I had a set of Chinese winter tyres which were OK in the dry but became scary in the damp.

Changed them a week ago to Nokian WR A3 as the chinese ones were a big crash just waiting to happen. I was told by the garage to allow 200 miles for the Nokians to bed in.

Due to the deep tread pattern you can feel them move a little if you turn in hard but they don’t let go. It’s just a different feel to a Summer tyre. Wet grip on Winters should be better than a Summer tyre at this time of year regardless of the tyre labelling. There are a few places where the ABS would normally kick in when it’s damp on the Summers but I’ve not had that happen with the Nokians at all so they must be gripping better.

Take the tyre labelling with a pinch of salt. All tyres are tested at an ambient temperature of 25degC for the tyre label wet grip test. That might suit a Summer tyre but is totaly outside the intended optimum operating temperature for the Winter tyre. They should do a 25 degC test and a 3 degC test for all tyres.

I use one of these I bought from Charlie – it’s very bright indeed.

http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/pdw-portland-design-works—danger-zone-rear-light-mental-1912-p.asp

I tend to twin that with a Blackburn Mars 3 or one of the On-One lights linked to above depending on which I lay my hands on soonest.

You can get XC spikes but I got these for my 9 yr old –
http://www.mandmdirect.com/01/details/AS774/Asics-Junior-Gel-Enduro-8-Trail-Running-Shoes-Marina-Flash-Yellow-Black

He has been running in the local schools XC competition and it was muddy this year. They got a note about football boots or spikes but he wore the ones above which I thought were a bargain. Not very girly colours though.

I’m not aware of anyone from his school with spikes for XC – it’s only about 1500m at that age. I would imagine the secondary age kids will be using them though.

If you want to spend more then these are the business but expensive for a couple of events.
http://www.northernrunner.com/shoes-c133/fell-shoes-c226/inov8-x-talon-160-cross-country-and-fell-running-shoe-kids-p1336

If you can find them there are 2 cracking cheeses local to us here in Co Durham

Cotherstone – it’s a bit like Wensleydale but nicer

Leaside Cheesemakers make some great cheeses.
Teesdale Blue – Mould ripened rind and a lovely delicate blue flavour – not too salty like some blues can be. It won best cheese at the Yorkshire Show.
White Hilton – soft rind cheese (Leaside make a superb lemon curd cheese too)

ahh cool, cheers danny! its not connected to the light unit itself though, like it seems to suggest it should be on the RM site? surely it would be safer to have it disconnected than connected?

i will try that, last thing i want is them disposing of it

It will be fine but don’t send it with the light connected to the power pack. If the switch gets knocked in transit it could power on and melt the carry case etc.

The power pack is a sealed hard case unit with a pcb and fuel gauge so counts as a electrical device the same way a USB power pack would. That’s my take on it and I’ve not had a single item refused.

Just notify the Post Office that it’s got a battery that is integral and inside an electrical item (and not loose). They’ll put a hazardous battery sticker on and it will be posted normally.

It’s loose cells and batteries that they won’t accept.

My wife has no interest in stuff to do with bikes usually but really enjoyed watching it. Fair play to him – some of those falls were brutal.

Northwind – have the 2 x XML lights you have tried use reflectors? Most reflector based twin XMLs do have too tight a beam for some people but with decent optics that’s not the case.

There is certainly no tiny spot beam with the Gloworm. The combined flood/spot optic combination gives a broad beam with good throw so at speed you can make decisions earlier.

The first batch of X2s were programmed with a 4 second press and hold to switch on to avoid them accidentally switching on in kit bags etc. This is the delay which rickon is referring to.

Gloworm responded to feedback and changed the next batch of lights to a simple press for on as some customers said they would prefer that.

OW – you have an X2 version 2 which was a single press for on and then press to cycle through the levels.

My lad got an Orbea MX24 Team in May 2012 – he loves it. It’s rigid fork which makes it lighter plus 1×10 Deore shifters with SLX 11-36 cassette which is pretty awesome for a kids bike.

His riding has come on loads since getting this bike. He’ll happily do 30km rides on it and uses it on the local 4X track too.

They should spin freely enough that you wouldn’t feel any drag/resistance whilst pedalling. If they are stiff enough to feel whilst pedalling then somethings not right.

Are they over tightened on the axle? I’d try backing the axle nut off a few mm at a time (check for side to side play though).

http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/uploads/media/Access_to_restaurants.pdf

Based on this and the example if case law it would be seen to discrimination.

Been running a Moonglu Arch/Hope wheel set for 3 years on my main bike. Never missed a beat and still true and well tensioned.

I would not hesitate to get Neil to build me another set.

The 2014 Scott Spark 720 is a cracking bike with enough travel for most UK riding. A mate got one and it just feels right.

Pace RC405. Nice looking thing, decent geometry, and suspension which simply didn’t work. Too hard at the start of travel, but with a significant falling rate so you were constantly bottoming out the rear shock. And when it did bottom out, the rocker hit the frame.

A mate had one (it replaced a Scott Genius) – it took him 2 years to admit it had been a terrible mistake. He’s now got a Scott Spark 720 which he loves.

He had interfaces between the rocker and frame too. We assumed his was just a bad one.

I’ve got a Vodafone Sure Signal – works brilliantly 99% of the time.

Our house has such thick walls reception on any network was a nightmare inside the house before now have a max signal in the house.

Mongoose teocali super – hated it from the moment I rode it. An impulse online purchase as it was massively reduced and the price was less than I could get breaking it for parts.

Hated the suspension action, the weird moving bottom bracket, the geometry was wrong. Instead bought a Nicolai helius frame and transferred the parts over. Still got the helius cc and love it.

It does though highlight that buying a Solarstorm will be a total lottery – you might get a good one or a bad one but with no guarantee until it arrives. The one I bought to test was from a seller recommended on here.

Indeed sad. Sounded like a decent guy.

From the pictures I saw on BBC, I doubt he’d have known anything about the fire.

I personally would forget the Solarstorm – I’ve had one for testing. My lux tests would suggest it puts out less than 900 lumens.

If you want a cheap light in that price range, the Yinding twin XML is much better. More quality feel and look to it but the downside with it is the optics are unprotected so will scratch and get dirt stuck in them.

It was more than 20% brighter than the Solarstorm in my tests.

This blog (not mine I might add) is essentially what I was told a few months ago about it.

http://hillgrove-news-opinion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/fake-nigella-lawson-charles-saatchi_2.html
http://hillgrove-news-opinion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/nigella-lawson-and-her-publicist-mark.html

As was mentioned before get the swirl flaps removed and blanked if it’s an E60/61. A friend who’s a mechanic did mine – the flaps cost just over £20 and he charged for a couple of hours labour.

I’ve noticed no change to the running of the car since having them done but it’s reassuring to know they won’t lunch the pistons.

A friend has a Defender Utility Wagon – it’s hardly any more sophisticated than the Land Rover my folks had in the 1980’s. It does look very cool but it’s slow, uneconomical , noisy and handles poorly.

It’s more about image than the dynamics of the vehicle. That aside I’d love one.

If there is any suspicion that you have a heart condition it won’t take weeks.

Carry on getting it checked.

My mum had chest pains and breathlessness when exerting herself for years and though nothing of it right up to the point that she had a heart attack. Fortunately she was OK – it turned out she had a heart defect where an artery went underneath instead of over the top of another one so when the heart started working harder it effectively shuts down.

A mates girlfriend is a barrister and apparently Saatchi isn’t quite the demon that he’s been painted as.

Look at all of the pictures from the restaurant and not just the throat one in isolation it all makes more sense.

My BMW has just over 100k on it and still feels very tight so mileage is not a concern as long as it’s been looked after.

I’d be more worried that 35k mileage is too low on a 5 year old car. Cars don’t like doing lots of small journeys where the engine etc never get warmed up.

The crazy thing is this guy actually does sharpen pencils for a living at $35 each and even has a book on Amazon about it!!

http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Sharpen-Pencils-David-Rees/dp/1612193269

There’s a similar place a few miles from here. It happens to have a cracking singletrack bridleway descent down through some woods in an otherwise pretty featureless local XC network.

Once passed a guy stood in the middle of a gorse bush halfway down the hill totally starkers and standing to attention so to speak!

English living in England and think an independent Scotland would be a mistake.

Its been a big SNP/Alex S ego building and power trip over the past few years.

There is virtually no sensible reason to break from the Union and most of the case made by the SNP is total bunkum.

Conversely, the run time on my N4 has seriously improved since KitKat.

I can comfortably go 2 days between charges now with bluetooth, wifi and gps all switched on (assuming I’m not playing games and browsing continually). I just checked and Play had been 8% of my battery use today but it did update 10 apps this morning.

I think I was around 10 when I got a 7 inch sheath knife whilst on holiday in France – my Dad got one too and my younger brother got a 4 inch one.

I already had a pen knife then but can’t remember what age I was when I got it. Got a proper Swiss army knife aged about 12 which I still use now. I don’t recall ever hurting myself with any of them.

Useful article here –
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/sep/22/subsidence-house-underpinned

A mate went from a Boardman FS to an Orange Five. It totally transformed his riding and he gained a huge amount of confidence. I guess the Five sizing/geometry just suited him better but he’s so much quicker downhill now than he was before.

After I messed up my knee last year I went and saw a person who specialises in scar tissue recovery. My scar had adhered to the knee cap. She loosened it by massaging with a metal scraper type tool. Now that was painful!

I found using Contractubex gel really helped to break down the scar tissue and make the skin heal properly. It’s taken a year for the sensitivity to return to normal so I can kneel again etc.

Update on the Rockstone Eco Snow – avoid them.

I’ve changed my mind. They are fine in the dry and when it’s properly wet but have become sphincter twitchingly scary on the damp greasy roads we have at the moment. At motorway speeds (70ish) on the A66 dual carriageway near Brough you could feel the whole car drifting sideways on sweeping corners. At lower speeds I’ve been totally sideways at low speeds on roundabouts with traction and stability control both on! They are gripping less well at around freezing temps than the Goodyear Eagle Summer tyres I had on before. Tyre pressures are all correct.

They are coming off and going on Ebay – lesson learnt. I always say buy cheap and buy twice but on this occasion made that mistake (at least I only paid £200 for them – I now know why the person I bought them from had hardly used them).

Got a set of Nokian WR A3 run flats on the way from Funky Tyres – £125 per tyre delivered which is a great price. They can supply Winter tyres from most of the big brands at much cheaper prices than I’ve seen anywhere else.

ACF50 spray is great stuff for rust prevention.

My favourite Hex keys are the Beta orange power handle ones.

Actually I’ve just read the follow up piece – http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/10833387.Cyclist_admits_causing_GBH_after_crash_involving_nine_year_old_Leila_Crofts/?ref=mr

He’d left the little girl after seriously injuring her with life threatening injuries and fled the scene. He deserves a custodial.

Had a zyliss one for years which worked well and I liked the fact you don’t need to peel the garlic. Eventually the anodising wore off and the metal would react with the garlic turning it black which was nasty.

Just recently bought a vacuvin one as it was in the clearance section in JS. Only used it once but it appears solidly made and it works well. It’s easier to clean than the zyliss one.

Having a dark beer night tonight.

Nice bottle of Grasmore Dark to start which was very enjoyable.
Followed that up with Jennings Snecklifter and McConnells Irish stout at the local pub.