Go to Podrunner.com and pick a BPM you want to run to.

This little dream will help you know your sub-genres:

Electronic Music Guide[/url]

Leeksie has now ridden 29ers. He did not die whilst doing so. I am hoping he will survive the experience.

Oh look – large company chain appear to have most rankings.

I've dealt with 1 & 2 – I have nothing but praise for 2 on the list and I'll take the cheap prices of 1. I guess having a large hire fleet maintained by teenage chimps (although evidently qualified teenage chimps) gets you to the top of the rankings. :roll:

God knows what I'll do if Mrs ADH and I ever procreate.

Well – your kids could call me 'Uncle Gandalf'! :D

Sam! How DARE you suggest that, just because they have the same sized wheels, all 29ers are not the same! What would you know?! Pfft – you'll tell me that you don't just hate 29ers because they are different and must therefore be rubbished out of hand!

Leeksie – you just have to ride them. They might be for you, they might not. Even if someone can't get it round tight corners, they will probably find it rides better on open track, down hills, up hills, over roots, over rocks etc etc. Even if they can't get it to accellerate like a rocket they would probably find, over a whole ride, that they kept up with anyone. I'm around most of the hols so we'll sort something for you.

The CyclePro ones look exactly the same as the ones I bought from a proper tool store – except mine are a different colour. Excellent, work really well, but don't have Park Tools written on them!

I do. It isn't.

I like the way some people make Bristol sound like tech singletrack heaven. There are a few acres of trails to the SW of the city centre and not exactly in condition all year!

Wheelbases are typically longer even if just a bit

If it were wheelbase alone that decided the handling of a bike you might have more than a tiny point.

they are heavier. A fat rider on a 29er is still heavier than on a 26" bike and the gyroscopic effects are there like it or not.

No. A fat rider on a HEAVIER bike is heavier than on a LIGHTER bike. Wheel size has nothing to do with that. Not all 29ers are heavier than all 26" bikes. The gyroscopic effects come when you spin something quick enough (probably not on tech twisty turny stuff). Then again – if you're not man enough to turn a bike…

The bmx comment is more narrow minded than anything. I like
my bike to feel like a bmx AND fit, which it does.

Narrow minded? You've just confirmed my point!

Proportionally, I believe 29ers make a better bike for big guys. If a 'mid range' height person wants a wee bike to fling around, they buy something with proportionally smaller wheels (bmx). It follows that as you get bigger, you'd be able to have bigger wheels (26") for the same effect. I know that, at 6'7", a 26" wheeled bike looks and feels, compared to my 29ers, like a bmx to shorter peoples 26" bikes.

29ers for big strong men!

Oh – nearly forgot – most 29ers seem to be built as XC racers. That would be like comparing a hardcore hardtail with a Scott Scale (but with bigger wheels). There are other geometries out there.

Oh a decent rider will manage ok with a 29er – I'm not suggesting it becomes unrideable but fundamentally, the longer wheelbase and extra weight are not best suited so it's a compromise. 29ers are unquestionably faster on some terrain but I don't think Bristol is that place. (yes, I've tried several, thanks I want to like them as they 'should' suit me since I'm 6'5" but all the ones I've tried feel very trundley and fundamentally just less fun)

Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Rubbish

Longer wheelbase? Small, if any, difference. Last guy that put his 26" next to one of my bikes was surprised to see no difference in wheelbase.

Extra weight? There are many fat 26" riders who ride heavy bikes.

Bristol? Pah. Either you ride a limited number of trails or you have a 3 ft wide brush set aside for tarring. I think it is the brush.

If you want a bike to feel like a BMX and you're tall, ride a 26er. If you want a bike that really fits, try 29er. If you want to ride 'Bristol', ride what the hell you like. I've not descended into a pit of uncontrollable doom riding my 29ers around the BS postal area and I can't ride for dog toffee.

Leeksie – I'm 6'7" so if we can get the seat down enough you can try an On One and a Turner and see what you think.

Are you tall enough to ride the mansize wheel? :x

Give us a clue what size bike you might want to try!

I was wearing a Ladybird dressing gown at the time.

Ahhh – the junior smoking jacket of its time.

The Singing Ringing Tree messed me up – not sure how much as, until NOW, I had hidden it away in the depths of my mind. Thanks for that!

*heads off to do damage to things*

Sloe gin
Bramble whisky

Riding my bike through the woods and seeing men taking 'riding their bikes through the woods' far too seriously in all aspects. :|

Why not put a thermometer on the wall in the position of the TV and see what temperatures you are getting? That would give you something tangible rather than the wild-ass guessing of the stw massive.

Flatfish – I'm rather involved as the 'cycling champion' for a large employer in the area – about 8000 pers on site. Do you think the feds would be interested in doing something at our location, or is this a Redland thing only?

Damnit – I'll be drunk as a lord in Bristol tomorrow. No chance of getting there with a bike.

The size may cause you more problems. Just give yourself far more room. The 'left foot stays on the floor' advice is solid.

Do you have them high enough to start with? I've seen people with them too low and not with the seam at the back of the knee before.

Ronin by Frank Miller. Stunning and not as widely read as it should be as it has been around for aeons.

stoopid question number 256. What pressure in the rear shock?

Dunno exactly – quite a bit. I'm still playing with it, so I'll tell you when I fettle some more.

How far from 'manbag' is a messenger bag?

What he said. Big brands tend to do their lower specced bikes in big sizes for some strange reason.

I always thought wide riser bars and riser stem was a nono

Most bikes I've ridden would be a nono to most people, never mind the stw fashionistas.

This place is in Bristol:

Hot Sauce Emporium

If its going to cost a bomb, it may as well look pretty eh?

Are we talking bikes or hookers?

I'm baffled by the whole stem bit – for the following:

This is a 23" framed, FS, 29er bike – thats a lot of bike.
I built for a reasonable level of strength without going all DH on parts,
so weight was not an issue at all on the bike.
I weigh 250lbs so, as a percentage of my weight, it weighs f***-all – somewhere close to 31lbs I'd guess.
There are just over 3cm of spacers under the stem. I am not going to notice a difference in stiffness – I've never flexed a steerer tube, won't start now.

I will promise to always have a pre-ride poo just to shed those grammes I've squandered on the build.

Whats red and not there?

No tomatoes.

How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?

One, but only if it really wants to change.

Yes – a first post from an unknown directing me to a website that assures me it won't retain my personal details?

Forgive me for not doing as you ask. You may be being cool and 'viral', but you've made it sound uncool and viral. :roll:

scaredypants – 40" standover so fairly long legs. Almost forgot – 180mm crank on there too – and it is noticeable when pedaling – feels so smooth with the slightly bigger circles.

congrats pinches – all kinds of wrong going on there. Is there a niche not offended by that bike?

It is indeedy. Thats 23 inches of big-wheeled loveliness – which is why it looks in proportion.

SWMBO – for the singles – she who must be obeyed.

Mr Tall – thats the 15mm bolt thru QR thingy that Fox do and the DT Swiss bolt rear. Its as bolty as you can get!

chunky – not really, sort of, ish.

that massive stack of headtube spacers only makes the gangly headtube look longer

If 29ers didn't have such stupid short headtubes, I'd not need spacers! They don't make a bigger frame.

backhander – we could always meet up for a ride – outrageous idea!

Isn't all furniture flat at some point?

You mean your chairs aren't hewn from solid oak trees? Pfft! Jessy!

Have a look at the Continental versions too – some are coming with free inner tubes and a 1 yr anti puncture warranty.

Find the biggest road hill near you. Something that lasts as long as possible. Get some speed up and start dragging your brakes. You want to get them hot. That'll cook 'em.

I'm interested in the Boxing Day ride!

Done it, won't do it again. It was a good job, but my time is worth so much more than that and a pro can do a great job in less time.

Disappointing. Not nearly as good as I hoped for – and I like beer and I like ginger wine.