M985 chainrings are specific to that chainset, and are indeed the 88 BCD which can’t be found anywhere.

You certainly can’t stick M980 on there, as it’s 104bcd (I think).

Frankly mental, and the only place that you can get aftermarket rings is that american dude who take 3 years to make them…

We had a Worcester Junior combi fitted for 3k by a local firm.

Reggie, how much?

You can borrow one of Charge’s bikes they’ll have on the day…

>irrationallyangryandwantstodriveoutthere<

+100 deanfbm

Oh dear.

We’ve a special one here.

The Lapierre Zesty range (if you ignore the material) is identical across the range.

If I was not in a position to be able to upgrade to the components that I desire, I would quite happily ride the bike as standard.

Indeed, I do; as those components off the Zesty I originally bought are gracing themselves quite happily on a hack bike.

Before making yourself look like a complete spanner, I’d rein your neck in. I would not buy a top of the range bike if I knew I was about to replace all the SRAM kit with Shimano (personal choice). Therefore, knowing that I wanted just the frame I went for the least cost choice into the frame.

To replace my stolen Zesty, I shall be getting another, however I’ll be getting the cheaper of the carbon range, mainly for the very reasons above. And that kit’ll go on my hack bike as I upgrade it.

It’s not rocketscience.

Hmmmmokay tinkerbell?

Continuity: Parts aren’t cheap, for us, nor manufacturers.

Sure, you can build a XTR bike for £2k, but as deanfbm rightly says, You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig”

There’s a reason why the Zesty is priced higher than Canyons and Cubes etc, and that’s because they’re bloody good, and very well thought out.

I’m 100% with deanfbm: My (nicked) Zesty 314 was a real peach of a bike, fancy components or no.

Amen Zokes.

I choose these (apologies for biggyness):

Agentdagnammit, yhm…

You’ll want Kool-Stop pads.

CRC seems to be cheapest – they’re great pads.

Commiserations buddy; having had my Zesty swiped this weekend I feel your pain :(

Mowing the lawn.

Made even more satisfying by muting the nagging coming from inside the house.

ETA: Bike wise, building a bike from scratch. Doesn’t take long with the right tools (and knowing where all the parts are) but feels good once done.

Hardly seems worth it if you work part time…

Exactly molgrips – our predicament too.

Really seems pointless – We’d rather my daughter benefit from extra time with my wife, at the cost of her sanity at times, than work just to get time in an office and our daughter in a nursery and have nothing to show for it.

ETA re: jobs – well yes, indeed. We’re lucky in that my wife has one, and potential career development upwards – but I appreciate not everyone is as lucky.

Absolutely brassneck.

The benefits system for middle class families is not in their favour (I class myself as middle class, based on earnings, home owner etc).

It is not a case that we cannot afford to look after our own children, it is more that my wife would like to work if she could, partly to continue her career, partly to stop herself from going slowly mad, and then finally, to boost our income.

Yes, you could argue that it should be something we pay for, but then if it is set at a value where the BULK of families are unable to afford to use the nurseries, then the tax take will go down for the goverment, and the nurseries slowly fester.

Increase the subsidy, and you’ll find that earnings per family increase, that goes back into the economy in various ways, shopping, holidays etc and the nurseries have a subsidy additionally.

The lower earning brackets who do qualify and deserve extra benefit through childcare would continue to get this and wouldn’t be affected.

As for all the benefit theiving scum whom milk the system for all it’s worth, well they’d still be doing it anyway – they’d not care about nurseries I expect!

It’s all a balancing act, but at the moment there is nothing to incentivise my wife and I to send her back out to work if all we get at the end of the month is an extra £100, and extra stress rushing around getting to nursery etc…

Something I’m interested in at the moment.

Not earning a huge amount, but enough that it’s comfortable. However, now that my wife is not working, and we’re only on the one wage, we’re finding it much harder, although just about hanging on.

Throw in that she’d like to consider working, but we can’t afford it, it hardly makes any sense for her to go back to, essentially, work for nothing but a few quid at the end of the month.

ETA, if the government were bright, they’d subsidise the nurseries again and you’d find that there would be whole legions of mothers heading back to work, and those wages ending up back into the economy…

How do others do it?

btt for the worker massive.

Easton Havens would be a good bet, about £320 ish from CRC at the mo.

Stu, didn’t realise you had been hit also (perhaps a catchup curry is in order).

I’m with M&S and guess I’ll be taking a 714 or 914 (depending on if I sweet talk them into reducing a 914 enough).

It’s maddening really. Sophie simply said is it worth getting another, to which I briefly considered her point.

Before thinking, f*ck em.

Yes.

They swiped the two bikes (locked) off the back of my car on it’s bike rack, whilst we popped in to get changed quickly.

They must have been watching as they cut the lock and the straps.

Can’t quite believe it myself, even now.

Yup, very VERY quick off the mark and helpful.

Living a slightly dodgy area this happens a fair bit. As they said, Bristol has a big problem with this…

Thanks Wordnumb and Deluded, done. Posted on a whole bunch of Bristol facebook groups too…

If people wouldn’t mind spreading it, I’d hugely appreciate it :)

Thanks chaps, gutted to say the least.

Although I’m insured through M&S and I’ll likely get a very nice replacement, it was an absolute dream bike for me, specified in every the way I wanted :(

Worse things could happen though.

ETA: Jedi, what’s your twitter name? I’ll retweet it…

Mods, any chance of a sticky? I’ll bung a tenner charity way if so :)

BE did that when I cancelled. Very odd, but it’s their kit so they’re entitled to I guess.

Charge Duster? I ferkin love’s mine. Although I keep getting tempted by a Cotic Soul…

Done. :D

£10 for the Reba’s? Or part exchange for a set of Ultegra brakes?

Me and a mate are both bring plenty of nice bits, me including a set of Rock Shox Pikes, a Lapierre Spicy Frame, and plenty of XTR and XT.

I’m not sodding dealing with the cheeky gits who want to pay £10 for an Ultegra brakeset again though.

Park in the Mud Dock car park yes?

If he wasn’t about to become Sir Wiggo as a result of his results, then I can only hope that the Queen watched that and sits there nodding, and making it so as a result of that speech…

Totally grounded bloke. We need more like him.

I’m with Northwind. I appreciate the sentiment in that they want to give cyclists something, but part of mountain biking’s charm is that it’s very nature is challenging and natural (in the main).

This is everything that mountain biking isn’t.

Cwmcarn gets it right.

Nearly had a heart attack on that right hand corner.

YESSSS!

Froome’s like a skinny Rooney isn’t he?

Get on Mutton Chops!

It makes you a smoother rider for sure.

Whether you end up better is a different thing.

Hungry Monkey; you could argue that there are plenty of campsites where if you would like to guarantee a peaceful nights sleep, and indeed, day, you could search out the plentiful ‘No children allowed’ campsites.

If you camp at a campsite where it’s predominantly family centric, you’re always likely to get screaming kids…day or night.

MrsFlash

It’s a pity they don’t come with a soundproof dome for when their daughter screamed the campsite down at 6 every morning. I’m surprised we didn’t get lynched

It’s a worry that I have as well – we want to go camping with out 8 month old but ultimately I’m a bit worried about this.

Having said that, you could argue that there are many many other things that annoy at camp-sites…