And if I can’t get replacement 26″ tyres when these ones wear out

I’d be willing to bet that you’ll still be able to find new 26-inch MTB tyres from somewhere long after the rest of your bike has worn out.

Some people would actually give up mountain biking completely because a new wheel/tyre size became available… really?? LOL

Update:
I purchased the Troy Lee 7850 armour.
Have not crash tested it yet, but I’m very happy with it so far.
Seems to provide as much protection as a “soft” armour ever could, and is extremely light and comfortable, and I can’t imagine there is anything similar which is cooler.

Thanks for the reply Ash.

I’d certainly like to try one out, hopefully I will get the chance at some point.

Hi Ash – nice one for responding to the comments.

Personally I find the idea of 27plus interesting… but I have a couple of questions about it which perhaps you can answer:

– How does the weight of a 27plus Charge bike compare to the previous model of 29er? It must be heavier, right?

– What does this mean for XC racing? Presumably 27plus does not make for a decent race bike due to increased weight and slower acceleration… or am I wrong? Will charge team racers be using the new bikes or sticking to 29ers?

I am keen on getting shoulder, chest and maybe some rib protection.

Have had a trawl through the online shops and I am considering the following:

Troy Lee BP7850
Dainese Rhyolite
661 Evo pressure suit
Blugrass Grizzly D30

Troy Lee looks good to me.
Dainese looks good, although has no lower torso protection at all.
661 suit looks good but appears to lack ventilation.
Bluegrass looks a little light on protection, but I rate D30 (I have D30 knee and elbow pads) so it appeals to me.

Would appreciate any feedback on these, especially on how hot they are. Thanks.

Personally I would try every way suggested to try to find the owner. And if that didn’t work I’d move/remove/destroy the offending caravan myself.

Oh dear. That’s not very encouraging!

btbb – are you saying that you did it and it wasn’t stress free, cost effective, and fast ??

HH supply / design SIP kits not a complete house. If you do go down this route make sure you get independent advice regarding the total build cost before you commit.

Thanks, but according to their website they also offer a “turnkey build” package where they arrange contractors to complete the build. Thats what the price I gave above includes.
They openly state that you could save 30% of this cost (approx 15% of total build cost) by organising it all yourself, but ideally I don’t want to do that.

If you go the SIPS route they have got good thermal insulation but zilch in terms of sound insulation.

Thanks, thats good to know.
Definitely want good sound insulation.

Heb Homes look like they are coming in around £300k all inclusive for a 200 sq meter house (aprox £1,500 per sq meter).
That’s at the cheaper end of the spectrum so far.

Thanks for the Heb Homes link – had not heard of them.

Was the main reason for looking at those houses the cost?

No – the main reasons I’m looking at going this route are (in order of importance): speed of build, fixed up-front cost, and no need to project manage or worry about the build when it’s happening (i.e. low effort and stress for me).

It is a shame that it doesn’t appear to be as cheap as i’d hoped though. However I think I’d end up with a much nicer design of house (IMHO) for the money than a “standard” masonry build in this price range.

Update on this. So far I have received replies from three of the companies I contacted. Here’s the summary:

WeberHaus – they are expensive. It’s gonna be over £360k all in for a 200sqm house (£1,800+ per m2), which is the smallest they do. And that does not include ground works.

Huf Haus – they are really expensive. Gonna be over £450k for a 170sqm house (approx £2,600 per sq meter), which is the smallest they will do.

These prices are pretty crazy, but I think it’s worth pointing out that these two companies are at the top end of the market in terms of design and quality, and the size of house I am looking at is tiny for them – I think they are better value if you are building something a lot bigger.

Svenskhomes – this is more what I had in mind. Approx £260k for a 160sq meter house (£1,500 per sq meter). This is for an off-the-shelf design such as this or this. They will also work with architects to build whatever you want, which will of course alter the price depending on what you want.

No replies form the other 5 or 6 suppliers yet…

I’ve started enquiring with suppliers about this. I will post a summary of my findings for those who are interested next week, once they have all got back to me.

I don’t know but that sounds great if true – I will look into it. Thx

Thanks for the replies.
I’ve still not had any luck finding any first hand reports of projects like this online, so I’m going to start talking to some of the companies instead.

Thanks for the replies.

What you’re describing could well be bespoke timber frame, put together by a timber frame company for a one-off house. Choosing a house from a brochure or pattern book is at the other end of the scale.

I understand the distinction, and I’d obviously much prefer the former (budget allowing).
Is this something you do yourself, or can provide more info on?

Yes, an amazing house that was.

But Huf Haus are very much the Rolls Royce of kit houses (or at least the BMW), coming in at over £2k per sq meter I believe.

Most kit houses are very affordable and can be half the cost of a Huf Haus, and that’s more the sort I am interested in.

@willyboy – that stuff looks very interesting. How do you find it is for the “sponginess” factor? Is it nice and firm or do the boards flex noticeably when you walk on them?

Thanks for the reply.

Anyone else got experience of this stuff or any alternatives?

… I never got anything, I got a part-time job.

Ditto.

see if I can try on some G Form pads – there’s so many sizes it seems slightly ridiculous.

Good idea to try G-Form for size first – their sizing is extremely small.
I wear a medium size in 661 elbow pads but in G-Form I’m an XL.
You basically have to go two sizes up on what you would wear in most other brands. Same with their knee pads.

I have the G-Form elbow pads and I love them. Of course they have less protection than a hard shell pad but they are so light and comfy you hardly notice them, and they provide more protection than you would think from the look of them.
I guess the only reason not to get them is if you think you want more protection than they can offer.

Looks great!

+1

I have found that both Dainese and G-Form come up small even in their largest sizes, so if you have really big calves that probably rules out both those brands.

What time is the finish expected to be?

Another engineering solution for a problem we didn’t know we had?

I would say pinch flats were definitely a problem most people know about.

Are there prices anywhere for the 2015 bikes yet?

Surely the problem here is not that individuals in the NHS are incompetent and making mistakes, it’s that the service as a whole is stretched to breaking point.

If so then the answer is not punishing or blaming anyone, but to increase investment in the service.

Cars these days are much more reliable, have more features, and are cheaper (relatively) than they were in the “analogue era”. If that’s what’s in store for bikes then bring it on.

Thanks for the input everyone.
Having read more about it now it seems very unlikely that permission for a new dwelling would be granted in this location under the current guidelines.

The mobile home route is interesting though… looking into that now.

Thanks dbcooper – good advice

Thanks for the replies.
I just located the councils “Core Strategy” document and read it.
My location is outside the “village envelope” and hence is officially in what they term “Countryside”.
They have a very short section on Countryside development which simply says:

“Development outside town development boundaries, village
envelopes and industrial development limits will be strictly
controlled to uses appropriate to the countryside, in order to
protect and enhance the landscape character and biodiversity,
geodiversity and amenity of the countryside.”

I am guessing that my dwelling does not meet these criteria (although I’m struggling to think of anything which actually would).
Seems like a non-starter then 🙁

Essex. Braintree district council. Rural location, on the outskirts of a small historic village.

Chain, 3 links longer than big-to-big: check

Isn’t that too long?

For the salary your offering and the fact that you’re a startup I think you might be better off trying to cherry pick a really good graduate than rely on finding someone with 2-4 years experience.

+1

His agent probably takes 10-15% of what your company pays remember.

I have no problem with dogs being kept on leads at all times.

Bit cruel really though isn’t it?