I am glad I’m not a doctor at that surgery you are going to. Zero respect for them, slagging them off. You only have a cold or at worst flu which thy can’t treat anyway. Grow up.

Ooh, how many times have I wished DC would just snap and give EJ a proper kicking, shut him up.

I think EJ might win, he’s probably got that rabid terrier like fighting style (his hair like like it!!) and would play dirty but DC’s only move would be a headbutt and I’m not sure he could bend down that far. EJ would just nom on his gentlemans area like a beartrap and the fight would be over. 😉

I have watched F1 now for maybe nearly 30 years ish. Murray Walker was great because he loved F1. He was a very successful man in advertising and didn’t do it for the money, it was just because he had a passion for it. That always came out in his commentary which was exciting and fast. Not always 100% accurate but he knew his stuff all right.
I quite like Martin Brundle. Ok his voice maybe not exciting but he really knows his stuff and can get it accrues in a simple way anyone can understand. As far as him being a “mediocre” F1 driver, well he did ok and has raced countless types of cars with good success so is well placed to give a good drivers perspective.
Legard – didn’t dislike or like him, won’t be fussed about him leaving really.
I think Brundle needs to be paired with an exciting commentator, someone who will put the effort in and show the excitement. Coulthard might be ok but I think that pairing might end up being a bit dull. Now Coulthard and Jordan – that would be ACE! They’d be kicking off at every race!!
I think the pre race build up is good and reasonably interesting – sometimes better than the race itself (especially the non Europe race tracks – yawn apart from Brazil or Australia). I think Jake Humphries has been fantastic and controls Coulthard and Jordan like they are in a play group. Always good.
Maybe the big problem is that if the races are not exciting then the commentary will be a mirror of that. Who couldn’t get excited like Walker during the 80’s. Last season was great but if it turns dull again (let’s hope not) then there won’t be anything for the commentators to be excited about.

Now – touring cars and rallycross – they need to be brought back to BBC straight away – never a dull moment!!

FuzzyWuzzy – yes I chuckled at that too after I read my posts again!!

Oh I forgot to do an update to this.

I got the job… 😀

ah, the 6″ travel trail centre crowd
supertacky’s too I presume

ah, the moronic know it all forum dweller…..;-)

IMO the build kit on early Pitches was too light and XC-ish in the first place: Rims the same width as a 717, SPDs, triple rings? Naahh, sorry.

But if it’s your only bike it actually is quite a good spec. I don’t use the SPD’s as a personal preference, and if the BB was higher I’d put my big ring back on with a big bashguard. Still got the original rims on which are still straight despite several trips to Stainburn and the Peaks. They seem pretty strong to me and suit the tyres well.

A nice set of lighter but the same strength wheels and maybe tubeless would be great (don’t like tubeless myself). The finishing kit, while good, could be upgraded bit by bit with some choice lighter but same strength parts and the drivetrain can be lightened a fair bit as it wears out. Plenty of scope for some lightening as funds allow but still keeping it strong at the same time.

I’m not going to change my Pitch, my only bike, for a long time. I love it and it’s my only bike. I’ve no interest in putting freeride weight stuff on it as it’s only going to reduce it’s versatility.

but I am jealous of that park tools stand. want!

£50 at the Go Outdoors sale, I have literally waited 15 years to buy a workstand, within 2 minutes of using it I kicked myself for not buying one sooner!!

i dont worry about bling, its about function baby!

Hey, I got it to work perfectly for me first, now it’s PARTY TIME!

Well I think bling isn’t necessarily the most expensive parts. My Pitch Pro (brown anodised) is going the 70’s disco look – gold pedals, bashguard and I just got these Spank Royala bars and stem which (it says on the package) are 24ct gold plated – that’s bling!

Mamadirt – gold braided cables – where where WHERE??????
I need them more than oxygen. My Pitch is going full on 70’s disco as fast as possible – are they ok as gear cables??

I received some of the best customer service I have ever experienced in the Pudsey (Leeds) store yesterday, and as a ex-retail manager I really test it sometimes!! Both the lads on the bike section were amazing and the lass on the till (Tori) I honestly do not think could have done more. I made a point of writing on their service whiteboard they had in the entrance I was so impressed. If evans cycles had the same level of service they would dominate the cycle shop world.
Ok they don’t sell top end bits or bikes but they some good stuff and make an excuse to go again whenever I can.

TJ – yeah I know what you are saying, I just felt I was being forced into the 22 very early heading into a climb and it felt like it robbed speed. Also when I was riding rocky sections I liked the 32/32 combo as the chain was tighter and didn’t bounce around as much.
I don’t have a problem with lack of high gears – I love a fast fireroad thrash and have always felt I have enough gears.

It will depend on your riding style and where you ride. I would try the 32/22 first if you already have the chainrings and only change if you think you need those higher ratios. I spent a lot of cash getting a 36 setup with the ring and bashguard and it turned out to be not for me.

I know a lot of people go for the 36t option but I tried it and just didn’t get on with it. I was finding I had to drop down to the 22t ring early as the 36/32 was too high. As a result I ended up shifting between the big and small ring a lot. I bent 2 36t rings.
Went back to 32t and I stay in that a lot, much happier now

I live in W Yorks and tend to ride where there’s a lot of steep ups and downs. 36t may make more sense for me in flatter areas.

I got a Park workstand for £50 and 2 XT cassettes for £35 each. Not bad!!
Well chuffed with workstand, wanted one for ages. 😀

In store. Got the last one. Staff said it had been non stop since the second they opened and they’d sold a lot of the good stuff. I went to Pudsey store which is a very new one with a good bike section. Bike bit at Wakefield store is cack.

I got a Park bike workstand (PCS9?) for £50 and a Cateye Commuter computer for £25. £150 worth. Bonus!!

IIRC there is more space in the back end than the forks.
Uncle John is the way to go if you want bigger, but i reckon my Tricross would fit pretty big tyres in too.

A friend of mine had to sell his 850 T5R as the potholed roads round here were costing him loads in broken wheels and worn tyres. It had been modified to well over 300bhp and it was an auto too. We timed it at 6.3s to 60mph with 4 big blokes in it.
That did 12mpg. Gulp.

Gotta be P clips for the front, mounted halfway up the fork legs, with the guard stays shortened dramatically or bent artistically to fit.

I find the flat metal stays that a lot of pannier racks use cam be bent and twisted carefully to form many types of useful brackets. Used one to mount a full guard on an inbred once as well, that was with a chainstay bridge but the gap was huge.

BTW using just the rack as the other mounting point may result in the rear bit of guard flapping around a lot as you won’t have a mounting point for the entire rear half of guard. If you look at Thorn touring bikes they have a neat system where the guard stays are mounted to the rack. I think it’s a neat solution and one you may be able to replicate on your bike…

Do you have the guards yet? I have a full set (I think) of 26″ SKS guards spare at home somewhere.

If I was going to guess I’d say it would be crazy expensive by air, several hundred if not a thousand pounds at least. Shipping by, errr, a ship would work out much cheaper, so might be worth looking at as well.

Yeah but it doesn’t produce as stunning an image. 😉

I didn’t see an elephant, sorry.

In Huddersfield you say? Where on earth could you park it there? 😉

The stingers seem to still sell for a decent amount 2nd hand, at least 50% so I’d sell it and get a new one, might only cost £10 which I reckon is good to remove the faff and potential disaster of drilling.

If you need to look at alternatives a Skoda Fabia VRS is well worth a look. Fast and handle well and can be easily chipped to 170bhp and crazy torque. However they are a diesel. 🙁

Nothing like the punto in 100hp form. All the road tests liked it, fast and fun and much better made than fiats of old. EVO tested it and loved it. The only small issue is that the suspension is very hard, yes obviously it’s a sporty car of sorts but it has been said it is very hard riding. A longish test drive would test if that bothered you obviously.
A friend at work bought his wife one – he has a Jag S Type – and he used to pinch a drive in it when he could as he loved it.
I’d go for it!!

Blimey, you guys really need to get out more……. 😉

It’s more the riding up and along I’m bothered about. I have the lung capacity of a small newt after quite a serious bout of flu and non stop cold/cough for 5 weeks.

Sorry found it on HTN website but sounds like I’d be needing to keep up with a load of race whippets. Eeeek.

Hora what’s that then? Info?

To be fair Gisburn is a bit of a trek to get to if it’s going to be a mudfest.

Last time I went to Wharncliffe it was a muddy hell, don’t fancy going unless I get confirmation it’s a lot better, or better still we have a nice hot summer to dry it out!!!

Ooh I forgot about Stainburn. Been there a couple of times and will probably be well drained. Not too far away too.

Anyone?

Yeti got rave reviews in EVO magazine this year, they even tested it against a Lotus Evora at one point in the snow. Very useful, well made, great value and they said it was fantastic to drive, great engine and a total surprise as most cars of that type are just getting duller and duller.

You can sit around and have a laugh and save your holidays for better weather? Seems ok to me!!

Madmatt is right it doesn’t clamp around the seat tube it bolts onto 2 bolts. I’ve not had to replace mine yet so wasn’t aware you can just take apart a normal front mech. If this is the case then the size is completely irrelevant.
It’s quite a busy area around there on a Pitch and I would be very doubtful if a regular mech clamped around the seat tube would work at all – there must be a reason why they went the 2 bolt attachment method. It is very solid and easier to install though. 🙂

I did some work with a friend who had a high end carpet cleaning business. He had vacuum cleaners I had never heard of but he recommended them. Some sort of professional brand, looked lame but worked brilliantly. He said he wouldn’t touch one which didn’t have separately operated brush bar and suction motors. I think he had a Karcher professional one for home use but that might just have been the colour of it, it was a while ago. I asked him the price and it was still cheaper than a Dyson at the time.
We have a £80 Hoover bagless one which works brilliantly for our needs with a £12 extended replacement guarantee so they give us a new machine no quibble if anything breaks.