I’m still hanging on to two really old Decathlon bottles purely because of the cap covers. We get caked in all sorts of horrible stuff, week in week out, and they’re the only thing preventing a mouth full of sheep/cow/dog poo. They’re getting harder to find. Decathlon still make one but it’s their cheap one that falls out on the rough stuff so is useless.

I wrote a small piece on my Instagram page about 4 months ago about the chains. I’d bought a couple of the cut price Shimano ones off eBay, from a seemingly reputable seller, that both blew under load. I think that there are so many fakes now that some have found their way into small retailers who bought them on the cheap as they were saving money over buying from the distributor.

About 10 years ago I had some Flow bindings that were of a similar ilk. They just didn’t work for many of the reasons you’ve listed. I loved the idea of them but practically, they sucked. I ended up going back to my trusty Cartels.

The industry has suffered from theft for decades and has done nothing to try and prevent it, or make it harder to sell on stolen goods. eBikes represent a huge opportunity to go a small step in thwarting theft. How about something in the software that renders the bike useless until it’s activated through a code or, better still, a charging system that bricks the bike if reported stolen. Obviously, I’m just spitballing an immediate thought but the boffins should be able to come up with something that’s viable. It’s a quick way to sell 127 eBikes though. Thanks Mr Insurance company. Edited: of course I’m kidding about the last bit.

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This is the single most painful and masturbatory thread I ever read. Please get over yourselves and just go try some other bikes. I doubt you, like me and everyone else on here, are competing at a pro level so should be able to last five to ten years on a decent stock bike. If you’re really a princess who can’t cope with the odd pea (or the need to tell everyone about how sensitive you are) then maybe just build your own frame and stop seeking verification of your own self importance.

Get an old router from someone who’s upgraded. Run a Cat5e cable from one of your current router’s spare ports into the garage and plug the cable into the other router (garage end) using the same port number.

Go into settings on your current router and note down the SSID and DNS settings making sure auto DHCP connection is on (it should default to this).

Then go to the garage router and connect a laptop or PC via a Cat5e directly to the router and go to the admin settings.

Replicate the main house router in terms of SSID name and DNS settings and then save.

It should act as an extension now to the other router.

Factory reset the garage router settings before you start this.

I use this setup in my attic and it works fine.

I’ve just swapped from a Hans Dampf rear, Magic Mary Front to the Wild Enduro’s and went for the GumX front after common sense took over my imagination telling me I needed the MagiX. The grip is fantastic and they are surprisingly good in terms of rolling resistance and are great climbing. They have a different shape in comparison to the MM and you’ll find they have a release point which took me about half an hour to get used to. They then bite again really nicely and give superb grip which makes you feel like you’re so much better than you probably are. I’m really loving them so far. Lots of soapy water to get them centred though when mounting.

I definitely think they’ve lost their way a little. They used to be my go to place as the stock was plentiful and the service was excellent. Any problems and they’d be more than helpful in getting a resolution. Mistakes happen and they’d always deal with them well. Lately things have gotten weird. I recently sent a warranty item back and three weeks down the line I’d heard nothing. Called and was challenged as to whether I’d even sent it. Sent proof of posting including the name of the CRC signatory and was told there was a 14 day delay booking warranty in. Three further weeks had to do it all again as no proper notes passed to CS from warranty and couldn’t trace my item. 9 weeks in they admitted losing it. Finally refunded. A couple of CS were amazing. The rest didn’t seem to care.

I was almost sold myself until I saw Press fit BB.

Never again.

Beyond. That, it’s one hell of a spec and looks very sexy.

New bike. Definitely.

What’s the famous Dalai Lama quote?

“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

I read a great article a few weeks back from a Swede who was commenting that their preference is for budget axes that just meet functional requirements. He was amused at our hipster fascination with premium Nordic or scandanavia brands that they actually didn’t care much for but exported well. Maintain your existing one and it will do a job. I recently bought a Fiskars x11 for next to nothing off eBay and it’s outstanding. I also still use a 20 year old Spear and Jackson which has seen more handles than triggers broom which grinds down really well. Leave the fancy brands to the hipsters who don’t have a clue.

What, putting them on a bike and peddling on them? 50% of the lads I ride with ride flats (Raceface or Hope though) so It’s not uncommon or wrong to be riding flats. Shimano don’t say cleats only with these cranks. What I was suggesting is that with flats, your foot isn’t always central when riding potentially causing off axis stress. That could be a design oversight and necessarily not user error.

Their reason for the “do one was that it was one week out of warranty which I accept. It’s at their discretion. Other companies handle things better, others worse. EThirteen replaced a whole wheelset for me just out of warranty with a smile and a bag of sweets as an apology. Amazing service.

I just find it interesting that someone else has had a similar issue and am curious to know if there are further similarities. Apologies if that caused you to stand up and fight the keyboard warrior fight and respond with a dig.

Quick question, Are you riding flats or clipped in?

I’ve had this problem twice now on two separate XT cranks and not on a third I have. The two I have had issues with are ones I ride flats on and I think it might be something to do with a slight side force I exert when pedalling from not having my feet perfectly centred. The bike I ride clipped in has never had an issue and they’ve been on longer and get more miles.

Once it starts it gets worse so just get a new crank. Interestingly, the drive side and the actual splines on the shaft are still perfect on both the failed sets. Just the non drive side that failed.

Typically the last one failed 1 week out of warranty and Shimano basically told me to do one.

It’seems clever cleansing of mountain bikers. They show they care by allocating budget to cycling then flatten everything to stop the fun in the name of it being accessible to all cyclists knowing full well that the real MTB’ers will hate it and go elsewhere. The bobblehats win under the guise of cycling for everyone.

Thanks for all your thoughts . Interestingly they have gotten back to me and are going to send a courier to get the bike. I’ll update when that actually happens.

To explain a little further, the short reach is an oddity. You have to see one to get it. The seat tube is so far forwards you feel like you’re going “head over” at a standstill. Seasoned riders took one look and simply said “that’s not right”. On paper it looks good. I met a guy in Tesco car park a few days ago and he’s riding his. Doesn’t like the feel at all but is “learning to live with it” as he sheepishly told me. I couldn’t pay that much for a bike and have to tolerate it. We live and learn.

Thanks again all

Mostly good advice all. I have phoned them and they politely (no sarcasm there, they really were nice) asked me to get in touch with the UK guys.

What with the Giro and Fort Bill I have considered that they may have a small team and have gone away but you’d have someone responding even if to say we’ll be a few days.

I really wanted to like these guys but they seem to have problems with communication.

The worst thing is that I would have swapped it for another one of their bikes but as they haven’t responded I’ve had to go and buy a Cube for a holiday I’m off on.