Ace, mtb is a massively cheap hooby. As posters above I’ve come from motorbike trackdays which on a powerful bike are closer to £400 a day especially if you’re quick enough to eat a £250 rear tyre every 2-3 days, the cost is £150-£300 for track hire plus £45 of fuel.
I’ve stopped doing them since my mtb days have picked up, I can drive to wales stay in a hotel and have meal and it’ll cost me less than £100 all in for a day out with mates.

I think those complaining perhaps ought to look at the cost of land and groundworks as I doubt BPW are making millions at this.

In addition I’d happily pay more for a premium service with a quicker comfier uplift that served drinks and food too lol

Hose pipe to get big lots of mud off
Spray on bike cleaner, agitate with small brushes and also a big old soft yard brush for doing whole bike
Rinse with soft jet wash
Dry with a dog blower(amazon), great for getting water out of everywhere and completely drying drivetrain
Clean drive train with drivetrain cleaner
Lubricate drive train

The dog blower means the bike goes away completely dry especially the chain, cassette and derailleur.

Laws…does it matter what laws are made up as who is going to enforce them ?. I regularly ride the green lanes in the peaks on a motorbike and an emtb, I keep completely legal on the motorbike but even if I didn’t there is no one there to tell me not too. If I get lost on the emtb which I have done and end up on a footpath what is gonna happen ?, the bobble hats have had loads of green lanes closed in the peaks which has impacted my hobby of green laning, I still stop for them when I’m on a legal lane and I’m polite, half of them aren’t, if they did the same with access for cycles I’d just ignore it, maybe not the best attitude but I like my 2 wheels too much to give it up.

Lol you should write for the daily mail.

I think your hate for ebikes is clouding any sensible judgement, why would you hate something that you don’t use ?

Nearly everyone I know with an ebike has a normal bike as well so they aren’t new users at all. Personally I now can’t use a normal bike…but blah blah blah I started to give a shit what others think I apologise for that, carry on as you were 👍

Charge lots to form a plan for a business to succeed, usually contains lots of change and lots of bullshit bingo phrases, If the business does get better they take credit, if it doesn’t they say the new plan wasn’t implemented properly. If they were genuinely good at running a business they’d have one of their own 😁

Use a surface go for work, mainly office word, excel and outlook. On the move the screen is fine and the keyboard fairly useable. I do use a proper Bluetooth mouse with it though and not the keyboard one. When I get back into the office I plug it into a 27” monitor and use it as dual screen with outlook open on the surface screen and other apps on the big screen. I also plug a micro usb hub in which has printer cd drive and proper keyboard hooked up. It works fine with all this going on.

Cycling for fitness I don’t get it, worse still is the hamster wheel in the garage linked up to loads more online for ‘racing’. I prefer mtb to be all about the Adrenalin and getting outdoors, a by product is fitness but it’s never the reason I ride….hence I now use an ebike 99.9% of the time :)

The problem with any trade is the average non tradesman can go to b and q and get a leaflet and all the materials to do the job…….they see no reason to employ a time served person with the correct experience skills tools and insurances. If they do employ one they moan at the cost because in their head as an employee every penny they give you goes into your pocket, tools, van, premises etc etc are all free issue and you don’t pay tax either. Another issue is the British attitude of always wanting a deal or something cheap, everyone is to blame for this tbh.
It’s a massive reason none of my businesses have ever worked the domestic market as there is no idea of what it costs to run a business and try and make money.

As above I do have mine for sale

You clearly don’t employ any Millennials do you? In our industry there is a huge expectation to get things like flexible working arrangements, generous holiday packages, duvet days, conference allowances, book allowances, free gifts on work anniversaries, short working hours, fun social events etc. If we don’t provide at least some of this we simply aren’t competitive and it’s difficult enough as it is to recruit in some positions (and before anyone says it, this person isn’t in a role that is difficult to recruit).

LOL that would work in construction, why hasn’t the power to my building been energised…..sorry the sparky was working from home yesterday and today he is having a duvet day…..you are right we don’t employ any millenials as they wouldn’t like a cold dirty building site and this is quite apparent with the lack of younger people coming into the industry, guess we don’t offer the correct perks for them and it isn’t cool to work with your hands these days

Whatever happened to just doing the job you are also to do and doing it well, surely that’s all the reward you need to want to go to work, that and the prospect of a job next week too. I guess contracting in the building trade on price work and having a different place of work every week means I don’t need encouragement to go to the sample place day in day out. I do get on with my colleagues and employees and we do go out on mtb at times. It’s nothing to do with work team building though. Some people need a thank you for doing the job they are paid and they need more of an incentive than money, each to their own I guess, but in my industry if you need these things to do the job you are paid for you’re in the wrong place.

Team building, morale building, extra rewards etc I just don’t get any of it tbh. I prefer just to do my job and get paid, it’s why I’ve spent my whole life on price work or quoting. If someone doesn’t work hard enough they don’t earn enough and won’t be given anymore work. If you do the job right you’ll get more work, I don’t need to be told great job I just want the money. The reward for doing your job right is the money you earn, there’s nothing more needed.

As nice a gesture as it is taking folk away for a weekend I’d never give my weekend up for work unless it involved a lot of money and never to spend social time with employees 👍

Get a sparky in to test all the circuits first, everything needs to be unplugged for this and light bulbs out if doing properly. If the circuits pass then it’s an appliance that is the issue. Hardest but you’ll find is getting a sparky good enough to test the circuits properly. Assuming that’s done then move onto appliances and things like the immersion.

That’s what faulty appliances can do, it’ll be an intermittent fault and they are hardest to find

The middle one is the main rcd for the 4 circuits to the left of it, they probably and should feed sockets. This main one being off won’t affect the circuits to the right they should include the cooker and lights. Not always strictly this way and not to the latest regs but. The smaller switches are MCB not RCD, the fault is on one of those 4, What do the 4 circuits to the left do is there anything written above them ?, it’s more than likely a duff appliance taking the main one out, fridges are a top suspect. Unplug everything you can for a night except the fridge and go from there

Merc drivers FTW these days. Probably all leased.

Why is this always used as some sort of insult, of course they are leased who in their right mind puts cash into a depreciating asset when for a few hundred a month you can have one, under warranty and with breakdown cover and only needing a couple of services during ownership. It’s hassle and worry free motoring and makes a lot of sense if you do lots of miles, tbh even if you don’t they are a nice place to be for a few £££ a month so why not

“The gripe I have about ebikers saying they keep them as fit as normal bikes (and the mental flips and twists they go through to “prove” that) – can really be shrugged off by rolling my eyes and thinking “humans”.”

What’s the difference between trying 100% on an ebike and 100% on a normal bike ?

And danger enablers….what a load of tosh. Are we really to believe unless you start on a non ebike and spend ages going slow you shouldn’t ever go onto a more technical trail ?, it’s right back to my earlier comments regarding cyclists having issues with people getting access to longer faster rides and more technical routes without serving their apprenticeship of pain to get fitness. I ride for the fun of being on 2 wheels nothing else, ebikes give me a buzz with the added speed for my efforts, tbh if I could legally use a motorbike on trails and cycle paths I wouldn’t hesitate but I can’t so I use the ebike. I have no problem with others and I ride politely, I’d be amazed if anyone has a problem with me on the trails but if they do it’s none of my concern, people get far too worried about what others do

It’s only cyclists who get bothered about ebikes, mountain biking is about more than just moving the pedals round it’s about riding a bike. The sort of person who thinks strava events are a sport is the same person who doesn’t get ebikes, the same person thinks to enjoy a downhill you have to have suffered on an uphill, the same person thinks being able to ride a trail fast means years of training. Meh I couldn’t care less about the pedalling side of cycling but I do enjoy the speed side and an ebike gives me that. I can put in 100% effort on a normal bike and lap a local trail centre in a normal 55 minutes right in the ballpark of average or I can put in 100% and lap the same course slightly quicker than the fastest national rider, guess which gives me the most fun and Adrenalin for the same effort, I’m still working just as hard but I’m getting a lot more speed for it.

Or when you’re chatting to a rider on the trail, I dont need to hear why your day is going so much better than mine because you’re on an ebike.

As an ebike rider I regularly forget to do this, must put more effort into appearing superior…..or maybe I don’t do it cos I don’t give a shit and no one else does, I can’t believe anyone else does it either tbh

Meh I’m 51 so grumpy middle aged man territory but my wife is 40, pretty and slim, my daughter is 6 and I work part time in my own business not stuck to a desk in a shit job. I still mountain bike and motorbike every week and still ride like a kid. Only my body telling me at times it’s getting old but tbh compared to the options I’m happy as I am. It does take some concentration at times not to be the grumpy old man though !

A Twizzy would be great for the commute and a solution for parking on the street except it’ll need charging so only those with a drive will have one, they’re not the ones that need one though as they have a drive…..

Nice, great bike with the right tyres for some adv bike riding 👍

When I say skills I mean physical and actual bike control preferably with an element of bravery thrown in. Video games even ones which require fitness don’t come into this category and zwift is a video game, like I say plenty of folk like video games, just cos this one is about cycling doesn’t make it any better. As a training tool I can see it’s benefits.

For me and me only I want to see a skill involved and any event not just be a fitness or strength contest. Most road racing is a fitness contest whereas something like a downhill mtb race the skill level matters just as much.

I’d prefer to see bravery and skills rewarded over fitness, zwift doesn’t reward either of those so shouldn’t be a sport tbh.

I’m sure I’m in a minority here with this view 😀

I just don’t get this, use zwift to keep fitness up as it’s easy to access but as a competition it’s just a fitness test and nothing else, I prefer to watch a sport where there is some skill to be had from the actual riding aspect certainly in technical off road sections but I guess there’s a whole section of cycling that are only interested in fitness and not actual riding ability and skill and zwift appeals to them

Obvs a V6 Elgrand, Reliable and fun to drive and quick. Virtually no depreciation which offsets the fuel economy ;)

We don’t know each other but afraid we’ve been through similar with our losses. I don’t post much but have read a lot of yours and I’ve been amazed how well you’ve done in the situation you’ve found yourself in, venting on forums is good and there seems to be some proper good advice here, hope you find a way fella

Couchy- did you try out many of the screen options? Also do you know what the large black control box under the pillion seat is?

I know from adv bikes in the past I dislike tall screens, I tried mine without a screen and there’s little to no turbulence and it’s perfect for me like that. I’ve cut mine right down so it mimics not having a screen. I prefer the looks that way too. It’s also worth trying different helmets if you have one as that can make a difference too, glad you’re enjoying it. One note turn TC off soon as you get on as it interferes without you knowing. With it off it wheelies in the 1st 3 gears :)

I don’t do long distance but mine gets used all year and in all weathers off road, had it 12 months and I’m still on original cassette and only had one chain. I clean it properly and lube after after ride. Every month I take covers off motor and put waterproof grease in and I don’t jet wash any areas of the motor. I make an effort never to change gear under load as that does kill gears and chains. It only has a cheap sram 11 speed chain too so nothing expensive. If you keep on top of cleaning and ride with sympathy I don’t see any issues

Yeah more tax to be passed onto the working man, yes I know it’s meant to save the world but as always those that can meat afford it will pay the price of airline costs go up

Another vote for an elgrand, had mine 4 1/2 years its great bike and family transport. What it costs in fuel it hasn’t lost in depreciation or repairs 😀

Happens inconsistently on my iPad running safari and on my work PC running windows 10 using chrome. Slightly annoying but it’s only a click to enter password

The 1090 KTM isn’t better than the Africa twin off road as it has smaller wheels, the Africa twin is quite capable off-road. I did plenty of green lanes on mine. Reliability wise I’ve had 20+ Ktm’s and the only one I had warranty claims on was a 2008 super duke R. All my 50+ hondas have been good too, the Africa twin did have new wheels but nothing else.
The KTM is a the best adv road bike I’ve ridden, my S1000XR was close but the KTM gets the nod from me as I prefer twins. Tiger 800’s are nice but a bit slow and revvy, the 1200 is just too heavy 😁

Pines is fun as you can do a timed run on an easy fixed route, there’s some good off piste and a small jump zone for practising the back flips…Same as any trail centre it’s more like a Trackday as it’s a man made fixed environment. Peaks is different as it’s more a ride in beautiful countryside and not a timed blast round a track. Both have a place for me and both serve a purpose. Either way I’m out in my bike and not at work 👍

I swap to winters some time in October and back again about March. Not supposed to use them above 10c but they’ve been fine on the warm days we occasionally get. They are on my 250hp RWD bus which has no TC and are amazing in the snow, takes a proper effort to spin them up 😀

Ace, I love my 1090 it’s a superb bike. I swapped the tyres for proper sticky ones with a 170 rear and 120 front for track days. I’ll put more off road ones on for green lanes. Also changed standard dustbin exhaust and swapped the standard screen for a much shorter one, I then cut the shorter one down some more as this gave the smoothest airflow. One of the best bikes I’ve owned and that’s saying something. A to B on the roads it’s as quick as anything and pick the right roads it’s quicker ;)

Thanks all, pines is local and tbh it’s more a social event with mates than a mtb ride but if weather is good we’ll head up to the peaks as it’s a shame to miss a ride there ;)

Having not done this route think we’ll be going to Sherwood pines for the day which is my local or a route I have from Baslow, Derbyshire which I know, I’ll try this ladybower route before some time

OK reversed it :)

I weigh 91kg, I don’t recall what pressure I put in when I did the tubeless conversion but recently the front end hasn’t been good. I’ll find out later if the higher pressure has made a difference but the front with 18psi in does like to slide and wander about too much. I guess it’s a whole other thread about whether my riding style is causing this as much as the pressure but it is something that I’ve noticed recently so I’ll go with simple setup before tackling me !