why is stopping people going under minimum wage terrible?

If they have earned their money like everybody else they should have the same access to tax free bikes.

Presumably there is legislation in place to ensure that people on minimum wage are guaranteed minimum wage as their take home, which is great. It’s a pity it conflicts with C2W.

That’s terrible, does that apply to Childcare Vouchers etc as well or is it just C2W?

I suspect it’s still going, because 40% rate payers do well out of it while it’s of no help to those who are genuinely badly off. (Other than helping the availability of second hand bikes.)

A tax free bike on one-year interest-free finance is “no help whatsoever” for people who are badly off.

A tax free bike on one-year interest-free finance is “doing well out of it” for 40% tax payers.

subsidise somebody £1300

You can’t subsidise somebody with their own money.

tax breaks for those that really don’t need it

Do you mean a tax break for everyone, that you think should be denied to higher rate tax payers?

They should probably abolish the cycle to work for higher incomes, the savings look very unfair for people that aren’t paying 40% tax already.

TF Tuned were very helpful on the phone. If you have any doubts about the suitability of the shock just give them a call for some expert advice!

I rang this morning to check availability – all I was asked was the psi of my existing shock. I might have to give them a ring back.

The Joe Friel book is good. You need to do some slow sessions to increase duration. You need to do some hard sessions and limp home a couple of times so you can learn how to avoid it. On the other hand, trying to create your own training plan and “working out” to a load of pre-prescribed intensities and durations can be a real pain in the hole and a drain on motivation.

If your only goal is completion then all you need to do is add in one big ride every weekend, and work that big ride to about 8 hours, a fortnight before the event. Make the rides interesting.

The two key things to get out of the training are the ability to cope with the time on the bike, and the ability to manage your exertion over a long period.

So what did it say on the website when you ordered the bike from the website?

Bang to rights. It a shame we don’t have class actions in the UK.

Or maybe you could get the guy on here and call him a conman a few more times because he gave you his best guess on something two months ago.

You should probably return the bikes. Just tell them Pikes, Reverb, CCDB, and most of an X01 groupset is all well and good but the crank was a dealbreaker.

Some of you have far too much time on your hands.

Wish I hadn’t seen this!

Thanks Alex, that would put it into the new C2W year…

Do they take the full price of the bike off you on order and hold it for 2 or 3 months?

My company bought a folding bike that it allows the staff to use for commuting purposes only. If anyone pops down to the sandwich shop on it, it would become a benefit in kind and would have to go on a P11D. That’s what my accountant advised. Our folding bike has only been used for commuting.

Your accountant doesn’t understand the scheme.

You can just buy the bike through the business and use it with no Benefit in Kind – there is no legal requirement for salary sacrifice.

There is a regulation about providing C2W on the same terms to Directors and employees. If you employ somebody at a later date you can set their C2W budget, but if you don’t make salary sacrifice it is technically meant to be a company-wide policy.

Carl Froch looking like a career of punishment had finally caught up with him against George Groves.

Luckily the ref helped him out…

It was a terrible decision but it was also an example of how a boxer with a reputation for having a decent chin can be allowed to soak up massive amounts of punishment, fight after fight.

Saw this earlier, looked at a video of their last fight. How are people not sickened by an unconscious man being punched in the face?
I love boxing but that’s a shit sport.

MMA has more flash knockdowns that fighters can recover from, occasionally that will result in somebody getting hit when they’re out cold. If you love boxing you’ll be familiar with the proportion of old fighters with impaired brain function. You might have seen James Toney fighting in Prizefighter at 45 because he is desperate for money, or Carl Froch looking like a career of punishment had finally caught up with him against George Groves.

You’re watching people try and hurt each other for entertainment. Boxing only spares you from having to see the consequences first hand.

1) Tail slashes are very difficult. I believe you can purchase an optional tail slashing device online to modify the board.

2) Big sweeping turns can be dangerous, as such big open fields are best avoided. If you do accidentally find yourself in a powder field, buddy up with a friend and lay down some nice controlled powder 8s until you reach safety.

Its all about Pat.

I have said several times that I was disposed to send the frame to the UK. But after they saw that I a used a shim the have not asked me to send back the frame

Presumably that is still an option unless you have fallen out with them completely?!

I have dealt with Freeborn a lot. Like Duir I had one of the original Spitfires with the bushing problems and was offered a very good price on the Dixon. After a year one of the bottle bosses was coming loose. I sent the frame back to Joe at Freeborn and he fixed the boss, put in a completelty new pivot kit, serviced and added a volume reducer to the shock. There was no charge for any of it.

In my experience Freeborn will do the best they can for their customers. If DeVinci aren’t going to support warranty claims for shimmed seatposts then that is their decision. It is hard on a small business like Freeborn, expecting them to take a £350 hit on a new front triangle and then slating them on here when you don’t get your way.

Its pretty common for expensive warranty claims to require the return of the broken part. I would have expected Freeborn to give you an honest appraisal of the warranty issue and more than likely to build your frame back up and service your shock while they were at it.

The other thing you need to accept is when you buy an expensive piece of sports equipment from the far side of Europe, you might have to send it back if something goes wrong. Its frustrating having to strip the frame to get it looked at but its the only way to get it sorted.

I get that sometimes, foam rolling usually loosens it up.

60-90 minutes from motorway to motorway depending on whether your arrival ties in with a departure. Customs/passport control on the French side can take a while at peak times.

Yes, good price and quick delivery.

Is the wee lever set to on or off?

Specialized obviously expect taller people to move over to 29ers, XL bikes are a small enough market already. An XL long-travel 29er with really short chainstays is probably going to sell well. Its interesting that they are up-sizing the whole bike and then obsessively shortening the chainstays. It will make the bike easier to handle for shorter people but it might actually compromise it for tall ones.

http://chamonixbikeblog.wordpress.com/

Loads of ideas on there. You are best off buying the IGN maps if you don’t get a guide.

Its worth considering motocross van conversions for what you’re describing, they are designed around muddy bikes, standard motorhomes will be configured to maximise the internal space.

I’ve driven a couple of motorhomes and they’re fine as long as you’re not expecting to go anywhere fast. Most of the time you can plan around avoiding tight spots, people are pretty understanding if you just wave and smile at them like a bumbling idiot.

Next Day Tyres have Snakeskin Rocket Ron 29s. I ordered some this afternoon and got the dispatch email half an hour later.

Demerara Rum was a popular “punishment” drink with my uni rugby team. It definitely was horrible neat.

If its XL split it.

It was a really fun day and there was a great mix of riding different trails and then focusing on particular sections. Ed has a way of breaking things down and getting you to do simple things well. I think everybody felt a lot more confident and in control at the end of the day. I would definitely recommend the course.

Sorry I couldn’t stick around for a pint lads, it was great meeting you all!

Andy

Its really not that difficult to do if you have a few quid saved up for an accommodation deposit. If you go somewhere like Chamonix the place is reasonably busy with a decent community all year round.

They look really nice, are there many stockists in the UK? Aren’t they cheap from Germany?

I think I am giving it a lash after seeing this thread.

Whats the verdict?