Took my 14yo daughter and her mate to their first gig to see Alice Cooper last night at the NIA in Birmingham.

Pretty cool to see your kids rocking out and singing along to the same music I listened to (and still do!) at their age.

It’s my 5th or 6th time seeing him since the early 90’s, the dude still rocks at 76!!!

Support from Primal Scream was pretty decent too.

Thanks, will try and get to the local music shop tomorrow and see what they have.

Any recommendations for budget steel string acoustic?

Looked at THIS from Gear4Music.

On the flip side – I could do with an ebike to keep up with my 13yo!

At our club we have strict no ebike rule for students, regardless of age.

Also with the uplift it’s bad enough hauling a 17kg DH bike on and off the trailer – wouldn’t fancy it with a 20kg+ ebike!

Daft question time……

When re-stringing a Floyd Rose, is there any reason I can feed the string from the tuner to the bridge and only have to cut the string once?

Seems easier (read lazier) than cutting the ball end off, then stringing and then cutting the excess off….

Brendog! Robbed, again…….

Is it freeride or slope style?

Seems to be judged more like a slope style contest in recent years.

I actually quite like the look of it…….

Thanks all.

Club secretary has sent a polite email to the bloke.

We are very popular and slightly unique in what we offer, so are generally over subscribed.

We get the occasional “my kid is only 3 but can ride like Jackson Goldstone so can he join?”

Most people accept the “sorry need to be 5” and are fine with it.

First time we’ve had falsified documents!

And Rock and Roll Hell too……

That Slacker looks ace!

Can’t you just slacken one strap and then release the other and progressively release the tension?

I use the Oko stuff – usually a 2 for 1 on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/tyresealantsales

Cheers @weeksy – it was another track ticked off the list.

We’re possibly going at some point in the near future so she can ride them all again and have a go at the others too.

Looking to get her some additional coaching in the off-season too.

Trying to decide what races to look at next year – hoping to get booked onto at least a couple of the Pearce series, but that fills up really quickly.

@matt_outandabout thanks, she’s not one to give up, so she’ll always pick herself up and keep going.

Yesterday was the final round of the MIJ series at FoD – this time the track used was Ski Run.

Wasn’t the best of days if we’re honest.

Got there just before 09:00 and signed on, noticed that there were 2 uplift buses parked up so that was a bonus as I wasn’t feeling great about doing the push up as I had COVID the other week and still feel a bit naff.

Sent her off up for practice and she did 3 full runs with one where she stopped and decided to session a couple of sections that she wasn’t too sure about.

Had a small off towards the bottom of the second practice run, but got back up and came down pretty happy.

First race run from where I was watching she looked pretty good.

Got to the bottom and found a very disgruntled daughter with a front flat….. so a DNF that run.

It’s my fault as I dropped the tyre pressures was it was a bit greasy – dropped it too much and she burped the tyre.

So got back to the car and stuck a tube in, check rear pressure and decided to put another couple of PSI into be on the safe side as I’d noticed a bit of sealant around the rim.

Went off and had some lunch and walked up checked out another couple of sections of track before second race runs.

Just before She went up for second run she mentioned that the gears felt really stiff, so on investigation it turns out that the ‘minor’ off in practice had bent the barrel adjuster on the shifter…..

I didn’t have a spare with me and didn’t want to try too hard to straighten it with the fear of buggering it completely.

So I managed to stick it in a middle’ish gear and sent her off on the uplift…

Second run didn’t go well – looked ragged and missed some of the lines, but she got to the bottom with no drama.

Finished last of the runners in her group, and think she was just glad to get down, she was disappointed as practice had gone really well.

So one more race before the end of the year at Stile Cop in November.

Here we go, BK says he owns the premises, but Isaac runs it.

Heavier person to sit on the bike?

I had 10 speed Microshift Advent on my last gravel bike – seemed to work well, and you can get Brifters, mech and cassette for around £250. Might be an alternative to Shimano/SRAM.

@CountZero
I always used 10A scalpel blades, with the No 7 handle – easier to use, and I used the end of the handle for rubbing down Letraset.

Letraset – way classier than branding or carving your name on the patient…….

@reeksy Chris Ball was one of the founders of the original Enduro World Series. Sold out to the UCI to make it more “professional”, then sold out again to Warner Brothers/ Discovery to take over Enduro, DH & XC who put it behind a pay wall/subscription.

Instrumental in the introduction of semi-finals and other daft changes.

Now trying to turn DH etc into F1 and ruining it in the process due to commercialism, massive price hike on entry fees, getting rid of privateers and various other dick moves…..

Think that just about covers it…..

Current Hover X1 doesn’t have obstacle avoidance, neither does the new DJI Neo.

Chris Ball – WTF????

Sam Hill should have been in there earlier!!

the person in charge of DH has zero interest in fans of the sport

But he’s been inducted in to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame…..

Just seen this posted by Nevis Range:

Fort William World Cup: Looking Ahead to New Opportunities
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will not be returning to Fort William in 2025. While this news is deeply disappointing for us and the entire mountain biking community, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in the last 20 years, including EventScotland, The Highland Council, and Outdoor Capital of the UK, for their unwavering support over the years. The biggest thanks must of course go to Rare Management whose vision, ambition and dedication brought the event to the Highlands in the first place and gave us over 20 years of World Cups and Two World Championships!
Fort William has long been synonymous with world-class mountain biking, and while we may not be hosting the World Cup next year, we are incredibly excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead. In the coming weeks, we will be unveiling a series of events that promise to capture the spirit and excitement of the World Cup. These events will include four new races in Fort William, to maintain the competitive edge and prestige of the World Cup, these events will bring (collectively) the same volume of fans and competitors; whilst easing the burden on local infrastructure by spreading the events over a longer period.
Our focus moving forward will be on grassroots initiatives aimed at introducing new people to the sport and nurturing Scotland’s next generation of elite athletes. We firmly believe that Scotland and the UK are the beating heart of mountain biking, and we are committed to ensuring that this remains the case.
We wish Warner Brothers every success as they take the World Cup series forward in 2025. However, our journey with the World Cup is far from over. We are already in discussions with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Highland Council, EventScotland, and the Scottish Government to bring the event back to Fort William in 2026 and beyond. The impact that the World Cup has had on Nevis Range, Fort William, and the surrounding culture is undeniable, creating a mountain biking legacy that rivals any in the world. We are immensely proud to have hosted this prestigious event for 20 years and look forward to its return.
In the meantime, we will be working closely with our incredible partner, Madison, and particularly Saracen Bikes, to deliver outstanding events that bring more young people into the sport. We are dedicated to showcasing the power of biking to bring people together, enhance outdoor experiences, and build stronger communities.
Looking ahead, the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Scotland presents an incredible opportunity to reignite the passion for biking in Scotland. Nevis Range is ideally positioned to host mountain biking events such as cross-country, ensuring that we deliver a spectacle that the entire Commonwealth will remember. We will be engaging in discussions with all the agencies involved to explore how we can turn this vision into reality.
We remain committed to continuing the legacy of mountain biking in Fort William and look forward to sharing more exciting news in the weeks to come.

Hopefully the “grass routes” approach will be something different to look forward too.

Dominic Langan, CEO of Madison, the UK’s largest distributor of cycle parts and accessories, Said…

“This is incredibly disappointing news and somewhat surprising given the significance of the UK mountain bike market, the size and participation of the domestic enthusiast fanbase and not least the last twenty years of successfully hosting the event at Fort William. Fort William has also been previously voted the best Downhill Mountain Bike event in the world by the UCI. Hopefully, this is merely a temporary blip!”

No Fort William – gutted………

Well done – sounds like a crazy weekend!

FE at Cannock have pretty much said they aren’t interested in rebuilding any of the sections they “dumbed down” as they want more families riding – not bothered about those who want to ride Tech or progress.

Since I’ve been riding Cannock the Dog has just got progressively flatter and more pedally.

Thinking of picking up my guitar again – haven’t “played” (very loosely used term….) in about 20 years.

Still have my 90’s Aria Pro Pro II Excel, Marshall Amp and other bits.

Obviously guitar will need re-stringing – are Ernie Ball Slinky still the go to strings?

Anything else I should get done to it before I plug it all in?

I’m actually thinking about having lessons too!!

Sausages……

Country First, Party Second………

This lot are so full of crap…..

I’m in…..

Daughter has the Tektro Orion 4pot on her DH bike.

Seem to work well, only issue I had was bleeding – had to cut down a bleed block to slightly over-fill to get a decent lever feel.

MK do an illuminated frame that sits behind the switch.

@fasthaggis my aunt said the same – he wasn’t a pleasant man at all.

Thanks all.

I think possibly it isn’t included because the school book everything direct and not through a third party/agent.

The last trip she went on with school was a PGL trip to France – insurance was included iirc.

@Ambrose it’s a small Independent Grammar school – not sure what difference it makes.

Anyone know what the fit/sizing of the Spada trolley are like?

My usual winter stuff is Endura Freezing Point jacket & Trousers with a base layer and jersey.

Guessing Cannock will have been the blue (Perry’s Trail) and the Pedal & Play areas that were put in place before and for the Commonwealth games.

Hulk midge?

Don’t fear the beeper……

And no one will be going to a Plant and Paige reunion……

@Blackflag unfortunately the budget doesn’t allow for Ti!

Thanks all.

Camino frame ordered!

Thanks all.

Leaning towards the Camino as they’ve just dropped the price to £499.

Also means I can choose a colour as the Orange was only available in Sand.

@BadlyWiredDog how does the Camino size up? What size do you have & what height are you?