Cannondale CAAD9?

Continental GP4000 four seasons come in 28mm. I’ve had some 23mm for ages and not had a puncture yet.

I’m already the slowest downhill!

Decide what the rules are before the cutie arrives and stick to them without exception and make sure the whole family is consistent.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

I’ve had a wool jersey from rapha clearance and it is really nice, so keep an eye on the sales.

I also got a Torm jersey, baselayer and arm warmers as a bundle at some bike show and have been very pleased with their quality.

Some options:
Montane photon in yellow for £99 at sportsshoes.com (nicer colours are more expensive)
Pace 3×3 event also £99
Endura helium can be had for about £85

Torm.cc for some wool jerseys.

I would get a Cannondale Caad8 105 from my LBS for that money or the Caad10 105 if I could stretch to a bit more. Great bike and LBS back up.

Planet X pro carbon with sram rival was on offer at £999 at the weekend.

Mary bars on special, so will try some of those.

Changing shifters and brake would be a bit expensive.

Cheers guys.

Can I get shifters on H bars?

Review here might be of use
http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/reviews/pdf/MBR_5_test_0207.pdf

Also have a look at the Salsa Spearfish. Still a pretty capable bike.

I’m 6ft exactly, with long legs, short body and have an 18″.

16 is too small I’m afraid.

Thanks guys, will look at Sideways.

Surly pacer? It’s in budget and a road frame rather than touring like the LHT. Got a good review on bikeradar. Ison dist. have these and other steel frames.
Or a Soma smoothie?

I’ll post the results up for you and try to work out how to do pics too.

Twelveski, we got a dog from Battersea recently, that looks very, very similar to yours and is more or less the same age! I can’t post photos, but we have sent her DNA off for analysis, so should have her mixture mapped out in a couple of weeks. She is a great dog, very calm, friendly and affectionate.
Did you get her from the Old Windsor home or London?

My kids were OK, my nieces were a nightmare. They refused the bottle, but it had to be done as Mum was returning to work. In the end this is what worked. Send Mum away for the night to avoid upset, get lots of coffee, get prepared for a long night and keep trying. Eventually they will take the bottle. Once they’ve done this once or twice, you’ve done it and they’ll be fine.

Check the classifieds for the guy sellling the mountain hardwear kit and give him an email. He’s selling a load of kit including sleeping bags. I got a down bag from him a few months ago in the long size (also 6 foot) and it’s great. He might have something similar.

I also park near Bagshot church and have never had problems.

Details and price for your bag Amit.

Thanks

Thanks everyone, some really useful tips.

That was quick! Thanks. I can get the venom for about £80 is the alpkit skyehigh worth the extra?

As portability is not an issue, I would go big. We’re a family of four and got a eurohike Buckingham 8 very cheap in the sales last year (£90, down from £400). The kids have a two man pod each at one end, and Mum and Dad have the four man pod at the other, giving us all lots of room for kit. There is also a living area in the middle for seating and it is tall enough to stand in. Given the weather a living area is really useful. There are loads of deals around at the moment, but I would recommend going large for a family holiday!

How do you undo the sram 10spd links? They are so tight!

I run time atacs on mountain and road bikes. Obviously some mtb shoes aren’t as stiff as they are designed to be walked in on occasion, but I bought a pair of nice, stiff mtb race shoes (specialized pro 2nd hand) rather than a cheaper pair of each type. I’ve not had any hot spots or other problems on long road rides and can walk around in cafes etc more easily!

Yes. I guess about half the staff here did, but it is a real mix.

Longer hols, housing in some cases, great food, nice kids and colleagues, discount on fees if you have kids, nice working environment, facilities and good support from management. All the staff are also involved in sports and activities of some kind and I really enjoy this. I’m involved in canoeing, cycling and DofE. School trips are also great, I’m off to Snowdonia in a couple of weeks for Gold DofE, then a bike tour (road) at the start of the holidays and a trip to Iceland at the end of August. There is a bike tour every year, last year the boys did LEJOG, which was a great trip (sadly I only did a few days due to family commitments).

I don’t usually bite, but am going to this time.

I became a teacher at 35ish after 10 years in the public and private sectors. The change has been great and it was right for me, but I simply work harder now than in any previous job. It seems that people in most jobs work really hard these days, but there seem to be some grossly ignorant generalisations about the life of a teacher. I’m not having a moan as I’m really happy, but teachers work hard too!

I’m in a private school now (again my choice), but I’m at school for these hours;
8am to 7pm Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri;
8am – 10pm Thurs (just about to do my boarding duty now);
8am-1pm on Saturdays.
Once home I usually work 1 hour each evening (marking etc) and a couple of hours on a Sunday. So I’m in school for a minimum of 65 hours per week and do about another 6 hours of work at home.
In addition, there is typically a further evening event at least once per week and I’m away on trips about 10 weekends of the year. I do get lovely long holidays, but guess I work 1-2 days a week on average out of term. Sure there are other people that work longer hours, but I do feel that I’m earning my pay.

As for the money, well I’m happy with it, but all my class mates from Uni earn more, some of them much, much more.

And for richwales, the GCSE and A level courses change with surprising frequency. I don’t think that I’ve had a year in teaching without some kind of change, so the planning doesn’t go away, you just get better at it.

Right, I’m off to the boarding house now to try and write some reports while getting 40 teenage boys to do their homework. Happy days!

Thanks, just got some new tyres for the road bike!

CT non-irons here too. They are 4 for £100 at the moment on the website.

This site is great for seeing the effects of changing stem length, angles and numbers of spacers on height and reach:

http://alex.phred.org/stemchart/Default.aspx

At the other end of the market, I got a Vango Banshee 200 for about £80 and it has been great. Under 2kgs and it packs down quite small. Of course it isn’t as good as more expensive tents, but I have been quite pleased with it for 3 season camping. However, I must say that it would be quite a squeeze with two adults in it. I have used it as a one man or with my 9 year old son.

Not so intelligent design:
The human appendix
Hind leg bones in whales
The laryngeal nerve in giraffes
Nipples on men

Are these just cock-ups or deliberately daft? Either way, sack the design team.

I’ve tried a few and ended up sticking with Michelin Krylion Carbon all year round. Cheapish (£22 from CRC), durable and almost as grippy and quick as the pro race 3.

Salsa vaya or fargo.