Always thought it would be better for world champs to be decided in a mass start race rather than just another DH venue.

Anyway nighty night beddy bye byes and we still haven’t done moribund James Pond playing with knives.

There was a few niches/placeholders. I’m sure there was one called 4-Beat, think it was what became Happy Hardcore. Less said about that unfortunate offshoot the better!

SMD#1 mashup walked that line reasonably well…..

Whilst I have concentrated on the apex of the sound “Hardcore” from around 1992, seems so quaint now! and is interchangeable with Breakbeat. Rave is all encompassing and all sorts got played at 90’s raves.

For example:

Hip Hop at a rave

Early Trance derived from Techno before it went all supersaw, that Three Drives track above!

Is it House? Incidentally missed off the playlist because it appeared as a link not a video for some reason?!?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGNKdhSQ9Po

Defo Prog House

Loads of Acid House throwbacks and early Jungle Hardcore crossover tracks.

It’s all fair game IMO.

If you are talking about the 1.9D N/A (non turbo) they are under powered, about 90 BHP and slow. If you are used to driving modern vans that are car-a-like, it’s like going back 20-30 years, so is the interior! They do have lots of low end torque so can haul/tow heavy loads. Remember it’s a van for hauling shit around not a sports car!

The engines themselves are tough simple old units often used as taxis and capable of high mileage, 300,000 miles is not unheard of. But during that period you will liley have to:

1) Replace the clutch due to the release bearing tube collapsing rather than the plates wearing out
2) Re-seal (liquid gasket) upper engine oil gallery gasket (access is a PIA) that leaks oil all over the engine, sometimes the sump gasket as well
3) The gearbox end plate bolts can come loose and leak the contents of the gearbox out with some run dry for years resulting in a shagged gearbox!
4) Gearbox cable clasps break (same problem as Vivaro’s and derivatives)
5) Replace the exhaust/parts of the exhaust if it hasn’t already been done
6) Throttle cables can snap
7) The plastic engine idler pulley bearings become squeaky/noisy while the engine is running and need replacing (relatively easy job)
8) Ignition advance solenoids fail (engine runs lumpy)
9) Pilot injector needs replacing/refurbishing, if unlucky a few (you hear Diesel knock rough running when cold)
10) The EGR valve will at the least need a clean
11) Clutch master cylinders leak, visible under the clutch pedal in the cab
12) Brake master cylinder seals wear out (can be refurbished)

Looking good another proper mudder. You don’t want to be going sideways on the take off for that big gap!

Not much racing this year but did anyone watch EWS Zermatt? Really good compare and contrast POV footage of some ugly wet terrain from Bernard Kerr (struggled) and on-form Jesse Melamed (ripped through it).

@Mister-P Yeh John Graham didn’t do much wrong. Double points for the FP remix it’s always the one that pops into my head.

Some of it has aged better than others that’s for sure!

I was warned not to buy an RS Monarch RCT3 by riders I know (most had more basic versions) and on here. I ignored it because it was brand new, dirt cheap and SRAM support is usually pretty good. It was **** within 6 months of use and the warranty replacement went the same way.

RS forks tend to pretty good bar a few issues with certain dampers and models but I’ve heard nothing but bad things about their shocks! The suspension tuners I spoke to were well aware of the problems with Monarch shocks, which seemed on the face of it to be nearly as bad as Reverbs.

Wouldn’t touch RS shocks with a barge pole now. I replaced mine with a Manitou Mcleod (simple and easy to service design) and it’s still going strong a year on. The only minor downside is you have to reset the air can, to re-balance the sealed negative air chamber, every so often with these shocks.

Surprised their newer shocks still have issues because they were supposed to be new designs (some magazine did a full teardown and comparison) with increased bushing overlap and better sealing.

There and there abouts.

I doubt you will rip the headtube off any recently manufactured bike from a reputable MTB brand and I doubt you are doing Josh Bender style hucks. Just look how big the weld area is on virtually all modern alu frames (oversized/flared top and down tubes sandwiched together) with tapered headtubes.

20mm with -1 angleset usually works well.

Ahhh yes the dreaded cross-rutted, straight OTB and you smash into the ground before you know whats happened.

Front wheel washouts over the top of berms smack you down as fast and hard, couldn’t breath/sneeze/sleep for a month after.

We heal eventually!

Paddy’s head like a glitter ball.

Ferrari bin crashed into a sharks arse.

I know someone who snapped a shock bolt on the old alloy AM model, not the new carbon though!

If it’s Nano pedals I used an imperial socket.

It was from a pound shop 3/4 drive set, so thin and fitted better than the suggested 9mm from the same set.

Not bought from Evans since the take over.

Same.

Also use CRC much less because I’ve had way too many things from them with ridiculously poor QC and/or failed within warranty including frames and forks, not cheap stuff either!

It’s this isn’t it?

Goyt Valley, Derbyshire.

Yup would be ideal but won’t happen. Both the gamekeeper and on-site land-manager hate mountain bikers, so won’t do anything other than hamper any kind of change.

The low hanging fruit has been done but not exhausted! There’s about 4-5 woods (not as easily accessible/harder work) that have nothing in them at all. There’s a ridge line that runs the full length of Fernilee Reservoir from “The Street” but would need a lot of labour. You could have a trail network that would span from Shining Tor to Taxal with BPW style multi-splits at halfway and two thirds points.

The recently felled sections are prime for about 3 straight through trails from the top, dual slalom line through the ferns (which are about to die off), splitting to about 3-4 alternates midway down, all merging to a traverse, connecting the strip of woods (similar to Cascadias Tushy, maybe 2 lines in there) out to the bottom road. It would be fairly unobtrusive, decent length runs with alternate lines, in a quiet part of the forest where you only see the odd person, on a sunny day when the car parks are full.

A lot of graft though!

Gamekeepers enhances the natural habitat and grouse moors are absolutely not barren lifeless single species habitats. And they make lots of money for the local economy. You are clearly just a city person who doesn’t understand the countryside

I read somewhere there are public subsidies available!

Business as usual for the old boys with little to no repercussions. The goldfish have forgot (look at the rabbit over there) all the problems **** like these have caused and the fallout both political and economic, which is still ongoing.

Just as I predicted the only tax efficient types our government went after, with any venom, were a handful of celebs for public exhibition and small time plebs (who can’t afford to fight back) playing at it, whilst doing backroom deals and/or letting the big boys just get on with it!

Of course they have all followed the rules and nobody saw anything. Oh and subsequent internal procedures will be tightened up (always kid gloves isn’t it). Never heard that old chestnut trotted out by just about every corporate organisation caught fiddling and turning a blind eye! Any scapegoats?!?!

Nope and don’t know anyone that has either. Only heard people I know talk about friends of friends, what they have heard on the social media grapevine and people who think they have had it but not confirmed. Which is strange given I have family and friends all over the country, abroad (N Cyprus, Aus and NZ) and my lad has been doing Covid patient transport darn sarf for the entire lockdown period.

I’ll take it as extremely lucky, so far, given how bad it has been.

If your going with a frame optimised around a 160 fork, pick the one with the steepest seatube and lowest BB as you will be raising it 10mm!

Commencal Meta SX and Canyon Torque are dedicated 170 travel bikes with 142 rear axles. There are others but I can’t remember off the top of my head.

Cut quite the dash I can tell ya.

Officers swooped on the Brickfield Ponds area in Rhyl

Never mind that this caught my eye LOL. Which one of you lot was it?

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/moment-pink-vw-camper-van-18936580

Mmmmmm wonderful simply wonderful.

It’s more of an urban thing IME. Bike parks/tracks adjacent/near urban areas, particularly skateparks and jump spots have problems. It seems in the main to be teenagers/children. Trails out in the sticks less so. Although lockdown and Youtube exposure has seen big increases in traffic on unofficial trails I ride, including people walking their dogs up them, where for years you rarely bumped in to anyone other than other bike enthusiasts :D

Two of the jump spots I go to, the youths burn rubbish in little fire pits instead of binning it and obviously the local residents get pissed off with the billowing smoke, as well as the rubbish scattered all over the place.

For example this spot has been around for a long time and has seen a big increase in use in the last couple of years. It’s out of the way but has got really busy since exposure on social media!

Etnies do these for MTB:

The indoctrinated hate runs deep. There will always be some “scum” below them that’s worse.

why not make the benefits system fairer so that people can afford it?

Don’t start them on that topic it’s like red rag to a bull!

Free broadband is a good idea btw. Just not a good idea for Corbz to promise when nobody trusted him with the purse strings.

I’m afraid working class people in this country are spiteful and pretty nasty, well the ones that bother to vote anyway. The ones I met saw it as pandering to the iphone generation, students **** themselves silly, starring into their phones all day “why should they get it for free when I have to pay” almost Paul Calf!

These people seem to vote on the basis of other groups of people being complete dickheads and it’s their mission to put a stop to it. It really fires them up/get’s them up in the morning, they love it.

I listen to this before an afternoon nap.

Satisfying and cathartic. Drift off to sleepy bye byes with a warm feeling and wide smile on your face.

Is this another one of those market research things disguised as a quiz/test of your knowledge?

C’mon guys British people are above fighting over bog roll.

Or were they preventing a 5G mast being erected!

Mixed bag TBH.

Some of the pointless opportunist restrictions adopted by businesses have ranged from irksome to taking the piss. Seen some arsehole behaviour in places not usually inhabited by said arseholes.

If only the lower levels of traffic and less crowding (not the shit nightclub queuing up) was permanent that would be great!

Did I miss all of the family :D

The have started logging in the Goyt so those tracks are out of action as well at the minute.

They have on the Cascadia/Stumpfucker side but it’s not completely out of action. The fire road gates are locked in the daytime and the fire road itself has been chewed up by tracked machines, but it can still be accessed in the evenings and from other points. I have heard a rumour that upper parts of the trail/s on that side have been dug up but not seen it for myself yet. The other side is completely unaffected as far as I know!

On the plus side the newish big berm trail with the big drop in is good and they have opened up some stuff in a very quiet part of the forest that could become useful in the future!

The forum is a different place than 5 years ago!

The heady days of parking/neighbour disputes and potholes. It’s all wrist watches, who was the best James Bond and winter car tyres now.

Tickz all the boxes like…..

@Kelvin the expected lifespan was/is longer than a typical mortgage term and most dwellings have throughout history been maintained way beyond there design lifespan, in modern terms, often 60 years.

The government blame the private sector and the private sector quite rightly point out it’s not their responsibility.

Have people started to recognise the very British way of ensuring nothing happens. I wonder in what other sectors have we seen this pattern of behaviour, one side blaming the other, with no one taking responsibility in a contrived limbo.

How about promising a certain level of income then pulling the rug out years later and going “what’s up mate” and wondering why standards drop/corners get cut and cooperation is no longer forthcoming.

I’ve looked at those.

Returned the previous 540 version because the pocket zips broke both sides. The pockets were a silly small size (couldn’t get my hand fully in them). Don’t know about the new ones!

Not managed to find a pair of waterproof shorts that last more than one season (we are talking years now) before something breaks. IME zips on most (cheap and nasty), not just waterproof, MTB shorts are piss poor beyond belief given the prices charged.

The only shorts I’ve had that have lasted are the old version Endura Singletrack 2’s (not waterproof). Which don’t have zips, velcro and magnetic closers, which aren’t exactly ideal but at least don’t fail!

Does this not leave the door open for businesses to use the Police like private security.

They will be rushed off their feet and then some!

I have a 27.5 NS Bikes Eccentric Alu Evo running 26 inch wheels for this purpose. It’s mainly for XC style rides, pump tracks and jumping but I’ll ride tech DH trails Ladybower, upper Goyt Valley, Etherow DH (not easy or flattering trails which are brutal on a HT) I usually ride my FS on.

When I am pump tracking I raise the forks air pressure by 10 PSI, crank the LSC to fully closed and the HSC 1 click away from fully closed. I pump the tyres up to 35-40 PSI. If I don’t do this riding pump tracks and particularly BMX tracks is much harder work. Making doubles and jump set’s can be harder/impossible, without massive run-in’s, lot’s of cranking and herculean boosts which aren’t always possible given the space!

It is better to have purpose built bikes for the different disciplines, if you can, but a reasonable less than ideal compromise can be reached!