Tomm

It's kind of hard to tell from that picture, but it's definitely not amazing. You could probably find the exact spec by looking on Scott's website archive (assuming they have one) but I doubt it ever cost more than about £800 new. I'm sure it'll do the job OK though, and for that reason I'd say it's got to be worth around £350 ish?

Bronz, perhaps your love for Apple products has permeated your psyche to such a deep level that you subconsciously type out its praises? Or, your iPad automagically pastes that for you after every forum post in an attempt to increase iPad "buzz" on the internet? Kind of like the way the default signature on the iPhone's email is "Sent from my iPhone" as if I wanted my email recipients to think of me as an arrogant cock. Either way, Charlie is right, I can't edit posts without leaving the 'editted by' tag (except my own posts).

Apparently all the new Shimano 10 speed stuff has the same 1:1 actuation ratio - they've just copied SRAM but have kept it quiet

I think it was some kind of malware thing, but I'm not sure what. Interestingly I noticed that it was doing the same "pause" thing even on simply loading websites. Weird. I did these things: Delete cookies / temporary internet files http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html?tag=mncol http://www.combofix.org/ http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-SystemCare-Free/3000-2086_4-10407614.html?tag=mncol And the problem seems to have gone away

Picture the scene: I'm downloading something off rapidshare, it says 5mins remaining, so I read a book while I'm waiting. After 10 mins or so, I look back and the download hasn't finished. In fact it still says 5 minutes and doesn't seem to have changed since the last time I looked. Then I move the mouse and it starts downloading again. Repeat this a few times until I realise that it's only downloading when I'm using the computer / moving the mouse / typing. When I'm away from the keyboard, the download stops. It also won't download when Firefox is in the background. I've tried a different website, and that's the same. There isn't a problem with internet explorer (that downloads things just fine) I've had a looked on task manager and can't see anything too unusual in the processes section, but the network tab confirms my suspicions - the internet connection is only being used when I'm at the keyboard or moving the mouse (with Firefox) Apart from the fact that this is really weird, I'm a bit concerned that I've got some sort of Malware on board. I've done an AVG scan but that didn't show anything. Any ideas? My spec: Windows XP. Firefox 3.6. Really old AMD Athlon 3200+.

They just feel a bit gritty and not quite as smooth as when they've just been serviced. RockShox recommend you service the seals / oil fairly regularly - I can't remember the timing but it's something like for every 60 hours of use for Pikes. The precise figure will be in the service manual which you can download from the SRAM / Rockshox website.

Do you mean the RB Designs one? I don't think you can still get them, but thankfully the website doesn't seem to have changed since 2003 http://www.rbdesign.sk/en/en_index.htm (there's even a nice animation of how the hub works). They weren't very good though. Some people used to use Shimano clutch hubs, but they were apparently wank too. I never used one but people complained that although they were more-or-less instant engagement, it was a weird "spongey" feel. And they used to last a few months at most. All this talk about engagements is a bit irrelevant really. When on the backwheel, most good riders will pre-tension the pedals/chain/hub so they're always "engaged" ready for the power move. The main advantage is if you have a quick-engagement you can get the pedals to exactly the right position. But whether you'll notice the difference between 2.7 and 3.3 degrees in rotation, I doubt it!

Worst. Forks. Ever.

Surely it's the fact that the driver hasn't installed properly?

100% the right choice. I've got a 4, had a 3G before that. The iPhone 4 makes the 3g look rubbish and old-fashioned. The 4 is a thing of beauty, plus that screen is sooo good. I never used to use my iPhone 3G for going on normal websites, but since I've upgraded I use it all the time (admittedly that's a lot to do with the speed, but also the screen). The camera is a lot better, although I can't say I use that much. The other reason is that there's various features of the iPhone 4 that the 3GS doesn't have, so as soon as a few apps start using E.g. the gyroscope properly, the 3GS will be obsolete, and you'll be pissed off if you bought one.

That's not really helping the guy though, is it? Most SRAM shifters won't work well with Shimano stuff.

Oh so much to go wrong. Drivetrain or not, all your friends are likely to hate you.

I've got something from friends provident who provide pretty much what you're talking about, think it's £24/month. It might be different since you're self-employed though. If I go sick I'll get full pay for a few weeks, then half pay for a bit longer, and the insurance money only kicks in after those 2 months or whatever. So basically it wouldn't be much use if you broke a bone, it'd heal before they would think about giving you money... Perhaps they have a different deal for self-employed people though? The other option is of course just to create a "rainy day" bank account and pay into that £30/month or similar. Pretty soon you'll have enough saved up that a month or two off work isn't going to lose your house/car etc. Plus this way you have the added bonus that if you don't need the money, you can spend the money you've saved on something nice.

Yeah fair enough, some of the cheaper SRAM shifters work on the Shimano system for reasons I don't understand. Stick with Shimano for this cheap stuff anyway IMO. And then you can't get confused with shifters/mechs being incompatible.

If you get a SRAM mech, you have to get a SRAM shifter. Likewise Shimano mech = shimano shifter. But it doesn't matter if you mix, say, a deore shifter and XTR mech. SGS = long cage. GS = medium. SS = short cage. You want SS or GS unless you're planning to run a triple chainset. The road mechs (Sora / Tiagra / 105 / Ultegra) used to have stronger springs in them, not sure if that's still the case, but they're certainly still cheap in a lot of cases (and they're still compatible with mtb shifters).

Yeah the multitasking thing is stupid but they're going to fix that very soon with the next update. I have no idea why they haven't done it sooner. I bet the HP slate will be rubbish by comparison. I hope it won't, but everyone who copies Apple seem to produce things that are way better on paper but in real life completely suck to use. We can all hope for a quicker, smaller, lighter, more open device that retains all the useability and responsiveness of an i-thing, whilst being cheaper, but it won't happen.

Bucky - You can use any size disc (it doesn't matter), although 160mm is likely to be more than enough. Those forks have ISCG mounts and whatever brake you buy should come with the mounts. Otherwise you would need to buy an appropriate adaptor.

Yeah I wondered that but apparently Apple sell millions of iPod touches. I've got an iPhone and 90% of what I use it for* couldn't be done with an iPod Touch so I really don't see the point. The iPhone is just a million times more useful. I've never seen an iPad but I reckon they would be nice to use for just general surfing though. *When out and about, for settling arguments via the medium of wikipedia. And for cheating in pub quizzes. P.S. Inur - I think only the 3G version of the iPad has GPS? I may be wrong on that.

I just got this (http://www.dynolicious.com/) looks pretty cool. Not sure how accurate it is, but it's definitely fun to try and and beat your G score. There's a 0-60 timer as well, again I have no idea how accurate it actually is. The company claims it's accurate to within 0.06 seconds though!

Experience, and not doing stupid things... I say that but I love doing stupid things, as far as I can work out, that's the best way to have fun in life. If you want to go fast and wrap your car round a tree, that's fine. Just don't say you're a good driver

Yeah it's true, there's no really much point having a really fast car, there's no opportunity to use it without risking an accident / your license. Particularly as it'll probably go round corners at something like 130 mph with no drama. In the purely hypothetical scenario, the car's a gift so you can't sell it. You have the choice to drive it, or not to drive it. And I don't think many people would turn that down.

Yeah, Addidas Superstars are my all-time favourite riding shoes too. I read an article in dirt mag by some pro who loved riding in them but was too embarrassed because of the chav image. Stupid but there you go. I guess they're not as chavvy as they used to be though. Also; Vans + thin Waffle sole = win. Shimano AM40 for DH but I wouldn't wear them for street (too stiff and too gimpy-looking).

Normal drivers don't ever let the back "step out" though. I'd say most drivers have likely never experienced oversteer, it takes some effort and speed to get the back wheels to slide in most modern (FWD) cars and people just don't make it happen. Really? If you won one in a competition (fully insured etc) you'd just turn it down on the basis that it might be dangerous? I think I would get it and floor it at every opportunity! It might be a bit dangerous but I doubt anyone on here would refuse that sort of car, it's just jealousy talking.

I think a lot of people would take issue with that. Surely crashing your car is a fairly good endpoint to judge how good a driver someone is? The issue isn't young people can't control a car, the issue is that they take stupid risks more often.

The steerer is bonded into the crown, but if that fails it's very easy to put a bolt through (there are some holes there already). I don't think they have a bolt / pin as standard? Anyway as Adam says, the difficult part would be to get a spare steerer. Then getting both sets unbonded might be a challenge also, but I suspect there are ways around that.