Hi Brant. As I mentioned above I’m looking to buy a hardtail and possibly go 29er for the first time. What sort of weight is the parkwood build coming in it? The bike will also be used by my other half occasionally so I don’t want anything too heavy. I’ve already crossed the 456 off the list as I read it comes in at 31pound. Is that accurate?

Had my heart set on an evo 456 for ages. Eventually selling my “spare” bike so I could push the button and this comes along. Thanks for muddying the waters On One.

Am I right in thinking that although some people have ended paying more than they thought because of changes in process, that no one has ended up paying more than the bike was priced at? I guess any saving is a good thing. Sorry if this is a stupid question, this is really the first time I’ve looked into this scheme.

Very interested in hearing the opinion of previous CTW buyers. I have been considering trying to get my employer (a University. I can’t believe they’re not already doing it) to sign up but it looks like there’s more to consider than the CTW FAQ section suggests. For example, I remember only a couple of years back my LBS telling me they would happily sell me any bike I wanted using the £1000 voucher (I later found out my then employer wasn’t signed up either) and I’d pay the rest. For the reasons above it now seems like this is either impossible or not recommended.
I know you can us it against safety equipment, can you use it against parts?

I just noticed this today too. Having followed a few leads from here and, as you say, following sites/services mentioned on other bike vids I’ve found more than enough to be getting on with. I think it will come down to budget and finding that special little something.

Hi schrickvr6, thanks for getting in touch. I’m not sure what direction we want to go with yet (we’re a committee so everything is a group choice) but I suspect we’ll be wanting to go a little less electronic and a little more traditional. It’s not a taste thing, I just think what we want to communicate might be best represented this way. If you were offering to help us out / get involved, I’m really very grateful.

<goes off in search of ninja tune cd upstairs>

Three Fish – you’re exactly right. By favour I don’t mean ask for a freebie but not knowing the price of such things I’m worried that the little we can offer will still be classed as favour. In which case I’d rather not insult the performer(s). I absolutely think musical contribution to such things is of huge value. We just can’t afford huge prices.

It’s not a music festival. It’s a festival of outdoor activities.

Thanks for that, I’ll add it to the list. I think I’ve heard of bandcamp. I bet it’s something every human on earth is aware of apart from me.

Three cheers for Shackster!!!
Strange tubing located. Came in the same bag as the supplied reverb bleed kit so I had assumed it was part of that. I can see how it’ll be a piece of cake with that. Though Woolymonster’s magnet tip is very tempting – sounds like the sort of thing that would lead to huge levels of man pride if you got it to work but more likely to lead to huge levels of baldness as you rip your own hair out with frustration.

I got a Strive just before Christmas (AL8) and I love it. The rear end is a bit linear and runs through the travel quite easily, I should probably look into resolving this but I’m too busy having fun on it to worry. I’ve had no problem with the pivots or anything to do with the frame though, oddly, both fork and shock (both fox) have had to be sent back to Mojo. The shock was knackered straight out of the box – which turned into a blessing as Mojo replaced it with a top of the line kashima job.
The bike is obviously built for coming down – and it’s bloody good at doing that – but I find it climbs really well, far better than my meta5 which tends to lift at the front with every pedal stroke on steep stuff. I don’t find the bikes weight is a problem or even notably heavy when compared to friends bikes of a similar type.
I’ve not had any problems with the hubs as mentioned above and living in the Borders I’ve been through as much mud and grit as anyone (sod’s law they’ll go on my next outing)
A friend also has a Strive from about 3 years ago and it’s been great for him and he’s the sort of rider who puts components through their paces.

My only issue has been with the uk branch not responding to phone calls but I think I’m right in saying they’ve got a new uk office and that this problem should now be history. I’d have no hesitation in recommending the bike. It makes me want to go out biking all the time, which about as good a compliment as a bike needs.

Graham, thanks. Yep, it’s steep hills where I’m going slow (the shame) but I’d like to keep the auto pause on. First time I went out with it off my times were ridiculous due to the talk (breather) stops. It just seems that “workout paused” “workout resumed” is constantly sounding off and I’m not THAT slow.
The distance thing is a little harder to fathom. The endomondo distances can be half of the Strava distance off of the same gpx file. We’ll have biked a trail I know to be a certain distance and endomondo will show much less. Like I say, it makes looking at the endomondo data just pointless.

I was looking at alternatives but they all seem so expensive. The attraction of the apps is they’re free but it looks like I’m getting what I pay for whilst my iphone pals are smuggly getting better results.

Hi guys, was going to post a gps question on here but this thread kinda answers a lot of what I was unsure about.
My riding friends have recently started using strava via iphone. Having a windows phone I have to use Endomondo and transfer the file to Strava. This seemed to work fine and was very simple. I was quite pleased. BUT I’m now not so sure about the results. For example
The distance when viewed on Endomondo is far less than I know it to be and when I import the gpx to Strava it shows as a more realistic distance (meaning that when I’m out on a ride, looking at endomondo for realtime info is pointless). Another issue is that the ride pauses and unpauses when I’m still moving and I think this is giving me better results than I actually deserve. Last night I scored my best time ever on a local climb but I’d be very surprised is this was actually the case.
Are there known issues with using endomondo and transferring to strava, windows phone endomondo etc?

I bought a Lumia 800 when they went cheap(er) on the basis of the CZ lens – my old Nokia something or other had one too and it was excellent. The 800 has been great so far. I read reviews before buying, that said the camera wasn’t that good but I disagree utterly. I know I could get a better dedicated camera but I’m used to being able to take a decent pic whenever I have my phone with me – which is always. Most of the images on this blog taken in the last few months are from it (I’m sure in more capable hands, it would give more impressive results though)
http://tyredout.blogspot.co.uk/

aye, that’s the one. I seems SOLID. Spent a good few minutes with a hammer and a steel pointy thing battering away but nowt. Also gave the bolt a good soaking with penetrant but it’s not looking to have made a difference.
We’re meant to be picking the kids up in an hour or so but until the coil can be looked at, that car’s going nowhere.

Over the weekend I’ll try and get all the images I’ll need, then it’s off to work on Monday to ask the tv and animation men what they would suggest is the best (easiest) way of putting it together and saving it. Luckily I work at an art college type place so can access both software and technology. Fingers crossed.

Cheers Folks. That should help LOADS.

b r – People certainly will have to travel to get to Langholm but we hope to make it worth their effort. I hear what you’re saying re 25 miles but it’s really not an easy 25 miles. No footpaths and bridleways here. We’ve devised a track that takes riders up each of the four hills that surround the town. That along with the various events, not to mention the whole social aspect and we think people should have a good time. Besides, I know plenty of people – myself included – who travel many miles to do far fewer miles on man made trails – so I think people are willing to travel out of their way for some bike flavoured fun. Hopefully we’ll see some of them and yourself in Langholm in May.

No one then?

Here’s our blog. Of no interest to anyone. Next to no writing and used sporadically – but seeing as you asked…

http://tyredout.blogspot.co.uk/

It’s just all over bloody awkward. I want my images to be a certain width – can’t do it without accessing and amending the HTML – they’re either too large or too small. Arranging posts so the layout is as I want it – forget it. Type doesn’t format as wanted – remove all type formatting then look at the HTML to find lines of format code that you don’t want. With writer I just add images, set the size, click where I want type and then type it in then press send.
My template is clean and simple and it seems almost impossible to create posts that are those things. We use blogger for a work blog but our offices all have Mac. We’ve pretty much stopped posting from work now and have to do it from home of an evening.

I’ve got a few blogs on the go. All Blogger and all running the same template which was originally downloaded and has been tweaked by myself over time. They’re mainly image based with additional type.
Recently Blogger has changed it’s interface and hasn’t been very successful. Google have been inundated with complaints.
I now find it almost impossible to create a post on any of my blogs by using blogger itself. Luckily, Windows Live writer, a free pc program is utterly fantastic. It allows you to create posts offline and then simply upload them once you’ve got them as you want them. It’s far easier than Blogger ever was, even before the terrible changes.
I’d go so far as to say that if you’re running a Mac and can’t get Writer, I’d stay clear of blogger if layout and aesthetic is of any importance to your blog.

I got a can in Asda for £2.99 last week. It was in among the giant bike saddles and ladybird bike bells.

A friend got a Canyon over two years ago. He’s as rough as heck with his bikes and he’s had no problems in all that time – hence my purchase of one.

Got a Strive just before Christmas. I had to deal with UK customer service straight away due to a fault in the shock. Calling the number was a complete and utter waste of time – I think I probably called 30+ times and never once spoke to anyone. Emailing got me somewhere and once they contacted Mojo it was done and dealt with in a day – shock replaced with upgraded unit and Mojo said the fault was with Fox not Canyon. So it could have been better but I was probably being over zealous due to the bike being spanking new and just wanting to be out on it.

It’s not all a negativestory though. I LOVE the bike and despite the issue I had I’d still recommend a Canyon. The new service centre will hopefully make a difference.

It’s worth mentioning that I’ve had bigger service issues with brands bought through lbs – it’s amazing that people seem to think going through known brands and through a shop mean everything will go smoothly – Commencal pissed me about for months before they eventually “found” a replacement frame for a cracked meta all the while my lbs were powerless to do a thing but look apologetic.

haha, richmtb – I’ve got a track pump, fully paid up and everything.

I’ve actually, since posting this, found the exact company who supply the FC at FW and I’m gonna drop them an email.

That cold/virus/plague that I posted about up there, ages ago – it’s back. Probably never left in the first place. Living with two small children means we’re pretty much swimming in germs here – coughing and sneezing seeming to be as frequent as drawing breath to the wee devils.

I’ve been to the Dr several times and each time is the same – drink plenty water and keep it in control with paracetamol and ibuprofen. Everyone else tells me I need my tonsils out – they always become infected and sore when ever I have any illness.

Anyway, my question is this
On my last few bike runs I’ve had no strength in my legs. I’ve been miles behind friends who normally I’d be chatting with. Even on flat parts of trail I don’t seem able to get any real speed going and all pedal sections are tackled at little more than a trundle. I even gave up on one night ride last week and came home after a couple of miles, such was my shame at being so far behind and my frustration at myself.
I’ve noticed even walking up stairs my legs get that heavy burn in them – please, tell me is this because of the cold/virus/plague that I have and not that I’ve just lost it?

The illness isn’t really a constant presence. I can feel more or less right for the best part of the day yet I’ll wake up in the middle of the night with a fever or I’ll become achy halfway through a days work. Tis a bloody pain in the arse, that’s for sure. I’ve got an event in May that I need to train for and this is really going to knacker that up.

I’ve a very similar bike here. 07 Meta 55. It’s got a crack under the downtube/headtube weld. I assumed it was worth more or less nothing and bought a couple of brackets and mounted it on the office wall. It looks quite nice up there.

Someone asked about public transport from Carlisle. I live fairly locally and used to work in Kielder – the First Buses X95 will take you from just outside the Carlisle train station to Canonbie (just over the border) which is fairly close to Kielder. There’s also a small mini bus (Anderson’s Coaches I think) that runs to Newcastleton – closer than Canonbie. I think in both cases you might have issues with getting bikes on board – especially the coach to Newcastleton as it’s not a big bus.

(I was refused entry onto the x95 having just bought a dh bike and had to bike it 25 miles home. I think it comes down to the driver’s choice and we all know how much they enjoy the power of being able to say NO)

I’m not aware of any public transport that runs into Kielder but could be wrong

We had a cat who lived to a ripe old age. He went walk about his whole life, we just got used to it in the end. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be gone for months at a time. He would just show up sitting on the windowsill wanting to be let in. He always looked as healthy as the day he left so we assumed he had himself a couple of alternative owners around town. When he got old he settled down more – I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that he picked us.

Cheers guys. 10 speed power links ordered from crc – hopefully my fix will last until they’re delivered.

I think the OP suggests that the bike wasn’t taken in for brake pad replacement but that this was added by Evans as work that needed done and that the OPer went with it as he had no pads at home. I don’t think there’s grounds for banning him from the trails quite yet.

I had a similar experience when a lbs dealt with a braking issue. I picked the bike up (noticing but not thinking about a massive smell of WD40) and got on it outside the shop to ride it home. 200 yards later a bus pulled out from a stop and I put some pressure through the brakes. Nothing happened. I put a lot of pressure through the brakes and still, nothing. In the end I managed to dodge the rear of the bus (just) and run onto a thankfully empty pavement where I dragged myself to a hault with my feet.
Turns out the mechanic had done the job and finished up by giving the bike a big dousing in WD40 or something like it. Including the braking surfaces.

Harsh words were shared and, obviously, I haven’t been back. Luckily a fantastic new shop opened up near by very soon after.

Yep. First job out of Uni in a design studio. The studio manager, my boss, used to verbally bully me to some extent. Sometimes picking up on my work and turning small things into big issues for the entertainment of the rest of the designers and sometimes it came from no where and was just weird – About being Scottish or short or anything else he could come up with. The other designers started to tell me it made them feel awkward and that they didn’t see the funny side at all.
My first review was with him and the company owner. When asked if there was anything I’d like to say I laid into him. Told him, among other things, that he was being a dick and was embarrassing himself acting like a child – admittedly not a very mature use of language but it kinda came flooding out after me holding it for so long. I thought I’d talked myself out of my first job until the owner winked at me and shook my hand. My boss got a disciplinary and I got double the pay rise that I asked for.
We ended up being good friends about a year down the line.

I’m lucky too. My wuman likes pretty much the same films as me and lists Die Hard as one of her all time favourites. That said she did convince me to buy ‘It’s complicated’ with Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep which I managed about 20 minutes of before leaving her to it – in hindsight, what the effingjeff was I thinking!

toby1, thanks. Mind at ease.
If it all goes wrong we’ve always got the comedy stylings of soobalias to fall back on.

Blimey! It’s not about standards I feel are appropriate. It’s a complete lack of any standards. It seems like it’s being suggested that I have unrealistic expectations in thinking a father should show some willing to make some effort in life for his children. I don’t think a couple separating is a reason for any parent to wash their hands of responsibility – this may not be the commonly held belief that I thought it was.

But thanks for the kind words and support. Yep, I know what I need to do. Believe me. It’s easier to take him out of the equation in my head than it is in reality though. It’s difficult, it builds up and sometimes I get frustrated but in a way, the less he does, the more he fails them, the more I feel their Mum and me are determined to get it right.

Perhaps coming from separated parents but still being able to say that my Dad was probably my closest friend as I grew up I have a particular view on the situation.

I don’t see how it’s a question of doing as much as I would like. Is it not he case that when you have children you have a responsibility to them? He is in no position to help financially due to his own lack of responsibility and his willingness to let his ex wife take complete care and shoulder all the weight of raising children. You know those people they talk about in The Sun who are happy to claim benefits and be provided for by the state? That’s him. It’s not something that deserves sympathy – he’s had more chances than any person I know and he’s just too feckless to make anything of them.

Go with your second guess, that he may well be laughing as he wiggles out of all responsibility – you’re closer to the truth there.

I’m surprised by the amount of posts willing to offer sympathy to a Dad who is happy to sit back and make no effort to support or raise his children. Fair enough, you can’t possibly know all the details and I have no wish to share them, but it seems disappointing that people are willing to find sympathetic reason for someone who has no interest in lifting a finger to improve the life of two small girls he brought into the world.

For anyone thinking he has reason to act poorly as the children have moved away – that was never plan A. It was always everyones hope that the children would live close to their father but after about a year of trying this, he made it completely impossible. My partner was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and her move was motivated by desperation and self preservation brought on by his behavior.

It’s not a question of money either. It’s a question of having a back bone. You bring a child into the world, from there on in you owe it to them to make your life about supporting and doing your best for them or have I got that wrong?

This was possibly the wrong forum (literally) to bring this up. I just needed to get it out without it being directed at the wrong people.

Let’s all be friends and talk about bikes – the best thing I could do to clear my head is get out and blast some trails.

Impose my values on him?
My values being that I’d like him to take some responsibility for his children? Maybe put some clothes on their back or contribute in any way to their up bringing? Not smoke because it upsets his daughters who cry and ask me why he won’t stop as it’s making him ill?
The point is, he’s not meeting his obligations, in any way what so ever. He does nothing for them. And no, I can’t dictate how he spends his days but I think it’s not unreasonable to point out that I’d like it more if he spent at least some of them doing something for his children.

Let’s be clear about something. He’s not ‘thinking’ like this because of his wife leaving with the kids. My partner separated from him because he thinks like this. I’m know there are many Dad’s who have had a hard time because of separations. He’s not one of them. He brought it upon himself and was given more than his fare share of chances to do something about it.

Coming from separated parents myself I understand the need to let the girls have a relationship with their Dad – there’s no question there. I just wish he would do more to facilitate it.

haha, I tried changing it at the last second, as the spinny thing spun, but alas…

I managed to get a foot in the door of the local uni doing part time contract work, have a degree in ‘Graphic Arts’ but no pgce. After a few years working in both FE & HE I landed a position on the graphic design & illustration degrees. I’ll be able to do the pgce in house and the cost will be covered. I actually started the course last year but due to circumstances I have postponed it. The guys I work with are all amazing lecturers and I feel I’ve learned more from them than any course will ever teach me though. I love my job. The feeling of having helped or had a positive effect on one student can really make you feel great.