4 out of 6 are good to go :)

Trek road bike – ridable
Langster – ridable
Sanderson HT – ridable
Orange Sub 5 – ridable
Tinbred SS – bars/stem borrowed on the Sanderson
GT DHi – not fully built yet

A better ratio than sometimes!

Cheers, Rich

Another vote for MT500's here, normally with road shoes.

Cheers, Rich

Sao Paulo isn't too bad, as it's spread out the safe(er) areas are quite separated from the bad areas. In Rio it's all very mixed due to the favelas surrounding the nice areas on the steep hillsides.

I loved my time in Rio though (6 months), didn't spend too much time in Sao Paulo but did make regular visits.

Food is excellent, people are friendly, beer is cheap. I did lots of cycling in Brazil too.

Have fun!

Cheers, Rich

I love my Edge 500, you can upload routes to it, but only breadcrumb type.

As has been said, comes with 2 mounts as standard, and additional ones are very cheap.

Cheers, Rich

How about a little Indian 3-wheeled delivery truck overloaded and tipped up on it's back wheels?

Cheers, Rich

I normally clean all of the lumps out by hand, scrape as much of a slime out of the inside, and run a kettle full of boiling water through it.

Storing in the freezer after use helps keep the black stuff at bay too.

Cheers, Rich

Spongebob

Out of interest, can any bike be chipped/detuned?

Certainly large capacity carbed bikes can be restricted to 33bhp, this is usually done with washers under the carbs considerably reducing the opening into the inlet.

Very simple to install and remove.

Cheers, Rich

Bit of road riding in India

Cheers, Rich

Schwalbe marathon plus here, fitted some before coming out to India, where the roads aren't the finest in the world :?

Quite heavy, and needed to use a few zip-ties to help fit them, but have been great.

Cheers, Rich

Does anyone use a straight razor?

Clearly the consequences of getting it wrong could be pretty severe 8O

Considering trying one, thoughts appreciated.

Cheers, Rich

I came across this[/url] link a while ago, might be useful/inspiring.

Cheers, Rich

Simon, in the year I was in Brazil, 6 months of which was in Rio, I never had any problems, and I rode my bike everywhere, through favellas etc.

Did almost get stabbed in a tunnel though when on foot, and our site doctor was shot in a bar just outside work for her car…

Cheers, Rich

I've spent the majority of the past 6 years abroad away from the missus, frequently not seeing her or any friends from back home for 5 months at a time.

Wouldn't describe it as a dream job, but the house deposit is starting to look reasonably healthy, and the plan is to move back to the UK on a permanent basis next year.

Have to strike a good balance between job satisfaction, quality time with family, and remuneration, not always easy!

Cheers, Rich

Junk, glad to know someone's looking after her :lol:

Cheers, Rich

While I'm away for months on end I mainly miss my wife :cry:

Cheers, Rich

Don't forget the most important thing – your bike!

The only problem I've had was CO2 canisters, they don't seem to be welcome in hand or hold luggage, so I don't carry them any more :?

Cheers, Rich

Can't really speak much for Bangalore, only been there briefly, but if you want an idea of what the traffic is like, a couple of vids from Hyderabad below :)

The Ride Home

Bullet to Work

I've got a spare bike here, and there's a good cycling club, so if you fancy a hop up to Hyderabad one weekend, let me know!

You might find my Bullet quite entertaining/terrifying too :o

Cheers, Rich

Never had a problem with Paypal, and you get an extra layer of protection when using them.

Be wary of phishing emails, as you sometimes get ones pretending to be from Paypal but aren't. If it looks slightly suspicious, it generally is.

Cheers, Rich

I'd go for that, I currently do longer stints abroad with considerably less time off, although I'm not in Afghanistan, although neither am I on £100k :(

Cheers, Rich

A good alternative to some proper impact shorts is a piece of old camping mat cut up and stuffed down inside your trousers.

Not quite as comfortable or as flattering, but does the same job for a fraction of the price :)

Cheers, Rich

I like my Garmin Edge 500, no sensors, and comes with 2 mounts as standard.

It is supposed to be IPX7, but I haven't tested it in terrible conditions.

Cheers, Rich

As per MMB, Amazon for a Class 4 Kingston. I initially bought one from eBay, and the seller sent me a class 6, which my GoPro didn't like at all, they're very fussy.

Stick with the above, and you should be fine – not worth the hassle of getting something which isn't compatible and sending it back.

Cheers, Rich

Moving to India seems to be a good way of losing weight, I've lost a stone since coming here at Easter, although I didn't really want to – was just over 10 1/2st, now the missus thinks I'm dangerously skeletal 8O

Seems to be a combination of lots of cycling, a couple of dodgy curries, and a few missed meals here and there, and I've become a bit of a rake…

Cheers, Rich

Waiting for the Muse set to come on the iPlayer, but looking forward to seeing them at RockWerchter [/url]next weekend even more :D

Cheers, Rich

Right, after taking my STI's off the road bike the other night, and some extensive measuring and modelling, I'm pretty sure that it's doable using a standard Shimano rubber hood cover. Need to do some measuring of some Hope piston assemblies and others bits, but it's looking promising, and not as complex as I originally thought. Reservoir can sit quite high too, purple bit is the diaphragm seal.

Bit more polished, obviously missing a few bits though.

Bit step from functioning SolidWorks model to working part though :lol:

Cheers, Rich

You used to be able to do a free search to see if any vehicle registration was listed in the Insurance Database, although now you need to pay.

Might be worth £3.50?[/url]

Cheers, Rich

While the Ixus range are lovely little cameras, I have a Casio Exlim, and the battery life is infinitely better than the wife's Ixus.

These are both about 5 years old, and have probably improved now, but worth considering.

Cheers, Rich

I've stopped loads of times to help people over the years. Gave a guy a tube when commuting to and from Dorking once, loaned people use chain tools while riding, and loaned my bike to a guy with a snapped chain half-way round the course while I was spectating at Red Bull a few years ago.

Probably the best one was while I was on the Brighton bypass in the work van. Passed a guy pushing an old motorbike along the dual carriageway, who had run out of petrol. I had been transporting my motorbike the previous day, so had a plank and some ratchet straps in the back. Loaded the bike up and gave him a lift to a petrol station. He couldn't believe his luck, or how far he would have had to push uphill to get to the station (around 5 miles!)

A guy on a Fireblade gave me a lift home once after my Suzuki conked out on me years ago

Hopefully this will stand me in good stead for the future when luck isn't on my side :lol:

Cheers, Rich

Seems like there is some potential demand for the right product.

I'll continue to work on my ideas, and see if I can get anything which anyone actually likes :lol:

Development will ultimately be hampered by me being in India, and my milling machine being in the UK :cry:

Cheers, Rich

Macavity,

the idea behind this is to actually have something available, rather than a mythical item from the past which theoretically does the job, but you can't get hold of :?

Cheers, Rich

Fitting a pull-type piston assembly and reservoir inside a modified STI unit is another challenge entirely 8O

Would certainly require bespoke seals, and tiny ones at that which would need to be very effective as you would be sealing the pressurised end of the cylinder, and have a fluid outlet as the same end.

Nice idea, but slightly beyond my resources at the moment unfortunately.

Plan is to be able to re-use the seals and piston from a standard mini-lever, so a combination of these bits

and these bits

although there may be a kit which includes everything.

Cheers, Rich

Thanks for the input.

My intention would be to try and make something as factory as possible, not just a bodged on MTB lever (no offence intended Swedish King :D ) as this is for the missus.

I'm hoping that the Shimano spares catalogue will be of use, the clamp and hood cover from something like the 105 looks like it should do the job pretty nicely.

Cheers, Rich

Midlifecrashes,

That looks like the simplest option by far!

Anywhere selling HS66's?

Might continue with the SolidWorks for a bit longer to keep me amused, need to finish my work assignment in India before I can get the CNC mill in action anyway :lol:

Cheers, Rich

TJ,

I wasn't aware of the remote master cylinder system, but I had envisaged something almost identical in my mind before contemplating a fully integrated hydraulic lever.

Clearly my levers wouldn't be STI, so not suited to normal gears.

The lever is the simple bit, but the orientation of the reservoir and the internal plumbing is slightly more complex than a typical MTB brake.

Didn't know that the Shimano's could be mounted any way, might need to get hold of some to experiment with. I do like the idea of concealed brake hoses, which some adapted 525's might not manage…

Cheers, Rich

I used to live bang opposite them for a year, the only issue I ever had was their shop alarm going off during the night once!

Really nice blokes, and although I never spent a huge amount of money there they were always happy for me to borrow tools and drop them back through the letterbox when I was finished :D

Always very helpful and knowledgeable, can't fault them.

Cheers, Rich

I did something not too dissimilar a few years ago – impaled the end of my handlebars (without a plug :oops: ) into my crotch and severed a vein.

Had an intense black/purple bruise which grew and inch a day until it was below my knee, and wrapped 3/4 of the way around my thigh 8O

All good fun :lol:

Hope you heal up quickly and are back on the bike soon.

Cheers, Rich

Seems I have 6

MTB
FS – Orange Sub 5
HT – Sanderson Life
SS – On-One Tinbred
DH – GT DHi

Road
Trek carbon something
Specialised Langster fixed

Thinking about a Pompino for a bit of touring too :D

Cheers, Rich

Looks great, just completed your survey.

Best of luck with the project,

Cheers, Rich

I was looking at the Great Divide website earlier on and noticed their names down for the 2010 timed event.

Had a look at Ben Fogle's website as a result

The Tour Divide is the world’s longest off-road bike race. At 2745 miles (4418 km) long and the mountainous route is the equivalent of climbing Everest seven times to and from sea level.

Ben and James have previously crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat in the RTS award-winning Through Hell and High Water, and raced to the South Pole in the crushingly cold Antarctic in On Thin Ice, but this new adventure will challenge them, both physically and mentally, like never before. Although James has some experience on road bikes, neither is yet trained in mountain biking, and Ben is not a cyclist at all.

To add to the pressure, they are attempting to break the current course record and complete the route in less than the current best time of 17 days and 21 hours. This inspirational challenge is no mean feat for mountain biking novices – to beat the record they will have to cover at least 160 miles (257km) every day.

Commenting on why they’re taking on this particular adventure, James Cracknell comments: “As ‘fun’ as the last two challenges were, the scenery in the Atlantic and on the Antarctic Plateau wasn’t that varied so the chance to see the Rockies on a bike whilst pushing hard and seeing how close we can get to the record is an irresistible combination.”

The route starts in Banff, Canada, and traverses the Rockies along the Continental Divide, which is the watershed between the Pacific on the West Coast and the Atlantic on the East Coast. But although being an unbelievably arduous physical feat, the bigger test is likely to be maintaining the mental stamina required.

Talking about the expedition, Ben Fogle said: “I love a challenge, but as a cycling novice this is a huge test and could well prove to be the toughest yet. In training, I’ve already had broken fingers and black eyes and I’ve yet to step foot in the Rockies!”

To attempt to beat the current world record, they must race unsupported so there will be no back up team alongside them with equipment or supplies. They must carry everything they need on their bikes, including all their camera equipment, but they are allowed to send supplies to pre-arranged locations to pick up en route.

The challenge of handling the unending miles ahead cannot be underestimated and will undoubtedly put a strain on their personal relationship. The experience of their other expeditions has shown them that team work is the key to success, and in this adventure it is going to be more important than ever.

The production crew behind both their previous adventures will film their training and shadow them where possible during the record attempt which Ben and James plan to start in August 2010.

BBC Executive Producer, Lisa Edwards, commented: “We’re delighted that James and Ben are returning to BBC Two with another inspirational challenge which, as their previous series’ have done, is sure to keep viewers enthralled.”

“It’s really exciting to be working with Ben and James again on a third world-beating adventure,” said Melanie Leach, Twofour’s Executive Producer. “We have followed them over the sea and ice, and watched in awe as their grit, determination and good humour has seen them through. This cycle race will test them to the limits and it will be fascinating to see how their relationship develops as they chase yet another record.”

Cheers, Rich

Looks great, just watched the trailers on Vimeo, and ordered a copy :)

Would love to do it myself, but I suspect a few years of serious training would be in order first 8O

Cheers, Rich