Don’t bother – everything is still the same price as it has been for months anyway, from what I can see.

They got a decent review on bikemagic the other day – link

Even just sending to the regular customer services email should get some notice. I did just that after an altercation with a guy in a van who pulled out in front of me (on bike) while on the phone, then got out and went nuts. Got emailed back by the MD, which was followed up with a call from the MD describing the action which was being taken.

If you have full outers, I wouldn’t bother if you have decent semi-sealed end caps. They certainly prolong the life of cables when you are running a few sections of outer and water/crud can get in at a few points.

You can get the liquid soap flakes in Tesco and Waitrose (at least in Edinburgh!). About £3.15/bottle.

Take the pads out, squirt some water around the pistons, put something between the pistons to space them, and pump the lever. If the piston seals are leaking, you will see small bubbles around the seal. Another sign of leaking piston seals is always having small bubbles come into the reservoir when bleeding, even though the lever feels firm.

I’ve now had leaky piston seals on 3 different calipers I’ve used (M755, M775, M975).

Another thumbs-up for the Ice Spikers. Standard ones are pretty cheap at Bike Discount at the moment: link

10 Euro shipping to the UK though, which makes their prices about the the same as Rose Bikes’ normal prices unless you’re buying lots of bits.

The ultraflate plus works really nicely and is reliable.

Used to use a neoguard, now use mucky nutz on all my bikes. Neoguard was always buzzing tyre at full fork compression and velcro needed cut down to stop it dragging on tyre.

As others have said, combine mucky nutz with a crud catcher and you’re sorted.

Well worth asking when calling up these insurers what the conditions/exclusions are around the bike cover.

MoreThan looked good to me, until I called them and the bike has to always be locked to something, even in your own garage, or within any locked building away from home.

Ended up going with Hiscox, who were pretty good on the phone. Not cheap to add bikes though.

warton – some folk are doing the full 8000-odd miles:
The Real Relay[/url]

[edit] beaten to it!

Apparently the response from Hope has been “fairly soon” for a couple of months now!

Cloves work well. Sprinkle them on the ground as a barrier and the ants won’t cross it.

Office Communicator is decent – think it is an add-on to the Office suite, so you might already have it. We use it at work for desktop sharing and IM.

High 5 Zero tablets

Another thumbs-up for the ultraflate plus.

I have a GT-600, but it mysteriously failed after ~10 uses. Fine when connected to the laptop, but doesn’t power-up when not connected, even though the battery is apparently fully-charged.

But I’ve just ordered one of these as a replacement – worth a punt for £20.

Might just be the linkage connecting the motor to the blades. If this is sticky or seizes, the motor control gets confused and stops the blades in the wrong place. Some WD40 on the two linkage pivots might be worth a go. (This happened on my old car, but caught it too late, and the motor was stuffed by that point!).

Sounds like a good excuse to get some new winter boots :)

Anyway, the girlfriend has used this place[/url] on Castle St a few times, and it seemed pretty good, and fairly-priced. She was only getting some boots re-heeled, mind.

Thanks, but they didn’t work for me either (I tried buying some shorts).

Yeah, O2 use BT (as I understand it O2 basically rent the lines from BT). Just had an O2 home phone package installed, and it was a BT guy that came round to check the line in my house.

I got some basic Shimano ones recently from George Halls Cycle Centre – delivery was not super-quick, but they were the only place I found that was selling the cheapest jockeys as singles (I needed 2 lower ones) at a reasonable price.

BBBs are cheaper mind.

Another vote for leaking piston seals. If you squirt water on them, and pump the lever, you’ll see bubbles around the piston. The water on the ground will have a oil film on it too.

Get yourself round to the Bicycleworks on Argyle Place (near Meadows) and ask them for a quote on how much it’ll be to sort? Alternatively, hit the Bike Station in Newington and see what they have in their 2nd hand parts bins – you can use their workstands for a small fee.

I have the M182s, which are just an earlier version. They’ve lasted really well (vs Specialized and Nike shoes I’ve used before). Think mine are 3 years old now.

The lack of mesh on the front makes them good for all but the worst weather, and they’re still not too hot in the (Scottish!) summer.

If the road Pro 3 is the same as the MTB one, the bearings likely won’t last very long. A year for the main hub bearings for me. They’re a Hope-only size too. Otherwise, my MTB Pro 3s have been pretty reliable over 2 years’ use.

Thanks for the PSA! New brakes, XT cassette, XT front mech + a whole load of other stuff I didn’t need purchased :)

You can get some Dettol mould and mildew stuff in the supermarkets that does an excellent job of cleaning up sealant with a bit of mould on it.

The bunkhouse is OK. Nowhere to store bikes securely overnight, so you need to take big locks or store them in a car. Rooms (dorms) were quite hot when we were there, but it’s OK, and the pub next door is good for food and drinks, with tables outside if it’s nice.

Right next to the railway line too, so you get a nice early wake-up call when one trundles past :)

As easy to service as any other Hope hub. Spares readily available (e.g. from ukbikestore). Not sure about the 3-bolt discs – I have the 6-bolt (SP6) Hoops on 355s. Front is only QR or 15mm bolt-thru compatible, not 20mm (likely not an issue for you).

My back one has a weird rattle on my Maxlight. Think it is the end caps since the bearings are sound.

Otherwise mine have been fine – would buy again for sure.

I have similar problems with my front XTR. Squirt a bit of water on the pads and rotor and it could almost flip you over the bars, but try it the next day and all I get is a horrible squeal and huge stopping distance.

I don’t think the pads are contaminated or the caliper is leaking, and they are bled correctly I think. I’ve tried both Superstar sintered and kevlar pads, to no avail.

Back XTR is actually OK, and pretty reliable.

Edinburgh Zoo has koalas, but you can’t touch them. You’ll just have to fork out for some flights to Oz :) Plenty of places you can hold them there. Their fur feels like a sheep :)

1997 Zaskar – crack slowly spreading round seat tube (still riding tho!)
2003 Blur – clean through seat tube. One of the dodgy weld batch. 2006 Blur XC as replacement – had to pay for swingarm tho :( – still, kudos to Jungle for sorting me out as it was just out of warranty.

Must be something about my riding style that busts seat tubes?!?!

Smithwicks is great stuff.

Try Loco Tuning? Simon is on here quite often.

Fork English contact details (at foot of thread) might be useful if you want to send them off.

+1 balfa. That corner in Clubbiedean is easily ridable, and fun – just go straight on across the narrow root “bridge” to the grass and then turn.
There are a couple of fallen trees in there that need chainsaw work, though, and the very muddy bits at the start and end of the singletrack need the most work, IMO.

The dates (and a link to this thread) have been posted to the ERC MTB message board, so there might be more volunteers…

I’ve just got an email from CRC, with the same content as the post above. Looks like you got your request mrmichaelwright :)

Monarch gets good write-ups. Couldn’t stretch to one when I was changing my Blur’s shock, so went for a Manitou Swinger 3-way. It’s OK and the propedal-esque switch works fine. I think Manitou bought most of the 5th element technology.