SV – 250 lumen torches on DX that run on 2xAA? Any chance of a link or model details?

Ta
Wiksey

As mentioned above tyre choice is very subjective at the best of times and there are too many variables (riding style, rider weight, trail surface, tyre pressure, rim width) involved to get a good recomendation without doing lots of tedious & expensive research.
For what it's worth I use Conti Vert/Vapor (F/R) at just under 40psi and works pretty well for me in Lakes/Dales

2
To
Too
Two
Twunts

I don't have a three year old daughter, but if I did then she'd be able to ride round there with her eyes shut because it's too easy.

But if ya drive wiv your foggies and sides it makes ya ya car luk well cool init ;-)

Hanging is too good for them!

You'd have to be a complete git to go round shops trying on helmets and then go home and order the one that you liked the most from here
http://www.georgewhite.co.uk/?category=online_shop&subcategory=15&shop=2

I wouldn't do that ever ;-)

(HJC FG-14 RRP £150 was about £70 from George White when I got mine, but now it's £40!!!)

If it's just lighting you're after then have a look at REUK (http://www.reuk.co.uk/Put-Together-an-REUK-Solar-Lighting-Kit.htm)
You can get better (brighter for similar cash) LED lamps from DX (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13725).
To make that light go a bit further I also recomend painting the inside of your shed white.
I've got this type of set up and it works very well for lights and my extension cable is just about long enough if I need power tools.

Do you mean for use with your PC or via a 3 mobile?

There are some good rides but not much could be described as technical or singletrack. I've mostly done rides based from the northern end of the island as we always stop in Tobs.
Along the side of Loch Ba (from knock) would be do-able with kids in tow as it's pretty flat but it doesn't go all the way through.
Glenforsa valley along to the bothy would be kid friendly too.
I'll dig out some more info and email you if you want?

Ah, I'd not heard any bed reports about Skye Homes before, but to be fair I've not heard many reports on them at all – I take it you're based north of the border then?
Not had rented a log cabin out, but to give you an idea of how long they last, I have friends who just moved out of theirs this summer. They bought it about 5 years ago after it had had about 20 years of holiday let use. 12 cabins on the site and when they were sold off they were in dire need of attention, but were still habitable even though they'd not had much spent on them over the years. This is up on Mull BTW.

Skye Homes look pretty good and not too much cash for a house rather than a cabin.
http://www.skyehomes.co.uk/

Slight hijack – where do people get the connection cables from?

When looking for something very similar (I have an old Mule and wanted something bigger for full days etc same as you) I eventually for a North Face Blacktail rather than the HAWG. They were similar size but cheaper and includes a rain cover. To be honest though I wish I'd got the HAWG if only for the fact that you can bung a Camlebak in the washing machine when it's filthy whereas the Blacktail specifically says you can't.

Thnaks Simon.
I was thinking that some of those pics looked familiar. I had often wondered where it was you refered to as "Titty's track" but it's all become clear now.
We did: Ambleside, Loughrigg Terrace, Elterwater, Howe Banks, Little Langdale, High Tilberthwaite, Coniston (Black Bull), Low Yewdale, How Head, Lawson Park, The Park, Low Parkamoor, Seven Wells, Moor Lane, Satterthwaite (Eagles Head), Sawry Bridge, forest road to the sort BW before Moor Top and the permissive BW into the back of Hawkshead, Outgate, Spicka Coppice, Randy Pike and then road back to Ambleside (The Golden Rule)

There were a whole load of us up there on Saturday too doing various different routes – cracking day & coun't believe how good the weather was.

Your route map thingy doesn't seem to want to display on my pc here at work, any chance of a brief join the dots type description? Ta

Thanks for the recomendation of The Golden Rule – it was just the job at the end of our 33 miler while waiting for the bus to pick us up. A brilliant end to a fantastic day of riding. :-)

Cheers guys, will chech them out on Saturday.

Thanks for the super quick replies.

I was actually looking at not being able to afford to sort this for some time, but I've found a rear calliper on CRC for £19.99 so worth a try. I'll order an olive at the same time and give it a go (already got the fluid).

Retro83 – Yes I used brake cleaner before putting new pads in. I even went as far as blaming the fumes from my car (swapped to a diesel about the same time as it all started) but again the mech disc bike had no problems.

SV – Ta ;-)

Thanks everyone.

imp999/hustler – sounds like you are both confirming what I feared

taka – I did over the weekend and it was much better :-)

OK, so my shopping list has just grown by 1xNew set of brake calipers or new set of brakes.
I had been thinking of going for some Hope X2s… hmmm

Ah, yes. spelling isn't my strong point:-)

I suspected contamination of the pads so have changed them and at first they were great but then did the same thing again.
Other bike has mech discs and I've never had a problem so it can't be how I'm washing the bike and they are both stored in the same shed.
If the brake fluid has been dissapearing over time too I'm thinking some sort of calliper leak? Would this be a fixable problem? (can you get new seals for Shimano brakes?)

UBP – The idea (from me and I'm sure the other people) wasn't to put you off completely, just advise a more sensible route into motorbiking.
Go do your CBT and see how you get on. If you really like it and dont' find it too hard get a few lessons and some experience and go for your restricted licence.
I did a DAS course last summer with no previous experience and passed my test with less than 4 days (9 to 5) training but didn't feel that safe when I bought a bike.
Basically what people are trying to say is taking a slow route into biking is a safer option than going from no experience through DAS to buying a big bike so save your cash and take it easy and you'll be better off in the long run.

I did the DAS route last July and eventually got a 600 Bandit this May. If you are sensible I would follow PP's advice (can't believe I just wrote that!) as you are a lot less likely to be way out of your depth and feel like you could go whizzing off into a field at any given corner.
And yes, get a traily and hoon about on it as much as you can :-)

timdrayton – if you're after cheap 'n' wide low rise then have a look at the Easton EA30 Riser. At £17.95 from Merlin you can get much cheaper, plus it's a good shape or for 28.95 the EA50 will save you 50g – personally I'd prefer the £11 saving to the 50g :-)

Oh, and no, I don't have any connection with Merlin, but they've given me great service so come recomended.

Never heard of it and that link doesn't seem to tell me much. Is there a list of what's going on somewhere? or is that a case of looking on Facebook from home? (no access at work)

Ta
Wiksey

What was the total distance this year?

I clocked it at just under 42 miles

Like Ton I got wider bars so they felt the right width – stick your hand out in front of you at a comfortable width whilst no where near your bike. Get someone to measure to the the distance between the outsides of your hands and see how different that is to your bars.
If only I could get a keyboard the same width I wouldn't feel so cramped at work.

I had two aims:
1. Finish – Tick
2. Don't Miss the last bus – Tick

Did it in a steady away 6hrs 34.
Biggest thanks from me goes to the St Johns drinks stop for having enough water to allow me to restock.

There's gonna be three of us on that Liverpool ferry as foot passengers (I'll be the big worried looking bloke with too much hair). None of us have done it before and I've got two aims
1. finish
2. don't miss the last bus

See Ya There
Wiksey #450

If you are stuck one of our team can't make it and didn't cancel his entry so you could ride as him.

I don't remember getting any sort of confirmation either but my name is on the list. I take it you didn't list a team name as that would have made it easier for you?

<http://manxe2e.org/categories/view/3&gt;

So in answering the original posters question “anyone use these and what do you think of them?”
Hitman has by the sound of thing seen a benefit and was presumably given the outlay he’s looking for people either saying “I have some and you wouldn’t believe the difference they make” (as I have stated I know a few people with them who would offer this opinion) or “I had some for a few weeks and they were of no benefit so they went on eBay”
So again, by having no personal experience, how can you answer the question?
Marketing hype? Maybe.
Crying shame that this type of exploitation occurs? Can’t argue with that.
Want a cheap alternative? Walk everywhere barefoot on sand – oh, that might be difficult if everywhere is tarmac so get some shoes instead….

… and there we go. Was it so hard to answer a simple question without being rude?
As for "For gullible ****monkeys only." bet you've not tried them either have you?

The idea behind the shoe is that is mimics walking on a soft surface thereby forcing you to adopt a better posture while you walk. What it also does by mimicking walking on a soft surface (like sand) is make you put more effort into just walking normally.

I’ve not got them myself as I can’t justify the expense but if you have the cash (or do some crafty eBay shopping) then, based on the opinion of people who have actually tried them, I’m sure you would be convinced.

"I'm not a zookeeper, but I know what an elephant looks like."

Can't answer the question in your witty responce then eh?

Personally I can't comment as I have never tried them, but the few people I know that have (inc the Mrs) swear by them.
"It's a shoe, nowt else" really? you've never tried them have you?

If you're thinking of giving them a go but the price tag is putting you off do what a mate of mine did and go looking on ebay.

The amount the Mrs complains walking up a hill in them when she would beat me to the top in normal shoes says they make you work.

I've had similar problems with some of the brands you mention so I now buy from Ground Effect and have had no problems even after repeatedly throwing myself along the floor.

Flexibility is the key to make any of these light suggestions a good commercial prospect.
The Fenix lights are good because they run on AA batteries but could do with being brighter and the TwoFish bar mounts aren’t as sturdy as a dedicated bike mount.
What would be perfection for me then?
Something that takes a number of AA batteries so the batteries can be used in other things and a dedicated charger isn’t required
Low, medium & high settings with low being bight enough to use on lit roads, medium being bright enough for low speed off road (fire road climbs) and high being bright enough for higher speed off road.
Needs to give a good spread of light close to the bike with a narrower beam penetrating further down the trail in high mode.
All this in a compact container with batteries side by side rather than in a line.
A good solid bar mount that actually clamps to the bar and could take a variety of torch style lights could be sold separately to people who are unhappy with TwoFish.

Ideally I’d want something like the HOPE Vision One but brighter and about half the price

£99? When were they that cheap?

Nice one anagallis. No looking back now.

If you're going a long distance I predict that by the time you get there you will be wondering why you wasted your money.
The best stereo purchase I have ever made is a head unit that has a 3.5mm socket on the front for MP3 player conectivity and plays Bluetooth audio from my phone. It's a Sony unit that also plays MP3 disks which means a good 6 or 7 hours on a disk too. All that in one package fitted for about £100 makes long car journeys bearable, I tried those FM transmitters and I never found a good one.