Clips won’t help in that scenario, but they might in others. E.g. temporarily losing balance which causes the bar to wobble a bit.

Putting clips on doesn’t stop someone from making the other safety checks (am I lifting with good form, is there enough space around me etc). For the sake of 10 seconds, I don’t see a reason not to put them on.

I was thinking about this the other day. I do a lot of stretching before and after a gym session, but never for cycling or running. A bit daft really.

Ok, I’ll rephrase. If you’re doing more power based movements (big compound movements, relatively few reps, heavy weights etc.), then clips are important. If something goes wrong then it could be dangerous.

If you’re doing lower weight, higher rep, very controlled movements, then it’s far less likely to go wrong. Still, I don’t see why the 10 seconds to put clips on is such a big deal though, and getting rid of the elitist/macho image around putting clips on is much easier than getting every single person to do a sensible risk assessment every single time they lift anything.

The gym I go to enforce the rules around putting weights back and using collars on barbell. It makes a massive difference as everyone just automatically does it now.

If you’re training properly then there’s always the danger you may struggle with the last rep or two, so not having collars on when other people are around is potentially dangerous (with the possibly exception of a deadlift). There’s so little effort required to put them on that there really is no excuse not to use them.

I’m selling some Thule bars that fit a Seat Ibiza ST if you’re interested.

Might be worth trying to demo one and seeing what you think. Has the new Flare been released yet?

Not really talking you out of it, but if you’re happy to ride a 29er or 650b plus,  the flare max currently has £300 off in the blue colour.

Your plan sounds fairly sensible to me, assuming you’re happy to go down to one bike. I’m not sure the sale of those two bikes will be enough to fully fund the new bike though.

Have you tried restarting your phone? That usually fixes most issues.

I think the Sherpa is 853 as well. It probably won’t ride much differently to the others, but it will be a bit lighter.

If you can’t demo one, then I’d just pick the one with the geometry that suits your style of riding, or the one you like the look of most. You probaboy cant go wring with any of them.

That’s sort of the point, isn’t it? His style is riding the sort of stuff most people do, but with far more grace and style (and with a bit of trials thrown in).

It’s not as spectacular as some videos, but I’m a big fan of it.

I’d just pick the one you like the look of most.

The only other western game I can think of on the 360 was Call of Jaurez (or something like that).

I asked my partner who does this kind of stuff for a living and she prefers the first one, but would suggest using a solid colour for the font rather than the outline. Also, the Norway part may be slightly too prominent compared to the rest.

Why don’t you put a rigid fork and slick tyres on the Orange? Would be a pretty cool commuter, and can always convert it back to a mtb if required.

I’d have a look at Canyon, they’ll have some suitable bike with a decent spec that’s good value for money.

I’d try a mixture of driving and cycling the quietest route you can. Life is too short to cycle on busy roads.

I don’t think the weight penalty is that big if you compare a like for like bike. Carbon is generally lighter, but often aluminium FS bikes aren’t.

I’m not convinced that it’s a super material, if it was then surely all of the big manufucters would be making their race bikes out of it. But it does look cool, and as others have mentioned, it’s easier for small manucfucturers to work with in small quantities.

Surely it would be quite easy for someone to do a test to prove what impact different frame material has on a bike. I’m surprised no one has done it, or if they have, I’m surprised no one is linking to it. I’m a big fan of a lot of the steel frame builders, but I’m not sure they’re in the best position to give a balanced view.

Houses with cats in don’t really smell, unless they’re a weirdo who makes it use a litter tray rather than shitting in the garden.

The smelliness of dogs vary massively depending on the breed too. Some can be unbearable, but others are barely noticeable.

How would a deregulated e bike doing 25mph be any different to a Strava Hero hitting a walker or horse rider on a descent? I see lots of people posting GoPro videos and they don’t even slow down a bit when passing people, which must be pretty terrifying.

It also amazes me that some people think that mountain biking is just about fitness. Of course it can be if you want it to be, but there’s plenty of styles of biking that don’t require much. And I imagine the majority people usually endure the climbs to get to the downhills.

Mountain biking isn’t my main way of keeping fit,  so if I want to do a long or hilly ride then I have to take it easier in other forms of exercise through the week (gym/ running etc). The fitness is a by product for me, not the main reason to bike.

I don’t have an e-bike yet but I will probably end up with one.

Definitely wouldn’t spend 5k just on a bike. Could get a pretty decent bike for 2.5-3k and spend the rest on a holiday.

It’s not as impressive as the London one (few are), but it’s still really good.

Deadlifts (and other big compound lifts) can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, especially someone with back pain. I wouldn’t recommend someone just starting out on their own to do them without some guidance. This doesn’t have to be a PT (because very little training is required to be a PT), but someone who knows how to do them and can spot if it’s going wrong.

For what he’s wanting (core strength), I think sticking to body weight movements to begin with would be a great starting point. Easy to learn the technique but effective. Squats, plank, push ups and pull ups are a good base set of exercises.

As someone else said, Pilates is great too.

You can’t tell a complete beginner to do deadlifts without  some tuition, but otherwise good advice.

Top tip is to do as many classes as possible, the instructors will be able to give you advice on technique and you’ll get a good idea of what exercises to do.

Anyone compete in the Yorkshire Cyclocross senior men’s race at Middleton Bike Hub today?

If so, I took some photos so let me know if you want any of them sending over. I’ll have a look through the ones I took so would need your race number (and preferably bike/ jersey colour).

Realistically the difference in cranks won’t make any difference to the value of the bike.

You could always try listing it on eBay as a bit it now or best offer and see if anyone bites. I reckon you might get 50% of what you paid, but sometimes you can get more than expected. I recently sold a Canyon and was surprised by how well it had held its value.

I had to buy bearings for a 2016 Spectral earliest this year and it was really easy. Quite a few of the bearing websites had them available as a pack so didn’t even have to buy them individually.

Leeds Urban bike park is near the motorway as you come into Leeds. All way marked, but not massively long.

Stainburn is on the northern edge off Leeds and is brilliant, but again, it’s only a couple of miles of way marked trails, the rest are off piste and harder to find.

Is the new trail good then? Has it officially opened now?

Where does it start? Same place as the jump trail?

The sole is much stiffer than my previous Five Tens too. Not sure if I prefer it or not, but I really struggled on my first few rides as I couldn’t feel the pedals.

They still take years to get too.

That’s a great looking bike!

Onza payoffs can be picked up pretty cheap now. The only downside is the 27.2mm seat post makes fitting a dropper difficult.

It’s interesting that someone mentioned the Dan Stanton article about long reach hardtails. The new 16.5 switchback 29er (their latest hardtail frame) has a reach that is something like 35mm longer than the 650b Switchback frame.

I imagine both bikes are built for similar types of riding, so why the massive jump? Was his previous article just justifying the bikes they already have, or is the new bike to keep up with the industry trends?

Or maybe it’s just to give the riders more of a choice. I’d be interested to hear what influenced their design of it.

She knows roughly what my bikes cost, but not how much I spend on servicing, parts and clothing. But only because she doesn’t care, having a relationship where you hide money or spending isn’t a healthy one.

I might be selling mine Go Pro session 5 if you’re interested. I find it too distracting when riding so worried I’ll fall off.

Depends who you ask regarding performance, but I think a lot of the appeal is the aesthetic and the fact it’s a small, local company.

Yeah, the 2500 includes a fancy shock. Still expensive, but similar to other UK made steel full sussers.

The comfiest I’ve used are the fox enduro ones, although they can get a bit warm. I found the trail skin 2s to get a bit awkward and found them uncomfortable.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the 30lb limit, it’s a pretty arbitrary weight cut off and you may exclude some decent bikes due to it. It’s the kind of thinking that leads companies to put cheap, awful light weight tyres on their bikes so they have an artificially low weight.

Anyway, with regards suggestions, how about a Canyon Spectral? I also like the look of the Marin B17, but that might not quite match your criteria.

Does anyone know long is the demo route is?