What’s the risk of damaging your frame in a crash with dual crown forks due to the upper leg contacting the frame?

Does anyone know what the situation will be with pedalling up and around Forest Drive once it opens to cars again on Monday?

Have you had a look around on ‘What’s on Zwift’? Some of the custom workouts and plans on there are a little less random. For example:

https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/zwift-fitness-ftp-challenge#zwift-fitness-ftp-challenge

Trailforks us useful for the non-trail centre trails around Cwmcarn and Afan.

Wrong location and over budget, but large open plan space and only one bedroom:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107618687#/

Everyone who’s face is in shot is wearing a mask and almost all the windows are open. I think it’s about as good as one could expect on a busy train.

It’s possible that you’re not contributing to the heatmaps (Settings -> Privacy Controls -> Metro and Heatmap).

I’d been very pleased with my XX1 AXS rear mech, bought in January 2020 when they were the same price at the GX version is now. However, today it cut my ride short when it stopped working. On inspection one of the spring loaded battery contacts is no longer spring loaded. Hoping to get it replaced under warranty, but that could be tricky as I bought it from a German show that doesn’t sell to the UK anymore.

But it doesn’t start at the top of the uplift anymore. The top of Wacko Jacko is now closed for good, and I think all the trails that start on Forest Drive are having their starts moved so that they start from the push up.

IANAL, but if I was digging off piste trails I’d probably dig them away from any uplifts to keep usage down to reasonable levels.

Some trail closures at Risca related to the imminent reopening of Forest Drive to cars. See theriscariders Instagram for the latest details. Looks like they’re working with NRW to keep as much open as possible.

@isitafox I’ve been very disappointed with mine too. Poor quality and poor fit compared to established mountain brands.

As others have said there’s more than enough in FoD, but the off piste at Cwncarn/Risca is easier to find as a lot of it is on Trailforks and they’re not shy about promoting it.

@Nobeerinthefridge I think you’re confusing new daily cases with something else. There were 15,327 new cases in the last 7 days (https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/) and UK population is about 67 million (Google), so about 15327/67/7 = 33 per million new cases as a 7 day average.

I tried to book my appointmet this morning via the NHS website and was offered Southampton (105 miles away) and Elland Road Leeds (225 miles away) as my nearest options… I think I’ll just wait.

Availability changes quite frequently. When I first looked this morning my nearest appointment was an hour away, when I checked back a few hours later there was availability all next week 10 minutes away.

NHS website bookings now open to those 40+.

Apologies for posting the photos. My intention was to add to welshfarmer’s warning to approach the trails with caution, rather than promote them, but I can see the case for any publicity being unwanted publicity.

I hope the trails are ok, looked like a big fire on Machen Mountain last night.

Looks like the recently refurbished freeride line on Machen is still standing:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COGdrdIhpQa/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I got a pair of the Free Hiker GTXs last week. So far I’ve worn them for a walk in the Black Mountain (Fan Brycheiniog and Picws Du) and couple of walks around Gower. They’re trainers with a high, stretchy ankle cuff. Little to no ankle support. Very comfy. They’re replacing a pair of Berghaus Supalites and in comparison are much lighter with much better cushioning, but less ankle support and a less stiff sole. The cuff does a great job of keeping debris out of the shoe. I’m liking them so far, but they’re not a walking boot.

There was a recent thread that might also be of interest: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/recommend-me-some-lightweight-summer-walking-boots/

Not quite that simple, the SA varient seems to be the next issue….

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-biggest-surge-testing-operation-to-date-under-way-as-dozens-of-south-african-variant-cases-found-in-south-london-12273904

I’m trying to make sense of the numbers in the Israeli study. They had 800 participants, all of whom had tested positive for COVID, 400 of which had received at least one dose of a vaccine at least 14 days prior to the positive test. Overall B.1.351 made up 1% of cases, so 8 cases. They then say, “among patients who had received two doses of the vaccine, the variant’s prevalence rate was eight times higher than among the unvaccinated – 5.4% versus 0.7%.”. This gives 2.8 cases in the unvaccinated group, so there must be 5.2 cases in the vaccinated group. The vaccinated group includes both people who’ve had one and two doses, but the 5.4% is only for people who’ve had two doses. The rate in the vaccinated group as a whole is is less than twice that in the unvaccinated group. IANAS, but these numbers seem quite low to be used as the basis for any generalisations.

With regards to what constitutes outside hospitality they could have just copied whatever the wording is in the legislation on smoking in enclosed spaces.

It feels that in most instances the hidden motive of these people is probably that they want ME to take something, possibly against my will or judgement (to be confirmed), to keep THEM safe.

I don’t want people to be forced to take a vaccine against their will. I would like everyone who can get a vaccine to do so, including those at low risk of COVID related complications, to help protect the population as a whole. I don’t think this is a controversial opinion.

Perhaps Pro Ride MTB (www.proridemtb.com)? I’ve not used them, but it’s owned by Olly Morris who sometimes posts videos of North Nibley on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ollym1/).

Related to the natural tendency to ride everything a bit harder than would be ideal and then not having the energy to really push the hard bits: every training plan factors in an easier “rest” week every 3 or 4 weeks. I think that would be a fairly easy thing to implement without too much planning and should leave you feeling fresher and better able to push it at other times.

I got one from Certini a couple of weeks ago, but looks like they’re out of stock now.

@rickmeister, I don’t think bike-components.de are shipping to the UK at the moment.

Edit: r2-bike.com are still shipping to the UK though: https://r2-bike.com/SRAM-GX-Eagle-Schaltwerk-12-fach-Type-30-X-Horizon-52T-lunar-grau

Bear in mind that they’re all sold out at the moment and they’re taking pre-orders with an estimated dispatch in July.

Kona Honzo ESD – also sold out until next year’s stock arrives – might be worth a look if you have a long back. XL has a 525mm reach but only a 450mm seat tube.

Oakley Jawbreakers with cheap clear lenses. Good fit and can hardly see the frame even if you’re looking for it. Cheap non-Oakley lenses mean I don’t worry about scratching them up.

Last month TF Tuned said there was a 5 month wait on the required spares for a Rockshox Super Deluxe I sent in for service.

I had similar issues recently and found that I’d put the bearing shields on the wrong way round. Time will tell if correcting this has sorted out the creaking.

Table push-aways.

I’m also wrestling with paying off a low interest mortgage or paying more into pension. I know the maths says pension but hard to get the head around ignoring debt.

Can anyone advise on this question? I’m in the same quandary in that my mortgage doesn’t really end in 3 years, but it’ll be out of a fixed rate period and I have the balance currently sitting in Premium Bonds ready to settle it.

The answer depends on your appetite for risk. On the one hand you have the mortgage, with either a fixed or tracker rate, and which requires regular payments, on the other you have Premium Bonds which aren’t guaranteed to provide any return, and certainly not a regular one, or other investments which can rise or fall in value. The safest option is to pay off the mortgage as quickly as possible. The riskiest but potentially highest reward is to pay off the minimum on the mortgage to put everything else it to stocks and shares (via pension, ISA, or a plain trading account).

If you have enough money in your pension to fund your retirement earlier than you’re allowed to access it and also own property then you could remortgage to cover the intervening years and pay it back once you can access your pension.

I have heard of people storing full dog poo bags in their dog’s saddle bag. Seems like a good solution for those that don’t want to use it as a hand warmer.

A nicely set up set of RSCs with the contact point would right the way in has insufficient throw for most people’s taste

I hate they way they label the levers. To avoid confusion, when you say “right the way in” I think you mean pistons out. The “Contact In” arrow on the lever points in the opposite direction. I think of it as “Contact” adjustment, arrow points to moving the pistons “In”.

What I described in my post are hacks to get things working, because sometimes pistons stick and the bleed isn’t perfect and you just want to ride your bike :)

If you bleed them as SRAM describe them the contact point adjustment can only be used to move the bite point nearer the bar. I’ve seen various people recommended bleeding them with the contact adjustment dial set half way so that you can then use it to adjust the contact point in or out. That said, advancing the pistons will also work and then you can use the contact point adjustment to fine tune.

I have been looking for something similar. I almost bought a Kona Honzo ESD, but wasn’t quick enough and now they’re sold out everywhere. I really like the Moxie, but the jump in reach from 470mm to 510mm between sizes is too big. Interested to see what the new Bird steel frames are like when they come out, but I’ll probably wait until the next batch of Honzos arrive in the summer.

For anyone interested in re-learning to swim I can recommend the book Total Immersion. I used it about 10 years ago when I was interested in triathlons and it took me from gasping for breath after a couple of lengths of freestyle to being able to do swim 1000m+ of freestyle in open water.

I was actually intending on buying the AXS kit, the buy in I can accept for not having to mess around with cables but I snap a few mechs a year and £600 a go is out of the question

I’ve found that the Overload Clutch does a good job of letting the mech move out of the way. After 14 months my XX1 AXS rear mech has quite a few scrapes but is still working perfectly.

https://support.sram.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017163914-What-is-the-Overload-Clutch-

That said, previously I’ve found I tend to go through rear mech hangers rather than mechs.

Perhaps the price difference is more significant for manufacturers speccing it on complete bikes?