My Soundcloud contains mostly random disco junk made in 10 minutes or less and a few coursework pieces, one of which features my incredibly manly soulful singing.

Running 22/32 with an 11-28 cassette. I’ve set up the front mech so that it trims in the outer ring as I was getting chain rub on the cage.

Not found I couldn’t get up any hills I could before, and the closer range cassette feels a lot nicer pretty much everywhere.

If I was doing it from scratch, I’d probably go 22/34 instead of the 32 just to give a bit more top end, but that’s only really for road and long, fairly straight descents.

From my trip to Brizzle last monday. I know it’s a bit touristy, but I couldn’t help myself.

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clifton one[/url] by the1fletch[/url], on Flickr

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clifton two[/url] by the1fletch[/url], on Flickr

Revision. Work. More revision.

However, I’m riding to work and back, so I guess that’s something.

Anybody?

No?

Did make me feel like i needed a man around briefly

Nope, just one of these:

Boggo Park one http://www.parktool.com/product/home-mechanic-floor-pump-pfp-5 works well, pumps quickly, and everything appears to be replaceable, so you don’t have to buy a whole new one if it breaks.

Got to love Daft Punk. Outro starts at 1:35 (about halfway through, naturally)

Try this; it’s amazing, like having a radio station that plays nothing but music you like all the time.

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red & greens[/url] by the1fletch[/url], on Flickr

Climbed up Salthrop hill and had a little look around the woods as it’s been a while. Then over to the Ridgeway, along to Barbury castle and then eventually had this year’s first fully dry run down ladder lane. Managed not to scare myself this time round. Finished up with a lap around Croft and then back across town towards home and BBQ!

Even remembered to take photos:
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unlimited blue[/url] by the1fletch[/url], on Flickr

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look, no hands[/url] by the1fletch[/url], on Flickr

I wear vans for work, and they’re pretty horrible to ride in compared to my five tens. The vans rubber is a lot softer and not nearly as grippy either. The soles on the five tens aren’t so stiff you can’t walk in them, but stiff enough that you can ride without them bending.

The SRAM guides are pretty great. Any old fork oil will do, doesn’t have to be rockshox branded. Just make sure you have the correct guide for the model/year of your fork and follow it closely, making sure you don’t go over or under the recommended oil volumes. Should be fine as long as you’re a fairly competent mechanic and don’t rush.

My dad still uses those Ngubas. Must have been using them regularly for over a decade. Never had any complaints so they can’t be that bad.

Craghoppers kiwi. They block a decent amount of the wind, so keep you warm in colder weather without being too ott. They’re pretty comfortable to ride in and you can roll the legs up if the weather catches you out and you’re too warm. The zip-offs are a bit Ray Mears in my experience if you have long legs though.

James Blake – Overgrown

Also very excited for Daft Punk.

Had a nice long ride on Friday, 40 miles+ from the front door. The sun even made a guest appearance for lunch:
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Lunch Break[/url] by the1fletch[/url], on Flickr

Is the red bit summer?

Dust sighted in Swindon yesterday. Actual dust devils and everything. Will check Marlborough downs tomorrow and report back.

Semi-integrated is the term I think.

Nutella and peanut butter.

Honey.

Or just CHEESE.

Usually a random pick of whatever I listened to last. Something badass when I’m descending obviously.

If I’m suffering a really grim climb then this becomes necessary:

Basically all of plastic beach. Especially when Little Dragon features.

Also, Chromatics is great music for chilling out.

This:

And these:

I read the sh*t out of these books.

If commuting is doing your head in, get the bus. You’ll soon remember why you rode. Maybe set little challenges to yourself, like going for personal bests on the way home, or managing a trackstand at “that” set of traffic lights. Makes it more than just riding for the sake of it, and it makes you stronger and more skilful when you’re out on the mtb just for a bit of fun.

Discovering new stuff can help too. After a bit of time looking on the map I found a great new (to me) descent in my local hills and only yesterday I found some new lines in the woods. Both these things get me excited to get out on the bike.

I got a Kona Dr Dew frame 150 quid off on crc. It was pretty light and handles really quite nicely even with the random mix of ex-mtb components that I put on it – including the 26″ wheels (instead of 700c) I used which basically makes it a low-rider 8) .

Avoid boiling water. Those trangias take approximately on year to boil water – especially after a long day’s walk.

What I found was good was to take some of those part-cooked wet noodles, a packet of sauce and a little bit of oil (film canister will carry more than enough).

All you need to do is heat the oil, chuck in the noodles and add the sauce when they’re hot. This is delicious and you can cook enough for dinner and the next day’s lunch before the other lot have boiled their pasta.

ALSO: Make sure they have inordinate amounts of varying cereal bars with fruits and chocolate and just all sugar. This is as much for morale as energy.

Thunderbird has a load of features and works consistently well. Maybe overkill if you’re just syncing one gmail account or something, but if you’ve got multiple accounts it’s a lot easier to keep track, especially if you take a few minutes to set up some filters (like sending facebook and twitter stuff to it’s own folder).

If you want simplicity, then just hide some icons from the top toolbar. Done.

I use Michelin Country Rock on my commuter bike. They’re pretty fast, but useless if you even think the words soft or loose.

However, they are surprisingly good on hardpack and gravel even when it’s a bit wet.

If I’m honest, I just grabbed a standard FSA one. However, after a bit of a look, they all look to be 50mm OD. If you need one soon, I know halfords stock the right ones. FSA, should be in a little red box, just open it up and make sure it looks like the one above. Should include top cap, bolt & star nut. Just don’t bank on any advice once you’re there.

I learned the lacing pattern from an old wheel and tensioned the spokes until they just recessed into the top of the nipple. Then give a few extra turns and true. You can tell by feel if they’re tight enough; it’s fairly obvious if they’re not. If you spin the wheel and hold the top of a nail against the spokes, the spokes on each side should be at more or less the same pitch.

Between my dad and I, we’ve built four or five pairs of wheels like this using a home made truing stand and mine have held up to a pretty decent amount of abuse. Like lots of things, the most difficult bit is getting started.

Yup, I have a 2010 talon & it’s an internal/semi integrated 1 1/8.

Should look like this:

If you’re just looking to build up your library, music blogs tend to post links to free tracks. A lot of newer musicians put out free music to try and build interest, so there’s usually free tracks and sometimes EPs. Pigeons & planes put out a set of free downloads on sundays. It’s not all great, but there are some gems and it’s a good way to find new artists.

The world-renowned “woods behind Nationwide” in Swindon. Good to see so many people there.

Another thing to add is that despite them both being lossless files, ALAC always seems to take up a bit more space than a FLAC of the same track in my experience. Not really sure what else they’re putting in there, maybe their compression isn’t as good as they think.

I’ve got the Vaude Alpine 30+5. In all fairness it gets used for commuting as well as riding, so I need the extra space. However, you have to undo a zipper to get the main compartment to expand to full size, so it’s a fairly respectable size most of the time.

There are more than enough pockets. When I go riding, I have all my repair kit, a waterproof, 2l hydration pack, lighter/heavier shirt, fixed lens bridge camera, work gloves, a decent amount of food, map and compass in the bag.

The weight sits fairly well on the hips and the waist straps don’t slip as you ride, chest strap works well and it has size adjust on the back.

The only downside is mine does tend to make a bit of a creaking noise as I ride sometimes. I haven’t really tried to sort it out, but it’s something to bear in mind if you get easily annoyed. I do recommend it though, it does a great job of carrying everything, and has compression straps on the sides, so you can keep it fairly compact if you’re not carrying too much.

Russian dash cams you say? Thank me later.

The grassy bits on the ridgeway are a boggy nightmare and there are some pretty big puddles in the 4×4 tracks. However, as of last night, the rockier areas were still pretty fast to ride on, but the areas of deeper mud can sneak up on you so try not to overdo it. Lots of big puddles to splash in, which is always a bonus.

I run 2×9 on my commuter, middle and outer on the front.

The middle ring’s larger than usual and the cassette’s fairly wide range (11-36?) so I can get up any hills on my route, and then cruise along the flat high in the range. The outer ring’s just for fun in case I want to go down some decent hills or manage to find a tailwind.

Basically my commute’s mostly flat but I have the option to go over some fairly steep hills, so if that sounds like your area, then maybe give it a go before you go throwing your front mech and shifter away.