I would bet my bike there's a vast proportion of us who are delighted that the burglar got a severe thrashing. As Padowan pointed out above, he hardly got away scott-free for his crimes. If his brain recovers enough to mull over this incident I'll bet he wishes he never broke into that house and I'm guessing he may not offend again anytime soon. A good result.

As for the defendants I applaud the principle but it does sound like they went a step (or two) too far. But then sometimes don't the "goodies" have to be prepared to go one step further than the "baddies"?

I think the courts got this one right.

I have NOkon and I just squirt a bit of 3-in-1 down the inner. No probs. Someone once told me that GT85 is not really a suitable lube for gear cables. I can't remember why!

I have my cables set up with a gap in the liner (that is covered by a bit of clear tube when "not in use") so I can access the inner cable easily. 3-in-1 is viscous enough to find its way between the liner and cable

I'm with Jim, PeterPoddy etc on this. I used Muc Off once but couldn't see what it did that a bucket of hot soapy water couldn't do. Granted I use degreaser on the chain every other ride or so, but for the rest of the bike can anyone honestly say specialist cleaners are better?

forgetting cornering and speed and weight back and all those other considerations of technique, the main reason I like to lower the saddle is that sometimes, when things get particularly hairy, I like to be able to be able to get my feet on the ground more easily. When my saddle is at "optimum riding height" it can be a stretch to get the tootsies on the ground, especially if the trail is off-camber. For the same reason I sometimes like to use flat pedals instead of SPDs. Sod the technique, for me it is about damage limitation

I'd love one of these adjustable posts but they are too expensive and I gather unreliable. Also, the weight weenie in me says no

is this thread turning into a big balls contest? I ride the Fort Bill downhill with my saddle so high I can't reach the pedals 🙄

maybe your tube isn't flexible enough. It is a problem I have never encountered with the brewers tubing I use

But how do you get it to stay on the nipple? Keeps falling off, especially when wet.

On the slim chance this is not a wind-up 😀 you could try using a smaller diameter tube?
(have I just been "had"?)

brewers supplies are a good bet too. Never used more than cheap plastic pipe and a jam jar to bleed brakes before and I'm proud to say my bike shop commented on the "good bleed" on my Hopes

I find that stuff around Three Shires Head/Macc Forest/Wildboarclough is well drained with some great descents. You usually end up doing a bit of road work to link it up but the trails are quiet with good views. You may bump into the odd MXer though and the section dropping down to the river below Hawk's Nest can get muddy, but it is a short section.

ha ha sorry, I didn't bother looking first to see if this question had already popped up 😆 Should've guessed really

Having had "duff" (new) cartridge bearings before and not one for whacking things with hammers – at least not things that need to survive – it's +1 for C & C for me

now if Hope could make a hub with cartridge bearings that just pushed out for servicing rather than needing a great big whack we'd all be happy

One tip that works for me. Reassemble everything and using fingers only, hand tighten the cone against the bearings to remove all play. This does not need to be anything more than "nipping up" but with fingers only. Put on the locknut and then back-tighten the cone against the lock nut. This – in my experience – leaves just the right amount of play that will then be taken out when the wheel is in the frame and the QR tightened.

How would a double blind test show a difference you couldn't hear?

Mr Majeika and his cronies from What Snake Oil magazine sit in a room conducting double blind tests until that Eureka moment where they can conclusively observe that Mr Kimber's £20,000 cables are in fact better after all. They publish said findings and Joe Public promptly spends all his savings on said cable. He doesn't bother trying the cable himself because the double blind tests "must be right", forgetting that actually his perception is what matters.

Simple and in fact how most mags support their respective industry. How many of us get to test all the equipment we buy?

For me to change my view will take randomised double-blind studies which show an effect.

In defence of Mr Woppit who has now left the room, can I ask this of all the doubters? If double-blind tests did show a difference – but one that you could not hear – where would you stand then?

What I find odd with this argument is that it is the total opposite of what is usually dished out on this forum regarding bikes. No matter what people read in reviews or what geometry/spec a bike has, most people on this forum would recommend someone try a bike before splashing the cash rather than relying on the "facts". Mr Woppit has done just this with his cables and he liked what he heard

And you have to laugh at the thought of hifi obsessives spending thousands on cables…to listen to music recorded using bog-standard copper

I think this is a far more relevant point. I used to be into Hi-Fi in the sense that I enjoyed reading about the expensive stuff but couldn't afford it (a bit like MTB mags really!). All the mags wittered on about the Holy Grail of hi-fi making music sound exactly as it was recorded. No thanks. I'd rather not hear the crap that wasn't meant to be picked up by the cheap microphones.

I reckon the fact that more people are taking their bikes abroad has an impact on where the market is going. I think that most trail centres do not need a long travel burly bike – any serious technicalities are over pretty quick. My experience of riding in Spain and the Alps is that the bouncier the bike the better, particularly if I get a lift back up again!

That said if I had to have the "one bike" it would be a full susser under 30lbs and certainly less than 6" travel…

…or maybe a road bike

and can climb 44%+ incline

now that I would love to see

Which is why you want a light XC bouncy bike…

…and so the quest for "one-bike-for-all" fails 😆

I find there's a difference between "technical" climbs and just steep climbs. My hardtail is a rocket up hills, but there comes a point where the technicalities mean my 6" full susser is better. Not only does it have better traction but I can "steam-roller" up rocky sections that I would have difficulty on otherwise (I'm no Martyn Ashton!). Also it is easier to stay sat down on my full susser and winch my way up. The annoyance is that the full susser is way more fun at the trail centres…except on the dull fireroad climbs where I dream about being on my hardtail.

Will Young's version of light my fire.

I'm not sure this counts. He carbon-copied a cover version of Light My Fire sung by Jose Feliciano. I've got no bone to pick with Mr Young, but if you're going to do a cover at least make it an original spin.

I quite like Anthrax's version of Friggin in the Riggin 😀

they aren't too quick at sorting out fraudulent activity either. Yes, I know this from bad experience and many months later I'm still waiting for the full amount 🙁

…unless of course it is a different type of XT crankset

the thread that the little outside screwy thing goes in on the drive side

Are you sure you don't mean the non-drive side? There is nothing on the drive side. If you have removed the non-drive side crank arm all you should need is a rubber mallet to knock it all through. The drive side arm and rings are all one unit and shouldn't come undone

I've been impressed with my White Brothers fork here[/url]

cheers nickc, I was on the right lines. Still far too subtle for me. What other subtleties did I miss in Ridley Scott films I wonder…

I missed the whole Unicorn nod to Deckard being a replicant. Maybe I'm dumb but it was quite a subtle suggestion. Deckard dreams of a Unicorn. Later in the film he finds an origami unicorn in his apartment, left by one of the designers of the replicants. The suggestion being that the designer built Deckard's dreams to be about unicorns. A bit too subtle for me 😀

Spain's a big place; whereabouts do they ride? I have ridden in the Sierra Nevada twice – 10 days riding or so – and only got one puncture. Even that was a snake bite from a rather heavy landing. I was running Halo Choir masters 2.35 and tubes, so nothing special really.

The original Star Wars trilogy

Good call. The scene with Jabba the Hutt in the space port at Mos Eisley was truly awful and a hint of what was to come with Jah Jah Binks

tinsy, no it isn't worth pointing it out. Don't confuse matters 😆

Loved these films at the cinema but couldn't help thinking it was 9 hours of fighting interspersed with not an awful lot. Do the books have more plot and depth?

mikey74, the curse of the internet strikes again and offence seems to have been taken where none was intended. I wasn't having a dig and I did read your post. I was pointing out to sapper that "mud tyres" don't have to be just for mud.

And yes, it would seem sensible that when choosing tyres, it "depends what sort of terrain you are riding". Now I am having a dig by the way 😉

You only need a mud tyre if you end up ploughing through the stuff for long periods which, I personally, can't think of anything worse

ha ha, yeah whatever. Try riding in the White Peak in winter and then tell me that 😆 You don't have to be ankle-deep in mud to benefit from mud tyres

Trailrakers are relatively hard-wearing in my experience but I tend to put them on when I know I will need some help in the mud rather than have them on all winter

If you're after a proper mud tyre then I can recommend the Panaracer Trailraker. It's far from being an "all-rounder" but when it gets sloppy I've not had better. For a knobblie I don't find it too draggy either

ha ha sounds like I'm not the only hoarder of worn out kit, although to be fair I buy new tyres way before the old ones wear out, just because…

…however whether you actually notice that flex is debatable

he flex between your leg test proves **** all really as this doesn't represent anything on th trail

This was always Paul Turner's – the designer of the Mavs – response and much as I love my Mavs I do think this is cobblers. Trying to ride out of one of the many Peak District ruts will put torsional stresses on a fork – it's just common sense – and if the fork has torsional flex then it will struggle.

I've been riding DUCs for nearly 3 years now, from Peak District cross-country stuff to trips to the Sierra Nevada and some big terrain, via various trail centres in between. The are super plush, I've not had to touch them for servicing (yet) but am reliably informed they are easy to take apart. The travel lock down is essential and often used for steep climbs.

They do dive under braking though, which I found an issue when riding slow and technical. However once I got better and learnt to let the bike run rather than brake too much this stopped being so much an issue. I've not tried different oil yet.

As for stiffness, I've not really compared them in anger to anything with similar travel, so my comments should be taken with a pinch of salt. However I do find them a bit "indirect" under hard, fast and loose corners with baby-head rocks. Could be my technique and also bike geometry but I find I'm working hard to keep the bike on course. They are not a "point and shoot" fork – unless going in a straight line – even though they can gobble up an awful lot.

Overall they are recommended but if I was in the market again I'd look hard at some of the lighter long travel forks that are around these days. The Mavs aren't as significantly lighter than the competition these days.

No complaints with the hubs though

KMC gold anodised for me 😀

Had plenty of Shimano chains break on me