GaryLake – I just got the frame from R&A in New York mail order and built it up with the group set fgrom my old road bike. I know it is overkill for the winter, but so is the R3SL for me!
The R3 is fantastic and puts a big smile on my face every single time I ride it.

The nice one and the new "winter bike" (sorry it's in the wrong gear)

Not exactly cheap, but my maxlite joystick is excellent for what you are describing

I would say that you're unlikely to find one in the UK at all, never mind the cycle to work sub claus but good luck.
Have you considered a Salsa Mamsita?

That looks smart. Like a giant iphone

Ringsted, Denmark
Worst – always windy, no hills or anything resembling a mountain. Introverted, rather unexciting people and stupidly expensive and no decent food shops anywhere
Best – Completely safe, good social security benefits such as maternity leave, inexpensive child care and good public transport.

Looking forward to leaving again, but it's been a good place to live for 5 years and a great place to have kids.

I have 2, a MULE for biking that I don't use and a winter one for skiing that I use when I am skiing (sometimes) so it will be a while before that is worn out…

Running Ribas on my Mamasita with 80mm travel. Best mountain bike I have ever had, I absolutely love it.
Unfortunately it is out of order at the moment awaiting funds for a new back wheel 🙁
Planning on getting the XT ones from CRC…

Monday evening I wore 3/4 bottoms and long sleves. I think that marked the end of "summer" riding for me 🙁

I had loads of flats at the start of the year so I got some Conti contact sports (I think that's the name) from Wiggle that have a 1 year no flat garuntee. They are sort of hybrid sized and are rather heavy, but so far I have only had 1 flat (I can't be arsed to send them back)
4 Seasons are good for a compromise in terms of weight, wear and punture resistance, Gator Skins are pretty good as a training tyre but they are a bit heavy and certainly not puncture proof.
I'm still searching for the ideal tyre for winter riding…

VR28 for almost all conditions. The black iridium is too dark for all the but the very brightest days in the UK. I would say that clear/yellow, VR28 and the bacl iridium should cover all eventualities. It did for me until I got some photochromatic radars, now I only need 1 set 🙂

I had white bar tape on my road bike and that lasted about 1 month in the summer so I can't imagine it working out any better on a mountain bike…

So I'm not going to bother getting it faced. Now I just have to get that lower bearing race onto the fork and the star nut into the steerer tube.

Stop.

Hammer-Time…

I am not using an external BB, it is a 9 speed Dura Ace Octalink thing so I guess I don't need to worry too much.
The frame should be reasonable quality too as it is a Cervelo but you never know….

Not a lot of choice, but Swift Perigrine is one of the options

I on the other hand have not so great expperiences, the ones that came with my pompino many years ago wouldn't stay true and the hub on my 29er wheels has given up after a 18 months of infrequent use.
They're good value in that you get what you pay for…

That Pompino looks nice, I kind of miss mine, but not putting the cahin back on all the time or trueing the back wheel each time i rode it. The main pain the backside with these things are the track ends that make fixing a flat such a pain when you have mudguards on.
Still haven't found a good solution to that and the geared roadrat is even worse…

Unless you are getting hydraulic brakes, I would say don't bother. I spent a lot of time and effort building up a drop bar road rat and it is very heavy and rather dissapointing. The total is less than the sum of the parts and the BB7 brakes are more trouble than they are worth.
Just my 2p worth. I wish I'd put on canti's or Vs instead, but as I have disc only rims, I can't be arsed with changing everything.
(Next time I'm getting a Spec singlecross)

I bought it in March 2008 so I wouldn't expect them to, I just know that I haven't ridden them that much as I have been on the road most of the time.
I have been unluky with their wheels shall we say so I think I'll look for something else. I suppose you get what you pay for and in my case I think £125 for the wheels, tyres and tubes was a good buy at the time and I think I'll just have to accept that for £125, that is what you get. No hard feelings, they were cheap and cheerful as it appears a lot of their stuff is…

At least I didn't buy a new freehub body before finding out that it's had it.

I'm not very tempted to replace the hub when a new wheelset can be had for £125. At the same time, I am not very tempted to buy another set of wheels when the hub gives up after approx 30 rides.
29er XT wheelset on CRC… you will be mine just as soon as I have some money 🙁

Looks great to me, but the wheels are a bit too small…

Don't tell my wife that I only need to spend 12 quid when she's given me permission for new wheels 😉
The on-one wheels are really heavy but I guess I can try to replace the freehub and see how I get on with that.
Thanks for the advice

Got to have a go at the cat and Fiddle over to Buxton and then back over long hill. That used to be one of the standard routes with the Manchester Tri club when I was there. (few years ago now though…)

I had ordered some jawbones but it looks like they won’t be available for a few weeks yet and I need some new glasses (ok want, not need) before going on a biking holiday at the end of next week. I guess nobody has managed to get ay jawbones yet?

I think Haribo is German

woops didn’t mean to post that again

Rubber cuts more easily when wet and the little pieces of flit that cut tyres also end up sitting with the sharp pointy bits sticking up as a result of the rain meaning there are more bits trying to cut tyres that are easier to cut as they are wet.
Honestly it’s true!
There are plenty of mini pumps that will get you to around 100psi

Rubber cuts more easily when wet and the little pieces of flit that cut tyres also end up sitting with the sharp pointy bits sticking up as a result of the rain meaning there are more bits trying to cut tyres that are easier to cut as they are wet.
Honestly it’s true!
There are plenty of mini pumps that will get you to around 100psi

Jeez some of you guys carry a lot of crap with you!

1 tube
1 lever
small pump
phone

For rides over 2 hours
energy gels or bars

In bad weather (more likely to get a flat in the wet)
Park tool super patch kit (very small)

I have a Salsa Mamasita and I LOVE it. I will never buy another 26″ mtb. Got the frame from Wiggle and a great deal on forks and wheels from on-one. I think they were only about £125 for the pair. Not that lite, but are doing me fine…

2nd for Harry Hall

I’ve seen other posts about similar cracks on C’dales. Take it to a main dealer and ask. I wouldn’t want my frame to fail there so I think I would stop riding it in the meantime…

Perhaps I should add that the multiple flats were with Conti gator skins. There is a LOT of flint on the roads where I ride…

Race tyres for commuting is plain nuts and on a road rat even more so seeing as fixing flats is such a pain in the bum.
I bought some Continental sport contact things with a 1 year no flat garuntee. I have had a flat, but I was getting at least one every ride in the spring and it absolutely did my head in.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Continental_Sport_Contact_Hybrid_Tyre_With_Tube/5360008375/

I towed a trailer with 2 kids in it with a lightweight road bike (Cannondale R3000)
I also asked a guy in my LBS if he thought it was OK and said there should be no problems.
I generally use my roadrat now though, but it can be done.
The hills are hard work if you don’t have low enough gears though 🙂

My thoughts
Had a Pompino and it was good except that the chainline was crap so it dropped the chain a lot and ate through brake pads in the traffic. Now have a Roadrat and it is better but I get it up with discs and drops meaning that BB7 were the only option. They are heavy and fussy to set up properly. Track ends are a nightmare with mudguards when you have a flat and the removable gear hanger on the roadrat makes that problem even worse.
If I started again I think I’d get a Spec singlecross or something similar or if it really hilly where you are, then something with gears but stick with mudguard mounts and vertical dropouts. I guess the other option it to go for flat bars and mtb disc brakes, but buying 700c disc wheels is yet another pain in the arse.

I’m similar weight and run the same top and bottom. I used the max pressure that was in the instruction book, but I seem to remember that it was 150psi, not 250psi. That seems very very high to me. Can you damage the internals with that much pressure?
After a little fiddling I think I reduced the pressure in the bottom by about 15psi to get it really dialed in, but start with the same in both

USE joystick. I’ve no idea how it compares on price, but it is a great light for commutes

Yes they are 48 mega.

I would have thought about £20 would be fair for them but I can send you some pics in a day or two if you want.
FYI I live in Denmark, but I will be visiting the UK at the start of May and could bring them over, otherwise I guess I could ship them to you for another fiver.

you can pm me: william at shustoke dot com