It’s a good article, though he does stress that it’s a very personal build, squarely aimed at NS riding, similar to PVD’s Spitfire.
If I had the cash, I’d plump more for the Waltworks, but also, at the other extreme, I’d like to try something like a 29er that was taller and shorter than the current norm. I’ve had it in my head for a while, similar to Pompino geometry, taller headtube, good clearance and upright position for coastal exploring.

I would love to see more footage of people really pushing modern rigid bikes. There are a few videos along the “rigid-bike-on-EWS-course” lines, but always comparing a modern enduro bike to a something like a 25 year old, base model GT.

From what I’ve been seeing, the most progressive off-the-peg rigid bike, at the moment, seems to be the Kona Unit, which looks very similar to Andrew Major’s V1 Waltworks.
It appears that the Bootzipper falls almost exactly between the Kona and my old geo Karate Monkey. I think there’s still a lot to be said for the older KM, but there are too many work-arounds needed for dropper use, plus TA’s would be nice.
Peter Verdone is definitely pushing the rigid envelope though. His more recent rigid bike has some very interesting innovation regarding the stem/bar position, though I’m not sure how this would filter through into the mainstream.
There certainly seems to be a lot of rigid and singlespeed noise bubbling around at the moment.

Great stuff! I’ve been looking a lot closer to home this last week or so, using Google maps and noticing strange shapes here and there…….this would be great to include in some short, weird-cycling routes!

I’ve been using Dr.Denti Tooth Fil (sic) after a tooth collapsed and it works ok if you have more of a cavity. Apparently, they do a filler that’s sticker which may work better in your case.

There are also the Velo Orange Casey’s Crazy bars, which are also MTB rated now?

I’m a shift engineer in a dried foods factory.
Staff-wise, we’re about 20pc down, but only a couple off in the dept. Nobody, afaik, diagnosed, but isolating with symptoms. The office staff are all wfh, everyone else is still on shifts.

That price range you may struggle. Vitus did the Vee29 with v-brakes and the Dee29 with discs at Chainreaction, maybe an old GT Peace 9r?

I’m not sure there’s much about that’s SS specific anymore? The usual Surly offerings, plus the Kona Unit, but I dont think that’s available as a frame over here?

Not OH but MIL today;
“Well I dont mind getting it, they cant expect us to just not have a social life”.
And FIL on why there was only pork available in Morrisons;
“Muslims dont eat pork, do they? It’s all the immigrants buying up the meat.”

I remember some old Charlie Brooker ones;
Face like a rucksack full of dented bells and, describing Anne Widdecombe;
Face like a haunted cave.

Fred and Ada have a doctors appointment. Fred waits outside while Ada goes in. After a while she comes out looking a little confused.
“What did he say?” enquires Fred.
“Well, he said I’ve got a tidy fanny…..”
Fred cant believe this lapse of professionalism and storms into the doctors room and starts shouting. After a while, it calms down and he returns outside, whereby he sits back down next to Ada;
“He said, you’ve got Acute Angina”.

I think Surlys newer Karate Monkeys come in a geared 650b build, though not as cheap as they used to be.

Just to add, theres a fantastic channel on YT called The Great War, they did week by week broadcasts on what was happening 100 years before from 2014 to 2018. Interestingly, they’ve carried on into 1919, which is a real eye opener,laying the ground for WW2 and the rise of the ism’s.

Paul Kaye
Bit more Hollywood, Clive Owen.

I’ve got an 11 plate i10 and was losing coolant quite dramatically and that wasa cracked thermostat housing. They are a bugger to get off though. Again, I would question how it was getting into the exhaust, other than through the cylinder head. Running on two cylinders as well? Youd feel and hear that.

What a smashing thread! I’ll be supplementing my night shifts with some of the stuff here.
My two pennorth are;
The first two Om albums, drum and bass grrrrooooove!
Anything by Goatsnake and I cant believe nobody’s mentioned Cathedral’s Forest of Equilibrium? More doom-y than their later nonsense, but an absolute classic.

Genuinely gutted about Clive James. Although I grew up watching the TV stuff, I only discovered him as a writer in the last few years and was astounded at the breadth and depth of his humour and learning.

@eddiebaby did you link to Turquoise Days there, as well as PiL? Only it’s something I’ve been listening to a lot recently and wondered if I’m only seeing that due to some YT algorithm.
I always thought PiL were WAY better than Pistols, though mostly in the 80s. When he was wheeled out a few years ago, it was obvious where all the talent had gone.

I’ve honestly no idea who Mark Francois is but I don’t actually want to search for him.

I always end up reading his ST column out of some idea of “balance” or “challenging my own ideas” or something. I’m sure it’s just a pantomime character or cypher.
Sat quite near him at a John Cooper Clark show in Canterbury a while ago- he’s quite a lumpen potato of a man too.

Wonder who’ll be the first to post a Bootzipper?

CRC do a Brand X CX one with 85mm I think, though it’s internally routed I think?

Bibi Bikes Bunker looks quite interesting.

4 arm 110? When was that about? I can echo some of the above, I had a set of Middleburns that cracked through the pedal threads, otherwise they were lovely. Conversely, the humble Shimano Deore 9sp triples have lasted nearly ten years for me now, only needing to replace the bearings once.
Spa do good XD2 copies for notalotamoney.

One other thing that occurred to me while setting the Stooges up, was grip length;
how long are yours and where are you mostly holding on? If you’ve got 800mm but have long grips that you always hold near the levers, then surely you need narrower.

As above, I think they’re the only UK source and that’s somewhat patchy. I had it on subs for a couple of years, but $60 is way more than I remember!

I’ve just swapped some Jones 710mm bars for some Stooge Moto’s. I’m not feeling the full width to be honest, but want to make absolutely sure before I get the saw out.
800mm just looks completely unnecessary!

I got one of the Sunrace 8sp 11-40 cassettes, and admittedly I’m only using the 15-34 cogs, respaced to 9sp on a Hope trials hub, they shift nicely and the quality is comparable to Shimano Deore or Tiagra.

If you don’t need a tapered steerer, then I do know Surly CrossCheck forks easily clear 2″ tyres, so I would assume Straggler forks would do the same with discs. Otherwise, custom? Shorten some On One rigid forks?

Centrifugal Bumble-Puppy!

No I totally see this. It put me off BMX in the early 00’s too, that got waaaaayyyy too serious at some point and I didn’t pick up MTB until about 2008, in the middle of the singlespeed boom, which seemed to be a return to what I remembered in my teens. Singletrack seemed to reflect that better than the glossy mags too. I do think the last few years have gotten more “serious” with the advent of Strava and the need to spend more time in the air than on the ground. The tech side of it seems to be getting out of reach of more and more people.
This is all highly subjective of course and only how I see things.

I’ve not got one myself, but I have seen them with larger rings on, certainly in the 40’s.
The BMX typ cranks, other than some Profile models, just have a bolt through the ring into the arm, so I’d imagine any BMX ring would be fine to use. Also, any clearance issues can be addressed by simply spacing the arms out (within reason; too much and it’s a new axle).

Glad it’s not just me then……my selection of delights has been some tight goth leggings, tatty looking g-strings, some horror mask, dog toys that I thought were buttplugs, and something that looked like a bottom torture device, but turned out to be hair tongs.

My daughter was the same, she was nervous, even with stabilisers, but we didn’t push it. Her old bike was getting too small, so we said we’d only get her a new bike if she learned to ride. An hour later it was all done and she got a Pinnacle Ash for her 7th birthday.
I honestly wouldn’t worry about it, but I would say don’t push it and don’t even hint at disappointment, otherwise all bets will be off.

I tried watching it a while ago when it came out on DVD; watched about half of it, did something else and I’ve never bothered going back to it. But I might soon.
I love the original(s), which I think is beautiful, like a series of paintings. The music, the set design, Syd Mead, Sean Young etc. just make a perfect mood piece. I put it up there with 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I’m really excited to see how Villeneuve’s Dune pans out, as that’s been begging to be made properly.

MERRILLLLL!

I had a similar experience. I left a job for an opportunity that was completely mis-sold, and I ended up quite depressed and miserable for about eight months. My old job actually got in contact to see if I’d be interested in returning and I snapped them up, which is where I’ve been since. It’s not a premium position by any means, but I do feel valued and appreciated.
As things are taking a bit of a downturn lately, I’m starting to consider moving again, but am worried about the gap in the CV; I’d just rather avoid awkward questions in interviews.

@weeksy Putting it delicately, how much does the “engine” weigh? In percentage terms, does 2 or 3kG saved on the bike make that much difference? I’d say put the money into the wheels, as long as everything else is durable and reliable enough.

I’ll do all the washing, you go have a beer.
Theres the BLB classic, though not sure the quality’s all-that.
Brother Cycles All-Day looks nice though.