Had them as standard on Northwaves – will leave them in – but not bothered either way

Good Troll – brought me into the thread to have a rant about brakes vs breaks and left me nothing to work with. Enjoy your brake ;)

Scruff – Chase Swinnos is where I got mine £30ish with 10% off in their sale

Help us out – where in the world are you now?

Used Dropbox which works well – other possible option is Rapidshare

It's either a long red light or a long red bright strobe. I've not had a good look from a distance but I think it's brighter and more noticable than my Blackburn mars light

Lichfield is a pretty decent city and probably the best of the local cities and towns. If you want more rural then there's some nice villages. Altenative might brum suburb like Sutton Coldfield. Depends what you want really.

erm – Lichfield is pretty nice! Easy drive or even ride to Cannock Chase which is a great big MTB playground.

Unless anyone from Highways comes along and correct me then my understanding is that it all comes from the council's budget. Cost is obviously not just grit but labour, diesel, increased maintenance and everything else involved. Most council areas cover hundreds of miles of roads. Gritting anything much beyond main routes isn't financially or operationally viable.

oh and obviously MTFU ;)

I've read that the stiffness of Pikes transmits more torque to headtubes. Will leave it to those that know more to confirm or poo poo that

You only need mariokart to be honest!

A better shock is the obvious answer just hoped that it would be something he could replace due to wear and tear – not plain bust after 2 hrs riding! Bit of a throater to fail immediately and takes the shine off the new bike a bit

He'll be talking to Wiggle tomorrow. Must admit I've never had a full susser so couldn't give him much advice. 'common sense' (in my mind, and from the position of no real knowledge) would suggest that a metal spring might support his weight better than a can of air – possibly operating at the extreme of its operating range.

Hopefully Wiggle will replace the shock and all will be well.

More power to you mate. Saw something you liked, saved up, bought it built it and I hope you're now enjoying it. There's a strange mentality on here – perhaps jealousy – that seems to prevail when people choose to spend their money 'differently'. Comes up on what watch and what hi-fi threads too and a Jones frame seems to bring 'em out as well. I'd love to have a ride on one. Hope you enjoy riding it and owning it. I'd imagine the grin as you walk into the garage brings real pleasure too.

I've got Candy's on 2 bikes – commuter and MTB. There's obviously more platform than a plain eggbeater but still not much. If you want more then it would be worth looking at Mallets. Plenty of people seem to slag off crank bros pedals but I find them fine.

You might have said but I missed it but most important thing is it fits in your car. Most of these things are surprisingly cumbersome and big even when folded. Make sure you test that before you buy. We bought bugaboo chameleon. As you said stupidly expensive – though we got a deal inc. Maxi cosi car seat online – but actually IMHO worth the cash

I used to MTFU and rode in all weathers in inappropriate clothing. Got proper stuff now and my enjoyment of riding has improved massively

"But it is a stupid levy."

that's what I was getting it, it's a tax on the stupid. Until we are allowed to go around to Fred Goodwin's house, turn him upside down and shake the loose change out of his pockets then taxes on the stupid are going to be the best option for fixing the country's finances

I find it hard to get excited about this one. Getting caught speeding is pretty discretionary behaviour. Taking money off people who get caught for motoring offences saves them taking so much from me in other ways!

Mate has B&w Zeppelin – which he rates. Think they do a small version now but probably still pricey. The JBL stuff always looks good. Other interesting thing I've seen is a plexi glass 'dock' which amplifies sound. Obviously only useful if you have iPhone with built in speaker. Can't remember make though could be Belkin?

CISS kit from buytech has saved our Epson printer from landfill. Found it ruinously expensive to put genuine or even compatible cartridges in it. Look into the CISS kits incl. fitting instructions on YouTube. Well worth it

I try to avoid the commute using road SPDs for all the reasons above. Carbon sole of shoe slides around when you stop
at junctions. Trying to clip in when setting off is a bit of a PITA. Great when you're actually riding though!

Must admit that it grips my sht a bit to see people trundling along a quiet motorway in the middle lane. If we still had traffic police then they could have a word.

I had a test drive of an octy and really liked it but timing wasn't right for me to buy it. I'd try to look around for one with the leather interior as the half grey/half black seats looked dreadful and didn't look like they'd wear well at all.

Great to hear that Oakley service is still great. Oakley got bought a while back and I feared service might suffer. One of the few companies that are great to deal with. Glasses are expensive but I reckon quality of optics and product backed up by customer service justifies it

I had an issue with my ipod touch with synching – I think Apple had rewritten a USB driver which just killed it. I looked long and hard for an itunes replacement and never really found anything that seemed as though it would work properly. Have you tried all of the various 'factory' resets you can do? Have you tried using a different USB socket?

My preference would be vertical dropouts with an EBB. Find track ends a bit of a PITA to take wheel out for punctures or to put bike in car

Mystery shop a few well regarded LBS and get an impression on what it is they're doing well. Also, didn't notice it in posts above, do whatever is required to be a cycle to work scheme stockist. Then see if there's links to be made with large local employers- council, unis, hospitals etc. LBS near where I work does bike checks during 'travel to work' differently week and the like. You don't just need the right 'offer' you need to get the customers

Humax 9200 has been great but getting the same problem now as convert – especially when trying to use series link.

I'm vaguely thinking of replacing it either with Foxsat PVR to get HD or with whatever Humax freeview HD pvr they bring out.

Those are cool – interested in a pair

Can I have a copy of the Phaon manual as well please?

jimshorts72 AT Googlemail.com

Thanks

I've now emailed different chaps at Sabbath twice with queries regarding getting one of their bikes on C2w scheme. Maybe they think I'm taking the pss but had nothing back at all. Have to call I guess.

We suffered with mouldy washing machine seal. Googling suggested that it was related to washing at lower temperatures. We now do one hot wash each month with just powder in – no washing – seems to have cured it

I may have had something similar a few months ago. 35 minutes through a games of squash and felt like I'd been punched hard or been hit with the ball on my calf. My Internet assisted diagnosis was a torn gastroc muscle. I knew I wasn't going to run it off. Went to doc but pretty worthless. Had physio through work which was excellent. She explained what I'd done, gave massage to prevent haematoma (clotting in the muscle) and some ultrasound. Was biking again after a month or so but haven't run properly and it's been about 3 months

I'd probably lube up the stainless EBB and 'sympathetically' wind it in. Wind it in a half turn then quarter out, then in a half turn etc – as if I were tapping a new thread. Wind it right out every now and again and have a look to see if anything's going awry.

I can recommend Salsa Moto-bars – nice flat, swept and wide and next year you can cut them down to 400mm ;-)

Fashion – Turn to the left
Fashion – Turn to the right
We are the goon squad
And we're coming to town
Beep-beep – Beep-beep

I had a dreadful ride on the Rourke Cat and Fiddle ride this year using Sealskinz – got water down inside them and they held the cold water next to my feet all the way around. Wouldn't use them again.

Copy of Texas chainsaw massacre on DVD for one lucky lady in our office last year

We each have own accounts and then when both working each put money into that account for house, food and bills.