If that is really George Chapman (bmx) in 3rd that’s a hell of a result. It’s his first mtb race ever on R&R, and he only turned 15 a couple of days ago. My son races him a lot on bmx. Looks like he should change discipline!

My son races bmx at a high level, trains/races 4-5 times a week plus gym work and school sport. He’s 14, 5’11” and prob pushing 70kg. We have the same thing with food, he hates eggs but loves French toast (maybe worth a try?) so every morning he has two slices of wholemeal bread/2 eggs, a smoothie with 1.5 bananas, apple, berries, yoghurt and plant protein. Has a massive bowl of cereal when he gets home from school, then a normal meal in the evening. So basically 4 meals a day. Often a protein shake after training too. I would say his diet is ok but could be better – but I think just eating is half the battle.

Yeah my son’s racing 20 and cruiser this weekend. Some absolute rippers riding in the afternoons if you want to see what precision on a bike looks like – so impressive watching the elites go off the 8m hill and then float 30ft+ jumps 8 abreast on bikes that are pretty hard to ride in a straight line on the flat.

Give us a shout if you organize anything Joe. My Joe would enjoy catching up with James again…

I’m selling my volcas and a guitar to save up for a vermona perfourmer  (the GAS is strong…) – so if anyone is interested in an FM2, Bass or Drum, or a gretsch G5232T double jet give me a shout.

Both the upcoming  100% races clash with bmx races unfortunately and he’s in full pre-season mode at the moment, but if things are going well we may skip the feb bmx race and do the 100% one as a last pre-season hit out on the mtb.

He was getting too big for his Aether and I managed to snag his dream bike from a mate before xmas (2022  Nomad 5) for a decent price so he was a very happy lad this xmas!

James’ riding has really come on this year – the changes from the early videos to more recent ones are huge, and you can see that in his results. I feel your pain when it comes to the costs of young people racing.

We’ve made the tough decision to skip the bmx world championships for my son this year due to the costs – I think it’d be £3k+ for us to go. Coupled with the fact that it’s in term time (it’s normally in the summer but this is an olympic year) and so we couldn’t really turn it into a holiday it just doesn’t add up. Just hoping he qualifies next year as it will be in summer, in Copenhagen, which should be a bit more achievable. But I do feel bad that I’m not taking him as we can’t guarantee another shot! At least race bmxs are cheap, and if you spend 500-600 quid second hand you’ve got a bike you can race at the top level.

I leave my suspension as it is for trail (sounds like the OP runs very soft if it is that wallow-y), but if I’m going to a bike park like windhill I’ll up my tyre pressure to 30F 32R rather than the 24F 26R I run most of the time. DJ bike is at 60 odd, but that is mainly for pump and bmx tracks rather than proper DJ trails, which I don’t really ride.

ahh – I hadn’t thought to look at run 2 times on their own – Joe’s would’ve got 5th in category, but there were 2 DNS and 1 DNF from the boys quicker than him from run 1. So perhaps not quite as much an improvement as that looks, but he did pick off a couple of the quicker kids and stayed upright!

He’d love another shot on the Fury obviously – I’ll see what we’re up to for the Oct race although I think that may clash with a race at the manchester indoor bmx track – it never rains at those!

Honestly, it was a pleasure to see the lad so happy and desperate to do both runs on it 🙂

Yeah he was thrilled to ride the Fury. I think he’d have probably gone quicker on his own aether (he certainly looked quicker on it, and it was marginal whether a DH bike was quicker on that track, especially if you’ve never ridden one before!), but he was more concerned with the experience of riding a big bike than his result.

Also didn’t help that he started in his lowest gear on his first run when the track was still holding up! He still got a 1.16 and 10th out of 30 odd in the age group below James, which seems pretty good for kid who only gets out on his mountain bike a couple of times a month.

So thanks again and maybe see you at another one soon, he had a great day despite the pissing rain – he was always going to do a second run on the fury whatever happened!!

I’m sure @weeksy will be along soon, but just to say massive thanks from Joe (and me!) for the loan of the fury today, he loved riding it and is full of DH bike love this eve 😂. And congrats to James on a great result 👍

I was thinking more about an enduro bike so I could ride it! He’d love a DH bike without a doubt, but it just wouldn’t see much use when he’s racing bmx 20 weekends a year… but maybe he’ll swap disciplines. Be a shame to miss the BMX world champs in the USA though, although that would be a good way to sign off on bmx!

that’s the sort of thing I do… no problem! Weather looks bad for Sunday so I’m not going to race with my bad back! I also missed pre-entry so will have to enter Joe on the day…

@Joebristol –  I think we’re sticking with bmx for next season, so I’m reluctant to buy another bike, but we’re vaguely thinking of buying a shared bigger bike as he’s pretty much my height now. I wish I’d got Mark’s old aeris, as Joe is a bit wary of big wheels being a bmx-er…. I guess a frame/fork swap for him is an option, but he really loves the aether at places like belmont and bikeparks as he can chuck it around pretty well. He’d definitely be quicker on a bigger bike.

Nice vid! And nice to meet you both last night. Joe wants to know if James got the GBU footage 🤣

It’d be great if he could get a few runs in and some tips! No idea how fast he is but ‘not very’ would be my guess. He’s a good rider but good trail speed and good race speed are pretty different, and he’s never had to push on riding mtb. I’ve had a quick look at his bike in the shed and realised that I’ve already swapped out his DHR… for a minion semi-slick!! Perfect for hitting hard pack jumps at Belmont but maybe not so good for slowing down on a DH course. But I also discovered a hill billy and a wide trail DHF so we should be able to get something sorted with a bit more grip depending on the weather.

Jesus BMX is cheap and easy compared to DH!

Wow – that’s incredibly generous Weeksy!! He’s desperate for a go on a proper DH bike… if you’d be taking it anyway he’d bite your hand off for a run on the Fury, but I’m not sure about racing it – it’s a very different beast from his bmx (74 deg head angle and 1.5″ tyres at 100 PSI)!  I’ll send you a PM…

Well our racing season is done now – the last BMX national was last weekend at the manchester indoor, and my offspring got his third podium and wrapped up a long and successful season: 3rd in the national series on cruiser, 2nd and the british champs on cruiser, and 16th in the national series on 20″ which should scrape him worlds qualification on both bikes, so hopefully we’ll be off to Rockhill in the states for the worlds next year which is a bit more exotic than Glasgow was this year!

So now he’s done he wants to ‘relax’ by doing a bit of mountain bike racing and we’re looking at the MIJ race on Sunday at FoD. I see James is signed up @weeksy ? He’s not done any mountain bike racing and doesn’t have a DH bike – he’s on an aether that used to belong to @joebristol and is now a bit small for him, with a very worn DHR on the back. It looks like the courses are trail bike suitable and short, and not too mental?  He thinks he’s a bit of a badass on the MTB because he can jump but he doesn’t ride it very much – a couple of times a month – and he’s going to get a shock when he sees how quick racers go, but it looks like a pretty laid back sort of race and a decent first step? Looks like it will be wet too!

With this (Admittedly not cheap) 3rd party skin Diva’s usability is improved massively it’s pretty much a knob per function interface and is so much better than the stock interface.
While we’re on U-HE Zebra is just utterly amazing too!

I use aurex CTRL – some wizardry that maps onto a cheapo launchcontrol XL, and is way way better than a standard midi mapping giving not quite knob per function but way better than mouse fiddling. The 2nd hand launchcontrol and software set me back about £130 but the usability is so much better. Also controls Repo 1 & 5 and some of the Arturia soft synths.

I’m a lifelong guitar player (well, they last 39 years!), but started keyboards about 5 years ago. I’ve got a volca drum, bass, and FM 2 – lots of fun for DAWless jams, and an excellent start to getting into synths. With a cheap midi controller and a small mixer that’s all you need to get things started. But it is a rabbit hole. Also got a nord electro 3, a minilogue XD, and a Waldorf rocket, plus heaps of effects from my guitar. And a fair few software synths – loving UHE diva, which when linked to a decent controller is almost (but not quite) like a hardware synth.

I really wish I’d started keys earlier, as my playing will never be as good as my guitar, but it’s SO much fun now. I had a brief attempt at cubase in the mid 90s but it was just so dull to operate – took the fun out of music for me. Modern DAWs (I use ableton now) are just so simple, quick and user friendly, that they’re actually fun to use.

Luca wouldn’t last long in bmx. Looked fine to me, he just didn’t realise the speed that Pidcock had coming out of the descent.

@weeksy We’re back home after heading up for my son to compete in the BMX – he finished 56/101, and achieved his goal of getting out of the motos and into the knockout stages – even got a 2nd in one race which is nice. He’s pretty happy with that, The standard was incredible and in his category no brits made it into the final 16.

And a vid of his best race, finishing second to world number 8

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@weeksy The challenge class (basically age group worlds for BMX) runs at the same time as the pro’s race. Qualificiation is via national series the year before – he’s actually doing a lot better this year (currently ranked joint 2nd nationally on cruiser – tied with Harry Schofield (!)- and 16th on the 20″ I think. He’s won the south west regional series on both bikes this year). So looking good for next years qualification for worlds in South Carolina.  Hoping for a good result at the British Champs in August but the world champs is just for fun and a nice GBR jersey with his name on it, he won’t be competitive at that level.

There’s none of the kit agony to justify a ‘weeksy08’ thread in bmx, but the time commitment is similar – training 4 nights a week and then racing most weekends. I just check tyre pressures, chain tension, brakes. Then it’s just who is best at bikes. It’s a very simple sport!

I’m going, my son is racing bmx next Tuesday. Very proud of him but it’s going to be a shit show I think, no parking at venue so competitors are being advised to get public transport – with their bikes 🙄

Why isn’t he in the U15? Is it because he turns 15 this calendar year?
Yup, that’s the one.

well, there’s a massive difference between a 14 year old and a 17 year old in terms of experience and physical development. He shouldn’t get too hung up on that.

The cat he’s racing in is really close along with him being RIGHT on the cusp of the age cat, he’s still only 14 but racing in the U18 class. (Not that i’m making excuses, he finished where he finished, that’s fine with us)

Why isn’t he in the U15? Is it because he turns 15 this calendar year? That’s what happens in BMX, big age range groups are hard when you’re at the bottom of them for sure.

How are artists and songwriters meant to get paid? They aren’t going to track down every use of their music themselves, so they join PRS/PPL (membership is free I think) and PRS attempt to collect and distribute royalties on their behalf. Seems pretty sensible to me, although a pain if you are organizing a small event I agree.

I use an osprey escapist when I want a backpack. My thoughts on the soft luggage v backpack thing depend on the technicality of the route and the amount of hikeabike. For routes with a lot of hikeabike and technical riding I prefer to split the weight over a backpack and limited on bike luggage (normally a bar bag/small seat pack) e.g. that’s what I used for the HT550 and lakes 200 for example. Better to have the weight on your back to allow effective weight shifts on the bike, and it is easier to carry weight on your back when pushing the bike.

For less technical routes bike luggage wins easily and nothing on the back is best (e.g. torino-nice, montanas vacias)

Maxxis DTH is always a popular cruiser choice, or tioga power blocks. DTH comes in 26 too, not sure about power blocks.

Halo twin rail is ok too if you want more tread but still quite fast rolling. 24 and 26

haha – well, we’re at Bristol BMX most Wednesdays training or racing. You should come to a non-race night, I’ll bring a bike if you do! A chaingang will bring your fitness on no end if you can find one at the right level, but it’s all under/overs rather than steady state so although you need a decent level it’s more about recovery from over threshold efforts than FTP really. I wouldn’t recommend the nova scotia tuesday one – I used to do 280W Normalised at 70kg for 100 minutes on that, absolutely brutal. I doubt it’s got any easier! There was a less horrendous one that used to go from the Ashton ct gatehouse on tuesday night at 6ish – not sure if it’s still running. Or the BW cycles saturday morning rides were good – not really a chaingang, more hill repeats, with regrouping at the top, but with a bit of group riding. Good introduction if you’re not used to it, and pretty family friendly with a 7am start – done and dusted by 9. Not sure if that is still going but expect so!

I managed to get out on Monday to Rowberrow which is riding pretty well. Not sure I’ve got another free weekend between now and september though – cornwall this weekend, Manchester indoor AND Glasgow next weekend to get some practice in for upcoming nationals and the world champs… getting a bit ridiculous but Joe absolutely flying at the moment and loving it so I can’t really stop! I’m just getting fat :)

Other Joe will give you some tips…

I saw you leaving Bourton last night Joe. have you got all the jumps at them bottom done yet? Some of the kids have been doing some building down there.

As for your jumping, words fail me ;) Looks like you’re trying to leave the bike behind! I’ll give you a shout next time we go down to stockwood or little stoke if you want some company.

I had a KSL, and before that had a whyte e150 full fat. I recently sold it though – mainly as I’m not riding much at the moment and when I do ride I need the exercise so back to a normal bike.

If you’re riding proper enduro trails fast, the KSL is a hell of a bike. The back end is fantastic. And the power is perfect for giving a bit of help without being OTT like a full fat bike is. The lack of weight (relatively) makes it handle way better than the whyte.

Two things – the seatpost insertion is crap, and on my S4 at 180cm I could only run a 150mm dropper (I’ve got relatively short legs). That annoyed me. The second thing isn’t a problem with the bike, but it is a super capable 170mm travel weapon, and for a lot of my riding it was just too much bike, engine or not. I prefer shorter travel bikes with proper geo unless I’m riding somewhere really rough and fast.

We didn’t bother with anything more than the mandatory survey for our last house having felt thoroughly ripped off by the previous three purchases. We knew that it needed new windows, a rewire, plumbing and heating. We also knew it was dry and structurally sound from looking around it. If you know it needs a full refurb then it is unlikely to tell you anything you don’t know, and as noted above, surveys are caveated so much that they basically tell you everything needs replacing anyway, or that they couldn’t actually check that it wasn’t damp/falling down, etc. because there was a sofa in the way.

My 12 year old son cracked both of his Doricas across the sole in one season of bmx races. I’d spend a bit more. Warranty was fine though.

I had an FTP of around 315w at around 69 kilos when I was your age… I reckon that was on three turbo sessions in the week and two rides at the weekend (normally a long road ride and a fun mountain bike ride) so a lot more than 4.5 hours – nearer 10. And I could see veins in my stomach as I was light.  But I think I was hitting around 280-290 on about six or seven hours a week later than that. I think you’ll need to do more to hit 4W/kg.

I live in Backwell which shares a station with nailsea. We moved here from s Bristol for the schools like everyone else. It’s fine but not as much fun as Bristol, which I miss, even though we now have parking and a lot more space. It really depends what you’re looking for! It’s commuter belt basically. Some decent riding from the door. Easy access to bris and the motorway. Direct train to paddington believe it or not.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/race-report-100-mini-downhill-round-1-forest-of-dean.html

See a few familiar names from the BMX world in there – were the U13s running the same course as the older riders? If so Coby Wrayford (who is 11 I think, maybe 12?) is as much of a talent on the mtb as he is on a bmx. Two runs of 1.23 would put him top 15 in the 17-18s. On a little trail bike ;)

You get an awful lot more contact time at a private school

You certainly do. You should get a lot less at uni, unless we think that Uni is simply another three years of school.

Who’s asking for more?

She’s paying £9250 for a year’s course. £3K a term in simple terms. For which she expects a certain amount of teaching and lab time.

This is heart of the problem. You’re paying a shit load to get less than previous generations got for free, because, as Finbar notes, Unis have less to spend per student than they had 20 years ago. And as your paying for it, students rightly expect ‘something’, when in fact for most non-vocational subjects what you need is some guidance about what you should be learning, a library/other resource, the right attitude, and time.

I’m hoping my kids just get a trade.