Well, the XT/Ultegra is the only other "Shimano" chain – all their other chains are manufactured by KMC. So there's your choice: XT or XTR.

KMC X9.93 is every bit as good as the XTR, and they come with the quick link for easy on/off. CRC do them for £15 (link) but you'll probably pick them up on eBay for a few quid less.

just MTFU and ask him to be quieter you wuss

You have to. You're more likely to create animosity if he just gets a letter one day from the Council saying that somebody complained. He'll know it's you and will be able question why you didn't go and let him know that he was causing you grief. You simply can't assume that he'd be unconcerned if he knew that his antics disturb you; sometimes people simply don't realise that other people can hear what they're doing.

Too obviously fake. Try this one…

How lucky we are to be living in the viral generation.

Gateshead has some nicer parts – like Low Fell, for example, and some parts of Saltwell. That would set you up for some nice rides over to the other side of the valley and into Beamish/Silver Hills.

Lower Tyne Valley and places like Ryton and Winlaton are worth a look, too.

Maybe try standing up more when you're going over bumps.

Heaton is overpriced because of the student attraction; it can also get noisey during during the summer and most weekends. Jesmond is quite similar to Heaton, but with posher students and an extra £200/month rent for a marginally larger house/flat.

I agree that you'll probably get the nicest choice of places for your budget in Gosforth and parts of High Heaton. High Heaton's lack of amenities is a valid observation; although it does have a Sainsbury's and is only a short walk from Chillingham and Heaton Road, both of which have some nice little shops. You'd also be close to Jesmond Dene which is really nice for walks (and some cheeky riding!) whatever the weather.

If the screwdriver trick doesn't work… I've had success by putting a couple of bits of tape on the MC cap, then use a small file to square off the edges of the bolts. A set of square-nose pliers can then be used to remove the bolts.

They look like photographs taken by somebody who has been inspired and fascinated by something; and you've captured that something beautifully – hats off to you.

either its your bikes limits or your own

Or both.

Make sure that your skills are right before you opt for the "better" bike, though.

The Tech lever/MC is much, much less flexible than the earlier Mini levers (black, silver or gunsmoke). Although it doesn't make the bite point harder, it makes the brake feel firmer (the lever assembly doesn't pull towards the bar when you brake) and removes the slightly vague feeling that the Mini would exhibit. The Tech lever also has the advantage of the BPC adjustment as well as the reach adjustment, both of which can easily be changed whilst you're on the move.

The Pro set-up is more expensive because it uses titanium hardware and a carbon lever blade.

Could you stand on that red arrow thing between the two windows? Looks ideal…

I take it from those pictures that you spend a lot of time in the saddle (as opposed to standing up)?

Here's the photo guide[/url] I put together (also found on MTBR reviews). As you'll see, it makes sense to fully tighten one side then do adjustments from the other.

I forgot to mention – the guy who does the wheels (sorry, I forget his name) is, I believe, only in Thursday, Friday and Saturday. You will definitely need to book ahead for wheel building.

M Steel in Gosforth, Newcastle (link). The bloke there is highly regarded, very quick and the shop's charge for a build is very fair. I've had four wheels built or rebuilt by him and they are all still going strong. Please note that this is not a recommendation for the shop as a whole.

The Mono M4 complete seal kit (link) will come with one old Mini diaphragm and one newer Mini diaphragm. All other seals (piston, bore and lever piston) are the same.

Nukeproof. DMR Revolver. Sun Ringle.

Cheeky bastud.

Cool, another 'Ugly Bikes' thread…

I find Lightroom to be a simpler and cleaner interface than Aperture, though that's just about my preference. I trialed Aperture and found the layout a little clumsy and the work flow rather jumbled.

JPEG is fine if you don't want to use developing tools, but RAW responds much better to adjustments so it makes complete sense to use it if you intend to apply any processing/developing. I know that everything I do is going to go through Lightroom as that is how I store and organise my work, so my camera is set as neutral as possible, although I can do a certain amount of RAW editing in-camera. WB and colour settings are applied in LR before the shots are exported to file.

There's some interesting discussion on RAW/JPEG in this thread.

Here's a photo guide[/url] for the overhaul. It's relatively straightforward with no surprises, although there are a couple of things to pay attention to if you decide to also do the levers.

you're

Isn't.

Facing should mean that he bearings are parallel to each other and thus absolutely perpendicular to the axle, which means that the bearing are under even load and should last longer.

EDIT: cynic-al beat me to it; beg your pardon.

Any 4 or 5.1 you fancy. There's no such thing as car/bike/bicycle-specific. If you're bothered at all about getting higher performance fluid, go to a motorbike store, where one tends to get high BP fluid cheapest.

In 1993 I talked with Ben Mitchell (Cameron Hudson in Neighbours) in WH Smith in Gateshead's Metrocentre. He was buying Living Color's 'Stain' album and we agreed that the red jewel case was cool. Although we parted on good terms, we haven't spoken since.

It says spherical bearing, singular. The price would suggest a pair, given the usual cost of decent bearings, but the description is quite obviously for a single piece.

What is the size (or size code) of the bearing you need?

Gamut

I had four warranty issues on one fork (66 RC3) with Marzocchi/Windwave in 2009. They were three instances of creaking crown/steerer and one set of sloppy bushings. I wonder what the other 12 were?

Any solutions for metal garage doors that you cant screw into, thinking of drilling a hole in the bottom of the door (vertically) with some kind of deadbolt/steel rod through the bottom and into the floor.

Drill the door and use coach bolts to secure a block of wood with the bolt on top. The bolt slides into either a latch or into a hole in the frame.

New or used?

Aluminium corrodes almost instantly, so within a minute or so of being exposed it will have the finish it's always going to have. This doesn't take into account any scuffs, wear from clothing or marks caused by sweat dripping onto it, all of which will fade the finish over time. The more polishing the metal gets, the more resistant to fade it will be. A mirror-style finish will need almost exactly the same amount/type of upkeep as a painted/clearcoated frame. That said, small scuffs can be removed easily, making a polished finish easier to maintain than a painted one.

A fully mirror-polished FS frame is a good day's work, at least.

I'm not at my Mac, but I think that you can go into your options when you have several tabs open and set your homepage as "use current tabs".

You could also just instal Firefox. It is, in my opinion, much cleaner and easier to use than Safari. You can do the multiple tab homepage on Firefox, too. Bookmarks from you current Firefox can be copied/imported very easily to the Macbook.

So it's not a Zaskar?

In truth, it was built up for a friend by the guys at one of our local shops, using stuff they had lying around.

This one is borderline…

If the person on the security gate decides that it's a security risk, then it becomes a security risk.

CCleaner (link[/url])

Soma steel core levers (link) are excellent.

Most tyres can be fitted without levers, and it's absolutely nothing to do with brute force; it's all about technique.

Get one bead into the rim (should be simple enough even with heavy DH tyres), then insert the (empty) tube, push the valve in and get the other bead into the rim at the valve hole. With the wheel on the ground in front of you, use your hands like crab claws to push the bead over the rim, one hand feeding around to the right and the other off to the left. You'll get to a point where you can no longer push the bead over the rim because the tension is too great on the exposed section of bead. This is the point where people usually break out the levers and try forcing the bead into place…

Instead, go back with your claw hands to the valve hole. As you've been feeding the bead in up the rim, the tension has been building on both the exposed section of bead and the portion which is already fitted. So, from the valve, use your thumbs to push the bead in towards the center of the rim… you'll feel it pop away. Continue doing this up to the point where you were stopped earlier and you'll find that the tension has decreased enough to allow you to feed more bead over the rim. Every time you're stopped, go back top the valve and release the tension. Many tyres can be fitted entirely by hand using this method, although some may require the last few inches of bead to be pressed over with a lever.

If you're ever having trouble getting a tyre off, make sure all the air is expelled and then use the nipping technique to push the two beads into the center valley of the rim. In most cases, you'll find that it will make your job considerably easier, to the point where a lever is only required to lift the first portion of bead out over the rim.

You have to link to an image that is already on the web. You can either upload to a hosting site or right clink and copy image address. When you have the address, click the 'IMG' button in the reply box, paste the address in and click 'enter'. Job done.