Always interesting talking to friends who have moved out of Britain and still follow what’s happening here via media in their own country. It doesn’t look good to them, at all

A good proportion of those when given a vote from overseas vote Tory to stick the boot in even further. At least those I have spoken to, they thrive on it (puts a great big smile on their faces) and can’t wait.

I’ve often wondered what would be the straw that snaps the camels back. It’s the only thing UK politicians have proven to be any good at, being unpopular enough without inciting mass civil disobedience.

I reckon it would be ill-advised to go after the working class foreign holiday. The only respite from this grey miserable shithole full of small-minded interfering ****! Make flights too expensive (it’s bad for the environment after all) and gentrify the British holiday with the help of the toady small to medium sized businessmen. No more Benidorm or Bodrum, say hello to a luxury caravan priced for middleclass families in Ingoldmels :D

Don’t worry about housing when your kids can live in a converted shipping container, it’s the fewture, they’ve shown us it’s going to be great.

IMO the biggest problem is 40 years of neoliberalism has created such financial disparity that the mega wealthy have ownership of politics and the media message, and they use that power to further rig the system in their favour, very effectively bypassing democracy

I would argue about some of the wording and timescale but in a nutshell this is what we are stuck with. All we get is a corporate vision of what the world should be, **** the consequences. A two-tier system of order, where poorer/normal people are made to jump through endless hoops and dealt with in an increasingly brutal fashion. Sadly this is old ground retrodden with a modern surveillance lead twist. Of course and most importantly, money is made mostly unhindered by those in positions of power. Any kind of power is kept away from the disgusting legacy plebs (who are left arguing the toss over trivial matters), unless they are puppets, brutalising and/or stitching up their own.

The biggest change I’ve noticed is the amount of public money unashamedly handed over to private sector businesses who aggressively covet it. How certain industries have intertwined themselves with politicians and the operation of government to the point where they are almost beyond criticism, can dictate policy/legislation and are given carte blanche to cover up any kind of wrong doing. Even when caught red-handed are allowed to carry on pretty much business as usual.

Topeak analogue Pocket Shox DXG has been fine for me.

Lines on the gauge every 5psi, so I reckon you can repeatably set pressures to within 2psi.

Same as me.

I think I’d go digital if I had a Manitou Mezzer and/or low volume air shock where a few PSI can make a noticeable difference!

Hollow it out, casualise it all to make it all more precarious then the drip-drip-drip of constantly eroded wages and working conditions. The government set the tone in 2010 with year-on-year public sector pay freezes and the private sector just followed their lead.

The increase in the minimum wage is just making more jobs into minimum wage jobs, given the non-increase in anyone elses salaries

Yup. Been going on for years cheered on by hateful toady small businessmen/working class turncoats who would drag us all back to the middle ages. Corporate businesses who screw over labour forces at every opportunity to bolster executive pay.

Most resent paying minimum wage and would have it abolished never mind paying more. Then there’s the self-interested, throw everyone else under a bus, triple lock pensioners. When the going got rough, got out early and fought nothing. They never miss voting day and a chance to put the world to rights, scroungers, lazy young people and immigrants, down the non-working men’s club!

Got to agree it felt a bit disjointed like it has been edited and missing some important details. The major battle and deposing of the emperor felt a bit rushed and lacked depth. Don’t get me wrong it’s in no way an Alien 3 style cut and shut travesty, more of an Event Horizon it could have been even better with the edited out/storyboarded scenes included. Or as the case may be, omissions from the original story!

You want one like this one at Chinky Park:

With attached dirt jumps off the same roll-in like these at Charnock:

Not sure it qualifies as downtempo but I always felt this track didn’t get the recognition it deserved.

Nice little spot Charnock, the dirt jumps are a lot of fun. The pump track felt a tad tight for my messing about HT, like a smaller bike would be a better tool. Would be great to see the pump track and intermediate dirt jump combo (like Charnock) become a norm in shitty urban parks up and down the country!

Wish it was a bit closer to me I’d be up for it. Was in the area last time I went.

Auctions are a waste of time on ebay these days

Seen bikes relisted multiple times because the buyers haven’t got anywhere near what they thought. Always a different excuse (relisted coz chancer being chancer like) so they don’t have to pay fees :D

What a rancid little shitpile full of chancers, blaggers and bullshitters. The clowns who pay more SH than new, I mean… :DDDDDDDDDDD funniest dickheads of the lot.

Don’t worry about it pal just turn on the tellybox and u can watch celebs on holiday instead, celebs go campervanning, celebs go glamping, top ten luxury hotels. It’s the fewture, why go on holiday when you can watch someone more worthy!

When you have finished with that you can watch-em doing gameshows, playing at other peoples jobs, doing houses up, watching telly. It’s a gamechanger you’ll love it.

Missed your chance there Neil.

Should of blagged-em with a big new thing about to be unveiled. Hint at a space/aeronautical/F1 (not Boeing) tie in. UK made TI frames in 8 sizes, cheaper than Alu catalogue frames. Innovative market disruption and all that. 90’s brand revival. Yorkshire men with flat caps and hammers. Angel investors Cliff Richard, Leo Sayer but not Garry.

Old journos trick the wild speculation to provoke a response!

And their off, queuing up to demonstrate who’s the most responsible sports hatch/car owner on the executive housing estate.

You know what to do.

Yes I keep telling myself the idiots aren’t winning then I go on the internet where the shills, pathetic fanboy’s, corporate sycophants/apologists roam. Not to mention the two faced liars, bad actors, professional shit stirrers and self righteous who get involved in anything remotely political/ideological.

Can’t wait for the next election as the forum will once again be flooded with these clowns and their coattail toadies. We are stuck with a few of these Twitter/X quoting residual idiots (mainly the self righteous) from the last time!

It’s probably all related. Probably same factory.

Looks like it.

If you have got a compatible band on shifter or you convert a compatible shifter to band on there is this adapter:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005114238652.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.6.651b38ffhWdoaW&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.354490.0&scm_id=1007.40050.354490.0&scm-url=1007.40050.354490.0&pvid=5c9d12ed-f225-4daf-bc42-cb63f736aefc&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.354490.0,pvid:5c9d12ed-f225-4daf-bc42-cb63f736aefc,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238110%231995&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21GBP%2112.14%217.29%21%21%2115.02%219.02%21%40211b813b17106287080404141e64eb%2112000031706776407%21rec%21UK%21%21AB&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller%7Cquery_from%3A

The only properly robust waterproofs I’ve ever used were sailing/seafarers stuff. Thick heavy duty and expensive. Not the fashion stuff sold at most retailers under the same brand names!

I imagine there’s more than a few champagne glasses clinking at competitors up and down the country and we will see price increases for parts.

What’s the verdict. Was there a viable business of stack’em high sell’em cheap. Is the liquidation a result of a badly run business, negative cash flow due to external economic factors, shady financial practices or a combination?

Keeps the pedants busy.

It’s like the perpetual 24hr radio phone-in topics (LBC, Talk Radio, etc) without the benefit of Keeping journalists/presenters from the chattering classes in jobs.

Twitter/X.

I pity you.

 wonder if it’s down to more brands using Polyester rather than Nylon fabrics because recycled Polyester is far more available, but also less tough. I also cynically wonder if smarter brands are not unaware than really tough technical clothing simply means it doesn’t need replacing as often, which in turn means they sell less over time

Checked the labels and yes you are right.

No probs do what’s best for you or get’s you sorted fastest :)

Check it first because it can be quite noisy when it’s only engaging 1 or 2 pawls at a time. When all 3 hold down it just spins and there is no drive at all until a pawl bites.

The hub and freewheel bearings might be buggered as well! It’s a smash the lot out job and actually quite easy. Obviously a new freehub has new bearings in it so less to do!

Check the drive ring isn’t trashed before buying a new freehub as it has really fine teeth, 120 points!

What usually happens is water gets in because the flappy seal is worn and it corrodes the pawl springs so 1 or 2 or all 3 pawls don’t spring back fast enough, hence power get’s transferred through less pawls than it should. Add some heavy duty cranking on 1 or 2 pawls and you can imagine what happens!

It will definitely be one from one of the smaller brands mmmbop, Bluepig, Shan, Oka, Trans-Am, Sirius, Alpine, Blitz  etc. The HT’s from the big boys back then were dated frames, just churned out in different colours each year because people kept stumping up the cash for old shite with road bike geometry!

Production Privee Oka is 27.5 and 26 inch compatible with different dropouts! There were a few others that offered something similar.

Or just get an NS Bikes Eccentric 27.5 frame and put 26 inch wheels like I did!

Apparently so. Although I haven’t done it myself! Tredz and Merlin sell the RSP/Pro Build version. It is as mentioned a pretty soft metal.

The worst thing about that freehub is the fact they don’t sell the part that wears out, a few pence worth of tiny piss pot flappy seal!

https://www.merlincycles.com/pro-build-chosen-9-10-speed-shimano-freehub-body-119310.html

olds guys on there 3k MTBs stand around at the side and then cycle off home after 10 minutes

You can buy bridleway smoothness but not bike handling ability!

It’s one of Clark and Kent’s best. Must of had a bigger budget! Budgetary restraints have prevented many from being what they should be. The Velo Solutions one nearest me is alright but it’s a tiny track in a massive field, where there is more than enough room for something better!

Newhaven pump track is outrageous

The best in this country if I’m not mistaken.

Us northern monkeys have got Kidsgrove (Chinky Park). It’s in Clark and Kent’s backyard hence they made a special effort! Pendle (Barrowford/Mandy’s) ain’t bad either.

Little bloke with a flat cap and hammer.

Set your stand up over the grid outside your house bosh no mess straight down the council drain!

The most STW thread this year!

Quick google here’s one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276102162138?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338749377&toolid=20006&_ul=GB&customid=GB_888_276102162138.142582812373~1920524060567-g_EAIaIQobChMI3a3z6f7JhAMVC5FQBh0-5wBvEAQYBSABEgKIuPD_BwE

You’ll get an NS Bikes (various frames) or Cube Flying Circus (seen a few like new SH) for reasonable money. There’s loads secondhand in good condition as owners buy with good intentions but find it’s a lot harder than it looks or spanner themselves in short order!

Oh and if you are running gears (not ideal) set the clutch tension super stiff so the chain doesn’t jump off every bad landing. Remember there is no sitting down peddling or gear changing for hills you just go with the hardest gear you’ve got.

Not all pumptracks are equal, some are really tight and not as suited to MTB flavoured bikes. Pick wisely!

Pump your tyres up solid, same with the suspension max out the high and low, you aren’t supposed to be comfortable casing every jump! Some places if you even try and run a soft trail setup you will hardly get off the ground never mind clear any doubles!

I mean it was alright. Let’s face it though your average STW’er would piss it on an On One hardtail with carbon fork of dubious origin.

I wonder if it’s down to more brands using Polyester rather than Nylon fabrics because recycled Polyester is far more available, but also less tough. I also cynically wonder if smarter brands are not unaware than really tough technical clothing simply means it doesn’t need replacing as often, which in turn means they sell less over time

Could well be.

But what there is is a change in the nature of employment. Skilled, decently paid jobs are being lost and are desperately hard to come by, while there’s a glut of minimum wage/gig economy bullshit jobs that don’t pay enough to live on

Absolutely. So many working class jobs have been converted into minimum wage work ruled over by contracting organisations and agencies. The precarity of modern employment (is no accident) is dismal to say the least. Working somewhere for say 30-40 years like previous generations seems like a fairy tale from the land of milk and honey!