…it might get less mud in it if the split is tucked away at the back under the frame

I was going to say the opposite! I gather more crud from front tyre spray on the rear of my lower cup than on the front.

a lemon's soul

Ah right – I never win anything to be honest so for me it's all about taking part.

You would almost certainly be stopped by border patrol for such an attitude; probably even repatriated.

In support of molgrips, For The Win is pretty meaningless to me too and I wouldn't know where to use it. So what does it mean then?

It's from the USA, where it's all about the win. If there's no win, there's no point. Win for the win. Use it if you go to the States and you'll win friends for your winning attitude. The more friends you have, the more better you are. Friends FTW.

Here's how to overhaul[/url] the Revolver.

Take your time and be methodical. Getting a clean cut on the ends of cable sections is always important, but more so with the liner set-up. No matter how good your cutters are, get yourself a metal file and clean up the cable ends so that they are perfectly flat – even if it means filing a mm or two to remove an inward burr. This should really be standard practice on cable installs, but it's vital with the RideOns because a burr will destroy the liner within a very short space of time. For all that Gore bang on about reading and sticking to the instructions, I don't know why they fail to mention this part.

A friend of mine has a head shaped a little bit like a cheesey wotsit, or is it a nik-nak? Either way, I'm a little offended by your post. You're all like "ooh, pull a face and post a pictures!!", but some people have to live with crisp-shaped heads day in, day out.

A couple of weeks ago at Kielder…

There's also gunsmoke if the blue is too blue…

Try writing some lyrics of your own, based on your own experiences. You failed to put any emotion into that song and it sounded more like just shouting in key(for the most part) – like people (sort of) do at sporting events. You mostly just get louder instead of changing pitch.

You seem to at least want to enjoy it, so perhaps you should practice more or get some lessons (highly recommended for the non-self-critical). Learning to breath properly would help you a great deal in maintaining pitch control throughout a line .

Hope rotors have three brake track widths:

Mono Mini/X2/M4 are 13mm.
Mono/Moto M6 are 17mm.
Moto/Tech V2 are 20mm.

They're all roughly the same thickness at 1.85mm, apart from the completely-incompatible-with-anything-else vented V2 rotor, which is about 3mm.

The M6 rotor is the closest match to the Avid pad width.

Why were you driving at 70mph with fog lights on? If it's foggy enough to necessitate fog lights, you should be limiting your speed to at least half that.

The M4 is less bitey than the V2 and is probably the more versatile brake. If your riding is more XC than trail/descent orientated, I'd say that the M4 would do you. You could even use an X2 in the rear with 160mm – that way you get to save weight too. If you want a 'bigger' set-up, then a 183mm V2 front with 160mm M4 rear is also an option. Whatever you go with, you'll probably find smaller (than front) rear rotor will bring better balance to your brake set-up.

Who cares what it looks like? Get your stuff into a position that gives you the most efficient use of the brake and the most comfortable use of the shifter(s). To me, it's more "oddball" to go around questioning the aesthetics of somebody else's handlebar set-up.

The Northumberland coast from Alnmouth to Ross is just fantastic. On a quiet day, Bamburgh beach is my idea of perfection – tucked into the dunes out of the wind, in a little bubble of calm, with just the distant waves to break the silence…

(pardon the grain, the photo is scanned from an analogue print)

I can't imagine what purpose it would serve; so, no.

It depends on if the women is 'typically' proportioned. My partner rides a women's-specific Stumpy FSR as she preferred it to the men's frame; but then again, so do I! The only way your girlfiend is going to to know if one bike is more comfortable than another is by sitting on them.

I've had a trouble-free year and eight thousand miles in a 2001 Passat (with 68K). It's good for 40mpg+ on long runs – though I'm not a heavy-footed driver – it's quiet and it's comfortable. Coming from an LWB LDV Convoy, it's small but exceedingly luxurious, if a little less comfy to sleep in!! With just one wheel off each bike and the seat-pins removed, we 've had three people and three bikes in without hassle. I looked at several alternatives and one of the things I like about the VW is that there is no lip to get into the rear – making it easy to get bikes and gear in and out and also more comfortable for sitting in when getting changed.

If you want to run a bashguard, then most will work with standard chainring bolts. Those that need longer ones (like some e.thirteen) will usually come supplied with the correct (longer) bolts. If you don't want to use a bashguard, then you'll need either spacers/washers for your standard bolts or a set of short, singlespeed bolts.

My 2008 SubZero says "handmade in Halifax". Last of the bunch, it would appear. What a shame.

The 9.93 is, in my opinion, the best value chain one can buy (even at RRP). KMC's quality is in no doubt – they manufacture the vast majority of the world's chains, including all sub-XT-level Shimano chains – and their 'high-end' offerings are easily as good as the XT/XTR in terms of durability. I also prefer the shifting from the KMC x-plate design than the Shimano bulge.

I run XTR because I get them on the cheap, but when I've needed a chain at short notice it's always the 9.93 I go for. For what my opinion is worth, I'd never hesitate to recommend the KMC.

…but as it's upside down I can't really tell. Sorry.

Here you go…

You can get stainless steel offcuts from local suppliers or (often cheaper) from eBay. It cost me less than £15 to put a top on my bench (which, by the way, is a sawn-in-half freeby teachers desk mounted on the workshop wall at a decent height with angled 2×4).

Check out Theology Online's forum (link). Lovely bunch of peeps…

(edit: posted at same time as IA)

Which model 66?

As a semi-related and general FYI, the lifts at L'Alpe d'Huez are open from 3rd July to 29th August and the lifts at Les Deux Alpes are open from 16th June to 28th August.

If a frame needs facing it needs facing, no matter whether it's made of aluminium or steel.

This is the story of the lake and the three big fish
that were in it, one of them intelligent,
another half-intelligent,
and the third, stupid.

Some fishermen came to the edge of the lake
with their nets. The three fish saw them.

The intelligent fish decided at once to leave,
to make the long, difficult trip to the ocean.

He thought,
"I won't consult with these two on this
They will only weaken my resolve, because they love
this place so. They call it home. Their ignorance
will keep them here."

When you're traveling, ask a traveler for advice,
not someone whose lameness keeps him in one place.

Muhammad says,
"Love of one's country
is part of the faith."
But don't take that literally!
Your real "country" is where your heading.
not where you are.
Don't misread that hadith.

It's right to love your home place, but first ask,
"Where is that, really?"

The wise fish saw the men and their nets and said,
"I'm leaving."

So the intelligent fish made its whole length
a moving footprint and, like a deer the dogs chase,
suffered greatly on its way, but finally made it
to the edgeless safety of the sea.

The half-intelligent fish thought,
"My guide has gone. I ought to have gone with him,
but I didn't, and now I've lost my chance
to escape.
I wish I'd gone with him."
Don't regret what's happened. If it's in the past,
let it go. Don't even remember it!

Back to the second fish,
the half-intelligent one.
He mourns the absence of his guide for a while,
and then thinks, "What can I do to save myself
from these men and their nets? Perhaps if I pretend
to be already dead!
I'll be belly up on the surface
and float like weeds float, just giving myself totally
to the water. To die before I die…"

So he did that.

He bobbed up and down, helpless,
within arm's reach of the fisherman.

"Look at this! The best and biggest fish
is dead."
One of the men lifted him by the tail,
spat on him, and threw him up on the ground.

He rolled over and over and slid secretly near
the water, and then, back in.

Meanwhile,
the third fish, the dumb one, was agitatedly
jumping about, trying to escape with his agility
and cleverness.
The net, of course, finally closed
around him, and as he lay in the terrible
frying-pan bed, he thought,
"If I get out of this,
I'll never live again in the limits of a lake.
Next time, the ocean! I'll make
the infinite my home."

The Demense campsite (link) at Bellingham is very good.

If we stay at the Kielder campsite we'll take a fire bucket (holed metal bucket on legs) and have a fire going to whole time to keep the midges away. You'll still need some kind of repellent, though.

I've used Motul Factory 7.5 in my Marzocchis for the last five or six years. (In my 66 RC2X) I found the Rock Oil to be poor in comparison – as though it was actually lighter than 7.5. I'm not sure that I ever found good damping settings in the six months I used it and the rebound was very loud; almost wheezey. I switched back to the Motul last month and the fork is back to how I remember it. Before anyone asks: yes, I did check/double-check the oil levels.

Ti29er, have I overlooked the posts where users ask you to critique their pictures? What's the constant criticism all about? It rather sours this thread for me. Would you consider not doing it unless somebody specifically asks for it?

Now, I am not really in touch with my feminine side…

I'm not so sure about that – you gossip like an old lady.

Ample room for my Tech set-up…

My parents did it for me.

They're jet washed after a weekend of abuse, then left to rust away until the following weekend when someone wants to hire it, only to be put off mountain biking for life because the drivetrain is rusted and the forks are locked solid.

That's not what I said, or inferred.

I'm not sure that being jet washed down after every ride is my idea of "well maintained". They've always seemed pretty indiscriminate in their method – blasting hubs, BBs, forks and shocks with the same reckless abandond that the frame gets.

It's not to say that associated problems are guaranteed, but I would expect to have to perform some overhaul work on any ex-hire bicycle. That said, I don't know what service they (especially the fork) gets before the bike is sold. It's certainly a question I'd be asking, though.