I can't be sure but my guess would be that Aston is a sticky gloopy nightmare at the moment… If you don't mind short runs try Woburn or Chicksands for a bit of non sticky fun?

There's a certian ignorance is bliss element to this, but I'm past that so I think I'll work towards a retirement living on a yacht in New Zealand and see how I go! Sounds appealing no matter what happens! 8)

The trouble with this kind of prediction at the moment is that the more you look into it the more likely it seems to be correct. And the longer it takes to arrive the more disasterous its going to be. I feel genuinely uneasy these days with my place in society and the institutions I depend upon to survive and support my family. Not sure what I can do about it without my wife thinking I've gone mad.

For £137 you can't go wrong with the standard inbred – my 18" frame in Barry White looks fab!

I've had some easton monkey bars on my xc hardtail for ages, very happy with them.. I worry about ding resistance though, not sure I'd bother with again.

Alloy bars are so good these days I'm not sure what carbon bars add for the money.

Google – there are lots. Edible too!

Hmm still a few left so putting some in pots is a good idea, I'll pot some up now and the I can see how quickly they grow. Can then search out some really good spots to put them once they get older 🙂

I have just put some 69nr rigid forks on my 26" inbred. I like it.

It seems my conkers offend some people! 😆

An update for anyone who cares, which I doubt is anyone but not to worry. I think I've now spread about a two hundred of these. It must be spring because may of them have started to sprout, so had a conkers in my plastic bags session yesterday as pockets not up to the job. Got told off on a few occasions so that makes me an eco warrior like Dave Angel I reckon.

Fingers crossed one of then makes it!

Use less fuel with a satnav? Coblers. Buy a map, look at it before you leave and then use road signs. The alternative is disengage brain upon entering car and end up in the wrong country becuase you didn't bother to look of the windows and notice that the satnav is taking you to the wrong place with the right name….

(I exagerated a bit there for effect but it happens). Is like people who drive through swollen rivers and wonder why their car floats away, just not engaged with the environment in which they live at all.

Satnavs,
Satnavs,
Lady Gaga,
Ready grated cheese,
Breast implants,
All gossip magazines and lads mags.

Hi all – interesting to see that stretching is a theme here, I'm suffering from achy groin / lower back quite a lot these days and I think I've been lazy when it comes to stretching recently too – must stay bendy!

So its not just me feeling shonky at 35 then! If anyone has a magic formula to keep away the aches and pains let me know. I was practising wheelies today and now feel like I've been kicked in the crown jewels about 20 times! Cheers Ian I'll have a look at your thread for tips.

Yep – straight down in one!

Whatever tickles your fancy… 😆

Hmmm… the Swiss curler Carmen Shaffer is making the sport look pretty interesting at the moment…

Interesting this, if this knocks on to affect the atlantic conveyor (though I'm not sure I fully understand why, I thought Arctic meltwater was weakening that anyway) then what is often termed the "Gulf Stream" that keeps us warm will stop. Then who knows, we could have a similar climate to Norway. This has happened before and the change can be very rapid, years not centuries.

Lets face it, climatic change whatever the cause is a given now, this century is going to be a great big experiment and we are all part of it. I'm going to pull up a chair with tea and biccies and watch with interest! Nothing else to be done.

Biggest problem I've found with BIG forks on non DH bikes is not the head angle but the weight, makes the bike pretty nose heavy and that really threw out the handling off drops and jumps for me. Not a massive issues thought.

I think as long as you match the stem and bars to the head angle and accept the set up for what it is any combo will be fun. The slacker the head angle, the shorter the stem and wider the bars, the more fun IMHO!

I'm planning to put some pikes on my new inbred, as soon as I have cleared some space in the garage to build the thing up! 😆

+1 for the 661 Kyle Straits they are great, I forget I'm wearing them sometimes.

Stricly Sushi – could that be a new TV format? Hmmmm…. something to do with minor celebs trying not to get eaten by killer whales?

Just goes to show that being caged for the rest of your life is enough to drive any intellgent being bonkers. There are no recorded incidents of Orcas attacking people in the wild.

I've got a set of 454's and I'm really impressed, feel way better and lighter than the 55 ETA's I had prevously. Very versatile fork, it didn't feel out of place on the DH runs at Aston. Have got a second pair for my hardtail… 🙂

I've run a relatively cheap FSA carbon seatpost on my hardtail for years, offers a nice bit of flex to provide comfort and as long as your not wanting to slide it up and down lots its fine. I wouldn't use one for a bike where I'm moving it alot though, but then that would tend to be a full sus bike anyway and not as important.

Amy Williams could get a gold!

A really evil condition, just creeps in from either your feet or hands, killing off your nerves until it reaches your body and starts to paralyse your chest, my Mum died in her sleep because she stopped breathing. I'm so thankful now that this is what happened instead of her being dragged into hospital and kept alive for longer with no quality of life. This is partly what this petition is about, dying with dignity at home rather than wired up in a hospital bed.

I think what's impressive is how bad the crash could have been if she hadn't somehow managed to save it, amazing skill and committment and HUGE thighs!

Heard the interview. My mum died of MND, fortunately my Dad was able to care for her until she died in her sleep at home but there was very little support from the NHS services. Some kind of co-ordinated approach would be a start. Signed.

Don't muck the 5 with too much fork, 66's and like are too heavy and upset the balance. I reckon Lyric Coils or a 150mm Z1 would be ace, I had some 150mm Z1's on my 5 for a while and it was a good combo.

I have managed to get down from 5 to three, now just a commuter / rigid mtb, a hardtail mtb and a do-it all full sus. Just about holding it all together but if I had more money / space I'd be back to 5 like a shot…

I only got into biking when I was in my 20's, didn't ride much before that. Hence I have taken years to build up the skills to jump, bunny hop etc. Still trying to perfect wheelies and manuals, gradually getting there. Can find the balance point for a wheelie now! Often wish I had ridden more as a child.

I was working on the assumption that riding the bike rather than trying to walk with it between your legs was the favoured scenario! 😉

glenp I find I am able to commit to corners and get the bike drifting much better riding flats, in the knowlege that it can easily be caught with a dab. SPD's would hold me back. Just what I'm use to though.

Different suspension platform but having gone to 4.5inch travel on my blur 4x I can't notice much difference to previous 6" bike either, still take the edge off all the hits and goes fast! Used to have a joker btw and agree they are great frames. I think its quality not quantity that make the difference.

In the offing is the Ofcom ruling on Sky wholesaling their channels. If they force Sky to do it then you'll get more channels on Vision.

Yep. Makes you jump properly and easier to bail if it goes wrong. Plus its just more fun for mucking about.

You can now get ESPN.

Climate change is a complete red herring, and debating whether its happening or not is sadly missing the real issue. Which is that there are too many people, and we are using the worlds resources up in a wasteful way, faster than they can be replenished. Our entire agricultural and economic system is based upon the availability of cheap oil, which will start to run out in our lifetime. So forget climate change, we'll just have to adapt to that. The real issue is living more frugally, and in harmony with the ecosystems on which we depend, not in conflict with them.

But it won't happen of course, and we are probably all doomed. In 50 years time people will look back and say now was the golden age of mankind. IMHO 😀