I have to agree, we (Thinking for Tuesday) all had a great time and really enjoyed playing last night. I haven't been to a mountain biking event with such a good atmosphere since the Malverns in 1993 or whenever it was!
I am looking forward to next year's BBB already. Next year I'm definitely staying over, bringing my bike, racing and trying all the beers.
Well done and thanks to all involved.

I'm 5'10" with 18" frame, 0 degree x 70mm Thomson Elite stem and 685mm wide x 2.5" rise Easton EA70 bars. Just right.

As I said, I'm all for them. Where I live you can be driving in bright sunshine one moment then be plunged into tree induced darkness the next. I drive with my side lights on almost all of the time and wish more people would.

Aren't they supposed to be on in daylight – they're there for visibility, a la Volvo head lights? I'm not an Audi fan either but if it means they're more visible then I'm all for it.

I've got a HAWG NV, its brilliant. The NV system is a big improvement over the non NV 'baks. My older Lobo used to irritate the skin on my back, because of the sweat build-up and constant rubbing. The HAWG NV is much more stable and you can feel the cool air flowing down your back, much like you can feel it flowing through your helmet. It has massive capacity, good for commuting, for all day rides and walks too but all of that capacity can be compressed away with straps when its not required. One of the best birthday presents I've ever had.

Thanks for all the replies. The sizing is something my friend and long-time riding buddy, who works at my LBS, where I'll be buying it from, and I have given a lot of thought to. We're happy that I need a 16" over an 18", although if they did a 17" that would be ideal! I'm going to put my Pikes on it for now and see how I get on. Watch out for pics in a couple of weeks, once I've had time to buy it and do the frame swap 🙂

The geometry is almost the same, except the Soloist has an inch shorter top tube than the Breath. How much seat post do you have showing? I've got 175mm of a 400mm Thomson post showing on my 18" 456 so I'd have roughly 225mm showing on a 16" frame. Is that too much?

What's your inside leg measurement though, just to get some idea how much higher the saddle would be?

Thanks guys.
A couple other things: Can decent size tyres fit in with decent clearance? I like to run Conti Mountain King 2.4s most of the year and WTB Timberwolf 2.3s in the winter. Sizing wise I was thinking of getting a 16", as I'm 5'10" with 32" inside leg. Does that sound about right? I've got an 18" 456 and think it's almost too big for me so getting a 16" Breath made sense, in my head at least! Do you agree?

Best wishes from me and my Mrs. Good luck and stay strong.

Right so my Pikes would be OK until I've saved up for something lighter…

Sounds like you've got things under control. I'm really looking forward to it.

Oh poop, too late. They've sold out in my size.

I'm so tempted…

Thanks Slim'.
Any other thoughts? What's the bearing life like? Is the tyre clearance good?

I can, until I realise I'm doing it, then I can't anymore, until I forget again…

Acetone is not friendly to a lot of plastics so beware.

Should be able to get it from your local chemist. AKA Isopropanol or 2-Propanol. If not you can get it from places like Farnell or RS in spray cans or bulk 1 or 5 litre bottles.

It's not just me WCA, there are 5 of us 😉

We're playing at the Soul Cellar in Southampton tonight, as part of a local bands showcase, if anyone want's to hear us before the bash?

Cheers Dobo!

Yeah, and while I remember, we will also require 1000 brown M&Ms 😉
Seriously though, we will be donating a decent percentage of any CD or T-shirt sales at the bash to UK Youth.

Hell yeah!

Have you found a PA yet Rich?

I'm going! I haven't had to buy a ticket though because I'm playing on Saturday night 😀

Y reg Mini Metro (scrapped!)
H reg Citroen AX GT (sold)
P reg Peugeot 306 XSi (sold)
P reg Peugeot 306 D Turbo (written off)
L reg Subaru Impreza (written off, boo-hoo)
V reg Peugeot 306 Meridian

How about this one?[/url]

Crack and (quite literally) FAIL!!! ;o)

Hope you don't have any problem with the warranty.

I don't know if what I've got is definitely swine flu but it has been pretty nasty, but kind of in waves. So far it's not been a patch on the flu I had when I was 16. That had me bed-ridden for weeks.
Thanks for the best wishes chaps :o)

I haven't been tested but have been prescribed Tamiflu this morning, as I have all the symptoms and I'm asthmatic. A friend of mine and my sister-in-law have both had it too.

What bands ya got? What sorta tunes?

We're playing!

Like the poster WCA. You joking about Lilly Allen?

I recommend etyres.co.uk.

I can also recommend Toyo T1-Rs, had some on my Impreza and they were excellent. I've also had good experiences with Contis and Goodyears but what ever you do stay away from Pirellis!

You lucky chap! I'd like to bump into Rachel Stevens, repeatedly…
😉

This one?

The red arrows went over our place this morning, pretty low, in two V-shaped formations of 5. Must have been before/after the Queen’s birthday flypast thing.

Yes. If you do a lot of driving they are invaluable. I’d get a lighter lens tint than black iridium though, they’re pretty dark. Browner lenses improve contrast too, which is also good for driving. One of my best ever buys was my pair of prescription polarised sunnies.

I’ve been running 2.4 Protections (Black Chili) for a while now, ridden them all over the place. They are an excellent all-rounder. I’d sworn I’d never use another Conti tyre after switching from Vertical Protections to WTB Weirwolf and Timberwolfs with the DNA rubber. When I heard about the Black Chili compound I thought I’d give them a go as I found the Weirwolfs were brilliant in the dry and rubbish in the wet/mud and the Timberwolfs the exact opposite. The Mountain Kings seem to do everything very well, I’ve never found myself worrying about them not gripping. I suppose that’s all anyone needs?

Lovely floor.

Looks like it’s going to be a fast bike!

I put it to you, your experience is very limited if you think Haslemere trumps Guildford as a riding centre

I wasn’t trying to play trumps, I was just saying that what I did ride from Guildford wasn’t a patch on the sort of rides I could do from Haslemere. Maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough? Maybe the trail network in a 20 mile radius of Haslemere is vastly underestimated? Maybe it’s better for me and my riding buddies if it is?