Are you serious?

Perfectly.

I contacted Bontranger and asked them if this was normal, they said no and to get it replaced at the shop under warranty.

it might come straight with a bit of a wiggle, I'm sure tubes can sometimes get pulled round the rim a bit (therefore leaving the valve at a dodgy angle)

Sounds plausible

Only if you have checked all your cutlery is pefectly aligned.

They didn't even bother to align the valve with the logo.

I do like the shop though, they are in an area where most small local shops act as social services/mental health workers for the local community

Have you checked to see if a hedgehog has got stuck in it? Last time that happened to me my brakes started playing up.

Have a look at Craik Forest.

The route around it looks/was really good, and there is a website which has an extended local route around it.

Mate tells me it will be split into bits. What an arse

Most likely, there has been someone on Gumtree Newcastle recently moving a lot of parts.

Is the frame chipped or not?

I'll keep an eye out and an ear to the ground.

There was a shop in Wallsend that traded in 'second hand' bikes, but he appears to have closed down again. Not sure if that was a forced closure or not.

Yes until I picked it up and realised that my back was about to go.

Bought a Carrera base model with disc brakes for 200 quid on sale. Went to get it and when picking it up realised that there wasn't a chance I was lifting it onto the car roof everytime I went away, so had to walk away.

Shame as I really wanted it, but I also learnt a lot more from building my own bike.

Would I buy one still, probably buy a Subway or a Banshee second hand.

I presumed that on the single piston systems they caliper pistons must be close in size.

Sounds like I should just buy the right things to start with.

Aye but the kit didn't fit the '96 LTS, only '97 onwards.
if you want to know which frame is 96 and which is 97, the 96 had a Titanium linkage, the 97 onwards had an alloy link with crappy plastic insert holding the ropey adjustable trunion mount the shock screwed into (the threads would turn while you rode)

eXXotic

I have one of their 80mm alloy stems and it's great, really impressed with them

Blackberry FFS!!

Friends tell me that those little swivel 'jail phones' sell for upwards of 600 quid, can't imagine what a Blackberry costs then. Be a bloody hassle removing it every time an email came through though.

96 LTS DH didn't have bearings

Maybe newer then.

Same bike as that, I'm sure. Will have to check now. Looks the same, but he doesn't have the rear disc mounts.

I was eying up http://www.yorkmarine.co.uk/ today.

Not exactly the dales, but it looks nice

GT LTS DH About 1996 I think. Sold it now though.

My brother picked one of those up from Gumtree for 100 quid with knackered bearings, lad wanted 250, brother said 100 quid call me if you don't sell it, two weeks later it was his, 30 quid a set of bearings and locktite, couple of new wheels and he was good to go.

but unless we can get GeeTee and Dave together there won't be any children…

But the kids would be disposed of when one of them went for a dump

skoda superb all wheel drive

I actually bumpt into the guy building them, seemed like a nice enough guy. I tried to explain, much like you pointed out, the flow and the run was going to be ruined but he wasn't to interested. He or someone has also cut a new small berm through the switchback just ten meters after that or so which makes it look crap. It was an akward routey off camber natural sort of thing – beautiful

I would start stalking him until it stops.

Of course you could be really obscure and go for one of these

A really obscure car

What you need is the Passatt W8

I managed it with a track pump.

I was fitting Geax Barro Mountain Rigid though, which are a bit tight getting on, I squeezed the end flat where the valve is and pumped hard a couple of times and it beaded instantly.

it'd be better cominggoing down

And there you have the start of a true mountain biking porn video

Whatever you take, it needs to be quick enough to outrun a Backpacker asking you inane questions about living in there.

Joggers Nipple – maybe some of that Uddercream would work

Are you squeezing the tire in where the valve is? That was the ticket for succesfull tubelessness for me.

Would I just recycle the spacers?

Any idea of what sizes I would need to order?

A cheap whore

For 50 quid? More likely going to be a man called Janice with a 5 o'clock shadow and a floral dress from Oxfam.

Call the police.

Tell them a stolen bike has been left there. They will cut the lock. Then go pick it up saying it's yours and was stolen from work.

Job done

Could always cut what it's attached to.

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-47400.html

It's oxidation on aluminium that cause it to go dull.

I would imagine that if you took it to a metal stripping place they could dip it for you to get the lacquer off.

Not sure on how to polish it, but a lot of car modifiers just use increasing grades of metal polish to get their alloys to a mirror finish. I presume the same principle could be applied to an aluminium frame.

The problem you have on stripping the oxidation is that it oxidizes fairly quickly, so it would really need stripping in one go and lacquering soon after

Wellgo V8 copies.

Not sure what this big feet thing is about, I have size 12's and they seem to fit my feet ok.

Buy it at a chemist as rubbing alcohol,

Any decent solvent will do for cleaning the parts as long as it doesn't attack the plastic.

Contact the manufactuer with the lock serial number

That pipe freezing spray with jacket might work, unless it's only on Burn Notice it works.

My old frame I guess!

It is and the routing is driving me mad, it just looked crap, couldn't see how it worked either.

Now I will just do it my own way. with cable ties.

Any ideas on what length of rear brake hose is needed?

Cheers people

Any photos of the continous run as well?

Both will help me.

Cheers

Is that the classic "Y" frame shaped one?

Yes it is. I just can't picture how they run. I saw one photo that looked like a continous cable outer run to the rear, which can't be right.

Cheers for the help

Ha ha. I had a £400 frame that was quite obviously out of alignment. This only became apparent after numerous hub rebuilds and it ended up damaged.

First negative Merlin story I've heard. Not good service in your instance at all.

I had trailer rage on the weekend.

Riding up the cycle path, it narrows to just wide enough for two bikes to pass, next to a road, not too busy, but people drive fast.

A couple towing a trailer were coming down towards us at the widest part, where there is a junction. They could have stopped to wait less than 20s for us to get there, but they carried on two abreast with the trailer behind forcing the missus and I onto the road.

It wasn't busy, but that wasn't the point. They could have waited, but they chose to bully their way ahead because their rugrat was more important.

For that I label all kiddie trailer users **** :evil: