is it a warehouse rave? if so: dungarees, t-shirt, pork-pie hat and glow sticks!

and definitely some LA Gear or Reebok pump high-tops

That kinda thing is so hard to detect but it’s almost always BB issues on new bikes. When the BBs are factory installed very little grease is used and they often are torqued up too much/too little. What will usually happen is water ingress in the frame will wash the small amount of crappy grease out. The dry BB threads will then bind against the threads in the shell, especially under heavy load and reverberate up through the frame.

Lots of good quality grease/copper slip (more so on steel frames) should solve it.

Thanks for the comments all, as I said, it’s often brown as opposed to shiney. It really deserves more love than I give it.

I’ve had Yetis for a few years – starting with a first gen 575, since then had a DJ and a 4X, although I’m now just down to the one, but when I wanted a CX bike I just couldn’t have bought anything else! (not even a Stigmata!)

That’ll be because my back has all the flexibility of a brick! 😀

The Mavics look lovely, but £70-£90 quid for a Gilet? really?

My Rear 240 (from EX1750 w/set) has been a stalwart the last 2 years. No sign of wear or play. I fitted the 36T star drive upgrade last year and the engagement is noticeably better than the pro2 in replaced (I think all 240’s come with this as standard now). I reckon I’d be on at least my 2nd set of bearings and freehub if I was still running the Pro2.

My LBS have the tool to remove the star ratchet (which is only needed to reach one incredibly well sealed bearing) but few others seem to. That aside, I would buy another one, should I ever need to!

Sean, speak to Neil and ask for Martin’s number, he’ll give you a proper, honest opinion on it.

Jono btw

Saracen Ariel if budget is a consideration? Having ridden one, was massively impressed, really grin inducing! Not sure if it’s available as a Frameset however.

Revelation Ti any day of the week. I would seriously not consider putting anything else on the front of my bike.

oh, except maybe a DT XMM 150. kinda makes the phrase above null and void. Rev purely for workhorse factor and can be serviced by a farm yard animal armed with only trotters and a turnip. DT is very well damped and super stiff, plus a bit of “not of the norm” penache.

My XTR (970) BB is still going strong after nearly 2 years. Oddly, my SRAM GXP cups from my rival chainset is still play free after 2 winters of commuting! (only thing from the groupset that isn’t dead tbh).

Had mixed experiences from Hope BB’s and would probably only stuff a King in if I was to buy a flashy after-market BB (purely based on other people’s experiences might I add).

+1 for Edge 500. Great bit of kit. Know roughly where I’m going so not concerned about the lack of on-the-fly mapping. Plus as I am making a concerted effort to get fit (first time ever) the added bonus that Garmin Connect and Base Camp bring are awesome.

As basic, wireless computers go, I’d recommend a Cateye Vectra Wireless. Doesn’t have an altimeter but it does do everything else you will need. Really small and tactile package (but with a larger display than most) and Cateye tend to have a decent reliability rep.

Dependant on whether you might want to travel out of town a bit, I use a Cranial Osteopath in Hitchin, Herts, a guy called David Kellett. He pretty much helped me to walk again after I dislocated my pelvis and smashed my knees in my early teens. He also teaches at the Royal College of Osteopathy so he knows his onions.

rkk01 – Member
3.0 TDI Quattro. Comfy car for motorway driving but thirsty for a diesel
I’d have thought the 3.0 V6 diesel wuld be a good option in that car – good bit of go

one would think that yes, wasn’t my choice unfortunately.

Kuco – Member
Yea my co-codamol says the same on front of the box.

I had a fortnight’s worth of those when I launched myself into a ditch and ruined my arm last spring. I was struggling to sleep such was the need to shit, proper wiped me out as well, felt like my limbs weren’t attached to my body.

We have an A5 Coupe Pool car at work, 3.0 TDI Quattro. Comfy car for motorway driving but thirsty for a diesel and as originally posted, it might as well not have the rear seats and the boot won’t even fit a 700C wheel in it (I’ve tried). Jag XF S has a better interior, more practical, imo better external styling and will give you change too. Like all German cars it’s going to need 10k’s worth of options to make it worthwhile too.

Altura Drylines are worth a look at. 2 sizes; 32L (pair) or 56L (pair). and come in an reasonable £79.99 and £89.99 respectively (again, pair). Pretty substantial “click-fix” mountings so easy to both secure and remove.

Used to sell them by the bucket load and never had any issues with them.

Errr, another one from Topeak? Mine’s survived being run over by a tractor, ruined my bloody tyre levers tho! were you using a “QR” type, or traditional straps?

To be honest, by the time the fees rise most of the protesting students would have graduated anyway!

They should have at least handed the baton to some ‘Big School’ pupils and let them have a bit of a ruck!

I thought as complete bikes go, the Cannondale Flash Carbon SI team replica was the title holder (16.8lbs complete in size med)?

IIRC, real word weight for frame, lefty carbon SL, Headset, SI stem, Hollowgram chainset (with XX spider and rings), ceramic BB30 BB and SI seatpost was sub 7lbs.

‘my ghetto’ you’re from a middle class, suburban breeding ground
This is called irony or sarcasm.

Not in the context I was referring to. ie the youth of today. Actually, that’s another phrase I’m not overly keen on

“If you’re going downstairs…..”

Which is the Mrs way of saying “I’d like a cup of tea”

+1 for “aks” too, I almost fly into a nerd rage when I hear that banded around by wannabe hoodrats.

Edit: Oh and “ghetto” too – in any context ie ‘ghetto tubeless’ (sorry, but your cut up innertubes are in no way related to a slum area often populated by those who society has deemed ‘undesirable’) or ‘my ghetto’ you’re from a middle class, suburban breeding ground, not **** Compton!

Pretty sure my lbs – Addiktion in St.Albans had one last time I was in. If you want to give em a ring – 01727 858841

to be perfectly honest, I really think it’s luck of the draw. We bought our new car last april (57 plate BMW 116i) and we paid £1100 upfront. My GF’s name was main policy holder, at the time she was 22 with 3 years no claims, I was named driver on a provisional license @ 24.

Just had a renewal come through and they’ve lopped £300 off it, rang round and in the end managed to save £425!, only thing we’ve done is drop our mileage right down (we moved closer to her office, so she walks and the car is no longer considered used for commuting as I ride) and we’ve got another years no claims (our provider offered no claims for named drivers). I just did the whole “I can get it cheaper elsewhere” line and it worked!

Going through a similar process at the moment with my Mrs. As far as I have been led to believe, you will have to pay Stamp Duty if you are/have been named on a mortgage previously. So unless it is solely in your partner’s name then I’m confident you will have to pay it. I also do not think you can have the property solely in one name if you are using combined earning on your mortgage application.

Going to be honest, why run a road mech when you could run a short cage X.7/9?

My rival groupo on my CX bike has been a steaming heap of turd, every single part bar the BB (odd I know) has given up on me over the winter at some point (rear mech rattled itself apart to the point that you wouldn’t even be able to use it as a ghetto tensioner), whereas I’ve been battering SRAM MTB groupos for years and they’re all still going strong.

depending on budget, I’d look at the Endura Humvee as a cheapish option. I’ve got a couple of the FS260 (road) jerseys for commuting on the cross bike and they’re great. Humvee is a tad less fitted, subtle styling and Cordura shoulder panels for the inevitable tumbles and at £35, a good buy in my eyes.

Sell used plastics machinery. Worked in the retail side of the cycle trade for 10 years prior (since becoming a saturday boy at 14) but figured that I needed to do something that gave me proper money for things and would give me my weekends back, having said that, I’ve never really had them!

Always having conflicts about whether I was right to give up a job I loved for a job that paid really well, don’t think I’m ever going to find an answer to that tbh, although the new job has given me a 20 mile, majority off-road commute by bike as opposed to a 5 minute walk down the road.

You might want to take a link out, and always best to replace pins/rivets when doing so in my eyes.

Best thing to do is pop it in smallest rings fore and aft, if the chain is tought, leave it, if it sags, shorten it.

@ titusrider, it can definitely be done.

We’ve shaved about £300 a month off our living costs in the last 6 months or so by making a few economies (mainly food stuffs and being savvy with “deals”) but still have enough luxuries to make sure we don’t feel like we’re missing out. Cutting out take-aways saved about £100 a month and a few inches off my waistline too!

My Mrs has become addicted to MSE and through some of the tips she has picked up we’ve cut our grocery costs (including cleaning stuff, bog roll etc) down to £25 a week (on average) and still eat well, so it can definitely be done.

Our Bills: Rent and all household related amenities, food, and commute costs (I ride, she walks) but we do own a car (BMW 116) of which £3k is financed, come in at roughly £1300 / month. We split this straight down the middle. Rent and council tax make up the bulk of this, but we do live in St. Albans which is not cheap by any means.

We both earn roughly the same as a basic, but I have commissions on top which can sometimes be more than my basic again (if I’ve worked hard!) but as we’re saving for a house deposit, any money left over at the end of the month goes into “the pot”

Where’s the Jones bar? Disappointed tbh! *jokes*

looking good tbh, I remember sticking 700C wheels on an old ridgeback of mine years back and getting some really odd looks, but now its all the rage!

@ waderider:

yes, they can be a drag at first. but look how many Cannondale innovations have been adopted as the “norm” over the years. Cannondale really are the kings of mainstream development in my eyes, and it’s not for making a quick buck; only a year after the introduction of BB30, ‘dale released the patents to allow it to be taken up by other brands and component manufacturers without having to pay licensing fees and it’s really beginning to gather pace now, especially in the road market.

As an engineering solution, the Lefty makes a huge amount of sense for the values the lefty was created for (light, stiff, better tracking)

+1 for FunkyDunc

A lot of Shimano mainstream products are made under license in Malaysia after all and they have a great, and thoroughly deserved, rep.

I know my Ibis and Yetis are made in a non-descript factory, but hell, at the end of the day, they work, they work well and there is plenty of change in my pocket from if they were made in the states/EU.

I’m insured through AXA/M&S. I had a bike stolen last year (Cannondale Capo of roughly £700 RRP) and although my premium has gone up slightly, they’re still offering the same level of cover (they were so helpful in my claim I would want to stay with them anyway). Perhaps it’s worth threatening to move providers and see if they change their tune?

I’ve looked at the stans tbh, but if they’re anything like their MTB tyres, they’ll last 5 minutes. Plus I’ve seen condoms with more grip than those!

I think I’m taken with the Conti CX plus, nice thick puncture belt too and tougher durometer rubber but I’ve had plenty of bad experiences with trying to run non-tubeless contis on stans converted wheels. My old speed kings leaked sealant through the sidewalls they were so thin.

I’m on my 3rd Cannondale now, and although I’ve had to warranty 2 of them, I would definitely buy another.

My first ‘dale was a 2008 F1, my first proper XC hardtail, and was a stunning bike to ride. I warrantied this for vanity’s sake as I was getting water ingress around the headset between the polished “raw” finish and the laquer. I upgraded this at the time to a Taurine SL (2010) which is an absolutely astounding frame to ride, far better a bike than I am at riding it! Had a small issue with the rear end of this one due to rear dropout alignment causing the wheel to slip in the dropout under heavy load. This was replaced no problems and is now unfortunately sitting in my garage waiting for the time to build it up again (I robbed a lot of parts for other projects) and to be honest I miss it a lot. Think it’s likely to be rebuilt as a SS summer project.