Thanks very much all!! Plenty of links to follow up here. I’m glad I haven’t been shot down for my plans. Everyone seems positive. Thanks!

Thanks Brassnech and Mugsys_m8.
Looks like I’m on the right tracks now! Lots of firms I’ve not heard of and others I hadn’t considered.

Thanks Pigface and Binners.
I’ll drop you an email shortly if you don’t mind Binners.
I imagine I’ll be taking a substantial salary cut wherever I go. I earn plenty now, but what use is it when you don’t enjoy work and it impacts negatively on your life. I’d prefer to be proud of what I do and enjoy it.

I have considered the forces Burko73, but there’s a lot of reason why I won’t be perusing a career with them.

Excellent, thanks stevomcd! Another interesting company.

Thank you!
Would still love to hear from other.

Something like that would be ideal! I’ve loved working with remediation in the past. I did a placement with a waste management firm.
I’m based in Reading(ish) area but I’m not counting out any relocation- including abroad.

Penderyn

I know the founders. Sound guys with their head and heart in the right place. They’ve got a good track record of inventive products making it to market too.

It’s perfect for me. I don’t need to know the exact route. It’s nice to just hack your way through the countryside, lanes or city to get to the destination. Obviously it requires a bit of common sense by the user (but what device doesn’t).

I bet you had both of the Frijj White Choc Raspberry Swirl milkshakes as soon as you got home. They are rather nice..

They scrapped the bus service through our village. Not that it was any good anyway.. 3 buses a day at bizarre times and very unreliable. That makes my nearest train station 8 miles away. I’m not entirely sure what the elderly do to support themselves. All houses in the village seem to have shot up from one car ownership to one per person in the last 10 years.

My commute is 35 miles and takes 40-45 minutes to drive. If I cycled to the train station, took the train and then walked to the office it would take me 3 hours! It’s just not possible to do that. Ironically there used to be a train line through the village 40 years ago that would have taken me to work in 30 minutes..

The UK needs to rethink its infrastructure and improve public transport. People want convenience and public transport doesn’t offer that for many. Not entirely sure what the solution is, or if there ever will be one, but something needs to change.

..and many jobs/careers do require you to have a specific degree to even be eligible. Particularly Geology, which can lead into OG Exploration, Mining Engineering, etc. You wouldn’t even be able to submit an application for most of them without a degree.

More than that v8ninety… Looking at more like £9,000 fees and £6,000 living- £15,000 per year, or £45,000 for the degree for an average student 8O !

Not entirely sure a CDL would be suitable. They are aimed at Masters students- hence why they only go up to £10,000. Anyway, the CDL is a con as they are given on a 9.9% interest! Yes, you get one year interest free, but after that you get shafted. You’re better off taking a loan at 3.5% from M&S from £7,500-15,000 and picking your repayment plan. Much better value and more flexible.

Work at a University..
Once you pass probation most will let you do the full degree for free. It’s up to you to make it work though timing wise. I’m about to start another MSc :-)

37hr work
7.5hrs commuting
So, 44.5 hour working week.
I do have flexitime available which works out as leaving an hour early each week (usually Friday) and getting an additional day off a month on ”flexileave’. It works for me! I like having an additional 12 days off a year.
I’ve also got the opertunity to work from home a few times a month.
Edit: There is no way I would do more hours than that.

Ah, got it!
I’ve got a similar issue. My Whyte T129 SCR has very tight spacing in the back. A 2.2 Beaver just about squeezes in. I’m running Roam 40 wheels and under really hard cornering the tyre buzzes the chainstay.

Out of curiosity, what bike is it?

It’s odd- I thought Caterham were the best of the kit cars (apart from the Ariel, but that’s not the same). I know they are simple in term of driving experience but that’s even more of a reason to focus on the tubing.

Similar thread here from a couple days ago..

DT Swiss XM 481 on Pro II front and back come in at £440 from justridingalong.com
The XM 481 rim only weighs 490g and is 30mm internal width!
Best value ali wide rim I’ve found. I’m ordering these next month.

Price list from a well renowned shock tuner would set you back £370 (plus postage there). So £360 sounds good if they know what they’re doing.

-RS Reverb stealth: £90
-Fox float ctd boost valve (2014): £85
-RS Lyric Solo Air (2007):£90
-Fox dhx air 5.0 (2007):£105
(Here)

DT Swiss XM 481 on Pro II front and back come in at £440 from justridingalong.com
The XM 481 rim only weighs 490g and is 30mm internal width!
Best value ali wide rim I’ve found. I’m ordering these next month.

That STW review of the Stooge..[/url]
It’s the first mediocre, or even slightly negative, review I’ve read on the Stooge. I tend to do the odd long ride on it, but usually it’s a 2 hour (max) spin through the woods and the Ridgeway. The carbon bars and 3.0” tyre went a long way in making it comfortable. I can’t help but feel that had he set it up for himself a bit more maybe some of the negative attributes would have been cancelled out. Either way, refreshing read.

The Ti looks lovely. It’s something I’m hoping to swap my Mk1 in for.

I know the point of the Stooge is to run rigid, and I love it in the guise, but could you run something like 120mm forks on the Ti? It would be my only HT and I don’t want to limit myself to just rigid forever more..

Trail centre vehicle trends… :?

So what’s the point of this thread? :roll:

I was riding Swinley at the weekend. It was a good little blast. I headed up early and didn’t see anyone on the first loop. I like Swinley- it give me a chance to go for a spin on trails that are in good condition all year. I also meet lots of like minded friendly people. I managed over 50k on the trails and loved it. Yes, it’s not challenging but that’s not why I go. With natural stuff I’m forever second guessing corners, obstacles, cheeky trails in fear of what is round the corner. Swinley lets you relax a bit. You just have to dodge the odd dog walker and child in the middle of the trail.

I stopped off at the jump gully and I can’t believe what it looks like now. Essentially a plowed field with a few new trees cut down too.

Very dry! My bike came away cleaner than when I started riding yesteray. Nice clean tyres. Enjoy.

I’ve got one! The bright ones really are loud.
Very comfy and offers a lot of protection to the lower part of the back of the head. The medium is more like a large though. Luckily there’s enough adjustment to take up the slack and make it comfortable.

Yes, some light reading for you.[/url]

Yup, obviously ISCG has to have two standards(!); ISCG05 and ISCG03 (also know as ISCG old).
They are different sizes so they aren’t compatible. They do make ISCG03 to ISCG05 adapters. Can mess with the spacing somewhat though..

To be fair- the reason there are two standards is because different FS designs would fowl on 03 so they made 05 for them.

You can get a bank loan at 3.5% if you look.
send me an email if you want more info.

His and hers stem cap? You can get them engraved or something printed on them.
They do spacers too.
http://www.kapz.co.uk/

Sad times. The jump gully taught me a lot. I’ve also met some good friends there.

To get there you have to ride the red though (for the newbies/in-experienced) so they’ve already tackled similar jumps before that so it’s interesting that it accounts for 40% of accidents. I wonder if it’s the fact that people push harder because everyone can see you riding the jumps along the whole stretch?

I recently put a 2.25” Beaver on the back of my bike. I was going to go for something bigger and more aggressive, but there is little to no mud clearance in the back of the T129. I’m very impressed with the tyre. Sheds mud quickly and the mini spikes grip nicely- including wet roots. It’s also very easy to setup tubeless. I’ve got a WTB Vigilante 2.3 TCS on the front- feels very similar but a bit more volume. Great combination.

I bought front and back MK 2.4” bargain basement tyres to get by on my winter HT. I hated the things! The tyre profile was all wrong on my Flows and the compound was like plastic. They also punctured a huge amount.
In contrast, I bought a bike that came with a MK II ProTection 2.2” on the back and it was fantastic. Grip level was good with little resistance and it was a very predictable tyre. Compound was fairly soft and only got one puncture when flint shredded the sidewall.

What I learnt was to go for the best class of tyre in that model, and avoid cheap stuff like the plague. Yes it’ll be more expensive, but it actually makes cycling more enjoyable.

Would have to be Evil.
Not going to happen though until they sort their QC and CS.
Could be some time..

Sounds like a good out come by SC and Jungle!
I’ve been watching with interest. The Bronson C S AM build looks good.

hughjayteens- what shop did you demo this from?
I’m looking to give one a go before committing and Swinley is local to me.