They do an external air feed but they advised me against it as you are pulling potentially very cold air into the stove from outside.

We read mixed reviews. A few variables mean it’s difficult to say with any certainty, but it seemed to make no difference after we added it, for good or bad.

I’m yet to feel the love of wood burners, I’m really trying because apart from looking nice it saves me using any gas, but this thread sums them up…

We’ve got a PM2.5 monitor in the kitchen. Sometimes when we light the stove it never goes over 20, others it’s at 100-120 no matter what we do. It’s a modern, Heta Scanline and supposed to burn clean but I can only presume when the readings are high we’re getting some amount of reverse draw, even when it’s burning well.

We’ve had some disastrous lightings, I think mostly when we’ve shut the door too early. We have an external air feed too, but sometimes it just seems to burn much dirtier than I’d like.

I’m not sure we’ve had a PM of the people for a very long time, but as long as he’s for the people I’m happy.

I’d rather he wasn’t a hypocrite though. Jury is out for me whether it’s that or naivety (he’s a KC, so I’m struggling with the latter).

I came here for the thread title Very good. 🙂

Thanks Iain, Joe.

It’s a good shout on Assioma, but I don’t want to get to obsessed by the numbers when I’m out on the bike, just use them on the turbo to try and get better form. I’ve got power on a set of Force cranks and I find I prefer just going by feel/HR outside

On the Wattbike app, the L/R power analysis looks really, really good.

Agree the Zwift Ride is compelling, Crossed, but I’m quite enjoying Rouvy at the moment and don’t think the shifting is compatible (yet).

You can get group Rouvy for £60 each a year for groups of five. Tempted to see who wants in on that 🙂

Is the power smoothing (or lack of) still an issue in ERG mode on the V2 Atom? Everything I’ve ready suggests it is but seems hard to believe not sorted yet, and it’s about the only thing holding me back?

I’m leaning towards a Wattbike Atom to replace a Kickr 5, just so my two sons can share it without needing to swap bikes.  There different bikes, three different cassettes and just a load of hassle – they are on offer still.

I’d half wondered before that picture ^^ if the announcement had something to do with the Apple event tomorrow… Wattbike look like they are in need of a bit of cash and Apple need some hardware to make Apple Fitness have some broader use – could be a good fit.

I would have bought the Wahoo bike for £750 – it looks like a great solution – but the Zwift Cog is only for V6 onwards of the Kickr.

I think you have to try some on.  I ride 100% Racecraft2 right now, my son’s 100% Accuri 2s aren’t as good a fit on me.

I haven’t got much experience with goggles really, I really seem to suffer with eyewear affecting my depth perception and I’ve mostly chosen not to wear eyewear: the Racecrafts2 don’t seem to do at all, the Accuri do.  Must be something about the shape of the frame (even though they look so similar) and what I think I’m seeing (or talking myself into).  Either way, try and try some.

mashrFull Member
i’d rather blink the mud out from my eyes
I used to feel the same. Now I have a blister in my eye

I spend four hours in the Eye Infirmary yesterday after my front wheel picked up a small stone in the woods and threw it into my eye, an absolutely perfect shot.  Genuinely thought I was in trouble.  Never wept blood from my eye ball before, that was a bit grim (but short lived).

I’ve been pretty lucky.  Thoroughly checked with a microscope, some debris fished out and damage to the membrane.  I have one very sore eye now that should heal.

I’ve fished so much crap out of my eyes over the years because I don’t like wearing them (find goggles okay, but overkill) but I will be buying more glasses this week before I head back out.

squirrelkingFree Member
You’re calling me ignorant, so maybe you can tell me how many DH bikes you think are sold in the UK each year @squirrelking?

Honestly I couldn’t say but your estimate seems way below the threshold that one manufacturer, never mind many sharing that market would just not bother.

Two blokes arguing about something neither has the facts on – I’ve not seen that on here before… I’d still like you to have a guess at how many bikes though – pin your colours… 🙂

I think the total downhill market for new bikes will be less than the total UK market for super sports bikes over 1,000cc – so Panigale, Fireblade, ZX10 and so on. That’s a niche/halo product whos sport gets much better coverage on the TV, much higher attendance at races from spectators.  I think more of the general population would recognise it.

The total UK registrations for all super sports bikes is a three figure, not a four figure, number – and has been for some time.

I can’t think of many bike shops that have a range of sizes from one brand, let alone two, of DH bikes in stock – I’m guessing mostly they are special order in for most shops.

None of this is meant to be negative by the way – I think it’s a great sport. I’ve loved it since the 90s and while I don’t race anymore my son does – I love going to races.

Nationals, SDAs and the excellent Pearce series have about 250 competitors, and between 50 and 80% are under 19 years old – so hopefully the facilities and events now means we can retain people in the sport and hopefully  it’s at the start of a resurgence.

I spent a stupid amount on a Miele (7575 I think), and I’d be happier on a £300 gas unit instead. Mostly good, but when it turns off because water has splashed on it, or turns off because it’s confused itself with pans in close proximity or turned off for any other reason just as your finishing pulling everything together I want to hurt it.

The levels are really accurate, but I prefer seeing a flame to know how much heat there is. 3 years in and I suppose I’m used to it that – finally.

If you do get one, Barkeepers Friend is awesome for getting marks off them.

mogrimFull Member
Furry lined crocs ftw. You will look hot! Or at least your feet will be warm.
This! Ugly as sin, but lovely and warm and they’ll handle a trip outside to put the bins out.

Also this.  I bought a pair in the winter for in the house, and liked them so much I bought another pair for taking the bins out, messing around in the garage and so on.  Not so much peak middle age, as confirming life is over…

squirrelkingFree Member

I can think of 4 uplifted venues within 3 hours drive and more if I want to push. Head down to Wales and it’s likely the same story.

If the numbers were that small nobody would be selling them outside of niche builders.

Are people really this ignorant?

When I go to Inners, Farmer Johns, Antur, Danny’s or wherever I’d say there are more long travel enduro bikes than DH bikes.   I’ve just come back from (an awesome) two weeks in the Alps, definitely a lot more DH bikes there but many were hire bikes.

The DH bikes I see are rarely new, most people I know keep their DH bikes for three or four years given how much use they get and how often the design changes.  My current Gambler is 2024, but it’s a 2020 design.

You’re calling me ignorant, so maybe you can tell me how many DH bikes you think are sold in the UK each year @squirrelking?

martinhutchFull Member
That was my lighthearted point, no-one seems to have let Danny know that he belongs to a past era.

Sorry, I read it a completely different way.

I ride clipless, but my son’s just moved from Mk4 Burgtec to Stamp 1 V2 and he much prefers the concave shape, and extra grip.

Find a niche sport, build an app that makes discovering content difficult and then charge for it.

I think I only know one other person who I ride with who watches it live, or on same day – mostly because they don’t have enough interest to know when it’s on, how to watch it and definitely don’t want to pay for it.

It’s niche stuff though isn’t it? I wonder how many DH bikes are sold in the UK each year, 200? 300? 150?

martinhutchFull Member
Hart days were so good
Has anyone told Danny he’s done?

Bit harsh.  Great ride and a great result yesterday. Fastest in Sector 4 and 2nd in 5 – 4th overall.  Less than half a second between the top 5.  He’s around the top 10 this in the WC despite a new bike and less support.  You get the impression that he’s just loving riding his bike this year, so why wouldn’t he continue?

I though yesterday’s racing was really good, coverage was okay, commentary was hard work.

Currently in Les Deux Alpes. We brought DH bikes (Scott Gamblers, great value) after wondering if we should bring our normal bikes (Firebird and Megatower). So pleased we brought the DH bikes.

The bikes have taken a hammering, and they have been perfect. You can hire them everywhere, and I’d not think twice about what to bring next time.

Whatever you bring, stick tyres on with DH casings. We’re on Assegai DH and I can’t believe the abuse they’ve taken without any fuss, a lesser side wall would have ripped on day one I reckon.

Bring a spoke key, you’ll need it if you’re hitting the (horrific) braking bumps at speed. Bring spare brake pads and bring goggles for the dust. Bring grease, and be ready to repack the headset and maybe main pivot bearings when they get dry, dusty and creaky. Bring ibuprofen, and ibuprofen gel for your forearms… ?

We leave on Saturday, and two weeks hasn’t been anywhere near enough

I normally fit a Ergon SR Allroad, but my Revolt came with a Giant Approach SL saddle and I’m finding it really, really comfy.

Polar Verity here, it’s very stable and less problematic to me than a Wahoo Tickr X was, which moved around more on me than the Verity does, and sometimes just didn’t want to pick up from the start Dual Bluetooth on the Verity, which is handy. I’d buy another.

My wife has a Tickr Fit: I’d say the charging cable is likely to be lost than the Verity adapter, and seems to have much better battery life.

I wish both would auto-power off, neither seem to.

I think it’s most like a Hillbilly in terms of pattern, but with a better choice of casings and compounds – a winner, hopefully.

A Hillbilly with MaxxGrip sounds perfect (although T9 is better than MaxxTerra IMO).

The new crop of lightweight ebikes with 60NM motors are my preference, every time now for every ride you’ve said.

I borrowed a bike with a Fazua motor yesterday, it weighed about 37-38lb I reckon, and it makes my full fat e-bike feel bloated, heavy and slow.

I was faster up the trails, which was a surprise (both in trail) and faster down. It felt the same to ride as my normal bike. You mention Hamsterley, so in the off piste stuff yesterday like Beehives and Lumpy Mattress the lighter ebike was so, so much nicer to ride (and faster).

The bigger factor for me than the motor is the range on the lighter bikes. 430wh battery gets me about 3500ft of climbing, 3 hour typical ride. I’d need a range extender for a big day out in the Tweed Valley for example if I wanted to do 5000ft or 4/5 hours.

That said, when the battery dies, a lightweight e-bike reverts to being a bit of a heavy mechanical bike, where a 55lb full fat bike feels like an anchor.

It’s a bit fiddly but really straightforward. 8000 series blades are about £20 so definitely worth doing that. There was a change in thickness between 785 and 8000 even though they look pretty much identical so make sure you buy the right one.

Left and right are separate part numbers, but the blade itself is the same.  It is only the spring that changes so if you have the original spring, you can buy either.

scotroutesFull Member
I don’t even own knee pads and if I’ve not been mountain biking in the past 30 years, that comes as a surprise.
Posted 12 minutes ago

Yeah, I get that, I’m 49 and I bought my first pair this year.  Worn them twice so far, both for uplift days.

Plenty places I’ve ridden home and abroad where I knew they were probably a good idea for what I was riding.

Picking one thing to define it is hard.

I reckon if you’re riding stuff on a mountain bike where knee pads would be a good idea, it’s mountain biking. Through a gnarly trail in the woods, down something jaggy in the Lakes – or maybe Torridon loop – for example, or doing an uplift at Inners.

Riding off-road, alongside a river or canal for example, could be riding off-road on a mountain bike, but I wouldn’t call it mountain biking.

That said, I don’t actually wear knee pads very often at all – but know I should.

Rob, Kevin and Rob’s wife have proved themselves to be hard as nails.  Inspirational is a word that get’s thrown around too cheaply sometimes, but their attitude over the past couple of years really has been.

RIP Rob.

I’ve got a digital Topeak one, and I really like it.  It’s not cheap, but then nor are the forks and I reckon the pump will last years (if I don’t lose it)…

https://www.extrauk.co.uk/topeak/shock-pumps_~2236/product/160280-65421-pocket_shock_digital.html

The top 10 in the finals have much larger gaps of 3 minutes so you do see much more of the runs.

I just watched the whole thing on a website I’ve never heard of thanks to a link in the Pinkbike comment section.

Sorry, I wasn’t clear, I meant even longer: whatever the time for the full track is plus a bit so you they could find time with for the whole run plus a couple of replays of anything interesting or for side by side comparisons of whoever in the hot seat during the run.

I just think it would make the thing a bit more watchable for people who are on the edge of wanting to watch it but find the coverage a bit vanilla or bitty…

You’ve always seen more in the highlights, than the live rounds because of the gaps between the start times.  Irony.

That said, I’ve never understood when they don’t leave longer starting intervals on the top three or so riders, so you see more of their runs.  It wouldn’t exactly add much to the overall race schedule.

Thanks Bob, that’s a great spot.

The production is poor, isn’t it.  No obvious improvement on last year at all, really.  Watching on Discovery app via Sky puck, and there’s no commentary – don’t know if that’s specific to the platform I’m watching on or not.  Shame, given Gwin’s in the booth.

Some of the shots panning from a high drone that is a lovely view of the hills, but a bit Where’s Wally in trying to actually see what’s happening on track.

Number one because I’m not 8, nor a psychopath.

One gives you an obvious place for your first bite, two and three leave you with the urge to bite in the middle and leave you with an unstable sandwich.

I’d say your fork sounds set up about right, but ultimately if you want to use all of the travel on smaller terrain then your only option is reducing the pressure/spring rate, which will increase the sag regardless of compression settings.

Assume you have no tokens to remove, then adding in some low speed compression dampening will stop you moving further into the travel a bit, but I’d rather have a more active fork getting less travel than the opposite, if that makes sense?

Ultimately, I tend to set things up for my weight, not the terrain and my suspension moves as much as is needed – not more, or less. I inevitably end up at 30% or so sag.

Those Cadex aren’t cheap are they.

I’d expect two for £60 😀

ouch. They must have had a price rise, I’m sure they were £42 previously, and discounted a bit from there. I think I paid £70 a pair.

I like G Ones and they were my go to, but I’m running Cadex AR now – not an obvious choice, I know. 170 TPI so I think made by Maxxis.

Much faster on the road than G One (about 2mph slower than 28c GP5000, anecdotally) and surprisingly good off road all through winter. When they wear, I’ll replace with the same again.

https://www.cadex-cycling.com/global/showcase/cadex-ar-tires

I’ve bought a few refurb Surface laptops off eBay this month. Don’t know how long they’ll last but so far best £300 I’ve spent on a laptop…

I’ve been out tonight on mine with my eldest: just an hour jumping up and down stuff locally. I’ve really had to relearn riding flats and it still doesn’t feel at all natural, although getting pretty comfortable now hopping up stuff about 12 inches or so.  I know that isn’t particularly impressive, but I’ve been off flats for about 30 years.  That said, I can’t believe how much grip there is with a set of nylon Burgtecs and a pair of Vans.

Still can’t manual, but getting close I think. After an hour again tonight though, my forearms are finished. 😂

Same height, same inside leg and on a medium Revolt Adv. I added 20mm to the stem, could have gone just 10mm really. It’s a really lovely thing to ride

ML would also work, which I ride in Giant’s road range, but if I’m in between sizes on mountain or gravel I tend to size down.

Sorry, just seen you want full suspension. I should have read the question…

I struggled too my when my youngest was that size. I got him this, which has been unused for a year and I should get round to selling it if you’re interested, about £700 ish maybe? I changed the forks to Yari, and put SLX brakes on. He rode it for two years before moving to on to a bigger bike. It’s in excellent condition

if you’re interested I can get some pictures towards the end of the week.

https://99spokes.com/en-GB/bikes/commencal/2020/meta-ht-junior

The biggest impact for me would be changing friendship group and fitting a different class dynamic. I’m 49 now, but remember being moved down a set in maths at 13 and not liking the new class dynamics at all, which was everything to do with the people and nothing to do with the teacher. It’s maths, so it wasn’t just one lesson a week…

I worked hard to get back up and managed it, and I was much happier back amongst my friends.

I’d love to be able to go back to my 13 year old self and tell him the grade or set makes very little difference, but my 13 year old self would probably tell me he just wanted to be happy at school.

If you can discuss it, and keep her in the set I would. Assuming of course, she doesn’t feel under pressure trying to keep up…

I’ve got a Bridge Club for everything you’re describing.  It’s not magical by any stretch, but it is a really nice ride.  Perfect pub bike, and a bit more.