I pretty much agree with the statement nationalism/patriotism is an outmoded and dangerous idea well I think I'd like to.

But when I go away and come back I cant help but feel the UK+Ireland are great.

I've decided 85 mm * 10 degrees is perfect for me but theres only 1 stem in this size

Hey Mick,

Do you have both the Bontrager Jones XR 29er 1.8 front and rear ?

Does the rear have more of a square profile ? Or are they both pretty round ?

I didn't argue middle lane hogging wasn't bad/dangerous.

I understand the cause and effect relationship however if you could isolate the techniques by making every driver on the road do either middle lane driving/tailgating I believe middle lane driving would be safer hence my statement.

"Middle lane driving is bad and exceedingly annoying but not as dangerous as other bad driving techniques such as speeding / tailgating."

Therefore I also believe this statement to be incorrect

"Middle lane 'hoggers' need to realise that they are just as dangerous as the bloke in the car behind you tailgating."

"If everybody stuck to a 70mph speed limit, a 75m stopping distance at 70mph, returned to the inside lane after overtaking and used their mirrors and indicators before changing lanes, then motorways would be a whole lot safer and traffic would move along a whole lot easier."

Im not arguing that point am I ? I agree with everything you've wrote there. Your not changing one variable at a time there are you.

However I dont see how that in any argues against this point.

"Middle lane driving is bad and exceedingly annoying but not as dangerous as other bad driving techniques such as speeding / tailgating."

Your best argument would be to say I have no data to back this is up which is true. But then you have no data to back this up

"Middle lane 'hoggers' need to realise that they are just as dangerous as the bloke in the car behind you tailgating."

So its opinion against against opinion and I disagree with yours

Oh yes Im meant to guess order of importance. Well one I wasnt arguing against traffic flow was I ?

Ok Safety
Joint First (im not sure to be honest)
1. Speed 1. Stopping Distance
3. Getting in the Right lane

Traffic Flow
1. Getting in the Right lane
2. Stopping Distance
3. Speed

You seems to be suggesting safety directly correlated with good traffic flow but I would disagree with this as queuing in a traffic jam is normally very safe.
Although I will agree that driving on a open road tends to be pretty safe as well so there not directly correlated I would not know what the relationship is.

No !!!!

"Middle lane 'hoggers' need to realise that they are just as dangerous as the bloke in the car behind you tailgating."

This is not right and is what I was trying to describe earlier and BadlyWiredDog also is trying to express the same thing and did a much better job.

If everyone drove like a middle lane driver the motorways would probably flow but extremely slowly and there would probably be few accidents.

However if everyone drove like one of those tailgating luns who insist on pulling in and out when there isnt any need, the motorways probably wouldnt flow at all because there would be so many accidents.

So what you've stated is wrong, middle lane driving is bad and exceedingly annoying but not as dangerous as other bad driving techniques such as speeding / tailgating.

With driving esp on the motorway there is obviously some compromise between safety and speed.

We could put the speed limit down to 40 mph and hour and there'd still be accidents or we could put it up to 100 mph and there'd be a whole lot more.

One thing is that people seem to think if they stick to the rules they'll magically be safe. People who want to drive fast get obsessed with the overtaking rule and think if every one stuck to their right lane they'd be no accidents while another group of people seem to think if they drive slowly they'll magically be safe.

Personally I do get annoyed with middle lane drivers but I also get annoying with them nobs who insist on over taking right on the bumper of the car in front with lights blazing and then pulling back in front of the car as soon as possible. These people think they are driving PROPERLY and then suggest other people shouldnt be on the road because there not confident in over taking.

What these people fail to see is if everyone on the motorway drove like this there would be far more accidents as everyone would be CONSTANTLY changing lanes and it would be very difficult to predict where everyone was going and you would often get the situation where the cars in the inside land and outside lane where both trying to move into the middle lane.

Now clearly the middle lane drivers are not driving correctly because there not concentrating on the road. However I can see if would be safe if everyone was constantly changing lanes also what does OVER TAKING mean ?

Presumably it means you are catching on the car on the inside lane of you. However I like to leave large spaces between me and the car in front so I wont pull in if Im still catching on the car in front and I judge the gap to be too small which is probably a lot larger than the OP. However everyones judgment is different.

Clearly I would agree is someone is in the middle lane and not closing on the car in front they need to pull in, but they might be closing just very slowly.

Personally I would prefer a few (very few) middle lane drivers than more idiots tailgating then overtaking and weaving from one lane to the other.

Again there has to be a compromise between safety and speed and every time you change lanes it has to increase the chance of a accident some what.

we all hate you

This is plain silly no one argues you should use a small frame for cross country racing as it lighter.

Surely different wheels will fit different riders and terrain.

I kinda agree with PP.

I sometimes find it hard to sleep during the day. Id much rather sleep during the night.

So why not start the party earlier ?

I quite like going out drinking during the day when the suns shining.

Admittedly I've had some great nights when I've come home at dawn but It totally messes your sleep patterns up.

I would imagine hes talking about a rigid fork so it would depend on how long the fork is. I would imagine anything over 430mm + should be ok

You could not fit a 29" in a normal suspension fork.

I would say wealth come from work

and work = force * displacement

Well kind of people doing work creates wealth

true but where are you suggesting in north staffs ?

The only train stations near the A50 is uttoxeter not very good for getting to Bham.

Unless you mean east staffs ie Burton.

Hmm not sure I particularly agree with the north staff /A50 corridor comment.

Not as good trains to Bham away and from the motorway network

Also away from trains down to London unless you drive first.

On the plus side is close to the peaks.

Also as one person is from the lakes and one from oxford shire I would imagine they want to be near M6(toll)/M40/M42

South Staffs is good.

Trains into Bham,

If in Lichfield/Tamworth also very quick trains to London

Riding Cannock Chase, hopwas woods etc

Peak district driveable

Lichfield is the nicest place but also the most expensive but your'll probably still get a place cheaper than Kent

Also where ever you are your'll with in a mile of the station.

Tamworth not so nice but MUCH quicker trains to Brum and more trains to London

There is countryside but not basically a farming area but peaks not to far away also driving isnt a complete nightmare like it is in the south east

There are definitely times where I would stand on a hardtail and power up short slopes and I want to on my full suss.

But I dont because extra power is need because the suspension absorbs some of my energy.

To be honest this only really makes a difference when Im tired and my knees are hurting.

If your the sort of person who tends to sit through everything anyway I cant see you'd need to change your style as full susses tend to be more set up for this in fact Id imagine it will be easier.

As for picking your lines again it depends what hard tail / full suss your going from.

To be honest I think theres more of a difference in the type of tires you use.

If I have going from a fat full suss with massive tyres to a skinny hard tail on race tyres I'd definitely pick my lines more carefully.

Great VFH.

The mudguards look nice on it and even that funny curvey bit near the seatpost looks cool.

But I dont think there much better way to describe the cockpit as than an abomination.

I dont normally read fiction books but we got this at the airport last time

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/jan/06/featuresreviews.guardianreview26

Is very readable.

however I thought this book was great but a bit dry

Also I'd recommend this very very readable

Guns Germs and Steel – Jared Dymond
Origins of the British – Stephen Oppenheimer

My GF has quite small hands. Recently I changed the brakes to hydraulics avid 3's.

I dont find the problem is reach, you can set the so levers are very far in.

But the problem that you have to make sure the brakes are very well bleed or the lever can come too close to the bars.

If the brakes are very poorly bled it may even touch the bar before the brake is fully actuated.

I had Avid BB7 160mm on before which obviously didnt have this problems but she tended to lock the rear wheel out all the time as she is so light.

"I swapped continents, and by default countries to be with my then g.f."

What if you'd moved from Sinai to Cario ? Then you'd have moved from Asia to Africa with out moving continent.

Or Istanbul to Ankara, Europe to Asia ?

North Azerbaijan to South Azerbaijan again Europe to Asia.
New York to Hawaii. North America to Oceania/Australasia.
Java to Irian Jaya. Asia to Oceania/Australasia.

what??? I didnt understand a word of that

I hear that almost constant food poisoning is another good way.

Basically after going to the shop you want to leave half the meat you brought out in the sun.

That way you should be able to alternate between good and bad food. This should allow you to have food poisoning enough to lose weight but not enough to kill you.

Time for me to have an opinion.

I’ve lived in London(Big City) for 4.5 years now. Before that I lived in Reading (Large Town) went to uni there for 7 years and before that I lived in Lichfield(Small Town) staffs till I was 18.

I loved living in Lichfield its pretty, tidy lots of countryside etc etc ..
But there were things I wanted it didnt have ie Cinema, lots of shops a decent train service.

When I went to Reading (PS whatever anybody says on here life as a student in Reading is great) I realised it did have a lot of things that lichfield doesnt.

Ie Shops, Cinema, Rileys Pool, Lots of young people, decent public transport, lots of clubs bars pubs.

I then moved to London partly cos I actually got offered a job there and partly because my now wife had moved there.

However I dont feel it has anymore advantages than Reading. Although everyone previously has been saying how convenient London is I say the opposite.

Whenever you want to go somewhere you basically cant walk as its too far so you have to use the tube/bus. People who you meet at work/hobbies in invariably live miles away. If you want to use a car you have to think carefully about when to use it as the traffic is so bad. Its also very very dirty or a least wandsworth borough is.

What more does London have to offer than Reading ???

I dont know I went to the theatre once it was ok but much more expensive than going to the cinema. Call me a philistine I probably am.

It does have lots of clubs,bars pubs but frankly there all much the same to me once Im in one I could be in Reading, Barcelona anywhere. Museums again there the sort of thing I visit a couple of times a year I dont need to be near them. Im far more likely to visit a National Trust property on a Sunday afternoon and and theres plenty of them round the country.

So basically for me London offers no more advantages than a large town. Its only offers disadvantages expect for one very crucial exception my Job is here thats about it.

Theres a guy in my office just like you Rudeboy, he goes on about the vibe, theres something special about London, its where everything is happening etc. But I just dont get it and I definitely dont feel it.

the pig that knows its dinner

I can see the argument for using Epping forest as it is actually in London (the M25)

However if their going to have it Near London then why Essex ?

There are two areas that are hilly near London ie North Downs and Chilterns.

The problem with the north downs is its full of Nimby so maybe thats why they didnt try.

I’d say the opposite is true.

It can often be a nightmare getting out of london in the car (and back in). Sometimes the car feels like a prison you drive it down the road and suddenly your stuck in traffic and you just cant get out.

Like some of the others have said make sure you live near a train station and get the train out.

I’d recommend clapham junction plenty of trains to north downs, swinley.

sorry no I’d never sell the frame then

well Im hoping I am selling it with the front

I have actually cleaned it for these pictures if you lot are really that interested I can email you some pictures of it dirty if you really want.

Im not sure what you expect its a 7 year old frame its strached.

It is in the classified isnt it ?

Cheers for your opinion on the frame I’ll have to look out for stuff your selling and comment on it too.

cool :)

Personally the first time I did a half marathon the longest run I did before hand was 10miles I managed 1:58 or something.

However I think if I had nt done that 10 mile run it would have been a lot less enjoyable.

The last time I managed to fit in three 9 mile runs before hand and got 1:45.

both router + windows firewall

Seeing as rich/poor is a distribution across the human species how can one species be richer than another ?

I would define rich as some one who has a large amount of labour available to them selves.

Ie their labour and others labour though there money and maybe their ancestors labour though inheritance and access to modern technology.

Therefore I would also define the richest animal as the one who has the most labour available to them.

So something like the head of a lion pride or the alpha male in a wolf pack.
So much the same as with humans.

flipping how far away are your shifters from you grips ?

Do you have really massive hands ? Or do you never change gear

Personally I’d take the shifter windows off and move them in board if you want your brakes that far out.

you’d have been on virgin train not great western at least to the midlands.

yeah though that,

what I really want to know is how much room is there on great western trains ? if theres more than a couple of other bikes am I going to be in trouble ?

yes i do, you need to remove the indicator windows

I was thinking about £2000 tops.

Yeah Im not worried about speed, I was just wondering if there were other major disadvantages to having an estate.

I’ve been driving the uni MTB club about in the minibus and took the bikes to this years BUCS in a little transit van and just thought how much easier it would be with a large car.

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&um=1&sa=1&q=swinley+map+GPS&btnG=Search+Images&aq=f&oq=