Possibly 500 quid or so on eBay would be my guess. I sold a similarly aged Scott Genius last year and that’s what I got for it, although it didn’t have a dropper.

I’d side with her I think. If you’re married then your income is split equally, especially if you have kids.

With my partner, we put x amount each into a joint account for bills and then everything else is our own money. But I’d be happy to split our cash equally of she wanted to.

Brilliant, thanks!

How does it work with bonuses or other one off payments? Say the annual salary is 43k and a 3k bonus, would there be any tax benefit then (except the 1 month when the bonus is paid)?

I’d have a look at ebay and Pinkbike to see what the values of the two bikes are. If the Smuggler will get you a lot more then I’d probably sell that. If it won’t get you as much as you’d hope, then I’d sell the Orange. No point selling it if you’ll make a huge loss on the price you paid for it new.

Not much point owning bikes you won’t ride so it makes sense to sell one.

As others have said, just make sure it’s the right style of bike for your riding. I’ve heard nothing but good things about YT though so I don’t think there’s a catch.

It’s a pretty nice route. I’d recommend doing the blue route first time round and then the red if they manage that.

No burnt out cars the last time I went round but can’t promise anything as it is in Manchester…

@superstu – there’s a lovely Onza Payoff in the classifieds at the moment….

(Not so stealthy ad).

They look really nice, the only reason I’m selling mine is the fact it’s slightly too big for me.

I’ll restore the balance.

Looks gorgeous! Garden needs a bit of a tidy though.

How you finding the sizing on it? I’m a pretty similar size to you and about to buy the same bike.

I’d suggest asking them what bike they recommend, write it down and then ask on here for opinions. When I was buying my first mtb around 5 years ago I was told that you have to spend at least 450 quid before you get a half decent mtb that you could take offroad, not sure if that’s still true now but I imagine it is.

What about a fork upgrade? Or does it have to be a new bike?

I’ve never had a problem with Shimano Deore brakes. Been using them on a few bikes over the last 3 years and never once had a problem. I can’t really imagine using any other type of brake for mountain biking.

My old Avid brakes were horrendous though, had no end of trouble with them.

Suspension can go wrong and costs money to maintain, but depending on what you ride it’s probably worth it. Still, I see the appeal of a rigid bike with big tyres.

You probably can’t go wrong with either. Which do you like the look of the most?

Regarding Canyons warranty, when I had a problem with my forks I dealt with someone in the UK and posted them to their UK office. Was pretty simple really, although I’ve heard good things about Bird too.

It’s a really good magazine. It’s expensive but there’s a lot more content in it compared to most magazines, and both the quality of writing and the magazine itself is good.

I hope Singletrack go in a similar direction too.

Definitely set up an Etsy shop. Both my Mum and girlfriend have one and they get they do well from it. Not On The High Street is fairly good too but I think you have to pay quite a lot to join that and their commission is huge.

Also, Facebook is very difficult to sell on now. They’ve made it difficult for businesses to have their posts seen unless they pay for advertising. They ‘curate’ your news feed a lot more than they used to do and tend to hide any selling posts.

I think the key is to pick your rides. I tend to only do local stuff during the winter that I know doesn’t get too bad, I leave the really boggy stuff i till spring. If I do travel further, I tend to stick to trail centres.

Also make sure your bike is suitable. Fit tyres that are good in the mud, put mud guards on and preferably ride a hardtail or a cheaper bike that you don’t mind getting wrecked quite as much.

I think the DJs on Absolute radio are shared between all the different channels, it’s just the music selection that differs.

Do people ride with normal width summer tyres in the winter? It seems a bit unfair to compare proper mud tyres with dry weather ones, especially with the plus tyres currently available.

When people start using the Maxxis DHR/FHR tyres (for example) in the mud then we’ll have a much better comparison as those tyres work pretty well at regular width in the British winter.

I wonder if the new Maxxis plus tyres will be any better in the mud i.e. ones designed for European weather rather than Californian. I’m thinking of going for a 29er DHR 2 to a 27.5+ DHR 2 so in theory I should get a good idea on how much difference the extra width makes.

Very good natural riding in the Moors. The scenery is spectacular but can be a bit sparse on the tops.

There’s a few guide books you can get for the area, as well as two trail centres (Dalby and Sutton Bank, although the latter is more like a way marked natural route). There’s a few more trail centres if you travel a bit further north too.

I don’t think there’s much mountain biking from Filey itself, but you’re only 45 mins away by car from Dalby Forest or the North York Moors in general if you want to ride from the door then road bike night be better.

Although I’d be very interested to know if there is any good mountain biking near Filey as I go there quite often!

Cardio machines in a gym are depressing and a waste of time generally. Do big movement weights (deadline, squats etc) along with the cardio you already do and you’ll be laughing, as long as your diet is good.

And you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time, it’s just easier of you focus on one.

I still think the biggest advantage that steel has is just how sexy it looks, especially on a hardtail with a big fork.

That Singular is gorgeous! I’m thinking of doing similar with my Onza Payoff, but probably with flat bars.

Production privee do sexy 29ers. Stanton Sherpa and Onza Payoffs are not quite as ‘aggro’ as they’re designed for 120-130mm travel I believe but both well thought of (I like my Payoff, although it has a 27.2 seatpost).

I find that people tend to give terrible advice because they don’t have a vested interest in the issue, properly know how the other feels (or the third party if it’s friendship/relationship issues) or aren’t particularly well qualified to do so. We all have our own prisms that we view the world through so what is right in your eyes is unlikely to be shared by someone else with different experience and views. For example, you’re relationship experience has no relevance to anyone else as different individuals are involved (I hope!).

It’s generally much better to simply listen if they just want to someone to talk to, unless you’re genuinely an expert in an area.

I have an Onza Payoff (29er in copper) and it’s pretty good. Only ‘fault’ with it is the 27.2 seatpost so droppers are a bit limited. They’ve been in the sale recently for 1300ish so pretty good value.

Planning on getting a new Stanton Slackline soon because it looks ridiculously sexy.

I think I’d be looking at a 26er, there should be a lot of decent bikes that are cheap due to the unfashionable wheel size, which I assume your friend wouldn’t be bothered by.

Joint top (can’t be bothered to figure out the exact mileage but will be similar): Onza Payoff and Canyon Spectral. Tended to use the Onza for commuting, evening rides and when it was wet, Canyon for everything else).

3rd: Forme Hooklow gravel/ CX bike (now sold, was replaced by the Onza).

4th: Scott Genius (now sold, replaced by the Canyon).

The most annoying demographic in the group are the ones who think they’re special or better than someone for owning an ‘exclusive’ bike. Makes me cringe a bit whenever I see a post like that.

Yeah, I always assumed it was people just being funny (or trying to be), although there did seem to be a few who genuinely seemed pleased at the sight of a broken Cotic frame…

Thanks, I’ve found the option to turn off ads now.

@allthegear – I am a premier member, i just didnt know of the option as the ads had never bothered me before. And I don’t think many people would see that as a good reason to become a premier member. ‘Pay us money so we don’t spam your phone with shitty adverts that make your phone look like it has a virus’ is hardly the greatest of sales pitches.

So is anything being done about the rogue pop up adverts on Android? I appreciate the explanation above about what’s going on but at the moment I refuse to use the site on my mobile due to the horrible pop ups.

Or is there a workaround? If i use a different browser will that stop it happening?

And good work on the new site, it’s far easier to view on mobiles than the old one.

I love his videos, most of them are like extremely good versions of what most of us ride each weekend with a few trials like bits thrown in, rather than just the stunts that others do. Obviously they are also great to watch, but don’t inspire me to ride as much as his does.

It was Holy Spokes in Leeds, they had what looked like a medium or large on display. They have a website but not sure if they deliver, might be worth ringing them if you’re interested.

Saw one of these in my LBS today and it looked really good, wouldn’t have guessed it was on the budget end.

Delivery times are what they say it will be on their website. The issue they had last year was annoying as it took a long time to arrive, but their estimate on when it would arrive was spot on. Apparently that issue is sorted now so should be much quicker.

I recently sent back a fox fork to them under warranty and they had it fixed and sent back to me within a few weeks, so can’t complain. Very simple process and they didn’t cause any fuss. Communication were good too.

I can’t recommend pilates highly enough, but I wouldn’t try and learn via videos on Youtube as it’s a lot more complex that it looks. It’s amazing how often I think I’m doing it right before the instructor comes over, tells me to adjust something, and then it suddenly gets a lot more difficult!

Even after only 10 sessions I have a lot more mobility in my hips and less discomfort when at the gym (especially squats). The core strength and posture will be good for cycling too, although I’ve not noticed the benefit of that yet.

I’m glad that the people on page 2 realised the main benefit of steel, the bikes just look so damn sexy.

I have a aluminium Canyon Spectral (also sexy, in a completely different way), but if I ever replaced it I think I’d have to go for a Cotic rocket/ flare.

Sure, I’ll try and remember to do it tonight or tomorrow. How do you want me to send them?

@dusterbenny I’ll be selling it in January if you can wait that long? I’m getting a new bike and turning the current one into a commuter so will be selling the dropper.