Got a RaceFace 31.6 in Farnham you can borrow if you need.

Yup, my winter SS is a rigid steel Voodoo Wanga, so basically a mid-90s Kona in terms of geo. Love it!

Second the Command Post.

Aeris has bottle cage bosses if it matters to you (it did to me!), alongside the lifetime warranty.

Are these (and the identical Carnac) a better fit on rounder or narrower head shapes? Best fit for me has always been Specialized helmets but in a moment of vanity bought a Bell Super when they came out and whilst it’s OK it’s always been a bit wide at the sides compared to the narrower fit of the Specializeds. Just wondering how these compare?

I’d definitely second the recommendation to try a Bird Aeris 120 – great bikes, great company.

At my worst point I was doing 180mg prescription Fexofenadine plus steroid nasal spray in the morning, then Loratadine in the evening and that only just barely kept on top of it..! Still spend most of the day sneezing and blowing my nose.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>Thankfully the main grass pollens have died down now so I’ve knocked the Fexofenadine down to 120mg, ditched the spray but kept the Loratadine.</span>

So yeah, hayfever sucks.

We did think about roofmount but there’s no way my other half will be able to lift her bike on to the roof solo, and the main use for it is so she can go out independently of me.

Cheers for the input though :-)

That’s the sort of thing I mean..

Left-handed, right-footed, skate goofy but push with right foot, right foot forward on bike, play single-handed sports left-handed but two-handed sports right-handed. Watch on left wrist, fork in left hand. Oh, and I use scissors with my right hand..

OK, so take personal injury out of the equation then – would that change it?

Even riding the smoothest you can and picking the best lines, if you start pushing your personal limits you’re bound to have an off, and even silly ones can dent a frame if you’re unlucky and it hits something at the wrong angle. The bike I ride now is the most expensive I’ve owned, and it’s in the back of my head that replacing it would be money I wouldn’t necessarily be able to afford a second time, so in certain situations I do definitely ride much more within my limits.

The cheap £150 hack gets ridden with much more abandon!

A woman who my OH works with was seriously injured and her horse, and the person she was riding with’s horse, had to be PTS (one of the horse had its lower leg severed and in the panic was trying to stand on the stump) after they were hit by a speeding driver in a 30 limit who claimed the sun was in her eyes. No remorse shown, no responsibility taken, and probably won’t get prosecuted. Straight clear road, horses visible for over 100M. Should be strung up, or at the very least have her licence permanently removed.

Struggling to see where the huge compromise is on the £850 Voodoo Bokor from Halfords…?

Internal dropper compatible frame with decent geo and bolt-through rear.

New Judy Gold forks, so no steel.  Boost as well!

NX 1×11 drivetrain.

SRAM Level T brakes.

Folding Maxxis tyres.

I mean, stick a Brand-X dropper and your preferred pedals on that and what else do you need!?

I’d almost be tempted to say ignore geometry numbers and trust sizing – you’ve got people buying Medium Birds when they’re 6′ and should be on a Large just because the geo numbers scare them.. If you’re Medium height, buy a Medium. If you’re Large height, buy a Large. It’s not rocket science..!

I go every year when working in the area – it’s OK, but I wouldn’t go more than a couple of hours out of my way to ride it if I’m honest.

Another recommendation for Grubs over Muckboots here – lighter, and better soles. Mine have been great.

Bird, for the lifetime transferable warranty and to support a UK company.

If you Google “Tibor Marko Bosch Hack” it’ll take you to a YouTube video of a guy who appears to have managed to put a thumb throttle on a Bosch mid-drive motor – albeit with opening the case and soldering in additional wiring, presumably to dummy a signal from the torque sensor – so it is technically feasible.

I don’t know about the Bosch, but the Tongshen TSDZ2 is a retrofit torque-sensing mid-drive motor/crank kit that I believe can be fitted with a thumb throttle – worth looking at to covert the Hummer? Kits are about £350 plus a battery.

OH (used to work in an MOT garage) says it’s most likely that it’s only two bits that need repaired, with one being listed twice – MOT testers now can’t just write what they like, they have to select from a pre-defined list of faults.

Edit: scratch that then!

Crippling hayfever..

I would have said a Bird Zero – either the TR, or the AM if you want a bit more of a hooligan bike – but they don’t seem to have any XS at the moment.

SRAM X-SYNC steel – £17 and will outlast any alloy ring, with no more weight gain than a big bag of crisps.

None of this T-zone nonsense – full wash, with an exfoliating scrunchie, every time. One of life’s little pleasures..

setting it up properly is free..

You know a shop that works for free?

You really need a shop to set your brake levers, shifters, bars and saddle at the correct position and angle..?

Badly set-up bikes; regardless of whether it’s a Carrera or a carbon Santa Cruz, setting it up properly is free..

Yup, we have 2 on raw. We swapped just over 3 years ago and it’s probably the best thing we’ve ever done for them.

We started with Natural Instinct complete food. It’s minced with all the stuff they need in it and we preferred the idea of something ready to feed than having to mess about with ensuring they had the right percentage of meat, bones and offal. We add duck necks, ribs or chicken wings to each meal to give them some variation and bones to crunch through for their teeth.

It was a success from early on. Our Boxer x Spaniel has a very sensitive stomach and those issues went straight away and our Boxer x Staffy was a weedy 8 month old rescue puppy who had come from an abusive situation and had bad skin, was underweight and issues with food and he thrived!

They have soft shiny coats, clear skin, clean teeth and, most importantly, do very few small, solid, easy to clean up poos a day.

I do believe it’s the best thing you can feed we’re very happy with our decision to change.

The Facebook pages and Internet forums on raw feeding do seem to be full of crazies! I avoided and instead contacted a couple of companies for their advice on what to feed, looked at what was easy to source and close to me and went from there. Natural Instinct were just up the road so we went with them but 3 years in the selection of companies out there has grown as it’s gained popularity and there are loads of options. We’re currently trying a new supplier called Paleo Ridge as they use biodegradable packaging instead of the plastic tubs Natural Instinct use and that fill our recycling! Plus Paleo Ridge have an interesting selection of meats to try.

I’d definitely give it a go. Good luck!

I don’t get what they actually offer over and above riding a normal bike though…?

As mentioned – Bird Aeris 145 in Large (don’t size down just on the geo numbers, they are the size they are for a reason; I’m 6′ on a Large and it doesn’t feel cumbersome) would be spot on, especially as they have a transferable warranty (who else does…?).

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2357342/ – £2200 but worth it.

Edit: Actually, that Vitus is a damn bargain!

Seconded on the Command Post – very easy to strip and rebuild. Looks like the new Ritchey will be similar, and the e*Thirteen dropper is even simpler with a mechanical spring.

Edit: scratch that.

Re. dropouts – I prefer sliders to EBB (disclaimer; never had the latter)

The older Shimano AM7/AM700 (not the new clipless version)?

Looks like they’re going up for swaps for a 44 then – cheers!

Security guard on a large but unimportant industrial site? Sit in a little hut listening to the radio, drinking tea and browsing online all day, occasionally issuing a pass or signing people in/out.

I think Ben is better placed than most to offer an insight as to why manufacturers are choosing SRAM/Rockshox over Shimano/Fox, and has done so. Personally, I love the clunky industrial positive feel of SRAM kit, and they really stole a March with the whole XD-driver/11sp/narrow-wide 1x drive-in thing. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Shimano tbh.

Totally get where you’re coming from.

Bought my first brand new bike since I was 14, last year. Umm’d and ahh’d over various choices, 650b vs 29er, etc etc. Eventually settled on the one I bought, which was 650b, because I liked the company and the bike, but kind of wanted it to have been a 29er but they didn’t do one at the time.

Then 8 months later they announced the 29er. If I’d known, I would have waited. Now I’m finding I’m riding my £150 singlespeed more than the £3.5k bike, just because I feel disillusioned. I know it’s ridiculous, but there you go.

Top-drawer Bird AM9 and a holiday somewhere to ride it..

Though “That looks like fun!”

Saw price for complete bike.

Seriously!?  That’s just taking the..

2009 Voodoo Wanga – bought as a cheap hack on a whim but seems to be my go-to bike these days.