A friend (its always a friend isn’t it!) had to send his shock back to YT as the rebound circuit was completely knackered – think he got two rides out of it.

He had 3 months of back and forth conversations with YT saying that the shock part wasn’t in stock and they were waiting for parts.

In the end they sent him a gift voucher for their web-store as compensation (whilst still waiting for parts) – he responded by getting his credit card company to refund the money and went and bought a Commencal!

Hunt 4 Seasons disc, came on my Reilly Spectre, no problems with them at all in the last 12 months.

Can set-up tubeless tyres with minimal fuss and a standard track pump.

Currently running them with 35c Schwalbe G-One speeds and they feel as fast as running a 28/30c tyre on the road.

I had the original v1 Darkangel Frame.

Had two holes for the canti mounts so you could run 24”/26” wheels. I’m sure I saw someone running one with 24” rear, 26” front – the original mullet bike?

I bought mine from Leisure Lakes Bury – it had RSTs forks with the worst top out ever, a long cage road mech installed and no retention on the single chainring!

And it did have the weird scaffold bars!

@brant DeeDar Evo ETA?

I’ve just borrowed a Fabric Line Shallow off a mate for my Reilly Spectre.

Combined with Rapha bib shorts it’s the comfiest thing my arse has ever perched on!

You can get them in two widths as well.

Will be purchasing one myself ASAP.

Disc brake type lever as well

This is Ultegra 8050 by the way.

Yeah – the lower bit of the left downshift paddle does nothing.

I tried to convince myself that you’d never down shift to a smaller chainring when riding in the drops!

I’m staying with my brother at the moment, he lives in Newton Le Willows.

The local spoons is quite nice inside and not that busy.

Although I did overhear the waitress telling a couple they couldn’t have steak knives as people had been stealing them and using them in fights!

I bought a Giant Propel last year as my summer road bike (I know…) – it’s fassstttt.

Its also up for sale in the classifieds!

120k a year turnover for the last 3 years according to accounts

Retirement is the main reason stated.

I’ve used Suit Supply in the past – used to order a couple to the office and they would come in a big cardboard coffin!

Try on and send back what you don’t want. (Returns label included and UPS come and pick up from office/home)

Looks like their prices have had a hike though – cheapest suit is £299 now!

XD driver for the rear hub?

You’ll need one for an Eagle cassette (unless you go NX Eagle)

I’ve used Thule 591 carriers with BMW roof bars.

Had to buy new T-track adapters as the ones that came with the carrier weren’t the right size.

Part number 889-1 it think.

Saw the 650b one in the flesh at the bike shop today.

It’s lowwwwww

Tempted to part ex my Stage5!

Mines still not turned up this morning!

Will give it to the middle of the week – who do you contact with subscription queries?

@dirkpitt74 I’m off to work for Arup.

Its actually a controls engineer role so will sit alongside the mechanical/electrical teams.

I’m going the other way – started as an estimator 10 years ago and worked my way up the greasy pole into a sales position.

Will be starting at a well renowned Building Services consultancy in Jan 2019. Will be more of an engineering/design role.

Yes, the perks are there with sales – company car (maybe not so much of a perk these days) Very good salary, bonuses, managing own time etc.

But the stress and pressure is horrible! I’m responsible for the North and Midlands and as it’s a technical role I’m responsible for producing my own quotations. I’m targeted on everything, not just sales, from meetings held in a quarter to quotations produced. The metrics seem to have been created by idiots and are sometimes unachievable.

Constantly being chewed out by my d?!k of a sales director who has no technical capability at all and has a very limited idea about what we actually do is definitely no fun!

Cannot wait to bugger off into the sunset!

Yep, I had this a few months back

It stopped when I cleaned and lightly greased the B.B. threads and tightened up to torque.

Check your pedals are tightened up to the correct torque as well and add a dab of grease.

Just going through the last stages of separation myself, divorce was finalised a couple of months ago and house sale is currently going through.

No kids involved and not got solicitors involved – agreed on a 60/40 split in her favour on the house equity as she put more money in deposit wise.

She ran off with a work colleague 9 months ago and is now expecting his baby, so no chance of a last hurrah for me!

Managed to stay surprisingly amicable under the circumstances!

Onwards and upwards!

I’ve just contacted the shop where i bought mine. Same response as everyone else – stop riding!

Was supposed to be out riding all weekend so thought i’d see if i could pick up a pair of stand-in forks….

Then remembered i would need to buy a crown race for the new forks (Ohlins is integrated) and a new lower headset bearing!

Aggghhhhh

Yes, and that’s one of the reasons she’s no longer my wife anymore apparently….

The TTX on mine is pretty supple at the beginning of the stroke but still retains its shape well in the mid-stroke.

Can’t ever say ive bottomed it out either – i know its a cliche but it really does feel like you have more than 135mm of travel!

It took a few rides to sort out the LSC & rebound settings but once they are dialled in the shock feels great.

I very rarely mess with the 3-position HSC lever, generally leaving it fully open, even when sprinting there seems to be very little bob or wallowing (think this is more down to the single pivot design of the Stage though).

Take some time to make sure you get the right spring for your weight/riding style – it can make a huge difference to the way the shock feels!

I did see that article.

I was just going to go for the Specialized Swat ones as they seem to be the bench mark, but £80 vs £45 for the Nukeproof seems to be a no-brainer!

DT Swiss EX1501 wheelset (30mm internal) with Specialized GRID tyres (Hillybilly/Butcher in winter, Butcher/Slaughter in summer)

The new Gription compound is pretty sticky and in 2 years i’ve not had a puncture yet (touch wood) with the GRID carcass.

I run 21psi in the front and around 25psi in the rear (i weigh 81kg)

Easy to set up tubeless –  the Specialized tyres will inflate with a standard track pump.

The wheels are light, quick to engage and have just the right amount of “flex” to give you a comfortable ride.

I agree with the sentiment on GX Eagle, i switched from XT and much prefer the SRAM kit. Make sure you take your time setting it up though – especially the b-tension as this can cause shifting to be a little tempremental if not done properly.

I’m still running my Specialized Hillbilly/Butcher Gripton combo from winter!

Will probably switch the Butcher to the front and chuck a Slaughter on the rear at some point.

Can’t remember the last time i had a puncture with the Grid casing (generally run around 21psi front, 24psi rear – i weight about 81kg) and ride a mix of rocky/rooty/loamy stuff

There was 7 punctures on my last Thursday night ride – all tyres with lightweight sidewalls!

Mine is Ohlinsed up  – TTX coil shock on the back, RXF36 on the front.

It took a few attempts to hit the sweet spot with set-up but now its perfect!

Absolutely love it – best bike i’ve ridden!

Plus as its aluminum im not bothered about smashing it into rocky trails or binning it!

So, after taking some legal advice this morning the solicitor has confirmed that i would be best to offer a 60/40 split in her favour, due to her desposit contribution to ensure this doesn’t go to court.

So sell the house, take the fees and her parents contribution out of the proceeds then split the equity 60/40.

This leaves her with slightly more than she put in and me in a position to walk away and start again.

Interestingly enough the solictor said the court would take into account the fact that we have been together for 8 years and also that any savings/inheritence would be classed as joint as they were built up during the relationship. She also confirmed though that they would take into account anybonuses from myself and also the equity that i have in the company i work for. (due to mature in about 2 years).

The killer for my ex wife though is her final salary pension which would also be on the table. I’m not interested in pursuing that at all, but if it went full on legal it would have to be disclosed.

Apparently courts are very forward looking and would give a settlement that enabled me to start again.

I really hope she takes the 60/40 split and we avoid court. it seems fair for everyone and i can walk away with some self respect.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I take it the 6 years we spent together before we got married count for nothing in this situation?

It sounds like she is going to make a mess of her life anyway. Leave her to it and walk away with your self-respect.

You know what, you’re right – i’m 34 and have the rest of my life to live.

After fees and paying her parents back we are looking at splitting around 80K.

I may suggest a 60/40 split in her favour.

give us the numbers and we can all have a stab at calculating what we thinks is fair!

Probably not best on an open forum!

I would, just to make the whole thing go as painlessly as possible. Same for her folks’ cash too.

I agree with paying back her parents – the thing is (and im trying not to be angry/emotional) she needs to realise that she can’t just walk away without consequence.

That consequence is splitting remaining equity 50/50.

She has ripped my life apart for a guy that she doesn’t really know apart from in a work environment!

I need to start again (either renting or buy) on my own. She has someone else to jointly buy or rent with so is already at a significant advantage over me!

She doesnt want to keep the house, apparently too many memories…..

I would if i could afford to pay her out and get a mortage to cover but unfortunately thats not possible.

Its a nice house in a nice area.

I wish she had never made the commitment 14 months ago, this would have been a lot easier if we were renting still!

You have my thoughts, no doubt her mates and new bf will be giving her lots of advice too…

She’s pretty much isolated herself from most of her friends. Friends have told me thats she’s in a honeymoon period and it wont last but she’s given up a lot for it not to work out for her!

Is the general consensus that i should make sure she gets her deposit back?

If “gift” means it was really a loan from her parents, but the mortgage company was told it was a gift because otherwise they would have reduced the amount they were prepared to lend, then you would be a thief if you refused to give the parents that money back when the house is sold.

I should have mentioned that i will pay her parents back half of the money they contributed, with the other half coming from my wifes share.

Were mortgage interest and amortisation payments paid equally by the two of you, or from one persons’s salary?

Mortgage payments have been equal. We had a new boiler installed in December (after she cheated!) and also a complete re-roofing in December. She paid for this, as the agreement was that i reimbursed her for half once i recieved my quarterly bonus.

I do have a 30 minute consultation with a law firm tomorrow morning, so will see where i stand. It also depends what the house sells for.

Its tough – she mentioned a guy at work had told her he had feelings for her back in October. She was running with him a lot at lunchtimes and also socialising after work in a group with him. She told me she thought she might feel the same, but we agreed to make our marriage work.

I was completely oblivious to how deep she had got at the time as i’d just been diagnosed with Coeliac disease and was in a pretty poor state mentally. This had contributed to a breakdown in communication as i basically stopped wanting to socialise or do anything (including riding my bike!)

We carried on for the next few months – things did get better, but she was secretly sending him messages via WhatsApp and also over their internal skype thing at work. This culminated in them kissing at their Christmas Work do.

She left me and moved to her parents for some “space to think” at the start of February, i thought there was still a chance, However she was caught at his flat by the guys wife when she was supposed to be working from home.

She has completely shut off contact with me now, apart from emails. She decided it would be a good idea to go away with him a couple of weeks ago and made sure that i knew.

She has also told me that she loves him, which was pretty hard to hear.

I’m running the new Gripton Hillbilly on the front and a Gripton Butcher on the rear. Both in the 2.3 size.

30mm internal width rims and running about 21/22 psi in the front and 24psi in the rear. I weigh about 83kg kitted up

Grip is good in the slop and the Hillbilly is less sketchy on rocks/roots than say a Maxxis Shorty. I don’t really notice any extra rolling resistance either – although I was running 2.6 E13 tyres before!

I’m not sure if the new Grid carcass is a little less burley than the previous version – seemed to hit the rim a few times on the first ride out when riding rocky/rooty stuff, I did set my pressure using the squeeze method though!

I’ll probably swap the Butcher to the front for “summer” and put a Slaughter on the rear.

I had mine measured at Evans Cycles at the Trafford Centre, using the Specialized Body Geometry thingy that you sit on.

Seems to have done the trick for me!