1 to 2 grand for fees searches, registrations etc, stamp duty, removal costs, insurances, a lot better than the USA when I sold a house costs are 6 to 10%!!!!

ours is a 1.6 16v and its fine, mind you I did test drive a couple of others and they were gutless, depends on how they have been looked after 'spose

Zafira – we have had ours for three years, very handy motor, ultra reliable, stowable 6th and 7th seat, and not such a big bus as the espace or the galaxy type vehicles.

Chill

As a regular local to both Dalbeattie and Mabie I would not be interested in tanking round the former to slog it round the latter. Personally I am pretty gooshed after clattering round Dalbeattie so I would just do the one and enjoy it, its not a race/ endurance test (or is it). 8O

Count me in for Dalbeattie. :-)

cheers

S

I had a geared on one for a couple of years and recently sold it and bought a 2nd hand 853 prince albert. I do prefer the PA to the on-one, I have much better longer travel forks on the 853 and its a bigger frame but I do prefer it for my style of riding. To me it does feel more "planted" and comfortable, but that could be due to the size/ forks/ geometry. If your budget is tight there is nothing wrong with the on-one and I did like mine, but if you can pay more I would be tempted by the PA.

Stick me down for the Sunday, Dalbeattie or Mabie but not both.

Not been biking much lately but I am to speed on curry and beer training so I will enter the carthorse on a bike group… :D

haven't read all of previous posts, looks like a lot of ranting.

I do sympathise with the OP – I have had a bad case of tyres not suiting the car, but before replacing them I tried everything to make them work, pressures, suspension getting checked out, camber, tracking, swapping wheels etc. But at the end of the day when the tyres were changed it was fixed.

As for not being able to spin whilst normal driving that is tosh. Touch wood hundreds of thousands of miles, 28 yrs of driving and not an accident I hit diesel on a wet road on a motorway slip road and I was out of control.

Bite the bullet and replace the tyres if you have a family spend a few hundred quid and the garage will surely do a deal.

Thomson layback, very strong but does give ever so slightly. IMO of course :-)

Ive got an XL 07 meta 4 and I really rate it. Good climbing bike and I find it very good for steep technical climbing, it just seems to dig in and get lots of traction.. Never have to touch the rear shock it just seems to work as set.

Only grumble would be the rear end is quite flexy ut you only feel it on fast sooth descents. I have put longer forks on it for descents, which knackers any warranty but the bike handles well.

yes those hot rocks are nice if a few more dollars more. I know about the kids choosing on colour for sure.

Theres a few options and some of those mentioned above are in the LBS's so a little trek around this weekend to see what the kids fancy and what prices they can haggle down too.

cheers all :-)

Looking to buy two bikes and from my other thread looking for advice the islabike route does look an interesting option. Are they really that different and is their marketing hype true about them being designed to suit kids with lightweight build and appropriate spaced gearing?

Kids are 9 and 11 and they had a shot on a mates kids 24" wheeled bike and it looked just right.

I reckon going to a 26" wheeled bike although it might save me money in the long run would be less enjoyable for the kids to cycle, especially off road. They can still chuck their 20" wheeled bikes around nicely off road but on the road they soon run out of gears.

Has this forum turned into the classified section or have I missed something??

Flippin hijackers..

Sympathise completely with your situation and glad you are ok. As said above 25mph on a bike along corstorphine high st is a fair old lick on a bike and driver could have cocked up his judgement. Being a cyclist and motorcyclist (and a BMW driver) I am always extremely cautious when travelling at high relative speed and I see a car sitting at a side st since there is a high chance of them pulling out.

I have also hit (been hit by) a car and I would say avoid it at all costs if you fall on the road chances are you will tumble a ways and that dissipates some energy if you go into a car it does not move much at all and it piggin hurts and can break bones/ skulls etc.

looks familiar :-)

guy in shop said a fair few people skip the 24" and go from the 20" to a small adult which then lasts longer. Not got any experience of doing this, no doubt someone will have an opinion.

Going straight to 26" would be a mistake there are too many kids wobbling around on bikes to bike for them, I got them to ride on a mates daughters 24" bike and it looked just fine. Thanks for the link to the Meridia.

Just picked up second hand SLX's from here and can highly recommend them, plenty power and I am 18+ st.

I just built a prince albert 853 and stuck a par of u turn revs on it. It is a far better ride than an on-one I had for the descents. You take a similar line but at speed it much more controllable and can be ridden faster on rough ground. So it makes sense to me.

Did you have an Alpine before?

Nope, why do you ask?

Specialized have a bad rep for low bb’s. I had a rockhopper and it was horrendous for pedal strikes. Moved to a Kona coiler and not a problem at all, now on commencal 4 and not an issue either.

Maybes its me thats the lump, and yes its an 853 – must take more time whilst writing.

Anyway I think I will be keeping it for a while. :-)

If you have an advantage on the rear I would stick one on the front, I have 2.1 front and rear and like it a lot. Would not go bigger than 2.1, advantages are much bigger than HR’s or minions at same size.

Here’s a thought, is it just coos that are the problem then, how about pork, chicken, fish and other non ruminants?

TJ

I can see your point but if said coos are getting reared on rough grazing theres not much other use for that vegatation. Also if that grass grows then decays into peat or whatever, does that not produce decay gases worthy of the term greenhouse gas?

Very very wet as said above, but, if you are into biking, hillwalking, sailing, skiing, climbing, fresh air, getting away from it all bound to be good.

Postscript Cavens good but no kids allowed, also if biking with kids blue at Dalbeattie or kirroughtree are very good.

Family walks at Mabie and dalbeattie also very good, chippie at Dalbeattie good.

The cocoa bean at tynholm is very good for a coffee and some young kid entertainment.

sandy hills beach

Rockcliffe rock pools

The ship inn for beer garden and pub food at kingholm quay dumfries

DG1 if its a rainy day

Gardens at Threave for a wander, Calzean castle for a full day out

Needs to let his tyre pressures down a bit ;-)

done, cheers

Nice birl round loch Morlich area if you are in aviemore.

Blue routes in 7 stanes are worth a visit for short fun rides.

Move to Scotland then :-)

Nearly five hours of riding yesterday in the dumfries and galloway hills (not the trail centres I hasten to add)and met one person.

Very peaceful.

A buggy no use for a newborn if I remember correctly, our two have 18months between them and the missus got quite a large pram with a forward facing seat on the front for the oldest one. It was a great tool for pushing the kids around and the oldest could sit up front and see where they are going. The baby could back at mum or dad and recent research shows this is a positive thing Not something you can easily stick in a boot though. I think it was mammas and papas??

Hi Trekster – still not fit for days out, might, just might, be up in Torridon this weekend anyway (with walking boots)….

df slipper, trekster speaks wise words about the durisdeer routes- may I say you would need to be extremely careful descending the grey mares tail path on a bike. If you fall to the right at certain points it is very likely you could die. Seriously. I was in the moffat rescue team for a short while and they had the unfortunate duty to take (dead) tourist walkers out of the gorge at the base of the waterfall. The hillside is very steep and it ends in a vertical drop onto rocks.

Otherwise enjoy :-)

Did Dalbeattie on Sunday after not doing it for a while and it was excellent, a fair bit of fire road but trails have eroded into a nice mix of rocky technical sections and we didnt meet a single rider all afternoon. The sun was shining, bluebells in flower, and the beech trees just coming out – nice. Plus the dalbeattie chippy is very good :)

i would take the advice above and leave the gap in the CV.

The CV’s objective is to get you an interview, that is its no.1 function.

Once in the interview it is likely they will ask why the gap in employment, this is an opportunity for you to explain that you did have health problems but you tackled them and got back to full fitness. What you must do is use it as a positive story to tell. Focus on what you learnt from it, what you now know that you didnt before and how you are now a stronger individual. You should rehearse this “story” as a two minute soundbite to explain the gap if you believe it is an area of concern for the interview. You are in that interview to sell your positive attributes and why you can make a difference to that company, do not tell lies or gloss over it will come through in your interview weakly, preparation is the key. Use a mate/ relative for a mock interview.

I would report it definitely, I dont have an issue with the police but I have had some rather frank discussions with them in the past when some arrogant young policeman tries bully tactics and talks like he has some additional power over you. Some of them dont realise they are actually civilians.

I was needing a new cassette anyway so I stuck a 34-11 on and the bike pedals pretty well & I can get it up the usual steep stuff with a bit more effort + you seem to get better range from the larger rings requiring less faffing with changing at the front.

I will have to pull out of this, sorry. Enjoy the ride.

Also – against the majority of the advice above – dont be dead against petrol, deisels for obvious reasons hold their price better and for certain cars you can pay a lot more for a diesel which means they are not always a good buy unless you plan on doing high mileage.

For sub £1000 i would steer clear of old French or italian motors. Some older german or japanese cars are a better bet IMO. Also if you know someone who knows cars better than you it worth well taking them along to have a look aroud the car, and take it for a test drive. At that price you will get more for your money buying private rather than going to back street auto dealers.