You need to learn to embrace bonking. Or practice tantric bonking … like Sting

I bought a 2010 in the sale, flogged all the bits off it, swapped in my revelations, XT, reverb and Hope Hoops. Now have pretty much my perfect bike. I agree the TT is a little short for some though.

Marzocchi Marathon R are fairly bombproof and cheap too.

You will have to change the tape to the Stans yellow tape. You can use cut down extra strong gaffa tape type stuff as well but not sure how long it will last.

I’ve always found them to be really good for bike stuff

binners – think you’ll find he worked for GCHQ

Who’s organising a London STW drink then?

Maxxis Ardent are good for me

I found the Xar to be a totally different fit to the Xen. The Feature looks really good and seemed a similar fit to the Xen. I’ve currently got one of the Uvex mentioned earlier and it’s been brilliant.

It’s quite amazing how ill-informed chinese whispers pass as fact on this forum.

Dropper posts are brilliant. Wish I could find a decent one to fit my HT. I prefer the trail version of the SPDs and I have both. I wouldn’t buy XTR though. The m530 trail pedals are just as good as my XT normal SPDs just a tiny bit heavier.

They would be fine. Arch EX are in between Flow and Crest in terms of width/weight as far as I recall. Check the website for latest stats.

Ibis Mojo HD with devilles spare set of forks and chip to run it at 140
Trek Session 9.9
Custom 120mm forked Ti hardtail of some sort
SC carbon tallboy

Ask me again in 10 minutes.

Transition bandit, Whyte T120, Yeti ASR5, Trek EX8, Santa Cruz Nickel. Loads of full suss bikes that have less travel, more pop and still strong enough to handle Alpine/Scottish/Lakes/Dutch cycle paths. Unless you are doing 10ft drops and huge doubles it’s still just trail riding surely?

Cauliflower risotto with pangrattato is flipping awesome. Takes ages to do properly though.

Im doing the same end of May. Id planned on Bootleg Canyon but think it might be a bit hot most of the day?

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/27/section/1

The utter idiotic bovine faeces that people on here spout when it comes to the police really annoys me. 99% of you have absolutely no idea what is involved in every day police work. How difficult it can be to confirm intelligence or the spontaneous nature of some situations. Let alone how to deal with a violent or mentally disturbed individual. Undoubtedly mistakes were made in this case but the total lack of compassion and downright offensive comments from some people verge on certifiable personality disorders. I also think some people should be careful what they post on here. They are leaving themselves open to criminal allegations being made against them. Remember the Muamba comments on Twitter? Idiots.

Im a police officer and I’m all for it to be honest. I also think the level of fitness required to join now (much lower than when I joined) is waaaay too low. Some roles in the police already require regular fitness tests and higher levels of fitness to do e.g firearms, dogs, public order etc.

Some of the stuff quoted there is total poo pop though. No idea where they got the stats from for the percentage of overweight officers. Plus it goes on bmi rather than any sensible measure of fitness or proportion. I’m 6’1 and 14 stone but I also have a low body fat measurement and would be classified as one of the fatties.

I predict the other stuff about direct entry at Inspector and Superintendent level will backfire on them spectacularly. You wouldn’t employ a vet as a consultant neurosurgeon. Madness.

most important bit of safety kit you have is between your ears.

Which is why it’s a good idea to protect it with a helmet ffs!

Actually take crikeys advice. You’re a complete jessy unless you cycle up Snowdon backwards on a fixie wearing spandex whilst tossing off an angry gorilla, before kicking a toddler just to teach his dad a lesson for wearing hiking boots and sensible clothing.

I did it last summer and it was great fun. I’d take knee/elbow pads if you’re not used to rocky steep stuff. Go tubeless if you can and take spare tubes. Brake pads should have life in them and make sure you have a couple of layers. Ron hills and no helmet are fine if it’s sunny and you don’t crash. If you fall off and knock yourself unconscious or get stranded and freeze then you look like a pillock.

Normal crossmark 2.25 60a works great tubeless with sealant.

The car will already be at Tilbury dock waiting to be shipped to Africa for sale with a healthy profit. There will be all sorts of licensing an tax fraud going on, but that’s not your problem. MTFU 😉

22/34 rings with a gamut P30 bashguard and stinger. Works really well.

Glad it’s safe. We arrest dozens a week with stolen bikes in Islington. Shame owners rarely note down frame numbers or give a decent description of parts etc. I recommend registering on immobilise.com as it makes it much easier to find you when we find your bike. I had a very well known local scrote on a Santa Cruz Heckler the other week. I’ve been trying for weeks to find the owner but no luck. Very frustrating.

I’m a police officer in Islington (for another 2 weeks). It’s doooooooomed!

My wife is Belgian and my in-laws are very generous with beer gifts. They also have an exceptionally well stocked beer/wine cellar (2 actually). I therefore consider my self well versed in the art of Belgian monastic beer consumption. I thoroughly recommend you try St Feuillien blonde if you can get hold of it. Yum.

From the ones I’ve done

1) Kirroughtree
2) Innerleithen (with downhills included)
3) Coed Y Brenin
4) Glentress
5) Afan

I have had nothing to do with IAM, pass + or any of the other organisations mentioned. However I am an advanced police driver and had weeks and weeks of training and assessment. Whenever I give my wife any constructive feedback on her observation, planning, position, smoothness or progress she punches me in the goolies.

Hope this helps?

http://www.essexhertsmtb.co.uk have a forum where rides are organised fairly frequently. Danbury has some nice sections bit no big hills. Plenty of riding in Epping but gets very sticky in winter. There is always riding to be had, but not as good as ooop north of t’Watford gap.

I drive the sports version of the Zafira at work and its easily one of the crappiest cars I’ve used. Admittedly it’s a police car and gets slightly more robust use than a family run about. But it’s slow, the turning circle is appalling, the steering is dead, it’s quite slow (especially compared to the 330d I also use regularly), the ride is very harsh and it gets upset mid corner by the slightest bump.

If it was my money I’d be looking at the Mazda estate, Mondeo or Octavia. The Octavia is slightly smaller seating wise but still has a big boot. I’ve got the new shape VRS and it’s lovely.

The one that fits best with enough gear loops when you get in to a bit of trad leading. Personally I always found black Diamond and Petzl were comfiest. If you go in to any decent climbing shop you should be able to hang in the harness to see how it feels. If they don’t let you do that then go somewhere else.

I used u-turn revs and talas but now I’m on fixed travel Revelations. I don’t miss the travel adjust unless I’m on really steep climbs and even then I think I prefer being faff free.

I’ve always found SRAM chains to be much better than Shimano. I’ve broken two Shimano chains in the last three months.

I have a 2010 Trek Remedy frame built up with XT, Hope Hoops and Revelations. It’s easily the best and most versatile bike I’ve owned. I run it with an Angleset so the geometry is almost identical to the 2012 bike. Highly recommended.

Helped deal with the aftermath of the 7/7 suicide bombing at Aldgate as one of the initial police responders. On duty for 19hrs and back in after 5hrs sleep. Not a day I’ll forget in a hurry.

I found my Juicys very on/off with any sized rotors. There are some bargain brake deals out there at the moment. Get some Shimano or Maguras. You know it makes sense.

Smartwool ones are great.

Ive been using Ashima Airotors, very light and work great. Just make sure you fit them the right way round.