The Norco Fluis FS1 looks very good value and has the right geometry.
Here’s a thread on it.

There’s some woods 1km away from my house where you can’t hear anything but natures. Very rarely do people venture on the footpaths next to it, but there are farmers fields surrounding it, so may get tractors now and again. Even then it’s thick enough to mask most of the noise.

I’ve also got the Ridgeway 1km away which has some very peaceful bits.

The killer with all these places is airplanes! You can be in the middle of nowhere and still here the things.

The CEO is quite a character! Wouldn’t look amiss in the MTB world to be honest. Riding a single speed Jones and hanging out with Taz & Brant.

The numbers don’t stack up though- check out filling for 2018 on Companies House.
I imagine he’s old money and it’s a hobby. That said, he’s only got 3 companies listed on Companies House, 2 of which are linked to Rich Energy and 1 for ‘Wise Guy Boxing’ which doesn’t give you any results online despite being a Computer Consultant
firm. They are a UK brand, claimed to have sold 90 million cans, but I’ve never seen or heard of them. Tin foil hat’s on guys

That’s one sick! looking bike. Though I assume it’ll turn up if you order one.

I came here to post exactly that :D

On top of the blatant logo infringement..

No compromise. Keeping you going 100 times longer.

How do they quantify that?

That top tube looks pretty narrow.
Looks like it would chop you in half if you fell on it.

Can’t wait to get my Stooge Mk4.. I had the old one and wanted to put in a 2′ slackset, and everyone seemed pretty outraged. That would have dropped it from 69′ to 67′. The Mk4 is now going to be 66′ & massive offset forks! It’s going to be a riot.

I’m going to wait til wireless brakes come out and go totally cable free.

You can do it now! Fit the AXS Reverb & drivetrain and then all you need is a coaster brake. Cable-less utopia!

18Bikes had a bike in with the kit fitted. They manhandled it a little and it looks pretty clever!

I’d have this without a doubt if I could afford it, along with the seatpost.
I hate cables. It’s clutter and means it’ll need adjustment and servicing at some point.
Go wireless and electric and I’ll just charge it with my Garmin & lights as and when.
Look forward to trickle down.

Just looking at these in more detail.
So they can be had for £1600 once I’ve dragged an old bike out the canal..
It looks like a robust build to me. The only thing I would change is wheels.

Wondering how much abuse these can handle? I assume they’d be fine at trail centers and a few uplifts a year? Possibly on the short side of travel, but my T129 felt like more than 120mm. I have my eye on a Whyte S150 for similar money.

Oh, an even better proposition!

These look great value!
What BBs are these running? Is it pressfit or threaded?

Jimmy Saville..

I reckon 130mm-150 29er FS bike, which I’d be very interested in.
Question is, will he stick to the same suspension platform?
The Edits were based on a china magazine frame with tweaks, but not really aware of a good 29er FS platform available from a magazine as a base? Maybe he’s got enough capital built up to go his own route.

They often have sales, but 55% discount is generous!
To do my brakes now or later.. guess I can just buy them and fit them later.

Alex- no problem with the 27.5+ in the mud? I had a set on an old bike and found they floated too much in mud, wheres as 29er cut through it. I guess it’s pressure, tyre and mud type sensitive though.

I had one in a Polo Blue GT DSG. Long term average of 45mpg (13,000 miles), with 50mpg on a long run and 32mpg on a spirited country drive.

There’s a nice SolarisMAX LS in the classifieds ;)

If people want to try a medium on 29” to compare to the 27.5+, feel free to have a go on mine.
Based near Didcot with the Ridgeway close by.

Yup, front door always locked.
Rear door locked too, but they would have to jump the gate (always locked) and navigate 2 frothing dogs to get near the house.

In fact, no one can get near the house without the dogs alerting us. If someone steps foot on the drive, we know about it. Probably don’t need to lock the front :D

Ohh, anymore info on these bars Brant? Rise, width, sweep and ETA?
They would be perfect on my Stooge!
[/url]

29er Pike RCT3 with Hope Tech Enduro Hoops. Front none boost & rear boost.
Not had a chance to try 27.5+ but as a 29er it is so competent that I can’t think what 27.5+ would add.

Atherton Bikes?! Didn’t see that coming.
Best of luck to ’em. Glad to see Robot Bike guys are still in the MTB industry.
An all British brand.

Will it just be Robot Bikes with some different bike offerings? Or will be see a completely different lineup, designs & pricing?

I think all of Queen’s song are better live.
Stand out show was Live Aid
https://youtu.be/ktYlzVYQbwY

I find most live recordings better than studio, much more raw and real. Not talking the rubbish auto tuned pop stuff from today, but rock, punk & ska.

I did it with my Dad and brother.
We had a van- SWB, low roof- and cracked on.
Took us 8hrs and about 8 trip total (inc. a Polo for delicate stuff). The move was 20 mins apart.
I don’t fancy doing it again, unless I have a 2-3 day window.

I run non-boost cranks with 32t in my SOlarisMAX LS.
Clearance and chainline are fine. For some boost frames, non-boost actually gives you a better chainline.

Give it a go with your current setup before wasting money.

I had some cheap ones that came on a bike a few years ago.
Worst tyre I’ve ever ridden. Sidewalls made out of tracing paper, so pressure has to be rock hard. Compound of a Lego brick. Inevitably slit the sidewall. I was secretly glad.

Isn’t it a sad state of affairs when a country like this, top 5 by GDP (poor metric, but still), has it’s citizens panic buying medication and stocking supplies over a political choice that could be ended today?
I just can’t get my head around it. The country is suffering as the elites continue to drag feet and appease each other. Politics is nonsense.

(Assume it’s always been this way, but I’m now paying attention as i’m older and can see direct impacts)

Stooge Mk1; pre-ordered and took about 3 months
Stooge Mk4; pre-ordered and due in 5 months

What artisan creations are you guys ordering that are taking 8+ months?!

Might be worth setting up a wildlife night camera to film him.
See who it is and try and track them down, worst case is posting the footage up here & social media.
They guy clearly knows he’s breaking rule 1 if he’s tearing up your paddock, spooking animals and climbing over locked gates.

This means the store in Abingdon Rd, Oxford will be open again, and that makes me happy!
Hopefully they can get things inline again.

How does it work with data? If you buy the company but only use their infrastructure & stores, do you get to keep all client data? I assume I only agreed to Ubyk using my data, and not any future sale of it to other companies..

Always like the look of the Transition PBJ

Avoid Hope.
Super sticky, but fairly low-ish profile. Great for hard riding, but rubbish for comfort and long days in the saddle.

This reminded me to check the BPW uplift availability- they’ve got tickets available everyday for the next 4 months! That’s pretty rare. I’ll be off there in the next few weeks then :D

Personally I love their flowy trails. Means you can get more runs in as you conserve energy, with the odd techy one thrown in.

Longmover, is it actually as advertised?
What’s the weight & quality like?
Condiering they’ve been round for a year and a half, I’ve only ever seen 2 bikes bought by real people not from Sick. I think everyone else has some socks & a lighter..

Sick have turned their business model upside down a few times.
They started with the monthly drops- I like this idea. Pretty unique.
Then they scrapped that when they hit supply issues and offered all kinds of duplicate frames. Followed by stripping it down to a few frames and no Ti. Then looking at monthly drops again, and now back to a standard model of a few different frames (but most still pre-order..).

They lost me when they started having sales. They categorically stated they would never have a sale, as to make it fair for existing customers. They then go ahead and offered massive discounts (frames), and continue to overstock and have further sales (clothing & miscellaneous). I’ve bought a few t-shirts. jumpers and almost a frame. That’s stopped for good.

More interesting info- thanks all for contributing!

Fiat Tipo Estate; 1-2yrs old, 10-20,000m, remaining 12-24 month warranty at £7,000>£8,500.
Ex-rental or mobility; always serviced on time and looked after.
If you go petrol, it’s their tried and tested 1.4. The whole car is a parts-bin special. So all good solid kit.

Some good food for thought.
Cheers all! Will have a think.
It sounds amazing, but it boils down to a moral decision weather I want to ‘support’ Israel by visiting though.

opinion based on experience is better than one based on the media.

Agreed.

Thanks for the advice all.
I did think Israel would have this sort of response.
I’m certainly not comfortable supporting the regime, but equally it would be eye opening.
I guess similar situation in Iran and Turkey (to an extent).

Botswana is a little far for 5/6 days I think. I’d lose 2 days to travel.

My Guide Rs were ace on my old bike.
I thought they were plenty powerful enough and had better modulation than Shimano. I did a fair few uplift days and enduros and never had issues with fade. In a year and halfm the didn’t need bleeding either.

If I was after cheap, reliable brakes for bridleways, I’d go for the Clarks M2 brakeset though. £40 will get you a set! I bought some as a stop gap on the Stooge. They lasted 2 years, didn’t need bleeding and easily matched my Deore m615 for power and feel. Replacement pads are cheap and they get 4.5/5 reviews from hundreds of buyers.

Charge Blender (before fixing that saddle angle!):

Cotic SolarisMax LS: