I have a Knife and a Spoon (on different bikes), and my untrained cheeks can’t tell the difference. It is a bit lighter than the Spoon and has less padding, but if you find the shape of the Spoon okay, I’m sure you will be fine. The base of mine has starting creaking a bit recently though (nothing to do with post-Christmas food, honestly).

Some nice trails at Contin / Strathpeffer which aren’t too far away.

Edit:- google maps says 1 hour away, so maybe a bit too far. I’m sure you can zip around the roads up there a bit faster than that though.

Also might be worth looking at Learnie, but again, not terribly close.

+1 to TJ and Druidh for the Minewt Cordless 250. I got one a few weeks ago for short midweek rides, as I wanted something simple and tidy. It’s not great on its own for proper off road night riding (I am planning on getting a second light in the long term), but it is ideal for non technical sections, and would be fine for country lanes.

They are standard Fox forks and shock, so on the Fox website. I’ll have a look…

I suspect you would find that hybrids tend to have a slightly more upright geometry (so less aerodynamic) and slightly heavier frames. This won’t be a problem on most rides, but will slow you down a bit on a 100 mile ride I would imagine. If you discover that you have to spend money on new bars/stem etc, you might be better just buying a road bike in the first place.

There are some “fast hybrids” which blur the lines a bit though.

It’s maybe the same driver that tried to run my friend off the road on Friday night. He’s probably still bitter after my friend called the police, so now has a vendetta against cyclists.

Inappropriate use of the word “literally” should be similarly punished. It literally makes my blood boil.

It’s probably only popular because of links from STW to ridiculous stories which people visit for a chuckle. :-)

Re 10 more in Moray, the last I heard was that they were still looking into it (10 in the Glen is a running race). That was a few months ago though, so maybe they are giving up on it.

Cupra – yes, that is what the FC piece suggests.

On our VW if the window gets confused (e.g. there was something in it), you have to put the window all the way down, and hold the button down for a few seconds to reset it. I’m not sure if Honda do a similar thing.

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National Monument (Edinburgh)[/url] by pixelmix[/url], on Flickr

Camera phone snap of Edinburgh’s National Monument, which was built as a memorial to those who died in the Napoleonic Wars. Taken this morning when I nipped out to check some urban singletrack ideas for night rides. I probably wouldn’t have gone out were it not for this “challenge”. I think I get points for size, but lose points for the fact that it isn’t exactly remote.

And here is what it looks like when not covered in tourists and without a bike in the way:-

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Edinburgh’s Folly[/url] by pixelmix[/url], on Flickr

Chris, “The Ramp” is the climb just after the skills area, about half way round the red route. When you get to the top of it, you will see a path off to the left. This cuts across to the link.

As above, the link is more fun from Cragg to Lee, as it is downhill in that direction, and there are a few jumps. It’ll take half the time on your way back to Lee than it took to climb up to Cragg.

As long as you go right at the top of the new link bit you’ll be grand! It was reasonably busy when I was there a few weeks ago. Cragg was really enjoyable – I’m sure you’ll have a blast.

Brand new 2010 X3? Buy it!

I was up there about three weeks ago. The link path is open, but wasn’t signposted when I was there (it may be by now as I think Tony said that was the plan eventually). The path to get to it is on your left at the top of “The Ramp” at Lee. You’ll know you are on the the link when you get to it. When you get to the top of the link climb, take the right fork, which then turns downhill along a sort of doubletrack. Follow this down for a short distance, and you will arrive at Cragg (keep left at the split).

– Short run tonight, to tick that off the weekly list, and then the sofa with a glass of wine / beer.
– Glentress or Innerleithen tomorrow with my regular riding chums before they move 200 miles away on Sunday. No doubt this will be followed by a spot of bike and car washing.
– Day with Mrs PixelMix on Sunday (perhaps a walk), and possibly a short ride to snap a monument. :)

Sounds like lots of people are riding this weekend. Have fun all.

This is the SXC course for ideas. It started on a big grassy section just beside “2”, and headed up into the woods on the left for a fast slightly rooty section. It goes down some steps by 3, and then turns left along a singletrack path for a bit. There is a steep muddy descent once you get past “1” (after the switchback), or a chicken run path. The section between “1” and “2” got a bit churned up in the race, so I think they were planning on working on that area a bit.

“Testing” my lights before I head out on the bike by shining them in Mrs PixelMix’s face.

Coming home from a ride covered in mud, and asking “Do I have a little spot of mud just here on my face?”

If you are there anyway, it might be okay for a spin, but I wouldn’t go out of my way personally. I rode that SXC race you refer to, and it was okay, but nothing too exciting. I think there was a plan to upgrade some sections before the Commonwealth games, but I’ve not heard if that has happened yet.

Yeah, I think it is also free at Queen Margaret Drive by the Botanics

Park on North Woodside Road, just off Great Western Road near Kelvinbridge underground. I lived there for a few years, and it is free to park.

Short ride into town. You can make it slightly longer and avoid riding on the road too much if you go past Kelvinbridge underground (there is a lane from North Woodside Road under Great Western Road), through Kelvingrove Park, and along the Clyde cycleway into town.

I thought you were on here Placid, but couldn’t find you when I used the forum search. How are you liking the Ti Pomp? Nice photos by the way.

Looks good in your photos TJ – lovely day for it. I was planning a quick blast tonight, but probably just up the Kirkgate/Poets and left past the farm and down to Colinton.

Steven – I wouldn’t make the shop for 6.45, and was planning a shorter ride anyway (I’ll be pedalling up from Trinity after walking home from work), but I’ll give you a wave if I see any lights bobbing around.

Nice to hear it isn’t too mushy. If only I didn’t have to wade through the inch of grit on the Roseburn path first.

+1 all of the above. I got a kit. The included instructions are really easy to follow, and it seems well thought out and made.

If you can add/remove a BB spacer, you can adjust the cog position too

Or even just shift the chainring between the middle and outer positions if you are concerned about digging into the freehub body. If you get a wide cog, it isn’t an issue though.

I’ve been tempted to try this out for a while. I like riding away from trail centres sometimes, but I also like putting my head down and just riding, rather than having to stop every 100yds to check a map, so a signposted natural (well sort of) route sounds interesting. I guess this type of riding isn’t for everyone.

I think there is enough positive comments here to confirm I should give it a go some time soon. Thanks all.

Doesn’t look “Extra Light”.

Oh heck does that mean the SS I have built using some pro 2 wheels I had is going to be crap

Just buy a wider cog once you have decided on your gearing. They are a bit more (£10-£15), but saves it digging in.

I am asking how to protect the idea

You can’t protect ideas. You can only protect inventions, products, designs etc.

I haven’t looked into the terms, but I suspect that the Bribery Act could be stretched to cover your scenario. If it doesn’t already, I supect that a simple legislative amendment would be rushed through after the press got a whiff of the company (BAE in your example) bribing by the back door.

– Gardening for an elderly lady for £1 an hour or something.
– Hauled boxes around for a stationery wholesaler
– Sales assistant and then stockroom guy for JD Sports
– M&S stock stuff for a summer
– Selling cameras, electricals etc in Dixons/Currys
– Poll clerk for a day (aka reading my book)

Now I get paid to waste my time on STW.

Currently convincing myself I don’t need an EF-S 60 as we speak.

I’ve been mulling this one over for quite some time. I have discovered that John Lewis do it, and we have some vouchers left from our wedding list. I’m am now trying to convince Mrs P that this will be a purchase which benefits us both.

Look forward to some terrifying close ups of spiders from you in a few weeks molgrips.

No issues with Double Defense Nics on DT Swiss 4.2, and now on Mavic Crossrides. I used NoTubes rim strips and sealant. Inflated okay with a trackpump and a short period of tubeless dancing.

Got a leak somewhere?

Try leaving a bunch of old newspaper in the boot etc to soak some of the moisture out of the air. A couple of sheets on the mats will soak up some of the moisture from your shoes to help keep it dry. If it has air-con, run that, as the air in the car will then be drier.

Name of a photoblog website I have.

This is the closest to consensus I have ever seen on brakes. Lots of people in favour of Shimanos here.

I’m not a resident light expert, but I got a Minewt 250 Cordless from the nice folks at TBC the other week after demoing one. It’s not the brightest light in the world, but I fancied something all-in-one rather than a separate battery pack. If you can live with a separate battery pack, you could get more lumens for the same price (a shade over £100).

I currently run it on my helmet as my only light (apart from a rubbish cateye on my bars which is really just to be seen) and it was adequate, although my plan is to add another similar light to my bars next winter.

How cheap is cheap? What kind or riding, how long for?

I find my Avid Elixirs are more hassle to set up than my XTs (on the other bike) – I think this might be because the pads are slightly closer to the rotor on Avids, so any slight kink in the rotor, or misalignment, and they rub. (No doubt someone will correct me in a moment).

My front XT brake was rubbing the other day after taking the wheel out. It took me about 30 seconds to loosen the bolts, pull the lever, and do the bolts up again, and there was absolutely no rubbing whatsoever.

+1 The Hustler.

What did you expect head office to do? In my experience of store managers and area managers, they will be annoyed at the staff attitude (at the end of the day, your lost sale has affected their ability to meet their targets) and I’m sure that the employee will get hauled up for it.