Vicks Vapor Rub. Or Joe Malone Grapefruit as a distant second choice. Creosote?

If they have anything to match the cheese thread on here the other day I’m all for it…

+1 for Scrabble. I have no idea what any of the stuff you mention is. Are those things you have on the television? I saw one where you twiddle a little rotary knob and it moves a line up and down so you can play ping pong at a snail’s pace. It’ll never catch on.

Just checked the Thule website. The Halfords “Advanced” twin pack carriers are Thule 530s without the Thule logo. Identical in every way. On offer they do a pair of them for 80 quid, or you can get one Thule branded on it’s own from Wiggle for £45.

I use two cheap DX torches – one on the bars and one on the head. Works very well and lots more light than a Joystick for less money, but runtime may be an issue if you’re doing longer rides. However, I usually only have time for maybe an hour or so after work in winter so a good solution for me. Can’t go far wrong with one of these:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12325

You’ll need batteries and charger to go with it, all of which you can get cheaply from DX. Not the fanciest way to go, but cheap as chips and as much light as you are ever going to need.

I got a pair of racks from Halfords. They are very cheap when in the sale, and seem to be manufacured by Thule. No complaints from me, and great value for money. They are called Halfords Advanced – I got the pair for £80. They are quick release and lockable (both bike to rack and rack to car).

+1 for 3rd Bass. Must go for a dig in the vinyl…

Congrats on the new bike. Top colour. Got a trusty new steed myself this week, and somewhat in awe at the singlespeeding hardtailness of yours. Presume you calf muscles are made of girders?

Forgot to say – Fury is a large 2010, but sale delayed pending decision re. urgent need for a winter bike and potential gearless niche activity. WillTheRealForumPleaseStandUp is responsible for that idea. I really must stop reading…

Went out for a quick mooch this morning. As timmys correctly guessed, it’s a Zesty 214 in freakish clown size 54, as I am somewhat long in both arm and leg in a baboon stylee. KitKat red with white graphics – very smart. As it cost nearly three times what my previous bike did, it is of course perfect with nothing more needed.

Having said that…

As Mansonsoul said, the tyres are hopelessly ill suited to winter in Blighty, so they’ll need sorting. Just that and a bit of helicopter tape here and there, and I’m done. Will make a manly effort to keep away from classifieds.

I am doomed, I presume?

Did try to post a picture for garden related abuse, but sadly was too stupid/impatient to make it work. I did at least know to get it a but muddy and scratched before photographing it.

I will try to stay away from here to avoid upgrade-itis, but t.b.h. without much hope of success.

And that Cannondale Flash does sound nice, but I’m sure it would crumble to dust if you tried to ride it. That’s what I’m telling myself anyway, or I’ll have to sell the car…

UPGRADE PARTS? You mean I’M NOT DONE YET? Mind you, those brake rotors do look a bit plain. And as I got the bottom model I don’t have the Fox forks. Mmmm. Is Santa due anytime soon?

Jungle Brothers – Done by the forces of nature. Genius album from start to finish.
De La Soul – 3 ft etc. Under-rated since and derided as kids stuff. Big fail.
Tribe Called Quest – not 80s, but Low End Theory was their masterpiece. Best hip hop album ever?
Public Enemy. No further explanation required.
KRS One. Likewise.

And going off piste a little…
MC900ft Jesus?

Wild Reindeer in northern Sweden, just inside arctic circle. Utterly gorgeous. Have since become a bit of a fan of reindeer, but wary of mentioning at home for fear of “you’ve eaten Bambi” recriminations from the kids. Lovely stuff, though…

Got CX300s and very dissapointed. Had Sennheisers before of different design and always been impressed so was surprised. Can’t rememeber where I got them, but reading above maybe they are not legit. Main issue is comfort – personally can’t get them to fit right with any of the bud sizes. If I”m not travelling and need isolation am sticking to my old Grados, whick blow everything I have ever tried into the water. Not much use on the tube though…

Can’t believe everyone is tap dancing around the big issue here, so I guess I should raise it. What tyres for riding without a helmet?

+1 for Carrera Fury. Brilliant bike for the money, zero “respect” from the fashionistas. Mind you, I personally view that as a bonus.

Another +1 for MudX. Used all last winter front and rear and they were great. Clear very effectively and found grip where I used to slip and slide. Got them pretty cheap too – just over 20 quid each which seemed reasonable to me.

Another +1 for Salomon…

Yet another +1 for Humax. Got mine firect off their website as a refurb. Wasn’t expensive, does what it says on the box. Best electronics buy I ever did – even Mrs Fop likes it.

DX torches. Overshoes (Endura I think). Army surplus goretex trousers. Home made chicken soup.

A DX P7 torch for the head then spend the rest on something for the bars. I use two DX torches – one on head and one on bars – and that works just fine, so if you have something better on the bars you’ll be in clover.

Had a twin turbo Saab for a while. No lag worth mentioning at all – the small turbo spools up so fast you don't notice it, and then it transitions to the bigger one as the revs rise. Still miss that car…

Pass on our congrats to Princess Leia…

First was with a bar mounted DX torch last winter. Found out the hard way that a light on your head is pretty useful when rounding a sharp corner and seeing a tree stump at the last moment just before I hit it. Bought another light and been great since. Never seen deer in my local woods in daytime, but there's loads at night. Where do they go?

Another happy Epicon user here. Can't really fault at the price…

Tried on Juicy 3s with no luck, but you may do better. Small Halfords tube is way to go, and careful with it 'cause it gets EVERYWHERE and is impossible to shift. Wear old clothes. Under a bin bag.

I'd suggest Siemens, but it'll get the children going again. Bosch like quality at lower price from my expreience. Very happy with mine, and 5yr warranty good (not up to Miele standards but neither is the price)

Saab 9-5 Estate. A petrol 2.3T Aero if you can afford the fuel. Very stealthy – stupidly quick, capacious and almost invisible. Genius. Will leave most stuff for dead when required…

My Juicys are inboard. One finger braking works a treat for me!

Every website where blokes with too much time on their hands has this debate. The hi-fi nerds argue about one man in a shed hifi brands that they all passionately believe are better than the big manufacturers. Same with the car bores. The gadget freaks. The camera buffs. The roadies. It's the same argument every time, and it will never end. I'm off to pour a glass of wine (single vineyard, organically produced) and sit back and enjoy watching this for a while longer…

But I am thinking if replacing my Carrera Fury with a Lapierre…

Bugger.

What a lot of nonsense. I got a Fury new for under £500 and it's been great. Rides nicely, frame not heavy for the price and spec. much better than anything else for the money. I'm planning on selling and replacing with something nicer now that I've got into the whole off road riding thing, but the replacement will cost more than twice as much. If I needed another bike at that price I'd get another without hesitation. If it does what you want and the price is right I would not let the brand put you off – they seem as good as anything else out there at the same price point…

Ford Ka? – lovely to drive, very cheap, loads around, can rust.
Corsa? – OK to drive, fairly cheap, loads around, little rust
Fiesta? – good to drive, fairly cheapish, loads around, little rust
High mileage petrol 7 series – brilliant to drive, fairly cheap, fair few around, no rust, bomb proof and 150mph

Suspect insurance will make your choice for you…

Mine have been great. Got them on a cheap Spesh Allez, and have done lots of miles with no punctures. Luck of the draw? Fauly batch?

I'm looking over the airfield from a hotel room right now. Can't comment re. parking but seems to be practice day, so I can say red arrows were fab and whoever designed the eurofighter seems to be unaware of the laws of physics and gravity. Didn't so much fly as go on an extended near-miss crash avoidance sort of thing… Bonkers.

Getting confused now. Time for a lie down in a darkened room. Presume a Heckler would be no good with the 120 forks of the Fury? They're actually surprisingly decent and pretty sure they'd be OK on a superlight, but not enough travel for a Heckler?

Heart does indeed say Zesty. Sooooo pretty. Will sleep on it.

+1 for Gnarls Berkley

Loved The Hold Steady, but for me didn't match up to Boys & Girls in America.

Know what people mean about LCD being dissapointing. That was my first impression too, but it's grown on me steadily.

Have heard about the Gis Scott Heron but not heard it. Thanks for tip – will get myself on Spotify forthwith.

LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
The Fall – Your future, our clutter
But expecting Arcade Fire to blow everything else into the weeds in a few short weeks time. Fingers crossed…