F-Stop Junkie

Was playing with the gorgeous iPod Touch in the Apple shop at Meadowhall, clicked on the YouTube bit, and the search box. The last person who looked at it was obviously a trials rider. The search box was up. Nadine Staniforth Anyone own up?

Nope, we're doing a mixture of road and off road on MTBs!

Yeah! Give me a mod and I'll do the whole ride feet up! Or maybe not... Given how I feel on training rides, I suspect I'm going to struggle as is it with 24 gears and a decent saddle height!

I'm doing a sponsored bike ride this weekend, and I need the help of TF! I'm taking part in a coast to coast ride going from Whitehaven in Cumbria to Tynemouth near Newcastle. This is 140 miles and is usually done in three days of riding. We're planning to do it in two. I need to raise money to contribute to the overall effort. The ride is in support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, with a small portion of the money also being donated to Sustrans which supports cycle paths and access across Britain. For those who don't know about multiple sclerosis, it's a degenerative nerve disorder which can cause breakdown of a lot of bodily functions. There is no cure for it, but the MS Society provide support and information for those affected by it. More info can be found at http://www.mssociety.org.uk and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis I'm looking to raise more money for the cause, so if you wish to sponsor my ride from sea to shining sea, I have a just giving page at http://www.justgiving.com/chrisratcliff-c2c. It's a very worthwhile cause, and even a small amount from the TF population will help both MS suffers and sustainable transport in the UK, as well as spur me on when I'm on the ride this weekend!

I know a lot of people think street riding is just BMX on trials bikes, but I saw this and wondered if they were inspired by biketrials street? New street style?

Running ceramics has been tried. Not as effective as a grind, destroys normal smooth rim pads, cracks and chips off as you bash the rim or it flexes. Avoid. Can't be bothered to grind? Use pads intended for smooth rims?

I need a bit of advice too! I'm in training for a long coast to coast ride, from little to no fitness. Shorter rides, no problem. 10 miles to and from work hurt, but otherwise OK. However since I've started to go longer, my left knee has been suffering. About 20 miles in it starts to hurt, but it's ok, and as it gets worse it becomes more and more painful to put load on it. I can sit and spin on the flat, but as soon as I put load on that knee it really hurts and feels stiff. Once I get home it stiffens up, and putting load (like going up or down stairs) causes pain too. The pain and stiffness goes away pretty quickly, but it does stop me riding for the rest of the day. The cleats on my Spesh BG shoes have been checked and double checked, saddle is straight, and I stretch before and after I go out. Any ideas on what could be causing it? Recommendations for supports?

Ummm, don't mean to be pedantic, but isn't the area there not the crown court, but the bit of New Walk next to the museum? No, no it isn't... Christ, lived in Leicester 24 years, did jury service at the crown court, and never knew that garden was there! Go figure... Does no-one ride at the market any more? That used to be great on a Sunday, riding on the stalls, using their pallets, and telling any official who stopped us that we'd been told we could ride there (even though I can't actually remember that being true...)

Jamie's new series is quite annoying, but he got me into cooking when I was at uni, so that's good. Ainsley Harriot may be annoying, but I strongly recommend his cookbooks. Quick, easy, and the recipies work!

The yellow what??

I friend of mine did some clinical trials, had to give blood samples every hour, and after two days he was lacking sleep and they were having a lot of trouble finding a vein. Wasn't pleasant, but made him a few quid. I saw a programme about the people involved in the medical trial which f**ked up massively. One person had fingers and toes which were black, numb and essentially frost bitten. He tapped them on the bed frame and they were solid, like wood or metal. At least one also had his immune system wiped out. It wasn't a question of if an infection would kill him, but when. It's easy to say 'Oh, we've done hundreds before, it's safe, it's low doses....' but if you happen to get the one that fails you could pay a much bigger price than a few hundred quid.

Be careful, that doesn't always work. Some lenses - called parfocal lenses - will keep the focus through the zoom range, but others will lose focus.

search? If that was the criteria for making a sticky thread then almost every thread would be stickied.

You, well, can't. There's freedom of movement around the EU, but the only way you'll get a green card in the US is through work, marriage, or investment. Google it, there's loads out there on it.

Careful... With any problem like this, the important thing to do is to keep records of what happens and when. Take photos of damage, records of calls and the names of who you spoke to, and also keep tabs on the cost of the calls. If you've received bad service, then keep escalating, get names of managers and ask for their senior managers name. If you have a month's service, spend £50 on calls, and spend 6 hours on hold with 5 different handsets, then take it to Trading Standards, Ofcom, and possibly the media. The more evidence you have the better.

That doesn't hold true though. While attendences may have dropped, the BMX arenas were getting massive crowds while the trials shows had empty seats in the stands. Maybe more riders were into BMX I don't know, but trials had gone from too few seats to too many. That to me shows a decline in interest by the people attending the show. I don't know what kind of crowds the trials show gets at the Cycle show now, but I think they're probably about the same as the Bike Show at it's peak. Therefore I don't think trials has peaked or that it's getting better, more that it's getting back to where it was before.

Get a copy of contact and watch the speed trials from Bike 2000, and compare that with bike shows now...

There was trials on TV 5 years ago, I remember the Martins on Record Breakers and Blue Peter, not to mention Radical Highs which is the TV slot trials has ever had. Let's be honest,TVis hardly awash with trials now... Trials is hardly a new sport. It's been around since the early eighties, and in MBUK since 1994. Under Pressure. Trials was the feature event in four shows, and made a star of Dave Marshall I think TF skews this view somewhat. You are aware of more riders now because they're here. Plus some people quote how many members there are on here, but it doesn't really reflect how many members are now part or non-riders and just stay here for fun. I'd stick my neck out and say there are the same or fewer riders now than in 2000ish but a higher percentage are on here now.

Is trials dying? Wow, big question. And the answer is a totally ambiguous yes... and no. Compared to five years ago, it is much lower profile, there is not nearly as much media coverage and competition attendances are down. The Bike show stands arn't packed to the rafters, and riders arn't asked for autographs at competitions. We haven't had a Bike Battle event or similar since 2003. For those who said we have better bikes and higher standards of riding now, I'd certainly agree, but we have less riders. Maybe not the forum loving hardcore types, but less riders overall, some have grown out of trials while others have moved onto street or freeride just like in the US. Don't forget there have been rider-owned companies for years, going back to Cleanbikes, NSE, X-Street and Goatwheels. I think what has happened is that trials has suffered from a lack of people getting into the mainstream. Back in 1994 Martyn and Martin really made themselves marketable and got trials into the media through inventivness and creativity. People now either lack that drive, purposely don't court attention or don't know how to get publicity for themselves, and as a result trials has shrunk in the cycling conciousness. At the same time, trials - in the UK at least - has retreated into TF. People don't make sites like they used to, and there seems to be a real lack of anything getting into the magazines. We've got a firm foundation in TF, but at the same time we're inward looking. Companies announce things on here, riders show off to other riders and it's all done for free (or almost free, compare the TF ad rates to the same exposure in MBUK...) We're rarely promoting the sport to other cyclists anymore, and this is bad because it's from that pool that we get most of our riders, parts and competitions. I couldn't care less if Jo Public knows what trials is, but if we could have the same standing in cycling and mototrials has amongst bikers, we'd be in a damn sight better position! But at the same time, this consolidation has given us a very solid core to build on. There is a hardcore of manufacturers who focus on trials and won't jump ship when the next fad comes along, we have a strong group of riders and a sense of community. We also seem to have more trials demos going on in public than I can remember before, which is excellent. We need to be pushing the message across though, this isn't trick riding, this is trials. It's not about learning one or two tricks - like a tap, gap or sidehop - but linking them together and finding lines. Most of all, we need riders willing to go out and get coverage, to put the message across about what trials is, and show we're not just one trick ponies - pun intended. Without that, we'll always be a small group on the fringe, comparing CNC'd yokes and discussing what to smear on your rims to help braking.

Why would you want to do that? just because it doesn't mean anything to you, why ruin it for people who have waited for it?

To get a working visa, you need to be working in certain fields that have a skills deficit. For example, if you could get employed as a brain surgeon or IT person then you'd get a visa. If you try and get a working visa as a cowboy or lard arse, then you won't get too far. Basically the employer has to prove that you are a better candidate than one they could get in the US. There are some exemptions - talk to the embassy. If you want a green card or citizenship then it comes down to marrying a yank, having major business interests in America, or having a massive pile of cash in an American bank.

1 2/3rd stops? Everything I've heard has put it nearer 1 stop. That said, FF sensors also have lower noise, so a push on the ISO wouldn't be noticed.

Eh? Have I? Odd, as I own a 17-40 F4L...

Why is it a problem? I've thought about this for a while - and am investing in the F4 set - and these days it's so easy to bump the ISO up one stop to make up for the lens. Really not an issue to be honest. Cracking lenses, no pun intended.

how is the disk formatted? fat32? NTFS? Do you have recovery settings or any kind of roll back turned on? have you tried running the disk clean up wizard?