Cheers, Tribes ordered. I’ll report back how I get on. They are very fairly priced.

How did you get on with rebound damping? Is there a good workable range?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/apr/11/bundesliga-premier-league

An old article, but presents a distinct contrast.

The Germans seem to be phenomenally successful despite (because of) legal requirement for 50% fan ownership. Therefore when a German buys a season ticket, replica shirt, match programme, pie and Bovril, they are genuinely helping the club. In England they are linig the pockets of a mega rich person with ulterior motives.

Of course he is. While all the other riders recklessly hurled themselves into the abyss (e.g a 3ft drop) never to to be seen or heard from again, our correspondent made it back to the cafe in one piece, sole survivor of a doomed expedition.

On trails that I know I can sort of give the impression that I know what I’m doing, but put me on an unfamiliar trail and/or ground conditions I’m not used to and I can get brake clenching gut wrenching “I’ll walk this bit” fear over any random obstacle.

Could have written exactly the same thing!

Indeed. I can sometimes delude myself into thinking that I’m a pretty useful rider when I’m on my own and I’ve just “smashed” my favourite bit of trail for the 200th time. But nothing bursts the bubble quite like riding with other people as they glide off into the distance with nary a pedal stroke.

Garry Lager – yes sorry Sayonara Wild Hearts. Recommeded by Edge magazine which I used to read 20 years ago when I last played video games. It’s very art-house, indy, hip, beautifully poetic in its own way. I can imagine if you have strong rythm and lightning reflexes then getting in the zone would be a joy. If however you’re all fingers and thumbs like me then the music, intead of flowing to a crescendo, degnerates into a jarring staccato when you slam your motorbike into yet another brick wall. And for me that’s all there was to the game.

Cheers all. I’ve just bought Borderlands trilogy, which is still on offer at £15.99.

I forgot to say that at Christmas I also bought Resi 4 and played for about 10 mins before getting sea sick and massively annoyed with the controls. Fingers crossed Borderlands isn’t in the same vein!

Coming down dry hot alpine cols the power and silence and modulation of road discs are fantastic.

For UK winter road riding discs are a frightful cacophony. They never build up enough heat to burn off the road grime/contamination. After three years of perseverance, I switched to the sublime silence of deep drop caliper rim brakes. I’m not goig back.

Would Deore 10sp work?

I think the freehub is the normal width so should be ok. I’m just wondering whether it would work with the proprietory chainring/set.

Does anyone have any experience of attempting this?

This situation really has brought out the worst in people. The disruption to the status quo has led some to seek to take advantage, and has led many to identify new outgroups to villify.

I really hate the “don’t be a dick rule”, whoever raises it is invariably being a dick themselves.

Love it. That’s what my Genesis Equilibrium wants to be when it grows up.

Go on a 60 mile ride tomorrow,

Then he’ll get flagged by the lock-down curtain twitchers.

I’ve had a 30 mile road ride flagged for this reason. Abusive comments etc.

Always carry a tube, pump, tyre boot and co2 even for short loops. I slashed a GravelKing sidewall tonight, sealant everywhere. I was rolling again in about 12 mins. It’s the third such occurrence in about two years.

I’m no expert, but I thought that part of the appeal of Eric B & Rakim’s Paid In Full was that the production was a so rough, so raw, so unpolished and “genuine”?

For very high production values, PSB’s Race for Space is recent standout for me. Going back a bit anything by Air, and back a bit further Portishead.

It has a Belgian Consulate with all the trappings (flag, large ornate shield) There must be a story there.

Any views on the £50 Decathlon complete for a 15y/o beginner?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/team-galaxy-skateboard-red–id_8311140.html

If the Bahookie is high end all singing all dancing, and the Scandal is cheap and cheerful, what is solid mid-range into which you could plug that Kinesis Maxlight fork?

I can’t shake the feeling that the Niner Sir ought to be a c.£650 frame and would therefore fit the bill, but its pricing is out of kilter on this side of the pond.

Aussie Grit x100

There’s an Audax sub-niche of distance riding on Bromptons. There’s a few do Paris Brest Paris.

There’s also the Brompton pack-rafting classic up the length of the three main Shetland Islands, 60° North. I seem to recall that off the record the participants confessed that they hated the fully-loaded high-wind cycling stretches, but they are versatile bikes.

evoc 1L,..

+1

<2hrs I’ll take the evoc and a bottle on the bike. For that length of time you just need tools, phone, keys and perhaps a snack bar.

>2hrs take an osprey hydration pack.

That’s great thanks CGG!

How does this translate to punters like me? Is it basically saying a) don’t go out on an empty stomach and b) if you have a HR monitor then keep yourself at <85%? i.e, stay out of zone 5?

Order an expresso. You’ll get lots of bites, it’s just too easy.

From WIRED, two days ago:

How did Covid-19 start?
The disease appears to have originated from a Wuhan seafood market where wild animals, including marmots, birds, rabbits, bats and snakes, are traded illegally. Coronaviruses are known to jump from animals to humans, so it’s thought that the first people infected with the disease – a group primarily made up of stallholders from the seafood market – contracted it from contact with animals.

Well maybe they take one end of the argument and we land somewhere in the middle, eh?

E.g cut out most of the needless business travel but leave the tourist travel?

Oh and importantly, Chinese to ban those wild animal markets which were the genesis of this outbreak. Also Africa to effectively outlaw their bushmeat/ebola chain of infection. Whatever requirements for normal food (i.e from sheep or cows or pigs) seriously we’ll give it to them. Not worth the economic and social cost to withhold.

Semi-serious answers:

1. Outright ban on smoking and vaping.
2. Handshakes consigned to history, either Namaste or elbow bumps to take over.
3. Architecturally,use of doors to be minimised to an extreme degree. At the moment buildings are a needless festival of doors.
4. Massive ghost-hospitals full of ventilators all over the world. Needless to say the next virus pandemic won’t go for our chests.
5. Home working/Skype to replace 75% of a)business office space and b) business travel.

lightfighter762
Subscriber
I was safe today at Glentress. Took my DH bike down Berm Baby Berm and the Admiral.

Lol, this is me at the best of times!

I always thought the stif morf looked class. Why did you move it on?

Why do the Spanish consider going for a run with your dog to be “taking the piss”?

Ten years ago if you wanted a ’boutique” steel frame you went Cotic, Cove, Sanderson, Dialled or Pipedream. From memory Sanderson’s USP was a oversized BB shell which could take an eccentric BB to run single speed without a tensioner.

Swiss stop blue

Yes, I’ve pored over the mag review a few times. I took the inference that the true character and qualities of the frame and fork were perhaps masked by the jumbo tyres the bike was provided with. Same goes for the off-road cc review. I was just wondering as per the OP if anyone had any real world experiences.

Thread resurrection: any forum experience with the Shug? It’s certainly a thing of beauty, I’m slightly intrigued by it. I think the price may have risen a couple of hundred quid after Christmas, but it’s still just a smidgin more expensive than a Solaris with the same Helm and Hope headset.

I’ve seen some bad ass jungle in my time, but this sh!t makes Cambodia look like Kansas.

What’s got Billy so spooked?

Remember Afghanistan Major?

I’m trying to forget..

What’s the worst that could happen?..err

Then there’s the strict liability angle which I think some cycling promoters favour. It cuts both ways, both “upwards” with cars and “downwards” with pedestrians.