy slam on as they had to pull in so as to avoid impending doom from an oncoming car.

So the car driver was following the car in front too close then.
If you can't overtake yourself, leave room for those who can.

Rohloff. :P 8)

I helped organise a trailquest on Sunday, so I spent most of the day at the event start while everyone else was out riding.
Got a bit of a ride in later collecting some of the control points in, but it was more like park the Land Rover in a hedge, jump out, ride the bike across a field and back to retrieve the CP, jump back in the Land Rover, drive on a bit more, repeat.

I've got 12 hour warm up rides at Set2Rise and Bristol before MM.
I'm still not sure I've done the right thing entering solo and keep wondering if I should give up my place and try to get on a team instead.

Oh, OK, I misunderstood what you meant by bottomed out. I thought you meant the bolt wasn't threaded all the way and the end of the thread had reached the SFN before it was fully tight.

If it's not that, mieszko's idea sounds most likely to me.

Glad you enjoyed it, stumpy. I know it was hard, I've ridden to every control point at least twice over the last few weeks. :wink:

The map.

About 55km round the lanes and bridleways of Shropshire setting out the Control Points for a trailquest tomorrow.
I got some extra mileage in by riding to the meeting place alone from home, then it was a leisurely 4 hours or so with friends with plenty of stops and an ice lolly at Hampton Loade station on the Severn Valley Railway.
All in all, a great day out on the bike.

It's probably safe*.

*Safe, from the point of view of someone miles away on an internet forum.

It does get tighter as I turn the topcap nut but just not tight enough before it bottoms out.

Ah, I think that's the problem.
The adjuster bolt is bottomed out on the SFN before it is fully adjusted.
Tap the SFN down the steerer tube another 5-10mm

I think expecting better standards of spelling and grammar from a local government employee is a sign of my age.

shooterman, be a lorry driver. The age bias goes the other way.

POSTED 2 HOURS AGO

Are you still alive ?

Wearing a rucksack loaded with bricks would force you to be fitter. :P

PVC tape for rim tape and M-Part seatpost clamp. I'd forgotten I use those until someone else mentioned them.
Practical Matt is the only one to own up to using Bike Hut stuff so far then. :D
As for clothing, I've raced with 3 pairs for £1 Tesco socks inside £80 North Wave shoes.

MilitantGraham – Member
I've been riding the footpath along the River Severn near where I live for almost that long. How do I go about getting it upgraded to a Bridleway ?

I've thought about this a bit more, and about the way horses churn up bridleways making them unridable in places, and decided that the present system of cycling on footpaths and getting away with it is a better option. I can't see any advantage to having the footpath upgraded.

…So you can brake 3m later into corner?…

I find it averages out to around 4.5m per corner.

Mrs Militant wants to do a Bikeradar forum ride on Long Mynd on 27th June, so I'll do that one with her.
How about 4th July for the Severn valley ?

Start times is 9:00 to 10:30, so you'd want be there by 10:00 when registration closes at the latest to give you time to enter and plan a route if you're going to do it.
If there's any maps left over after the event, I'll save one for when I meet you next, or I'll scan it and send it to you. If not, I'll save the one we've been working from to set the CPs out. It's got a few alterations, but it's near enough the same.

No shark in it's right mind would mess with…

My previous commuter, Blur/Rohloff, about £3000 again at new prices.

Farmers kill chickens.
Can I snare farmers ?

We've set out all the Control Points on one side of the river today, we'll be doing the other side tomorrow.
It's getting even better as it's getting drier. Not too much road or rough grass, lots of interesting and ridable off road trails.

Is anyone still interested in this as it never happened last time ?
My next free Sunday after Bristol Bike Fest, Marin rough Ride and Mountain Mayhem is 27th June. Is that enough notice this time ?
If anyone wants an opportunity to ride part of the route, I'm helping to organise a trailquest at Alveley this Sunday, 23rd.
http://www.midlandtrailquests.co.uk/event_details.php?e=105
The foot ferry is an option, depending on your choice of route, and costs £1.50 for a bike and rider.

Robin Mather Rohloff specific 29er in Reynolds 725.

Niche, or what ? 8)

I used Endura.
I can't remember the exact turnaround time, but it was a lot less than the three months I was warned about.
Various sizes and styles ordered and everyone was happy with what they got.
£60 set up fee for artwork, minimum order of 15 items and 10% discount if you spend over £750.

My current commuter, upgraded to carbon forks since the picture was taken.

Probably about £3000 at new prices

Picking up bargains is one thing, but I was thinking more of people who ride the latest carbon fibre and titanium loveliness and have no shame in having a Brand-X, M-part or even, dare I say it, Bike Hut logo on show.

I used to share a house and one computer with a girlfriend and her teenage son.
My advice to any teenage boys would be, don't hide stuff in a folder titled "Top secret. Keep out", that's the first place your parents are going to look. :D

TandemJeremy – Member
Go on – we need a bit of romance on the forum.

Some of us have already found it. :wink:

It's consistent with RoSPA. :P

They're a sort of orangy brown now.