got some 3m stuff from an ebay seller http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110636067761&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:1123#ht_1626wt_891

good service, good tape – clear, tough, sticks well. Relatively cheap. Much better than bike shop packs of various bits.

2 tips – cut square corners off into rounds – stops them catching and so increases life. Secondly, try to rub the tape with a cloth or the tape backing to smooth it and get it warmer – this helps the adhesive on the back stick better.

fixed – the answer is to tighten anything that seems loose, then test it :-)

Ordered, ta!

What height would that 16″ fit? Am looking for one for a 5’3″ person.

iPad – great for consuming media – reading, watching, browsing all good. Crap at creating it – not great of remain, poor for tying anything decent, can’t really edit well on it etc. Cheaper though, and with 3G it’s better when around and about.

Laptop – fine for consuming and creating media. More ££, less good when really mobile.

Summary: if you have a laptop already get an iPad. If you don’t get a laptop. the 13″ Air is a good machine.

sorry for slight hijack, but have you got a guide to routes on the Wrekin?

chain reaction at similar price plus further discounts is a bit better, I’ve noticed…..

EDITED:
why did I reply saying ‘me’ when you’d posted the code….. that’ll teach me to read posts properly

so are these the current, revised version of the Reverb? can you get them with the black anodised collar rather than the silver?

buy insurance?

@tunstallgirl – without being indelicate, what’s your inside leg? looking to size a bike for my wife, who’s the same height as you. Not sure about S or XS…

thanks muddydwarf – makes most sense but kinda spoils the surprise – think I’ll take that route though.

fits someone how tall? if going as complete bike might be interested for wife….. think too big tho – she’s 5’2″

how weird is this? was just about to post the same q…..

fadda – that’s actually a great idea. will look into it. seen some good looking wooden ones at about £50 each though, but cannot find the make for the mo…..

thanks 13thfloormonk (good moniker, too), and thanks too druidh – both v useful links. off to look in more detail now…..

I agree that the topography is e-w – but we all like downhills, don’t we – hence the n-s concept. Will check out the drovers’ roads, and the suggestinos so far. Anyone else whose done it or knows of websites that identify routes, do post…..

I get mine form the USA and take cheap breaks out there….SEMA in Vegas coincides with new year models as it happens. Just picked up my 2012 SXT

what’s the customs duty like coming back in?

Thanks Milkie. Only thing slowing me is that the contour is reviewed to be slow in adapting from bright to low light, and it’s tha bit bigger. Am not sure how often I’d actually use the thing if I’m honest – wife suggested it for seeing what it ride and laughing at me crashing – so may still try the cheaper option. Useful input tho.

good job in getting around to be able to test all those bikes – what did you do, hit the trail centres that have those on demo? (when I tried, I could get demos around a car park, which isn’t that much use tbh!). Nice bike, glad you’re pleased with it. The fact that you rode it around and enjoyed it is more important than it’s weight, imho. Too much tech obsession (me included……)

That looks great value.
I was considering this, partly cos it’s cheaper and partly cos it’s small – anyone got experiences of it?
Dogcam bullet cam

confused still. If I buy £100 of vouchers (for £80), and if I spend >£100 (on credit card) on something or other, can I use the £50 off next order and the £100 of vouchers to buy my next purchase?

it used to be much cheaper to buy them from Germany – is this not the case now?

go s/h or ex-demo or last year’s model – almost whatever you go for, you’ll get a much better spec, lighter, nicer bike, and with a ful servide it’s no different to a new one. s/h ma not have warranties, though, so if that’s critical for you go ex-demo or last ear’s model – or buy decent insurance…..

not a expert, but happy enough in my New Balance trail running shoes – GoreTex, so dry unless really torrential or deep streams, enough grip on pedals – but prob not as much as 5.10’s – and fine if you need to walk the big up the steep bits. £30 on sale.

anto164 hts the nail on the head – quite a range of bikes you’re looking at there. But if those are the ones you’re looking at, I’d get the Trek, followed by the Giant, followed by the Scott, followed by the Orange. Probably ordered in terms of tech expertise and engineering. If second-hand, all offer great bargains, esp Orange which might move it up a bit on the list. (Have a rigid Trek, great bike even ancient as it is. Current bike is a Mojo)

xcentric – the Mojo is lovely but off the list due to it being carbon (I crash far too often!). The Mach 5.7 is also lovely but probably not that much of a step up from the 140mm Zesty?

Not sure I go with that – carbon is pretty tough, but each to their own. 5.7 is probably sightly better pedalling than the Zesty, but I agree it’s not so far away.

Sometimes the bike to buy is the ne your heart wants, whether or not your head agrees – and it seems you love the Spicy, so why not go that route…..? There’s no way it’ll ever be a bad bike…..

would suggest you’ll get much more out of your mountain biking by buying the relevant OS map and using that to identify where you are, and routes back/on to where you want to be. And a smartphone in your backpack if you really need gps and maps. Ok addition to real maps, but much much bigger ‘screen’ on the paper ones…..

Mojo Ibis HD or Pivot Mach 5.7 – ridden both, both great bikes. Some ex-demo Mach’s around for £3k…..
Exceptional longer travel and light enough for all day in mountains and uphills too. Ridden Zesty not Spicy and that’s great, esp in carbon which it would be at your budget – but I’d go for the Spicy if you wanted DH ability.

Another option to seriously consider is a Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon if you can get one – got a friend who rides one, loves it.

My moneys on the obsessing though.

mmmm – think mine is too :-)

but I may get some tarmac time to see, as per jameso’s comment.

thanks for comments so far.

@Whyte1 – thanks, will try it like that.

@vinnyeh – it’s ex-demo so comes with full new warranty – hence I want to get it checked earlier rather than later….. so something could be wrong, but may well not be…..

@jameso – could be the case – esp if other mojo owners find the same thing. (Didn’t notice it so much on a pivot mach 5.7 when I demo’d it tho – but didn’t pay as much attention, so doesn’t mean everything…..)

sorry for slight thread hijack, but do people use lighting boards with these? need to get towbar etc on my car to fit a rack, and a towbar would be cheap but the lightng connection kit is expensive (S-Max uses canbus so makes it an expensive fitting). Can I just bolt the towbar on and get away with just that?

@thepodge – don’t think I am getting confused – I know it’s low speed compression only, but would expect to feel a difference off the bike too…. it could well be specc’d to do little, but I can’t see the point in that (though I agree it is done).

@gsp1984 – it’s got 1, 2, 3 – so 3 levels of propedal (in theory) – not like the supposed lockout of the new version. But it’s an early 2011 model, so not that old…..

@ChunkyMTB – so is there anything I can do to check this in more detail? Any settings on shock I can adjust to demonstrate it more? Or does it just have to be sent off? One of the LBS’s comments, kinda echoed here, is that on the dw-link bikes it’s not as obvious an effect, cos of the efficiency of the suspension itself…..

I’d buy (I did buy) an ex-demo for less than half price – advantage is much cheaper, and you still get warranty. But s/h is a great way to get a cracking bike. New, I’d go Canyon then Bordman. But if you want a LBS then Canyon is out – no experience of Halfords as LBS however….. Many deals of 2011 spec bikes, and most of s won’t notice the difference – and since you have your bike for more than a year, it’ll be out of date someday anyway….

running about 200-210 psi in the shock (am 90 kgs – excuse the mixed units!) – and I fully accept that, as a new bike to me, it’s not tuned in yet. Rebound is about half way, and not quite right yet – would that make the difference I’m seeing?

option is to send the shock off for checking, which the lbs are happy to do (tough not clear who’d be paying :-)) Don’t want to do this if it’s likely to be me tho :-)

it may well be me :-) however, whilst I’m riding flat pedals and so not as scoopy and lifting as on spd’s, I am reasonably smooth. Do tend to use a lower cadence than many – my legs don’t go round that fast – but I’m not a stomper…..

@d45yth – is it clearly different with pp on – e.g. off the bike and you push up and down on the saddle, can you feel a difference? when pedalling, with pp on (and off, tbh) do you notice the shock moving – say on gentle uphill on smooth terrain, for e.g.

many thanks to all for the advice – most useful; some there I’d not thought of. Cheers!

current spec has no pro pedal option