When I lived in London a while back, someone smashed the side window of my car, so they could pull the bonnet release, and stole the left headlight assembly. My flatmate also lost a wing mirror and side door trim. We figured the breakers yard round the corner were stealing spare parts to order…

Don’t do the ‘cruel to be kind’ thing of locking them in the kitchen alone at night from the get-go.

Put it in a cardboard box next to your bed and talk to it or reach a hand down when it gets restless.

Much kinder to the puppy, and you’ll get more sleep too!
It’ll still transition to the kitchen fine after a week or so…

Perthmtb, I agree, but I counter this by being am home every weekend and spend 36 hrs with my kids to the detriment of my own social life, it also means we can afford for my wife not to work so she is there all the time.

Sounds like you’ve got a fair balance then. It’s difficult – as parents we want to give our kids every advantage in life that money can buy, but I think we sometimes forget that what they need most is a loving & nurturing environment.

I took it to an extreme by giving up work and becoming a stay-at-home Dad for the first few years of my daughter’s life, but I feel we have a very strong relationship as a result. Luckily the financial sacrifices we had to make as a result don’t seem to have disadvantaged her academically, as she’s just won a scholarship to a good secondary school.

This is a very personal opinion, but having known many people who’s parents were away from home a lot striving to give them a “better start” in life, I would say the best thing you can do for your kids (and yourself) is to be there for them instead.

watership down is nicely dark.

It was my favourite book in my yoof, though I understand it’s recently come under fire from feminists because the central characters are all male, whereas in real life rabbit society is a Matriarchy.

Things were less complicated back then – male rabbits were real bucks and does stayed back at the warren producing litters :lol:

Although I don’t have direct experience with the M529, I’ve got Deore, SLX, and XT hubs and none of them can be converted, so I’m pretty sure the answer would be no.

Time magazine compiled a list of ”The 100 best young adult books of all time”[/url] a while back, and not being a reader myself, I thought this was an easy way to find some “good” books for my 11 y/o daughter to read in the holidays. So I selected ten of them randomly and ordered from Amazon.

She’s been thrilled by them – a cut above the usual stuff she’s been borrowing from the school library – and has devoured them all. My wife & I have ended up reading them too!!

These are the ones we got her:-

A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
Dogsbody – Diana Wynne Jones
Matilda – Roald Dahl
The Miraculous journey of Edward Tulane – Kate DiCamillo
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
Watership Down – Richard Adams
Marley & Me – Josh Grogan
Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson
The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

I’m with the OP on this one.

If you’ve got specific requirements in terms of the personality traits, size, coat type etc, and a Cockerpoo fits what you want then get one. Rescue dogs are great and all, but it’s a bit of a lottery. Don’t let the guilt merchants shame you out of getting the right dog for your family – you’re the ones who have to live with it for the next fifteen years.

We’ve got a Labraspoodle and she often gets mistaken for a Cockerpoo. She’s a great dog, and ticks all your boxes, but as others have said they can vary a lot and you should definitely insist on seeing both parents to get an idea what the particular milkshake is going to come out like!

40 and improving all the time. What I want to know is when will I stop being able to get better? I’m doing bigger gaps, higher drops than ever and am constantly trying to go bigger. How long have I got before I’m maxxed out and have to start winding it in?!

Well of course if varies a lot (see this for an interesting take on how ageing varies across people) but for me I think I peaked at 50, and am about 10% off my best now at 52.

I’m pretty sure doing rough & rocky trails on a hardtail contributed to my slipped disc, but then it was probably the last straw after a lifetime of abuse. Anyway the positives must outweigh the negatives for me as I’m back on the bike again, though it’s full suspension only now and I avoid the really jarring trails.

I’m interested in all this talk of bacteria multiplying in the bladder. I thought urine was sterile (ie no bacteria) and that’s why in a pinch (miles from anywhere without anything better) you can piss on a wound to clean it out. Is this just another old wives tale then?

Also, I used to get a numb groin after a long ride, so switched to a SQLab saddle. Takes a bit of getting used to perched up on your sit bones, but never get numb meat & two veg anymore!

I’m 52 and I have had to slow down a bit in the last couple of years, as I definitely don’t recover as fast or mend as easily after injury. So, I’ve stopped racing and doing the really gnarly trails, but expect to continue riding at least untill I’m 60. The guy I do a weekly 45km rail trail ride with is 69 and it’s as much as I can do to keep up with him.

These forks went through the same process of design, testing and modification as any other fork. So, obviously, there is nothing inherently wrong with them.

Although what you say about the principle of CTD is true, I’m sorry, have to disagree with that last sentence – you obviously don’t know the history of the 2013 O/C! The 2013 CTD Evo’s used the first iteration of the O/C (open cartridge) damper which was a shocker! It used more plastic parts than previous O/B cartridges and a number of them failed in use – yes literally self destructed on big hits. The symptoms were the fork turning into a bouncy pogo stick and no difference between C, T, and D (quite obvious as the ‘C’ on the 2013 O/C was practically a lockout, unlike later iterations).

Although Fox fell short of issuing a recall, they told distributors not to quibble about any reported problems and just replace the cartridge no questions asked. At first people were being upgraded to FIT cartridges as that was all that was available while Fox worked on a new version of the O/C cartridge, but eventually they came out with a modified 2014 O/C cartridge which was better made.

I wouldn’t buy a 2013 O/C fork for this reason. The 2014/15 O/C cartridges are better designed/made, and although still made for a price, do not ‘break’ like the 2013 ones did. Despite all the testing/design/development every now and then a company comes out with a lemon – the Fox 2013 O/C was one of those!

It’s not particularly difficult to take the calliper apart to get at the seals – see a thread I started on MTBR about how to do it here (not 2010 XT but similar).

However, the problem is that Shimano don’t supply seal kits, so if its more than just a bit of grit in the seal and they need to be replaced rather than just cleaned, your stuck!

But before you jump to the conclusion it’s leaking seals, have a look at this thread where a lot of people seem to be having the same problem, and it’s not related to leaking oil…

just the pic from park to show it’s 2 tools needed to swap rotors. For the upside it’s a reasonable downside

Oh OK just a pic from the interweb. Park should know better tho… :D

I agree with you about flying. The only damage I’ve sustained flying was a bent front rotor, so I now remove it. Means I do need to carry a BB tool (or borrow one at the other end) but I still prefer that to mucking about with those tiny rotor bolts…

15mm front is the External one, 142×12 is the internal one, seen it on plenty of wheels including the pair in my spare room. For me it just means 2 more tools that I have to pack in my flight bag in a 23kg limit.

Yes I know, I have two pairs of centrelock wheels, but your second picture shows the external one on a QR axle which is wrong. That’s why I asked the question…

your girlfriend needs to do a lot more living in and appreciating the now, rather than living in the future

Ouch!

It’s an interesting point though – which one is being selfish? The OP for not wanting to be tied down yet, or the OH for wanting to plan his future away :D

Mike I’m puzzled by your second picture. Sure a 15mm or 20mm thru hub needs the lockring which uses the Shimano BB tool, but that picture shows a standard QR axle which should use the lockring in the upper picture.

Anyway, you’re right, if you’ve got a 15mm front and QR rear then you need both tools, but they are commonly available ones (cassette tool and BB tool) so I’ve never had a problem when travelling.

I also think Centrelock is an inherently superior system, so if you’ve got the hubs for it, use it would be my recommendation!

Walla24, there’s a lot of good advice on here. I’ve only got one thing to add – judging by the things you’ve said in this thread, the careful way you’re thinking about it, and the respect you have for others, particularly your partner, I’d say you’d make a great Dad – much better than 90% of the idiots who just stumble into it!

And back to asteroids, no-one knows if that was the cause of dino-demise, it’s just one theory. Super-volcanos, disease and other things in my little girls dinosaur book mention that I can’t remember right now.

Oh thank you! I thought it was just our dog that did these things, and as a result of some terrible flaw in our training or feeding routines.

Drags wife over to computer with cries of – look she’s normal afterall :D

Yes, everything takes longer as you enter your forties and fifties.

Ah yes, when it takes you all night to do what you used to do all night :cry:

My sister managed to syphon away most of my Mum’s money when she was too old and senile to notice. I wouldn’t intellectualize it by giving it a fancy name though, she’s just a thieving cow…

Have to confess that when I was a kid I once pinched one off in the stairwell of a multi-storey car park. Was out playing with friends on our bikes, long way from home, no toilets in sight, and I just had to go!

The guilt of my dastardly deed has eaten away at me for years, and in true Freudian fashion is undoubtedly why I’m now an anally retentive OCD type adult!

But I’m hoping with this confession I can finally put it behind me, wipe away the stain on my character, and purge the evil that was within me – hallelujah!

If they’re slightly too small when you try them on, they’ll only be worse when your feet heat up and the tissues/blood vessels expand during exercise. However, these days a lot of sports shoes have thick multi-layer insoles, and in a pinch (pun intended) you can gain a bit of extra room by replacing them with a thin foam ‘odour-eater’ type from the chemist.

Edit: On a related note, I’m now a convert to expensive cycling shoes. I used to think it would be crazy to spend a couple of hundred quid on a pair of cycling shoes – all this lightness, stiffness, carbon is just marketing cr@p – right? Then someone gave me a gift voucher to spend at my LBS and only thing in there I could find that I wanted was a pair of pricey Shimano XC61 shoes. They are soooo comfortable, light, adjustable, support your foot all round – no tight or loose spots – that you just don’t notice they are there! My other cycling shoes don’t get worn anymore and when these wear out I’m definitely getting another pair.

That’s not been my experience in southern Europe, the Spanish and Italians at least love kids.

Yes sorry, a bit of a broad generalisation. We’ve had the worst receptions when travelling with a young child in the UK and funnily enough America, but that seems to be because a lot of ‘service’ jobs seem to be done by college kids who have no time/interest/patience with toddlers :D

We took our daughter on numerous holidays to places like Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia in her first three years as we were living in Hong Kong at the time. Was no hassle at all, and in fact the Asians dote on children and we would always be surrounded by fawning locals wherever we took her – restaurants, shops, hotels, the beach etc. Quite different to stuck up Europeans who give you that look of horror/disdain when you walk into their shop or restaurant with a toddler!

4) Get Yachtmasters certificate

You’ve got your answer right there.

Next one starts in a couple of weeks so you’d better hurry – Fourteen week Professional Yachtmaster Course[/url]

Could even be the start of a new career….

I’ve made a career out of having career breaks and changes – if you see what I mean… :D

Mid 20s I was working in London in a good job for a multi-national (computers), but had itchy feet so managed to wangle a year’s sabbatical and went backpacking to Asia. As it was a sabbatical I had the safety net of a guaranteed job on my return which made the decision much less risky. As it turned out my year abroad opened my eyes to so many other possibilities in life that on my return I resigned, went to live in Hong Kong, and did something completely different (finance).

Fast forward 20 years and I’m getting a bit tired of the frenetic but oh so shallow expat scene, so time for another year off and more soul searching. It’s much easier this time as I’ve done it before, and as I’ve got a bit more money in the bank I decide to tick a few things off my bucket list while I’m still young enough to do them. Cue a three months residential course for my RYA Yachtmaster, two months cycle touring round New Zealand, learning to Paraglide, and a three months crewing on a boat from Hong Kong through the Philippines and out into the Pacific, diving Subic, Truk and Yap on the way. In between all this I marry my long term girlfriend and we have a baby. One year off turns out to be three as I end up staying at home for the next two years looking after the little one as a house husband!

Now in my forties and with a young family my priorities change so it’s time to pack the bags again and move to Australia, where I go back to Uni as a ‘mature’ student and study for an MSc in a totally new field again (renewable energy)! Now I’ve got my Australian citizenship and we’re planning to settle here for good. I’m working in my third ‘career’ but as I’m really just a new graduate in it, I’m very junior and I earn about the same as I did back in my twenties! But there’s something to be said for being the office junior – the stress levels are much less and I get to spend time with my family and ride my MTB!

Would I recommend anyone else follow my path – certainly not, we’re all different, and you’ve got to make your own way in life! And if security, good money, and the respect of society that you’ve ‘made it’ are important to you, then the best way to achieve that is definitely to stick at one career and slog your way up the hierarchy.

But – I just wasn’t wired like that, and though I sometimes envy friends in that position, I also think I’ve had a very interesting life and lots of great experiences, and afterall – you only live once!

Make of that what you will….

I haven’t been able to get anything to make an airtight patch on a Maxxis LUST tyre – even the special tubeless patches and glue. The inside of those things is like Teflon, and if you roughen it up it’s not airtight anymore. I’ve ended up chucking the tyre if it gets a puncture, tho luckily I’ve only had two punctures in three years.

It’s not about strength, its about better shifting, but only at the front. The outer (writing side) links have cutouts that help catch the pins & ramps when shifting up to a larger chainring.

GP sends me to A&E because of a painfully swollen right nut. After reading his referral letter the duty nurse immediately orders me into a wheelchair while I wait for an ultrasound.
Orderly comes over to take me to the ultrasound unit which is on the 2nd floor, but when we get to the lift it’s out of order. So, he says we have to take the stairs, which involves me hopping out of the wheelchair, helping him carry it up two flights of stairs, and then hopping back in for him to wheel me carefully into the ultrasound unit. No, apparently he didn’t see the irony of the situation…

I offer no advice on whether you should have children or not – that’s a personal decision. However, if you do decide to have them I’d suggest getting on with it!
I had mine when I was 40. In many ways that was a good decision because I was far too selfish to have kids when I was younger, and by the time I was 40 I was financially able to take a couple of years off work to be a stay-at-home-dad which was great. Also, being an older dad isn’t as much of a stigma as it used to be – there’s plenty of us around.
However, I’m now 50 with a ten year old and honestly don’t have the energy to do all the things I’d like to, and health problems start to get in the way.
So, on balance, I wish I’d started five or ten years earlier…

Oooooo! Love these threads – get to post pictures of cute doggies!

Ours is a Labradoodle, but miniature so easy for the wife & kids to handle.

She’s a real softie, great with my daughter, but can get mischievous if not entertained – ie steals socks and chews them up (I think that’s the poodle in her!)

I feel your pain. Couple of years ago I offered to give a friend’s bike a ‘makeover’. Scoured online to get new bits at the best prices for him, donated a few free bits from my spares box, and built it all up for free.

Since then any problems he gets with the bike are my fault, despite the fact they’re actually due to total lack of maintenance on his part. Worse, he expects them fixed for free and to his timetable – basically treating me like a free bike shop.

Don’t ride with him any more.

I won’t make the same mistake again, but it’s a shame it’s taken the loss of a friend for me to learn my lesson.

Attach it to the back of your car with a steel cable and pull it out – what could possibly go wrong?

Jagwire brake hose barb inserter…

and, proper set of Maestro pivot bearing tools…

Not a tandem, but I demolished a rear wheel carrying my daughter on a trailer bike attached to the back of my commuter. Replaced that wheel with one with a 36 hole Deore hub (M590) DT Swiss straight gauge spokes and Mavic 319 rim. That was five years ago and it’s still going strong.

@gazc – I get numbness and posted a similar question to yours a few months ago. I ended up with the Easton Haven bars, simply because there’s a special on last years model at CRC at the mo here

They did eliminate the numbness for me (together with Ergon grips which I use already). To those who say they can’t feel the difference between carbon and ally bars – nor can I. The carbon bars don’t feel any different in a soft/flexy kind of way. You don’t actually feel the constant vibrations that do the damage in the first place, and so don’t notice they’re gone with the carbon bars, except that the condition they caused magically goes away.