Talking about similar thing today. One of the boys offered me a biking dvd. He obviously knew I did a bit on the mtb and road bike – He looked quite surprised when I told him I`d rather watch paint dry..

heres my list of most boring sports to watch.

Golf
Cricket
cycling
F1
Tennis
Horse racing or jumping
Athletics
MMA .. two roiders groping and wrestling each other …..

tomwod

Thats a really excellent picture – worthy of a place on the mantelpiece.

As good a rider as they may say their other half is .. it still generally boils down to the fact they have few friends who mtb if they prefer to ride with the wife/gf.

Only used them the twice.
First time. Great – quick delivery, cheaper than CRC/merlin/Wiggle.
Second time. Still cheaper than shops listed above, but delivery took almost 2weeks.

They are just trying to push the boundaries of this countries tollerance.

I dont agree with our boys being out there. But these islamic groups are just using this as an excuse to further their own agenda.

I wonder what the brave guys on the front line think of this type of thing happening back home? If I were them Id wonder why was I bothering risking life and limb in the name of these type of people back home.

Out of interest, how many British-asians are serving in the British forces? the casualty list seems to suggest very few or none at all.

Just got back in from my local loop .. Sun was out, no breeze and the ground was still frozen solid .. perfect conditions.

Done so many bad things looking back. Luckily not all were widely known. But one or two incidents still refuse to go too far away.

Im not totally teetotal, But close to it.
I stopped drinking because alcohol seemed to affect a medical condition I have.
And to be honest I feel so much better for not drinking.
I guess you dont realize what a difference it makes untill you start to get older.
Socially, I did occasionally miss not getting bladdered with friends. Though its surprising how many people do not drink, or drink very little nowadays.

I will have a glass of scotch tonight with my son, its his 18th birthday. But I dont see myself having a drink again untill maybe next christmas.

MX-ers for sure ..

Never mind. Us mtbers can still feel safe that we look cooler than the roadies though. Those guys just look like out and out dorks :lol:

curly68 – where abouts are you based?
If your in the S-Wales area I can get it sandblasted for you foc.

What buisiness is it of other countries other than Chinas? the guy – mentally ill or not – broke a serious law of theirs.

I`m sure some shrink could have found a mental problem with the guy – merely chancing smuggling drugs into China shows a good sign. But he broke the law – and sadly for him and his family, he paid the price.

It sends out a clear message to other would be smugglers.

Does anybody know where I can get a seal remover tool for the pikes?

I did kyokushin karate when I was at school. Knocked it on the head just before I was due to go for the brown belt.
kinda fell out of love with it when I saw a kid a year or so older than me who was the clubs top black belt get belted about by some other kid who did a bit of boxing. Synchronised fighting that looks good with set pieces .. not much good when your facing somebody who practices punching to the head.

Judo seems a much better self-defence compared to the more macho sounding karate style martial arts..

After previously pointing out what camera I wanted .. unwrapped the prezzie this morn to find completely the wrong make.

What can I say. Cost almost a 3rd more than the one I asked for .. and had none of the features on it I wanted.

I know she was being generous, but just cost it cost more doesn`t make it better .. I had to tell her. Thats when the arguments started.

Did Evans Cycles run this poll by any chance?

Ive dealt with a good few shops in that list. By my experience – Evans Cycles would be lucky to make the top 100 ..

I`d certainly expect to see 18bikes somewhere in the top10.

[/quote]
hardtails are great fun… but for all day trail riding / comfort / speed you cant beat a 5" full sus
[/quote]

Had the 1st ride for a month or two on my fs today. As much fun as the HT is … a good FS is just so much better in every dept.

How refreshing this thread is.
The old mtb site I used to frequent was full of trail centre warriors who are more concerned how much their bike weighed and looked than actually enjoying riding it. And would have a tantrum if they met anybody riding a bike with over 6”travel. 8O
I kid you not. There was one regular on there almost in tears because somebody rode Brecfa on a 8” travel bike. :lol:

Lack of fitness will slow you down a lot more than carrying an extra few kilos on the bike.

Its easy to be all grown up and offer the politically correct method of dealing with your boys problem – sadly the school bully isn’t grown up.

The only long term solution is for your boy to swap punches with his school problem. Either with his fists and feet … or if the nuisance kid is too well developed for that – something close at hand can be helpful, a rugby boot around the side of the head did wonders for my problem solving at school.

What I remember from my school days was. The kid who was too scared to swap punches got into a lot more fights than somebody who was only too willing to tuck his chin and swing away. Everybody seemed to want to pick a fight on somebody who wouldn`t fight back…

Thomson water seal is fantastic stuff for waterproofing bike clothes. It smells a little for a day or two .. but fantastic stuff, lasts alot longer than any other stuff I`ve used.

The Magnum Plus range from Halfords is very good, also cheaper than Kriptonite. Also has something like a grands worth insurance if they manage to break the lock and steal the bike.

Recently took my 8yr old border terrier on a 30 mile ride. I used the singlespeed to keep the pace down, but the dog did the distance and pace no problem. Great exercise for the dog .. it really burns the fat off them.

I think they are must have items for the winter. Water will run down your leg into them if their worn with shorts, but if you wear winter long tights over the top this stops the problem. These are winter socks after all – so I kinda think the two go together.

Another advantage is that you can put on your wet muddy set of riding shoes and your feet are non the wiser. My shoes don’t dry till summertime.

My new stealth-grey anodized Ragleigh :wink:

I’ve an epiphany for the last 3yrs. I can’t say I’ve noticed this flex that some here say the frame gives. Its a solid lightweight bike that handles everything that I’ve ever asked of it. As for warranty issues?? apart from the old style rocker that snapped and was replaced in a 3day turnaround .. the frame as been solid.

We were on hols a few years back and Tom OConner sat with a group of us.
By the end of the night we were so drunk that we would interrupt his cheesy gags by saying " I’ll name that tune in .." it was very funny at the time .. guess you had to be there :?

Haye was scheduled to fight both Klitschko brothers .. and he pulled out both times :wink:

An ancient Holyfield recently fought Valuev. And did alot more than Haye was prepared to do. Namely swap punches with him. Sadly the judges were not so kind to the challenger then and valuev was gifted the decision.

Either one of the Klitschko brothers would have an easy night with Haye. Haye could not get past valuevs slow lumbering jabs.

The klitschkos have better jabs and a lethal right hand .. Dr Ironfist no less :?

Brakes.
Andre Dirrel recently lost to carl froch over here when he did the same tactics of run – pot shot – and make the opponent miss. So how do you have Haye winning doing the same?

Valuev is cack for sure. But so was haye.
Valuev was defending the title .. haye had to win it .. all he tried was stealing it.

It was a terrible fight to watch.
haye just ran all night and pot shotted. Totally amazed he got the decision over there … but then again Don King and Schaeffer have options on haye .. so…

How they gave haye that decision certainly raises an eyebrow or two ..
Well not if you knew Don King was involved :wink:

Terrible decision.

All Haye did was run around the ring pot-shotting.
Worst heavyweight title fight I`ve ever watched.

A very old Evander Holyfield got robbed of the decision against Valuev .. so it may not as big a task as it looks..

But Haye is chinny and has stamina problems. Valuev only has to work Haye hard for the 1st 6rnds and even his plodding punches will then get Haye out of there.

haye has done nothing at heavyweight ..and not much really at cruiser before that.

Bosh.
Bike weights in magazines are very often wrong ..

"If it was going to come in at 36+ then I may as well just keep the enduro!"

cos its a new bike innit..lol

The only real difference I felt when I went from a 34lb reign to a 27-28lb epiphany was that the lighter bike sprinted better. The down side was that the lighter bike then didn’t feel as sure footed on the descents.
So it’s a compromise between what you want most out of it?

I personally think a lot of this getting a bike to almost super lightweight is more about impressing others than actual enhancing ride quality.

A sensible build for what you want it for will take you closer to the 34lb mark.
To get it to 30lb or less will take a lot of money and sacrifice what the alpine was aimed towards.

The only difference on the standard 5 and the alpine is the swing arm?

Good tales for sure..

And why is it some people who once served in the military .. always seem to have served in the thick of it in Afghanistan? even though they had left the army a good few years previous.

I should have added. The 2 or 3 guys he sparked .. was at the same time :D

A friend and I have estimated he would have to be 103yrs old to have done all the things he claims to have .. he just so happens to be under 40yrs old :D

One of these pretty much fits the description. Added to the Price/weight/warranty ..