I’ve got them on mountain and gravel (XO and Rival), and had them both in really filthy conditions including a muddy 40 miles today on the gravel bike: neither have never missed a beat so far.

Not the sort of company I want to give my money to anymore, so I hope they go bust and we can have some fresh competition in the market.

Do you not think it’s unhealthy to want a business to fail, just because you don’t like the way they do business – you could just ignore them? There are a lot of other options already, you could just choose to shop somewhere else and hold a bit less bitterness inside.

Most people who work there will just be trying to earn a living, as will all of their suppliers, their staff and others who right now will be sweating on them pulling through.

It’s hard to imagine that if they go soon that big UK distributors won’t be taken with them, or at least massively impacted. We nearly all fed the monster.

Whatever the argument for cost of goods leaving the factory floor, it’s also a small part of the final consumer cost.

The distribution model is entirely different. A lot of brands come in via distributors where motorcycles are subsidiaries, and dealer margins are much higher on cycles than motorcycles, so that’s going to impact the cost of bikes disproportionally as bikes get more expensive.

That margin needs to exist though if we want cycle shops, because bikes models come in different sizes whereas motorcycles don’t, and therefore stock turn is much worse on cycles than motorbikes. Invest £50k for example stocking a high end mountain bike range from a boutique brand, and the chances of you having the right bike, in the right size, and the right colour for your next customer is slim. Return on investment is very poor in the cycle trade for most cycle shops at the kinds of bike prices we all ride.

Also, much of the motorcycle trade’s income comes from strong contribution from workshop and used bike sales. Two things that just don’t exist in any significant way in the cycle retail trade, which means not only do the cycle retailers need the higher margin on bikes, they also need to try and retain it as it’s their only real source of income (well, they do if want to still have shops to go to).

Anyone made their way through the new season of Sex Education yet? Watched the first ep and it hasn’t made me want to binge it

We nearly didn’t bother with Ep2, the first episode was awful. It definitely gets better, but a lot of the storylines around the new characters don’t land well.

There are two excellent episodes centred around the original four main characters which made the whole thing worth watching. Just.

I’d tell him you know, and let him do the right thing and tell his wife before anybody else (you) does.

I’m having a year off my ebike because although my average heart rate on a ride would be about the same, and I was putting plenty hours in over the winter, jumping back on a road bike and TrainerRoad this year showed I’d lost about 40w of my FTP and peak power was down massively too.

For places like Golfie, Inners or anywhere else with a load of off piste, nadgery stuff but repeated dull fire road climbs to reach them I think ebikes make so much sense, you can just get so many more runs in.  I’m going to Golfie on Monday on a normal bike and it’ll take me five hours to do what I could do on an an e-bike in 2.5.

I think any body who loves riding, but can only get out to the trails once a week,  would be nuts to buy a normal bike given a choice and opportunity. Their fitness means they’d be in much less pain, and having a lot more fun on an ebike – and I reckon that’s a lot of people in work, with family commitments and so on.

I never take anything, although do think a return to invoice type GAP policy (bought online) can be a good shout if it’s a higher risk car for theft.

My best mate, who loves a kerb, get’s his money worth out of every single alloy wheel policy he buys for about £200…

It’s obviously steep and rooty, but well made so lots of grip and time to get back on the brakes after most nadgery bits.  I think most riders will be able to pick their lines down the reds and blacks if they’re not trying to chase speed.

For me, I get out of my comfort zone as the speed increases if it’s wet. I rarely stay relaxed on wet, rooty trails. I’m doing Vallelujah in a couple of weeks so fully expecting to struggle that weekend.

Bikes are the constant I turn to to keep my head straight, but sometimes I put too much pressure on it to be a long road ride, or something steep and nadgery all the time.

I bought a Giant Revolt gravel bike last month to be my go to, for days like today when it’s pissing down and I just want to get out for an hour or two, and without driving first. It’s a lovely thing to ride on the road, and very fast on old railway lines and hard pack.

It has Rival AXS, my first road bike with discs, and I just get on it and ride – everything works, all the time. That’s a big thing for me, if I’m in a slump, then the gears not indexing or something not being right totally spoils a ride for me. I know how that’ll sound to some, but resonate with others…

Last night I took it out for just a small 45 minute loop in the rain before a family movie night. A quick hose down, dry and lube the chain afterwards: ride and showered within an hour and pressure off 🙂

I have one and really like it. It’s just a nice thing to use, and a nice thing to write on. As good to write on as paper (unlike an iPad), but organised and secure.

I had a DynaTech Team back in 91. It had Suntour XC Pro which didn’t index, self energising brakes (Suntour, but Scott Mathauser design) which wanted to kill me and it weighed a ton, but I loved it.

I’m on the new pod shifter, and decided on top button to go into an easier gear. Both directions feel wrong somehow, but if I’m climbing with my hands in a narrower position I can rotate the hand backwards and downshift using the bottom of my palm. Better than it sounds…

Starting to like the pod, it’s taken time though…

you’ll only get people telling you what they ride here in usual STW style.

There’s a lot of truth in that. We’re in really settled territory, all of the current bikes mentioned in this thread and elsewhere will likely be excellent, it’s a matter of how much you want to spend and where you want to buy it from.

And colour. Obviously colour.

I went from a Rallon (excellent) to a Firebird. I thought, and still think, the Rallon is excellent but I’ve been really impressed by the DW Link suspension on the Pivot. It’s the first bike I’ve had with it, it’s very active but supportive under pedalling.

I really suffer with lower back because I haven’t really paid attention to my core since I was 17.

I do situps (limited range, the shoulders don’t go down to the floor and I only come back up about 30 degrees and hold), Russian twists, leg raise, bicycle twists, leg raises and planks in some variation. I pick 3 or four of them, do two sets each three or four times a week and while I still look like a fat bastard my back has been great for about a year. 🙂

I didn’t read the instructions before I fitted the new SRAM stuff, and as a result the chain is two links too short. Follow the instructions and it’s a doddle to set up.

Surely it should authorize the refund I’m realtime like it does with a debit

Regardless of the direction the money is going, the funds are debited straight away but the account being credited has to wait up to four days. You don’t see the money coming back quicker than the retailer sees coming in.

I prefer my Hillbilly T9 to an Argotal soft on the front (and nearly as good as a Magic Mary Super Gravity as an all rounder for me) and just leave it on there for most of the year- my riding mostly is woods in the north east which are either wet, or sandy.

The T7 compound tyres were okay, the T9s seem excellent.

I don’t think they have any kind of support on the road, and given I’m on my fourth Kickr it would be too big a hassle to have to strip it to send it back,  and then no idea how much to repair after the warranty period ends.

if I was going down this route I’d probably only consider a Wattbike for that reason.

Over seemingly uncountable years, on uncountable bikes I’ve only replaced cores if I’ve bent them.

I use Stans, always have done, are other solutions causing problems I’m just not aware of? Not trying to sound like a dick, but never ever thought about maintenance on a valve core (or storage) and genuinely surprised by the replies so far.

The commentary is much less shouty this weekend. Much better, for me at least.

Why?

Up until recently, there weren’t that many 250-300bhp+ cars on the roads, and most of them were driven by people who knew what they had and most (in my experience) knew how and when to drive them*. Plus, you can hear them long before you see them.

It’s a much, much bigger concern for me than people sticking to 70 on a motorway but given I have zero concern with that, a much bigger concern isn’t especially noteworthy. I was being a bit obtuse, and probably should have worded it better.

I’ll say it again.

Reduced emissions.

Reduced fuel consumption

Reduced noise pollution

It is not pointless.

It’s almost impossible to argue against a limit set at the fastest speed limit of any given country a car is sold in.

That said, it’s just another arbitrary measure, albeit one that’s easy to execute. I’d rather see a motorway full of 1.25 tonne cars doing 80-90 than a motorway full of 2 tonne electric cars, SUVs and pickups doing 70mph. Reduced noise pollution, reduced rubber pollution*, reduced wear to the road…

It’s easy to catch somebody doing 80, but the biggest problems I encounter on any motorway come from poor driving, lack of attention or lack of speed, rarely from speeding.

My much, much bigger concern is the number of ‘everyday’ electric cars on the roads, barrelling around country roads with 400 bhp+.

I can only hear the love child of Borat and Gru (Despicable Me, for those without kids). On coke.

It’s unbearable.

My son’s on a 29 Rallon at about 5’1, in small. It’s a great fit, and the wheel size is less important than the geometry really.

Early 29s were awful, modern 29s are awesome.

anagallis_arvensis
Full Member
I second the decathlon one, for warm weather camping it’s excellent.

Thirded. Just spent four nights on one, I’m 88Kg, and it was really comfortable, light, small and great value.

I’m there from the 7th. No matter how many times I go, each year it still seems like the first time up close.

Hope the weather holds…

I’ve been surprised a few times lately by a fart, with pretty much no warning. I’m 48.

My wife’s struggling to believe I had no prior knowledge.

I built up a new Meta hardtail for my eldest today. The whole build annoyed me.

Didn’t look at the bb width because everything is 73mm right? Nope. BB back out, dug out the spacers I’d thrown in the bin.

Crank Bros seat post I had lying around turned out to be too long, and the stupid cable fitment means it’s a full inner removal to get the post out, unlike something like a Brand X.

Then I had the complete joy of feeding through the internal cables. Hateful job, from the fishing about to the daft rubber grommets.

Last one was the rear brake hose (Codes) and after fishing it through, bleeding up and finally finishing the build about two hours later I realised I hadn’t put the liner around the cable so it’ll be rattling around. Arse.

It’s not coming back out.

I still think there’s a viable business in operating a LBS, people haven’t stopped riding and buying – it’s just slowed down. I’d suspect the issue for most shops at the moment is cash flow, rather than a lack of opportunity.

Good profits made in the last few years for most, whilst carrying very little stock and a record stock turn. If money was taken out in salary/dividends rather than left in the business (not blaming anybody for that), then a big injection of cash in going to be needed in 2023 as stock starts to arrive from forward orders.

Suppliers give shops very short payment terms, given the price of the bikes, so 50, 60 or more bikes arriving from a couple of manufacturers within a few months will require a decent amount of working capital before they are likely to be retailed.

Those with a bit of cash who can afford to carry the stock they used to, and can afford a small loss this year and next, should be okay. Obviously even harder for newer shops who haven’t had time to build reserves.

Can’t remember where I read that we’ve had the party, now it’s the hangover.

Wally, that is what you need.

If there’s a shim in the drive side fork leg, and there will be when you order the first kit, then the axle you need is one diameter to fit inside the shim and the non-drive side fork leg. The tabbed washer sits in the groove of the shim to allow one time adjustment, which Kabolt does without as it’s effectively adjusted every time you reassemble.

I’d agree with kelvin too, ask for a swap. People seem to prefer Kabolt, just make sure you both swap the tabbed washer as well as the shim.

I had Stone Roses playing when we had to set up new user names after the big site rebuild following the hack.

I’ve never liked the username, at all actually, but still love the song.

Not quite what you’re asking but a million years ago I worked in a restaurant, and noted that a 10 litre tub of Hellmans mayo has 72,000 calories.

I love mayo, and figured if you could eat it all in one go you’d put on a stone and a half…

No expert either, and never taken my ebike, but if I was going back with it I’d do NYNY, climb back up to do Repeat Offender into 3G and then just keep climbing the lower fireroad to pick of all of them in turn clockwise, from Repeat Offender onwards inc Flat White and Community Service (but missing Lower Wardell, which I don’t particularly think is that interesting), but miss out Hangover and 2nd Base to finish at the end trails around Liver Damage.

Envious.

Just to echo SSS, I took my son there for the first time last week and it’s pretty dry.

All the tracks off the lower fireroad (Flat White, Community Service and so on) were dry and grippy. We only did two off the top: NYNY was grippy, Pre-dinner drinks was somehow really, really slippery.

I was on Argotal/Butcher and he was on Assegai/DHR. All were great.

He can’t wait to go back 🙂

In the best STW tradition of not answering the question, I’d say go out and buy a Wahoo Roam v1, on offer in a lot of places around £180 with offer codes on top.

The UI is much, much nicer; the bluetooth actually connects to the app on my phone everytime (witchcraft), it’s easier to follow routes and more reliable to get them on there and battery life is good. There’s nothing I prefer on my old 520.

£15 an hour, with an invoice, is very competitive for an experienced commercial painter in the north east and what I’ve just paid. £20 is common, depends on how much work they’ve got on…

I have a really soft spot for Civics (although my wife has pretty much refused to get into the last two I’ve had and one of my sons doesn’t like being picked up from school in it) but for £10k ish, I think I’d be buying a Mini.

I had an 18 plate JCW for a while which I really, really liked. Minis feel a bit special inside, they are a nice place to be, and they drive nicely too without needing daft amounts of power to make you smile.

These seem like a lot of bike for the money: https://www.scott-sports.com/gb/en/product/scott-addict-gravel-20-bike?article=290506049

Great frame and forks, Rival AXS. Hidden fender mounts, if you want to fit them. Suspect the wheels could be an upgraded to something lighter but there’s nothing wrong with them, and good as a dirty winter pair.

Really fancy one myself.

When my son’s friends have ridden to our house, I’ll often pop into the garage to check their bikes. Invariably the tyres are under 10psi, headsets are often loose, the brakes might need attention, gears are often out of adjustment and the chains are either rusty or bone dry. I’ll adjust everything, don’t think they even notice.

Their parents are all intelligent, practically minded people but somehow checking the bikes every month or two just doesn’t cross their mind. I also have no idea how the kids (10 and 13 generally) don’t realise their tyres are nearly rolling off the rims on every corner…

I think we live in an age where stuff just works, and the thought that anything mechanical might need maintenance is lost on so many people.