It was my mum who taught me how to mend a puncture back in rural South Africa in the early 80’s (while my dad was disinterestedly off doing his own thing]. This was because she got tired of mending all the kids’ punctures in the cul de sac. She’s 75 now, and still rides everyday.  For every stereotype, there’s a wonderful exception.

My Salsa Fargo has done several thousand miles since riding the Divide in 2015, and yesterday’s ride in the snow and ice above Calderdale was an absolute hoot on it. Flared barred 29ers make for the most versatile desert island bikes IMHO.

Aye, we’ve all done it! It’s nice to hear someone bigging up good service.  Tagging them on Instagram or Twitter will bring it to theirs and others’ attention, which companies always appreciate. Too often, folks use social media to complain, but not to publicise the good things that happen. Nice one!

Think we’ve a couple of unused IKEA ones going back for a refund. Still packaged. If you’re anywhere near Hebden Bridge, you could buy them instead if it suits?

They do really. They put a lot of energy into social media, brand awareness and YouTube videos of team riders, but appear to have scant regard or resources for those who’ve then invested their hard-earned cash into a YT product.

Four weeks? Yeowzers. I’ll bear that in mind if I end up going via the bank for a refund. Ta.

Cheers guys. The Dirt Love is damn well-specced for the money, and I couldn’t build the same for similar. Perhaps I’ll just have to give up on the idea of it being a Crimbo present to myself, and settle for it arriving sometime in the spring, if I’m lucky. (The next batch are due in late January, so there’s always that to hope for!) In the meantime, I’ll just keep on trying to get through on the phone.

Planking 2-3 times a week post-ride works a treat for me. 30 sec front, 30 sec each side, 30 sec front. I run 10-15km mostly off-road weekly too, which I’m sure helps too. Lower back ache is the pits.

ta11pau1, yup, already made sure that isn’t the issue, as per my posts above.

I’m fast drawing the conclusion there’s a good reason Sram released the 2021 air spring upgrade to much fanfare earlier this year.

Cheers Jordan. I’d seen that too, when the upgrades came out a few months ago. I still can’t help but read it as ‘here’s a shiny new product for you to buy to make your already expensive fork work properly’.

I’ve always had Fox forks up until this point, and never had an issue with them sitting into their travel under their own weight. Which is why it’s galling being told that a 160mm Rockshox fork showing the same exposed stanchion length as the 140mm Fox 34 alongside it, still has 160mm of travel. A fork that sags almost 20% under its own weight is hardly going to regain that travel under rebound with me sat on top of it riding along. And then there’s the steepened head angle before you’ve even climbed on and weighted the whole lot even further.

This argument just doesn’t make sense to me.

Cheers for the input guys. Some interesting comments. I’ve had the fork apart and made sure I eyeballed the tube for any scratches that may be causing air leakage. I’ve only greased the pistons as much as recommended, to avoid gamming up the transfer port. I’ve also set it up meticulously as per the Sram video, to ensure the negative air pressure is properly set. Then, once the fork was assembled and sat too low, I’ve done the compressing and suddenly pulling up trick to clear any blockage from the transfer port, all to no avail.

All in all, I’m not convinced Sram have got this issue nailed, and I’m sorry now to be sitting with a £42 airshaft ‘upgrade’ that makes my bike ride like a dog. The retailer I bought it from has told me it’s a feature not a fault, and so I guess I’ll just sling it on eBay, and go back to the old 170mm air shaft and have done with it. Hey ho.

Ta bigyan. I did just that. When I said softjaws, I meant a Park Tool aluminium shaft clamp what goes in a vice. May try lining it with some inner tube for extra grip. Failing that, I’ll get on the blower to TF Tuned. They’re usually dead helpful.

Wow. That’s helpful 🙄 something else to try figure out tonight. Grrr.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50034705467_5dbb817a60_m.jpg

The first edition (if you like) Solo was specced up to 140mm (150mm max) if you read the frame specs:

https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-US/bike/5010/1

(My 2013 Solo has had a 140mm fork for years.)

In the midst of ‘downgrading’ from a Nomad to a Bronson, I’m a little confused by the new 5010 ‘pocket rocket’ USP. Not quite sure how it flows with the intended/historical markets of their longer travel 27.5 bikes. It’s almost as though we’re being told that longer travel is now a bit yesterday. It’d be interesting what the reviews on its handling on steeper, technical stuff have to say.

Hey Chuck, I’m servicing my mate’s Rhythm 34s this weekend, and have found this video pretty useful:

New crush washers and correctly tightened lower leg bolts should see you right. Good luck in your quest.

Calmed the chimp on the ride in to work, and have just ordered one of these. Nowt like the right tool etc indeed. These are 3D printed in the UK, are well reviewed, and it should be here in a few days.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264010696311

Ta for the sage advice guys :0)

Out of stock for the foreseeable future. There are others on Fleabay. Perhaps I’ll just have to silence my petulant inner chimp, order one and wait a week to be able to do it properly!

Some good stuff on here. And you thought there’d be a simple answer, Beaker. Welcome to the wonderful world of sports injury anatomy and physiology! I’ve biked for years, obvs, and started trail running in the last two. My retired physio mum’s 1960’s copy of Grey’s Anatomy has never been down off the shelf as much as it is now. Knowledge is power. Hope the next few days are as bearable as can be hoped for. Let us know how you get on.

Hey Beaker, yes I have. As a paramedic who lifts and carries for a living, and who goes to a lot of 999 emergency calls for just this sort of non-traumatic, rapid-onset pain, I’m all too familiar with it. The last one I went to was a lad who’d simply bent down to pick a strawberry up off the floor. It sounds like a textbook sacro-iliac joint muscle spasm, and the worst thing you can do is remain immobile, letting the muscle go cold and tighten up even more. (Which is why the hot water bottle eases the pain.) The good news is that it’s not life-, or even back-threatening, but it will have you by the short and curlies for the next few days. It’ll be way worse when you first wake up, because the muscle will have got stiff while you’ve been asleep, but will ease as you (carefully) get up and move around during the day. Breathing through the pain as you you ease yourself sideways up off your bed really helps. Trust me. Walking is the best way to ease it. Lower backs don’t like to be hyper extended, which is what happens if you lie on your front. The muscles around the joint will likely have become strained, and then kicked off into spasm when you got up and got on with your day. I also use the cardboard box analogy to explain it to my patients. Think of your core as the four sides of a cardboard box. Your abs and your lower back muscles form two opposite sides of the box. If one side, your abs, gets soggy and loses its strength, it puts a strain on the other sides, particularly the opposite, lower back side. That strain isn’t what your back muscles are used to. They get tired and grumpy having to support more than their fair share of your body weight, and therefore can go into spasm in protest. Women who’ve just had a Caesarian often have back pain, because they’ve just had their abdominal muscles cut, which can put extra strain on their lower back. So, long term, strengthening your core muscles is the best way to prevent future lower back pain, as is lifting correctly, and not lying on your front for long periods of time. Hope all this makes sense!

It’s highly unlikely that you will have slipped a disc at rest, but that’s the worst case scenario. This would manifest in referred pain, numbness or tingling down into your buttocks and one or both legs. (Not to be confused with sciatica, another non-threatening but chronic pain condition, but which develops over time.) That’s when you pick up the phone to your GP. The same goes if you experience any urinary incontinence or numbness in your bits or saddle region, again a manifestation of nerve compression called cauda equina, which needs hands on medical assessment chop-chop. If you don’t have these symptoms, try not to Google them. Google’s a bugger for terrifying you in these instances!

If the ibuprofen doesn’t help, try humble old paracetamol offset with it, so you’re taking either every two hours (but neither more than four hourly, if that makes sense). Your GP may be able to prescribe something stronger such as tramadol to make getting moving a bit easier. But whatever you do, don’t tell them a paramedic on a mountain-biking forum has told them to!

That’s quite a read, I realise, but I hope it helps matey. I feel your pain, I really do. Good luck!

You looked pretty stressed when we drove past you on the bridge, and now it makes sense as to why the RDP lot were spilling out of Drink looking less than happy. What a cr*p night guys! So sorry to hear it xx

@oddnumber, if you’re still looking, a friend of mine is selling a new/unbuilt Crosscheck frame in black (I’d need to check the size) for not a lot…

@jmatlock You shall be having mail.

@one_happy_hippy That’s what I’ve in mind, having been razzing my little Solo around North Vancouver, Squamish, BPW, and Havok up the road, and planning to begin exploring the Alps next year. Ideally I need to give both the Nomad and the Bronson a good testing to be sure.

By all accounts, sounds like I’ll be shelling out for a V4 at some point 😳

I wish I could be! The price tag makes me doubt I’d ever do it justice. Right now, I’m considering second hand, older versions. Unless the V4 alloy really is that much more betterer. (New. Better. Faster. Obsolete. Etc.)

I’m so smitten with my 2013 Solo that I’m seriously considering adding a Nomad to the stable for more rufty tufty downhilly bike park days.  A cheeky hijacking of this thread I know, but is there anyone in the Calder Valley area who’d at least allow me to hop astride their medium Nomad to test for size before I pull the trigger? All opinions re personal experiences with Nomads welcome, good and bad. Ta!

What v8ninety said. Much more fun and autonomy out on the road. As well as fresh air (till you go indoors on the odd occasion). I have the highest regard for my colleagues on the phones. Couldn’t do their job though. Come play with us!

What v8ninety said. Much more fun and autonomy out on the road. As well as fresh air (till you go indoors on the odd occasion). I have the highest regard for my colleagues on the phones. Couldn’t do their job though. Come play with us!

Jonba, I was mortified at being told I had flat feet as a kid. (Don’t ask why. I was eight.) I’ve done the whole (expensive) orthotics thing, but all they essentially do is prop up a weak structure, and possibly cause other pain/issues in doing so. Strengthen the structure (think gusseting behind your head tube), and, presto, you’re well on the way to sorting the problem. Nowadays, we walk so little, our arches don’t get the regular exercise they need to keep strong and support your ankles, knees and hips in alignment. Riding does not flex/work the arches as walking does, as so our foot muscles can get weak and collapse inwards. Arches also get tired as we tire on the bike, and knees then tend to collapse inwards towards the top tube. Google arch strengthening exercises. They cost nothing, and take but a few minutes of your day to do. I use two as regular, post-ride maintenance. The first is to scrunch up the bare foot on the floor, as though your were picking up a ball of crumpled paper, then relax it. Repeat 20 times daily while you’re sat watching telly. The second is, while standing, rise up on your toes, hold, then drop back onto your heels and lift your toes. Repeat 20 times daily. You will notice a difference after a fortnight. Imagining and then holding/positioning your ankles, knees and hips in vertical alignment will seem strange at first, but in time it’ll become easier, and then habit. Any ankle, knee or hip pain SHOULD resolve after 2-4 weeks.

I know I sound a bit nerdy on this, but have had various biking and climbing injuries over the years, and it’s amazing how simple biomechanics can cause/cure problems (a bit like our bicycles!). Low tech (free tech) is sometimes the best tech… Good luck!

Yeah, fair point re the chunky tyres. My BBB is my chunky road bike/crosser, so it’s job done for me. If you’re wanting a ‘slimline’ 29er on the other hand, that not-quite-’40c’ rear clearance will be an ar*e indeed!

Any reason why it can’t be a BBB? At risk of being egged, I’d say you can’t go far wrong for the money. I use my nice 29er wheel set with a 40c Nano up front and a 35c WTB something (can’t remember!) out back. And I ride it everywhere around Calderdale. Yes, I had to make my peace with On One’s fictitious claim that the BBB has enough rear mud clearance for 40c, but then it (was) a £500 frame I could put standard 29er parts on and ride the hell out of it. I think her Kermit green looks quite sharp too.

Here’s just hoping it doesn’t get too ostracised when it turns up for the Dirty One Thirty later this month…

I’ll get kettle on.

I once asked a little old lady what the secret was to her sixty, very happy years’ marriage. She replied, “Me and Bert didn’t always have the best of everything, but we made bloody sure we made the best of what we had.”

Chapeau Mrs Morrison, chapeau!

Just come home after another night shift as a paramedic, and am heartened to be reading this over my cereal, prior to swan diving into bed. This is a conversation we have all too often in the cab between jobs, and a common sentiment is that as a society we just don’t talk enough about death. Yet it sneaks up on all of us. It’s as much of a life event biggie as being born all those years ago. Death makes life the mad, colourful, beautiful, heart-breaking adventure it is. So, bravo for this thread!

Some immensely readable, life-affirming even, reads on the subject include:

“Get Dead”, by Jamie Oliver (not the chef) – a little coffee table book you’ll return to over and over again

“Being Mortal”, by Atul Gawande – a passionate plea to the medical and allied care professions to begin considering and prioritising quality of life over simply prolonging it at all costs

Both my copies are tatty from being lent to countless friends and colleagues over the years, and do well in bringing death out of the shadows and into the light where it truly belongs. They’re not morbid – far from it. They’ll make you think and laugh out loud.

Right, that’s my sleep-deprived two pence-worth. There are some good insights on here. Keep them going. And whatever you do, please, please, PLEASE removed that red-bordered DNACPR form from its envelope, and leave it in plain view for your bleary-eyed ambulance crew to find prior to having to commence a brutal and undignified resuscitation attempt at 03:27am.

Have a great day. Night night!

What everyone else has already said.

Plus, don’t even THINK about getting food poisoning while those ribs are healing

If I’ve got the presence of mind, I tell him I pity his girlfriend. And then ride like mad!

Sorted it! Just encouraged the exposed internal a little further out by gently levering a couple of flat blade screwdrivers twixt the nut/crushwasher and lower leg, taking care not to damage the threads. The nut unwound a treat after that!

Cheers Hebden! Will scope that route out. As for the pubs, looking forward to NOT paying in excess of £10 for two pints and a packet of crisps, as they seem to think is acceptable down here in Hove Actually ;0)

It’s on Northside Road, BD7 2AY.

I prefer powder dust myself!

Jimbobo, I’ve been pencilled in for Feb 20th, but I am yet to be officially signed off as good to start (apparently some admin hitch), and so cannot give my notice here with SECAmb yet