i think its terrifying. i never been more upset about ‘politics’ my entire 42 year life so far.

fuming all weekend. 3 hours mashing local hardpacked singletrack today helped take the edge off…

knards are fast tyres if your not needing much grip.

the government don’t seem to have much grip either at the moment.

‘edging’ takes you to the brink…

Onzadog – Sante

The Bike Works – 29-30 Argyle Place, Edinburgh EH9 1JJ

Excellent service/know how – only place that touches my bike.

been told I’m pretty much the same as normal whilst drunk. not sure if thats good or not.
suppose I’m always a split second away from some rambling monologue about biking or weird music.
now I live the countryside rather than city – thats not great news for the non-biking, pop music loving wife.

i have a wingnut pack – believe its now called an ‘adventure’ pack but was originally called ‘enduro’

I’m out in all weather and 99% of the time myself normally for epic days.. so i tend to carry quite a lot (being responsible). the design of the wingnut really helps me as it sits on your lower back rather than hanging from your shoulders. its almost unnoticeable. and being able to get access to food, tools and the phone/camera without removing the pack is another bonus.

its a pretty strange looking bit kit, pricey but highly recommended.

big dummy – id drop salsa an email and ask them the colour info direct.

i love that beargrease colour scheme. I’m a graphic designer and its one of the colour combinations id not really expect to work but its great. bet it looks outrageous in real life as well. on a fat bike as well!!

ive emailed salsa with various questions in the past (i don’t own a salsa) and they’ve always been very helpful and detailed in their responses. good guys and girls!

ive got the jones (which does get used!!) and a 1988 cannonade sm1000 at my folks house.

never ridden the ‘dale in over 20 years but still have the plan to do it up and get some use out it. could not possible get rid of it as its was my first proper bike, i bet it feels so weird to ride now. i predict its probably a bit shite now.

Spacemen 3 ?– Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To

yesterdays local loop in midlothian – beautiful

folk that mark their email as ‘high priority’ all the time.

drivers in the bike box at traffic lights when the could have avoided it.

folk that ask me if i miss bacon. (veggie for over 10 years)

its like a cleaner shiney version of my bike!
4 and half years later I’m still loving it!

fat front
6ish (nate)

plus 29 front
14 (dirt wizard)

29 rear
20 (gato, chunky monkey, ardent)

all cables in our house that are at ground level have been rabbit proofed. either spilt a section of old garden hose and retape it up or an off the shelf cable housing.

ui and lola and now mabel and rocket all loved dicing with death with attempted cable chewing attempts. they seem to understand the world as everything is potentially another bit of food.

all cifs and thankfully no butts…

my experience with bike packing v panniers is that the heavy stuff goes in your frame bag as near the bb as possible, the lighter and bulkier stuff goes under the saddle or bars.

i remember having a loaded bike with panniers and its fine for road stuff but you get the wobblies and handling is awful off road. a loaded rack also feels disconnected from the bike.

ive spend several days with my bike fully ‘bike packed’ and although the bike is naturally way heavier, the way the weight is distributed actually make the bike feel really good even in full off road settings. and as others have said, with the soft packs and compression straps, it makes the load as small aa possible.

i thought id hate my bike loaded up with modern bike bags but it think its night and day compared to racks and panniers.

mull is a great island, ive got friends that stay on iona and ive biked over the island numerous times. although I’m always on a mountain bike, there isn’t much in the way of trails – just lovely single track roads. beautiful place to visit and if your lucky with the weather its stunning but proper mountain biking wise – look at places on the mainland.

a boat trip to staffa and the treshnish isles well worth it.

(years ago, while out on staffa a mate jokingly asked if i reckoned everyone has mountain biked on the island. i said i did’nt know… 10 minutes later, we had completed a loop of the whole island)

I’m on my second full house sonos set up (first was sold as part of the last house). its a mixture of connect amps and connects with speakers in walls or ceilings.

i cant fault the whole thing, a house full of music with no clutter at all. music sits on its one wireless hard-drive and everything just works. living in an old cottage with thick walls means ‘party mode’ is ‘normal mode’.

Archer Prewitt?

I’m actually having a blast playing around with single speeding. currently set up as a 10 speed but haven’t touched my shifter in 5 weeks. going to convert the bike properly shortly. its the only variation ive not tried on the jones yet and really love the challenges and ‘benefits’ of single speeding.

it all seems far less limiting that i imagine and not (or pretending not to) have bail out gear seems to just make me ride harder which also seems to be faster. big days out and big climbs that I’m normally spinning up are different but oddly still achievable.

I’m doing it because i really want to improve my fitness a well and love the idea of really simplifying my bike. maybe for 6 months or maybe forever…

not sure if it was considered crap but i totally loved ‘riven’.
was never really into computer games but i loved its slow and ambient lack of action.

I listen to a load of electronic music…

I’ve always been blown away by the really early stuff –

Tontos Expanding Head Band – Zero Time 1971
Raymond Scott – Soothing Sounds For Baby (vol 1,2 and 3) 1963/4
Joe Meek and the Blue Men – I Hear A New World 1960
Pierre Henry, Michel Colombier- Messe pour le temps présent 1967

Vom Himmel Hoch from Kraftwerk deserves a special mention as well.

i remember blowing up my first ever computer (a cat eye from 1988) by holding a high pressure water jet against my front tyre – it got to 80mph then the screen when blank… for ever.

that felt dangerous fast…

i may be wrong but my thoughts on the trail style xt/xtr shimano pedals are that the ‘cage’ protects the actual pedal more that providing an extra platform (unlike mallets etc).

i ended up with the race xt versions just because pedal strikes isn’t a major problem.

like a said, i might be wrong…

its a crack, its just at the start of its life but its a crack.

thats my ‘non expert’ view.

The Bicycle Works on Argyle Place in Edinburgh.

Dave and the team in there are excellent – i wouldn’t take my bike anywhere else. Which reminds me – the machine is due a visit…

As far as buying stuff online Eds Bikes and Charlie the Bikemonger are fantastic for all my weird niche needs… Wayne and Charlie are top blokes as well.

i know the question s what the op should do… but id build it up as a sweet wee single speed with wide bars and big rubber…

perchypanther – i remember that video as well – and its true.

as someone that works in design/marketing id suggest that you want to outline your services in the way thats as easy as possible for your target market to understand.

if the audience is used to comparing what x does versus what y does then go for it. name names if required (and be totally transparent on like for like/sources etc) ive learned that being subtle or assuming folk will join the dots themselves isn’t often the right approach.

centralscrutinizer

it means to leave your body…..

Rusty Spanner!

Parallelograms by Linda Prehacs – a favourite of mine from the album of the same name…

after ive eaten red onions, you could literally strip wallpaper with my farts.

have a nice day!

nico – i wasnt born when it was released!
ive have loved all that stuff for years. julian cope’s book has a lot to answer for on my impressionable mind!

my mate (and my best man) was adamant that his first dance was going to be ‘the birdy song’ by the tweets but his wife said no way.

when i got married we didnt have a first dance as such but when we signed the paperwork after the ceremony ‘long time coming’ by crosby stills and nash was blaring… emma and i had only been together for over 20 years before we got married (and she asked me!).

if we had to choose a first dance tune it would simply have been something we both loved and easily be ‘archangel thunderbird’ by amon düül II which as been a track thats been with us forever…

my wingnut hydro pack is some piece of kit. made for the real world and designed on a blank sheet of paper – its amazing.

even on days that I’m carrying loads (epic winter days) the weight doesn’t seem noticeable once its sitting on your lower back and your mashing the pedals.

looks weird as well so suits my bike and me!

The thread title jumped out! Monkey Island!!!!

Wow, folk are talking about their favourite 13th Floor Elevators tracks!

almost 5 years on a ti space frame. haven’t tried the plus.

i still cant believe how good the bike is. I’ve done some simple backpacking on it, big days up mountains. riding in all weather. fat front is great for super muddy hard days. the 29 (or 29+) front is great for bike packing and faster drier days.

took me ages to get the bars and everything dialled but its now prefect. started off as a 30 speed, now a 10 and thinking about doing some dingle/singlespeed for the summer.

jack of all trades with a fair mastery of most. if only i was half as good as the bike.

v for vendetta is an amazing graphic novel. had a profound affect on a 16 year old me. still relevant as well…

the robert crumb etc ‘zap comix’ stuff is great as well. a mate had a huge compilation of ‘zap’ – I’ve never managed to track a copy down despite years of looking.

and finally, i loved the ‘like a velvet glove cast in iron’ by daniel clowes.i’d like to see that being made into a film by someone that could do it justice…

warmer and longer days…

i fiddled with my loops (as part of my jones build)

it took me ages to get the bars working for me and now a love them.

no idea if this will help your wrists but i run mine upside down, so they are almost ultra subtle drop bars. love it!

possibly worth a try?