Is it true?

It's not entirely untrue, is it?

What travel is the fork?

A video of an enthusiastic drummer.

A good drummer is one who can hold a steady rhythm throughout a song, not one who can do all the flash fills!

No, a good drummer is one can hold a steady rhythm throught a song and who can do all the flash fills. The best drummers know exactly when to play the flash fills and, more importantly, exactly when not to play the flash fills.

All I have to do know is time it right so I can get it all done and cleaned up before Mrs stayhigh gets home from work.

Pick up a couple of big towels or a small rug from a charity shop to put your frame on in the bath when you do the Wet & Dry. It's incredible, and unfortunate, how much damage a bottom bracket will do to the enamel on a bathtub. Hope it all goes well, I'll look forward to seeing the result…

Sorry three fish I didnt mean using a dremel for removing the paint I meant using it to polish the frame instead of using the wet & dry paper.

My mistake, beg your pardon. Having used Wet & Dry for finishing car paint and for polishing metal, I'd say it was quicker, cleaner and more even than using a tool. Perhaps you'd get a better mechanical finish if you used a larger tool, or just if you had better skills than mine, but I find the W&D with soapy water method to be as simple as it is effective.

Where did you get the mount that appears to be attached to your wall and holding the frame up?

That's a Park Tool PRS4W (CRC link). Not cheap, but fanatastically well made and entirely dependable.

I would absolutely go with the chemical stripper. It simply has to be quicker whilst still leaving however an even finish the frame was manufactured with. Specialized have a rather nice brushed finish, which is what led me to refrain from doing the full polish on my next frame (SX Trail). You won't know until you get the paint off what kind of finish the frame has, but using rotary tools is only going to increase the chances of an uneven finish. I did use a Dremel to tidy up some of my tool scratches on the Big Hit, but I really would not have liked to have done the whole frame mechanically. With strippers, around 80% of the paint will simply drop off after about ten minutes.

It takes me about fifteen minutes to strip the bike of parts and dismantle the frame, another thirty or forty to mask the bearings (needs one mask of plastic tape and two masks of paper (masking) tape) then, with lessons learned from the Big Hit, maybe about three or four hours to entirely remove the paint. My hardtail frame (SubZero) was done in about two and half hours. It would have been less, but Orange use powdercoat and the thicker stuff around welds is very stubborn.

The trick with welds and stubborn parts is just to be patient. Apply stripper, leave it work for five minutes, then use a toothbrush to disturb the paint that has broken free. Keep applying a little stripper to the area and leave it to react with the paint. Basically, the longer the paint is in contact with pure (unreacted) stripper, the quicker it will lift.

Thanks very much. I forgot to mention that the quality of your strip makes a big difference. I've always used Nitromors for stripping, but the first time I did it I was impatient and resorted to trying to scrape stubborn paint off with a blade and a screwdriver. As careful as I though I was being, a left a few nicks and scratches and these came back to haunt me when the time came to polish. Any stubborn paint, which will usually be either around decals or around welds, just needs longer to sit under the chemical stripper. Even if it means leaving it for a half hour or so, rather than the usual five to ten minutes, the time and trouble it will save you later is considerable.

Aluminium oxidises so quickly that dulling has never been an issue for me (one previous and two current bikes with stripped finish, although my current frames are more of a matt works finish acheived with a slightly tedious polish and wire wool method. But, the higher the polish, the less surface area there is and the less of an issue dulling becomes. A clear coat will actually dull and damage much more easily than a bare metal finish. On high polish, a slightly used 'off' cloth is usually enough to restore the sheen, although a full polish every once in a while does offer some protection and help prevent light scratches and scuffs from developing.

Wet & Dry, something like 1500 up to 3000 grade) in the bath with loads of warm soapy water. Start with the 1500 and work your way to the 3000). The longer you spend and the more gradual your upgrades, the better the finish you'll acheive. Just make sure that you keep the paper and frame wet all the time – it'll keep the finish even and prevent dull spots which can be hard to remove. Once you have an even and super-smooth finish (it'll still be matt, though), then use something like Autoglym Metal Polish with a heavy cloth and separate off and buffing cloths. Again, take your time and be fastidious.

I didn't want to get a full-on mirror effect on my Big Hit, so as you can see it's still a little flat. Still very shiny, though…

Not evans and I'm not sure about Edinburgh co op tbh.

Edinburgh Coop do Bike To Work, not Cyclescheme.

Specialized Captain 2.2. The Mountain King is the worst tyre I've ever used.

As Nick said, Steel's and Edinburgh Coop are the Specialized dealers in Newcastle. There's also Evans down at the Metro Centre. My personal preference would be Edinburgh Bicycle, although service and "knowledge" will depend on which member of staff you get (in either shop).

To be honest, I think that it's often better for noobs, who don't know anything about the glaring, let alone subtle differences, to just find bikes that they like in their price range and take them outside for a spin. If they have any specific questions after trying a bike – in regards to fit/set-up, for example – then they can discuss it with somebody. As long as they make it clear what they want to use the bike for, they shouldn't be sold an unsuitable bike; and trying out all options means that they'll get the bike that suits them the most without having to try and translate all the babble and sales pitch. I've overheard, and been told personally, some absolute nonsense in every bike shop I've ever been in – so sometimes I think that "ask no questions, hear no lies" is sometimes the best approach.

If it would be of any help to you both, I could ask my partner if she'd be willing to go in with her. She's an experienced rider, both MTB and town/road, and has a pretty good sense of bike fit. My email is in my profile if you'd like to get in touch.

It's more likely to be whatever you've done to the brakes. Make sure that the headset is correctly preloaded and make sure that the new brake components are properly fitted (like rotor not back to front). If you have the old rotor and pads, it's a five minute job to see if the same vibration occurs with them back in use. If you have the same brake in the rear, try swapping the pads and see if the vibrations still occur.

this thread is now over

Without a single mention for John Paul Jones? What about Danny Thompson?

Coincidentally stumbled upon this just now.

My absolute favourite player is Django Reinhardt (link with some outstanding violin from SG). Contemporary players like Dorado Schmitt and Biréli Lagrène (link) are thrilling and a joy to listen to, but Django just seemed to exist on a different level altogether. In terms of pure expression, no player has ever exceeded Django Reinhardt's ability. In my opinion, of course!

In a more popular arena, Jimmy Page never ceases to amaze me. Another player with similar attitude, approach and groove is Jack White. Nowhere near as accomplished as Page was at his age and nowhere near the repertoire, but one of a very few guitarists who have "it".

Just a few small WB, blacks, contrast and brightness adjustments, plus some vignetting, and the image looks a little richer to my eye.

My partner keeps hers in a plantpot filled with woodchippings. That plantpot has holes in the base and sits inside another, solid plantpot which has some torn up newspaper in the bottom of it. The paper is kept damp and is replaced occasionally. Every month or so, the orchid's pot is dunked quickly into water and then left to drain, before being returned to its other pot. This all seems to keep the plant healthy and it flowers once a year. What a beautiful flower it is, too.

Fox Launch Pro knee (link). So comfortable, even on long climbs.

It doesn't matter.

I saw a bloke in London breaking into his own shoes.

Fingerless. I also only wear half a helmet.

A reasonable view is generally that defined by the majority.

Not at all. Reason is defined by the use of reason, always. There are way, way too many assumptions in all of your posts regarding this matter; too many to suggest that the use of reason has played anything more than a minor role in your forming of assertions.

At this point I step back on the advice of an old saying:

Never argue with a fool: they'll only drag you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.

I'm off…

See my post two posts above yours.

I don't make the rules.

Your post two above mine didn't explain why one should reasonably expect someone with a bike of a particular value to be of a standard not too far below the relative cost of the bike. It explained why some people might expect such a thing, but it was in no way reasonable. There are countless other factors that one could reason into such a question.

…one might reasonably expect someone with a bike of a particular value to be of a standard not too far below the relative cost of the bike.

Why might one reasonably expect such a thing?

Yes, we do all need to start somewhere, just generally not on £1000+ bikes!

It's all relative. If they come from families with lots of coin, then it's likely that they're going to be getting pricey bikes in the same way the get the latest computer/games stuff, shoes/clothes/whatever.

Knowing what I know now, I'd have loved to have started riding on a high-end bike that worked well. Should we all start out on a £150 craptastic full-suspension from Tesco (or whatever the German equivalent is)? To me, it makes perfect sense to start on the very best you (or whoever's paying!) can afford. If that happens to be a £2000 DH bike, then so be it.

For those who might be interested, I thought I'd post my shots from the day. There were a good few minor confrontations in the late morning, but fortunately the EDL were all tucked away in a handful of pubs, all getting tanked up and fuelling one another's bile.

We live in a country of angry people. Anger, to me, is typically a product of fear; and nowhere is there as much evidence for such an assertion than at a demonstration of politics. My own moment of anger came when I took the shot of the people who had brought their three children (toddler and two seven/eight year-olds), to whom they were supplying hate-filled slogans to shout at the world. My anger was born from my fear of what the future may hold – for them, for me and for every one of us. I'm still making sense of everything I saw and heard on Saturday; for all that it passed without any physical violence, I just can not help but feel as though I've been punched in the head.

Perhaps they can spell better than you two?

Plenty of pretty good riding on there, and they're clearly not embarrassed about their spills, otherwise they probably wouldn't have posted the video; so what's with the scorn? Where do you run your MTB Guides from, Alpin? I need to make sure that nobody I know ever makes use of your services, lest they spend their time being ridiculed or sneered at behind their back.

It's Newcastle. Do you think anyone'll notice?

Ye daft racist.

Is this the effect of making and keeping things so secret, possibly a them and us mentality developing?

Absolutely not, at least not on my part. As I've reiterated at least three times, this isn't about secrecy and it absolutely isn't about division. Where is such a misunderstanding coming from? It's about being smart and keeping a great set of trails in good condition for everyone to enjoy. It's always going to be a minority of users who are active and responsible for building and maintaining trails, and yet I don't think that anyone involved wants to reserve their endeavors for themselves. But a degree of concern that the place gets inundated is entirely fair. There are already examples of moto use on the trails and the more widely publicised the trails get, like though this wonderful WWW that so many communicate through, the greater the probabilty that the frequecy of such activities will increase.

I ride up there often and I've shown a fair few people around, though mostly on the crag side of the valley. I've also spent time building there, and the whole time I'm doing it I get excited, as everyone else does, at the thought of the ride at the end of it, not just for me but for anyone who does it – because that's what it's all about: the ride. I want to preserve and develop these trails and I'd love for people to get as much from the area as I do; but I'm also happy to accept that a little bit of reserve might be needed to make sure that that goes on for as long as possible. It's just downright illogical, not to mention entirely pessimistic, to say that there's not point in trying to keep numbers low because, eventually, the place is bound to become crowded.

It has to be remembered that it's not just a random place – it's privately owned and privately managed. If it turns into a fun park it'll only be a matter of time before those who manage the area just say "enough!" and take their forestry machines down the trails and pile them with felled trees. That's the worst-case scenario. Before that is the more likely situation that the trail builders run out of time/resources to maintain the trails. Those sweet woodland singletracks will just become soggy ditches through the tress. Why wouldn't people want to be interested in preventing that from happening?

Anyway I got a nice email from Matt this am asking a few things kindly without being a judgemental arse and I did as he asked because he asked so kindly.

How awfully kind of you. I'd have been more tactful if I'd realised earlier that you were so precious.

Ooh touchy little fellow aren't you.

Like I said we never mentioned the trails upto the point a tail [sic] builder mentioned. Thrunton was well know anyway before they were built, it's that info that I've shared.

I'm not touchy, I'm just frustrated by your seemingly poor comprehension skills and difficulty to follow a narrative. And please don't try to patronise me – it's not productive and it you're really not very well qualified to attempt it. As I've said, and as you continue to misunderstand, nobody is saying DON'T talk about the trails. Get it? I suspect not…

We're then told don't talk about Thrunton as we don't want the trails advertised…

For crying out loud, man: nobody is telling anyone to not talk about it. Ian and Matt are just trying to get those who do enjoy the trails up there to be smart about how they talk about it. Why can you not make that distinction? If you don't respect the position that the trail builders find themselves in, then it is, of course, your prerogative to disregard what they're asking for.

So, if I'm getting this right, there are a couple of blokes who have been involved long-term in the trail building at Thrunton and they've asked that people try to limit the amount of internet/social-networking exposure that the trails get. They're not saying "don't tell anybody!!", they're just asking folk to be a bit savvy with how/when the info is passed about on the interwebs. But this is too oppressive for some people, who also think that it doesn't matter because eventually the woods will be overrun anyway, so they might as well just have as many people as possible pile in now and overrun it before somebody else does.

It's called the Mycroft Project. In a minor piece of trivia for those who might be interested, Mycroft is the name of the brother of Sherlock Holmes. He is portrayed as an omniscient (having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding) yet physically indolent character.

Excellent video!! And made all the better for the perfect soundtrack – tyres on dirt, a noisy freehub and the great outdoors. Thanks for that.

Could you devise some kind of fixed, toothed interface to "grab" the chain at one side of the Powerlock, and a similar set-up to "grab" into the chain at the other side, then, at one end, use some kind of rotating leverage arm, held in place, perhaps, by the frame of bicycle and allowed to turn freely by utilising a set of bearings, and attached with bolts to the toothed interface, to apply a relatively large force to the Powerlock, in order to snap it closed?

It would be easier with some kind of handle on the end of the arm to improve the ergonomics; you could even try incorporating a perpendicular rotating platform to the afformentioned arm and use your foot to operate it.

Just an idea…

I think perhaps you overestimate the general level of people's abilities. You also overestimate, as thomthumb mentions, many (most?) people's ability to be critical of themslves and to understand what/when they do something 'wrong'. Having somebody with sound knowledge point out and correct one's flaws and – in a productive manner, of course – is something that everyone with a bike would benefit from.

That said, all the skills courses and training in the world is going to be useless if one doesn't build on what is received.

How did you clean the chain? How did you dry the chain before applying the Squirt?

Sounds exactly like it. Do no evil and you have nothing to be afraid of.

That depends absolutely on who is defining "evil".