But with the EXT shock, I don’t think it’s bad value compared to what else is out there. But then I’m a fiscal idiot…

Agreed – to be honest my steel front end alloy rear is more bike than i can realistically handle, but it is a great bike, meant to be 140 rear and 160 front but i run mine with a 150 fork and its lovely for me.

i have just seen the carbon rear end on its own is £1000 which is quite pricey, because i bought a full frame from them i got an special price which was too good to say no to.

If i didnt have a big house remodel that was starting next month id be all over the Ti front end like a tramp on chips, but alas i cant justify the 4k its going to need to get the custom geo i want with the cerrokote decals – not that ive looked into it at all.

You might have seen my thread about insurance cover and are your bikes covered properly

Fair enough,

I have mine covered for the full value of what i paid, i also have a folder of all the receipts for the parts i paid, where i bought second hand i saved a screenshot of the ebay listing/fb marketplace ad etc and then the bank transfer/paypal amount as evidence to my insurer should the worst happen.

I also invested in a real heavy duty strong chain, lock and wall anchor.

Hope your luck improves soon dude.

Can these run at 160mm like the steel ones? Asking for an imaginary friend

@Alex no, these are the 29er version which only runs at 140mm travel, the 160mm version is 27.5 only and no Ti version as of yet.

Im running an EXT storia on mine and its sweet as a nut, heard good things about the air shocks.

Really tempted to whack a custom geo Ti front end on a credit card. think the Mrs might kill me though.

Ive got an evoc hip pack pro, pretty good, holds everything i need on a short ride and plenty of water for 2-3 hours.

No real issues, other than getting it to stay put, do it tighter than you think and you should be reet.

That does sound like rubbish luck, just out of curiosity why did you have the bikes underinsured?

If you want it for spring, that’s tight for Stanton, however pleasant they are on the phone and however reasonable it sounds when they tell you 6 weeks.

This ^^^

However the guys are really friendly, and you get to chat to the people who weld the frame and paint it/sort decal colours out on Ti versions, you can even speak to the owner occasionally if you so wish.

However wait times for most stuff is vastly undersold, whatever they tell you triple it and you’ll be in the right ball park. although i will also say, the wait is definitely worth it.

Like i said above, because i ordered one of the early switch9erfs frames i was offered the carbon rear at an early bird price which is great, however they did say originally that it would be delivered by April, april rolls round nothing, may rolls into june and we get told its down to no rubber grommets being sent with the rear ends, july rolls over into august and they then have the parts but no boxes to send them out in.
i will say they did offer to send it earlier in a “makeshift” box if i wanted but it was still only the end of July.

I dont want the above to be construed as moaning about delivery times, but i feel Stanton need to be more upfront with their average wait times.

If i knew it was an 8 month or so wait, i’d still order but at least id be happier about knowing how long it would take rather than sit in the dark and not be told anything until i chased.

Yeah i have custom geo and custom paint, went with an 18inch with standover of a 16.5.
Paintwise – i went all white with black decals, no heritage wrap.

If you were to order then just bear in mind to take whatever timescale they tell you with a pinch of salt.
I had a few issues when i got mine but it took 8 months in total.

Same with the carbon rear end, was initially told April for delivery but has only been delivered today.

If you want something quickly, i wouldn’t be looking at Stanton.

@marksnook – look at the steel version – whilst yes it is heavy, it really doesn’t ride like it.

Its an amazing machine, and climbs surprisingly well. however it is so planted when descending it makes you feel like a decent rider, and i am very distinctively average.

Having owned the original steel and alloy switch9er fs for a couple of years and seeing this come out i was keen.

I already have the carbon rear end on order which should arrive today hopefully, i was very interested to see the price of the ti front end, when i looked i just couldnt justify the cost.

It looks awesome and is such a great bike, i think the carbon rear will make quite a big difference.

Love my switch9er and it gets lots of comments when im out and about, the Ti version is even more special but not justified for my level of riding.

What are you all doing with it?

Its mostly excel i use to be honest, i do something called matched betting and excel allows me to track where my bets are and my profit and loss very easily.

Its also easier to have word on the computer in case i need to write any letters, but i dont tend to use word very much anymore.

I have a word form to book my sons nursery hours, and trying to use the free version online that the nursery supply is an absolute pain in the harris.
So for £20 odd quid i will happily pay to be able to use it for the infrequent use i need it for.

Previously got a pair of transition/reactive lenses put into an old frame for the “one pair fits all” scenario by this company
lenses

Worked a treat, used them for 2 years on night rides with no issues, they were prescription but got rid when i had laser eye surgery.

i now have two sets of lenses, one clear and one not clear for night riding and sunny day rides, lenses take about 30 seconds to change over and were cheap from amazon.

I think you need to speak to the police & bank.

if not done already then yes report to the bank, they can try and claim the money back if transferred however they need the approval of the recipient account to withdraw funds otherwise they stand no chance, if it is a scam then these funds will have been withdrawn and wont physically be there to send back, nothing the bank can do unfortunately.

In the grand scheme of things i would count yourself lucky that you found out when you did, otherwise this could have been a lot more over a longer period of time.

The most important part is educating him as much as possible so this doesn’t happen again.

Another one for softmall with no issues, bought the 2019 version for around £20, hought it was worth a gamble.

Received instructions, online instructions didnt work, however went through telephone verification and worked a treat.

Did it sound like a scam? Yes – was i worried it was a scam? Yes
Turns out it was completely fine.

The whole thing smacks of an identity theft scam, innocent girl at school gets her account cloned with a different name posing to be her.

You then engage the scammer who draws a lot of money through little amounts out of someone gullible and volunteers all of the “correct” info as they know there’s no come back on them, they then promise you whatever you want as again, it throws you off and buys them time before you report it.

only thing you can do is collate all evidence and go to the police, the girl in question seems as if she would be just as much as a victim of this as your son.

Unfortunately scammers don’t give any concern to who they hurt, upset or if anyone is vulnerable, they deliberately target the vulnerable as they are easy targets.

I work in a bank in compliance and used to investigate fraud cases, some of which make your blood boil.

i can only opine from my experience with BMX’s which is around 20 years ago, but i remember mine and all my mates BMX’s having decent brakes that stopped really well, locked the back up when i wanted.

have you changed the brake pads for new ones? possible the rubber has degraded over time, assuming its a u-brake – so fairly simple to set up and adjust – youtube is your friend here.

I had a clear up of my garage recently – found 3 saddles, a set of brakes, a coil for an ohlins shock, lots of brake pads, lots of various nuts and bolts, two stems, some handlebars, grips and a few brake adaptors.

Put it all in one box to take photos and “sell” but i havent got round to it yet.

Definitely walk away, if its genuine then they are doing a good job of making it seem like its not.

Would you rather upset a genuine buyer or get scammed? i know which one i’d prefer.

This;

On the valuation front, I would imagine they use an equivalent of Zoopla for broad market valuation and it will be comparatively low risk for them…

Quick search of what other similar properties have sold for and as its low LTV its low risk, they wouldnt bother wasting their time and resources on sending someone out.

We have the same thing on our house LTV is around 30% last two remortgages didn’t bother with a valuation.

pretty sure it got reduced (or rather the trail below built up) at some point. You can just about very ungracefully roll it now.

It hadnt changed between the two times i went, it was very much my own perception of what was big at the time.
My first time visiting bike park wales was my first time at any bike park i was very much a novice who had only ridden cross country trails local to me.

All the drops on the reds have this strange visual effect where they look like you are jumping into the void with about 6ft drop to flat, even when the actual step is about 6 inches.

I thought this was just me, i think its the angles they place the rocks in front of the drops, just enough of an angle on the lip to obscure your view of the trail ahead.

I saw someone attempt to roll it and they got it a bit wrong. They did get up and laugh about it but it just looked awkward, think they bottled it when they got close with too much momentum.

I recently signed up to thread as im terrible at finding clothes i like, you answer some quick questions about what you like and dont like and they send you through ideas every week, most are full outfits, but you can pick and choose and give the ideas the thumbs up or down.

The best bit is that if you like something you can buy it through the website, theres a massive range of prices for every budget.

The only issue i have found is that they give you too much stuff that you like and then end up buying quite a bit or at least i have.

But to be fair – doesn’t that lead into Surfin’ Bird & BonneyVille that have slightly bigger features?

No surfin bird has its own drop which is smaller than the bonneyville one.

Not done coal not dole so cant comment on that.

Completely agree about Escort, tiny little notch cut into a log that you can just ride over and then whoah where the hell did this come from.

The drop into viscous valley is ridiculous given the rest of the trail, i remember the first time i went it put me off riding it, in the gap before my next visit i went to see the jedi for a day of training, walked upto the viscous valley drop and remember saying to myself, thats tiny what was i scared about and went off it and popped off with no issues at all.

Hate the mind games that come with this sport.

Another Yoga with Adrienne user here, her yoga for cyclists video really helped me out. From there i have done a couple of her 30 day challenges, but always revert back to the cyclist video as it targets the muscles which i struggle with and is only 20 minutes long so with a young family is great.

Ive been a few times, and only ever seen the big bus running once and actually got on it. It feels smoother than the others but boy is it slow. However it is good for taking more people to the top in one go.

I’ve seen lots of people not bother with the qualifiers, think its bonneyville with the horrible drop off at the beginning which ive seen a fair few people carry their bike down and carry on riding, that drop has always put me off riding the trail.

I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to drop offs and jumps as i think about it all far too much and then it gets in my head, despite knowing i can ride them fine as i have done most of them previously.

Completely depends on the Bride and grooms choice, I’ve been to lots of weddings which were formal so i went with 3 piece suit and the whole 9 yards, and ive also been to some which were informal and smart jeans and shirt were worn, and even some which were in a field with a mini festival type vibe where the dress code was “Whatever you’re comfortable in” Smart shorts and a light short sleeved shirt – like what you would wear to a posh restaurant on holiday in a hot country.

I always go whole 9 yards unless specifically told i don’t have to by the bride/groom.

I bought the Elite Direto X through lockdown and really rate it, think it was just over £600 in the sale CRC did, it’s my first turbo so cant really compare, however i used the DC Rainmaker reviews and watched a few of GP Llamas youtube videos on it.

I originally linked to it via a laptop, then i got a PC screen to link it up to, eventually running apple tv through the screen.

I use Zwift mainly, but have the option of running a programme from my garmin.

Really easy to set up, pretty quiet, and zero issues, the left and right leg also fold away to make it slimmer for storage. However i dont use this as its permanently set up in my garage.

Overall im really please with it and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

footflaps

I always think gyms shouldn’t have mirrors, was always amused by how many people went to gyms to look at themselves in mirrors rather than lift weights…

Our home gym is mirror free….

Advantage of mirrors is that you can see your form when heavy lifting, especially when squatting/deadlifting.

Mirrors in my opinion are a good thing, however lots of gym goers use the mirrors when they arent lifting anything to see how good they look.

I especially liked the guy who walked into the changing room, went straight over to the mirror, lifted his shirt to check on his 6 pack progress, nodded to himself and then walked back to the gym floor.

In regard to wall mounting id make a bracket out of 2×1 or 2×2 and fix the mirror to that. not done it in my pain cave though.

As soon as i start to brush my teeth my wife will ask me a million questions.

I have some leatt elbow pads, in xl i think which fit quite well, however my issues lie in knee pads for the bigger calf. (I have unusually large calves in relation to my thighs)

Only ones ive managed to get that fit both thigh and calf are Dainese pads. everything else cuts off the circulation to my legs or is too big at the thigh and falls down.

I needed to swap out some on my hardtail recently – using xt two pots, couldnt get hold of shimano so went with TRP 33 2 piece. Whilst bedding them in i nearly went OTB, they provide quite a bit of bite compared to the shimano i had on before, however that might be because they were contaminated.

I have a One Up v2 on my hardtail, had an issue a little while ago in that it seized and wouldnt move, admittedly it had been on for 18 months through 2 winters and never touched apart from a top up of air every now and again.

They have a really good guide online about how to take it apart and service it with very few tools, which i did and it hasnt been a problem since.
Never used a brand x, but i can recommend a crank brothers highline, have one of those on my full suss and its been faultless, not got a very quick return but apparently they did that deliberately to focus on longevity of the cartridge, mines knocking on for 4 years old now and still going strong.

Look at it from a different view, if your father was having a heart attack or was at risk from a life threatening injury, would you accept that they went to someone who wasn’t in immediate danger of dying because they called first?

Whilst not acceptable it is the reality of a struggling service, could your mother have phoned you for help to pop round and try and get him up, whilst i realise you probably wanted him checking over before standing him up this would have stopped him laying on the floor in discomfort. did he take any paracetemol or ibuprofen? this will be the first question the crew will ask.

The paramedics can only do one job at a time and unfortunately are in the most dire situation with volumes of calls etc that they could be right now.

For reference my wifes a paramedic so i hear first hand some of the horror stories.

Right handed
Right footed
Skate left foot forward
Box left foot forward
Dress to the left, its just uncomfortable any other way.

The only real issue it solves is where frames have tight routing for the cable, im thinking santa cruz here as i know there was a problem with their frames being compatible with one up droppers, it also cleans the cockpit up and stops the maintenance of having to change the cable.

Im interested in one, but cant justify the price, ill take reliability from the cable over the new tech.

The second hand market for droppers is good, especially anything 150mm plus, i sold a 125mm dropper a while back for about £20 less than i paid for it. (that was a 50% off sale)

Like others have said, you are comparing top end mountain bikes with run of the mill motorbikes, even a hayabusa is fairly middle of the road(ish) albeit a very fast road.

That 15k for a top end pivot, is like the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition of the mountain bike world, that Ducati comes in a smidge under £35k.

I’d only need the new Ti FS front triangle, have a carbon rear end on order which will hopefully be delivered soon. Oooohh i want one.

Anyone that has fallen for this, don’t feel ashamed of yourselves. This is a very convincing site, and is actually one of the better ones i have seen.

I work for a large bank and investigate fraud cases, so i have seen more than my fair share of these types of scams.
This one looks like they have done their research quite well, changing the address to the actual bike shop, with all the details as lots of people investigate these shops by googling and street viewing the premises then decide its okay as its an actual shop.

Good luck on getting the money back, this can be a slow process, sometimes the beneficiary bank will hold the funds and return them especially if there have been numerous reports of fraud, other times they will have to reach out to the beneficiary to gain consent to return the funds, obviously this never happens.
However these fraudsters generally have a few accounts which when one is burnt they move to the next.

What to do:
Phone the bank to say you have been made aware that the website is a scam site and you would like to recall the funds due to fraudulent activity, they then have to investigate this, sending messages to the beneficiary bank and if they deem it is a fraud attempt have a legal and regulatory obligation to file a SAR(suspicious activity report) to the National Crime Agency.

Report to Action Fraud and provide as much info as possible, these reports from Action Fraud are sent to all banks who “should” proactively search for any of their customers who also have been defrauded and it helps build a case.

And always, always, always pay for online stuff via your credit card even if you have the cash to pay it off, stick it on a credit card, then pay it off straight away, you’ll still be eligible for the chargeback and pay no interest.

Not in a letter no, but i did have a stand up argument with my then manager, where i just lost it and told him everything i thought of him and why, giving fairly in depth examples of why and how he he had pushed me to my limit.

Stormed out the building calling him a naughty word that starts with C and never returned again.
Got phoned by HR a few days later, where i re-iterated exactly why he was the worst boss to work for and left it at that.

Did it help? not at all, they refused to give me a reference. Did it make me feel better? Yes

If the stanton is such a dream bike, then why not a stanton FS, ive got the switch9er FS and whilst not overly light it climbs pretty well.

What sort of budget are you looking at?

Im in the same boat, trying to cut down as i found myself eating a lot of stuff with sugar, breakfast was porridge with sugar on top, possibly a banana.
3 bits of fruit a day as snacks, then normally a big choccy bar or bag of sweets like fruit gums in the evening, not your normal small bars a proper big bar/bag meant to “share”.

Ironically i cant stand fizzy drinks unless theres booze in it, but thats a different hurdle for a different time.

I cant go cold turkey, so started by just having plain porridge in the morning and treat myself once a week to a bit of sugar added, swapped a couple of peices of fruit a day for two boiled eggs with a pinch of salt.

And slowly cutting down to one evening a week where i allow myself to have a chocolate bar/bag of sweets, usually a friday.

Going well so far and by not cutting it out altogether means that my brain doesnt go all out craving it all the time.