I live in NZ and fly back and forth with a bike fairly regularly. I would recommend flying Emirates. Not just because they’re bike friendly but their A380 has the nicest economy on offer for that route and flying via Dubai is the least hassle IMO. They also fly from lots of airports in the UK and also to Christchurch and Auckland at this end. Bikes count as part of your standard baggage allowance, which is usually 30kg (though this varies with your ticket, so double check at time of booking). If you are tight on weight then pack your bike (well) in a cardboard bike box – much lighter than an EVOC or similar and just as much protection. If you want to bring lots of stuff on the plane then look at business class deals as they can make sense in that situation. Do clean the bikes very well. If you need to connect to a regional flight once you’re here then the max weight of any bag is 23kg. They’re strict on this. Oh, and, if at all possible, don’t fly out of Manchester! Security there are almost guaranteed to make you unpack the bikes and will probably steal some of your stuff. Really. They’re awful.

Lastly, on the insurance front, you will be covered for medical treatment by NZ’s ACC system for any accident you might have here. Other medical and possessions etc obviously not covered. I used to use Insure and Go’s annual policy, though they do stipulate that you can’t be in one country for more than 4 months, I think. Thankfully I didn’t ever have to test how strict they were on that. Realistically, I think you will struggle to find any travel insurance that will cover you fully for 2 years and not be extortionate.

If you want any other advice feel free to get in touch. I’m happy to point you in the direction of the best trails once you’re here!

I have a TCR and it’s an absolute joy to ride. Not an aero bike though.

When I bought mine the ex-pro owner of the shop said he and the team he coached loved the TCR as well, but had mostly swapped to the Propel because the ride quality was pretty much as good but you got the aero gainz too. On that basis, I’d recommend the Propel.

I also agree with the above comments recommending you buy new. Giant bikes are such good value anyway and you get the peace of mind of a warranty and no worries with worn drivetrains or crash damage you can’t see…

Out of those two I’d pick Shimano.

As mentioned, tension on CB pedals can be a bit finicky. Clipping in and out can be quite vague as well. The worst part though is their longevity, or lack of. Expect to rebuild CB pedals at least every 6 months. Oh, and the cleats wear out surprisingly quickly, but not before they’ve welded themselves to the bottom of your shoes. The supplied cleat bolts were made of cheese so almost certain to round off.

If you’re open to other options then I really like the Nukeproof Horizon. Similar action to Shimano (same cleats) but much more supportive platform. Only downside is they release more easily when wet for some reason.

Magura rotors will be fine.

I don’t think Shimano post mount adapters fit but I haven’t actually tried. The calipers are pretty bulky. I was already using Hope adapters which work fine (Hope calipers are also too big for Shimano adapters).

The brakes come with spare bits for hose shortening and a bleed block. They also come with 2 sets of pads per brake. I guess you could factor in the “free” pads to offset the adapter cost if you need to justify the extra expense of new adapters. In much the same way as I’m trying to justify building another bike because I have a spare set of forks and brakes lying around…

If it’s any use to anyone, I have one of these still in the box it came in:

1.0 Degree EC44 – ZS56 – To Suit Tapered Steerer Tube Forks – Headtube Length:Set 4 120-129mm

Happy to sell it to anyone who wants it for the price I paid.

You need to decide which of these you want, you can only choose one.

I disagree here. I think this part of NW’s plan makes a lot of sense.

The problem Trek have with their design is that they need to make each frame size fit a range of human sizes. They also need to bolt their pivot onto the seat tube. They work around this by making their seat-tubes excessively slack so that the effective top tube length is reasonable at average-ish seat height but the seat tube can still accommodate the pivot.

NW doesn’t have to worry about this so much because he only needs his seat-tube to accommodate his preferred seat position. He can put the pivot in the right place then angle the seat-tube to exactly where he wants it.

The Slash is indeed a beast of a bike. I’m very surprised by the “twitchy” comment above as I’d say it’s one of the most stable bikes I’ve ridden. It doesn’t like going slow though. Definitely a bike that rewards commitment.

I think from Trek’s stable I’d probably choose a Fuel EX for the Tweed Valley. Admittedly I haven’t ridden the current model, only the one just gone. That said, my Slash does just fine in Vegan Valley, so you probably can’t go too far wrong.

You should do it just for your “Remadey” pun.

On a more serious note, this will surely end up costing more, and being more difficult to pull off, than buying a whole new frame? Then you get a proper warranty as well as less hassle… Also, your plan seems more wasteful as I’m sure someone would happily continue to use your Remedy, whereas an orphan front triangle ain’t much good to anyone.

Wouldn’t the resulting bike essentially be a modern Fuel EX? (a great bike, btw)

I’ve had about 6 months on mine and I’m a big fan.

In the past I’ve used Zee/Saint/XT, Hope V4, TRP Quadiem (“Gwin brakes”), Guides… All good but have niggles which left me hankering after something else. The Dominions are significantly better than all of those.

Good points:
Lever shape – Subjective, but they’re a nice balance between chunky and delicate. Think Shimano crossed with Hope.

Lever pull – They have the lightest, smoothest lever pull of any brake I’ve used. I’ve been surprised how much this has reduced arm fatigue.

Feel – Again, subjective but I’d say they’re the best I’ve used. They come into their own in slick conditions when you’re constantly on the edge of breaking traction. I’ve ridden out of braking induced slides which I’m sure would’ve had me on my arse with most other brakes because the feedback and control is superb. Nothing else I’ve used comes close.

Power – Up there with Saints though I’d say slightly below. Power delivery is a league above Saint though. I can’t comment on Codes as I’ve not used them. More powerful than Hope and TRP for sure.

Aftermarket support – Spot on but see below…

Bad points:
Pad choice – As others have mentioned it’s pretty much Hayes or nothing. This isn’t a big problem as the Hayes sintered pads are excellent, but for me it means I have to remember to keep spares and take them wherever I go. The Hayes pads are also pretty expensive. Not terrible but certainly not cheap.

Fluid – DOT. Not a big problem but, given the choice, I’d rather work with mineral oil.

Durability – One of my levers failed at the bleed port. I was screwing the grub screw back in after the first bleed and the threads on the lever just split open before it got even finger tight. There must have been a void in the cast or something. Hayes sent me out a new lever no questions asked, so no complaints from me. No subsequent issues.

TL:DR – Best brakes I’ve owned. Buy them.

MSP’s assessment is pretty spot-on for me. Joshua had a job to do and executed his plan almost perfectly. It was never going to be as exciting as the first fight because Joshua couldn’t allow that to happen. He needed to control the fight and he did.

I think Joshua would struggle against Wilder or Fury. Given the rumours of AJ’s sparring knockout and being rocked so hard in the first Ruiz fight I’d say he wants to avoid Wilder at all costs. Best case scenario for him is that Fury beats Wilder and then AJ can possibly get a result against Fury. It would certainly be a worthwhile payday regardless of result.

I wouldn’t worry about new tyres as long as they’re clean. I’m in and out quite a bit with the bike and they’ve never batted an eyelid at used tyres. Other than that the advice above is spot on.

One other thing to note is that Air NZ won’t take any bag over 23kg on their internal flights (unless you’ve checked through to a final destination from overseas). My enduro bike+EVOC bag is well over that so I have to take the bike in 2 bags, which is a real PitA.

I’d vote for repairing your existing iPod. Or even replacing it with a functional one of the same from ebay.

I was in the same situation a couple of years ago and decided to just repair and upgrade my iPod classic. I bought a new battery and an internal adaptor which plugs in where the hard drive was and allows you to use micro usb’s for storage. You can run as much as 128gb in the 5th gen and it’s cheap to do. Has worked perfectly ever since.

I think I used a kit from these guys

As well as having a less-customisable interface, the sound quality from the new music app is awful. This only became apparent when I connected up to external speakers. I thought the jack plug wasn’t in properly it was that bad. Confirmed by playing the same tracks through VLC which was a vast improvement.

I haven’t found a positive yet.

Oh, and my version of Office will no longer work. I knew I’d have to upgrade soon but it’s another expense/annoyance..

I did. Will be reverting to previous backup when I’m home, where my external hard drive is (that was stupid).

I’ve had my laptop (2018 Air) crash once already. That’s once more than in the rest of the time I’ve owned it. Basic things like screensavers don’t work properly. Ditching iTunes is also an issue for me. The new music app seems to be impossible to customise so that you can browse music by artist, song, album on one screen. You can also no longer listen to podcasts on the music app. The podcast app crashed when I tried to use it. It also seems to show that I have previously listened to some podcasts that I definitely haven’t, which is annoying.

Basically, almost every program I’ve tried to use has issues.

I quite like the tread pattern and decent grip, but found the casings too flimsy. They squirmed too much for my liking on a standard mtb, so I imagine with the extra weight of an e-bike they might not be great.

I agree with Northwind on the Hillbilly. Great tyre for the wet and decent in the dry. Slow roller, mind.

Your contact point will remain the same.

Unless jayx2a has a 90 degree head angle I don’t think this is correct. The change suggested will increase reach slightly. Probably not enough to make much difference but it will change.

I just took a look at the Epic website. Looks like he has updated the kit so you should be alright. This line in the description peeved me a bit though: “Essential master cylinder bleed fitting & tubing included”. He definitely didn’t consider that stuff essential when I emailed him to point out the original kit wasn’t any use!

Ah, maybe Epic has sourced the right kit now. It was a year ago I got mine. Despite advertising a Quadiem bleed kit he sent me a generic kit with adaptors which didn’t fit. No help whatsoever when I contacted him (didn’t even offer a refund despite the kit being useless to me) so I’d check before you order.

The Shimano cup doesn’t fit either. I tried that too!

TRP were very helpful. Sent me all the kit I needed FOC.

Mine came bled and connected in the box. If the levers are disconnected then I presume you still need to fill the master cylinder with oil? I think it would be difficult to do that and connect up bubble-free without bleeding the system.

On the subject of bleeding.. The bleed ports are a non-standard size. Epic don’t have the correct size attachments for the ports in their bleed kits (I learned that the hard way).

You can bleed them using the nipple on the caliper without attaching anything to the master cylinder bleed port but it’s messy and wasteful because you’re just squirting oil out of the lever. Alternatively you can do a Hope style bleed by removing the MC top cap but after doing that I found the rubber seal tricky to get back in the right place, which resulted in a bit of oil weeping from around the top cap during use. I ended up contacting TRP
USA direct to get some appropriately sized bleed port attachments.

I’m sure this isn’t what you want to hear with a shiny new set of brakes begging to be ridden but hopefully it’s useful, at least.

I’ve heard the same thing from a lot of Slash owners. Every time I hear one of these tales I’m grateful I bought the previous year’s model with the standard Super Deluxe.

If you’ve had crappy customer service (it sounds like you have) then it might be worth dropping Specialized an email. They are pretty strict with their expectations of how dealers should perform and it seems like your LBS might need a reminder.

Internal cable routing

This gets my vote. No practical advantage, only aesthetic. Makes working on your bike much harder. Usually results in a rattle or two which can be a nightmare to eliminate. Hides cable rub until it causes frame failure or rubs a hole clean through the frame.

Honourable mention for press-fit BB’s.

As far as mech-shifter combo then I agree with whitestone on XT. Personally, I think the high end SRAM mechs perform a bit better. Their clutch system seems to be a notch above Shimano’s, but then high end SRAM mechs need to be much better because they’re so much more expensive. On the other hand, SRAM’s lower end mechs are hateful, low quality, rattly things. When you can pick up a Shimano XT mech for the price of SRAM NX then it’s a no-brainer for me.

For the shifters then I think it’s more a personal preference thing. I prefer the longer levers and lighter action of Shimano. Contrary to what’s been said above, you definitely can mix and match all SRAM and Shimano 11speed stuff, so pick the brand you prefer the feel of.

I can’t really advise on cassettes because I’ve only really used Shimano. I have a couple of mates swear SRAM Cassettes last far longer but I don’t know.

I thought it was exceptional. One of very few films I immediately wanted to watch again. Also a huge fan of the original.

I have no doubt that working in airport security must be a tiresome and frustrating job but, as big scot says, there are hundreds of airports the world over who manage to do it well.

Schiphol has some of the tightest security I’ve seen – full body scans for everyone and a very high proportion of bags getting pulled. My bag got pulled recently for a metal pen which hadn’t been a problem anywhere else. The difference is the guy explained his actions, was polite, apologetic and wished me a pleasant journey.

Manchester seem to think security means treating everyone like a convicted violent criminal. Actually, I think even convicted criminals should be treated with more respect than the staff in Manchester offer.

+1 for the Bell Spark. It’s a great helmet. I bought one mostly as a spare but it has become my main helmet and has me questioning why other similarly specced lids are three or four times the price.

I’ll happily pay a premium or add an hour or two to a journey just to avoid security at Manchester Airport. Petty and rude staff who seem to make up the rules as they go along just to make your day as miserable as possible. Or, as above, perhaps to steal from people.

Last time I was there they made me unpack and repack all my toiletries because the ziplock bag I’d been issued at the airport at the start of my journey and taken through 5 other airports apparently didn’t meet their standards. I asked them why they have different rules to every other airport in the world and the explanation was “Because this is Manchester”.

+1 for IXS Flow. Comfy, enough protection for my needs and stay in place well. I’ve been hankering after the Evo ones which zip on and off but I can’t justify it when my current 3 year-old set still look and function like new.

Came here to say Wera but beaten to it several times! Lovely tools.

Thanks for the input everyone. I’m 36 and definitely a long way from the shape I was in when running marathons. That said, I’m still pretty active and want to stay that way. It looks like very short and relatively frequent runs could be the way to go. I’ll touch base with a physio too.

Shermer, are there any good resources you could suggest for more info? From memory I think you’re a physio, yes? Apologies if not!

I thought about doing this but ultimately decided against it and I’m glad I did.

On the plus side, the army will help out hugely with the cost of studying. When I was at uni that meant paying rent for a very nice place to live, plus a salary. They may pay uni fees as well, I’m not sure on that. There are also opportunities to go away for paid “training”, which includes ski trips and the like. For the people I knew who did it the time commitment while at uni seemed minimal and the things they had to participate in mostly fun, outdoorsy stuff. It certainly didn’t interfere with their studies.

The downsides, as I see them, have mostly been covered. Army life isn’t for everyone – she should think about that point very carefully. As mentioned, she’ll have to complete officer training.

Once she’s qualified and through Sandhurst she’ll go to an NHS hospital like any other junior doctor for the first couple of years. After that her choices are quite limited compared to a “normal” doctor. She would only be able to choose from a few specialties (mostly GP, Emergency medicine, anaesthetics/ICU, some surgery), however the army may push her towards one specialty or another. The locations for training are also more limited. Then, the biggest downside, is that the army will essentially own her for, I think, a minimum of 7 years. She could buy her way out earlier but most don’t have the means to do that.

It’s a big decision. Best of luck!

I owned a SB5.5 for a bit. I’m generally pretty hard on equipment but also I’m fairly meticulous about maintenance.

The bike was pretty faultless for me. It was thrashed in all conditions, including the Rotorua round of the EWS where Jared Graves threw his toys out of the pram because conditions were so horrendous. No problems at all. I sold it after less than a year though because it just didn’t suit my riding style (replaced with a Trek Slash).

As others have said, with so many excellent bikes out there, why take a gamble on a brand with questionable reliability and customer service? For me, slightly ironically, reliability was great but I just didn’t find the bike that good. I wouldn’t have another. If I was in the market right now I’d be looking at the new Hightower.

There’s always the “Shigura” option for using that MT7 caliper. Shimano levers work with Magura calipers.

I have also had a recent bad customer service experience with Merlin. I won’t use them again.

I did a full day demo on one a couple of years ago. Lovely bikes. I had a Giant Reign at the time and, yes, the drop in travel was noticeable. Ultimately, I went for the Slash instead.

For 70% of the riding I do the Fuel EX would be the “better” bike. It’s light, climbs very well and feels really agile. Still very capable on steep, techy trails. For me, as a heavy rider who loves steep/rough/fast, the Slash was the way to go but I’d love to have a Fuel EX as well.

Downsides – The seat angle is way too slack, particularly for a tall guy like me (the Slash is the same). The Knock-block system is a bit rubbish (mine broke within a few months). The RE:activ shocks have reputation for terrible reliability – I was lucky and got a bike with a standard shock.

My guess would be an Avalanche or similar. It’s aluminium, so not a Xizang. It looks to me like the cap on the back end of the top tube is curved, not flat, which means it isn’t a Zaskar either.

I’ve worked in the Nelson/Marlborough region of NZ and can confirm that Probenecid is part of the normal antibiotic guidelines there. I understand doctors from other parts of the world may not have heard of this treatment regime, it was new to me when I moved there.

MM should’ve done his homework about what he allowed into his body, but people implying cheating because they aren’t familiar with this use for Probenecid should, IMO, be ashamed.

As others have mentioned, the doctors covering these events do so out of love of the sport. They don’t get paid and donate their time, expertise and even their own equipment willingly so that these events can happen safely. There are several races in NZ which wouldn’t be viable if they had to pay the going rate for medical cover. I’ve no doubt the guys in this instance feel terrible about what has happened. It was a really unfortunate oversight, nothing more.

I’ve been using a Bontrager SE5 2.6 recently, which replaced a Butcher. Better in every way. Grippier, tougher sidewall, rolls faster. Good for everything up to full-on mud.

Graves’ explanation of the circumstances of their positive results:

jaredgraves (11 hours ago)
Ok,I’ll try and clear a few things up, NO BS, just facts, hope it can help.

The supplemnet in question in this case is BPM labs “the one” which if you want to look it up. Now states Higenamine in the ingredients list, but in older versions, and in the tub in this case was listed as Nandina Domestica (fruit extract) and the oxilofrine component is still labelled as Synephrine HCL. Things get tricky when you type these ingredients into the WADA search and not a single result comes up, which tells you everything is OK. So we had to dive a bit deeper into finding out how these things got in our systems, and when we did, we found of that many ingredients have many different variations, and names, which is what has caught us out.
We also found out since learning the hard way, just how prevalent these ingredients are in off the shelf pre workout drinks, which is a bit scary when you first hand find out the consequences, and how unregulated products with these ingredients are. Even a teenager could walk in to a supplement store and buy this, no questions asked. I’ve also since learned that 1 in 5 off the shelf pre workout drinks (in Australia at least) have something banned in them.

Everything i’ve mentioned above had to be proven beyond doubt to the AFLD (french anti doping) theres no corruption, or loopholes, or lawyers spin put on it. Just facts and real consequences.

So i’ll put my hand up all day long and say im guilty of negligence. MY mindset was that I’v never sought anything performance enhancing, and Ive never had an issues with the Dozens and Dozens of in and out of competition doping tests ive had, so all will be good. I git a bit too relaxed with the whole process, I never thought there was any chance I could ever be in this situation, yet here we are. A moment of Negligence yes, premeditated cheaters, hell NO!!!!

Maybe ask yourself, would you ever think you need to do extensive study and research, on every ingredient of every thing you ever put in your body?

Combine that with what I said above, and hopefully you get a clearer picture of how this very unfortunate situation has come to be.

Possibly the main reason i’m writing this is the amount of uneducated and downright false comments here. Some of you really should be a bit more careful with your wild assumptions and accusations. There are real people on the other side of this. Its obvious that many just want to be hateful and drag people down, and that’s pretty sad. When road cycling and in Particular Lance Armstrongs name gets thrown in the ring, WOW, are you serious??? Consider the things iv’e mentioned, and maybe think again.

People all seem to think theres some kind of Magic pill out there, that will take them from weekend warrior to world class level podium guy. Nobody stops to think that maybe the 25+ hours a week spent training, in the gym, on the bike, not going out with your friends, 5am starts, the constant crahses, injuries and sacrifices, has a bit more to do with it. The work that goes in is simply incomprehendable to most, and it’s what makes the difference. Everyone who trains and competes at that level understands that, Which I would say is the main reason no other pros have spoken up about this.

Mistakes were made, and we’re both paying the biggest price for that. It’s added more stress to my life, on an already extremely stressful time. So maybe take the time to consider both sides of the equation before spreading some uneducated hate, and misinformation.