ahwiles – that's weird, I was convinced the Hemlock was longer than my 18" 456. Either way it is defo more comfortable! 🙂

Just got my 2010 Hemlock built up, so somewhat biased new-bike syndrome review…

No pictures as yet as I couldn't stand the riddicule! (odd brake levers and steerer needs trimmed).

It's a large (I'm about 6 foot-ish, 6'2" on a good day!), currently in short set up (125mm) although I built it up with the long rocker on so my hose and cable are long enough for a quick and easy swap. I've also spent quite a bit of time setting it up as quiet as possible ( following Dirt/Sam Hills example) and it is impressive how quiet it is, possibly quieter than my hardtail was! 140mm Pikes on the front.

I LOVES it! 😀 Major grin inducing stuff! Seems to climb well, although that may be thanks to the pro-pedal on the RP23? Descending is an absolute riot, I don't think I've ridden anything else quite as fast down a hill!

It feels like a really good fit to me too, I think my 18" 456 was possibly a little short in the top tube. It feels a lot more like I'm sitting in teh bike rather than on it too. So I do think part of my love for it is to do with teh geometry suiting me better. Having said that, when I test rode the medium it was great fun too, I just don't think I would have been as comfortable on longer runs.

Off to Fort William this weekend for a dosee of 'proper' Scottish mountainbiking, will see if I still love it as much after two big days in the hills, I've a strange feeling I will!

Go for I doubt you'll regret it and I think the Pace sussers are fugly!

Haha, I've written an essay again and it's probably gibberish!

Have you actually seen Kirkcaldy High?! 😉

The bike on the cove site isn't the same as the one on nsmb…

Last week I did:
Friday leave work (Edinburgh) and drive to Kirroughtree.
Saturday – 10@ Kirro (only managed 3 laps before dying)
Sunday – drove to Ft William and messed about on skills area for a bit getting used to riding in full facer and goggles for the first time in ages (camped in witches trail carpark – shhhh! )
Monday – bought pass and rode red DH – actually according to signs etc its the uks only gondola accessed red xc – either way it's great craic. Smashed back wheel on 3rd run when I decided to cut into teh DH course and wasn't particularly smooth on the last drop into the arena. Joe Barnes @ Nevis bikes did a stirling job of making it pretty straight – great lads can't thank them enough! The guy on teh Offbeat hire shop was really helpful too. Rode world cup xc that eve.
Tuesday – Rode 10under red and drove to Golspie. Rode Golspie – it's ace, although I want to go back with a wheel I don't feel the need to nurse down teh drops. Camped on flat bit of grass at top of carpark – luxury after the gravel of teh previous 2 nights! 🙂
Wednesday – should have done another lap but decideed to make tracks. Got coffee and cake from teh coffee bothy before leaving – mmmmm. Drove to balblair and rode black (well most of it I got a little lost on the climb so missed out teh lower bit). Drove to black isle and rode Learnie Red Rocks Black (totally undecided about that one, It's not a bad trail but there were a few things I've reservations about. The 'freeride trail at teh bottom has some lovely shaped table tops you just float over effortlesly, went back up to do it again with the saddle a bit lower!).
Then drove to Moray for a few non-biking days camping with the GF.

Ace Week. Golspie and Balblair are both short and you could easily manage them both in a day even with an second lap of each. They are both great though, as is the Fort red. I'm already planning another trip[ for when my Hemlock turns up!

Ooh, sorry, that turned into a bit of an epic post!

I'll be @ Kirro, cycling under it may be a bit difficult! 😛

Cy – any news on the new hemlocks? Want want want! 😥

Don’t know if it’s wrong or right, but I enjoy it – nothing more than that, just fun. Oh, I’m in Scotland so I’ve got some good hills to deal with! The only time (so far) i’ve been dropped by my mates on road rides is the descents, but I am getting faster/smoother downhill.

I’ve got one brake at the moment, will probably put the back one on again for winter.

Personally, off road, don’t fancy fixed. Love the ss, but am getting back to gears for summer riding.

mcmoonter – at least you’ve fixed teh head gasket and didn’t leave them in a cloud of black smoke! 🙂

We use waeco(sp?) coolfreze boxes in work and they often come with me on camping trips. They chill well, probably even freeze, just make sure it’s not plugged in and drawing power while the engine isn’t running or your battery won’t last long.

Chuck a couple of frozen ice packs in there before you set off and the contents will probably still be pretty cold after a day of it being turned off, possibly even two.

Craig Hardie ( http://craig-hardie.blogspot.com/ ) of http://www.hardie-bikes.com in Funfermline is using one as his race bike this year and he’s not the tallest of riders.

Is there a “qualifying” height for 700c road bikes?! 😛

I hope 18bikes got mine before they ran out!

I just had to have one after demo’ing it at GT. Cy – I’m the bloke with the dodgy beard that came back grinning ear to ear!

Just wish I had the funds to get some Thors and Martas for it. First time I’ve ridden Magura kit and was duly impressed by it.

Oh, and while I’m here, what length stem do you have on yours? That is a great set up, it felt so ‘right’.

Cheers!

TJ – make the vid!

I miss cycling in Edinburgh, I did enjoy it more than my current commute, especially seeing drivers faces as you cruised home past them stuck in traffic.

My commute is now from Fife to Heriot-Watt and a couple of the sections of road get a bit hairy. The other day it was a nurse trying to kill me to then park 2 metres up the road.

A couple of years ago I slapped the side of a 4×4 that was trying to cut across the front of me rather than using the filter lane to my left that was traffic free. I presume, (as there was no way he had time to drive up to the next junction to turn) the driver then reversed out of the junction (the Calder Road roundabout that goes up to Wester Hailes)back onto teh roundabout to chase me down the road. He forced me off the road at a bus stop and jumped out to start screaming at me to “touch my car again, go on!”. I was young naive and was turning my underwear brown at teh time so didn’t think to take his reg and report him – phew! I think I’ve needed to get that off my chest for quite some time!

Think I’m going to attach a wee bit of plastic and a small chinagraph pencil to my bars for taking down car reg’s and bus numbers.

RB he was Spanish!

I don’t think so, don’t think it went North afterwards either, although I could be wrong.

Maybe it was taking the kid to Edin

I wandered why there was a police car driving towards me on the cycle path on my way home last night! Followed by an ambulance (going slowly towards edinburgh, so presumably without any passengers)which didn’t seem to want to leave room on either side for me to ride past anf finally a FETA van. I think there was more traffic on the path than the road.

http://www.bicyclefixation.com/50buckbike.html

Check out that one, it covers a few of the pitfalls and mistakes thay made along the way. Looks to me like nickel plating rather than chrome is the way to go, and do your own masking!

I think it’s look ace!

I’ve been thinking about a rigid 29er for this king of thing, Surly Karate Monkey?

mcmoonter – does that mean you aren’t followed by a cloud of black smoke everywhere you go now?!

Gutted I’ll mostly be suffering in Fortwilliam after 10undertheben (and nursing the midge bites!)

I’d be interested to know about sizing too. I’ve never had bib anything or tights. So do I buy them according to my height 6′(Large) or waist 32″ (Small)?

Doh!

Been a while since I’ve managed a double post.

Allan, let us know if you get somewhere. I’ve a frame or two which could do with some tlc!

I’ve been told BBS shut up shop.

I wrote off the car in October, actually reasonably quick to deal with it. Had a contact number too, although they say they prefer to be contacted by email, were quite helpful on the phone.

I did get stung by the excess though. I realise, before anyone else says it, that it is my fault as I musn’t have read teh small print properly. However, when i was getting quotes I messed about with the voluntary excess to see what effect it had on premiums. I’m 99% sure I then decided that £250 was the max I wanted, in total, so adjusted quote appropriately before taking out policy. Or I thought I had until I phoned them from the side of the motorway, where I found my excess was £550!

Luckily (?) I was travelling home from a meeting so work paid me £250 of the excess which softened the blow a little.

I really miss that car 😥

Anyway, I’ve decided that I’m going to pay a bit more and go with a better known company when I get my new car. One I can speak to on the phone, in the uk, to triple check my total excess and that I’m covered properly. The online forms confuse me a bit, especially what to put in for my claim. Don’t want to be under-insured, or worse have a claim refused, due to having clicked the wrong box!

I was reminded earlier that it’s this weekend, I haven’t been out on the bike in about a month and need to put it back together before I can! 😮

Looks like the bike:blairadam site is down, I can’t get it to open 😕

Can’t remember the year, early nineties – Peugot ATB in white with the colour flashes like a 206 GTI! That was followed by a lurid green and orange Emelle Cheetah(?). Next was a Diamondback Sorrento with the best paintjob ever! Black with a metallic purple stripeytypethingsortofish. Still have it but the BB is seized in the frame and I can’t get it out, otherwise it would be polished and on the wall. All bought from Madigan cycles in Carrickfergus, I loved going up to that shop!

Bought my first bike with suspension forks for my 21st birthday when I had moved to Edinburgh; Marin Bear Valley, in a lovely red – frame soon to be for sale at a bargain-tastic price as I need to clear out some space in the garage 😀

Simple answer to that – don’t crash! 😆

I use both, don’t think I’ve ever had to consciously think about unclipping in an emergency, it just ‘happens’.

These days i do like to ride flats most of the time though, I don’t really have any good reason for it and It certainly doesn’t seem to hold me back on the climbs, on my rather heavy singlespeed with 24″ back wheel, compared to my mates either 🙂

No they won’t fit, those lugs are to fit a miche cog carrier for fixed wheel.

I read teh other day that teh tax rules changed in the summer but no one wanted to shout about it. Probably not relevant as it’s a frame but I think it was something like you now only pay import duty, not VAT, on items less than £108 (or some random value like that).

Otherwise it’s VAT @ 15% + import duty @ ? . Unless it’s second hand then I don’t think you pay VAT.

USA or Canada should be the same as it is Uk that makes the charges.

I think you should be able to get the vendor to take off any local taxes as it is being exported, in the same way tourists over here can reclaim VAT paid on more expensive items.

That’s my understanding, I’m sure I’ll be corrected soon by someone more knowledgeable if I’m wrong 🙂

I recently spent about two months doing teh East Coast. I had my 15 year old Eurohike backpack which did the job, although to be honest you could manage with a holdall really. Especially if you are going to take the Greyhound Bus.

Pick up the East Coast Aus Lonley Planet and get a rough idea of where you want to stop. There are hostels in practically every town between Cairns and Sydney and they are pretty cheap, I think they were cheaper than NZ hostels if I remember rightly, so you may even want to leave the tent behind.

Noosa is a beautiful town. Byron Bay was good craic too and the Arts Factory have dorms, big teepees, little private tents and a camp site. I didn’t bother with Surfers Paradise, it was described to me as ‘a bad spanish resort’. Although Wet and Wild was woth a trip down from Brisbane. There are tons of other towns down the coast that are great too. But those are the first two to spring to mind.

You can see the Greyhound route on here http://www.greyhound.com.au as they don’t stop in every little town, although they do cover a lot.

Enjoy it anyway, I had a ball!

"Stop distracting me daisy, I’m trying to write the Direct Debit form!"

Better late than never eh?!