So you are after a realistic profit margin for a mass-produced zero-emission jet-ski?

You'll be lucky if they let you in the car.

I went in to my local VW dealer and asked for a test drive. The guy said "how do I know you are actually going to buy a car off me? I might be wasting my time". It turns out he was. Still, I got his card for when they ring me about one of the 11 other vehicles we've got out of the same place.

I just don't get why you would buy one new. Most of them are second cars, you can get a nice tidy low-miler and sell it for close to what you paid.

Its the Exige that gets me, stunning.

Try and go out with a vague plan for timeline/employment/funding. Even if its just to bum all summer and ride your bike then look for work in the interseason, at least you will budget accordingly. Work-life balance is still a big factor out there, it is tricky to get decent money and still have free time to enjoy the mountains. Most people either stick in low paid jobs, put up with long hours working for somebody else, or go out on their own and work like crazy people for a couple of years before things settle down.

Yep, crown race is there, not a split version. It fits together and functions fine, obviously the bearings aren't going to last long with a big gap leaving them open to the elements.

Affordable if you are a late middle-aged old biffer who has always wanted "something for the weekend" and have more money than sense.

Thirty grand for something that is going to get driven about 2500 miles a year and depreciate like its been dropped off a cliff.

I have the same headset from CRC. I spoke to them and was told that mine wasn't "missing" seals because "our stock are all like that", ha ha ha. From the exploded diagram the missing part number is MS090, if you Google Shop for this, you get UK Bike Store stocking them for 99p. I have ordered a pair, will update the thread if they actually appear.

Point, Shout and Laugh

The time out should help his long term injuries, sometimes these things need time to settle down. Most top players have a list of "niggles" that they are never quite cured of because their focus is on maintaining match fitness the whole time.

There has been a lot of nonsense talked about his physical condition, down to 11 stone, etc etc. He has been doing some reality TV challenge so he must be in OK nick, and he has plenty of time for the World Cup. He has all the talent and physical gifts required, he just needs to get his head right. I can see how a string of injuries and a high-maintenance wife might have given him a few mental problems.

If he comes into form Wales will have the best centre pairing at the 2011 World Cup.

Glenn, you basically want a vertical line from the caliper to the lever, if possible. Air escapes up the hose more easily that way, and if you still have a spongy lever you can usually narrow the problem down to the caliper.

Thisisnotaspoon, that happened to mine over the winter, I just threw fresh pads in because I knew I'd be pulling the brakes apart in the Spring. Now they are bled properly again, the old pads work fine.

If you are starting from scratch the Ayups are brilliant. Two light units, 2 small batteries, 1 big battery. The smalls give you 3 hours on full, six hours on half power, the big gives you 6 hours on full, 12 hours on half. With three batteries you are unlikely to run out of power, and the Ayups light unit seem to have a very low failure rate. I also got a head torch strap with mine, they are great for hiking too.

CRC have tapered steerer Floats for £350, not sure if they are the QR15 version though.

I have just done my first build from scratch, Park website and/or a big book like the Zinn one and you won't go far wrong. It will give you a lot of confidence and a better understanding of how everything works.

Tools – Buy cheap, buy twice. The only thing I am still using off my original "bargain" toolset is the cassette lockring tool, and it is getting replaced because it gets stuck on Hope hubs. Just buy decent quality tools online as you need them.

Consumables – You will probably find that you are short ferrules, end caps, brake olives, whatever. Make a list and move on to something else, keep building until you cannot go any further. You will inevitably nip out to the shop and then discover you need something else 10 minutes after you get back.

I am surprised nobody has thought of this before, great idea.

I have been using the High5 for a couple of months, dropped half a stone and I'm noticeably stronger on the bike and in the gym. I ran out of High5 last week and I have felt a big difference between the High5 and plain milk. I normally don't build strength easily so it is probably helping there.

Chamonix Lift Timetables

Some of the lifts are open in late June. It is definitely possible to get rocky, remote riding, you will just have to do more climbing to get to it. So you can get to Planpraz, but not up to the top of Brevent. Or you can get to the mid-station on the front side of Le Tour, but you would need to ride/push to get to the trails into Trient. Its a pity Grand Montets is closed, it has a couple of great trails. I have never tried to get a bike on the Midi, mostly because it is RAMMED with tourists in the Summer (it is a proper European landmark for sightseeing so its worth going up anyway). If you were there at a quieter time and only wanted to go as far as the mid-station there is a decent chance the lifties would let you on, unless there is a written rule. If you do go up there try and find suggested routes beforehand as you could easily end up with 3 or 4 hours of hike-a-bike if you took the wrong trail. All the guys in the bike shops are really friendly and should help out.

Get the 18". 11mm more room in the top tube, the 456 suits a shorter stem anyway, you won't feel like you are riding a BMX on the climbs, and you'll have a much nicer position for long runs.

There aren't any single cable clips on the chainstay that you can move up to the seatstay? That is a bit strange.

I wasn't going to bother stickering mine but I am starting to think where I might put them.

Right enough, 68 it is.

Mine had a full set of clips, can't see how you would need more unless for spares?

Mine has had its first outing and it rides great!

I had a shake-down ride on the new Blue Pig, the only glitch was the back brake so I unclipped the caliper and let it hang underneath the lever with the bike on the stand. Jiggled it around a lot and finally got a couple of tiny bubbles out of it, now its as solid as the front. The caliper must hold air somewhere.

Chapaking if you look at the shape of the SLX, the honeycombed section on the inside of the bash is actually a couple of mils closer to the chainrings than the leading edge. Its a strange design and it only works because the SLX double cranks have a big hefty offset built into the spider to counter the thickness of the bash and keep it clear of the rings.

I had to file the inside of the SLX bash just to get it to fit the XT spider, I'm not going to start filing away the honeycomb around the whole diameter of the crank.

Nice bike, really sorted build.

Peter, I could, but to be honest the SLX bash looks brutal on my nice XT cranks so I don't mind buying something else, I just want to make sure it fits without hassle.

Gamut sounds good, thanks!

Shimano BB recommends 2.5mm non-drive side and 5mm drive side. Same 63mm BB as my 456 which worked well with nothing on the non-drive and 5mm on the drive-side so I don't think you can go too far wrong.

Set up is perfect, switching out the bash for the original big ring completely eliminates all the problems.

If you look at a set of SLX doubles there is an offset to keep the bash clear of the 36t ring. The XTs are designed to be a triple so the offset isn't there. and the SLX bash isn't compatible with XT cranks. I could file the SLX but its brute ugly and I'd rather get something decent that works properly.

Level the lever on the bars, zip tie it back and leave it overnight, that improves things but the problem does re-occur. They can get small air bubbles in the caliper, zip tie the lever shut and open and shut the bleed nut. Mine is the same, I just re-built a bike and totally flushed it through, still not perfect but a massive improvement.

None in mine, just finished building!

Try using Colgate Extra Whitening and an electric toothbrush, they come out lovely every time. Don't forget to use the mouthwash afterwards, it gives you another 12 hours of protection.

Aye, 30.

I have a great pair of Mammuts.

By the time you spec out a full build from brand new parts it is surprisingly easy to get to £3k.

Aside from the power cuts, heavy snow, the heavy rain, the heavy winds, all the ferries and some flights being cancelled, I can't think of a single reason for any delays.

Dan 1980, its possible that Sarah was unable to look into the future and deduce whether the snow was going to be deep enough to allow the couriers to pick up from Chain Reaction.

Ti29er it sounds like you might need to do some gym rehab if you are getting disparity in the size/balance of your legs.

I have just about finished rehabbing an ACL replacement, but I will be keeping the gym work going all the way through til Kielder. I know that the knee won't be the deciding factor and doing regular training off the bike has really improved my fitness.

Azarat maybe if you direct the full force of your ego at the problem your goods will levitate out of the warehouse and be carried to your doorstep?

Chamonix is great but it might be hard to find a guide who will take you during July/August. I was out there last year and most of the decent trails aren't very popular with walkers. Some of the trails link really easily with lifts/trains and some of them don't. It is good fun exploring and finding trails but some of them are just too steep to ride, which can get frustrating. My email is in my profile if you want a few pointers.

I wouldn't do a lot of low-intensity cardio in the gym – keep it all focussed on the bike.

It is hard to recommend anything too specific in terms of weights or exercises, with two months left you have time to make decent progress, but it probably isn't the time to launch into anything too complicated that you aren't used to, in case you get injured.

Stronger core – More control on the bike, stay relaxed for longer before you have to start suffering.

Raised lactate threshold – Training for short bursts at a high intensity, with short recovery. This will increase the amount of effort you can put in before you start getting gassed. It also teaches you plenty about coping psychologically with maximal effort and about where your personal limits lie. You don't want to hit this kind of effort in a 24 but it will teach you how to avoid it! Circuits would be good for this, or a tough spin class.

10kgs is a shitload of weight to lose, even if you are training for weight loss as a goal. I would advise you to focus on workload and eating healthily to aid recovery. Losing too much weight/not eating enough will stress your body and compromise the benefits of the hard work.

Coffeeking maybe unnecessary is the wrong word, but for most recreational athletes cross-training will give a better marginal improvement in overall fitness than additional time doing a single activity. The two biggest problems with gym work are motivation and lack of knowledge about the right kind of training. Once you get the training right and start seeing results the motivation takes care of itself.

This is probably the only sports forum that I can think of where gym-training is widely considered to be unnecessary.