Have used an SMP Dynamic quite a bit and really like it. Find it good for the type of riding where I’m not moving around in the saddle too much. Long road riding, mtb without extended steep climbing, touring, that sort of thing. Basically, sitting in the intended position it is very comfortable, shuffle forward and it’s horrible (for me). Started a road crit with it once and almost thought I wouldn’t finish it was so uncomfortable sitting on the nose.

Tattoo translates as “vacuous” in Czech

Well that’s not true….

I don’t see how it can possibly claim to be the ultimate London bike without (it seems) provision for full length mudguards.

Ritchey p22 team for me please.

Tortoise – yes, turbo is your best bet – do a 20 minute ftp test while measuring at least hr (if not power). That’s a good place to start TT pacing, then depending on distance, course and experience you will develp a better feel of it from there. Finding that sort of 90% (ish) level of going really hard but not absolutely ‘balls out explode in a ball of flames in a minute’ hard is critical.

My first real moderately regular season of racing mostly road and track. Punctuated by bouts of injury and ennui it was nevertheless overall a success. Got 27 points all on the track, so seem to have avoided being upgraded to the 2s, which is a good thing as I’d be seriously out of my depth on the road there. Speaking of out of my depth – masters track worlds this week, gulp….

I don’t really remember it specifically because I grew up blasting through local bushland on a BMX, so I guess it’s when I first rode a 26″ mtb – borrowed from a neighbour. I remember being blown away by how easily it rolled and how fast you could go. I was probably 15, that’d make it ’91. I ended up buying that bike from him and it lasted until I bought my first proper mtb in 94 and started riding real singletrack when I went off to uni in Canberra. Feels like a bloody long time ago and a long way away….

If you are as tall as your name might suggest I can do you a killer deal on an XL Swift, and bits to make it whole if need be….

Quite partial to Singular myself ;-)

I’ve got a big roll of it here GT…. Got a couple more wheels to do myself but could spare a bit.

I have one but it’s painted in Singular Swift blue…

I have tried it but so far only on road tubs. Seems to provide a very solid bond and as above very straightforward to apply. Will be using it to stick on some CX tubs this week so will report back later… As with gluing anything, prep is key – you want to get the rim surface completely clean and glue it up in a clean environment. Wait until fully cured before using.

Of course, you don’t want them too well glued…

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I guess that was a pretty solid glue job!

A post shared by Singular Cycles (@singularcycles) on Jun 8, 2015 at 11:42am PDT

Yeah, I’m very much a ‘glue only’ guy historically, but I urge you to check out the Carogna tape – I am very impressed so far. Sticks at least as well as a good glue job and so much easier to use.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/effetto-mariposa-carogna-tape-the-end-of-tubular-glue-43879/

http://www.effettomariposa.eu/en/products/carogna-family/carogna/

Good point GT, tape always on the rim. Not sure what scruff is doing putting it on the tyre, never heard of that.

Fantastic – very jealous, though might struggle with 1000m sheer drops….

Petrol should remove the old residue pretty well. Peel the tape off first then you should just have a bit of sticky residue from the tape to remove it. Or the Effeto Mariposa glue remover is supposed to work well – haven’t used it but their Carogna tape is excellent.

I would say Donk’s suggestion is best, will also make for a shorter and straighter cable run which could give the rear brake half a chance of working.

maybe Richie’ll win something now !

Huh?

Back in my commuting days there was a wardrobe at work I could use and I’d store a couple of suits and pairs of shoes there and have shirts laundered near work. Was only around a pound a shirt for cleaning and ironing iirc. Then just need to carry socks and undies and good to go.

IMO those Opens are the nicest carbon mountain bikes on the market – lovely.

Just got back from a week on Tenerife, took my own bike and found my own routes which was not really difficult. Wish I was still there, but at least I’m carrying a serious tan in to winter….

Don’t worry, they’ve invented a new axle size to stamp out this sort of madness

Well, you just need to find a good bike manufacturer which doesn’t go in for that sort of pointless frippery… ;-)

……. 650b/27.5 sell well, so okay, lets smash them together and cash in.

………..

From an industry point of view, I imagine there’s probably some cost saving or potential for streamlining. If they could eliminate 26″ and 29″ and only leave 650b and 650b+ then they’d potentially have to make less variations of frame, fork, rim, spoke etc etc.

Except for the fact that the reasoning behind 27+ is exactly that it will fit in a lot of existing 29″ frames…

Watched it on the iplayer last night nd there was some great racing. Elite men’s race time was only 1.5 hrs though – what’s up with that? Admittedly I don’t follow pro xc racing very closely, but BITD world cup and world champs used to be around 2.5 hrs. All part of the push to make it more tv friendly?

AC/DC were the world’s most awesome rock band, until Bon Scot died… That said, Back in Black is a great song.

I used to think I had a decent sprint, since starting racing on the track I realised I don’t…. Where I do OK is repeated hard efforts above threshold, recover and do it again. My overall level is still pretty poor, but making progress.

I’m not bad on the ‘buying bike stuff’ front either…

Chainline is dependent on cranks and wheelset. The Rooster has 135mm symmetrical rear spacing and a 73mm wide shell. Any mountain crank designed for at least a double chainset should work, though I have had some feedback from some customers having issues with narrow Q cranks like White Industries.

Oh, and 2c on tub tape – I was previously in the ‘no way or cx’ camp but I recently mounted some tyres with the new Effeto Mariposa Carogna tape and it is a very reassuringly solid bond.

Oh, and 2c on tub tape – I was previously in the ‘no way for cx or mtb’ camp but I recently mounted some tyres with the new Effeto Mariposa Carogna tape and it is a very reassuringly solid bond.

If you like the skinwall look get Challenge clinchers. With latex tubes they ride very nicely and the only serious disadvantage over tubs is in very soft conditions you can’t run as low pressures. At the level it sounds like you are racing at clinchers will be absolutely fine.

Allowing such a massive gap only worsens the concertina effect and thus the traffic jam.

Looking like the weather could be a moot point…

Even in a non-parochial way, I hope it’s not a draw….

Zokes I always used to listen to ABC (broadcast) radio in Australia while watching the TV and the synchronisation was generally good.

The Acros stuff seemed behind the curve on mtbs when it was released, what, 3 years ago? With electronic now gaining even wider acceptance I don’t see a future for hydro shifting on the road.

Time to put TMS on and have just pictures on the telly.

Also 40 next year, I fear I may be due another after having my first one in my early 30s – started a bike company…

2.75 Surly Dirt Wizard?

First openly gay rugby (league) player? Just Ian Roberts, maybe 20 years ago?