Cheers all – some good stuff there. Not thought about a hustler. Will also look into that 5 spot. Alpine would be great if I was going to have 2 bikes (lighter and more hard core), but as its going to be my only one I think it might be just a tad too much bike for me – would prefer to get my build around that magical 30lb mark with standard kit. (heckler was 32 with coil shock).

Erny – hows it been on a 5 after the heckler? Anything stand out as different?

Similar to you drapes – all individually many times, but never in one go. There are 3 key bits for me – short eroded rocky climb in the first section (just after an mx gate, before hitting forest drive for first time), last narrow eroded steep rocky bit near the top of the main climb, and that concrete slope. Have nailed all these in same ride a few times only to dab at a daft spot elsewhere. Ah well, not really too bothered by it, but would be nice to do, as well as a sub 1hr loop.

Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege, Nat West – All brands owned and operated by one company – RBS. The motor insurance is the same product across all these brands (and others who RBS also partner with like Lloyds, Virgin and Tesco), with pricing and benefits tweaked to capture different sectors of the market. As you pointed out, the Direct Line 'we're not on any comparison sites' is just brand positioning to appeal to a certain type of customer who are sceptical of these sites – RBS have got all their other brands on the comparison sites to capture those customer types too.

Jeez, 11.30 on a saturday night. I need to get a life.

I thought I'd be fine with just a hardtail instead of my heckler. I was wrong.

Sorry for the delay – ended up going for a pint aswell. Good news and bad. Good news first – yes, althought they are very much the church of specalised, the zero g / specialised store on park street have just this jacket in stock. Bad news is you either need to be tiny or a right bloater – small or xxl only i'm afraid. £69.99. Sure they'd be able to get one if you gave them a bell – 0117 929 7368. The bemmy store might have one in stock aswell. And they were very friendly in case anyone cares. Oh, and last time I used the bemmy store, within 15 minutes of me calling to check they had a headset in stock, they'd fitted the cups free of charge.

I'll pop into the zero g on park st at lunch time and have a look if they've got your jacket in.

No pix, talas 36

schmmmokin’

Just got back in from fast dusty trails in Leigh Woods – still no rain. However, looks like its going to p1ss it down Sat pm for all you bikefesters if metcheck is to be believed I’m afraid. Oh well, it will give all the out of towners an idea of what its like here most of the time 🙂 Please don’t mash up my trails too much…

To be fair its not quite as bad as phutphut makes out – Bristol trails can generally cope with a bit of rain / dampness, but do turn into a bit of a nightmare after a prolonged wet period. As said before, some places fair worse than others.

Report from Windmill Hill – Clouds thickening from the NW, but no rain as yet. Air cooling. Hope it holds off as I’m off up to Leigh Woods in an hour or so and will be sorely fecked off if my only chance to ride the recent dry trails is p1ssed on.

Why don’t you try an 18″ if there are loads about? At least you can then discount it if its too small. I’m slightly taller than you, and have sat on an 18 and thought it felt a pretty good fit. I do like more compact frames though, and don’t like ‘gates’.

I’ve got a 3 yr old and another on the way, so people saying ‘ones fine, its after 2 that it all changes’ doesn’t fill me with hope!

I don’t get out as much as I used to but am grateful for the 2 hrs local ride I get at some point most weekends. Also, I try to work from home one day a week and squeeze in a local ride then too. I work 15 mins from Cwmcarn (live in Bristol), and used to get evening rides in there after work, but now its a struggle as I’m needed home as my partner is usually knackered by 5pm. Get the odd longer trip out to go farther afield – afan, quantocks etc – buts its the exception rather than the rule. I mainly ride on my own as I grab opportunities to ride rather than plan regular rides. I’m also struggling to justify 2 mtbs, so probably going to go back down to one.

We’re talking about moving to cambridge from Bristol to (amongst other reasons) be nearer the inlaws and get some family support, but cambridge is obviouly sh1te for mtb’ing compared to Bristol (and probably the only city with a higher bike theft rate!). So as part of the ‘negotiations’ I’m getting regular days /weekends biking as we’ll have her folks gagging to look after the kid(s), so I’ll probably get better quality riding in, but less often.

And as has been said before, your partner and kids are your no.1, and should give you more happiness than riding a bike. If you’re going to resent them (not than anyone here seems to), you need to maybe re-think why you had a family, or don’t have them in the first place.

Oh, and running. 45 mins is a managable time out of the house and generally works you a lot more intensively than mtbing.

Ditto heckler and 36s

OK, not hated, but don’t get on with my 456. Just don’t get on with the geometry. Keep meaning to bung it on the classifieds.

Sat on a mates whyte 46 once – awful. Felt better after he got the ‘alpine link’ (exciting name for something that puts right a crap design)

I’ve had a xen for about 5 years, and found it pretty comfy. As its getting a bit old I’ve started thinking about a replacement – was going to replace it with another xen, then tried on my mates hex and it actually fitted better, even though its the same size. So what am I saying? Try a few on.

Oh, and I aint the fashion police, but the one you were wearing in the other post was truly shocking.

Your post just reminded me I was meaning to put mine up in the classifieds. I post here purely as a public service announcement – apologies if inappropriate 🙂

BNIB F&R SLX brakes for sale in classifieds

If you say your employed and you then have to claim and they discover you weren’t (you never know what the nature of the claim might be so they may check this fact), then your insurance will be invalid leaving you exposed to unlimited claims against you in the event of a claim for damage to cars, propert, people etc.

If you tell them the truth now, and your situation changes in the coming days / weeks / months, call them and tell them, and they should amend your premium to the revised rate, meaning you’ll only be paying the higher rate for as long as you’re not employed.

If you want a good price, try Lloyds TSB Compare – recently named best car insurance comparison site.

Posted a link to this place yesterday when someone asked about campsites. They also do lovely B&B rooms. 5 mins from Dolgellau, overlooking Barmouth bay. Stunning location and they are really nice folk who have done great stuff in the short time they’ve been there.

http://www.graigwen.co.uk

Graig Wen – wicked campsite just outside Dolgellau that allows fires etc. About 15 mins drive from CyB. Run by cool people too. Nuff said.

Guessing you probably don’t want to be told about how cheap they were at wiggle any more do you?

I just got f & r, bled, without rotors, for just under £50 an end from wiggle. They were £55 normally but if you buy each end separately rather than together you can use 2 of the £5 off over £50 codes. Just have to register on the site and follow some instructions to get the codes emailed.

Update – just checked so I could add a link to this post and they are now up to £78 for the front end, and can’t find the rear. Lucky me I suppose but not so lucky you I’m afraid. Tried Merlin?

Mistakes happen – judge them on how they deal with it.

Cheers all – also dropped them a mail as had exactly same issue. Lets hope he doesn’t get inundated.

I had a 18 – 135 after an 18 – 70 (wanted the extra reach). The 18 – 70 was a far better lense both in terms of construction and IQ. 18 – 135 was fine, just made me realise that the -70 was actually a great lense. No idea what the new -105 is like after an enforced move to canon.

Lloyds TSB Compare– Might be stating the bleeding obvious, but do a comparison to see if you can get it cheaper anywhere