Removeable = more faff = less likely to sling rack on a whim and go for a quick ride

btw doesn’t sound like a free car if towbar costs 1000 euro!

Still I guess paying no tax helps

dual surface – what, tarmac and slightly bumpy tarmac?

If you are doing a round the world or some long distance touring off the beaten track then sure its great value for money, more easily fixed (and more reliable) than a big GS and capable of a bit of dirt road when the tarmac runs out

But if you are based in East Anglia and want a bike for pleasure and touring the UK plus Europe on a week off then there are plenty of cheaper better handling bikes which will be more rewarding to ride – If it was me, I’d be tempted by the new VFR800

Hope you have a garage. I wouldn’t keep a brand new bm outside

tbh, though as long as you have mates with cars it should be ok and with the money you save on tax and insurance you can afford the odd taxi when you absolutely have to be somewhere and its -2

However whats crazy is buying a new F800…..there are so many better bikes out there and if you want a Tonka toy then the secondhand market is flooded with them and usually the previous owner has covered them in glue and driven through a touratech outlet as a bonus

Aventador convertible drove through my little town yesterday with a couple of pink shirted banker types in Oakley’s – just looked naff. However the same car on some continental mountain road with a long haired t-shirt wearing euro type and a hot girl would have probably looked quite appealing

Conversely a young guy drives through a lot in a snot green frog eyed sprite in dreadlocks and a NIN t-shirt! (I don’t think it has a roof as he does this in January as well) Now that I like and it fits better with the area

Sunn Charger S1 in CRC? £1400 so a bit off budget but lot of bike for the money 170mm Lyriks, Formula, Hilo dropper

Sunn have gone bust so only 1 year warranty from CRC but still 1 year more than a secondhand bike

#Say hellooooo to horses

I rather agree with this chap in the comments:

A first world issue if ever I saw it but beyond that I’ve always wondered why people in the modern age ride horses. Ok well I get why but it’s kind of like those people who jump off really high shit and glide down….each to their own but when something inevitably goes wrong there should be no complaints. You a 70kg and let’s face it, physically vulnerable human are riding a giant 500kg animal that has the ability to crush your tiny bones in one brief moment. And the horse certainly isn’t to blame its a feeling animal capable of fight or flight and being scared by noises or fast movement etc.

The rest of the world is obviously aware of this and try’s to accommodate the people who still choose to ride horses but how far can others be responsible for the risk of someone who chooses to ride the animal knowing their propensity for reactionary movement when frightened?

I wonder how many of these people would get in a vehicle if they knew maybe once in a few hundred hours it might just decide to stop responding or dart left or right across lanes?

I’d much rather see horses not used for transport or sport, they are beautiful creatures that man has callously exploited for thousands of years but the world we live in means this is unlikely to ever cease. That being said I think those who still continue to ride them need to accept the responsibility of their own actions a bit more and accept the risk without seeking to lay that burden at others door so often.

Yawn.

Try bleeding formula brakes with that and get back to me

Think of all the drivers cooped up in the resulting traffic jam

I would suggest to your landlord that he gets some of these

Jackloc

I have these on my upstairs windows and they are easy to fit – plus they work as anti-theft too

Well thats fairly understandable then

Anyway congrats on getting an inbred that won’t rust – I think my next build will be a rigid carbon SS

What is it with wives/girlfriends and bikes? My wife has been fully supportive of every lunatic whim I have had including going so far as buying me a paragliding course for a birthday present yet she has NOT STOPPED WHINGING since the day I passed my bike test and WON’T STOP WHINGING TILL THAT DAMN MACHINE HAS BEEN SOLD

Its probably safer riding than cycling on the road these days

That I like

Weight?

epicyclo – that looks ace

I was going to sell my Pomp frame but after looking at the bike packing thread I might use it for lightweight bridlepath touring instead

what width wheels are you using?

Edit – is that a wtb greaseguard on there? I thought I was the only person stillusing one!

Shows how widespread the problem is then doesn’t it

E: Just finished some pasta and salad
D: Cheap Spanish red
L: Just switched off R4 psychology program, about to watch The Matrix for the first time since it was in the cinema

That clip is the best thing I’ve seen on the net for a month. Brilliant.

Edit – now I’ve read the write up – what an achievement. Imagine going back to your mates and saying yeah I did ventoux but got passed by some bloke on a chopper!

The OP

njee20, I didn’t say you needed limitless kit – read the post.

It also depends where you work – rolling into an up market office building and having to walk through a number of rooms etc before you get to the changing area covered in mud and soaking wet would have been a no no in my last job – hence mudguards and good waterproofs which can be taken off before entering the building

However if you work somewhere like a shop etc that hasn’t opened then you can come in how you want

Shimano fit is rubbish – they seem to think feet are rectangular

Sidi Dominator is the yardstick for me but they are silly money now

Commuting 24 miles everyday all through the year is not like just going out for a weekend ride and its clear that some posters here have never tried it.

Waking up at 6 when its windy, dark and raining outside and knowing you have to get on your bike, ride into a headwind for 12 miles, dry off and get changed (normally in some disabled toilet or other), clean your face of mud splatters etc etc and then stroll downstairs to do a days work, then put on your wet kit again can be daunting until you build up a routine – its all about the routine

Take some washing up gloves in case you need to fix mechanicals – nothing like rolling into a client meeting with black fingernails!

You are starting out at the right time of year as winter commuting requires more planning.

Unless you have limitless kit and full shower facilities at work, mudguards and decent wet weather gear are essential

Broke mine twice – once ages ago (bike related) and once a month ago (stairs related)!

The difference between bruised and cracked is the unfeasibly long time they take to heal if cracked. After 3 or 4 weeks you think hey why is the pain still getting worse…..properly cracked ribs take about 3 months to heal

“well to resurrect this thread thanks for the advice guys as i ended up getting a 2005 aero estate for such a price i couldn’t say no”

Think of the purchase price as more of a sort of deposit….there is a reason the last service was £1000

But as everybody says, nice seats.

I’ve just gone to a 2×10 set and am finding the same. I think the problem is that on a 3x setup you rarely use the granny ring and so there is a subconscious aversion to using it on a 2x as well – resulting in rubbish chain lines. Once you get into the mindset that the small ring is there to be used then you can get better chain lines in most ratio’s than 3x. However I kind of think that a 2x set up is purely designed to get you to a 1x as I’m just getting sick of faffing with the front shifter full stop!

Erm….if any of those disc rotors are 180 and 160 6 bolts and they could be had for postage or a donation……..I’ve just managed to contaminate both of mine on my pub/child trailer bike and as its only worth about £50 am looking for a cheap set!

I have no spare anything as everything gets used!

Ok ok! so you all love them!

I used to bung a bottle on and go occasionally but to all those people who say they never have enough liquid and need the bottle as well….3 litres not enough? I don’t think I’ve ever needed more on a ride except when doing 150 mile days touring when there is always somewhere to refill

To those who just use a bottle – and have dropper posts…..where do you stick your tube, pump, multitool, phone, tyre levers?

Hydrapak Jolla?

Great 3l bladder, 18 litres which includes a big elastic pocket perfect for armour – if too big (and it is large) then Morro perhaps

Half price at Merlin right now

Camelbak just don’t seem to design or make packs as well as they used to these days

“Plus sides – You will sink or swim. If you stick it out your riding skill will increase dramatically as you learn to control a bike while tired, in the dark on wet roads covered in diesel/frost/snow/leafs.”

I couldn’t agree more with this statement

If you are new to biking a big BMW (they are 1200cc) might be a bit of a handful. Its not impossible but they are pretty top heavy and YOU WILL drop your first bike. Not if but when. Best to get something cheap without expensive plastic to break. The big BM’s are OK on this front to be fair as they have crashbars and the metal cases protect – plus they are shaft drive so less frequent maintenance. But they are VERY heavy and completely rubbish for town riding as you can’t filter and they demand alot of attention at low speed

Take a look at Honda – as PP says the NC range and the new CB500 family are superb bikes for the money and just perfect for a new rider. Yamaha does a nice range of bikes now too

60 miles each way or 30 miles each way?

The former would be pretty hardcore, the latter better but still tiring everyday for a new biker

You will also rack up a large mileage for a bike and so when doing the figures remember to factor in service costs which are far more frequent on a bike (4000-6000miles) and chains sprockets etc

In my (limited) experience of commuting 30 miles each way as a new biker it was more tiring and more expnsive than I thought. And I only needed to do it twice a week. It was also more fun but a cold winter morning in the rain can scare the bejeezus out of you and I fell off once on ice – no damage to me but bike needed new levers , pegs and handlebars – that was at about 5mph!

You will also need to spend a fair amount of cash on riding gear – 30-60 miles in winter and then working a full day then riding home needs good kit

Sync – the Modular was pretty light and looked absolutely lovely. I don’t think you can get more bike for the money at the moment

CrMo frame in nice white colour
120mm Recon Gold Solo Air with 15mm axle
Formula brakes
S1000 crank on 2×10
Alex rims on CNC hubs
X7/X5 drive train

£629

I am very pleased to report that unlike the one junior member of the team I started dealing with (and many on this thread amazingly), CRC is a company that truly does have an understanding of how to keep customers happy and why it is important to listen to them.

The net result is a (I hope!!!!) correctly sized Tzar S1 for a very good price which is now sitting in my neighbours garage awaiting my attention

I for one are very glad, not only cos I’ve got a new bike but because it has restored my faith in the company which I will continue to use a lot.

Mods feel free to edit the thread title to “CRC in good customer service outcome”

You can use some clamps with the aero bars – my roofbox bizzarely came with clamps for square and aero bars as well as the t-track adapters – the aero clamps are longer

The wing bars are huge and I doubt you could use clamps on them

I never use the strip

Clamping on my roofbox would take at least 30 mins as you would have to undo each ubolt seperately (x8) fiddle around underneath pushing them back up through the slots and then screw them all back up – slots mean I can slide the box on in one go and do up four quick release levers – 2 mins tops.

Having slots means I can take on and off bike racks in seconds

You can also bring the accessories closer to the edge of the rack and thus fit more stuff on the roof

Charnwood C4 and total reneovation of fireplace plus granite hearth, liner,oak mantle etc cost us 2.5k last year. I think we paid a little too much but it was just before xmas so that was what the market would bear

Not sure about the Charnwood – burns well and looks nice but not as controlable as our squirrel that we had in our old house

Look on ebay for thule it lasts so well there is very little risk and this means you can get the aero bar and not the stupid wing bar they sell now

The thule square bar is bomb proof and cheap but you can’t slot accessories into it so it becomes a pain to quickly change say a roofbox for a bike rack or canoe upright

oh yeah and walked out of my safe secure job…..

Usual stuff

learnt to ride a motorbike and bought a CBR600

ran a couple of ultra marathons

took a longboard (skate) down a mountain pass

Freefall next

I am a moving cliche

So what actually happened was some mountain bikers cycled towards him on a path previously regarded as his sole preserve and he was so wrapped up in his own wonderfulness or perhaps indulgently watching his pet straining one out on the path that he didn’t notice them till they were freewheeling towards him fingers hovering over the brakes – at which point he did the pedestrian dance, leaping about from one side of the track to the other whilst the cyclists slowed down to try and work out how the hell they were going to pass by the capering fool.

Then later when nicely wrapped up in several tons of metal and tinted glass he spots some roadies or perhaps a young couple who have decided that the gravel strewn pavement with a dotted line down the middle which does precisely nothing to deliniate a cycle path and are out for a pleasant ride and decides to give them some verbal abuse from the lofty heights of his RR before driving past them too closely but feeling he has ‘got his own back’ and fantasising about violently ending their riding days whilst actually being too timid to tell his wife he doesn’t like her lamb cassarole

Probably best not to use the same agent – too much information on the buy and sell side to one party plus their interest is getting the whole thing wrapped up quickly and not necessarily for the best sale price

Cane Creek Ergo 11’s go well on Bromptons