I think Honesty is best… nothing slips by our two year old and he’s normally more upset if we’ve tried to con him than if we’d just been straight up with him.

By all means give them the light-weight story but I’d go along the lines of very poorly and you need to say goodbye because the doggie has to go now.

Hans Dampf Pacestar? Not the fastest but sounds like what you need…

Are you sure the Stans advice isn’t pre tubeless ready schwalbes?

Edit: HDs front and rear in relevant compounds, tubeless on AMerican Classic All Mountains on an Orange Gyro – rips!

Dear God… 8O

Bristol’s amazing if you live here but I can’t say I’d travel for it.

As a recent beard hobbyist (about a year), I can confirm it’ll pass.

I think you need a bit of a neck line trim, nothing overly groomed but a tiny trim is the difference between full beard and tramp beard IMO. Don’t touch the cheek line whatever you do though, you can spot a cheek trimmer a mile away and it looks awful and over groomed. A little trim is the difference between full beard and boy-band beard.

Also, no one ever tells you about the joys of condensation beard (when riding), which if this week’s forecast transpires will become frost beard! Having a wife/partner to point out food and general spillages is a bonus too when it comes to integrating your newly bearded self into society…

I still get beard envy a lot. Wonderfully thick on the neck but really crap on the ‘burns… :oops:

As it gets long a touch of fried egg in it helps!

Edit: and this, wave goodbye to ever being able to eat a bacon and egg butty in public with the slightest ounce of dignity.

Heckler trumps both Oranges on price

Only if it fits… very weird sizing on the Hecklers always put me off. I’m only 5’8″ yet looking at the geo I’m somewhere between wanting a L or an XL yet I’d be able to stand over neither of them. The medium is waaay too short…

You guys do realise that many of these are perfectly legitimate things to get irate about?

Tea bags in pairs.. WHY!!!!!

I’ve developed a technique whereby you reach into the tin (a Yorkshire Tea tin, obv) and as you pull out the two bags, the second one catches on the closing lid, tears off and drops back into the tin.
Problem is you get the very occasional ripped bag (matron) and end up with tea-leaves everywhere…

I’ve developed a technique where you can separate and leave one behind without your hand leaving the box. It’s much like those clever folk that can crack an egg one handed.

You do get the occasional thumb through teabag incident resulting in loose leaves in the box…

and it’s quite amazing how far it’s moved on from the simple stuff that used to be state-of-the-art

We’re now doing a lot of interactive video based websites now, seems pretty routine now but if you’d have told me we’d be doing that a few years ago, I’d have not believed you. And even things like web fonts and responsive design are just a matter of fact now yet practically unheard of not long ago…

.Net mag is essentially awful, but I find equally worth having around just to give you half an eye on what’s coming up…

Smashing Magazine is also a bit naff, but equally good for an insight into newish things.

Tyres, Hans Dampfs without question… genuinely do most things very well and are even half decent in real mud. You’ll find quicker tyres but they’ll be much less grippier. Very good trade off of grip and rolling speed.

If my Epi Les Paul Std was anything to go by, the machine heads and the electrics will be shocking. Stupid thing never stayed in tune beyond one song and it was a crackly thing from new.

Maybe I got a lemon but based on my experience, I wouldn’t be too hung up on getting an Epi… :(

Serious question but how up to date is he? Stuff has moved on seriously quick in the last two years, to the point where you could find yourself behind the industry in a really big way. Things have probably advanced more in two years than they have in the entire duration of the web before that.

I wouldn’t say the work has dried up. If anything the smaller guys are benefiting from everyone downsizing on what agencies they use.

If he’s just doing basic websites for small businesses then he’s going to struggle as that kind of market is being gobbled up by DIYers and visual build your own website type things.

Follow Me was a big disappointment after seasons so I’ve avoided pretty much everything since. Will have to dip into this one I think…

Mainly Corkscrew into GBU last weekend (we did the XC too). I mean it was a bit sketchy but more a result of being on a 120mm 29er than anything.

Yup, DH runs too…

Actually Endo was pure comedy but I’d probably not bother riding that again…

I dunno, I was up there on a 120mm 29er with 2.35 Hans Dampfs on last weekend and a few weeks before and was ok. It’s not that bad up there!

So a tax on living in the countryside then

I live in the countryside.

I’ve not got the most up to date version of Dave’s. I didn’t realise until the day I actually rode it though!

Wwaswas: damn you, I was editing as you posted!

(Lunchbreak eating/half reading momet)

Can it calculate VED as a pence per mile too, and issue speeding penalties on the spot please!?

Mountain Biking.

Edit, only because I’m considered relatively normal otherwise.

not sure if i should be offended or not

I’m under 30… your turn :P

Forest of Dean, and yes, I’m the younger Rocketdog pictured above :oops:

(Pic by Neil)

Wot no Orange 5 and 224?

Look, one of them is practically beige and the other’s got hybrid wheels on it! Will that do you? :wink:

I’d flame you for having a bike you won’t ride in the mud, but I’m too busy treading water in my own drool…

Come clean, your wife was searching for the goth boots right?

Had a dream I was living in a post apocalyptic, mad-max esq world where I’m an MTB-riding, assault riffle wielding, cycle courier and I’m the only means of getting messages between fortified towns. Think the Fall Out games or Mad Max meets Kevin Costner’s The Postman on mountain bikes. I worry about what’s going on in my head sometimes… :-S

Just had a nudge from Orange, I was wrong on the forks front, Gyro not warrantied for 140mm – my mistake! :oops:

roverpig, we’ll have to wait and see but I think the LT is going to be a chore uphill and along compared to the Gyro.

Thing is, if you buy a bike for 90% of your riding you’ll enjoy it. If you buy a bike for 100% of your riding, you’re actually buying a bike for 10% of your riding if that makes sense.

If I was being critical, the Hope X2 brakes with Hans Dampfs on could do with bigger rotors (or just bigger brakes)

Oh, Mark, just a heads up but I’ll be at FOD on Sunday, mainly a chilled/slow social going away ride for a mate if you fancy it?

Dont trust him, he once bought an ick yellow Oo 456

Haha!

(By the way, I think we’re coming up for the party, just sorting childcare and aiming to book a room somewhere)

The amount of times some super cheery cyclists nods or waves hello as I’m riding by on my own in a total world of my own, only for it to register after I’ve passed them that I’ve essentially just ignored them.

Don’t take it personally… road biking is mundane at best and it’s easy to drift off!

I reckon a Gyro would be better than my 2006 Five

I am guessing Gary was comparing the Gyro with more recent 5s and not an 06.

Ah, 2006 you say. Newer Fives are quite different geometry wise… I’m basing that on the newer slacker Fives of late as John says. I’ve ridden it down the Forest of Dean downhill trails which have plenty of steep, root filled little section and it was no bother – my gut feeling is that a ‘Scottish XC bike’ (not racing) is exactly what it is! I’ve got an ’08 Five and it’s certainly no more capable. So this is all based on the newer ones…

You could probably ask for a 140mm fork to be put on too if you wanted a bit more steep stuff capability…

Ah, so it’s your blog that’s been making me lust after a Gyro then!

Yeah sorry about that… :oops:

So thought I would get a Gyro, didn’t think the stays were that long

The thing is, a single pivot with forward axle path, the stays are essentially shortening as you go through the travel. So as you as you sag the suspension, they’re already shorter than measured. And if you’re really squirting it hard out of a corner, guess what, they’re even shorter. Just another reason why it’s better to test ride something rather than get hung up on geo charts.

Nope, DOSS does it too, totally and utterly unnoticeable.

Climachx is barely 10 mins though so its far from the longest when it comes to time.

Double…

A few words here, this is mostly based on me riding it as an almost stock bike so pre-dropper, pre hans dampfs, pre AC wheels.

http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/blog/longtermer-orange-gyro-pro-2.htm

bruceandlauren: Oh it’s much ‘bigger’ than an Anthem or a Superfly. Although it’s only 110mm on the rear it really needs to be thought of as a 120mm bike – think Rumblefish, not Superfly (which I also have in). Weights below for size medium pro.

I’ve played with a variety of spec configurations.

Off the peg pro with PD-M505s is 31lbs
Off the peg with PD-M505s, bashguard double, Fox Doss and Hans Dampfs is 32lb 11oz (this killed it a bit)

Just changed the stock wheels for American Classic All Mountains and switched to new XT cageless pedals, done the Hans Dampfs Tubeless, still got the Dropper on: 31lbs 2oz

The current and last spec spec means I’ve managed to get a dropper and killer tyres on for almost the stock weight, and it’s really fun. It’ll currently skin a Five on anything except steep gnadgecore and bigger drops and jumps. As far as 31lb dropper equipped trail bikes go, it rides very light for what it is.

As for XC, I’ve done the maths and I can hit 28lb if I stick 2.25 Rocket Rons on those American classics and lose the dropper post and bashguard. 27lb might be doable if you throw silly money at it but I think you’d be missing the point of the bike.

I’d probably race it for fun at the 28lb spec above but don’t be under any impression that this is an Anthem or a Superfly. Think ‘attempt anything’ all day XC bike at one end of it’s spectrum, and hardcore trail bike and UK Enduro bike at the other.