5'10" and 11st

Thanks guys, I think sending him in Spitalfields direction should do the trick, with a few other suggestions if he doesn't find anything he likes there.

Cheers, Rich

Sorry, should have said MTB, and a half decent one at that, budget close to £1k I think.

Cheers, Rich

Bought a netbook for skyping the wife while I'm abroad, as I'm not allowed to install it on the work laptop. Has been a revelation, not needing to worry about the costs of calls, and being able to see each other.

Sometimes the quality isn't great, obviously limited by bandwidth, but you can always turn video off if your line is running slow, which improves things.

Thoroughly recommended.

Cheers, Rich

SS: Kings

Orange: Hope on the back and a Middleburn 20mm on the front

Treck road bike: Bontrager on the back Campag on the front

Langster: Specialized own

Cheers, Rich

Parents used one in their old Georgian house due to a damp problem in the living room before biting the bullet and getting a damp-proof course fitted.

Made a massive difference.

They now run it in the bathroom for drying washing hung up – they call it a budget tumble drier :)

Cheers, Rich

Clearly the only way to do this is with a gimpy spreadsheet :)

Spend a happy afternoon stripping your bike down to it's component parts, and weigh them all, documenting it all.

Add in extra columns for parts which you could swap with, and the associated price of the swap. Weightweenies is good for getting weights for potential stuff.

Work out the price per gramme saved to get the best value.

Rotating mass will have the most noticeable effect.

And if you're me, then ruin it all by changing your nice light Marzocchi Marathons for some Fox 36's :D

Cheers, Rich

My housemate broke down in my old Seat which he had borrowed to take to an NPS at Innerleithen. CV joint had fallen appart, so not repairable.

Was recovered by a series of transporters, about 4 or 5 in all back to Guildford, each one doing a short stretch.

Took all night, but did save some fuel :)

Cheers, Rich

Unprotected cells should be fine if you're sensible.

A P7 will draw about 2.25A from a single cell, the protection circuit won't kick in until considerably more, to save short-circuiting.

Only thing to be aware of is not over-discharging too much, as there won't be any low voltage protection, so you could damage the battery by leaving it running too long.

Not an expert, but hope that helps,

Cheers, Rich

We have a decent do every other year, with lower-key departmental dinners in between. The decent do was cancelled last year as we'd just made about 3000 people redundant 8O and there has been no mention of anything for this year either :roll:

I predict we'll never have another one :(

Cheers, Rich

I've flown dozens of times with a bike in a bag, and never had a problem. This has been carbon road bikes, burly full-sussers, lightweight hardtails.

I use a couple of normal foam camping mats for extra padding inside the bag for extra padding.

Don't even bother with removing disks these days, just make sure they're pointing in rather than out. Pedals and wheels off, and generally stick a carrier bag around the oily bits, but that's just to keep the bag a bit cleaner.

I'm sure I'll have my bike completely trashed on my next flight having said this though!

Cheers, Rich

yes please turboferret<at>gmail<dot>com

Cheers, Rich

Duckman,

If my quick calculations are right, and that you took out a £4k loan 6 years ago, and still have £3k outstanding, despite monthly payments of £100, assuming you started paying pack 1 year after the loan started, your APR is about 22% 8O

Surely something wrong….

Cheers, Rich

My first bike pictured below:

Was fantastic fun – with some knobblies on it could tackle green lanes, although was a bit of a challenge to get out from underneath when trapped in a ditch :lol:

Decent amount of speed (certainly up to speed limits) fantastic noise (after I fitted a new silencer) comfortable for long distances.

Can't comment on whether it's looks offend :D

Broke down once which was due to water getting into the spark plug, and the exhaust succumbed to tin worm, apart from that, was ace.

Wish I'd never sold it :(

Cheers, Rich

From the URL, it looks like Tracey is talking about the Specialized Jett Womens Road Saddle

Cheers, Rich

The HQ of Turboferret Industries :)

Looks like you've got the makings of a decent shed there Tinsy :D

Cheers, Rich

My eyewear of choice

Those are the sunny lenses, have some different ones for flat/bad light.

Never steam up, fantastic vision, wouldn't be without them these days, although they are getting on a bit now.

Essential that you check how the fit with a helmet, if you wear one.

Cheers, Rich

I got a refurbed 1st gen from Apple, really like it.

Mainly bought for watching videos on planes and the like, but lots of other cool things about it too.

Bear in mind that they are fussy about file formats for vids, you might need to transcode existing stuff to play it back on the touch.

Cheers, Rich

Was riding with Andy in Dubai last night, first time seeing his new Baby Trout in action, and I'm impressed.

Andy is chuffed to bits, fantastic beam with no bright spots, just an even spread illuminating everything you could want.

I'd say it's only a matter of time before you have a few more orders from the UAE :)

Cheers, Rich

dobo – Member

ah so you were the other SS with the sealskin socks..

Yup, sorry my name badge had obviously fallen off, and the frame stickers with my username weren't obvious enough :D

Cheers, Rich

Edd, that's me, you seem to know a worrying amount about me already :D

Unfortunately I'm heading home on Friday, tonight is my last ride with Andy et al :(

We will all be riding in the shadows as Andy lights the way with his new super Trout light :)

Cheers, Rich

While this isn't necessarily the official and best route to take, certainly not if you were planning on making any claims for personal injury, but I'd get in touch with the driver requesting her insurance details stating that you are intending making a claim.

Get a written quote from your bike shop for replacement of all of the damaged parts of your bike, and your clothing and helmet.

Send claim to insurance company, a few chase letters/phone calls, and it should be sorted out.

Happened a few times to me, fortunately not for quite a few years now, and always got what I claimed for.

Cheers, Rich

Michael,

Currently in our Abu Dhabi office, live down the road in Dubai, but about to relocate to Italy.

Accommodation is considerably cheaper in Dubai than Abu Dhabi for the same sort of quality, especially if you want to be near the centre, but it is a reasonable drive each way.

There is a reasonable amount of biking in Dubai, both road and mountain, but don't know of much which goes on in Abu Dhabi. Friday morning club rides with the Dubai Roadsters[/url] have ensured that I don't waste the weekends with lie ins (5:30 am ride start 8O )

All the mountain biking has been pretty much on the Dubai/Oman border, where it stops being sandy, and starts getting rocky and mountainous. There is an active MTB club with a small but keen core group. I've mainly been riding at night, as it's too hot during the summer to be out during the day for too long, so make sure you have a good set of lights.

There is a good bike shop in Dubai[/url], although not cheap, stocks a good range of stuff.

Can't be of much help for living in Abu Dhabi, but hope that's useful.

Feel free to drop me an email directly if you want to pick my (limited) brains further :)

Cheers, Rich

Got to say thanks to Cinnamon Girl for organising this ride, was great fun if a little damp.

I can't remember the last time I got to race someone through a foot deep puddle on a ride!

Emptying about a pint of water out of the baggy ankles of my sealskin socks provided amusement to all I'm sure.

I'll be thinking about mud while I ride in the rocky mountains outside Dubai tonight :)

Cheers, Rich

I've been doing 160 miles a day between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which is a bit wearing. Roads generally pretty good, and the journey can be done in an hour door to door.

What is a bit of a concern is the frequency of seeing the aftermath of horrific looking crashes – big SUV's totally unrecognisable. My Golf would certainly come of considerably worse I'm sure.

Economics are totally different here though as a full tank of petrol is about £12.

Glad to be moving to Italy next month where I'll be much closer to work.

Cheers, Rich

Jamie – YGM.

Cheers, Rich

Sure, got one the other day that I'm not likely to use – YGM

Cheers, Rich

Invite appreciate to: turboferret@….

From what I remember, 4mm for gear cables, 5mm for brake cables.

It has been nearly 7 years since I worked there though :o

Cheers, Rich

Just spotted this ride, I'm around that weekend, hopefully persuade the wife to come out too :)

Cheers, Rich

Has it been sat around unused for a while?

I had a spare set of cheap wheels for my Patriot for when I occasionally embarrassed myself at DHing. The back would pretend it was a fixie pretty much every outing for a minute or so, couple of bashes with something and it got going again – was probably poorly sealed and the internals were a bit stuck.

Might not be the absolute end of your hub, but would suggests it's getting that way. Might have a few rides left in it though.

Cheers, Rich

Mate of mine had his DH bike taken by a group of guys when he lived in Mile End. Got back up after receiving a beating and chased them, only to get another beating for his trouble!

Cheers, Rich

2nd what z1ppy said, not had any problems with any of the protected Trustfires I've bought, and they're similar if not identical to what has been linked to.

50p plug from your hardware store to replace the 2 pin version the charger comes with is what I do too.

Cheers, Rich

Bought a Samsung NC10 (predecessor of the N110 I think) for about £200 2nd hand from eBay, and love it.

Up to 7 hours of battery is pretty impressive, and very portable, and not too slow either.

Cheers, Rich

I learned my lesson a few years ago with an unplugged bar to the groin :(

Missed most of the important bits, wedding tackle, glands etc, but did managed to rupture a major vein, which drained about half a pint of blood into my leg. Imagine a almost black bruise wrapping 3/4 round the thigh, and stretching to below the knee – not very pleasant 8O

Witnessed a very nasty sight at Cheddar a few years ago too – guy came off while racing 4X, and even though he was wearing a full face and goggles, managed to take a core sample of his cheek – when he got up it looked like his eye-ball was dangling by the optic nerve :oops:

Remember kids, bar plugs are good, mmmkay?

Cheers, Rich

Can't believe no-one has said bikes 8O

My collection is clearly just at it's fledgeling stage, as I only have 4, but I have grand plans :)

Cheers, Rich

I bought some neoprene overshoes, mainly for commuting in, and they're great.

However, off-road, not so great, as mentioned above.

A nice cheap way of adding versatility to a pair of shoes which might only be suitable for one season etc, but don't do everything.

Careful of the fit of winter boots – I bought some Northwave cheap from eBay, and found that although they are waterproof boots, as they are on the narrow side, I can't wear decent warm socks under them, so they don't work out any warmer than my normal MTB shoes.

Cheers, Rich

Being able to see has to be a pretty high priority, some folk scoff at expensive goggles and a selection of lenses, but that's much more important than most other things IMHO.

I have fire iridium for most of the time, and some persimmon to stick in when it gets dim/flat.

I also carry a spare pair of goggles in my bag should I accidentally lose my mains, or if the weather is too horrid to change lenses.

Cheers, Rich

I sewed some reflective tape to my bag, but maybe that's just because I'm a cheapskate :)

Seen plenty of Respro covers and they are certainly nice and visible.

I have some Sure SE110's which have the option of rubber or foam ear bits.

Using the foam, you roll them up like inserting ear-plugs, and they expand in your ear and seal loads better than the rubber in my experience.

Think I paid about £60 at an airport, but you should be able to get them cheap online somewhere.

Have previously used quite a few Sony and Sennheiser phones, and these are loads better in terms of blocking out ambient noise.

Cheers, Rich