following or following MB?

can’t help you, I’m joining the thread as I’m considering the original Following frame, takes everything from the nice hardtail I built up but don’t really get on with/never choose to ride except when the FS is broken…

Was not quite DFL, but came close. Any pointers on becoming not rubbish?

Still had a great weekend, love enduro, the also rans get pretty much the same experience as the good fellows.

Apart from the loos, horrific on Sunday morning when I could hold no longer.

Best rider course preview I’ve seen. The random yelps of Claudio are amusing but a thoughtful analysis of the track from Gee is much more interesting to me. Amazed he could talk coherently the entire way down, and barely be out of breath.

If you can afford to spend £189 on a rear bloody mech you can afford to replace it if you crash, and not worry about grabbing money off others involved

no way of knowing from the information provided what proportion of the chap’s disposable income £189 represents, and how that differs from the crasher, you, me, or anyone else.

Two bikes crashing into each other on the road is nothing like two cars crashing into each other on the road? Yes, that’s totally obvious…

road bikes in a group are acting as one – the motoring equivalent would be a car driver braking for a cafe turnoff, and chap in the back seat spills his coffee all over the seats causing £189 worth of damage.

2 suggestions, as well as agreeing with mike above, but we really need to know the ‘style’ of bike.

1 – no dropper post? modern long bikes even on the xc trail end of the spectrum need you to be low and central, basically where the seat is. dangling off the back because the saddle is in your chest could lead to the feeling you are describing. my trail/enduro bike I physically cannot get behind the saddle at full pedaling height, unless I’m wearing lycra. and then my arms are pretty much locked straight and useless for steering.

2 – fork set up – under pressured fork or too linear a spring rate, could lead to this scary pitching forward feeling that results when you attempt to do it ‘right’. will be worst on a longer travel hardtail as the whole bike will be diving forwards.

Whatever speed you go down there always seems to be a bus there, no big queue, get on and back to the top.

Antur is a lot smaller, there’s less variation in the run length. the bus drops of 16 people, whether you are pinning it on a DH bike or mincing the blue as its your first time, its only a minute or so difference and there will be a bus with 16 slots at the bottom. Have a mechanical and get overtaken by someone from the other bus, and you wont see your mates until lunch.

BPW has a natural halfway regroup point at the fire road, and the edge runs (at either side of the map) take about twice as long as going down the middle. Plus there’s 12 busloads of people all overlapping.

2 weekends ago, due to a variety of unfortunate circumstances, the busses seemed to come in 4s. if you got to the bottom and the queue was nearly to the end of the timber fence, it meant there was a bus about to arrive and you would get on. if there was hardly anyone there, you just missed it and would have a wait.

Dude needs a better PR manager. He must be the top guy at Mondy (obviously he is currently based on results) but there’s little press coverage about him. Last year Danny had loads, PB bike checks, interviews, lots of chat about him from Rob and Claudio.

Greenland looked great this weekend. Unless I’ve failed with the google, current standings have him in 2nd overall?

Memory like a sieve here but I don’t recall seeing him being on the live feed from the last 3 rounds – is this the protected rider rules screwing him out of TV time?

https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/FINAL-RESULTS-Val-di-Sole-World-Cup-Downhill,1173

Consistency rather than wins rewarded obviously, as Brosnan is 3rd only a few points behind him.

was it last year where we saw TDF riders switch bikes part way around the TT course from a TT bike to a lighter road bike before a steep hill?

If it was actual science and not a gimmick to sell bikes, the reasoning was that a TT bike is not the best bike to pedal, but the aero gain outweighs that disadvantage when your speeds are in the 30s. climbing at slower speeds and descending hills (and general handling) then the road bike is king.

but basically – tour of holland: start cutting out some fairings from milk bottles; alpine tour: head over to bikepakingweightweenieworld

and to reply to myself – I asked “outdated” rather than “do you like it”. Trial by jury predates forensics, CCTV etc.

A jury was essentially random people determining if a stranger was lying while being questioned. Start saying “90% DNA match” or “does this bloke in a suit look like this grainy photo of someone in a hoody”, and I suggest it is no longer the ideal solution to be reliant on the layman

My suggestion – 3 judges, who cannot communicate to each other in any way during the trial, must return a unanimous verdict.

What if if they don’t agree? Or are you only requiring unanimous guilty verdicts, and assuming one dissenting voice should enable acquittal?

perhaps treat a hung bench like a hung jury, require unanimous for some crimes, majority verdict for others.

 Why do you assume judges communicating would reduce the prospects of a fair outcome?

Unlike 12 strangers on a jury, I was thinking that the most senior judge would impart his views on the others, who would automatically agree in an attempt to further their careers.

 Perhaps one spotted something significant the others missed?  Why do you need a law degree and a minimum of 5 yrs experience to hear the evidence and decide the facts?

I would hope someone who spent their career in courts would have a better understanding of policing, judicial process, and the criminal psyche than someone doing 2 weeks every 10 years maximum.

I suspect/hope that what keyboard warriors type on forums and what they really do are not the same thing

I suggested a rather outlandish solution on that thread too –  I meant more the comments saying that a jury would be unwilling to convict someone if they thought they might see the gallows; along with those saying that a jury of the public would be fallible and therefore unsuited to an irreversible capital sentence.

If a political party wants to be tough on benefit fraud but lenient on corporate tax evasion (random example :-)) and appoints judges to enforce this; surely the sentencing rather than the verdict is where they will make more of a difference?

complete nutjobs (serial killers, mob hitmen) aside, generally murderers murder because they don’t like person X, and often as a crime of passion. If person X is dead, their desire to murder has gone. A death sentence for that would seem to be state sponsored revenge killing.

Thieves on the other hand, no exactly what they are doing, and the same thief commits many many crimes and generally still steals after conviction and release.

Hanging them in the town square on a Saturday morning takes full advantage of the only benefit of the death penalty – 0% reoffence rate.

And Friday I had a letter from the Hospital about booking my 12 month appointment with the shoulder consultant – guess which address that went too……… good job we still have our mail redirected.

they still use post as the primary form of communication? especially for communication after several years break. The mind boggles.

Bonneyville drop – I did an abort and circle round for another go last weekend. someone there claimed going hard left was rollable (basically a double step) but he didn’t demonstrate. You wont see it until you’re on it though.

One thought would be given how tense and emotional it is there telling the families who got picked first to come out could go very badly

armchair analysts – who would you pick to go first? the best swimmer/fittest/least scared with the best chance of survival; or the weakest/may not survive another day. And if it was you in there, would you want to go first or last?

about 50% of people now go to university. You can be below average intelligence and go. Get on an arts course at a bottom end university, get up at 3pm, write one essay a term, and wonder why you end up in a call centre with £40k debt.

With a full house of A* this in no way will apply to your daughter. A well regarded subject (for the analytical skills, as others have said) at a top university will be a gateway to any number of careers. From what you have said, it seems she is genuinely interested in history too, so a great way to spend 3 years.

A little tip for Durham, assuming the system hasn’t changed in 10 years. Oxbridge require applications by October (everyone else in January). Universities have no way of knowing your other 4 choices; but if they get an October application, its a sign you’re bright enough and hard working enough for O and C. I had a AAA offer from Durham within about 2 days (no interview required) by this method.

Payday loans need to be forced to require a security, maybe against your actual pay. i.e. you don’t have enough right now to pay that emergency thing, but you will when you get paid at the end of the month. So the loan should be secured against the pay to ensure you can pay it back and will pay it back.

this is basically a credit card from a highstreet bank. An option not available to the people we are talking about.

However, what is the alternative? Doorstep leg breaking loanshark? Starve? Debtors Jail? The poorest have always struggled, but now they advertise on the football, and have an app, so those of us lucky enough to not be in that world now know about it.

Goal this year was 500 000 feet descent. So far 150 000 completed, 2 weeks lift assisted in France coming up though…

I guess if someone cuts in front of you and then drops anchor there’s not a lot you can do.

You can prevent this from happening by leaving less than a car length gap between you and the car in front.

Also will there be a new 650b model?

As the Nomad has gone full park rat, and the bronson has had to step up to #fullenduro race spec. Does this mean the 5010 becomes what the bronson was, and do we need a new trail bike?

Similar to the new Blur after the Tallboy went (and I cant beleive i’m typing this) Downcountry

good advice from dead kenny, i think except the tag – from memory, the no queue drive through toll lane is limited to 1.8m height. so no good for van or roof mounted bikes.

lots of casuals, but if you own a race 29er and the kit to ride it then definitely do as you are in a team. 12hr solo then definitely think about comfort.

While not blessed with a lot of height, it is near constant singletrack apart from the start of the lap for between 35 and 55 minutes depending on the course, weather and your fitness.

I’ve done it 3 times, don’t think I’ve ever actually taken a drink from my water bottle on the course as even the occasional 100m fireroad need to be done hard or they’ll be another team kit 29er lapping you.

12hr 3 or 4 male team they’ll be plenty in your category, so you can nerd out on the live timing screen, try to work out who is who from the team names, and try and claw back time on them over the course of many laps.

Prize giving, beer and spot prizes afterwards, but it is hardly a massive pissup for most.

distribution and stuff should be absorbed really as it’s just part of the process

This is about on par with the guy who claims that as a fully tooled up and staffed bike shop already exists whether he goes there or not; he shouldn’t pay more than £7.50 an hour for labour.

We get one per year, at the end of the year and they are, on the whole,  mostly generic.

“insert name here” is working well and contributes well in class…..etc.

We have compared them with other parents and they are quite often, word for word, identical.

They clearly have three templates to work from. “Child Prodigy”, “Normal Kid” and “Danger to themselves and others”

My brother (4 years after me), both of us lazy high achievers, often got identical reports from different teachers. It’s a series of drop down choices to make a paragraph. All in all, an utterly useless exercise.

raptor 10 for me.

Much better than my old bouncy dakine that sat so high it brushed my helmet, and my armoured endurotastic bag which is noticeably bulkier and more restrictive, only gets used for big mountains.

I’d like to try a USWE though, as the theory does make sense

Done. Hopefully I gave a well reasoned argument in the text boxes in favour of interesting walking, cycling and running; but as i then later revealed that I was a non disabled, white British male under 40, they will probably throw out my response.

Stayed at the Premier Inn, last time I went, they’re used to mucky bikes

Give it a hose first if its filthy. showroom quality not expected but it seems like they are ignoring the standard Premier Inn rules to meet their weekend clientele, so don’t push our collective luck.

Pub adjacent gives a good dinner but I wouldn’t bother with the brekkie (which you must prebook). BPW provides cheaper and better – which is saying something.

I’m getting back into riding after not doing much for the last couple years.

really averse to Orange bikes I’m afraid (something about IT managers and trail centres…)

You’ve missed a few years. The IT TC crew are on Santa Cruz and Yeti now. They wouldn’t be seen dead on an aluminium bike these days.

Oranges are now the domain of the gruff northerner who rides a lot and in mud. Big mud clearance, and change the bearings with a hammer for £15. The last few years they’ve thinned out the metal to get the weight down and there seems to be more cracks now. As £2k barely gets you the frame and shock, you wouldn’t have a new one anyway.

Now i shall recommend what I have – original Bird Aeris. High spec 2nd hand maybe £1500?

150mm ish front / 140mm ish rear travel, long and slack enough to be stable on rough stuff but still vaguely nimble, pedals well and can be sprinted/thrown about, and can handle being thrown down some rough stuff and off jumps and drops.

Describes it perfectly. Your list of locations also matches mine fairly well. I have also completed the south downs way in a day (just) though I cant claim to have ridden up all the hills.

Plus it is one of the few second hand bikes that comes with a warranty.

Hadn’t considered this angle – that it isn’t people’s ‘best bike’.

Alien concept to me, but I mince my ‘enduro’ bike down UK and French Downhill. I’d want my nice bike for my holiday/special trips.

Not new. Got overtaken by a local on one of these in Les Arcs (on Woodstock) 3 summers ago. *hangs head in shame*

Also saw some tourists have (presumably their first) go on them: they are, as you would expect, utterly shite unless you are very good.

I think the Shimano -> SRAM move for brakes is the highlight….

As someone who hates Sram brakes, I’ve noticed their meteoric rise on OEM builds the last few years. How much this affects the results would be pure conjecture though.

Highlight for me is the number of tubes! Just why?

Paging Andreas….

This is about as good as you will get for empirical rankings on ‘fun’ bikes.

Although should they repeat the survey late Sunday afternoon, to take out all of the bikes and components that failed over the course of the weekend?

@swanny

I too have a mark 1 that I’m re-building up.

What slackset did you use to get 2 degrees? I was thinking I could only go 1 degree in the 44mm headtube with a tapered steerer?

Exactly – you need to take the sponsored bikes out of the equation. Otherwise what would you draw from the fact that Cotic and Bird team riders that do very well on the UK domestic scene but never seem to even enter an EWS race? The HB160 did well at Peatys downhill, but was nowhere to be seen in Losinj.

Can someone with a lot of free time dig out the fastest unsponsored (or non bike sponsored) riders from each international race in every discipline?

So the Nukeproof has won 2 out of 3, The Yeti has won the most recent round (and didn’t Rude make a bit of a mess of Chile?) and sit in 4th and 5th. The Commencal has won all 3 women’s and doesn’t break the top 5. (I know the female points are reduced to reflect the reduced number of competitors). Does this mean giving a bike and a plane ticket to a load of top 30 contenders is a better way to get to the top than shelling out big money for a top name?

On the topic of fun: in the big but pedallable bike world*, I’m going to say fun is bike parks, jumps in the woods, alpine holiday, big mountain day

Based on the bikes I’ve seen while doing these, I would put the following brands at the most popular:

Nukeproof

Commencal

Canyon

YT

Orange (more in UK than Europe)

The big names – Trek, Spesh etc seem to go more with the racing/speed lot. But may be a bit chicken/egg.

*obviously if your idea of fun is a multiday bike pack, long distance xc, or winning a DH race, this doesn’t apply.

18. 1.3L mini sprite. Bought for £1350, sold for £1400 4 years later. Got 3 responses with the ad on the first day, should have asked for more. MOT checker indicates it is still going.

Unless the newer ones have changed the rear end, allow at least £100 for the service of fitting mudguards to a genesis disc roadie/crosser

Exponential growth/rising exponentially when it isn’t. Just say growing or rising FFS.

In the bike world, slang for components. e.g. stoppers and anchors for brakes; lid, brain dome for helmet. Necessary if you are writing a magazine review of a set of brakes, to avoid using the word brakes in every sentence. Not necessary in any other context.