In a word … no

They were a very good bike for the money at full price. Go for it!

Advantage 2.25's come up slightly bigger than the 2.35 high rollers. Whatever you do don't go for the Advantage 2.1's I've gone through 2 of them. They puncture if you even dare look at them. I really like the 2.25's though and they roll pretty quickly use them front and rear if it's not too gloopy. The Ardents look good too, but tread depth is a lot shallower.

Thanks everyone. I do fancy having a go at McMoab, but I get to see family if we do Glentress. My normal choice this time of year is either hideous Epping mud or short Danbury dog poo dodging. Lucky barstewards.

So the consensus is Yes and ouch. I've got a great Physio but thanks for the offer Gaz, just rubbish hamstring genes. It's weird because it's the only place I lack flexibility.

I tested one for a weekend in the summer. It was the one with the carbon/alu frame and fox 32's. I didn't like it that much I have to say. I found it slightly cramped, a little bit flighty and the H/A was a little steep for my liking. I think, on reflection, that I should have tried a bigger frame. On the plus side it was really light and went uphill very well.

After 4 weeks in and a 7 car overtake at about 98mph on an A road my police driving instructor simply said …. "nice progression"

I've never given anyone ticket for speeding (and I have no intention of doing so), although I'd happily summons or ticket someone driving dangerously or irresponsibly. Personally I let people off if I they accept they have done something wrong/silly/stupid/cheeky and aren't a complete ****t when I speak to them. I've also never done the whole do you know how fast you were going thing, just think it winds people up. But then again I usually only ever pulled people over if I thought there might be something or someone in the car that needs checking out.
Regards speeeding you can't be given a £60 fine without the points though as it's an endorsable offence?

Lummox which team did you play for?

Outdoor lazer tag is becoming way better with much better equipment. Check out mayhem Essex, they are one of the longest established and professionally run sites in the country for paintball or lazer tag.

I always thought the airsoft thing went beyond a laugh into the realms of NATO potatos.

Speaking as someone who has played more than a few times and worked at a site as a safety marshall prior to uni (way back when) … wear a hat, wear gloves, don't wear a box it'll really pee you off.

When aiming, keep both eyes open and look over the top of the marker, and adjust your aim according to the flight of the paint. Don't try and aim it like you would a gun. When firing from cover try and expose as little as possible. Aim to expose people on an angle, rather than just trading shots head-on the whole time. Firing a few shots at someone to put them in behind the barricade, then moving up or sideways can work wonders.

It does hurt a little bit, but the adrenalin really helps take the sting out.

Have fun!

DezB … surely you just stop reading? Prior to those three aforementioned threads, STW was populated by unadulterated incisive comment on current affairs and carefully constructed discussion on bike related matters? It is the internet after all, lady bits make up 90% of available content … or something.

It's even more fun when you've had a couple of beers. The only problem being that you tend to repeat the same songs over and over again …

I think the Leona Lewis track has to win!

It can

muff in an elevator?

Thanks very much. I'm going to wait for Christmas to come and go before I buy any other protective gear. I was always planning on going to a decent sized shop to try a load on anyhow. Just wondered if there were any makes to avoid really.

The police can't release the details to a member of the public because they would be braking the law! It's not their fault the legislation is written that way. If you had exchanged details at the scene the police wouldn't have had to attend anyway. You can always phone up the local station and obtain the incident number from their call handling system if you are desperate for a reference number. Not sure what you are worried about. It's the insurance company who should be worrying about finding the details so they can claim against the other parties insurer.

Panasonic often come up top of the pile in reviews. Especially at the cheaper end of the market (i.e £700 for a 40 inch LCD). Sony are usually good too, but can be a bit more expensive.

I recently got a Panasonic TX-L37S10B but I'm not sure if they do a 40 inch variant. It's been great so far and was a Which magazine best buy.

This is a recurring theme. See my previous post
Thread

The only way I managed to borrow a pump was to out grump and intimidate him by shouting loudly at him in front of a load of other customers. He had just been unbelieveably rude to me. I then accidentally slagged him off to his own son and felt rubbish about it. Bloody karma.

So in summary. Everyone hates everything ever made by any company that's ever had anything to do with mountain biking. I refuse to buy any bike that has wheels. The hubs don't last, the spokes offend me, the nipples sound rude and the rims are all bent in a horrible uniform manner. Don't even get me started on the words and numbers they have on them …

I was using Rogues but I swapped to Lizard Skins Charger grips. Really comfy but not too fat.

Police officer in a specialist team working on major crime. Soon to be heading back to the horrors of uniform policing after promotion. I do like my job however. Just hate all the utter sh*te we have to put up with from the government/certain client groups/press/know it alls ad infinitum.

I'm a secret squirrel.

I've worked for a number of outdoor type shops, on the shop floor and as a buyer. You can buy spare sections, ferrules, elastic whatever you like from shops. But I would go direct to the MSR importers if I were you. Likely to get the bits you need for free or at near cost.

I always thought hip dysplasia came on in later life for most dogs? We had a couple of labs (renowned for having dodgy hips) and they were fine until much later in life. I'm sure he'll be fine and it's just muscular. Fingers crossed.

He is an EX policeman. But I'm not sure why that has anything to do with it. The Police didn't do anything about it because it wasn't lewd or obscene so in actual fact they agreed with everyone else here who has posted a comment. The EX police officer is clearly just a bit of a ****t. But it's not because he's an EX police officer, it's because he's a bit of a ****t.

They came as stock on my bike. They were ok but come up small and don't have massive amounts of grip, plus I also found they punctured fairly easily. They are that cheap for a reason.

I have an '08 Mount Vision that has the same problem. I've had my LBS take the thing to bits and they can't figure out what it is either. I've emailed ATB and hopefully they will get back to me. It seems to be slightly worse when pro-pedal is engaged on the RP23 for some reason, but it's certainly not coming from the shock. It's a really annoying, because other than that I think it's a lovely bike.

Must ….. avoid ….. commenting ….

No idea if you can fit a rack on a vantage but I have been camping in the cheapest campsite in the Peak District in a DB9.

Not sure how to embed

Cheers everyone. I’m well aware of the blood sucking midge.

Cheers chaps. Anymore?

Told you. It just demonstrates how anal my ex traffic officer police driving instructor was. You can check up on the flashing lights thing as well if you want?

If we are being particualarly bum gazing about it, in addition to the 10mph rule, double white lines are only legally enforceable if they have cats eyes through the middle of them, however you could still get in trouble for careless driving. Also the amber flashing lights only applies to road maintenance vehicles, not any slow moving vehicle that happens to have a light on it. I think I may go and shut my finger in a door as punishment now.

http://www.london2012.com/venues/hadleigh-farm-essex.php

It’s owned by the Salvation army. There are hills there … ish

Everyone taking part will be required to wear white spd stilletos and boob tubes.

I’ve got a 2.25 Advantage on the front and a 2.1 on the rear. Really liking it so far on a variety of surface conditions. Go for it.

Some of the black is very cut up and bumpy in a bad way. I think you are better off doing the red then the first half of the black, cutting through to the beast and doing the last bit back to the main centre. Don’t be afraid to nip off the main trails as there are some nice unmarked bits as well.

Perhaps I should have been a little more explicit. Some of that post makes no sense to me whatsoever. Maybe because it was a little inflamatory and preachy.

What a bunch of patronising bastards most of you are! Yes, I hope I get banned for using that word.

But then you are a police officer… say no more!!

Good constructive feedback there. And not in anyway contradictory or prejudiced. I suppose the police perpetuate the capitalist society that has genereated inequality and they are to blame for all the worlds ills. Or something. Perhaps some of them might actually try really hard to help. Or something.

Do you actually think that the real homeless actually benefit from “charities”?

Yes I do because I have seen it happen on numerous occassions, with people I have worked with personally. I think alot of the formerly homeless staff at the same charities would tend to agree with me.

What if the cash you give them just funds their alcohol/drug habit?

I think that’s a matter of personal choice. Anything that helps you cope with a fairly miserable situation isn’t always a bad thing. But then I don’t think people are being prejudiced if they don’t want to use their money to fund drug or alcohol misuse. Equally if you want to give someone money to buy booze or brown then be my guest. I certainly don’t think drug or alcohol misuse will help an individual get back into housing. If that’s what they want.

Nonsense=TAPS

That really makes no sense.

That post makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

The biggest one Munqe-Chick. You?

As a police officer in a large urban area I’ve spoken to numerous homeless people and professional beggars. Most people who beg use the money they earn to fund either drink or drug habits. However there are also quite a few professional beggars who earn quite staggering amounts by pretending to be poor.

One lad I used to speak to on an almost daily basis would beg for a few hours each morning until he earnt enough to fund his heroin habit. He said he could easily clear £80 in a morning. That is until his girlfriend died of an overdose and I helped put him in touch with St Mungos and he cleaned himself up.

That’s obviously in between tazering random innocent members of the public, bullying ethnic minorities and doing everything in my power to avoid doing something important like catching paedophiles.

I would suggest giving any money to Shelter or St Mungos.

And yes I am a police officer, currently working on a specialist unit having done a number of years ‘on the streets’. I’m university educated, I’ve never used excessive force on anyone and I consider myself to be fairly liberal. I’ve never had a complaint from the member of the public, an offender/suspect, a colleague or anyone else for that matter. I have however been assaulted on a number of occassions. Including an incident when I was kicked in the face by a wealthy white boy who was high on ketamine and boooze. I’ve had my jaw broken whilst trying to stop a group of yobs beating up a black guy whilst off duty. I’ve been threatened with a knife, broken bottle, pool cue, hammer yadda yadda yadda. I’ve also carried out CPR on gang members who have been stabbed or first on drunks involved in fights. I don’t care who or what you are I just deal with the situation in front of me in the best way I can. I joined the police because it’s interesting and I like to think I can do some good (plus the adrenalin kick you get on occassion). I try very hard not to get involved in these debates but sometimes it get’s the better of me. People should take a step back before talking about things they know very little about. Assuming that police officers go around beating people up because they feel like it is just plain stupid!