I built up my Planet X Dirty Harry well within your budget. Does it have to be off the peg?

I picked mine based mostly around the normal bb and it’s been great.

100mm and full xt. Build it with whatever you want.

I’ve stuck with it but now find myself hoping every episode finishes quicker.

I’ll wait to see how it all finishes but I wouldn’t bother with it to be honest.

It’s all getting a bit silly.

Feel free to email me, no problem.

If they’ve classed it as a trivial commutation then the payment should be based on your moms notional rate of tax. If she has a low income and assuming the payout is relatively small then it should be no more than 20%.

The rules have changed substantially recently and you may be able to delay the death claim until next tax year (assuming your mom can survive without the income in the mean time) and she may then be able to take either the lump sum or income totally tax free. This will depend on the age of your dad though as he would have to have been under 75 at the date of death.

Things may also depend on the individual scheme he was in as although certain rules can apply, not all schemes allow them. I’m an IFA and you’re welcome to PM me if you struggle to get any info.

My wife had her iPad screen replaced for around £80-£90 if I recall. It’s been absolutely fine. She used a place in Kidderminster I believe that she found online.

Would you believe she broke the screen on her iPad by accidentally dropping her iPhone onto it.

Hadn’t realised it wasn’t the original line up but I guess the singer is the main draw? For the sake of £30 (and a 250 mile round trip) I thought it would be worth a punt. Saw that they were doing 2 30th anniversary gigs when I watched Goth on the BBC the other week and impulse bought the ticket at 4am.

I hope I won’t be disappointed.

Fields of the Nephilim next month in Shepards Bush.
The one band I never got to see in the eighties. 30th anniversary concert. Very excited now even though it’s gonna be the first concert I’ve ever gone to as a Billy no mates.

Had the basic Roadlite for about 2 years now and it’s been spot on.

Not noticed any flex in mine despite it being the XXXL 66cm version.

I’d happily buy another tomorrow.

Mine arrived very quickly and on time.

Back when Bikemagic actually had people on its forum I won a weeks Mtb holiday in one of their competitions.

I had a choice of Italy Spain or France and picked the Picos De Europa trip in Spain. Very nice it was too.

Never won anything since and that was around 12 years ago. Was worth around £500-£600.

Ex girlfriend won a new car in a random draw just for using her credit card. That was about £10k in the late 90’s.

I had a family like this moved in across the way from me many years ago and it’s not a pleasant experience. It’s easy to judge from the outside if it’s never happened to you. It’s altogether different if it impacts you on a daily basis.

It’s also very easy to say ‘just sell up’ but do you think people are queuing up to buy a house near problem families? Easier said than done. The houses that have sold near me have taken years and the ones within a door or two of them are simply unsellable. And why should I have to suffer the financial penalty of reduced valuations due to a problem family that the local housing association knowingly moved in? I’m amazed in this day and age that somebody has not sued the councils for the financial loss? Maybe things would change if somebody successfully did this?

Strangely, once I had a proper go (verbally) at their feckless father (to half the bulldog faced tarts kids – the father of the others is in prison) and their eldest son came round to confront me, things got lots better. Only after I ended up punching him repeatedly in the face. People can only be pushed so far before they reach breaking point. Once they realise that they can’t walk all over anybody their attitude changes. Not something I’d done before or since but even the police told me it was a far more effective tool to use against them than anything they could do. They’ve pretty much steered clear of me since, apart from the usual foul mouthed abuse by their young kids (the worst being about a 9 year old girl).

All I’ve learnt is that the system favours them at every turn and unless you can evidence some serious criminal behaviour, nothing will ever change. They’ve been near me for around 8 years now and they’ll be here long after I’m gone (assuming I can ever sell my house). Welcome to modern Britain.

I have a client who paid around £10k for a spot outside her flat and a friend who paid around £20k for a space outside their London flat.

As with any property, I guess it will depend on the location.

I remember reading about a chap in london who sold HALF his 2 car garage for £200k. Bonkers

I have the same inside leg (6’7″) and ride a 66cm Canyon Roadlite. Mine was around £900 new a few years back but there was a cheaper one in the range as well. Have a look on the site and see what’s available now.

If he’s anywhere near Brum he’d be welcome to try it.

I’m 6’7″ and I have a Canyon Roadlite and it’s been faultless.

I just went for the biggest available at 66cm and it’s great. I am all arms and legs though.

There’s fairly regular rides at the Wyre forest but that’s probably at least 45 mins from you. Good riding though.

Looks like a great winter commuter Mic, I hope the wife knows you’ve bought it!!

I’ll pop around and have a look later this week (assuming Halfords sort out the frame).

Nice little vid RD.

Me & Mick did a 40 mile loop on Saturday using some of those trails, had a great days riding. Trails were still dry and riding beautifully. Did pretty much the whole route avoiding roads, Bromsgrove, canal, Barnt Green, Lickeys, Romsley, Clent and back via the bridle ways. Much more of a challenging ride than I thought it would be.

I’ve always wanted to take the plunge with one of these as they’re a lot of car for the money. It’s always the fuel consumption and running costs that put me off. I’ve also been looking at the M5 touring which can be had for around £20k now. I have the ability to buy one and wish I could lose my sensible head and just have a really fun car for a year or two but I always end up just keeping my 7 year old Mondeo instead and money in the bank for the mortgage. I’m so boring…. :-(

I’ve also heard many stories of the fast estates being nicked as they make great criminal getaway cars, one of my clients had their R32 pinched which was recovered after being used in a raid up north.

I’ve had mine a few years now and they’re fabulous bikes.

Never done any real touring on it as its been more of a commuter/winter bike. Super comfy, especially with the 2.35″ big apples on it. Ploughs through everything in its stride and has been faultless over 4000+ miles.

Mines in Brum but its an XXL so not much good for test rides for others!

Decathlon?

Is the Wyre forest too far away?

Great riding in there and all natural stuff but maybe the wrong side of brum for you (depending where you are in Leicestershire).

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fao-2orangey4crows-cannondale-trail-ss-29er-new-bike

There’s plenty on eBay although they mostly seem to be wired versions.

I’ve been using the 2.35″ for years and love them. Go for the biggest size you can fit as the 2.0″ tyre is very different to the 2.35″ size. Not tried the newer 2.15″ size.

Another one here to bump up the average. 6’7″

I like being tall, but would rather be around 6’4″ given the choice. The world is still designed for the average man.

At least it’s easier to find big bikes these days, it used to be a nightmare.

I use one on my XT chainsets. They’re all interchangeable as far as I know.

Not had to replace any of mine yet so can’t vouch for longevity. Having said that, at around £17 a pop at Rose I just look at them as disposable items these days so it doesn’t bother me.

I’ve got a 66cm Canyon Roadlite and it’s been great so far.

If you’re anywhere near Brum you’d be welcome to throw a leg over it.

I looked at the Carbon bikes they offered but they ‘only’ went to 64cm but more importantly, the headtube was a far bit shorter so i went with the basic Alu frame. I’m 6’7″ btw with silly long arms and legs (39/40″ inside leg).

PS TooTall – everytime i see you post that picture of the ‘purple nasty’ i get a little bit of sick in my throat….. ;-)

My old Reba 29er maxle has an incredibly tight clearance but my newer ones are fine. The old one has enough room to get a few pieces of paper between the rotor and the mount.

Works fine in practise though.

Mine have the inline adjusters as well.

Cool, just bought the XT version for my Honzo, should help with my recent chain dropping problems.

Love the SLX clutch on my other bike, looking forward to 2 quiet bikes now. Shame there are no 9 speed versions for my older bikes.

The clutch SLX on Merlin is now cheaper than the standard version which doesn’t make a lot of sense.

I commuted a 6 mile each way trip in London for 2 years when i lived there, Kilburn to Waterloo.

Only ever got knocked off once and if i’m honest i could have avoided that incident as although it was my right of way, i could see the woman cutting through traffic and just carried on as i ‘was in the right’!
Learnt after that that it’s best just to yield as there’s only ever one winner in a car/cyclist collision. Having said that, my rear wheel bore the brunt and i was totally untouched.

Only other problem was a car full of eastern european types who swerved across the road 3 times to try and wipe me out after i’d given them a certain hand signal after they’d cut me up.

I did however break my hand recently after repeatedly punching a motorist who’d overtaken me into a mini roundabout, forcing me off the road and then stopped, got out and pushed me off my bike into the road. Red mist descended and i lost it completely. Only damage i sustained was my own broken hand but was lucky not to be charged with affray after he claimed i assaulted him (he didn’t seem to think that pushing me off into the road counted as assault – just my retaliation). Luckily the police seemed more inclined to believe my side of events.

Overall though i find 99.9% of drivers to be courteous and considerate but of course those generally are not the ones we remember….

My ex’s Mom was a tad strange (but in a good way).

They are Dutch and on one visit i remember her Mom saying she had some weed and then proceeded to bring out two full bin bags stuffed with it from the crop she had grown at home! She was an alternative health type and used to practise acupuncture on me and other weird homeopathy stuff.

I miss that family. Shame her daughter wasn’t quite all there….

I have two sets of the Reba’s and one set of Revs and there is far more clearance on the Revs (especially as both my Reba’s have the offset leg problem which means they have loads of clearance on one side but tyre rub on the other!).

If crc still have the cheap revs then go for it, loving mine on the Honzo, running at 130mm.

6’7″ here and one of my bikes is a Kona Honzo which is a pretty strong beast (at 7lbs for a 20L” steel it should be!).

Fun bike and handles well.

Rather annoyed to find myself in the ‘Mamil’ section whilst wearing baggies, Convert gilet and Endura top!

No Lycra in sight so who do I sue???

Can live with the middle age bit but the Lycra, that’s an insult too far….. ;-)

So were the Red Bull timings only available at the course (i never saw them) or will they be made available at some stage?

I’m surprised that they have not shown up anywhere yet?

Anybody know when the Red Bull timed section results will be available as my team mate outpaced me on every lap and the Red Bull is my last chance to redeem myself!

Also, any ideas on what was the fastest lap? I’m guess-timating around 37 minutes when the course was at its driest mid afternoon?

I really wasn’t looking forward to the course after pre riding it on Friday but found it far better once the race began and really enjoyed it although i agree with a lot of the comments regarding not a lot of reward for the climbs. I managed 6 laps in our (Vets) team and saved my cramp until 6 miles into my last lap – after all the big climbs (walks).

Camping was good but i too missed seeing all the lights zig zagging through the woods on the night laps and all the paople cheering you through the night from trackside camping.

I bought a pair from Decathlon which have silly long legs. Failing that some of the standard ones have pretty long legs but you’d have to go XL/XXl which may be too big for you (i’m a 36″ waist).

BBC says mostly dry all week with light rain on Sunday?

I don’t trust any of the websites these days. Best bet is to look outside on Friday…..

Even if it does rain, it should be ok as the ground is dry, unlike last year when it was already saturated after weeks of bad rain.

The problem could be the wind as it’s looking around 14/15 mph at the moment.

On a 1×10 you should be able to run short, medium or long (assuming 32t front ring). The only real difference will be the length of the cage. Merlin are doing the long SLX cheaply, Tweeks seem pretty cheap for the medium XT’s and Zee.

I did a thread recently and a few Zee rear mechs seem to have had problems so i’m going for a medium XT on my 1×10 bike soon. I run medium 2×10 SLX clutch on another bike and it’s been fine.

I bought a set of 29er forks off them last year and had no problems.

Arrived within 3 days i think. I would happily use them again.

I’m lankier than most and have 180’s on my FS, 175 on everything else.

Can’t say i’ve ever noticed a difference between them.

That new bike company in the US (36ers for 6’6″+) uses 220mm cranks….