BTW the reason that he is the ‘best kicker in the world’ is that he gives difficult kicks to other players

Utter rubbish! He gives the long range kicks to other players, not the same thing. He slots from both touchlines on a very regular basis.

His range is probably comparable to the much hailed Johnny. Just that within range CP is better!

No surprise he was not taken though as the squad has some great kickers and stonger players in the positions he covers. Do think he could have been a useful bench player as he covers all the back 3 and stand off

Backhander, I can only assume you are fishing

The SH would love a tournament of the 6N’s calibre. If you truly believe the 6 nations do not count then you probbaly missed some of the autumn internationals where even Scotland (2nd bottom last 2 years) could and should have beaten SA. Wales (4th) did not to badly either if I recall.

BOD would be a shoe in for NZ also.

A A is spot on.

BOD and Williams have without a doubt proved themselves at the highest level. I have a mate from my rugby days that continues to question Shane Williams. I just don’t get it, I really don’t. World player of the year FFS.

Never heard anyone say it about BOD before. Best outside centre of this generation IMO – though I know a LOT of people would agree.

Henson I think has more to prove, and lets face it with his off the field antics he is always going to have to do more. I think he was instrumental in both of Wales’ grand slams though. Not suprised he is not in the Lions due to fitness questions.

I think TJ has hit the mark with his Wilko assessment.

England were a great team in 2003 but it was built on 2 of the all time greats, Jonno and Richard Hill (guess I am agreeing with Pig Face?). They also had a whole host of great players. Bankhander is right with most.

Neil Back has always been immense.

Not sure why Neil Back figures in so many people minds as a ‘great’. He was ok, even good as a link player. Weak tackler, not as good at turing the ball over as his peers and not a lineout option.

Whatever his choices were he didn’t give anybody else much of an idea. Brought 3 teams worth of players, tried to “save” people for the tests leading to stupid squad rotation, played people out of position, had an outdated gameplan that didn’t suit the players involved, lets face it, Woodward was totally out of his depth.

Absolutely

Ellis is much snappier at the base of the ruck than Phillips, he serves up quick ball.

Absolutely 🙂

Crazy, Worsley has never been a 7 he’s a 6. To suggest that worsley is fit to lace Martyn Williams or Wallace’s boots as a 7 is bizare plus Ferris and Quinlan are better 6 and Wallace a better 6, 7 or even 8.

I was not suggesting Worsley for open side. I would have Wallace there and Worsely at blindside.

McGeechan will not make the same mistakes as Sir Clive. Let’s face it. Sir Clive was in the right place right time for 2003. He had an awesome team at his disposal with some of the all time greats.

Agree that Wallace & Williams don’t balance the back row. I personally woud opt for Worsley over Williams based on 6 nations form.

I disagree on Mboy’s thoughts about lack of world class players.

Byrne, BOD, Shane Williams, POC, Euan Murray, Jenkins, would all be up for serious discussion in a world 15 debate. Many others are top players if not necessarily the out and out best.
Back row & scrum half really bother me though. Pivotal and potentially weak areas

Idle Jon said is right. To suggest that England are better than Wales because Italy turned up without a scrum half, France put in their worst 1st half performance of the tournament and 1 good, game changing tackle against the Scots would be pretty naive :-).

erm…. no, worsley is not and has never been good enough. He tackled Roberts out of the game but then left Williams to dominate the breakdown leading to so many pens against England and yellow cards

Do you really think that? I am a major fan of Martyn Williams but frankly he did not have a great 6 nations by his standards. Preventing turnovers is not a 1 man job. The English pack were not rucking cleanly enough. Worsley got man of the match that day and deservedly so. He did his job fantastically. If you had asked me a year ago if Worsley was a lions contender I would have said no way. He was picked on form though

Pretty close there Robbo I think

I would currently have Worsley in and Williams out (with Wallace on open side). I hope Williams steps up and proves me wrong as the tour develops

I would also have Shane Williams in.

Flutey would also be a close call vs Shanklin

Think they should have taken Hook. Not sure switching between Jones & O’Gara offers us enough of a game plan changing option. I know he is not in the top form but I reckon he would have stepped up.

I think our backs could be awesome if the forwards can take the Bok’s on up front. I reckon we can in the front five, Euan Murray is the best tight head in the world IMO and POC is right up there in the 2nd row world rankings. Back row – I’ll reserve judgement

Worsley totally outplayed the Welsh back row in Cardiff IMO.

No doubt Worsley is there in an attempt to match the brute force but we need a turn over / breakdown player.

If Williams can recapture some form then the backrow balance will be right. Just a pity we may need to wait a week for Phillips to take several steps and pass the ball

Stunned everyone seems content that Mike Phillips is going. We have potentially a mouth watering backline that will be supplied by stupidly slow service. He is a big lump. So what? Give me a fast passing, creative thinking scrum half any day. Phillips is neither. Would not pick him for Wales far less the Lions.

I think Ross Ford should be there and believe Worsely was England’s standout player in the 6 nations so deserves to be there. Mike Blair and Ryan Jones played themsleves out of contention!

Not suprised Henson is not there but I agree he is a gifted player (if a bit of an ass off the field)

Reckon we will take them though 🙂

MisterGnar – thought it was just me.

The speed I go from not knowing about something, to knowing about it, to wanting it, to needing it and needing it now is staggering 🙂

Point is I bet it could have been in the shop the next day r day after. ie as quick as the online order.

My LBS (Psycle Werx, Bristol) can generally get stuff the next day or certainly in 2 days.
Prices usually pretty reasonable. Maybe more than the Net but will fit for free if required and the personal service you get over time is well worth it.

Was it an ’emergency’ need for a stem?

7.28 for me. I said sub 4:30. Wonder what planet I was on at the time :?.

Still looks all a bit random to me

No idea what you are talking about :D, but yes it is a good video.

Does a good job of dissecting the basic skills and showing you how to get the most out of riding.

Think riders of most levels would benefit to some extent

Ant, I think you are making my point, just in a differnt way.

When I was regualarly commuting I expected the worst and compensated for it. I have to get back into that way of thinking or I will end up very annoyed or under a car!

It is bloody dangerous out there.

Really mad now that I did not clock the driving instructors school :(. More I think about it the madder I get.

Agree with your last point ADH. Somtimes the way people cycle is stupid in the extreme

I cannot believe that I did not clock the name of the driving school.

I agree the instructor needs to keep calm but surely a simple sorry would have been in order.

Beans & Fried Eggs on buttered toast with HP sauce

Twrch is great as a double lapper. 1 lap will be a bit short for that drive. It is now all open and the Freeride is fun also and probably better on a HT. Before my 456 was stolen it was my bike of choice for Cwm Carn.

THnaks guys.

I will try the nail varnish and super fine sand paper for now.

Will talk to Mojo tomorrow and see what the warranty position is. Not hopeful but worth asking

1 – 2 requiring new helmets. 1 I am certain would have been serious wihout a helmet
2 – ??? Loads of branch incidents I guess
3 – I nipped my girls chin with the buckle once if that counts?
4 – Almost never ride without a helmet

Can’t offer any more advice than has been given

However as an ex rugby player with an occasional tendency to see ‘red-mist’ I can sympathise with you. This guy sounds like a bit of a tool. If you can’t take the knocks then don’t play the game and certinaly don’t go dishing it out unless you can take it back (him – not you). Reckon he is just our for a pay out 🙁

Good luck

I was doing a ~6 mile commute each day of the week and it got to the point that I was hating it. Barely long enough to warm up and it never seemed to get any easier. I had a 1 (then 2) young girls to contend with and it does takes it’s toll

I stopped and forced myself to drive for a few weeks. Soon I found I was craving the cycle time.

The other thing I did was change my attitude towards the cycle. Rather than being just a commute I considered it ‘me’ time. I sometimes pootled along mulling the world’s problems over in my head. Other times I blasted it as hard as I could. Other days I did ‘intervals’ between certain sections. Not sure my fitness improved at all but I certianly enjoyed the cycle a lot more

The point is I tried to mix it up to relieve the boredom that was making the commute a chore. I doubt a 7 mile commute is physically wearing you out after all these years. Mentally it probably is though

If you are really low on energy you may need to visit the GP. My mate was anaemic. Iron tablets transformed him!

Good luck

Got a Gravity Dropper on one bike and the Pure racing one on the other

Great pieces of kit and really improve most of my rides. I use them all the time and drop the saddle in places I would never have stopped to drop the saddle before. That in turn allows 2 things

– slightly higher ‘normal’ seatpost height so better for cliimbing

– faster more in control descending

You do need to clean and re-lube regularly but not a big job (2 mins)

Done a few races in the past and probably will again this year.

Probably same as you. Just fancied giving it a go. Great way to push your limits every now and then

You will not be last in Masters unless you have some technicals.

Personally I would go for Open and see how you go.

Alternatively do what I do and pick the race time that suits best (assuming there is more than one race?)

Thanks. Will try the boiling water thing also.

Whichever one I fancy. After several months of HT I am now back on the FS.

Can ride anything on my HT that I ride on my FS but no question the FS is faster (but not necessarily more fun) on something like a DH run.

Riding both gives you different skills that transfer back to the other.

However it just a bike and some hills so I think it best not to over think it 🙂

Where you ride definitely has a HUGE impact on brake pad life. This winter I have not been to Afan once. My brake pads are now > 6 months old and have plenty of life left yet. I could guarantee you that if I visit Afan in the wet both F&R sets will be shot probably before the ride is over :-(.

For what it’s worth I do bed the pads in until they are stinking hot. Still can eat a set of pads in one big wet day out at Afan. That’s why I largely restrict it to summer time trips now 🙁

Molgrips – interesting comments about Cwm Carn. I have not really noticed Cwm Carn being that bad (relative to Afan at least!) but at the same time I have been there less than normal this winter also. May be contributing to my better pad life?

Hope Mono M4 brakes and I have used all types of pad brands. No noticable difference TBH (including Superstar FWIW)

Just went for (slightly ~50mm) narrower bars. Only because they were what the shop had and I needed a set ASAP for the uplift day at inners.

Did not think I would say this but the narower are better. Still 685mm wide but that is plenty for 99.9% of my riding and better for getting through the local woods

If you not done it before what are teh chances of getting in? Would ‘love’ to do it solo

My labrador is an excellent trail dog. He will run all day and after his initial pee will not deviate from about 2 feet behind the back wheel.

Great with the kids also

Thanks all.

We are out all week so he is definietly bringing the DH bike. Given he will hump me for the rest of the week maybe I will take the PdS as an opportunity to get an early counter punch in 🙂

A fantastic event and highly recommended.

Did it last year. No doubt the whole thing gets into your head before hand so can be intimidating. However if you think you can ride it then likelihood is you will be able to.

I used a 6 inch travel bike. I agree a DH bike could be quicker on the qualifier. However a French numb nut knocked me off before the first corner of the qualifier. At that point I was dead last in my heat when I managed to get up and started again. The smaller bike allowed a lot of places to be made up on the climbs / flats.

Reality is most burly bikes will be fine but big, strong tyres are a must. Tubeless DH tyres would be ideal I reckon.

I will be back though sadly not this year.

Thanks guys 🙂

Have the 4 & 1 inch drop.

I would highly recommend it. It is also pretty robust, as long as you clean and re-grease regularly (2 min job)

1 inch down for fast singletrack, 4 inches for when it gets steep and technical.

You will use them both and you will drop the seatpost a lot more than you would if you had to stop. I ride Cwm Carn regularly. Never dropped my saddle. Now I use both the 4 and 1 inch drops on every lap. Don’t ‘need’ to but just makes the decending more fun. I also have my saddle at a better max height for climbing.

Yep. Black option on the Whites.

I assume Hope are releasing hoops with Stan’s flow rims? I did not know that.

If that is the case i may well hold off on my 5.1 hoops purchase