>lots of people are doing very well out of recession, its not affecting everyone adversely, we’re all in it together my ar$e!
stop their benefits!<

What – just stop all ‘benefits?’

The politicians making the decisions are most certainly not all in it together.

Why not try the 7 floors of whores? That will spice your trip up a little 😉

Should have added that the guy I rode with employed a maid – practically every affluent Westerner, it seems, has a fleet of servants to carry out the menial stuff – often a different person for each role. The “pool cleaning guy” for example.

Anyway, cleaning this guys mtb after every ride had been written into her employment contract. Kinda summed the place up for me – I’d really hate to live there.

Spent a few weeks in Singapore living with relatives.

Road cycling:The car is king and you really need your wits about you – despite the fact their road systems (and conditions) are light years ahead of ours, nothing has been designed with the bike in mind and cyclists are generally treated with contempt out on the road. I wouldn’t judge as very safe for the uninitiated unless riding in a group. I’m sure there’s cycle path stuff down near the beach area although everything they do is very heavily policed so expect to get pulled up for any transgressions;-)

mtb: There’s a formal mtb trail centre @ Bukit Timah (getting there without a car from the town centre isn’t far but you have to negotiate some 6 lane highways in order to do so. I was shown around by a local and there’s a lot of sneaky stuff – some of which is actually very good. Don’t expect a Glentress type facility though.

http://www.mbasg.org/bukit-timah-mtb-trail.html

I know there are forums so look them up and I’m sure some ex pats would be happy to show you the sneaky stuff further into the city. These guys also ride the aqueduct / storm systems for night rides 😉

Also, unless you are acclimatised then forget about doing anything strenuous after midday (in fact first light is ideal)as the heat / humidity can be incredibly draining. I did a couple of solo jaunts and it’s a wee bit spine chilling at first seeing large monkeys snakes and Monitor lizards on and crossing the trails / rustling about in the jungle (it is proper jungle btw) Watch the monkeys btw or rather don’t -eye contact is a no no.

As for the rest – shop til you drop if that’s your thing. Lots of (expensive)eating down at the Quay. If you prefer to get with the locals (which nobody appears to be) then Chinatown and Little India are far more interesting. Everywhere is pretty safe ime.

Speak to Specialized re replacement?

Or bin it as I very much doubt you’ll find anything to bond it without making it feel like concrete.

Fair play- a sense of humour never goes amiss 😉

>fat/chubby/lardy,pot bellied middleaged men should not wear lycra.<

Aha – that’s different 😉

Always amused by these ‘whoa no lycra here’ comments….

Usually from folk who wear clown like / below the knee / baggy / flappy monstrosities. Do you guys never ride in the rain? How folk can stand that is beyond me.

>Deore is quite a bit less good though- not very well sealed but also the bearings aren’t that durable even disregarding that<

Had them both apart (Deore and XT) and I cant say I was drawn to that conclusion i.e I thought the differences were very minor though clearly to give the XT unit less weight.

Either way the trail sh1te entered both of mine with the same alacrity. I’ve also fitted Enduro bearings into XT cups and they didn’t last any longer than the originals. Same goes for Enduro front hub bearings so I have to conclude that a lot of this is down to the conditions you ride in

Can’t comment on Hope but the Shimano product is p1sh. 3 months from Deore, a little longer from XT. Then the play develops….

No, I’m not over tightening the preload. Yes, my frame has been faced properly(not that this makes a damn bit of difference in my view – surely the key issue here is whether the threads have been tapped parallel with each other and or their angle is on the p1ss relative to the BB shell / frame itself?)

Oh, that’s riding 10hrs a week, every week, ‘Scottish’ conditions.

Per Jameso. In fact I’m not sure there’s much benefit in XT over Deore tbh.

And folk used to whinge about ISIS 😉

Here’s another for the future – similar elevation:

http://kingy.viewnetcam.com/CgiStart?page=Single&Language=0

You might be ok. However, given the winds that snow came in on you you could find it driven on to the very paths you want to use, whilst being remarkably absent elsewhere…

>Carp fishermen are packing. Usually air guns, massive knives, phat banksticks.<

Aye, nothing worse than being slapped by a wet fish. And these Carp – well they can turn real nasty.

Good luck with the sausage 😉

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=throwing%20a%20sausage%20up%20a%20close

I have the Mountain Morph and the Lezyne. The Morph is the better unit for mtb.

I think you’re stuffed for that neck of the woods:

Click on the webcam for Altnafeadh (the one below Fort William on the map)

http://trafficscotland.org/map/?x=270000&y=755000&scale=5348388&itemtypeids=26

Doesn’t look too much at the side of the road but that will be 6 – 12″ settled with 2 and 3ft + drifts higher up. Corrour is +100m higher still so you’d have great difficulty walking in never mind taking the bike.

I’ve heard there’s little snow below 400m in the East (Gorms) See this pic for conditions above that – the snow blower pic was taken @ c.450m:

http://www.winterhighland.info/forum/read.php?2,149183,page=36

>Chains don’t stretch.<

Really?

Depends on your definition of stretch – they do become longer after prolonged wear.

IIRC most stainless steels are in fact “softer” ergo there’s a longevity trade off

>Chains don’t stretch.<

Really?

Depends on your definition of stretch – they do become longer after prolonged wear.

IIRC most stainless steels are in fact “softer” ergo there’s a longevity trade off

>Firelighters are for girls.<

This.

You need to learn how to roll your balls………of newspaper.

Once you get that sorted things will become a lot easier. This does of course mean you need to source a steady supply of Telegraphs (or the Herald if you are in Scotland 😉

Aldi, Lidl / similar all good enough for your needs. You’ll get something decent for under £20

Yeah that looks fairly robust.

Problem with all** those mini tools is that your work rate with them is agonisingly slow…

**Except a quality folding saw

“Gaick”

Liking the subtle point Sniff 😉

Cant beat a Mattock tbh. Most other stuff is too much hard work / and or snaps.

Not packable obviously – couple of us just bought a few and stashed them in the woods on foot. Move around by bike when the mood / need arises.

Mud X.

Weather’s been so bad this year I’ve been riding for 12 months with them.Very durable…

Yes they are on the harsh side for more general riding but the guy asked for a mud tyre.

Throw caution to the wind and go for a full on Masonic handshake.

If you’re happy looking like a polished turd then fire away.

But you will NOT look cool. 😉

Remember – you cannot polish a turd.

The PM example above being a case in point. Quite uncanny how you instantly look through the scarf, dark glasses and very obviously died hair and see a 70+ something man…

Per Drac

Small supply of Removers blankets and some bungees. Really no need for anything fancier & makes the van interior far more flexible.

Unless it’s a Team Van / you’re trying to look the part 😉

>standard skf’s or enduros do the job fansastically.<

Hmmm…

Got all of 5 weeks out of a pair of Enduro Front hub bearings (c 700km) and 3 months out of their BB bearings. Both falling some way short of the Brand X Japanese / XT units supplied with the bike.

Might try SKF or FAG next time but they are roughly double the price of the Enduro items which in themselves aren’t exactly cheap.

Dozens of options – do a google Scotland ctc.

Bit against the grain this (and the prevailing wind)however,the East Coast and it’s approach is latterly very anticlimatic. Train journey South also rather boring (I presume you are using trains at each end) so don’t rule out ‘going the other way.’

What’s with the hash browns guys? You’ll be shoving pancakes and maple syrup in there next.

Fried cockles? Holy sh1t.

Sweet Jesus. So it is possible to take thread count on a bike forum to another level

GET A LIFE.

+1 BoardinBob’s choice. Sublime…

McTell

McLean

Paxton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrgS94hxuJ0

Corries

Drake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IUqN9ozmhw

Gaughan

MacColl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wj7xZf8xm8

Cash

Peter, Paul and Mary

Hall& McGregor

Runrig

Fisher

Imlach

Reader

Capercaille / Mathieson

Few 100m higher than the Mam Carraigh though is it not? I think you’ll have snow on the top / bit of pushing but probably not enough to trouble you much.

Judge for yourself – visible top left in this frame:

http://www.winterhighland.info/pix/displaypic.php?id=24677,871#start

Over biked? Definitely a case of over thinking…

Find some riding buddies who are better riders than you – that’ll bring your skills on / stop you contemplating your navel 😉

No ta – I’ll wait for the DX version.

>They help stop the rest of society from laughing at us though.<

Granted 😉

>The courses are getting more tech and the races a bit shorter and Lycra doesn’t suit that IMO.<

Sorry, I just do not understand that statement. I get the whole aesthetic thing and I’ll wear baggies over my 3/4 in the Summer but on a practical level they add nothing.

Only you can answer your own question – depends on the state of the Towpath you intend to ride along.