I know the Dutch are famous for being stingy, hence ‘going Dutch’, but I think it is a little unfair.

I am Dutch and have lived In norwich since ’97. To start of I would never have considered going back, I still don’t think it would be practical, but I now have a more balanced view.

Back to the stinginess, I think they are just sensible with money (I have lost that skill), for example, credit card limits are TINY even if you earn a lot.

I do think the ‘going Dutch’ is very undeserved and should be called ‘going British’. I had never been to a party where I was expected to pay for my own drinks until I got to England. I thought (still think) this is really strange. Also you can be ‘invited’ to join someone out for dinner to celebrate something and be expected to pay at least your own share?!? Very odd…. In holland you would never be expected to pay for anything if you were invited to something, the person inviting you pays, no ‘going Dutch’. I really still can’t get used to this…..

The Dutch don’t really hate the Germans, it’s just banter really….

Isn’t there a 24″ Scott for sale in the classifieds? Looks like a great and light bike!

Got some dukes for my son and they are great! Easy to adjust to his 32kg weight!

I think there were some on pinkbike recently?

Simone

Another vote for ixs, I use both their signature and hack pads, they are really comfy and have lots of sizes!

Simone

as grum says….when hiring a bike in the alps it is always best to ask them to swap the levers, just in case.

BTW it is not the ‘rest of europe’ that is different 😉

Feenster – we try and teach the kids common sense and staying safe within their ability. Some are as young as 9 and really cannot judge speed or distance, defensive riding is not really an option for them. When kids are a little older and some can then be quite capable, we will teach them more assertive riding. Things like signal right turns major to minor where they will need the skills of judging speed and distance and be assertive. Not all kids I get are capable of this though, some can’t even ride a bike effectively…..yes even at 9, 10 or 11 years old.

Also, the roads are a complicated place, people probably take about 45 hours of lessons to learn to drive (I know, some take a lot less, but you get my point). I get 6 hours with the kids, I try my best, but can’t possibly prepare them for everything, it is just a starting point.

I also aim to bring as many kids back as I take out.

I think far more cyclist training is needed, most people don’t become brilliant drivers without training either. And an ‘experienced’ driver or cyclist is not necessarily a good one. I know many people who are very experienced drivers, but nor really any good.

The hose pipe ban seems to have been the equivalent of doing a rain dance here in the east, I dont think it has stopped raining since!

…I have tried to read a lot of this, but have to admit to not reading every letter….

I am Dutch and have years of experience cycling in holland, on the road, from the age of about 5.

And yes, it is MUCH safer there (eventhough we never wore helmets) due to attitude of drivers and road infrastructure. MOST dutch people are cyclists, even my friends 90 year old granddad still cycles around the village for transport. Even some of the most unfit people I know in holland still use a bike regurlarly, hence the attitude of car drivers (also cyclists) is different.

When I moved to the UK I was in for a major shock as to how unsafe cycling on the road can be and how ‘on the ball’ you need to be as a cyclist.

I now teach cycling in schools, mainly year 6. I focus a lot of attention on the fact that drivers do not treat cyclists the way they should and often do things they should not do. As in, “the car should do A, but what may he do? And how can we avoid a potential accident?”

Just because an accident/crash may be the car drivers fault, this does not mean the cyclist could not have avoided it. I see these as two different things. (A crash being one partys ‘fault’ does not necessarily mean the other party could not have avoided it)

As I tell the kids, you may have right of way, but this is not worth much if you end up in hospital.

I am not saying that the cyclist in this case could have avoided the accident, I simply do not know the full story. However, if one of my child cyclists were to overtake a parked car I would expect them to look ahead and behind first to judge if it was safe to do so. With a road narrowing and a car behind I would have expected them not to pull out to overtake (but then they are very inexperienced cyclists and always taught to be on the safe side).

But yes, I’d say the driver was at fault (from what I’ve read), he should never have attempted to overtake the cyclist. Drivers should be more aware of cyclists. My husband (a driving instructor) feels a lot of driving instructors could do more to make their pupils ‘cyclist aware’.

Clipping another car’s wing mirror can be a minor incident, clipping a cyclist’s bars can be fatal.

..And yes, continental style laws may well help with drivers attitude. I think as mentioned before, drivers need to be better educated with regards to cyclists (as most aren’t cyclists themselves). We still wont have the infrastructure like holland….

done.

I am not too experienced in building, but I once had to strip a frame completely as it had to go in for powdercoat, and had about 20 mins to do so while also cooking dinner.

I was surprised how easy it was. Bike was fully stripped and I was left with just a frame by the time dinner was done. Also very few tools needed! The room did look like a bomb had hit it mind you….clearing up was another thing.

If you have the (very few) tools ready, stripping a mtb frame from all its parts hardly takes any time at all, took a girl no more than 20 mins whilst cooking a nice bolognese!

Putting it back together is another thing.. Still 7 hours for an experienced mechanic sounds way over the top! Mind you, if it is a man, they like to make a meal of things! 😉

Simone

I have mudguards fitted to the 54, so would like to move these onto my new frame. I am also not sure on what size cranks are fitted at the moment. So could I only fit short, 165 cranks?

Ta!

I am not very up to date with the space saving stairs, but I am sure our “proper” stairs are only 60cm wide, turn twice AND end on a very small ‘landing’ (which then steps up to another small ‘landing’ before you get to the fire door into the room).

These ‘landings’ were the key to making it fit ‘legally’ I seem to remember. Also we don’t have the recommended minimum head height, and a lot of the room is quite low. We do love the room (we dont have a dorma as conservation), and as long as you are not 2m tall it is not a problem. It is surprising how usable it still is, eventhough lots of builders said it would be too low and not worth it.

I think is was about £15 in all from scratch including everything (new boiler, woodwork matching original, building regs).

Simone

I would do it properly. You said wou would have to lose a room to put in proper stairs, are you sure? We were told this by several builders etc when we wanted to convert our loft. We did find a architect who worked around the problem in the end. Our new stairs now run above the old ones, starting in our old airing cupboard. They are a rather tight fit and the joinery company had to make a model to scale before producing the staircase, but all is great now. All legal and without losing a bedroom.

Some friends have just made their loft into an unofficial bedroom and I think they should have spent a few extra grand and done in properly, all better in the long run. I suppose they would have lost some headroom as a proper conversion requires new beams.

Keep looking, perhaps you will find an architect who can help. It took us a while but we are glad we made the extra effort!

Get lessons with a GOOD instructor ASAP. I would not risk teacher her yourself, you will probably never get married! Teaching a loved one is very hard even for an instructor, which I presume you are not. Also no dual controls can really be a problem.

My husband is a very experienced and highly qualified instructor (grade 6 fleet), but sadly some instructors are just not that good and you will waste your money. Phone around, and do not pick a cheap deal. Ask about qualifications (‘normal’ instructor, or higher ‘fleet driver’ qualified) and check his grade (6 is highest, 5 good, 4 satisfactory). I would go no lower than a grade 5.

Make sure the instructor has experience with foreign drivers, especially from the US, as driving on the other side is not the main problem for American drivers (European drivers adjust to driving in Britain much easier as their roads are very similar). There will be a lot to learn, as driving in the uk is VERY different from the us and involves a lot more decision making.

Good luck!

Simone

Hi brad93,

We are also in norwich and sometimes travel to ride. We use Thetford, chicksands, Sherwood and Aston hill for day trips and wales for a weekend. Maybe share a drive some time?

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Simone

I can’t really say without any more details, but I bought an orange 5 pro 2011 last october for 1500, looks like new! I do think I got bit of a bargain though…

great looking kids bikes by the way!

🙂

…doesn’t the avarage bmx weigh a ton too as they are made to withstand adult sized teenagers doing god-knows-what on?

I see a lot a kids bike through work and the bmx’s i see are usually not the lightest, or out right heavy!

The only light bmx bikes I’ve come across are race bmx bikes.

I am sure my sons hotrock in 24″ was lighter than next doors bmx.

We have a hardwood work surface and used It for quite a few years. First my husband used Danish oil, but we found we had to keep oiling it. We have now used oil fom a local place called classic finishes. It is the stuff they recommend for bar tops and is great. Our kitchen gets heavy use and I oil every 18 months to 2 years.

Great stuff, we are in norwich, not sure if they sell online though.

not mine, but my little man’s….

2007 noroc b line 24 with about a million upgrades 😉

If you can easily afford it, go for it. Otherwise I would leave it.

My husband has bought our house mid 80’s (advantage of an older man) and paid about 37k for a gorgeous 1930’s semi near Norwich city centre. We looked into buying bigger over the years (and adding 40k to our mortgage), but we never did. I dont think either of us regret it. Our house has adapted over the years to accomodate our changing needs, and will keep doing so (also because we can sort of afford to keep it in great shape as we did not ad all that money to the mortgage).

But then, I am more of a “home” person, our house is not just a roof over our heads.

So, no we never paid over the ods for a house…

My husband has a race face crank on his Cotic with a bb mount stinger and it works lovely. Mind you the young chap at the bike shop fitted it and I seem to remember something about needing some special spacers/washers from race face to make it work. I think he gave us the spares so could check. Has been working flawless and quietly ever since.

Dogtag

We stay in Champery summer and winter, grand paradis (just ‘up’ from champery) does have a campsite. When we stay in champery in summer we can see all the mtb’ers come down from there past our appartment balcony.

Dont know if it is any good, it is right at the finish of the WC downhill course…

HTH
Simone

The AL and EL are pretty much the same except for the hubs and the spokes.

I may be a girl, but they sound pretty different then!?!

I have 2 sets of the EL ones and they are great, hubs seem to engage quickly and wheels are lovely and light. Survived few alps trips, but I am not very heavy (although I do not own scales as we could never agree on how much I weigh) and I am a wuss.

great wheels, get some but maybe try and get the EL ones?

Maybe it’s just my youngest that grows like a weed! He is 4″7 ish now, or was that yesterday…

Still his 24″ spesh frs was getting too small in summer when we sold it. They do only have 12″ frames mind you, the 13.5″ spesh hardtail would have still fitted him. It seems to be all about the frame and standover height. My kids ( oldest is 11 ) also have a norco b line 24″ bike, wich still fits them easily as the frame comes up really big.

They seem to be most comfy on bigger wheels, small frame, short stem and cranks. This also gives them growing room. Small light frames with short reach are hard to come by though in 26″.

Still, i did not consider my kids big enough for 26″ wheels till they tried them in tiny frames, they loved them. My friend got them to give it a go. When we owned a 26″ for my oldest and a 24″ for my youngest, my little one prefered the 26″ and would always choose that when asked.

We ended up hardly using the 24″ bikes as we kept them on the 20″ hotrock for as long as poss. They really shoot up at this age! I sometimes teach 10 or 11 year olds that are my height at 5″4.

Good luck!

Not sure if I am really wrong here, but at 8 maybe just move him up a wheel size? Really helped my kids, especially on climbs. Rolls better, much more confidence. Unless your 8 year old is reall short, I should easily fit. Most 24″ wheeled bikes have very small frames.

My own 8 year old is the size of his 11 year old brother and has outgrown his 24″ bike and now has a 26″ bike with tiny frame. Old rockhopper frame built with light parts of the forum, he loves it and has really improved. He also stopped complaining his back hurts since moving up ( must be a size thing as he went from a spesh full suss to a hardtail ).

I’d say consider moving up instead of spending money on the 20″ bike. Just a thought….

As my sons snowboard instructor always says….

What is a helmet that is not done up?

It’s nothing more than a hat they can use to scope your brains up with!

My son now never forgets….

I may be selling my cove hustler soon, 15.5 frame. Great bike and I prefer mens bikes with a short stem. I rode the orange 5 ladies and it really is TINY (no I am not tall, in fact very short for a dutch girl at 163cm).

The cove is lovely and I have used it from xc to alps trips.

Simone

another vote for the bobike mini, easy to remove when not in use and you can get extra mounts to use it on multiple bikes.

i had the mini on the front and maxi on the back and the buggy in the buggy carrier….but then i am dutch!

B r …..

How did you get the b line down to 29 lbs? I think ours has lost quite a bit of weight ( never properly weighed it mind you ) but I still think it is around 32 lbs maybe more 34?!

We changed tyres and tubes, now run Schwalbe big Betty and fat Albert, changed forks to fox floats ( originals weight 3 kg!) and changed brakes and cassette/shifters for pretty light stuff.. Also got some other bars and stem.

Maybe ours weighs less then I think, but I am sure it weighs over 30lbs though, unless the scales we used to guesstimate are far out ( which would be great! )

Cheers
Simone

No worries Alan, was worth a try. Thanks very much for your advice.

Simone

thanks Alan, I will have look into those. You dont fit boilers in Norwich by any chance?

I phoned building inspector and he said the bottom of the stairs will need to have half hour fire board installed. It is a 30’s house with the original plaster stuck to the stairs so could do with re doing anyway as it is all falling off.

The small window will need blocking up so the pipes can go out that way.

We dont mind having these bits done by our friend who is a builder.

I think I will get some more quotes, maybe the bloke just did not fancy doing it. We do not HAVE to replace it as the “old” boiler is just under 10 years old and working, it just takes up a lot of space in our small kitchen.

Any oppinions on what boiler to go for? We have 4 beds incl the loft so about 12 radiators…

We have a vokera at the moment, would not go for one of these again…

Simone

that sounds more like it! we expected to pay about £2500 ish.

the quote did include cordless thermostat, not sure about it though, i can see that getting lost all the time like the remote.

…so sounds a lot then, that’s what i thought…

we are in norwich btw if that makes a difference at all?

…..take flows advice, 14″ orange 5’s are TINY. I had a go on one and went for the 16″ at 162cm. New ones are also ok with 160 forks….

Go for it! You should be able to build something for 1000 out of used bits. I also think there was a white 14″ orange 5 for sale on pinkbike, it may still be there.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Simone

How tall is your 12 year old? I’d say the kona is too small, fitted my ( tall ) 8 year old, but not much room to grow, looked about right.

We own a Norco b line 24, comes up a little bigger than the kona stinky 24, nice bike, still fits my 11 year old.

We changed a lot of parts on it as it was very heavy, now still weighs 34 lbs. Needed some air forks too as my son weighs 4.5 st. He does love it though…

I think commencal do a kids dh bike, I saw it in the alps last summer and it comes up more like the norco.

I did see local kids there ride small 26″ frames with 24″ wheels and short cranks, presume that when they grow they will just change the wheels to 26″. Maybe that would work?

I do think all kids 24″ dh bikes are for around 9-12 year olds…..

a couple of hours by train should get you to Portes Du Soleil. We go to champery and that is about 2.5 hours by train from geneva airport.

Simone

i got some youth saddles for my boys, I think they are madison… an check if you like. they had to be ordered in though, but were only about £15 and seem decent quality.

Simone