For what it’s worth I liked it.

Way more interesting than 99.9% of mountain bike ‘films’ with a load of dudes talking in made up words like gnarly and loamy and other such rubbish. Can’t stand bike vids these days they’re all the same. Dull.

Nickhart – Bar Humbug

There may be a potential need to lighten up a bit.

I’ve used my Charge LR since May last year and haven’t got a bad word to say about it.

For most trail centre or 2hour rides its perfect. In fact my old Mule hasn’t been out the cupboard since I bought it. I’ve never had a problem with space. With 2 litres of water there’s still plenty of room for tools, food and an inner tube.

What’s the deal with everyone thinking teachers don’t earn good money. Most are well over the national average and only work six months of the year.

Oh don’t live in South East England.

This is ours

[/url] Dylan[/url]

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They’re really tough little dogs which can be a problem as they often don’t show pain or illness until its quite serious.

Ours is 10.5kg as well and about 13″ high at the shoulder but there’s not an ounce of fat on him as he does a lot of walking and trail running. He is a greedy little thing though and will eat anything and everything that’s gets near him so we have to be strict with his diet.

Pretty much all the comments above are spot on.

We have a four year-old Border called Dylan and he’s awesome, soft as a brush but also super stubborn as hell when he wants to be.

If you get one from a decent breeder I can’t recommend them enough. Just don’t expect them to be as compliant as a labrador etc. Ours did the KC obedience training for about 18 months but it was hard work. He always thinks he knows best and has a very short attention span. Bit like me.

Border’s were bred to think for themselves so don’t expect them to be a little robot, they definitely think for themselves. Ours is a prize escape artist and none of these ‘indestructible’ dog toys last five minutes.

He will also run / walk all day with no bother but equally will spend all day asleep on the sofa when I’m working from home. He’s great with children and ok with other dogs unless its an Alsatian but that’s after one bit him.

I have ordered a couple of things from Sport Pursuit and never had a problem but it is a pain having to wait for three weeks to get your purchase. Also the site is terrible and usually can’t be bothered to sift through all the rubbish on there to find the one decent purchase.

I would guess they only get the products / sizes that the shops / distributors are struggling to shift. Hence why they usually only have very small or very big sizes.

Have to say I’m getting much more quality riding in since I moved back to Sheffield from Lincolnshire despite a 100 mile round trip commute.

In Lincs I always used to get the road miles in but struggled with motivation as the mountain biking was non-existent.

Having the Peak District less than two miles from my door certainly helps with the motivation to get out and I’ve been getting plenty of cheeky spins on the mountain bike in. Even if its for a quick 45mins through the woods near by.

I am going to need a set of lights for the winter though so I can get some extra play time in. 😀

Can’t be bothered and not interested in another 26 / 27.5 / 29 debate.

However I have a 2013 Stumpy Evo Carbon and as far as I’m concerned its the perfect bike. I took it out in to the Peaks yesterday and couldn’t imagine a better bike for it.

Its light, descends awesomely and climbs really well.

Sure I might not need the whole 150mm travel all the time but I don’t feel there’s any penalty for having it there for when I do want it.

There’s a fine line between suggesting all black isn’t a good look in low light and the assumption that cyclists who dress in dark colours are partially to blame if they get hit. So you have to be very careful discussing it.

I have no problem in saying that cyclist who don’t try to make themselves visible in some way (i.e. wearing all black in low light)are partially to blame if they get hit.

The cyclist hasn’t taken reasonable steps to protect themselves.

Please under no circumstances choose Talk Talk, absolute rubbish service. i could literally spend the rest of the day telling you the horror stories but to summarise…

We moved house about six weeks ago and it took three and a half hours worth of phone calls just to get our broadband moved over. They were absolutely incompetent. I kicked up a massive fus with their complaints department and they gave me my fibre optic broadband half price for the next 12 months with free installation. They then charged me for the installation 😕

Trying to decide whether I’ve got the energy and will to live to call them back and complain again.

Never fails to amaze me, the attitude people have to their own safety. Really don’t understand the attitude of “car drivers should be able to see a bloke on a bike in broad daylight and if they can’t that’s their fault”

While technically correct you also might not be around to explain that to them….

Tom – it is boring as hell, you’re best just driving by.

If you want your riding a bit easier and tech-free can I suggest Sherwood Pines is relatively close. There’s even a blue route.

I’ve just moved back to South West Sheffield and only had time for a couple of standard Houndskirk / Blacka area rides but loving it so far.

Tonight’s plan is to head out and find some of the cheeky woodland trails ahwiles et al talk of.

Car insurance is a joke, I’ve just moved house and had to update the policy on both my cars.

I have an old Mk1 VW Jetta and a four year old Scirocco. Both are insured through the same broker but with different insurance companies. The company that insures my Jetta decided the area we’ve moved to is similar risk to the last house and didn’t charge anything for updating the policy. The Scirocco’s insurers decided the new area is much higher risk and charged my £100 or about 25% more for the ‘privilege’.

Consistency would be nice.

Don’t even get me started.

Teachers get paid very well, have an amazing pension scheme and only work six months of the year and yet all we hear about is how hard done by they are and how they’re going to strike for better conditions.

Saddles are a very personal choice in terms of what you find comfortable.

However for what its worth I have a Fizik Antares and its brilliant, super comfortable. The longest stint I’ve done is 13 hours in the saddle with no problems.

The now Mrs Tinman walked down the aisle to the instrumental intro to ‘All You Need is Love’ by the Beatles. We walked back out to Van Morrison, Brown Eyed Girl.

I had a few great suggestions for the song to walk back out to. All of which were over-ruled.

Highway to Hell – AC/DC and Walk This Way – Aerosmith were two options but my absolute favourite would have been Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust. The (wo)man from Del Monte said no.

Edit – Should have added, The Imperial March from Star Wars was also banned at an early stage.

I have major issues with the whole idea of wedding lists /presents. In the past they were meant to help the couple who had never lived together to set up home. Now they’re primarily about greed. Don’t even get me started on just giving money…..

When Mrs Tinman and myself tied the knot six months ago we’d already lived together for over six years and had bought and furnished a house. Without bragging we also probably earn more money than most of our friends. There was no way we were going to make a list of things we didn’t really need and then asking people to fork out for them. It just grated on us.

We set up a Just Giving page for a local charity and just asked if people wanted to give us something to make a small donation to the charity. We raised nearly £2500.

You’re getting married, isn’t that enough? Why the hell should I buy you a present?

Rant over

Flange is right, a total lack of manners is the easiest and quickest way to be a bellend

The irony of fashion advice from STW is genius.

Have a look round the average bike shop or trail centre car park and tell me we’re in any position to comment.

I’m sure there are a lot of people who would consider riding a push bike around some woods as deeply uncool and something we should have grown out of a lot earlier.

Had a mate who was on the wrong course at uni for a whole year. It was only when he went to register for his second year and he put his course title down that they told him he’d not been studying what he thought he was.

He did do a lot of drugs. He ran up the hill to the house one night convinced he was being chased my tiny penguins. Turns out he’d run by a Guinness advert with loads of small pints on it.

Him and a friend would also lay their bed sheets out in the kitchen, dress in those white karate/Judo outfits and then beat merry hell out of each other. It made great entertainment.

To be honest my parents are generally great, I get on with them both really well and like spending time with them. I usually see them once every couple of weeks.

Now my inlaws…… that’s a different matter. How my wife hasn’t hired a hitman yet I’ll never know.

Ye don’t under any circumstances do a google search for best man’s speech and just use loads of ‘jokes’ you find on the internet. If you want to know why, go on YouTube and there are loads of speeches all using the same jokes.

Try and be original, don’t tell jokes only three people in the room will get, tell funny stories about the groom, don’t insult the bride. My brother was my best man and did an awesome speech, he had a loads of photos on a projector and just took the mickey out of me a bit.

Also keep it to 7 or 8 mins max, too many go way over the top with timing.

I agree there are some terrible phrases. Body English instead of Body Language is by far the worst.

However, the trouble is people think because they can talk, write and post things on a forum that means they can communicate and write entertaining copy.

If journalists did what most people on here are suggesting and dropped any terminology out of their writing you’d all be on here moaning that it reads like a Haynes manual. Journalists use these terms to add some colour and interest, the trick is using the correct terminology and slang for the readership.

A lot is down to perception, personally i think using the term cockpit is ridiculous on anything other than planes and helicopters.

The only bike reviews I read nowadays are in the CTC rag.

Shoot me now.

A way to recognise those with no aesthetic sensibilities or taste?

Matt black signifies ignorance, a lack of irony, a susceptibility to marketing and a fondness for ridiculous trousers.

I have two matt black bikes. I had no idea I was so ignorant.

Not in the last month but got a Stumpy Evo 26″ just before xmas and absolutely no regrets.

Always wanted a RX7, awesome car. Unfortunately the ones I tried were a bit cosy and I could only turn the steering wheel if I cut a few inches out of my legs.

Can you get a a bike in?

Definitely tempted by one of the Intrepid Gilets http://www.intrepidapparel.co.uk/intrepid-freedom-gilet

My brothers got the soft shell and loves it.

I’m with the general consensus here, no advice without photos first.

Had exactly the same issue and went for a Camelbak Charge LR. Plenty of room for a couple of inner tubes, basic tools etc and a 2 litre reservoir that fits laterally across the lower back so I hardly notice its there. Definitely one of my best buys, use it all the time now on anything but big all day sessions.

I’d echo a lot of what was said here, definitely need to treat finding a new job as your job and devote time and energy every day to it.

However from my experience its also really important to use this time to get something personal out of it. There’s a temptation to spend all day sat filling in applications because you feel guilty when you’re not. Generally this is counter productive and you could get it all done in half a day if you focus.

For your own sanity and mental wellbeing go out and have a ride on your bike for a couple of hours every day, just because you’re out of work doesn’t mean you can’t have a bit of fun and it’ll help keep everything in perspective.

Thinking about it apart from the Raleigh all my other old bikes are still kicking about in my parents garage. 😀

First mountain bike was a Raleigh Lizard circa 1990, sold that and got a Dawes Kickback. Then I discovered girls and cars.

Came back to riding with a 2nd hand Mongoose Amp in about 2000

I wouldn’t get too excited, pretty much everything on there can be bought at a similar price simply by doing a google search. Hardly a sale.

These people pay your wages.

These same people ask you to dress in smart ‘business wear’.

How dare they.

I’ve got RS Rev’s on my Cove and Fox 34 Talas on my Stumpy and have to say they’re both awesome. If I had to pick one I’d probably go for the Fox as they just have a slightly better feel.

Having said that I’ve only had them a few weeks and done a handful of rides so no reliability / maintenance issues yet.

Good post, we did the same at our wedding last week and asked people to give donations to the local hospice rather than give us presents. It’s raised over £2k so far, we’ve been genuinely humbled by people’s generosity.

Sorry but Millar and Lala are miles apart.

Millar cheated, got caught and held his hands up to it.

Armstrong cheated, pressured large numbers of other riders in to cheating, crushed anyone who might try and question his ‘innocence’ and generally acted like a bully to everyone while making a large fortune off the back it all.

The famous Paul Kimmage confrontation gives an insight in to how thoroughly unpleasant the bloke is.

What I will say however is that in grassing up everyone else involved (regardless of his motivation for doing so), Lance will do more for Anti Doping than that Weasel Millar ever has. Its something that Millar, if he was serious about anti doping, should have done years ago.

LA will only do this to try and save his sorry hide, not for any love of the sport, guilt or compassion for what he did.

There’s a Dianese store in Manchester city centre, must be plenty more around the Manchester area