Fantastic picture. If you do print run I would be interested in buying one

Ooooo watches! I spend more time on watch forums these days. There’s some proper watch nutters there. Anyway my current rotation is

– Victorinox INOX
– Victorinox INOX diver
– Seiko PADI Diver
– Hamilton Khaki Field Auto
– Oris Aquis
– Longines Hyrdoconquest
– Omega Planet Ocean – on the way.

Did mine a few years ago. Seemed daunting at first but was fairly straightforward after the first 2/3 months. As other have said, discipline and organisation is key to making sure yoy don’t fall behind. Good luck!

FWIW I have had a Bosch 2200 AXT for the last 7 years and can recommend it. I use it a lot and the only time it gets clogged is when I stuff too much into it. Spare blades are easy to pick up or just sharpen yourself.

Paid 1.32 yesterday. Isle of Man. Noticed it had gone up by 3p this morning though.

I hesitate to say this but a guy I work with that has had chronic back problems, swears by a Cannabis derivative that was prescribed by his doctor (he says) He’s not in this week otherwise I’d ask him for the details but he does seem to be a lot better of late.

WTF happened there?

Been here since 2003. Frequent lurker, occasional poster

Have a look at the Shimano range of telescopic rods (Exage/Cantana/Vengance)

They do various lengths, weights etc and I have to say the one I take on holiday for a bit of sea fishing is really rather good

I’ve lived here for the last 3 years and love it. Beautiful scenery, nice beaches, good fishing and excellent mountain biking trails on the doorstep (road too if you’re that way inclined). People are friendly and some of the local (Hooded Ram) beer is top class!

TT week  I can live without. The island is invaded by Micheal Dunlop/Guy Martin etc wannabees who can’t handle their Superbikes above 60mph. If it was just themselves they killed I wouldn’t be bothered but innocent and law abiding drivers are too often caught up in the mess. I’ll be renting my house out this year and using  the money to have a holiday in Portugal!

I have a dog and have never experienced a problem

Not a fan of Alfine hubs myself. Pain in the bum when it comes to changing tubes/tyres and heavy.  How much maintenance does a cassette and derailleur really need anyway.

That said  mine is a 2011 (Kona Dr Fine) version so they’ve  probably improved the design since then. I gather the Rohloff and Sturmey Archer hubs are much better and easy to remove rear wheel.

So if you started off mountain biking on nans Raleigh Shopper that you found at the back of the shed before you managed to borrow a mountain bike with rigid forks off a friend that was the wrong size.  Eventually you buy a bike that’s the right size but still has rigid forks.  At some point you upgrade to a Raleigh Activator and after biking for 20 years buy your first full suss.  You are then pretty envious of anyone who for their first go turns up on a £5K Santa Cruz.

Brilliant! That made me go into the loft to show my 6 year old pictures of me, aged 10, with my Nan’s Raleigh Shopper, that I found in the back of her shed…and so on.

Anyhow, I’ve always thought that it doesn’t matter if you are good or bad at the sport. So long as you look good in the gear

Everything already said. I lent mine to a bloke at work a few days ago. Be careful I said, wear these goggles I said.

He is still off work thanks to a rogue chip of wood that lodged itself in his eye.

Oooh wheel truing stands! I asked Mrs SP for the Park TS8 for my birthday last week. She got me this instead because she found it on offer somewhere.

I know that doesn’t answer the OP and this is an utterley useless and un-informative post. But couldn’t resist posting a picture of my new toy 🙂

Manx End To End challenge which is September. Or come over for the cycling festival weekend 21/22 April and ride the 80 mile gran Fondo which includes the TT course. If you’re feeling hard you could do the MTB course one day and the Gran Fondo the next. Bloody great weekend last year

Was 45 when we adopted, wife was 44.We were both ready for kids and under no illusion as to how our lives would change completely. I think if you get that then the rest is a piece of p1ss and age is meaningless.

Try not to drink as much though.

I was borrowing a mates 29er for a few weeks and was all set to buy one. Went for 27.5 instead and glad I did. That said I do get that other features like geometry, frame material etc may have influenced my experience rather then just the the wheel size

Happened to me in Feb. My Physio encouraged cycling,just short distances on the road,and it definitely helped. By that I mean, when it was bad I would ride around the block a few times, a mile at most,and the pain would go away almost instantly. There also a specific
exercise where you lie on your back knees bent then put your left ankle on your right knee and pull your right leg up as far as you can. Then push your left knee back out. There is probably a video on YouTube that will do a better job of describing it.

I spent that much on Bianchi Ethanol from Winstanleys recently. Excellent carbon frame and decent enough forks. Only drawback for me was that QR front and rear but I can take care of the front if and when I change the forks. The rear I’m not bothered about as it makes little difference on a hard tail. Plus gives you an excuse to upgrade your wheels to Hope. Like you my MTB time is limited these days but this is a nice bike that is capable of much more than I will put it through for the next few years

I bought a discounted Stanton once but it had a few dents. The shop was selling them cheaply because of this (at least that is what I suspect after being told a replacement would have the same issues) but neglected to mention on their website.

So I’d be wary even if you do see some ‘bargains’.

I had a dream bike but it became obsolete after about 5 years – well not obsolete but changing standards etc. I was saving for a Solaris 29er but by the time I’d got to 2.5k I just couldn’t pull the trigger as I knew I’d want something else in a year or so. Ended up with an older model Bianchi 27.5, carbon frame, XT etc for £1200 Stuck on some old XTR brakes and upgraded the wheels to Hope. Enjoying it immensely along with the Nintendo and new lawn mower I bought at the same time with the money I saved.

Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Hatch
Hatch who?
Gazuntite!

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“Philip Glass.

I suffered for about 10 years before resorting to surgery a year ago when it got to the stage where I couldn’t even lift a pint. Surgery helped a lot but I still have to do regular physio to keep it at bay. As others have said lots of exercise videos on You Tube and I wish I had done these before it was too late. Cortisone shots and surgery should be last resort.

Hope you get it sorted

Interesting thread. Here (Isle of Man) a new bike shop has just opened on a business park and another is moving to bigger premises in the town centre. Both have business models that lean towards commuters based on providing lockers/workshop facilities along with cafe or a coffee shop type environments. Big brand Bikes, clothes lights etc
Seems a smart move to me.

Can’t do a link but have a look at the Whytes at Winstanleys.

Partial to a cup of Chai myself

Hmm, back in my day gravelling was called cyclocross.

Cheers mikewsmith – just what I was looking for and within budget.

Surprised a new mtb has a qr front. Even cross country bikes use a 15mm (my anthem came with one for instance) what bike is it?

It’s a Bianchi Ethanol but their 2015 model, which I suppose is old school these days.

New hardtail arrived yesterday. I haven’t ridden a MTB for almost 8 years due to location, kids, road bikes etc but now I live on the IoM and decided it was high time to get back into it.

I’d also recommend the Honda Izzy but only ‘coz I’ve got one. My mate has a bigger garden than me and has had a mountfield-hp185-45cm-125cc-hand-propelled-rotary-petrol-lawn-mower for 5/6 years with no probs.

I tried posting a link but failed

We always empty the tank, then run the machine out of fuel before laying up.

It’s just simpler to put fresh fuel in at the beginning of the season.

This

People that put their dog poo in a bag. And then hang it in a tree.

Hang it. In. A. Tree.

Matt-P and dangerousbrain – that works. Thank you very much

I see what you did there and it’s a good job I asked. I was a long way down the wrong road wasn’t I.

Anyway, thanks again

I think I read on a here once that when naming pets you should always bear in mind that when the vet calls you in, they use the name of the pet

So go for ‘Dracula’s Bride, Princess of Darkness’

Hmmm, I threw my leg over a 629 yesterday and was impressed. I even like the colour. Why do people rave about the frame though? 6061 Al is not particularly special…or is it a geometry thing?

How about this

adsh, very nice. What size is that? How’s the fit etc

FFS! Sorry I asked now.

I’ll just get a red one.

I’ve not has any problems contacting them. They returned my emails and I’ve spoken with Gary who seemed a nice chap. I’m pretty much decided on size just got to decide which dropouts and colour.

I live on the IoM and have done the course a few times. You won’t be disappointed