linnega

Sean, I have to agree with Porky on this one. The method that someone chooses to complain is entirely their business. He probably won't go back to the shop in any case, so making the effort to complain directly to McLean would not serve his interests, although it would obviously help in managing the shop better. I believe this is endemic in retail in this country, not limited to the cycling industry. What we need are more retailers welcoming any feedback. My recommendation would be to PM "steynja" and take some action to remedy the situation, even if that is only in the form of an apology.

One of the main reasons why I haven't considered replacing my ageing and temperamental Polar. The Garmin is a great toy but I like those 15000 points I can accumulate with my Polar.

Depending on what you want from your Tour company. Graham Baxter's Sporting Tours (www.sportingtours.co.uk) are well priced and reasonably well organised. I wouldn't go with Sports Tours International, as my experience with them was poor and from what I heard from others, I wasn't the only one. If you want reasonable accomodation, someone to arrange transport and lead ride groups, and to spend a lot of time riding then Baxter's crew are good. They do sometimes spend too much time driving as they try to use a single accomodations for a number of areas. For example we stayed in Toulouse for trips in and around the 2005 Tour's visit to the Pyrenees, when accomodation in Pau and Lourdes would have been closer, but more expensive. If you are looking at Tour time then you will find that a number of Tour groups all converge at the same meeting point so you can hook up with whomever you want depending on what riding you want to do on a particular day.

I had exactly the same feeling. Problem is I took Monday off so Tuesday felt like Monday, Wednesday like Tuesday... Do you think Steers would understand and make today Wednesday for me?

PPWTF - You don't sound awfully neutral when it comes to LA. Obviously you have bought into some of the American propaganda related to the French. Do you know anything about France or its people? The only reason the French are more involved in the LA case is that l'Equipe were the first newspaper to take doping in sport seriously and devote some journalistic time to it. The Germans, the Irish and others are as vociferous if not more so than the French press in their criticism of Armstrong. Perhaps his most outspoken critic is a Canadian. And he's not even a French speaking Canadian. As to why Armstrong to be subjected to more rigorous examination than most, should be obvious. He is the top icon for the sport and garners more attention even in retirement than most other current cyclists. There is also an overwhleming amount of suspicion and circumstantial evidence for which answers have not been provided. This on top of the fact that he is easy to dislike, makes him a prime target for the press and the public at large.

The story is that Fuji will be sponsoring RR next year. De Rosa are too cheap for Ball's big ego and only supply limited bikes. Fuji plan to be far more generous.

In theory, licensed riders riding with unlicensed riders is not allowed. But that rule is designed to prevent genuine Cat A racers from destroying the less talented, and not the pack fodder that makes up the majority of the licensed bunches in SA. Ironically the way licensed races are set up in SA creates the exact situation that the rule is designed to prevent. My suggestion would be simply to tell the organisers you don't have a license. You lost it or something. They will insist you ride in the seeded groups. Then choose your start group. If CC are doing the timing you will have no issues.

Not sure I'll buy Specialized tyres again:

Why not Shimano?

Sunlight dries to a sticky substance once the water has evaporated, so putting the grips on is easy and they stick tight once all the water has evaporated.

GoLefty is spot on. The refineries (manufacturers) sell to the retailers (franchise garages) at a cost price fixed by the state. Their margin is a fixed portion of the state set price. I imagine some retailers have had problems with the big swings ie they would have bought at the old higher cost price and then should sell at the lower sell price. They should however be absorbing this loss as they would have gained a few weeks ago when the price shift was the other way. If they plan their stock properly the impact of this should be small. Either way - selling above the state fixed price is illegal and you should retain the original slip and be reporting them.

I'm not sure that LA will be welcome at the Tour. Although I assume he has discussed the comeback with Prudhomme, and given all sorts of guarantees to enable an entry.

Bi-annual replacement strategy at Bell. Bell owns both the Giro and the Bell brand. The Sweep is a great helmet as helmets go. It meets the most important criteria - light and ventilated.

Mmm...tasty larnie.

A great post!!! Totally aggree with you - LA is clean.... some of the other ppl on this topic should stop smack talking and just wait for results or something. LA will not waste his time hiding drugs and doing sh*t like that' date=' he'd rather train..[/quote'] Ignorantia beata est

"I went for a run at lunch time..."

Should be excluding shipping. If not then you got ripped off. Send the slip back to Customs and claim your money back. BTW: Have bought from all mentioned without problems. Wiggle are a bit sticky about foreign addresses. Goods from the US only take a long time if they are sent by standard airmail, which is likely for small items from Jenson. However, same applies to any other origin - standard airmail gets no priority. linnega2008-09-07 03:33:13

I think they're hoping for a clean Vuelta this year.....