Eggbeaters were easy to use. I wanted to clip out of them more easily so I just filed the soft brass cleats a bit. Then all was well.

I think they both need more maintenance but are at the same time very easy to maintain. If you hate having to touch your bike from one year to the next then avoid. If you don't mind quickly & easily stripping down a pedal once or twice a year then have no fear.

5.10s: no realistic competition.

I'm quietly pleased that it never occurred to me to massage the dimensions of the box.

Or should I be embarrassed at my naïvety?

What GregMay said.

Hmmm….

<disappears to ferret around on t'internet>

Darn, I spoke too soon: Parcelforce (or SenditNow) won't take any item where:

Length plus (2x(Height+Width)) is >3metres.

So the bike box I have (1.47 x 0.23 x 0.79) was rejected out of hand. How you guys managed to get them to ship a bike I will never know.

Looks like either UPS at £55 or HDNL, who have the worst customer reviews I have ever seen

🙁

Hi ahwiles

hadn't thought that far ahead. Actually I have a weird plan for it – I'm going to run it singlespeed and with Project 2s (the corrected for 100mm travel version) while I tootle around lowland forest trails with the GF who is just getting into biking.

But after that I'm thinking about some Rockshox U-tun jobbies, although I can't see myself running forks more than 140mm on a hardtail frame.

I'm also vaguely assuming lack angles shouldn't bother me because my other bikes have 68, 66 and 64 degree head angles. My mate has a normal 456 and half wishes he'd gone for the Summer Season.

Mate of mine got a 456 as an option to his Transition. He found the <ahem> transition something of a shock but now he's got used to it he loves it.

The only difference I can see between the 456 and the summer season is the slackish head angle. Am I right?

So is this a road biking thing?

Que?

Not sure you'll get much grip from those green bike shoes though.

Err, what is a sportive?

No really, what are you guys on about?

S.

Mercedes E-class if you can afford it – I had one as a hire car and my Gemini went in sideways with the wheels still on.

My own car is a 9-5 estate. Not the worlds most reliable but a big boot, roof rails, leather(easy clean) and weirdly does 40mpg at 70mph despite being the Aero (Hot) petrol version.

And if you listened to most forum users the only bike to get would be a fully rigid singlespeed 69er Santa Cruz and the only excuse for riding down a hill would be the soul purifying climb back up the other side.

Fischers at Baslow but brace yourself.

You are not being unreasonable but a sale does need both sides to agree and you are assuming that the seller is as keen to sell as you are to buy. In this case thats clearly not so – that's markets for you!

Stick to your guns and they will change their minds or not. Of course that depends on whether you are willing to risk losing the house…

Your issue is with the shop that sold it to you, not the manufacturer who sold it to the shop. Insist that the shop refund you in full, settle for a good deal on a new bike.

Chaps thank you all for your advice, I was panicking that the guestimate I had putvin my eBay listing was misleading and I really don't want to lose that 100% feedback!

Cheers guys, I'll give them a try. The STW hive-mind triumphs again!

Bruxism can be a sign of sleep apnoea. Consider getting yourself referred, especially if you snore and feel sleepy during the daytime.

Well you would have thought it means light UST but my Maxxis 2.35 60a High Rollers weigh a kilo each : /

Err, hotels anyone?

I've been using 2.35 and 2.5 UST tyres for about 5 years in the UK, Alps and BC. Only ever had one puncture. Your mileage may vary but I would stick normal USTs on and stop fretting about it. Take a spare tube though!

Always use sram and never had an issue although I only weigh 11 stone and tend not to break things anyway.

Top of every class, brightest kid in the school.

You need to make a bootable backup on an external drive.

I have a Mac and use SuperDuper but you could try this thread fro PC-based equivalents:

http://alexking.org/blog/2007/02/10/windows-backup-software

S.

Riding in the South isn't crap.

It's just twee.

Darn, every time I think I've made my mind up another post gets added to this thread and I'm plunged into doubt again!

Seriously chaps thanks for all the advice, it looks like I could go either way and I suspect that getting my rear hub to work properly and not make funny noises before next Friday is going to take priority!

So there's cake, is there? Nobody mentioned cake when I booked…

It's a liquidising haematoma. If you feel fine and don't have a temperature over 37.5 don't worry.

BikeVerbier, yippee

(with or without 2.5" tyres, chain device)

RHSno2 – would you bother with the additional drag of an e13 chain device?

I lobbed my big ring away long ago in favour of a bash guard.

Thanks for the quick replies guys

Tracey: won't the 2.5s but an utter b&@ch to ride up hill?

I do like my uplifts 😳

S.

Jedi,

Domains are indeed coils. Rebound and compression adjusters and that's yer lot. I Set mine up once and haven't touched them since.

S.

I have 1.5 Domains and have been really impressed, esp for the price. They're stiff and feel smoother than my 888s although that may just be cack-handed set-up on my part.

My mate has totems and loves them but they cot lots more and needed fettling by TFTuned before he used them as *apparently* they are unreliable.

That may only be true of last years model though. Still worth a call to the Grumpy God of Bike Suspension before you buy.

S.

Don't buy any, you will be unable to pee without undressing and you will look like a dobber.

180mm domains here. Not crazy heavy, stiff enough for me and for my money seem to both be easier to set up and nicer to ride than my 888s. And they are white and look puuretty. FSA FR200 stem is light enough for me & tough enough for BC.

S.

Deffo a medium – I;m 5'9", 31 inside and have a medium jekyll and a medium gemini. Prev had a large jekyll and it was too big & gate-like.

You are putting on weight because you are eating more than you need. Why is this so hard to understand?

At the beach, waiting for the evening session.