fox have a size guide online somewhere, comparing S/M/L to regular gloves sizes (from memory you measure across the widest bit of your hand and that in cm is your regular glove size. I'm a 8.5 in normal gloves and wear medium Fox gloves). Have you used/worn certain brands before to know what fits?

edit; http://www.stif.co.uk/gear/pop_up.asp?id=4046

Speaking of which, Fox gloves have deteriorated significantly in build quality in recent years. My first pair of Sidewinders, now maybe 8 years old, are still going strong as fingerless (I ripped finger ends), with the rest of the glove in perfect condition. My second pair lasted a few years, and my third pair have started shedding rubber armour after a few rides. On the old ones the important stuff was sewn on, now its flimsy and glued on. With water-soluble glue by the looks of it. Always bought mine as old stock half price from Stif, leisure lakes (so 15quid a pair) would be fuming if I'd paid 30quid for em.

(Mr MC posting) again another physics grad who finished and thought it was quite entertaining. Also read loads of popular theoretical physics books when I was at GCSE level (dont profess that I understood them all) so I'd come across the concepts and explanations a few times.

Thread should be retitled "hands up who's a geek?"….

what fuzzybear said, many rounded out allen heads can be recovered with a torx being "encouraged" to fit with a bit of force.

Theft of lead is currently a massive problem, especially in Oxford! They steal it to sell onto the scrap dealers and get nice money for it!

I got a pack of 10x20ml for just this purpose for £3 from "medsave" on ebay, the postage was half the cost (but much cheaper than local chemist types).

TB you are bang on, a lot of grey stuff is OE bike manufacturer overstock. They buy 5000 Marz forks for Bike X at a massive discount, and then half way thru the year Rockshox become the brand-to-have. Bike manufacturer dumps all their overstock on mail order monsters who then sell them on cheap. The fork manufacturers dont like it, but they drive it buy supplying manufacturers at such a huge discount (or charging so much for retail-market forks, depending on which way you look at it).

I bought some PACE forks from Merlin years ago (as in about 1995). They were substantially cheaper than retail, but had a massive stamp on the steerer saying "warranty void if sold separately". Like the OP I felt a bit had-over by Merlin; if theyd declared them as being unwarrantied OE prior to my purchase I may still have made the purchase, but would have made an informed decision. As I still have the forks I can't complain too much…

not bought from them but have bought from other taiwan-based ebay traders. Given theyre getting stuff direct from the factory and selling it without distributor/importer/high street shop overheads theres no reason to think their stuff isn't genuine.

They have some stuff branded up as Marek, which they explain is an own-brand name for the factory that makes Ritchey and other OE carbon stuff.

If you check out the US mail order giant http://www.supergo.com theyre doing easton carbon stuff half price (so 50 quid for a CNT monkeylite bar) so direct-from-taiwan prices should be good.

2nd book took a while to get into (which I also thought about the 1st book) but when it got going it was brilliant! In some ways I think he's written each book independantly so if you just started with the 2nd book it would be okay! There were some brilliant twists and turns in the 2nd book and I was "ooohhhh and aahhhhiinng" when reading it last night! Mr MC kept laughing at me!

OO I finished the 2nd one last night (mind going blank as to what it's called!) I get so excited with that book …… I've always got them out of the library, will have to see if I can wait for the 3rd one to hit hte library …… so what do you think is going to happen? How can he possibly end it!??

Beeline Cycles on Cowley Road is where most people I know go although not sure what scheme they are on. I thought most of it was about the scheme that your work signed up to??

bent_udder said
>Not sure why I'd want an old Nomad – anyone mentioned yet that they look like a pooing labrador?

Oi, as someone who's just bought a used US-built Nomad, I resemble that remark. I love the look of the Nomad but I'm never going to be able to get that analogy out of my head now 😉

Think their private competition is better?! Initial City Link are diabolical, I and several people I know have been at home waiting for parcels and had "sorry you werent in" notes sneaked thru the door. I'm sure they were on Watchdog as theyd pretty much been rumbled for sending out a couple of empty vans with "sorry" slips, rather than go to the time and hassle of, you know, actually delivering stuff.

Our local ICL depot is 15 miles away. If I discover vendors are using ICL I wont order from them.

I appreciate the O.P has been frustrated by a policy, but many of us live near P.Os (and parcelforce depots for that matter) and I dont see better service from the private competition (at least not for comparable cost).

MMM from Mrs MC my whole memory of Morzine this year was daily trips to the hospital in Thonon Les Bains … so thanks for rubbing it in 😉 that you live near by … GIT !

Brian Keenan "An Evil Cradling" about his 5 years (or however long) he spent in captivity, read it years ago and the only book that has seriously stuck in my memory!!!

so basically this whole thread was so you could drop in

"oh, I live an hour away from Morzine"

🙂

Here's my final image of this summer's trip to morzine….
🙁

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/mountain-biker-killed-in-alps-fall-chamonix

is The Hub cafe and neighbouring shop still going? Went to uni in liverpool in mid/late 90's and they opened whilst I was there, sponsored a local XC race (halewood triangle?) which I won, which was nice (as they threw prizes at us). One of the founders had been in brooky (Simon O'Brien?).

seen similar scams on other non-bike specific classifieds sites where the seller just happens to be on holiday, and the pictures appear to have been lifted from the interweb.

I've also reported it to ebay and sent them the flickr link-hard for the seller to explain why his brother drove his bike from N.I to Surrey to take one photo. One of his seller feedbacks suggests a previus dodgy sale/scam.

Seems less productive running a scam on ebay with paypal but theres loads of possibilities that would make it work.

So how did Jenson get on? He was aiming for a finish in the top 10%, did he manage it? And Bradley Smith how did he get on??

Loads of people at work have swine flu! I have been told if you have more than 2 of the symptoms then they will issue you with the Tamiflu, but that also it can make a lot of people feel really really bad and worse than just suffering the flu!!

caledonia, making a bent tube is a LOT cheaper than that CNC-machined "basket" at the bb/downtube join that holds your shock (and the shock on my first generation Reign). Old skool rules!

"pot belly" is a bang on description for the newer ones.

(Mr MC posting)
loads of good suggestions already. As others have said the question is do you want an Alp-specific DH bike, or an Alp-capable bike you can ride in the UK? And what is your budget?

Ive been on an Idrive, an FSR and for the last 4 years on a 5" Coiler. MC takes a 6" Reign. Most of the people we ride with have fleets of bikes and so some take DH-specific rigs, but my Coiler keeps up with 8" Giant Glorys and still pedals uphill.

Current Coilers are 6", and permanently on offer at mail order specialists.

Just bought a (used, I'm not made of money) Nomad as my only bike-it'll be ridden in the chilterns, wales, alps, wherever I go. Its lighter than my Coiler and has more travel when I need it.

NO NO NO NO NO Phil Liggett is the man with the BIG hands!!!

https://powertraveller.com/

Ive got a power monkey classic that comes with eleventy million adaptors. You charge the monkey up before you go (i think its got a hooge capacitor in it) then use it in the back of beyond to charge whatever gadget needs charging.

Loads of variations including a solar powered versions.

dr-death, can you explain to me then why after 5 weeks with an immobile broken leg I still have minor love handles (where men store fat), but the muscle has visibly gone from my broken leg? If it hasnt been metabolised where is it? And if people stop weight training (had to do that to) where does it all go? Surely it wont be metabolised until Ive burnt every last gram of body fat and stored carbs off?

what skyliner said Wellgo MG1, light and 30ish quid. Half the price of DMR V12 (and pretty sure theyre the same thing) and a chunk cheaper even than Superstars.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220458396580

or google it, highonbikes have em in white only for about £34

(Mr MC posting)
agree with solo, not finbar from both personal experience and doing lots of reading around training, and working/training with sports scientists. Muscle is preferentially metabolised before fat, which is why if you stop weight training you lose muscle bulk so quickly but still carry body fat. Currently putting up with a broken leg, and my leg muscles began to atrophy after 10 days of being in a brace 🙁 in line with what the consultant said, but I still have some body fat.

To the OP, agree that your HR is too low.

Whilst fat doesnt turn into muscle, you may be burning off fat and putting on muscle. A colleague of roughly similar build to you started training with me whilst we were at a residential college for 4 months with nothing to do in the evenings. His weight barely changed but he lost four inches off his waist-he'd lost fat and put on muscle.

Mr MC always gets loads of stuff there, cool brands! O'Neill combats, On Fire t-shirts! I don't get anything! I can't be bothered to hammer through ranks of cr** and it always disappoints me! Did get super cool ski jacket and trousers once for £30 I think and both still going strong about 4 years later! It started my ski jacket addiction as well which isn't so good!

Maybe that's the point of them deceptive and they are nowt!! who knows .. anyone got the balls to tank through a 40 doing say 80 and see what happens 😆

WTF I was just wondering and thinking that I've never met anyone that has been caught out by average speed cameras! What happens if you tank it at speed then go off at junction change drivers and tank it through rest of the "run" surely that would totally fox them!

yep, and I'm talking about castrol synthetic motorcycle fork oil which (like most fork oils) you can get in a range of weights.

what stu said. I currently use Castrol Synthetic, but only cos a local shop was closing down so it was £1 a bottle 😉

There is a caveat to avoid stuff with seal swellers listed as a component, however I've never come across any (not to say there arent any) and have used m/cycle fork oil in Marz, Manitou and RS forks for the last 10years or more with no ill effects.

interesting corollary to reviews and advertising in the motorcycle world. Bike magazine (biggest UK circulation m/cycle mag) slated the Ducati 1098 in stand-alone and head-to-head tests. Ducati pulled all its advertising, and Bike commented on that fact.

Then Bike got a Ducati 1098 as part of their long-term test fleet, and you know what, they loved it.

Totally coincidentally, Ducati now advertise again in Bike.

the $350 shipping is just within the USA-are you paying for him to hire a car and drive them to you?! And he suggests he an ex-employee so probably got them at cost. Bit deluded about just how collectable they are methinks.

Mr MC posting)

http://www.cuff-daddy.com/cycling-silver-cufflinks-avid-cyclists.html

as I copper I got some from them as a leaving present from a dept at work, each one was a pair of handcuffs, which works on so many levels my head hurts….

As a former science geek my favourite cufflinks (not cycling related though) are a pair where each one is a working compass. Think they were from Next.

http://www.1stchoicecufflinks.com/ecommerce/Scripts/prodList~idCategory~325.htm

Geek mode off.

>taxi25 – Member
>Thier pretty lucky realy.Imagine if they were Brazilian and met our police over here!!!!!!

which generated replies.

I'm (Mr MC) a copper and I thought that was funny! (even if i applaud sofatester's reponse, maybe cos I dont work for The "one disaster after another" Met, who've stopped shooting and beating people just long enough to lose a case file for a vicious rapist who is banged to rights on DNA..)

(mr MC posting)

after 15yrs of spds I will be going to flatties when my broken knee heals and am reading this with interest. Saying spds encourage laziness or lack of skill is piffle. You develop a technique that makes use of the equipment you have. Drivers dont double de-clutch now as they dont need to, does that make modern drivers lazy or lacking in skill? I shift up the box on my motorbike without using the clutch, laziness or just a different developed skill?

I am half looking forward to, half pensive about learning to ride flat as it does take a different technique. I have always been happy to stay clipped in spds on high woodwork, gap jumps and drops, and the only time I rode with flatties as an experiment and did a teeny drop (the small ladder drop at chicksands) the bike "fell away" from me, and indeed MC took a quality picture of me with my feet off the pedals, and an "oh f*ck" expression.

Riding flats wont make me a better rider, it will require a different set of techniques to be learnt.

Gingerbloke your right, but I'm curious as to why it the local polizei chasing the OP and not the hire company. Following an identical thread on a m/cycle forum at the mo where "we" have speculated that its in the rental T+C's that they can take fines from your credit card, but at the mo the OP is not being billed/chased by the hire company.

In short I suspect the OP is okay to do nothing if thats what they choose, and wait to see if the rental company take it up in which case it'll probably be out of the OP's hands as they'll just hit their credit card.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/got-a-speeding-ticket-in-france-anyone-else-got-one

powers, or lack of, discussed at length by people with similar experiences.

burgtech penthouse, thisisnotaspoon cant comment on durability but having had a quick look (moving over to flatties) I can comment on price, £145 from CRC WTF?!

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17136