Only this one here;

But I also have a Bionicon Ironwood, a Specialized Langster and a Specialized Tarmac stashed at various locations in the UK. I could only bring one bike to the USA, and the SS is perfect for the trails here. So for the next year or maybe more it will be the do-it-all bike.

Even 50p is worth 100% more than no 50p!!!

Maths fail! :-)

With all the need/want for avatars and profile pics, and the frequency at which many people change them, I reckon the lo-res version for £1 is a great idea. Thinking of iPhone apps, buying an app for 59p doesn’t hardly register, but I reckon the good apps make plenty of profit.

I normally go and check for event photos, but I’ve never bought any. Would I buy a facebook sized pic for £1 – if it was über-easy (thinking iTunes store, or Amazon One-Click) then yes, I reckon I would.

but the photographer runs a risk of only selling 600 x 400px images at £1 each and not covering the cost of being at the event in the first place

But better than selling no full-res images at £8…?

Possibly my favourite bike. And yes, I really ought to trim the hoses.

Looks awesome!

Just looked up Orcieres, it seems like a limited location though, only 2 lifts…

What leffeboy said.

We used to fit loads of mudguards that way – ends up being neater in the long run.

Don’t make the mistake I did and buy a rear DMR Revolver to save cash. Utterly poo! I bought 2 in one go and built an XC and a DH set of wheels. Was constantly replacing bearings, but didn’t really have the cash to reinvest in something better. Once a tiny bit of play developed in the freehub, they tore themselves to pieces due to only having 2 bearings.

I used Hope XCs for years, rebuilt into several wheels, before their bike was stolen. Loved them to bits.

That’s mighty impressive! I normally get about 2-3 years out of my Time Atacs before they get too much play/the bars break.

Hmm, [list]25.4mm narrow flat bars[/list][list]90mm stem[/list][list]bar ends[/list][list]1994 Hope mechanical disc brake front hub[/list][list]normal QR front and rear[/list][list]Inner tubes[/list]but with [list]new steel frame[/list][list]2nd hand 2007 Magura Menja (100mm)[/list][list]mix of brakes Hope Mono Mini Pro/Oldish Mono M4[/list][list]Middleburn Uno on square taper[/list][list]Schwalbe King Jim tyres (used to be ‘massive’ at 2.35″ – now look normal–>narrow)…[/list]

Does this make me eligible or just mixed up?

My current road bike is a 1987 Cannondale with 2×6 105 drivetrain – that should count…

I ran an old Hope screw on SS specific hub for years, but had to give it up when I wanted disc brakes. I went all out and bought a White Industries ENO disc hub to go with my existing WI ENO freewheel, and built it up by hand…

Pricy? Yes

Shiny? Yes

:-)

4 hours of digging in new trails, followed by a half hour test ride on a borrowed TT bike, with brakes wrong way around.

Tomorrow – 60 miles on said borrowed TT bike.

Put bike in corner of hall
Wait for mud to dry
Wheel onto laminate floored living room
Brush off mud
Sweep up mud
Chain bath and lube

I didn’t go to a funeral for the first 25 years of my life, then I got 5 in quick succession (Great Aunt, Grandma, Grandpa, wife’s Gran, then friend from school).

The worst? Definitely the school friend. All the other ones had happy memories to focus on, plenty to talk about. School friend committed suicide on his first night inside, a few weeks after I last saw him, he hadn’t said a thing. I held a cord at his burial, crying like a baby. Still gets me 6 months on.

My advice from this – remember the good times. Also, remember everyone will be feeling terrible to a greater or lesser degree, and they will know how you feel, so there’s no need to hide it. And a hug goes a long way.

Smartwool LS for me.

I’ve never tried anything else (cos one is enough) but a colleague who wears LS merino all year tried the Endura Baa Baa and decided it just wasn’t as good. And that £19 up there is a bargain price!

Ok, so it’s not an indoor solution to making coffee (although, come to think of it, why not..?) but this guy’s quest for a good, repeatable cup of coffee on the go is worth reading ;-)

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/30/perfecting-my-travel.html

Don’t know muchanything about them, but could he register the account using a UK proxy or a VPN? Not sure if they need a UK bank account…

Zedsdead – Member
I’m out in India and can’t get Spotify here.

Does anyone know a way around this? Or know of a similar product which will work?

You can sign up for Spotify Premium when you’re physically in a member country and then use it wherever you want.

I’m going to buck the trend and say no.

I reckon the winning margins are so small that a difference of wheels/tyres and things like bearings would make enough of a difference. And as alluded to above, I don’t think such a bike would survive a full on sprint.

+1 for Genesis

Recovery day after getting my legs pulled off on yesterday’s ride.

I’ll see your trouser coughs and smelly pee and raise you the after-effects of All-You-Can-Eat spicy wings and $2 pints X-o

Can I mention Bionicon?

New tyres – I was using Continental Ultra-Gator Duraskins – found they had a bit more winter grip than lightweight slicks, and did a great job at stopping punctures.

IA – you have properly turned into an XC jeyer haven’t you? I remember the days on the RSP, flat pedals, casual clothes “never going to clip in”, “never going to have lycra” to this “tube taped to seatpost” “put it all in pockets” racer boy stylee :-P

Caregully dremmel a section out of the bearing race and use a screwdriver to open up the rest?

Hmmm. My Asthma has been up and down for the last few years. It had almost vanished by 2005, came back 2008, bugged me all winter and eased off, before hospitalising me late 2009. Seems pretty quiet now, although I reckon it’s lying in wait for me.

But I’d rather carry my Ventolin till the end of time than give up dairy!

Got it :)

joe – nearly all the riders here ride 29, and have mentioned that they were unable to buy anything towards the end of the bike year. Cue rash of 2011 ABP Gary Trekers on the trail…

Clink – I am in the USA, and there is a small Specialized dealer across town. Email me if you want to…

I ride all week and take the weekends off to spend time with the wife :)

I ride SS (a Genesis iO frame built up with my choice of bits) because it’s perfect for the trails here. It’s simpler, less maintenance and lighter. It can be ridden flat out or chilled. Sure, it takes a bit of grunt to get up sharp hills, and slow speedy rooty sections are a pain in the back. In the UK, I used to ride mine on 7 Stanes trails centres, Lakes, Dales etc. You can ride a SS almost anywhere, as long as you have power in the legs. And they are lighter to carry up steep stuff when you do have to give up.

Specifically, the iO is a sweet riding frame, and the integrated chain tug thingamys are great. Assume the newer ones still have them…

If I’ve only got one light, it’s going on the helmet (if I can find the mount). Saying that, I think a lot depends on the terrain. I find berms and jumps almost impossible with just bar light, but more open terrain is fine on the bar light.

I really liked the Ayup V4’s I tested last year. As mentioned above, the modular aspect of them is briliant.

If you wanted traditional looking but nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, try Minion or Garamond?

A friend got some Ti rotors cut by some dude he knew with all the CNC toys in a workshop. Said it really didn’t work very well at all.

Pretty sure you want a Park FR-6, can’t see one on CRC.
http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=4&item=FR-6

Well, I tried a slightly better than Shimano BMX one. Might have been a Dicta or something. It lasted about the same length as the Shimano one – for me, about 3 months.

Then I jumped right in and bought the White Industries one and it’s been flawless! Never had to service it after several years, it just keeps going and going. I reckon it’s one of the few ‘fit-and-forget’ items I have, which means it will probably bite me in the ass shortly :-/

Canon Pixma IP4500 here, used it mostly on XP, but have since upgraded to a MacBook Pro and it worked perfectly. I liked just being able to plug and play :-) Ink seems to last a good while, and is very easy to replace the tanks on. I mostly used it for documents, but occasionally printed out homemade birthday cards on photo paper. Photos, if they were good enough to print, got sent to Loxley, or batches printed by Photobox or the like.
Saying all that, I never had to do any maintenance processes (head cleaning etc.) from the MacBook, so can't vouch for how that might have worked.

Father in law has an IP4600 (I recommended it to him, IP4500 was discontinued) with his iMac, and all seems well.

FWIW I never use 'proper' ink, I always buy the cheapy inks from the internet. Never had a clogging problem, and I can't detect any colour difference, but I know more discerning people notice. Meh

And we often loose everything when BT Openzone overrides our own BT Homehub, I have to call India most months to have it reset. But this BT Openzone will somtimes override my HTC HD2 phones network?

Assuming 1) it's not someone elses Openzone, and 2) you're using a home hub, the default is, I believe, to take some of your connection to create Openzone. You can get it disabled, or you can use your own router. This would then at least stop you connecting to the paid for connection?

Hey – I had a National Trust sticker in our car when I was 24 – what's wrong with that?

On the original subject, Edinburgh has, or had, a black unmarked Audi TT, which must be quite fun – 'Police Hairdressers coming through!'

http://portfolio.leepaulvickers.co.uk/%5B/url%5D seems to have some fresh designs for 2010 Singletrack jerseys. Look good IMO.

The pair of Mythos' that came on my '97 Trek were F&R specific, the rear had a paddle-esque tread with a file tread between the main blocks IIRC. ;-)

The Beast of the East was the first bike I properly lusted after. Not jealous. No, not a bit.