Tomm

Yeah they're a bit stupid - I'm sure some people would say that about 780mm bars though.

Some frames will allow you to use longer or shorter i2i lengths, but you have to be careful. It's not difficult to mess up the geometry but worse case scenario (if you use a shock that's too small) is that the frame will bottom out on itself. Don't let that happen! The i2i (or eye-to-eye) is the length of the shock from (the middle of) one mounting eye to the other. The stroke length is how much it moves. A common combination would be 200mm eye-to-eye and 50mm stroke (200x50). If it's a coil shock you don't have to be that precise with the length of the coil shock since all shocks have a preload adjuster at the top end, so the coil can be +/- 10mm or so.

Cool, enjoy!

Well I've used both a Hope Vision 1 and a Magic Shine light and the Magic shine is many, many, times brighter. I don't know if it's 8 times brighter as quoted (It may well not be) but it's a daft comparison. The Chinese one is far brighter.

If it's just for cross country riding, you can prevent 90% of mud hitting your face with one of those RRP (http://www.rapidracerproducts.com/NeoGuard.htm) which looks 100% less gay. Don't bother actually paying for them, obviously, you can make one easily out of an old inner tube. If it's for commuting or whatever then get something that fits a bit closer to the tyre.

Sealskins are only thick on the palm where they've got (pointless) extra padding. For commuting though, I'd rate them highly. On my MTB I always wish for a slightly thinner palm, though they do keep your hands properly warm.

240 lumens? It's not 1999.

Most of the lights are kind of similar - whether they're from ebay/deal-extreme/mtbbatteries or those ones from JE James. They're all the same design, with a few very subtle differences, none of which are really worth paying more for. The XML T6 is supposedly a brighter LED but I don't think it makes much difference. The only real difference is aftercare, apparently the mtbbatteries ones (and probably the JE James deal) have quite good support, and obviously they'll arrive quicker. Whether that's worth paying double is up to you - I didn't think so, so I ordered some from eBay. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Fashion-CREE-XML-XM-L-T6-LED-1600-Lm-Bicycle-Light-HeadLamp-HeadLigh-/150698078984?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item23164e3308#ht_5377wt_1008 I paid £36 also, but I'm not sure if that was the same seller. Mine took 10 days to arrive, but I've got friends who waited 30 days! As for the lights, they are B-R-I-G-H-T! They're fairly solid, I've got no concerns about build quality (though obviously they're not posh like Hope ones) and the mounts are solid enough. My only real criticism is that the light beam is quite focused, the main beam is only about a foot wide at a normal riding position (beam on the floor ~6 feet in front of me), which means I have to move my head around to light up different bits of the trail. This also means it's amazing for shining in the eyes of oncoming drivers and lighting stuff up from 200 yards away. I think some of the other variants may have different reflectors in which may be better.

I'd have thought they were a smashing idea if you were a 40 year old fat lady, yes.

How big are you? I'm selling my girlfriend's DH bike - incidentally a Kona Stinky. It's about 5 years old I think, 2006 rings a bell but I'd have to check. We bought it 2 years ago for a holiday in the Alps 2 summers ago, and it's only been used for a week in Morzine (by a girl) and sitting gathering dust since then. Before that it was owned by some rich 14 year old kid from Buckinghamshire, I don't think he ever rode it because it was immaculate when I got it (still is). I.e. it's 5 years old but almost brand new. It's a small frame Marzocchi 888 forks, the rest of the spec I'd have to look up but it's all pretty decent stuff. Everything completely sound, all works perfectly. I'm after £500 ish, I'm also in Sheffield so you're welcome to come and have a looksie.

This ^^^ Pre-2007 888s should be nice and cheap, they'd be a good option as they're basically bombproof. I like Boxxers and they'd be my choice if I was paying £300 ish. Just do your research and either of those will be fine. I'd steer clear of anything by Manitou, and Fox are generally a bit expensive for what they are.

That sort of stuff is exactly what GPs are for, you're certainly not wasting anyone's time. Malignant Melanomas are just 'odd marks' until they kill you. An extreme example of course but things like that are worth going to your GP for. The only people that are going to get annoyed at you for wasting their time are A+E doctors. Some people can't be bothered to book in at the GP so they just rock up to the Emergency Department with a rash they've had for weeks.

If it's not itchy it's probably not eczema or contact dermatitis (E.g. from washing powders etc). Not the best picture, but at a guess - Erythema marginatum. As I said before, go and see your doctor.

Go and see a doctor. Failing that pictures will help but even with a picture the only advice I'd ever give would still be 'go to see a doctor'. Most GP surgeries have out-of-hours sessions to accommodate those with jobs. Did you even ask them? In case you were wondering, A+E is not the place for your rash...

Definitely Superstar chain device. As for the wheels, Hope hoops are supposedly pretty good for £300 ish. I've just ordered some. You can only get Black hubs and black/white rims (without spending more money) though..

Yeah I've been to the works a few times. There are some really good problems there, they have creative route setters fo sho. It can be quite busy, particularly in these dark evenings though.

That's some serious power there. Is that in Llandudno? I think I've been there (couldn't do any of it!). I think I'm going to start (indoor) bouldering a bit more now it's winter. Should probably start going outdoors since I like 5 minutes from Stanage...

Ha yeah I was about to comment on that. Gay sport for little kids who haven't graduated to real action sports.

That's pretty easy then. Just follow the first bit of my instructions, not that you'll need any help.

Yeah cool. I'm Fluid609 on Xbox Live.

I don't actually care. Just don't pay over the odds

I'm intrigued as to why he went for upgrades on a Five S rather than getting the 5 Pro?

What settings have you got on the forks? I'll assume you have compression + rebound + floodgate. Turn compression/rebound off first of all. If they're dual air, add enough air to get 30% ish sag If they've got both +ve and -ve air, do the positive air first (aim for 25% sag) then put the same amount in the negative side (this will almost certainly give you 30% ish sag afterwards) Set the rebound, this is mostly personal preference but depends a bit on the terrain. I like my forks quite fast. This is fine for the basic setup, for years I left the compression damping fully off with my Pikes. The compression / floodgate is the hardest bit to set up properly, and if you read the forums there are a million differing comments. What I like to do is to have a reasonable amount of compression (halfway to 2/3rds ON) but set the floodgate so the forks move easily, maybe 4-5 clicks from full anti-clockwise. This way you can avoid bobbing but the forks will start moving on even fairly small bumps.

It's pretty ridiculous. People will buy a bike like that, use it for a year, add up all the RRP of component parts (£3200 ish - even if they actually paid much less) and stick it on eBay for £3000. Even more ridiculous is that people seem to buy them. There's no sense in it if you ask me - I wouldn't spend more than 60% of a bike's initial value. A 2011 Orange 5S can be bought for £1750 brand new with full warranty. I very much doubt his bike cost twice that amount, whatever upgrades he has. For that bike, if it's a year old, you can expect it to need a new chain + cassette, maybe some brake pads and cables as a bare minimum. Then take off a bit for wear and tear of the forks etc. I wouldn't give him more than £1300 for a used Orange 5s, personally. Bear in mind there are some people that ride once or twice a month and look after their bikes immaculately. Or others that ride 3-4 times a week and never do maintenance. So a 'year old' MTB can mean very different things.

Just been playing BF3 online. It's absolutely huge and I find a lot of the time I'll be running around like an idiot with no clue. But I had one reasonably good game where it all seemed to make sense. Practice...