Got same box for 3 powerlinks. Arrived quickly though and I recycled the box, so all’s well etc. etc.

Can’t go but would have loved to. V. jealous.

That the back road from Trollhattan to Gothenburg is very twisty. And that working in a moving taxi makes you ill. On the upside, also learnt that Saab cloth seats are surprisingly easy to sponge clean.
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I’ve got a Spesh Allez double. Was in the sales couple of years ago under £500 and seems pretty decent for the money – very fast compared to MTB of course but don’t believe any nonsense about “the carbon forks do a great job of filtering out road imperfections to give a smooth ride” that you’ll read in the reviews. All cheap road bikes make you feel like you are being shot peened. Any of the big names at a cheap price should be much of a muchness – shop around and brace yourself.
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As I work for a car company I’ll excuse myself from the first part for fear of perceived bias. As to the second – I’d upgrade my Zesty 214 to a 914. Cant’ see I could ever need more bike than that for what I ride. Won’t ever happen, though…

Re. backup, if your tunes are on the PC and iPOD surely that’s by definition a backup? In any case I have a cheap external hard drive that I use to back-up my PC, if you have something like that just make a copy of your itunes library and you’re good to go. Would be lost without mine – have it in the car so I have all my music with me at all times, plus when you travel it’s great not to have to select just a few CDs to take…

Just looks like any 5 to me – what’s the big deal?

Had an Evoke for many years – got one almost as soon as they launched it. Still going strong.

Possible you were just very unlucky. If the law of averages holds true it would be a good time to buy a lottery ticket…
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As Mrs Fopster very kindly bought me my STW subscription for Christmas, she is clearly aware of the existence of this site and may even find herself looking at it in a quiet moment to confirm what her beloved is up to.

I am therefore happy to confirm that I am indeed existing on just the one bike at the moment. I am, however, looking after a couple of other bikes for dear friends who sadly don’t have the space in their own garages. Purely on a temporary basis, you understand. I am sure I’m not the only one happy to help a fellow cyclist in this way – I know of several people with only one bike who happen to have more than that in their garage, “just for now”….
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Also thought hyperdrive was pretty good, and she was by far the funniest thing in it. Therefore watched her sitcom with high expectations and it was like a Terry & June flashback. My conclusion – a talented performer, but maybe not writer. Still makes her more talented than me, though. I can’t even do a decent trackstand.

Your preferred brand of sticky gunk with some nails to hold it while it dries and manage small wobbles in wall. Simples.

I’ve been using Conti Gatorskins. No idea of weight etc. – they are much lighter than my MTB tyres if that’s a help…

Anyway – I used to get loads of punctures and now get none. They are a bit sketchy in wet or ice though – was getting wheelspin uphill last weekend. Eeek.

Three cheers for army surplus Goretex and overshoes. Still – would prefer dry trails so I can get a bit of speed up. Getting so bored of slogging through sloppy thick mud I even went out on my roadbike at the weekend. Seemed to be going into a 40mph headwind no matter which way I was going, so shan’t make that mistake again… 🙂

Cateye Strada wireless. Dead easy to use (no small fiddly buttons while you’re riding), easy to fit (no wires) and cheap (try Ebay).

A cheap P7 torch from DX is more than enough to ride off road at a reasonable pace. I bought two, and now an XPG as well as a lighter light on the helmet. Used all three at once on Friday night and that was PLENTY of light! If you can wait for slow delivery I’d get a P7 and be done with it.

Agree with lots on here, but would add The Fall – Your Future, Our Clutter. A return to form.

+1 for Zesty if there are any 2010 left. They were going for 1,300 (paid 1,400 for mine) and a fantastic bike at that price. Tried an Anthem but found it a bit dull in comparison, but just my opinion – you may prefer it and no doubt cross country it’d be quicker…

If my Carrera Fury can cope (and it did) I’d have thought you’d be fine on pretty much any “decent” hardtail. As long as it wasn’t from Argos/Tesco etc. can’t see there’s a problem. Having said that, I have bought a FS.
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Credit where it’s due. Thread of the day for display of guts. All is well with the world.

Actually I thought it was fun in an over stylised Sunday night drivel sort of way. Not life changing but fun for a quiet night if you’ve nowt better to do and fancy switching off your brain.

What an utterly bizarre thread (and I only had time to read half of it). By way of background, I work in marketing and sometimes have to do some fairly large direct mail campaigns. I had huge problems with mail reliability using the default supplier (no names of course), even without the weather.

I noticed one poster said “just dump them then”. Well – I did just that. And guess what – the only other game in town capable of coping with our requirements was no better. Bottom line – delivery by this mechanism of large quantities of items to large numbers of individual addresses is less that totally reliable and there is nothing that you, as user of the system, can do about it.

I am currently planning 2011 and seriously considering abandoning all hard copy communications – not an option for STW. Having been on the receiving end of feedback like the stuff in this post I know how Jamie and all at STW towers feel. My own subscription copy was delayed and I was frustrated. But nowhere near as frustrated, I think, than Jamie and the crew who were dropped in that position by circumstances and could do nothing about it. My only criticism is that losing a subscriber could have been avoided, but would have perhaps required superhuman levels of self control.

Have a nice day everyone. Lovely weather for a bike ride…

Actually it’s raining. TO HELL WITH YOU ALL. F*CKERS.

Did just this for ages. Had no idea it was uncool – didn’t get the memo.
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Rode there just after xmas – the day after it rained onto the deep snow. Gave up after half an hour – first time ever. Decided to call it a day whilst sliding sideways down a hill and realising it was so slippy I could have walked it quicker…

A few years ago was out with a couple of friends in fresh snow. All was well till we came to the top of a hill and started a fast descent down the far side. The bloke in front suddenly went down and shouted “look out”. The two of us following did exactly what you would in those circumstances – and hit the brakes. Instantly on arses and sliding down the hill. The slope was north facing and unlike the other side of the hill had not thawed, and under the fresh snow was last weeks sheet of ice…

As we bounced to the bottom of the hill came across two more bikers who had done the same and were recovering at the bottom of the hill. Joined them and spent a fun half hour watching more bikers toboggan down the hill.

Nothing to hit, so only injuries were to pride… (and I seem to remember something about it coming before a fall?).
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I’ve been with them for seven years. At first the service was great. However, moved house this summer and had to deal with them for first time in a long time. They were a shambles. Lots of finger pointing between them and BT about who was at fault over the frankly shocking amount of time it takes to get service up and running, and at the frequent service outages. Having said that, TalkTalk (who I investigated as a replacement) were one of the rudest sales teams I have ever dealt with. So – bottom line from my POV. They used to better than most. They are now the same as most, but not as bad as some. Presume there is someone out there who can offer a decent service – next time I move house I will likely try and find out who that is…

Coldest I have ridden in was -20C (in USA) but that was on a rather shonky Trek some years ago. Simple 8 speed cassette and cable brakes – nothing much to go wrong. With enough layers was warm once you got going. There were a few of us though – would not have gone out alone.

Still funny, but agree not what he was (but then which of us is?). To me no one to match him since, though Ross Noble close. Other were better before…

Just got one of these:

http://www.bestofferbuy.com/uniquefire-l2-cree-xpgr5-5mode-320lumen-led-flashlight-black-118650-p-53094.html

Decent run time, very compact and not too heavy for use on head. I’d recommend it – was using another DX torch but it was too big and heavy for use on the head – it’s now on the bars in a complete overkill double-P7bar setup to go with the XPG on the head. Just got in from a quick pootle round Woburn in the dark and that lot combined with the reflective ground due to the snow meant there was plenty of light – especially for the speeds I was managing in the snow…

Whatever you get, check weight before buying.

Army surplus goretex trousers…

No show for mine so far in Bucks…

Shame on you all for this shocking oversight. There is only one possible answer.

Kylie

The Marzocchi Bomber of female vocalists. Post closed?

I have no idea what this person was trying to attain posting the link. However – I have DAB as original factory installed option and it’s bloody marvellous. 6Music in the car, plus 5live without the usual AM faff. Lovely.

Another one on Mud X front and rear, though tempted to take the front off and swap for something wider and less likely to tramline though frozen ruts (got a 2.4 Mountain King that I’ll try out one evening this week).

Not gone tubeless – sounds like a lot of faff?

I’m 6ft 1in and ride an XL. The L felt too short, but I have arms like a baboon and legs up to my armpits so maybe my oddball shape had an effect. Go try one for size. Fab bike, BTW.

Had an impressively useless fall last winter when a badger ran out in front of me. Instinct kicked in and without thinking I instigated the start of emergency avoidance procedure than results in you sitting dazed on your rear end in a muddy puddle with scratches everywhere…

So you never ride in the rain?

No – always ride in the rain. Have never missed a ride due to weather (and I used to live in Michigan where it could get pretty damn cold…). If it’s tipping down I get out the trusty army surplus Goretex. Like I said – not very stylish but cheap and works very well…

You can spend fortune on all that stuff, and I have decided to divert all my hobby funds to the bike rather than the clothes!

Not sure I get that… Within reason, you can ride pretty much any bike anywhere but if you’re in the wrong kit for the weather, any ride on any bike is going to be miserable.

Don’t disagree – it’s just that I find pretty much any old thing on the legs works as long as it’s not raining. I do think a decent jacket is pretty essential, though. So far I’ve managed to stay warm and comfy without getting any truly expensive gear, although I admit I do often look like a tramp who nicked a bike.

I wear some old trackie bottoms that I’ve had for at least 15 years. A few holes sewn up where I have come off, and one not fixed where I fell into some barbed wire last year and keep forgetting to try and patch it up. Anything long and cheap will do – though I do insist on a cycling specific jacket. You can spend fortune on all that stuff, and I have decided to divert all my hobby funds to the bike rather than the clothes!

Another +1 for Zesty 214. Love mine. Bargain at that price. Can’t think of anything I’d rather have at that price (Anthem came close though…)

I tend to skip certain tracks and avoid some albums altogether with my kids. If I don’t want them using language I avoid them hearing it on a regular basis. They know all the words, but they know they are not words we use in our house. It won’t last, but for now their childhood continues…