Thanks, was pondering some winter gloves for commuting and thats the push I needed!

No more cold hand (hopefully).

Look homemade to me. Plastic pipe and a spring.

If you've done 6 weeks of running up to 10km distance you'll easily do it in an hour.

Dont go too fast at the start, wear a watch, dont eat/drink anything that you normally dont (ie energy drinks/gels).

Berghaus Vars Jacket – very nice looking down jacket IMO.

Magura or shimano for me.

The julies have had on my hardtail never failed and like shimano are easy to bleed. Magura customer servies is top notch from my experience.

Just bought some new saints for the full suss. Wanted no fuss power – they seem the business but not used them in anger yet.

I had Formula oros that are now in the hardtail – light, good at first but very, very fidily.

Very nice. Looks quite light too.

Got a white Bel Air one. First ride I used some new black shorts and the dye rubbed in a bit and turned it a bluey colour. After 8 months this has now pretty much gone and its still white.

White grips however dont stay white.

Thank you, didnt know it was signposted.

Anyone know pleae?

I have a meta and have had a quick go on a prophet. Both good bikes and good VFM. The meta's suspension system is excellent, gives huge amounts of traction and eats downhills for breakfast. There are a few stories of them cracking (particularly the 09) so I would wait a month and get the 2010 version.

You'll prob be happy with either to be honest though.

Oakley lenses are the best I've used. The low light yellow and blue ones (can;t remember the name) are very good in low light. I use gold irridium and find them very clear in all light levels.

Have a look on ebay, some great deals to be found just make sure you get proper ones!

Worth spending money on goggles IMO, you'll regret it if you dont.

Wouldn't mind the waterproofness of the cover though. Hi-Vis is a good cheap option, got one in my desk!

Anything like that in my house sees the sole of a shoe.

Where from?

456 Summer as a commuter????

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/10852732/Sennheiser-CX300-II-Precision-ECO-Headphones/Product.html

For the money these are very good, block out noise but they do conduct moise through the wires (ie when it rubs on your clothes).

Thatcher is a legend. "Soft touch" Tony is the person I blame.

£26k a year to empty bins! Insane. Sack them all and employ people that want a job so the council tax paying people of leeds get their bins emptied.

HR's are a great all year round tyre. Come up a little on the small side but I'd go for a 2.35 up front and a 2.1 at the back both in 62a, single play, kevlar.

So do you suck ALL the oil out from the calliper end? Would this not get air into the system that might not be flushed out when you refill?

So is buying the bleed kit a waste of £50?

Merlin is a top shop and prob the best around for components. I know ill be using them again. Give them a call if your worried about your order.

Where can you buy the Fifteen G cranks/BB from? Whats wrong with a BB30?

Moonglu in Ripon is a great shop, think they sell Hope Hoops with Stan rims.

http://www.mtbthedales.org.uk/ is worth a look. Stainburn is very short and techy, not an epic ride just good fun.

When we changed from N Power to British gas for our electricity supply they tried to chage us £1800 for the final bill (3 months worth). This was their "estimate" of our usage for a normal 3 bed domestic house! Turned out they actually owed us £18 and after 3 phone calls the chque still hasn;t turned up.

http://www.mtbthedales.org.uk/mtb-tour_of_nidderdale.pdf

Can be extended if you start in Wath or even Pately itself but the best parts of the ride are covered in the map above.

Possibly, they changed the design slightly then but 3 people I know have the 08 and none have had anytrouble. The Meta range also became very popular in these years so there are prob more of them about.

I think its worth a gamble, if it cracks you will get a new 2010 bike and I think they come from a new factory. As I said before call Real cycles as they know what they are doing. I bought mine from there and when I bent one the bolts that holds the shock in place (must have bottomed out the suspension in the alps) they sent me a new one for free.

The worse things about the full bikes is that some of the commencal own brand parts are not the best (headset, hubs, handlebars).

I have a meta 5.5 (2007) and four of my friends have either 07 or 08 models. All ride pretty hard, about 12 – 13 stone and been to the alps at least once riding DH trails all day. None of ours have cracked. Think about how many people have them and how many threads you have seen about cracked ones.

The grip they give you is insane and downhill they are fantastic. The frame is slightly on the heavy side but then the price isn't. People rave about the Orange 5 because they have one, from the ones I've seen on the trails bobbing about on the up hills I'd rather have the Meta.

Give Steve at Real Cycles a call (they will match merlin I think) – he knows a lot about them and will be able to tell you about warranty etc.

Sonys are worth the money IMO – good build quality and very nice to use.

How did you do that for £220?

Raceface VO2 shorts are V light and a nice cut. I have the liner-less ones so not sure what the liner is like. Have a look on Always Riding's website.

Gore Jackets are nice, although no venting.

No one know anything?

Sennhieser CX300. These are ear canal ones and I find they stay in much better than the other ear bid ones. £15 from play.com

Apparently a case manufacturer released pics of their new cases – Touch has a camera, Nano has a longer screen

Do you really need ST in the peaks? Personally I would stick the 2.35 HR upfront and buy a 2.1 HR or Advantage for the back.

I used a 2.5" ST Minion on the front (2.35 HR rear) in the alps and it was unbelievably good but in the UK where ski lifts are few and far between I dont think its worth it.

Out of your two choices I think the HR will be better in the mud but more draggy.

Merlin Cycles have the Saints with 200mm rotors for £300

I'm thinking about the same two brakes and when I have the money I'll be going for the Saints. From what I've read they are stupidly powerful. I must admit the Hope levers look and feel great though.

One of mine washes up in cold water without washing up liquid and claims it works just as well! I've just started an experiment where I do nothing apart from clear my own mess and I just put his unclean washing up back in the sink – interested to see how it goes!

Are shimano prices due to fall? I'm thinking about getting some of the new saints brakes but they are currently £300 on Merlin.

I'm running the Great North run for BHF and to be honest their organisational skills are less than impressive.