Go for it! Hang out with some other trials riders, get some tips. You’ll never know if you don’t try it.

It’s alright, you weren’t to know.

Rossi46 – you may not know it but that BMX rider committed suicide mainly as a result of the very serious injuries he sustained in that crash. Guys name was Colin Winklemann – an amazing rider famous in the 90’s, known for going for crazy gaps and huge tricks. They misjudged the closing speed of van/bike so he went way higher than expected. I was a big fan of him and the BMX community was gutted when he decided to end it all. That GIF is in very poor taste.

RIP Colin.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Winkelmann

Phone police. Log all the details, its up to them then.

A few inches another way and you may not have been around to post on here.

“Peterpoddy to the forum please”

Let him tell you what Quorn does to him…..

That’s nice service from CRC.

People used to come into the DIY store I used to manage and say “I bought this piece of garden furniture/mower etc for £x and now its £x-y, I want the difference” (it would be something they had already used for a few days normally).

My normal (joking tone of voice and if appropriate) reply would be “So if it goes up in price are we ok to send you a bill for the differnce then?”

They didn’t have a reply for that….

Errr doesn’t sound good, does it? I wouldn’t use them myself.

Unlike here, there’s a lot of people on Retrobike who live in far corners of the world, lots of collectors in Eastern Europe, Far East, Australia, Americas etc. Doesnt mean they are dodgy, but worth doing a few simple checks anyway.

I went into a large bike shop yesterday (which has a decent online presence) and the majority of the MTBs were 26″. Probably around 40-50 MTBs in the shop.

I’m in Yorkshire I’m afraid.
I’ve not seen many XS frames on eBay – a lot of S size. Make sure of the size before you bid!

They do seem to go for a fair bit second hand, keep their value well (not that I’ll ever sell ours!)

This is my wifes XS Specialized Vita:

My wife is 4’11”

She absolutely adores it – I bought it as a surprise one year and she has always found it very comfortable. All the finishing kit on it is as standard – Spesh saddles are so good for ladies, grips are great. Some people might say “you could have got xxxxx spec for the same price” but go for comfort on the bike above everything else. She’s not a very keen cyclist but has done 40-50 mile days on it with no problems (she’s not fit as she would admit). It isn’t a racy position either, just right (not stupidly upright but not stretched out either).

All I did was add mudguards and a rack.

I have heard that XS size Vita’s are quite rare so you’re unlikely to see one in a shop to try out….maybe a Specialized Concept would be worth a try though.

Should be able to do most makes as they are loads of shops round here I can choose from. Going to try some Trek/Bontrager stuff as heard good reports.

In my job I have access to the full YW sewer mapping software (I don’t work for YW and I can’t supply you with a map I’m afraid). It sounds like it will be your responsibility if its close to the house and no one else is discharging into the drain upstream of the leak.
As far as YW not knowing where these previously private sewers are – I’m not surprised! I have worked with them before and they have mapped some but there are tens of thousands of these private sewers which they suddenly were responsible for. The vast majority never have any problems so it isn’t an issue. When a problem does occur they sort it out and map it at the same time. It would cost far too much money to map everything and it isn’t necessary to be done if there aren’t any problems.

Charging a third seems reasonable. I would say to them I’m going to save a proportion of it for when they move out (for a deposit/business etc). But I would say If they were on time, every time, with the “payment” I’d give it all back with whatever interest it had gained. If they were late a lot id reduce the proportion. Would teach money management, the value of saving, keeping up with payments etc.

But what happens if you spend a few weeks with that car and you always have back ache? No matter what position you are in? Maybe you’d seek professional advice as to what the problem is, maybe as a result change the driving seat.

I don’t know anyone that’s done that.
Do you ?[/quote]

Yes.

If I owned my own car and had a problem with the seating position, I would certainly try different ones, starting with the top of range of that model which might give more support etc. But I’d probably get a feel for it before I bought the car anyway which would alleviate more problems.

As I drive a lot for work we are told that if we have any issues with pain in our lease cars we need to flag it up and if necessary get a workplace assessment to see if the position could be improved. Starting points would involve basic setup by a qualified person able to assess my pain and see where my “normal” position is wrong. I have colleagues who have custom made cushions to give more support. I would probably be able to change car if it were such as issue and it couldn’t be resolved easily.

Any responsible employer would do the same.

Anyway, back to bike fitting. Back in the day if you wanted a quality frame you went to your local frame builder, got measured up and he made a bike to your size. Nowadays its seen as a luxury to get a custom frame but surely that’s the way it should be done!!

I’m having a car fit next week as I’m not sure what position my seat or steering wheel should be or the seatbelt height….. Or perhaps I could just try adjusting it myself until it feels right for me.

But what happens if you spend a few weeks with that car and you always have back ache? No matter what position you are in? Maybe you’d seek professional advice as to what the problem is, maybe as a result change the driving seat. Same thing.

I think PP’s post should have closed this thread really..

If it didn’t the phone call did!! 😳 😀

I think some of the people above who are taking the mick out of bike fits don’t really get it. On a road bike you are in the same position for hours and hours, any slight problem in the set-up of your position is amplified so much more than on a MTB. Ok so you might stand up for a few seconds on an uphill but that’s it.

Also if you’ve never suffered pain which you just can’t seem to get rid of (becuase your position is wrong) then you’ll not see the £120 value, much in the same way that if you already think you are a MTB riding god then spending £180 on a skills session with Jedi/ukbikeskills will seem foolish. I’ve spent that money with Jedi and I can say it’s money very very well spent!

Red Bull are very protective over their image, there have been stories through the years about folk getting chastised……

Just type “Redbull Stickers” into Ebay. Sheets of stickers start from about 99p

You gotta laugh at that! Can’t stop the Bay…

Maybe buy a couple of cans and carefully cut out the logo/text and glue that to the helmet (bmx style one probably ok to do this). Ta da! Shiny metallic Red Bull plate!!

Stick with Deore – new 2014 are out now (m615). Not much different but the 2013 stocks are running low of m596.

I’m going with 203mm front and rear on my Pitch to replace the Avids I have now. No point in going to SLX or XT as far as I can see. (This discussed at length with Peterpoddy my brother who has tried them all now, he really rates the Deore models).

“Immoral earnings” can be pursued by POCA – proceeds of crime act. I can use it in my job – you have to prove that the illegal activity itself made money. In my work its generally dealing with waste illegally and making money from it. We have to prove (via seizing their paperwork and doing some sums) exactly how much was earnt during the illegal activity. The judge then says the guilty person has to repay the money he or she earnt or go to prison. Normally given 3 or 6 months to pay.

In SH’s case he didn’t earn any money from what he had been found guilty of so its a non starter.

Yeah I thought that too. The Spa ones look very good, and great price too.

I wonder why they stopped supplying them? Doesn’t give any clues really. Spa cycles are an age old shop, I would have thought their clientele would be perfect brooks customers. Weird.

I’ve already tried loads of different positions, changing things slightly each time. Still get various knee/neck/back pains. If I know my position is ok then its some other thing I need to look at, hence a bike fit could be money well spent if it cures the issues, if it doesn’t then I’ve got to look at something else.

I’m going to try a couple more slight adjustments before I hand over the cash.

I’ve had 2 on-ones and a planet-x, but not one currently.

The fact it doesn’t hold golf clubs would mean I’d choose the Merc though.

That and the other fact that it isn’t an Audi that is…

…. Knowing couriers inability to deliver stuff safely if be very wary of trusting them to package it properly too.

Maybe go and pick it up, ask them if they can meet you part of the way? Fuel cost is probably going to be similar to courier cost anyway.

We’ve successfully got places a third off the posted prices by emailing the company or owner and asking if there are any late booking deals. Got one place for £430 instead of £700, another £315 instead of £480. Might help that there is only 2 of us so its less to clean up (mucky kids!) but maybe more that they are glad to get some money rather than nothing. Always polite and don’t be demanding but doesn’t hurt to ask.

No I agree, it’s rubbish 😉

My wife and I like the mainstream comedy stuff. We don’t like crude stuff so a lot of the mainstream stuff we like. McCintyre (sp!!) is quite funny as well as a lot of the famous ones. Don’t care what someone looks like, if they make me laugh that’s job done for me.
Now this Miranda woman, oh my word is she bad. We used to watch Not Going Out – first series was ace with the American woman in it, she left and I didn’t think the replacement was as good but it was still good enough. However we stopped watching it as Miranda started in it and she was so bad I just couldn’t watch it anymore.
When she got her own show I kinda thought “maybe if she has her own show it might be ok, more tailored to her”. But I watched a bit of of and it was even worse.
I don’t think she would have been funny 30 years ago, she’s that bad. I just cannot understand how she has become famous. It defies belief. She unfunny and so annoying I want to jab sharp things in my ears so I can become deaf. Thankfully I can just change channel! But she is so bad even the ads for her show make me annoyed!

It was only 3/4 years ago that the prices in Cornwall were reasonable. Me and my wife used to go quite often as we could could go just before the kids summer holidays (we don’t have kids). We generally used to get somewhere nice with 2 bedrooms and a seaside location for between 300 and 400 a week. Now you’re looking at 600-700 for the same places.

I don’t know why they have rocketed so much – yes I know there was the credit crunch but surely there are people who have owned the places for years so why would it cause them a problem.

I know holidaying in the UK has become more popular so is it a case of the owners being greedy? Or have costs gone up loads?

The upshot is that we don’t go anymore. As has been said, the prices are now so much we can go elsewhere for the same price. Recently went to Pembrokeshire which is a little cheaper and that was ace.

OK, another situation, and I have actually done this too:
I used to own a VW camper. A few of us went to King of Concrete at Southsea skate park, then out on the lash. I slept in my camper at the side of the road in Southsea. Nice comfy bed, lovely. I had no intention at all of driving and actually hid the keys in the engine bay so I could be sure any cops wouldn’t find them if they thought I was going to drive.
Where do you stand on that?

Ahhh no problem there. I was with you, I could have said I was driving. 😀

I had a chat with someone in Crosstrax a while back when I was passing by when I was working. Nice little shop and whoever it was didn’t mind having a chat even though I wasn’t about to buy anything. If it was anywhere near where I lived I would be there a lot more!

Errrr, speechless!! I used to ride flat/street, its just ridiculous now!!

No bleed kit – do you need it?

Hmmm last ride I did was on:

26″ wheels
2.1 tyres
Tange prestige tubing
Rigid forks
Quill stem
600mm bars
V brakes
3×8

Passed a couple of guys on new bikes down a rocky downhill. They must have thought I was an alien from another planet. 😉

No.

Try ringing a Ford dealers and asking how long it would take them to get the part for you, you’ll know if the repairers are telling you porkies then.

The argument that roadies find off road hard doesn’t mean it’s as physically demanding. You need a decent amount of upper body strength on an MTB (most fit people I take out on an off road ride complain about aching shoulders) and be able to pull the bike in various directions quickly to tackle a trail. None of this you do on the road.
Roadies do have an unbelievable amount of fitness, at least the one who ride often and take it seriously. A good friend of mine does 1hr 25m TT’s, he’s only an amateur and does it for keeping fit and challenging himself but it is simply astonishing how fast and long he can go with barely any perceivable effort. It’s just unreal. I’m sure if he put the same effort into off-road and developed his body to cope he’d be amazing at that!!

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