It's not just the local authorities with the claim culture , I was doing some chassis work on one of the vehicles at work , couldn't be bothered to swap to a grinding disc and the grinder jammed bouncing off the tyre into my hand leaving my thumb hanging , when I got back from being stitched up I ha...

I grew up in the inner city so the only access to the outdoors was through school and scouts , but even though my parents couldn't understand me wanting to camp out when in their words I have a perfectly good bed at home they always made sure I sent on every school trip to Snowdon and the lakes , un...

Got to admit young master pipps is absolutely brilliant and my young fella loves reading his exploits , he knows he doesn't have the same dedication as Tom in cycling ,but he loves to get out it just takes us longer to get round a route as he likes to take in a few pub stops ( he is Irish )

We have just had a sprinkling of snow and I mean a sprinkling here in Wolverhampton , got the boy up for school only to get a message that the school is shut for bad weather ,what happened to being kicked out of the house to go to school no matter what the weather, only thinking about after reading ...

Cheers Stu, that will cheer him up now to tell him 2 nights out is better than 1

Probably a bit premature but my 13 yr old has asked to do a trip with me next year , is there any age restrictions on the wrt or will he be ok to ride with me ,

Boxing night is off for me mate ,just been informed we have the pleasure of the outlaws coming over from Dublin 24,25,26th the street will probably look like something out of peaky blinders Romany carts and all :shock: but on the plus side I finish work on the morning of the 2nd of Jan and not back ...

as long as the ferry isn't into the north wall that sounds grand , my wife is from sheriff street (just behind the north wall docks) and you would be lucky to come out of there with the grips off the bars its not called knackeragura for no reason.

Have a look at a KS eten been using one on my full suss for the last 2 yrs , the cartridge went in may , sent it back and had it repaired and delivered within a week , other than that it's been faultless ,think it was about 120 when I bought it

i stopped climbing after I had quite a bad accident ,didn't stop due to my wife telling me to but because in the back of my head I knew she would be anxious till i got home and that's really not what I needed in my own head when trying to lead a e1 route, she totally accepts my biking but as above t...

Well it arrived this morning , have to say I'm a little shocked it's quite good quality for the price but only time will tell , it's not quite as stiff at the base as the ortlieb but it means I can have mine back off jnr and he can use this for his PE kit for school , don't think it's gonna last lik...

shouldn't be a problem mrs m should give me a pass as long as I'm back for lunch on 27th as we have a date with bad manners on the evening (think shes trying to make me feel my age by taking me back to the 80s)

Have the up most respect for you guys and the air ambulance , I always thought I'd never need either but always dropped a few quid into the collections ,then one Sunday morning I took a bad lead fall at the roaches 40ft onto my head ( good job I'm built like a sumo) rope caught and spun me around sh...

It doesn't take much leverage to bend the mechanic hanger so the frame will be fine ,it didn't damage the frame when it bent so it shouldn't damage it when you straighten it

you should be able to straighten them with just the vice , I tend to find aluminium doesn't respond to well to heat unless your really quick with it , you could try remounting them and tweaking them with a pair of adjustables , worked fine on my old giant (its still on running fine after 6 months)

if you cycle down the thame valley canal , W alsall canal just after pelsall you can get on some single track into chase water across chaswater into Longford and across gentle shaw common this then links upto the back end of the chase and drops you onto 5 ways on the monkey trail, theres plenty of s...

Totally agree with you and hopefully people will move on to the better brands , I look at like my apprentice at work doesn't know if he wants to be a truck mechanic he prefers light vehicles, so he buys the cheaper option on the larger tools required until he makes up his mind , if he stays they wil...

Forgot to add I'm really hoping it's not as good as mine otherwise I'll be gutted having spent £80 more

Your probably right Stuart , I had a podsac backpack yrs ago that got dragged through a good few Scottish and winter climbs ,lasted as long as my alpkit gourdon , not expecting too great things from this but for a 12 yr old who may not take to having a loaded bike it's worth a punt , if he gets a fe...

Cheers for that , just ordered one for the young fellas bike so he can carry some of his own stuff when we start in the new year , will try it on my tow path commute when it arrives and let you know if it's stable or not

not a problem stu , not in any rush to get the kit sorted as long as I can start to get out end of jan /feb all will be well , getting severe claustrophobia since me and the boy had to stop climbing , being out for day rides are grand but I miss the nights out , I'm a big kid really and still like m...

cheers whitestone , already have alpkit tarps and hunka booked marked on the eldests computer as Christmas ideas ,you have to give these 20yr olds a hint you know had alook at the afterburner stove the other day on here think it may be the one

evening everyone , I'm new to bikepacking and just looking for some advice on kit , I have a bit of kit from when myself and the young fella used to have multiday climbing trips , got a vaude ul tent but looking at bivi bag and tarp set ups as might be able to store easier on the bike , need anew co...

If your planning on Cannock have a look around castle ring or gentleshaw common there's some nice secluded spots in both , your not to far far from any roads it is Cannock but most of the youths tend to stray around the trail center of a night and the other activities are miles away so there will be...