Marin 5.9 First Ride

At last - everything is assembled and the bike ready for its first run. J and I took a 16 mile route through the woods and fields of Hertfordshire. First impressions: phenomenal! The DT Swiss forks are amazing - soaking up all the harsh vibration that the Fox F120s let through. The Launch Control (drops the nose 35mm when climbing) works brilliantly and really helps make climbing more comfortable. The rest of the bike feels super tight and sharp with very little mechanical drag. I'm absolutely chuffed with the final results...

Marin 5.9 Carbon frame with Fox RP23.
DT Swiss EXC 130 with Launch control, ABS and 15mm thru-axle.
Marin Maxel 12mm rear axle conversion using Quake dropouts.
Hope ceramic BB, headset, seatpost.
Crank Brothers Eggbeaters 3 red/silver.
Avid Juicy Carbon brakes.
Shimano XT gearset.
Mavic XM-317 rims on Hope Pro2 hubs and Panaracer Trailraker PR tyres.
FSA seat-post and stem with Eastern EA70 Monkeybars and WTB saddle.

DT SWISS EXC 130 15mm

At last - my new forks have made it from Germany. These are astonishing - carbon legs, hollow rear-arch, launch control, and light as a feather. The Launch Control means I can drop the nose by 30mm by simply hitting a big red button. Once at the top of a climb I just bounce the forks and they 'blow off' coming back to a full 130mm. More pics here...

Thomsons Benefit Games

I never miss a chance to create a new mini-me. This time it comes directly from work. Thomsons Online Benefits has launched its 'Benefit Games' site - and with a few clicks I created this :)

I now get to return each day (with my mascot) to participate in the games. It's open to all - give it a go!

Marin Transplant

The build is complete (for now). Took it for its first test ride last night and all went well. The rear feels stiffer and the bike as a whole a bit more 'chuckable'. Now the wait starts for the new forks. More pics here...

Marin Frame Arrives

My Marin 5.9 2009 frame arrived this morning. The anodised aluminium is almost matt black, and the carbon rear arm is amazing. I took my current Marin for one last ride before surgery starts later today!

Room Swap

We've undergone a room swap. My study is now the spare bedroom, and the old spare bedroom is now a large double study for K and I. We now have computers facing back to back, a large bookcase and - best of all - all my guitars along one wall :)

DT Swiss EXC 130 15mm

I found what must be the last set of EXC 130 15mm in Europe! A German store had one set left - and at discount price too! They are now also en-route. The Launch Control will make climbing easier - and the carbon fibre build will match the rear arm :) The big bike build-off event should start next weekend (customs allowing).

MV2009 Pro!

This frame is winging its way to me from Palm Springs (USA) as we speak. It's taken me nearly 2 years to track one down - and in the end a chance search on ebay found it. Not only that but I managed to get it for a third of its value! Question now is what hardware to pair with it - am thinking DT Swiss EXM 150?!

Loud shirt day at work...

We usually dress down on a Friday - but with this Fri being a holiday it was announced we would do it today instead. One caveat - you must wear a loud shirt with a prize for the best/worst dressed. I think I am in contention :)

Walkera V120D02s

Time for an upgrade - out goes the V120D02 and in comes the V120D02s - the 's' is important here - it means more power, simplified design and more robust internals. It also comes with the new Devo 8s transmitter with colour touch-screen! Should be here in a week - then the V120D02 goes to eBay :)

Sky+ HD 1TB

Finally had enough of our original issue Thompsons Sky+HD box. So have ordered the newer 1TB version, which will also support Anytime+. Shipping is 28 days though :(

Romania - the new office!

I headed back to Romania for a couple of days this week. Main objective was to look at the new office and plan some of the detail around its set-up. Also had to entertain some of the new recruits. Was a great trip, but shattered on return to the UK!

Zoom G3

I managed to condense my old Zoom G2.1u and my Looper into one pedal. This one is actually pretty good and allows you to emulate 3 separate stomp boxes (or modellers) at any time. Also features a looper and tuner to boot.

The Band!

A work competition - I was not responsible for the costumes of the others!

Heli-Snowing

Blade 450X

Blade have released details of their new 450 heli. This one is a bit special - comes with a beast-x built in to the receiver. I've been hanging off on a 450 size, but this is more than likely going to be the one I end up with. Link in title...

ooOooo - there's a 300X version coming out too!!

Aqualisa HiQu Bath - problems!

Been having some ongoing problems with the digital bath system we installed late last year. Despite 3 engineer visits, and every component being swapped it was still struggling to reach a hot output. About half the time it works fine and you have a hot bath. The other half - it never reaches temperature (red ring never turns white).

So, I decided to try and investigate. I found that by lowering the cold water pressure (turning bathroom taps to full cold) I could coax it to achieve heat. It seems that the system cannot dial down the cold input enough - so that even with full heat output from the combi, it mixes too much cold (we have a 42KW combi so we should have no problems).

So - a cunning fix. I simply turned the in-line tap half off on the cold side. This artificially limits the cold pressure allowing the hot/cold ratio to be hotter. Seems to be working fine now - even with the combi on economy mode (had to be full heat before).

Samsung 900X1B Wifi Problems

I have been having some problems with my new Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook (NP900X1B-A03UK), whenever on battery the wifi performance was terrible when used with a Netgear WNDR3800. After much investigation I finally tracked down a solution. Go into control panel, select the power profile and click advanced - now turn the wifi to max performance when on battery. Has been great ever since...

Xmas Tree

Our Xmas tree is here - sourced from a local farm and 'just' fitting in the house. Cats are a bit too interested....

Another day... another robot!

Earlier today my second robot was delivered. Whilst the trusty Roomba has been hoovering our floors for the past few years, the new Navibot has a few modern tricks up its sleeve that will probably see Roomba banished to upstairs. For starters it intelligently maps the room with a camera, so it cleans more effectively (not just random patterns). It is also quieter, less 'bumpy' to things around it and can cope with a bigger space as it will return to base, charge and then resume where it left off.

TOBvember

It's the last day of Movember - and as such may I present the office Mo-Team. TOBvember (as it is called) has raised nealry £3,000 so far. If you want to donate then hurry along to http://mobro.co/rakh1

Kitchen stools

Bar stools turned up for the kitchen this morning - very easy to assemble - and look pretty good. Luckily the white is the same temp as the kitchen too - phew!

Kitchen - almost there...

Fridge delivered on Sat, table and chairs in from garage. K's bit 'EAT' sticker on wall (Swedish style apparently). This is pretty much the finished item. Tiny bits and pieces left.

Fridge - and free ROBOT!

Ordered our new fridge - Samsung RSG5UUMH - am looking forward to auto-crushed ice for cocktails :) However, it gets better... the site I bought it from has a promotion whereby I get a free Samsung SR8855 robot vacuum cleaner. WIN!

Kitchen approaching the end...

Was sent this last night to show progress (K is at home, I am away on business). Seems we are approaching the end with final touches such as the cooker hood now in place. New bar stools come next week which should finish it all off nicely.