she was seeking £300,000 for injured feelings, compensation of £1m and loss of earnings of £1.25m

She's a former nurse. Wonder how the loss of earnings figure was arrived at?

I certainly dont want this officer "serving the public"

Agreed and I am far from anti-police as I work with them on a regular basis. In that time I have only once witnessed an officer behave in a questionable way.

This guy obviously has temper control or other 'issues'. Whether that was a momentary lapse is irrelevant. The 'assault' was committed and he should have to bear the consequences like other people would have to in the same situation.

Are you suggesting people should be tried and convicted without enough evidence to prove they did it? Surely not.

Of course not.

The doctor who performed the original autopsy is currently suspended and under investigation for four other 'questionable' verdicts on causes of death. It was his original finding, subsequently disagreed with by 2 other doctors, which meant that there was little chance of a successful prosecution due to 'disagreement amongst medical experts'.

In additon, it is the six month time limit on the charge of assault which has prevented the officer being charged despite the huge body of evidence which would probably have led to a guilty verdict.

Thanks antigee. As you say, they are the cheapest alternative but still pricy and add over 1/2 lb weight as I was going to get both ends.

On balance I think it will be better and easier to go along the same route as yourself ie. cx/road front fork (Pomp/Kaff forks are only an extra £11 to the adaptor) and the adjuster on the rear.

V8 – you're not kidding, 1/2hour already and barely scratched the surface.

As no-one has posted the link Sheldon Brown will tell you everything there is to know about s/s, magic ratios etc.etc. HTH

Find a new LBS, they sound a right bunch of numpties.

Pic of Coe Crag (apparently) from slightly different angle. Boring area, really not worth it 8)

That's amazing, in a morbidly fascinating way 😐

That's how old mine are 😆

Jesmond mud is obviously so posh it cleans itself off for pics 😉

Do you have short legs and a very long body? Just wondered as seat is low and right back on the rails and a long'ish stem….and you've missed a zip tie off the rear brake hose.

Nice bike though!

Yes – but not necessarily the other way round!

Mine do.

Interesting. I think Mr Stares could do with a pic of a more attractive Indian 😯

I'm not a fan either but the Chubby Brown is very good.

The examples I've seen could not be described as merely above average.

I'd be interested to know who you think is better, with a link if possible. Cheers

Used to enjoy that but don't get it on digi. I'm surprised Chris Garver is still there as he was giving up last time I saw it due to back problems. Some of the work is fantastic (and I'm not really into tattoos)

You get what you pay for – I seem to remember someone saying they charge around $400 an hour?

Just apologise in a butch heterosexual way and have a chuckle about it

If you are looking for a 58cm I'm reluctantly going to have to bite the bullet and sell my Salsa Las Cruces frameset. Less than a month/200 miles old. Very nice light frame. Damn my stumpy 31" legs.

*Frame, Sunline headset, Salsa seatclamp, RF post, Kinesis Crosslight3 alloy forks were all new a month ago or less except for RF post *. Very light – frame and forks weigh 1988gms total.

£165 posted for all within **

pic and 'too big saga' HERE

Buddha – fat git 8)

Let me get this right – you are seriously thinking about going to A&E on a weekend night, a week after a crash with an ankle that is not sore any more, just a little swollen and itchy ?

Your GP will be open tomorrow.

trail-rat – both saddles are slap bang in the middle of the rails on a post with approx. 1 1/2" layback. BTW went to Durris Woods for a look (potentially very good) and there were 2 real live eagles perched on the entrance gate of the triathlon centre. Made my day but they went as I was getting my camera out.

The colour scheme is growing on me.

Can't make up my mind re bars. I think I'll start a pic thread to see what is recommended and what weird and wonderful set-ups appear.

Handling, much to my surprise is 'fast' rather than twitchy. On the Pompino I always felt really cramped, even with a 130mm stem. I think this is about right at 110mm.

2 dogs, including a nose 😉

Right. I've now been out on the bloody thing 3 times today plus a spin on the mtb to regain a sense of normality. The one thing everyone seems to be agreed upon (including me) is that it's bloody ugly, so………….

1. chopped 1" off steerer which still leaves plenty scope for adjustment.
2. Stem flipped and now looks right IMO
3. Tried to level bar tops but that doesn't work as drops are then at too sharp an angle when out of saddle
4. Double layer of bar tape

Conclusion from brief 'final' ride (ignoring Stevie Wonder colour scheme) are that it seems more comfy but I will have to consider different bars to achieve a better hood/brake position. It is possibly a little too big but not too bad and I'll just MTFU and use it. Cheers

With 'tweaks'

Good points FA

I've never been on a biking trip to France but I would imagine the comparison drawn between that and skiing is valid.

To reinforce what you've said, I've been out with a guide a few times in ski resorts I thought I knew very well and had fantastic days. It's not just about finding someone to show you the way, it's tailoring the route to allow maximum enjoyment based on ability and conditions, not to mention safety issues. You might even get free coaching of you're lucky.

Holidays are too valuable and expensive to not make the most of your time and getting lost or picking a bad route is soul destroying. Having to slog back up a hill can ruin a whole day (been there too many times) – work out the cost of that day and you'll realise that a guide is very good value.

Basically they are eager to please but a bit clueless at the moment

That's encouraging in that they are willing to listen. Sounds like a few days with an 'expert/consultant' to point them in the right direction could transform the place without prohibitive costs.

I'm actually really looking forward to getting up there while the level of gnarness is still low enough for me to (hopefully) have fun without too much risk of carnage!

Warm soapy water – worked on my carpet an hour ago. It sort of rolls off in lumps.

Whereabouts and is it with bikes ? I'm going to see my folks but want to get up to Glenshee to try the new DH track.

Great. It'll have to be next month as I've got crap shifts coming up and I need some gears, or rather a rear wheel that can take a cassette as I've got everything else .

I'm going to Scotland for a few days but other than that I've nothing planned.

Well done and thanks for writing that. I feel quite homesick now.

Was looking for some shoes on CRC last night and all the comments seem to say up one size for Shimano, which I had to do on my last pair.

Definitely, once I get some miles in the legs. I can't find the pic of your new crosser but I seem to recall that you had some comments on number of spacers. Seems to be something about 'crossers that they have to be adjusted well above the norm to suit individuals !

Otherwise I'd recommend something like Deda Fluidas, they're not expensive

So you don't think the Salsa Woodchippers I have on order are a good idea? aP obviously won't !

I've been out for about 10 miles stopping and adjusting the bars to try and get a better position, obviously couldn't do anything with the hoods as I put a a double lot of bar tape on before I went out but they are in a good position for me as I'm always on the drops when I'm braking anyway.

Extra tape helped a lot and lowering the seat about 1cm also took a load of weight off the hands (utter stupidity on my part getting the wrong saddle height but probably due to being too conscious of a small amout of post showing and offending the 'fashion police'). No real repeat of the problem and that was without gloves which I forgot to put on 🙄

If you look at other pics of Las Cruces HERE there are quite a few bikes set up very similarly to mine. Whether that is a geometry/sizing trait of these frames I don't know but a small amount of seatpost showing appears quite common, as are the multitude of bar positions. The steering is nice and quick and and it really does feel very nimble when out of the saddle.

Druid – it looks much less like a gate in the flesh and once I trim down the steerer it will look pretty 'normal'.

aP – what's the matter with the stem BTW – it's 110mm x17deg ?

I'm very happy with it now, it really does ride very well. The only things I'm going to do now are change the saddle and put on different cranks.

Thanks for all the input.

Nose – It has rarely seen tarmac but also nothing remotely gnarly/bumpy. Re the size – when I said I hadn't been on drop bars for 20 years I should have mentioned that I had a 54cm road bike and a medium Pompino for a very short time a few months ago. Both were too small and killed my back and neck. The salsa is only 4cm different on s/tube and t/t although it looks huge by comparison.

I'll put some extra bar tape on and take it for a quick spin right now and see what it feels like.

Cheers for the advice except for MHAS who can …koff 😉

Puff

Nah, I'm just in touch with my feminine side and too used to front suspension 😉

I'll try the extra bar tape and loosening my grip. I don't think it's the riding position. The bike looks slighly odd in that I have very little seatpost showing but that is because at over 6'1" I have relatively short legs and a long body on a 58cm frame and it keeps the bars level which, in theory at least, should reduce pressure on the hands/back.

Bike set-up – any excuse to post a pic 😆

Having lived in Aberdeen, London and now (in the middle) Durham, all the above re temp differences is true and if you pick your spot, with the right micro-climate, Scotland can give you the best of 'the UK'.

For me, it would be around Ballater (40 miles west of Aberdeen) – protected by hills from the wet west coast and far enough inland to miss a lot of the nasty stuff from the North Sea.

New Zealand looks like a fabulous place and not many to come back once they have made the move. Seems to have a lot of advantages over the UK and fewer drawbacks, especially with no family ties. I would have loved to have done it years ago but circumstances prevented it. I thought I was too old but looking at that link it appears I'm not……hmmmm.

Confused with "Sweden has the language and the winter". Doesn't NZ have that too depending where you are?

Molgrips – odd set of replies but why would Sweden make you 'more interesting'? Mind you, being 'more interesting' might be high on the list of priorities for an IT bod in Cardiff 😆

*splutters red wine all over the keyboard*

Luckily I had nothing in my mouth when I read it. Genius

Commodores – 3 times a Lady

£14 + tip 10 years ago in Crystal Palace. Was £8 at hairdressers in Durham and then she left. I now go to her house and she charges a fiver.

Bargain 😉

In case anyone is missing the Friday Kylie – here's some fashion conscious little minx's, one of whom is happy to give her opinion on certain types of cycle clothing !!

I think they are fantastic….as is JD (except for the wife beating part, obviously).

At least he has the character and flair to get away with wearing them, unlike that dour @rse Ian Poulter who seemed to think that combining silly hair with beard sculpturing somehow made him interesting….**** ****t.

Some get away with it, others don't