Enough of a healthy breakfast to get you through the morning, light lunch and a reasonable meal in the evening. Don’t snack between meals or eat again after your evening meal. If you are hungery have a hot drink so you’ll have to sip it over a longer period of time than just gulping something cold.

+1 for Woodsman.
5 years ago I had Dean Cycles make me a Ti frame based on the geometry of my beloved 93 Clockwork but with disc mounts and 100mm suspension correction. Best (cycling) thing I ever did.

uplink – Member

I hate people who just come in and ask “what’s the lowest price you’ll do it for”. That’s just rude and not trying. They never get the best deals.

What do you want? – a formal introduction? or a bit of foreplay maybe?

If when you arrived at work every morning your boss took you aside and asked you “what’s the lowest you’ll work for today” how enthusiastic would you be in your job and how much respect would you have for him?

Profit margins are set to allow retailers to make an honest living not to rip people off or get rich quick. Specialist retail such as cycles, cars or any area where there may be ongoing maintenance or upgrades is all about developing a relationship with the customer.

If you took the time to stop and fix a mechanical for a fellow rider and he left without bothering to thank you would you stop for him a second time?

andrewh – Member
“It’s really nice, I’d love to buy it but it’s right at the top of my budget and I’ve got to get a new helmet out of that too, the misses would kill me! If you could do it for £xxxx I’ll take it?”

That’s the kind of attitude that would probably sway me.

I hate people who just come in and ask “what’s the lowest price you’ll do it for”. That’s just rude and not trying. They never get the best deals.

Bear in mind that if the profit margin is 30%, asking for 10% off is asking the retailer to lose 33% of their profit on the deal.

Slot dropouts = ideal singlespeed fodder.

When I went to Morocco we stayed on the coast at Agadir and struggled to find trails that didn’t dead end at small villages in the hills. Since then I’ve read reports of cracking guided rides in the Atlas mountains. There is a small ski resort up there but whether the lifts service any MTB trails, I don’t know.

This made entertaining reading.
Flowmtb also go there.

Morocco would get my vote, especially if you like surfing too.

The way I’m feeling now with still numb upper and lower lips and a big lump of scar tissue under my nose I’m thinking that a grazed nose and chin would have been preferable.

I spent two days in hospital on ‘nil by mouth’ waiting for a slot in the operating theatre. That meant a two day hangover before they gave up waiting and stitched my mouth and nose up under a local anaesthetic.

Pneumonia?

Hi Troutie, a couple of questions:

Ayup state that they use Cree Xlamp LEDs in the highest flux bin they can get in bulk so is it the change of LED that’s giving the increased output or would the change of optics alone give a significant increase?

Also, with the introduction of an air cavity into the light will there be a risk of misting on cold nights? Presumably this will be dependant on the humidity when the light is resealed.

Many thanks

I am sure hub gears are fine for pootling but they are not really high performance.

I managed to ride my Alfine to 10th in the male pairs at the 2008 Dusk til Dawn quite happily and it’s got me round a few laps of Afan

Cutting down on milk intake reduces it for me.

Tried one on the front once and found it just didn’t grip in loose corners.

The new tread pattern looks promising though.

Very interested here too.
The spot light which I use on my helmet is fine but the standard broad beam is a little dissappointing by comparison.

From the Derwen trail you can link into the corkscrew bit of the Black trail which is the most amazing bit of man made trail I have ever ridden.

I wouldn’tbe without my motorbike but I ride it with a completely different attitude to the way I ride bicycles. When I’m pedalling I’m competitive to the point of annoyance but on a motorbike I just want to waft along feeling like I’m on holiday.

Brechfa makes Afan feel quite tame ———- both uphill and downhill!
Also, make sure you take at least a crud catcher to Brechfa, preferably a rear guard as well.

I once read that Nick Sanders (he held the round the world record before Mark Beaumont) claimed to have ridden the 4000 mile British coast route in 22 days!

I’ve always liked the idea of riding France north to south and getting the ferry back from Bilbao or Santander in northern Spain.

I ran mine with the cable along the top tube and down the seat stay then curved round to meet the hub down by the chain stay with no problems.

Check the tyres are worn evenly. My van pulled to the left when I got it due to the left tyre being very worn towards one side. Chnging that tyre cured it. Given the history of your car you might consider yourself lucky if that turns out to be all that is wrong.

Ayups get my vote. Light and very very bright (spot beam).
If you get Ayups order enough extra handlebar mounts to give you one for each of your bikes as the spot beam is fantastic for road riding (if that’s what you’re into!).

Most kiddie seats clamp round the seat tube. Do you really need rack mounts?

Justine Frischman formerly of Elastica does it for me (if only).

I used one for a couple of years. As above, brilliant for commuting and light off roading. Watch out for how much the rear bike cuts in round tight corners, you’ll feel like a really bad parent when you trap the little one’s fingers against a cycle path chicane.

Tomac Flint 29er, with 440mm (26er) forks to steepen the steering for added flicky-flackyness……….

Take it to your LBS and they should be able to send it back to Madison. Shimano offer a 3 year warranty on their shifters (high end at least). I had a 2 year old 105 road shifter fixed free of charge for a customer this summer.

Thanks for the info folks. I’ll look into Flyup at the FoD. Can anyone tell me how the trails hold up if we’re unlucky with the weather as I’m assuming the trails there are not purpose built.
Once again, I’m not trying to be a mincer but if we’re going to ride through axle deep filth we can do that at home on rigid singlespeeds.

I meant the woods the other side of the A35 from the campsite. Obviously close to where you were photographed but a little more secluded.

Atlaz, fraid the website went by the wayside some time ago. I'll get round to removing the link eventually.

DT78, Ashurst Woods has a number of trialsy xc sort of trails. There seem to be some dog walkers? who very thoughtfully provide us with log hops on one of them to exercise our skills.

Atlaz, call in to see me at Perfect Balance cycles in Totton when you're down and I can give you some pointers.

Michelin Wildgriprs pump up pretty fat (a bit bigger than a 2.25 Nobby Nic) and so far seem to grip well without clogging.
I'm keen to try the 2.4 Continental Rubber Queens but I'll wait until the £25 wire beaded version is available rather than the folding options which are twice that.

I once rode a scooter far enough to confirm that small wheels and pot holes don't mix well.

Don't spend too much on a 125, once you get used to it you'll soon develope a yearning to pass your test and get something bigger

Find a gravelly corner with a bit of a berm on the outside. Go in (a little) too fast, aiming for a line a foot or two inside the berm. Keep your weight back and hands OFF the brakes. Get it right and the bike should slide out to the base of the berm and no further.
With a bit of practice you'll be able to get the wheels ploughing through loose surfaces in much the same way a skier ploughs through powder snow.

Do they mean us?[/url]

I was in the Forest Tuesday daytime and happened to arrive at the gate (complete with 'no cycling' sign) up the road from the Crown Stirrup just at the same time as a Forestry Bloke turned up at the other side in his green pick up. Naturally I opened the gate for him and we both passed through and went our respective ways with a wave and a smile.

Clearly some of the Foresters are more understanding than others. Those residing in the cottages at the reptillary and at Beachern Wood out the back of Brockenhurst have a reputation for not being tolerant of 'lost' cyclists.

DH gnarly trail that takes you back to the Happy Cheese

?
It's a nice techy XC trail and a good excuse for retro, narrow handlebars but DH and gnarly? I think someone has led a bit of a sheltered life?

Fenwicks Suspension Formula has made a big difference to my Durins. The seals kept drying out and going sticky.

I've got a Nobby Nic that's always had a kink in it.

There are two hospitals in Southampton. If the job's in the General then theree's the satellite towns of Chandlers Ford, North Baddesley and Totton. All of these are quiet commuterville but closer to the trails.
If it's the Royal South Hants then commuting from any direction will take her through the centre of town and be a pig. Maybe live in Hythe and get the small ferry over then bus/walk/cycle a couple of miles?

The New Forest riding is good if you like places like Thetford but with a much greater density of pubs.

If you're going to sell 50 inner tubes/cables etc each day individually how long is it going to take to put them in envelopes, print/write out the addresses, and take them down the post office. Will your missus be happy doing that day in day out for pin money?