^^ This. After much deliberation, it was mainly the reports of great service that have made me upgrade my Descender GD to Turbo rather than going for the KS Lev. It may be the ugly ducking of the dropper world, but the light weight, ease of self service and great customer service still make it the best IMHO.

Trollhunter
Daft as a bag of Thor hammers, but very entertaining.

Yeah, I’m not sure what’s wrong with the Five Ten hive mind on this one. The requirements are obvious – just get a proper breathable waterproof upper (such as Goretex) with a proper gusseted tongue (most water gets in when you splash through a puddle and throw the water over the laces area, or if you have to step-off /fall off into a puddle)
Then add a stealth rubber sole that has nobby bits on the tip of the toe and on the heel (so you can push up muddy slopes with it). Sure, they’d come out at about £150, but everyone here would buy them. And their prices creep up each year anyway! And even though they keep making their new shoes in retina burning, vomit inducing disco colours, as long as there is a black/ grey version, it would be fine. There’s a ‘winterised’ Freerider VXI coming out, but what they really need is a five-ten version of this:
Hi Tec Sierra Lite
I’ve got the boot version and it’s awesome, but the Vibram sole is just under par for proper MTB use.

I booked the Double Tree last minute for £85 before. Free cookie on arrival 🙂

Recently quoted similar for a new evaporator unit. Aircon ain’t cheap. My local Halfords Autocentre can usually beat any quote I get though…

Mmmm, I was just debating whether to upgrade my Gravity Dropper crotch-grab to “Turbo” for £75, or sell it and drop the wad on a KS Lev 27.2 von Deutschland. Also looked at this but don’t fancy the red anodized and looks like the quality is hit and miss.

Any long term KS users on here care to comment on the longevity and servicing? The GD is so easy to service – biggest obstacle to swapping for me. And while the GD rubber boots is fugly compared to the gold tinged KS stanchion – the KS just looks like a rock target for the back wheel…

Haha. Took about 2 mins 🙂

So, with me, I started high and short, and as I became more used to it, went a bit longer and lower. But this only really works if you have enough steerer tube and spacers above the headset to make the adjustments (as per your bike), or you have quill stem (as per my bike). CRC have the Ritchey adjustable stem in 100mm and 80mm I believe. Then once you know what works for you, you can buy appropriately. Saves going through 7 or 8 stems.

PS – I should add that my frame was a tad too big for me really, but it was free, so I ‘made’ it work. Not generally recommended, but I’m very happy with it and now in second year of daily commute plus weekend road riding.

Adjustable stem FTW. Not pretty, and not light, but will help you get the geo dialled – certainly sorted me out. Someone will be along in a moment to say what a bad idea that is… 😉

So the funeral cars would have overtaken a car or motorbike on that road?

No, so the car that clipped the cyclist would not have tried to the cyclist if he’d been on a motorbike. Are you assuming that motorbikes are all really fast and drive in the middle of the road? Shall we call it a pizza delivery moped then? slowing down to turn right? Does that help to visualise it? Why was your last comment provocative? No need for that. Glad you changed it.

My one and only visit to a Greek seafood restaurant didn’t go well…

Wow, that’s a lot of oil…

Then the situation would not have occurred.

Exactly, he wouldn’t have dared to drive into him while he was signaling right, I quite agree. If he had, I think he would have been treated more seriously by the police.

An earlier comment was spot on. What if he wasnt riding a bike but was driving a car?

Or indeed a motorbike?

Wow that’s pretty shocking. I mean, even if maybe… just maybe… the cyclist had worked out that the car behind was following the funeral when the horn sounded, by that point it was too late and he’d have been knocked off anyway. The driver’s inability to avoid that situation shows that either he was not fully in control of the car, or that he knocked the cyclist off with intention, both of which I would have thought commanded a stiffer response from the police. You get 3 points for running a red light, even if by accident and nobody gets hurt. The police offer’s explanation is baffling – given that these are not emergency vehicles and again, there is no way he would have been able to tell who was following the funeral. Given he was turning right and the funeral was going straight on, he could reasonably expect the car behind to give way anyway, rather than attempt to run him down. Why were they so far behind? was the courtege going too fast? Overall, it looks like the police are trying to balance this out some how, given that the funeral / grieving relatives situation are seen by the police as mitigating circumstances. But I think this is the police being emotional – I’m not sure they are mitigating circumstances for needlessly running someone down on the roads. All of this nonsense about where he was on the road doesn’t matter – you don’t run him over simply because you can’t get past. And all this ‘the policeman is a cyclist’ is irrelevant nonsense as well, as it was in the Emma Way incident. What makes you a cyclist? Cycling everyday or just once a year? Owning a bike? Cycling on the roads? It does make me wonder of the police are generally anti-bike, or if they’ve just decided it’s one cyclist vs a larger number of funeral attendees.

Good luck with the application then – hope it goes well.

A idiot lazy agent will still be shortlisting before deciding on who to send

LOL. Assume that’s sarcasm…

retained executive search
What on earth is that?

“Contingency recruitment” – agencies that are paid on result. Generally hold big databases and run a lot of adverts, send out blanket emails and conduct in the usual bun fight that you might associate with recruitment agencies. Clients use and abuse them, hire them and drop them just like that. It’s fast paced, high turnaround and quite messy. This part of the industry is being majorly challenged by LinkedIn and the rise of the in-house recruiter.
“Retained executive search” – retained on a monthly or project based fee by the client, or with money up front and then paid the remainder on result. Generally do a thorough search, often from scratch. This involves researching the relevant people and approaching them confidentially and asking them for referrals if they don’t want the job. This way they pick up the passive candidates and people not yet on social networks. They also interview thoroughly, longlist and shortlist. Client has already invested in them so no reason to screw over, plus they are usually the only agency working on the role, so no bun fight with other recruiters. Longer process, much more reliable results.

I’d say apply direct after making contact with the HR person or hiring manager there directly through LinkedIn. This shows initiative and networking, and gets you in front of them straight away. Maybe you didn’t know about the job until the agency told you – but that was the agency’s gamble, and the nature of contingency recruitment – assuming this is a contingency recruiter who gets paid on result only, in which case the client with have no qualms about screwing them over unless they have a really good relationship with them. In terms of legality, the law is that the agency cannot claim a fee unless the client has said they will engage with the candidate through the agency.

If this is retained executive search however, you’ll shoot your foot off going direct. That, my friend, is your gamble.

As a kid, I’d eat nothing (and I mean nothing) except cheese on toast or bacon.
As an adult, I eat pretty much everything except cheese or bacon.

Parsnips is a good one. Learnt to love them as an adult, but only after some serious roasting. Travelling certainly broadens the mind and tastebuds – I’m just getting a taste for Durian, but it still smells like something died – Biltong falls into a similar category.

Then I encountered veg that wasn’t boiled for 20 minutes by my mum.

I think the cooking ability of parents plays a big part 😉

Yeah, I hate getting wet as well, tried to mtfu and failed. As for shorts, I (like many people) bought some army surplus goretex trousers and cut them off at the knee. I also went one further and got the mrs to sew the cut-offs into pockets and stitch them into the velcro pocket flaps – so mine have waterproof pockets now as well! Total cost was £25 for the trousers off Ebay and about 20p worth of thread. Waterproof, breathable, plus I just hose off the crud at the end of the ride, thus saving the washing machine and my wife’s patience. Win win 🙂

For the crazily heavy rain days, I’ve worn army surplus trousers and goretex boots with gaiters. Looks a bit daft, but frankly, give a shizzle. I found waterproof socks just fill with sweat and nothing except gaiters will keep the water out of shoes on prolonged rides through deep puddles. I’m now very happy riding in the rain.:)

Oh yes….

I’d seriously advise getting a roller and rolling your back and legs (especially ITB) every day.
Here’s a vid:

Also, my Osteo says that cycling really shortens the hamstrings, which can then affect your back – so do hamstring stretches every morning and evening. That regime has certainly sorted me out.

Flowers> Garden
I love the original version of this, and the remix is great.

Amazing!

Dubstep, but actually pretty good…
Keeping it 2 Tone Ska

Cyclist not pressing charges, just wants her told off.
Remains possible police might charge her with leaving scene of accident, hence why Mr. pin stripe is following her around.

I think the parts of her tweet “Definitely knocked a cyclist off” – rather than “cyclist hit my mirror and wobbled off”

and also “I have right of way” – which seems very confusing unless he was on her side of the road or she was avoiding cones

plus the whole thing followed by “#bloodycyclists” might be hinges that this case swings on.

I think the interviews are the lawyer’s attempt to overcome what looks like a pretty black and white case, given the above.

nealglover –
No, we only have cyclist’s story that she came across the side of the road.
And her tweet saying she’d hit a cyclist, which only implied that she’d left the scene.
Not sure the photo of her breaking the speed limit would be considered as it’s a separate incident.
But as you can tell, I’m no lawyer

Wow, just seen the BBC interview. It’s like a 3 minute cringe and she just looks angry. Not sure the second hand car salesman – cum – lawyer is helping either. Methinks it’s aimed at mums who have daughters of the same age. Not sure why the lawyer is getting involved in this PR stunt though. Surely it would be a tribunal with a judge, not jury? Anyone?

Now running on BBC Magazine

BBC: “Toby, it would be really great if you could wear a cycling jersey for the photo, just so people can identify you as a cyclist, and not a human being…”

Someone should send this to Charlie Brooker

That, my friend, is a woodlouse spider. Vicious looking things, and one of the few species in the UK capable of biting through human skin. But like the rest, not dangerous.

The hour-long version 😯 should you be tempted is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4WlNj1TTqA

^^ more on that here:

Freerider xvi ‘elements’
http://lyramag.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/five-ten-climbing-approach-bike-shoes.html

Any 5.10s (like pretty much all MTB shoes) suck big time in wet and cold unfortunately. Over the winter I invested in some quality Goretex hi-top lightweight hiking boots with grippy Vibram soles – they work well on my DMR vaults. What you loose in ultimate rubber sticky-ness you gain in everything else. 5.10s great for summer though, just fugging expensive. Are you prepared to bite the two pairs of shoes bullet? 😉

PS – the new Freerider XVi shoes look pretty cool

Oh you’re right, what was I thinking? 🙄

Was thinking about other road users really.

So, the cyclist is clearly being a bit of a d*ck, what with the airhorn etc and lack of patience, but the WVM is the only person to commit a crime – and like the coppers, we only have this video to go on. Sounds like it’s been resolved as well, so all a bit academic now.

But it did provoke a question in my mind. What if a cyclist is behaving erratically and dangerously and targets a driver who he thinks has wronged him – trying to damage his car etc? In slow moving traffic the driver can’t get away. What form of come back does the driver have? Unlike cars with number plates, how do you identify and prosecute an errant cyclist? Dashboard cams are one thing, but might not get caught on tape if he’s scratching your passenger doors with a key. Just trying to imagine from the other side of the fence.

^^ nice vid that.
You might like these guys – my mate’s band. Should be much bigger than they are IMO.