Lucy

Bwarp
Originally uploaded by olly rob.

Will have 2 finger v brake levers as aposed to those 10 finger plastic slabs. Is also missing front brake, chain, rear cog and the front fork, but the new one should be the same but with a longer steerer tube (and no disk mount sadly)
Could do with single sided SPD and new cranks, but will come to that when its had a bit of use and all works i thinks.
getting there though!
getting 2 cogs with the SS kit, so may put them side by side for a manual adjust if it comes to using a tensioner. but if its a "magic chainstay length" then wont bother.
x!

Lucy

Basically just with a fork and wheels on to check its ok rigid!, it wont even be that fork on the final build as the damn thing is 10mm to short. Also, they are the wheels off the xtc, again there to see if it would work ok, the wheels going on it will be running 1" conti gators.
Give it a month of super stingey ebaying, and if all goes to plan we should have a rigid, v-braked, singlespeed?, 26"x 26", commuter bike! currently priced at about 20 quid plus wheels (but that's another story) as I've got quite a few bits already. Huzzah for woolly hat shop!
Also thinking single sided spds, as i need new cleats anyway, and could choose shoes and hoping i can get some square taper HT1 cranks on fleabay for a couple of quid.
Notae Benne: old 110 giant stem pointing down! shock horror
Its name is Lucy by the way, I'll leave you to work out why.

726

using the technical wizadry of photoshop... and a hammer on the touchpad if the image is anything to go by, i have recreated, to scale, for the purposes of geometry, the joyus unity of Giant boulder, 700cc front end, and cough Cyclocross cough cough bars and seatpost
praps mine will end up as a SS? Better for a pub bike, not so good for a commuter bike praps?
one ring up front for sure, praps a handful of gears out back (a hand with seven or eight fingers?)
All reliant on captain fleabay of course
Incidentally, I've decided its called a 726 - Seven Hundred (700cc) and Twenty Six (26")
cause 29" isn't 700cc, i believe
x

69erish Pub Bitch Bike

Having left my xtc locked up in town for all of an hour, i'm terrified its gonna get stripped. (tealeafing little buggers with allen keys). Having looked at insurance, which would end up being a mere 100 queens notes a year PLUS having a 4 tonne D lock, i think it would be cheaper to get a pub/bitch/commuter bike.
Ive got a boulder frame (SS at the mo, never ridden) which would do the job, road wheels, one brake jobby. however all my forks are shot to poo or leaking, a rigid would me much more usable. only a bog standard rigid fork would make the geometry all wrong. HMMMMMM!
trek 69er runs a 26" back end, and a 29" front end. The back end provides good acceleration and the 29 front end gives a smoother quicker ride.
How about, a cheap ass road fork on a road wheel up front, to correct the geometry?

700cc = 28" MTB size give or take
frame is adjusted to 2-3" travel.
a 700cc wheel would give a rise (over a 26" rigid fork) including wheel extra, of ABOUT 3 inches

...to fleabay...
I say, a 700cc alloy tourer fork for £1 plus £5 postage
a 700cc wheel, tyre and tube for £6
That is considerably less than 150 quid for a years insurance, true im gonna need a new BB and rear wheel, but im sure auntie fleabay can help out there.
if i win the fork (which ends first) i think I'll "green light" the project as an OK idea.

piccy "borrowed" off the treck website, the new 69er, awesome (though i dont understand the need for tripple crown myself)

Location of note

Having been finding random locations on the interweb, and looking them up to see what they are and what the mean to people, heres one of my own

52°43'57.52"N 1°41'39.55"W


google earth is obviously your best bet but if you DO have a GPS and a week to burn wandering the country/ browsing the map library, have fun!

Trail Hunter

With a little help from google earth, in establishing wider areas of woodland, I am embarking on quite a mission, to establish myself a local route, as entirely offroad as possible, covering as wide an area as possible
starting with a bash through the closest woods. The blue line denotes the course of thebrook (I think) and i will be adding this, and the wider area to the route as and when! wish me luck, ill keep information updated of course. :-)

Highway code ammendment

The highway code has had some 40 rules ammended for the upcomming new version
but most importantly, the wording makes it clear beyond question that cyclists are vulnerable and should ride within their capability, and personal limits, putting drivers firmly Secondary to the safety of the rider

"Rule 61: Cycle Facilities. Use cycle routes,
advanced stop lines, cycle boxes and toucan crossings unless at the
time it is unsafe to do so. Use of these facilities is not compulsory
and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your
journey safer.

Rule 63: Cycle Lanes. These are marked by a white
line (which may be broken) along the carriageway. When using a cycle
lane, keep within the lane when practicable. When leaving a cycle lane
check before pulling out that it is safe to do so and signal your
intention clearly to other road users. Use of these facilities is not
compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can
make your journey safer."

CTC

SITS07

Sleepless was as always eexxcellent
we were a VERY casual team, with a rather embarassing position:

Main Linky & AberMTB results

however it wasnt helped by a drop out 5th rider, and if the rest of us had actually bothered to go riding at all over the preceeding 2 months we may have been a bit quicker on the climbs too
maybe next year eh (though we say that every year)

a good weekend had by all, and 3 more riders introduced to the joys of SITS