When I have a full-sus I want a hardtail, when I have a hardtail, I want a full-sus. The grass is always greener. Ideally, I would have both.

I found the HT to be a hoot – great fun kicking out a lightweight back end when stamping on the pedals. It was hard work on rough climbs though (I found I needed to stand up much more often). I’ve currently gone back to a full-sus as I think that from A to B, for me, it is quicker (I’m hoping I’ll notice the difference at the end of races next year).

If you only have room and funds for one, I’d say keep the one you have (based on your description of riding).

Looks like a Pace RC31 to me? I can check when I get home, although no doubt someone else can beat me to it.

What size of fat tyres are you trying to fit in? I’ve got 2.3in in with loads of room to spare.

I’ve got a 3G (not 3GS) which is now over 2 years old. No issues with it, although I did smash the screen (£60 to replace) and I had to superglue the vibrate button back on the other day. Still works though!

It’s not as fast as the 4G I had for work, but I’ll hold onto it a bit longer until I have the money to burn on a 4G.

AppleCare wouldn’t cover things like dropping it in the sink, smashing the screen etc, but one “fault” repair and it has paid for itself. I haven’t bothered with AppleCare though. I’m trying to spend as little money as possible on it, and if it falls apart sufficiently, I’ve saved some money towards the replacement.

As above – the “rolling chassis” deals etc on the On-One site at the moment are quite good value if they are close to what you would build anyway. I have a S/S rigid Inbred that I built up with Pace forks for around £650 using a mix of fancy new and cheap used bits.

Also look at Genesis i0 (sometimes deals available on last year’s model, ex demo etc). Pipedream Sirius, Sanderson Soloist etc are nice, but a good deal more than the cheap as chips Inbred frame.

Cheers 13th. Noted!

Ha, admittedly not the most techy riding, but it’s a nice part of the world, with nice scenery, and not somewhere I don’t go too often.

Maybe I’ll take the SS to liven it up.

If it makes you feel better TheBrick, the other rides I’m pencilling in for next year will be more “interesting” trails.

I’ve got a nice wide 15t cog. I occasionally run a slim cog for other gearing, and can see where it has dug into the freehub.

I was swapping these bits onto the Specialized hubbed wheel I have on my wife’s bike, but discovered that my combination of wide cog and Fire Eye spacers set wouldn’t fit on that hub. I’d presumably need to mix and match a couple of sets of spacers, or try a different set of spacers to get the Spesh hub to work. No issues with my Mavic wheel though.

Thanks. That does sound like any interesting route 13thfloormonk, does that start along the private road towards the bothy by Ben Alder, but stay on the main track before the bothy turn off? Sounds like it might be one for another day!

Planning on doing it in May, so will take some basic lights, but would hopefully be close to Inverness by the time I need them (if at all). If I can average 8mph inc breaks, that would be 10hrs, so even accounting for faffing about, breaks etc, hopefully I could do it by sunset.

Flatfish – the train I was looking at to FW is the sleeper, which gets in at 10am. The advantage of doing it to from FW to Inverness is that you have the prevailing wind behind you (and a nice flat section to warm up!)

If you don’t think it does, just pop off a small part of one side of the tyre wall, and have a peek. I find it is easier to put sealant in this way too (the valve always seems to get clogged for me putting it in that way). If you only unseal a small part of one tyre wall, you should find it is fairly easy to get reinflated.

Leaving the bike still for a bit, and then spin the wheel round. If you listen carefully, you should be able to hear the sealant sloshing around.

32:16 should be okay for chainwrap, but you could try 32:17. If you can’t get a full link out, you could try a half link.

Can’t really see the chainline well from the photos. Couple of other suggestions though?

Can you get any more links out of the chain?

Can you try a different tensioner with a stronger spring?

What gearing are you running? If it is 32:14 for example, you would be better with 34:15 instead, which would give a similar gearing, but more chain wraparound.

You can’t do much without equipment tho.

How much would it cost to have a couple of gritters / snow ploughs kept in a shed somewhere?

I am sure that a number of people in the council have done a sterling job over the past few weeks. It does seem a bit ridiculous though that Central Scotland should grind to a halt on Monday. It was barely below freezing on Monday, and yet there was chaos across the city.

There wasn’t exactly biblical weather this week – there was one week of winter. Should that really merit having the army brought in to clear streets in Edinburgh?

Obviously none of us has the figures for expenditure, but I would be interested to see what the council is spending on reimbursing the army vs what they could have paid to have kept the streets clear with their own resources (had they been suitably resourced).

If CEC employed enough people to keep the pavements clear this last week, they’d be instantly bankrupt. In my very humble opinion, anyone who expects no disruption in the conditions we’ve just had is a cretin. Enough resources to deal with a week of the worst snow in 40 years means too much resources the other 2079 weeks.

I’m no suggesting that we should see no disruption, but given that Edinburgh council has not carried out much rubbish collection or road repairs for the last two weeks, presumably these employees could be redeployed of keeping streets clear?

Presumably you’d also like the tax levels of Denmark too?

My point was that if the council had employed the approach seen in Denmark, that might save them the hassle and expense of getting the army into clear ice from the pavement. No Danish taxation required.

Mind you, the tram system would probably pay for a few gritters and employees, but that’s a whole different thread.

but you would expect decisions like this to be made carefully

:mrgreen:

0mm at both ends on the S/S
100mm at both ends of the new race bike

I’d probably not have the balls to ride anything which needs more than 100mm travel.

Wouldn’t cost as much to clear if they cleared the snow before it turned to 3″ of solid ice. There are streets in town which are absolutely lethal yesterday and today.

I saw a clip online the other day of snow sweeping machines (like those little pavement road sweepers) they send round all of the bike lanes in Copenhagen while it is snowing. By running whenever it snows, the snow never gets to lie, and it doesn’t then have to be chipped away when it turns to solid ice a few days later.

If CEC actually employed enough people to constantly keep the roads and one side of the pavements clear, they could presumably save a packet in clear up costs (and the inevitable claims which are about to be submitted from people falling over!)

I don’t see that comment being anything other than a ‘jealously’ thing

I disagree. The poster didn’t say anything about not liking 4×4 drivers or cars, so there is no hint of jealousy there. It is correct that 4x4s are a fashion thing. Manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and Lexus all added big 4x4s to their range in the last ten years only because they thought they could market and sell them. For many (not all) 4×4 drivers, they like the image, and want to fit in with the other Mums on the school run.

There isn’t a problem with people owning an X5. Buy what you like. It doesn’t mean that I have to agree with your choice though, since for me, cars like the X5 are too big and unwieldy and impractical for what a lot of people use them for.

Don’t get me started on the X5 driver that cut me up on Monday on the M90 which was completely covered in snow. Some 4×4 drivers don’t do the rest any favours. :-)

+1 for Merlin. I occasionally use them for cheap bits for builds. As with On-One, they buy in lots of OEM part and sometimes sell them cheaply.

XT is cheaper at Merlin, and you get a further 10% off one you add to your basket too.

TBC are doing 15% off today if you follow their facebook or twitter posts.

Great minds:-

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203570210[/url] by pixelmix[/url], on Flickr

I took this on my spin up to Balerno and back on Sunday. There are a good number of trees down near Redhall Gardens too.

I know what you mean about the path being inches wide too – needed a bit of concentration! It was only narrowest between Juniper Green and Balerno – much more rideable after the bypass where it is a bit more trampled.

I’m hoping that the current thaw doesn’t lead to polished ice if it re-freezes. The WoL, Ferry Road Path etc or main roads are the most rideable places atm, since the pavements and side roads are lethal.
[Edit for image fail]

It does get busy at weekends where there is good snow, so get up early in the morning to beat the rush (and to ensure a space in the top car park if possible). Get your hire / tickets sorted the night before if you can.

I can recommend a nice modern, comfortable house on the north of Aviemore that we stayed in. Had room for 8 and a hot tub which was nice. You can do part weeks (we did a long weekend in February last year). Drop me an email if you want me to track down the details.

There is a reasonable hire place downstairs towards the north end of the main street which we used. You can get tickets there too, which saves queuing when up the hill.

If you are staying in Aviemore, the Cairngorm is okay for a pint/food, although we tend to use the Old Bridge Inn for decent food and nice pints.

Speak to Shelter. I know that they employ solicitors who will be able to pick apart errors in leases and improper service of notices etc, and may be able to drag things out for a few months.

Is it worth falling out with the landlord though? I would imagine that your good relations could be ruined if you try too hard to dispute getting turfed out, and I suspect your landlord could make your life difficult.

Well Giant did well to win the ‘bike of the year’ 2 years running with the beautiful Giant Anthem, I guess that said something.

Is STW all for On-One fanboys?

I have an Anthem but have a singlespeed On-One too. Am I allowed to stay to hang out with the fanboys please?

As above. 2010 is standard, but they changed it on 2011 models.

I’ve recently got a nice Giant Anthem. Not particularly exciting (I would rather have built something up myself if money wasn’t an issue), but it offered a decent spec for the price, ticks all of the required boxes for me, and gets good reviews. Not niche enough for STW, but a great bike.

I’m not sure that they are totally under the radar though – I think that they are just a bit under represented by the niche loving STW crowds. Are they not the biggest bike brand in the world or something?

Pfft, the riding’s lovely out there. I’ve just ridden a good 6 mile round trip and not fallen off once, not once I tell you! Think I’ll head out for a gentle ride/run tomorrow unless it looks like an ice rink. Will join you all another week once the your Dutch courage kicks in and you fancy getting the bike out.

We’ve decided to book our holiday next year instead, and have a decent meal out in January. Will probably get a few silly little things too for each other. Mrs PixelMix does silly presents well (as my Eggbeater thread from yesterday will confirm).

+1 Kennyp

Lovely conditions today and on Sunday. Blue skies, and no wind, so great for walking (or biking on suitable trails). Just can’t shift the snow/ice though. The road by us is about 3inches thick in well compacted ice now. Even some roads which are gritted are just a gritty/sandy combination as the grit isn’t effective enough.

Thanks Mark! She did mention that you were giving the tongue in cheek up-sell patter for the Eggbeater 11s. Working hard to earn yourself that Christmas bonus?

Omelette anyone?

She also got me a pair of these 10mins later:-
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IMG_0745[/url] by pixelmix[/url], on Flickr

Thanks to The Bike Chain for keeping her right. She was very complimentary about the service. I think her words were something along the lines of “If I was a biker…”. I wasn’t sure I wanted her to proceed with the rest of that sentence though, given the levels of testosterone in there.

Interesting drive this morning. Was heading up to Glenshee for a spot of snowboarding. Dry when I left the house, but the M90 was pretty white and traffic was only doing 30mph. Eventually decided to turn round at Kinross, although with hindsight, I should have pressed on had known it would be clear North of Perth.

Took 4 hours to get back to Trinity from Kinross, most of which was spent sitting on the A90 between the bridge and Barnton. It was fine to drive in, but presumably someone got stuck on a hill up ahead.

Queensferry Road etc looked crazy heading westbound, so I’d stay at home if possible folks. There are a few buses around, but certainly nowhere near a full service.

Extreme sports in the Pentlands? Crazy times.

Roseburn Path and Water of Leith were nice today on the singlespeed. I thought they would be a bit icier by now, but still plenty of grip, and well compacted.

Anyone got one of these tucked away in the shed, and fancy spending a few hours in the Pentlands?

3/4 baggies and 3/4 endura lycra tight things underneath for me too.

I do have some waterproof cycling trousers (Endura or something) but I find they are too warm after about 10 minutes of proper riding.

My mistake, I’m looking at Mull. :oops:

EDIT:- and I’m not falling for the Coll/Tiree nonsense.

Looks like there could be some dry trails on Skye and parts of the inner western isles. Shame I would have to spend about 3 days getting there from 200 miles away.

They do vary a bit though. I think M5 is the most common, but I’ve got slightly smaller bolts on one frame.

I’d go SS. Good chance your mech will get clogged up anyway. I’d go a bit lower on the gearing though.

I rode a CX race on my 26″ bike with those 1.35 Schwalbe CX tyres on Sunday with 32:15 (I had been riding 32:13 for the rest of the series). There was only a couple of cm of snow, but it was hard work on the uphill sections. I think if you are talking about 6″ snow, I’d go 32:18.

Thanks all. Pretty happy with the Joes setup I got from you before Mark, so I’ll stick with that. Assuming I can get the strip neatly off the other wheels, I will give it a shot later with one layer of electrical tape and try reusing my existing Joes strips.

Just checked and the strips I have at the moment (which I could potentially reuse) are Joes strips. I guess the same theory applies whether they are Stans or Joes though.