Fulllength Endura humvees if just commuting to and from work but if I’m cycling to meetings where there might not be facilities etc these – Surface pants

step 1 : decide which night and at what time you will go nightriding every week
step 2 : on said day ensure bike and all kit is ready to ride, lights charged etc.
step 3 : 15 mins before your ride time get bike and prop against front gate . retire to front room
step 4 : open curtains and sit gazing at you bike whilst huffing a puffing like a depressed teenager.
repeat until she finally crumbles – no lies, no compromise,just gentle mind manipulation

forks in freezer – race on heat ???

worth a punt IMO

+1 for Tubus and Altura dryline. Forget the back pack – defeats whole object of rack/panniers

click here add your own tunes and/or video

I’m runnung an XT rear mech ,Tiagra front mech with an FSA Omega road triple chainset and bar end shifters – works spot on

It’s nigh on impossibleto shorten the hose without losing the fluid and you’ll probably need to bleed them once you’re done.So you’ll need a bleed kit.

shimano use mineral oil IIRC.

You’ll need at least new olives – you can sometimes get away with reusing old ones but for what they cost get new.

have a gander at this – SERVICE SHIMANO DISC BRAKES[/url] it might help

A “helpdesk” of Orange 5 riders.

😆
superb

a proper touring bike will have a more upright position and be more comfortable (but not as fast) than a road bike. It’ll also have a lower bottom bracket for stability and the frame geometry will also compensate for rear mounted racks/panniers so they don’t catch your heels.
In addition there’ll also be plenty of bosses for mounting bottle cages/front and rear racks/mudguards etc.

I bought one a while back – Kona Sutra – and I love it. Use it every day for commuting, been on a 3 day tour round scotland, couple of century plus rides and a fair bit of off-roading (forestry trails and the odd bit off singletrack and will be doing more now I’ve got some off road tyres for it.

IMO – Old MTB frames are OK for short touring, but some(not all) have the bottom bracket a lot higher than a tourer making the bike unstable at speed when fully loaded.Add to that the possibility that the chainstays will be shorter and could possibly mean you catch your heels on your panniers I’d drop the wedge and get a tourer.

Have a look at – Kona Sutra, Salsa Fargo, Surly LHT, Dawes Galaxy

Batman – cos you really could be Batman

we’ve just spent the last few months fundraising for/with my son – he’s going to Thailand for 12 months to work as a volunteer – writing to charitable trusts can work – you send a lot of letters and get lots of rejections but you also ge one or two decent sponsors. Today they did bag packing at a supermarket and raised just short fo £500. Wealso did a charity fundraising auction – which would have been beter ifmore people had ofturned up but we still got about £800. We tried the local business sponsors and got a few but nothing to write home about.One or two businesses that we deal with on a profesional basis made good donations and we also did a sponsored bike ride that has so far pulled in around a grand – ( you can help us by clicking HERE and making a small donation.
If you are doing an event we reckon you get a better response if you do proper individual personalinvites rather than emails/facebook etc. and sell ickets- that way you get the money evenif people don’tturn up.
Stay focused on the positive side of things (it’s easy to get worn down – especially when you get someone apologising for not turning up to your fundraiser despite saying they were brining friends, asking you how the sponsored ride went and wishing you all the best – but still not coughing up a donation)
It’s a lot of hard work but you’d be surprised at what you can achieve.

I’m no expert but have suffered with knee pain from time to time and would offer the following ;
#take the wait off your legs at every opportunity – especially try to #avoid standing on hard floors for too long
#sit with your knee supported and higher than your hip -easiest done on settee with cushion under knee
#take some anti inflammatories
#consider a knee support bandage in bed
#definately see a physio before going under the knife
#don’t go up and down stairs if you can help it
#rest properly
#do some stretching specific to the affected area
#get some different shoes and/or inner soles – i changed to sepecialised BG inner soles and it made a marked difference
have a read of this KNEE INFO

forgive me if this sounds a bit ‘fick’ bu it’s been a (very) long day and I’m not firing on all four cylinders but…. can’t you fit some 700cc touring tyres ???

I commute anything between 18 to 40 miles a day depending on appointments etc. with a fair amount of walking and going to meetings/on site in my clobber
Find that double sided pedals with a bit of a platform are best used in conjunction with a trail/touring shoe such as the shimano mt 32 – when its cooler i wear it with black humvee trousers and a black ‘urban’ cycling jacket and find its quite an acceptable combo for meetings

We only install in parts of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire

Unless you are somewhere spectacularly sunny, there won’t be enough juice to run a kettle from most installations.

It’s always sunny in Yorkshire lad

first of all work out if she is significantly taller/shorter than oneself.
Provided shes not that much taller/shorter have a look for a bike that YOU like and can take mudguards/rack etc. – that way it can double up as/ eventually end up as your commuting bike/winter bike.

Not that you’d ever catch me doing this – doesn’t everyone’s wife really want a cyclo cross bike ??? 😉

+1 for Heaven 17

this ones so good you could name a race after it

not that I’m pedant or owt – Stone Roses, Waterfall = released as a single 1991, great tune wrong decade unless of course we are referring to the album version – anyhow it gives a good excuse to post up another Roses classic that was released as a single in the 80’s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfzQLZtCZSY&feature=related

and how could we forget these boys

Well done Ton ! could be the best thread of the week (as long as we stop the A-Ha sh@t)

and from the greatest band in the world – ever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjkoX1uQcfE

closely followed by

and a bit of

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HypRKiQx1hk

plus

Brilliant!

and one more from the ‘..men

right I’m off to stand about in my Lyle and Scott cardy gazing at my shoes while i nonchalontly flick my fringe out of my eyes nibbling my fingernails at the same time – I’ll see you ‘upstairs at Eric’s’

@Ton – if you want some more eighties nostalgia – and who wouldn’t – you could do a lot worse than watch Awaydays, great film and a brilliant soundtrack.

Right well f@@k that then we are now doing Liverpool – Leeds on the TPT on cyclo cross bikes/tyres – and probably washing itdown withbeer where ever we go

thanks for the advice – its appreciated.

We are now looking at cyclocross as best compromise with MTB to fall back on if the weather has been/is sh@t.

i use the train to carry me and my bike for part of my commute every day and have never had any trouble with the train guards whatsoever, and thats on Northern Rail and TPE.
But as above 7miles ??? Really ! hang your head in shame

B17 or a swift

these look quite good – they support the bike by the pedal with the wheels touching the wall – neat and you can put them at any height you want.(see this thread for more – LFGSS)

or if you want something more stylish try this

this is their website

My son’s a fully qualified carpenter. When I get chance I’m going to sit down and see what we can come up with for a number of wood based producs for cyclists. Think storage, fron wheel support for turbo trainer etc. watch this space – plus feel free to email ideas

cheers
stAn

I’ve got the 2009 Sutra.
great bike – I commute on it, I’ve been touring on it,I’ve taken all racks and mudguards off and ridden it off-road. Quite simply one of the best bikes I’ve ever owned.
it’snot the lightest and your not going to break any land speed records ,but for comfort and durability its spot on

Kona Sutra is worth a look – I love mine

put your shorts and shirt in the freezer for a bit before you set off, Ice cubes in the camelbak – plenty of fluids. I ofen also carry a cold bottle of water to tip on my feet as they seem to get very hot, and also tip into helmet and down back of shirt to help with cooling down.

Just be wary of overcooking yourself – your body core temperature needsto stay somewhere below 30 deg, once it goes above this you could start entering the realms of heat exhaustion. If it goes above 40 heat stroke could kick in.

For me its usually humidity thats the problem rather han just straight forward heat. I cycled around Cuba a few years back and away from the coast roads it was very humid and you just can’t seem to stop pouring with sweat. I think we used as much water to throw over ourselves as we drank.

Shameless plug/bump

Next weeks fresh goods: (it’llhave to be next ‘cos I havn’t finished making them yet)

Fork mounted truncheon (in a choice of colours to match your fork or frame)
Stem mounted knife in scabard (silver or black)
Bar mounted tazer – cheaper than a decent light more effective than a bell!
pepper spray cartridges , compatible with any CO2 pump

Recieved a couple of bids

any more takers

Ok here goes as far as cycling/mountain bike stuff goes we have got the following items up for auction at our Dan’s fundraising event.

1. Steve Peat signed jersey – CLICK HERE [/url]
2. Troy Lee designs signed(by Troy) t-shirt -green says medium but it is more like a large CLICK
3. Endura gillet (m) – black , wind and showerproof with reflective piping – CLICK HERE
4. Two pairs of the latest Continental tyres
2 x ‘black chilli’ mountain kings – 2.2 (rrp £45 each) CLICK
2 x ‘black chilli’ x-kings – 2.2 (rrp £45 each) CLICK
5. 2x cyclist goodie bags worth approx.£100 each courtesy of Garage Bikes CLICK [/url]
6. 2X Coninental gym bags CLICK
and
7. 3x Penny stoves for the bivvi enthusiast CLICK

These items are up for aucion at the fundraiser on Saturday SEE HERE but for those that can’t make it we are accepting telephone or email bids* (we’ve already had a few) – if you are intrested in any of the above please get in touch on 0783 442 4096 or email badbrainsmbc@hotmail.com

*email bids can only be accepted up until 18:00 on Saturday 2nd

Have a look at TUPE regulations too. She should be covered by both TUPE and maternity legislation/policy that was in place when she went on mat’ leave – in this situation and from the info you have given already I would say that there is a good chance the company is in a TUPE situation and as such all workers transferring to the new company will have their T&C’s protected (not indefinately but at least at point of transfer and more than likly beyond).
If they are not in a TUPE situation it looks like something very dodgy is taking place – further investigation needed by qualified people.

If you/she is in one speak to the union (if you’re not join one NOW, we are not all about strikes and sit ins – they are fun though and it gets us on TV and in the papers ,unlike the day to day good stuff we do like saving/creating jobs, providing free education, making sure workers are treat fairly by the employers (cos believe it or not some of them will shaft you at every opportunity) looking after the health safety and wellbeing of members , staff and the general public,free legal advice, campaigning to end poverty, making sure the gender pay gap is addressed, trying to secure work for the next generation – I could go on, but I suppose thats hardly headline grabbing stuff.
I await the M.O.R. psuedo tory onslaught with glee – but don’t expect a response, I wouldn’lower myself, and it’s what I do all day at work yawn yawn etc.

Back to the OP – all joking aside check out what I said about TUPE rights and maternity leave and get some proper advice.
If anyone in employment has the protection of the law it is pregnant or maternal women.

had a Raleigh Chipper (smaller singlespeed Chopper) that my dad bought second hand, had sprayed purple and added my initials instead of the head badge.
Then I can’t remember what it was other than a very lovely green, cruiser type with white wall tyres and white grips, and North Road type bars -I loved that bike and can remember many days riding through local woods and trails on it.

@OP – You started something now Martin

Can’t believe this thread is so long – its quite obvious that what Martin is refering to is against the Rules
The Rules[/url]
Hey, and lets face it, if your not playing The Game, should you even be out there ?

FCN=9

Cheers wallace – looks just the job.

Not strictly a hybrid ….

…but its used for commuting/touring/leisure/shopping/trails/pub

do it – and fit some Middleburn cable oilers

Ok – the trip is on. Thanks for all the advise guys.
Called in at the outdoors shop for some DEET (95% ) turned round and the missus had ought me a new synthetic down sleeping bag 😀 Packs down small enough to go in my bag rather than strapped to handlebars.

Well happy and looking forward to pootling round the Lochs on my lovely Sutra. 😀

STICK PERVERTS !
This kind of thing really boils my p!$$ !!!

A few years back a fella riding in some of our local woods hit some branches and died in hospital later from his injuries.
see here

Over the years I’ve come across logs, sticks, bricks and even wire at neck/head height puposely strewn across trails. Sad thing is its probably going to be some young kid that gets hurt really bad as a result of some morons actions.

The countryside is not the domain of one particular group. If people have a problem with certain users using certain trails – go through the proper steps.

If you purposely set a trap, in the inner city, to purposely injure and maim people you would, if caught, more than likely be facing charges of endangering human life. Soif you do decide to put posters/signs up , don’t hold back.