No, the email just said the shipment was imminent so I presume there won’t be photos until the frames come out of the container.

I have an email back saying to check the site in 1-2 weeks.

I emailed them the same questions on frame specs earlier, I will post up if they reply. I dunno about your headset but the Rebas can be spaced down to 100mm for the Scandal.

They would definitely be getting more pre-orders if they had specs and pictures of the colour options and graphics on the website.

Location – Liverpool. Enough said.

Ha ha ha

What sort of cable-guides will there be on the production frames?

And what kind of drop-outs?

13.5 stone to 10.5 stone in 6 weeks, Delhi belly.

It usually all translates to something like ‘I did Judo as a kid for a few weeks, then tried Karate and now I have heard of Muay Thai because I watched Ong Bak a few times’.

Its almost impossible to discuss martial arts on this forum without somebody having a pop at you, in some way.

Now, I’m not sure which of judo, karate, muay thai, etc are best for this.

Its almost inevitable that this will start another argument but a decent MMA club is your best option because they will start you from scratch with a range of practical techniques for both striking and grappling and fighting on the ground. The last place you want to end up is on the ground so it is very valuable to learn how to avoid ending up there, and how to react if you do.

It can be difficult to find a decent club and if you find somewhere you like that does muay-thai, krav maga of BJJ then all of them are good sports and help with self-defence.

I did a lot of muay thai and MMA when I was younger. They are both great participation sports, it is fairly easy to grasp the basics but there is also a lot of room for progression or developing an interest in other martial arts. They’re also good cross training. I have a friend who is doing Krav Maga at the minute who is very impressed with it.

The biggest benefit that I got out of it was self-control. Before I started I was was always panicked by confrontation or intimidation. Once I got used to training and sparring I started to think a lot more clearly about how a situation could develop, and how to react and avoid it. It doesn’t take long to learn basic stuff like how to defend yourself against a push or punch, how to stop yourself being put on the ground, or how to move somebody out of the way when you need to leg it.

I think the chat forum needs heavier modding, definitely. An maybe a league table to make all the points-scoring worthwhile.

I’ve had mine just over 4 years, 6th gear, plenty of torque and a very comfortable seat, its great on the motorway. The only problem I have had was a minor issue with a motor in the aircon. I don’t pay much attention to mpg, sorry.

There are loads of cycling-specific and general back exercises on bikejames.com

Another good haul for jhw

Are they really £1500? They are very handy.

Black Chilli Barons are the future

It was getting a bit scrappy the last time I was round it, especially between the main car park and Dixon’s Hollow. The second half of the red was in much better shape. I’m not that fussed about the 4X or the tabletops but I enjoy the other shorter sections around Dixons Hollow and usually spend 30 or 40 minutes mucking around on them.

To be fair to the guys with unusual bikes, most of the arguments originate when some tool makes a snidey comment. If you’ve nothing positive to offer, just stay out of the thread.

If you are getting a “cheese grater” effect on the back of your kneecap you might get some benefit out of a foam roller. A bit of stretching and foam roller will take a lot of the tightness out of your legs. You may end up close to tears the first couple of times you use it but it is worth persevering with.

I’ve had knee problems on and off for about 5 years including an ACL repair 3 or 4 years ago now.

My advice is that if you want a stable knee, you need to start from scratch in the gym, preferably with support from a physio. Extended periods of injury lead to all kinds of imbalances and you aren’t going to eliminate them on a bike, in fact it is easy to make them worse.

Training for outright power/strength is very difficult to combine with rehab on an unstable knee. Everything you do needs to be done with a decent posture and range of motion. If you are patient then your leg and core strength will improve and you will find you are significantly stronger and more balanced on the bike.

Weights stuff that works for me.

Light squats, big ROM
Deadlifts
Poliquin/Peterson step-ups
Single-leg deadlifts
Split Squats

Core training is always beneficial, and things like skipping, shuttle runs, step-ups, lunges, squats done in a circuit can be helpful.

It is a very good time to start, if you get into the gym twice a week, make sure you are patient with progression and mix up your exercises you could make a lot of headway before the clocks go forward again.

Jaysus, they’re down to $299 now, about £190.

Circuit training is pretty good for ski-touring type fitness. If you cycle a fair amount your endurance should be decent, circuits will increase your core strength and balance and get you used to breathing out of your rear end and recovering quickly.

I would avoid Alpine Elements and Crystal/Thomson, they can be good, but they can also be absolutely woeful.

On step-ins for snowboarding, I’ve never liked them, it takes 10 or 15 seconds to strap in at the top of a lift, not a big deal really.

Joe Friel’s Paleo for Endurance Athletes (or whatever its called) would be worth a read, there is a lot in there about portion control and trying to restrict carbs to fuelling and recovery.

They should probably tarmac that, its a hazard

Bear in mind.

A 4×4 van is going to be expensive.

A full-height hardtop gives you a ridiculous amount of secure lockable storage.

I had a Hilux 03 for about 4 years, I loved it. They can be tail-happy in the wet but its nothing you can’t catch. I looked recently at a lot of big 4x4s and they are extortionate to run. With a pickup you get your VAT back, if you pay BIK its dramatically reduced. I’ve now got a VW Amarok on order.

Some of the Montane stuff at CRC looks decent, I’ve got one in the post to me. There are a couple of comments in the reviews about Montane being slim fitting so you should be able to go up a size to get the length in the arms.

I’d say it’ll arrive once the deluge of special offer emails produces some cashflow.

Both the Healy-Cooper call and the Warburton-Clerc call were tachnically correct. If the tackler raises the players hips higher than his head, then they are resposible for getting him back on the ground safely. That said, it wasn’t a malicious tackle from Warburton, he deserved a yellow.

The IRB are trying to legislate every single aspect of the game and this is a perfect example of removing a referee’s discretion causing an unfair decision. Its particularly galling given the complete lack of consistency and backbone the IRB show in their own citing process.

Joke decision.

I lived there for a while, always got accommodation with the job but you are looking in the right places. I would try and afford a small place to yourself. There are loads of sound people there but the place also attracts its fair share of the dregs of society and you don’t want to live with them. You’ll meet loads of people quickly anyway, its a really sociable place.

For the car, I took mine out there 6 months at a time, you need to check the maximum your insurance policy allows out of the country, in general if you have MOT and insurance you’ll be fine. If you like your car and think you’ll be back in the UK often enough to keep it legal then keep your car. If you’re confident you’re going for a stretch you might be better getting a French-registered car.

60-70p would be pretty standard, cost is about 30-35p.

tragic

The tread pattern is great, I have the black chilli and they seem to grip alright on wet rock and roots.

I have one, really great bike and an accurate review from duir. Its light, stiff and it pedals great. Mine has replaced a Spitfire and a SX Trail and I don’t miss either of them, its a really capable bike.

What sort of terrain are you going to be running on?

A bit of everything really, locally its mostly hilly muddy singletrack and grass with the odd bit of fire road. I have rocky mountain and bog, and beaches/sand dunes, all within a half hour. Basically soft off-road and a bit of rocky stuff.

On the Goretex, the reason I asked is I have a pair of New Balance that must be 6 or 7 years old. I haven’t run in them for year but they are great for walking the dog and still keep the water out for a couple of hours.

I have had gait analysis twice since I did my ACL, with two different recommendations. I don’t want to criticise it because it obviously has big benefits at the right time, but I did have problems with instability. I have gone back to a minimalist shoe and spent a fair bit of time on rehab to build a much more stable knee. For these shoes I am looking to gradually progress back to the decent-paced 10km off-road with decent form, so I am leaning towards a minimalist shoe with decent grip like the Inov8s or the Vivobarefoots. If these get me through the winter I will have to look at cushioning options and gait analysis, by that stage I should hopefully have developed a more consistent gait that is worth analysing.

I have a pair of FiveFingers Bikilas that I’ve been using to rehab an ACL repair. They have been a revelation compared to the Asics I was using, I was picking up a lot of niggly injuries. I’m not sure Vibram have anything with enough grip for muddy trails, the Merrels also look a bit light on tread. I might give the Inov-8s a try, I don’t need 100% waterproof, it just makes the shoes a wee bit more versatile if you know you can wear them all day and keep your feet dry.