jhw, buy some poc or troy lee t-bones. 661 pads are comfortable, but pretty light duty. Get the right size while you’re at it. If people are able to race dh and have their knee pads stay on I dare say they will stand up to your rattling.

Frankers – Member

I work in sales….

the product i sell is bloody expensive

i’m interested in buying a 29er hardtail

just looked at me as if to say you boring ****t….. move on!!

Bike shop sales staff quickly develop a highly tuned boring/annoying ****t radar and probably had you sussed before you opened your mouth. I’m afraid there is a very real chance you are a boring ****t. Sorry.

Couple that to £4.97 an hour, sh*t hours, horrible customers with worse attitudes, no career prospects, and having to work for some prick who probably hates cyclists and you by extension and you’re on your way to figuring out why some *might* lack enthusiasm from time to time.

Should be fine…

bump

Hmmm

alpin

has anyone noticed the increased stiffness of a 1.5 steerer over a ‘standard’ (in my eyes) 1 1/8?

Yes.

and what is the point in stiffening the front end of a full sus frame when the flx occurs in the rear of the bike?

To make it stiffer. See above.

You’ll not be a million miles away from Kicking Horse and Panorama resorts. If time is limited they’re probably your best bet to get some decent riding, both are lift served. I hired a few bikes in Golden BC, there are plenty of bike shops there, I can’t remember which one, maybe Summit. I found the staff in all the shops more than helpful with info on where to ride locally. my top tip would be hire some armour and ride within your limits.

Kamloops and Kelowna might be a bit out of your way, I never got to them but they have massive reputations as biking towns and are supposed to be surrounded by some of the best trails in the world.

He’s just being modest :twisted:

jedi

the marz drop is not bigger than jah drop

Hmmm, their’s hardly much in it but the jah drop is 55ft at the very biggest, and it’s a straight drop. The truck in the nwd is an f650 with about a 22″ lift and 49″ tyres, so easily 15 or 16ft – good for reference. Plus it’s a decent ways out.

There’s a video of some guys doing the nwd drop on quads which has some wider angles than wades clip and it is enormous.

Lazymike

Who is the hucker? Is it Josh Bender.

As Jedi says, it’s Simmons. He nails that step down perfectly, bender cased it pretty hard and hurt himself badly iirc.

The drop in the picture above is bigger than the jah drop, which is the one you’re talking about.

The truck is easily ten feet tall. I’d rather do the ski drop, and I’ve never skied.

Ah the old croaks dee fur.

Don’t let a rear hub dictate the whole bike. I really hope spesh bring the sx trail into the uk for 2012. Imo it’s head and shoulders above everything else in this category. Something else to consider might be the trek scratch, though I’ve not ridden one yet. New Uzzi could be another, or you’ve got Nicolai’s helius fr/afr and ufo. Giant faith is another one, the new patriot looks the ticket too.

Doubtless though someone will be along to tell you an orange 5 is all you need for downhill/freeride and that those things don’t exist.

Metaphor
met·a·phor

a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea. For example: “Her eyes were glistening jewels”.

GW

I didn’t say Sam and Nico moved in with each other

Well you were drawing comparisons between their relationship and that of Gwinn and Tomac who live in the same continent, in the same state even.

TooTall

I take it from the doubters that they are either gifted athletes or have never participated in any other sport where coaching is the norm ie most other sports.

Seeing as I’m the op, and have never been on a training course I want to reply to that despite the tone. What actually got me thinking about this was that I was remembering training in various martial arts and how different it was from biking. The two things that struck me were that week in week out I was going to learn from an instructor as part of a group, and how goal orientated it was. I’d noticed a huge number of threads and replies about coaching on here too…hence the thread.

My reasons for doing it were much the same as biking, it was something I loved, I like the art of it, the fitness aspect and the adrenaline. My interest waned due to constant injuries driving me away from it in the end.

With regards to biking and coaching I’ve never felt anything more than curiosity towards it as my riding is quite goal driven and I’ve not yet encountered a problem or obstacle that I couldn’t figure out on my own and I find that figuring out process interesting/rewarding. Sessioning seems to be a dirty word on here, and normally attracts some form of derision but it something I enjoy doing.

I still wouldn’t rule out coaching but I’d have to feel pretty stuck/frustrated and as yet that’s not the case.

GW
Big things were expected of Blenkinsop last season after “the Alien” himself took him under his wing but one way or another it didn’t quite worked out ike that, Vouilloz will freely admit Blenki is a faster rider than he himself could ever have been but doesn’t actually seem to understand how he does it.

Are you sure about that GW? Blenki spent most of the off season in NZ and raced most legs of their NPS so I wonder how much he worked with Nico. Where did he say Blenki was faster than he could ever have been?

Radioman
must be a troll surely!!??

Yes, thread results in debate, therefore must be a troll in the all encompassing and vague stw definition of the word.

Radioman
Havent bothered reading most of this thread

Right.

I think “latest accessory” might have been an unfair term, or at least carrying too much in the way of negative connotations but I think it’s obvious, even just from this thread that there’s been a shift in attitudes/culture towards the whole coaching thing.

st colin

Interesting topic. First off, I know the OP, and I can assure anyone on here it’s a genuine topic and it has raised decent responses so far.

Yes, I was curious about this as I thought I was observing a trend or a phenomenon of sorts happening and wanted to pool opinion on it. As I said at the start of the thread I don’t doubt the benefits of a course for some people. What I was interested in was whether doing a course had become a bit of a rite of passage or perceived as the latest “must have thing”.

People quickly started defending the validity/necessity of coaching but the thread as a whole has satisfied my curiosity.

Some of the responses have been surprising, like the guy who felt you need a camera crew to figure anything out, but on the whole it’s been interesting reading. Personally I treat most rides as training rides, I’m always trying to build and improve on technique and get to measure myself against good riders on a regular basis. I feel this has had clear benefits for me, though I would never rule out going on a course just out of curiosity as much as anything else.

dooosuk

How do they know he’s skint…it might just be a tale to get out of his contract early?

Well best to assume he’s a liar. He is a destitute house wrecking scum bag after all.

I never said keep it all

No you said this –

Just keep the deposit ….. give them the loose change which is left over.

Completely different. I apologise.

Wonder what Gee thinks of them.

nickf

If there are holes in the plaster and damage to carpets, that’s not just normal wear and tear, now is it?

How do you know? There’s not much information to go on. Could be a door handle hitting a wall where there’s no stop. And it’s pretty impossible to live in a carpeted house for 3 years without damaging it in some way unless you can levitate.

dooosuk

Just keep the deposit and give them a letter itemising the rent backlog, damage repair costs etc. I’m guessing that these will exceed their deposit. If not, give them the loose change which is left over

Yeah, just do what this guy says and **** the tenant over. He’s got no money so he won’t be able to take you to court. He’s only been paying your mortgage for you for three years so you don’t owe him anything. Bleed him dry. The deposit is better lining your pocket than his.

Or you might want to consider that it’s been three years so heavy wear and tear is to be expected and you could just remind him that he needs to clean it before he leaves and try to give him as much of his deposit back as you can afford as he obviously needs it.

ampthill – Member

This is the sort of thread that really depresses me. the whole tone is wrong.

I don’t mind if you don’t agree thats fine. Just don’t start a thread whinging about it because its really pritty harmless isn’t it?

Who’s winging? I was asking a question about something I’d observed a lot recently and I was wondering if it’s become a cool (for want of a better word) thing to do.

As for telling me what to start threads about…look around you and jog on. Nobody asked you to read it.

nick3216

but the easiest way to improve your riding is surely just to ride more

only if you can video yourself whilst doing it, review the video while still out there, recognise the faults in your riding, be honest enough to admit to them, know how to correct them and advise yourself on applying them.

It’s easier to just ride with a skills coach once in a while.

Well yes, if I had a complete inability to imagine or analyse anything without a camera crew and video playback it would surely be easier to go on a training course.

Maybe I’m some sort of freak but I do think I have an ability to figure some things out without video playback, nor do have a problem admiting my own failings to myself. Some things are actually possible to decipher and remedy without professional help you know.

I’m pretty sure I’m not unique in possessing these gifts either but life must be pretty hard without them.

carbon337

The phone is constantly engaged. Can you cancel a transaction through paypal?

Email them……..no wait.

davidtaylforth

Yes, sort of, or probably a new alternative to golf that middle aged men can spend their cash on.

I guess the side of mtbing that appeals to these people is the more “extreme” side of things (downhill) since it appears more impressive when they’re describing it the lads in the office or down the pub.

First of all, you’re wrong. The side of mountain biking that appeals to “golfers” is definitely all mountain. They like the expense of the bikes, the various technologies and they like something that is fancier than everything else in the trail centre car parks. Of course they would be better off with an xc bike but they’ll buy a top of the range Cannondale Jekyll or Scott Genius etc because they need some skills compensation and they aspire to ride more technical terrain.

There is an implied derogatory tone in your post towards downhill which is prevalent on stw and it is pathetic. You talk as if dh was just show boating for self aggrandizing pub talkers and show offs.

It is the pinnacle of moutainbiking in terms of rider skill, bravery, technology and spectacle. It is inevitable that it should be attractive to people and thank god it is otherwise we would be stuck with roadies in drag mincing around fire roads and middle management tw*ts on ti singlespeeds poncing around bridleways.

Two things about Bionicon that occur to me: They use their own proprietary shocks and forks, which do as much or more than other forks and shocks from companies who only make forks and shocks. This would make me suspect that their suspension will be lacking in performance, or reliability or both.

Secondly, their big selling point is the on the fly adjustability. That still doesn’t get around componentry issues. To make the most of a 180mm bike you’ll still want dh wheels and two ply sticky rubber, which will still be a pig to winch up the hill. A tiny bit less of a pig than a bike that just has an adjustable fork but still a pig. It’s still a compromise like every other do it all bike.

Higher volume tyre on the front will be a cheap way to give you a bit more cushion and slacken it off a smidge too, and it’ll add stability. Qr seat clamp if you don’t already have one.

joao3v16

“Stop the Press: Internet retailer isn’t 100% perfect”

Yawn

“Stop the Press”

Another prosaic stw member shows lack of imagination or originality in pointless “yawn” posting.

jamescoulson – Member

It always amazes me how many people are willing to repeatedly email when they don’t get a response first time. Pick up the phone and talk to people!!!! How do you know your email has been received/isn’t sitting in a junk email folder etc etc??

tracknicko – Member

what happened to the telephone?

why does everyone send an email then wait 5 weeks for a resolution while getting more and more internet furious?

just pick up the effin blower. hard for shops to ignore someone speaking to them. much easier to bury a whining email.

Why not telephone? An email is quick, to the point and is should be stress free. It can also contain all my information relating to my order which saves me from relaying it. When I send one I assume it will go to the relevant person who will deal with it accordingly. The last thing they should be doing is burying emails.

I shouldn’t have to waste my time and money trying multiple times to get through to Steve or Dave or Pete when I really need to talk to Brian who is off today….and have to relay all the info relating to me and my order again..and again..to the wrong person who doesn’t give a sh*t anyway.

They have an e-commerce site, were perfectly happy to sell me goods online, take my money online, they should be capable of replying to me ONLINE.

Drac

I seen the new Transformers last week I was in the area and had time to kill, it was actually pretty good.

I’ve seen some nonsense on the internet, but this takes the biscuit.

joolsburger – Member

I have really good eyesight and no issues with colour vision or the like. The last few times I have seen 3D films they are badly blurred for most of the time and I come out of the cinema with really strained eyes and a headache. Am I alone in this?

I think it’s a combination of imperfectly setup cinemas and cheap disposable glasses leading to dull blurriness. I find that the quality varies greatly from screen to screen and can’t help but think that a better fitting and larger pair of glasses would improve things greatly. That being said I think it’s little more than a gimmick at the minute and has added little or nothing to the films I’ve seen. If you had perfect clear and sharp 3d without glasses it might be viable though.

portlyone

I think it works best on animated movies where the shapes are all quite simple. As soon as the image starts getting complicated it gets confused

Probably more to do with them being rendered in 3d as opposed to the complexity of the shapes. Avatar being a case in point.

Conqueror

But what sporting occasion has fully [100%] lived up to the hype? Hype surrounds pretty much everything these days. I think you need some hype in a sport like boxing though. But can every boxing match live up to all the hype – no.

Haye v Klitschko was just another example of why boxing as a spectacle of sporting entertainment is dying on it’s ass – an over hyped, over priced mismatch based on money and politics. Over the last ten or fifteen years heavyweight bouts in particular have been guilty of this and it has destroyed the sport.

By way of contrast UFC:132 on the same night, despite being a relatively small event by their own standards, was action from start to finish and showed just why it’s left boxing in it’s shadow.

Carr’s comedy is very reliant on his camp/gay stylings. So no, he wouldn’t be funny if he wasn’t gay, or so camp at least. Or rather, he wouldn’t have an act if he wasn’t gay/camp as he is.

FWIW I find him funny occasionally, and I generally dislike camp behaviour but his shouting is pretty annoying.

Another fan.

I had a good long demo on the 2011 one. I kind of disliked everything about it. BB too high, not enough standover, heavy. It pedaled and climbed well but descending was an uninspiring affair. The suspension worked well but it seemed very dead and quite unlike other marins (perhaps just that bike but I doubt it).

Just to add a scrap of balance to this thread….I drive an old pickup and love it. I find most cars bland, anonymous and uninspiring. My truck might be a piece of sh*t to most but to me it’s got character and I like the way it looks. It’s easy worked on, parts are pretty cheap and it’ll run on pretty much anything. I can get about 28mpg from it. I never worry about scratching it or getting it dirty inside or out. To me it’s comfy, people complaining must be soft as.

With regards to specific criticisms in this thread:
It’ll carry 4 bikes with ease, 7 at a push.Get a pad, throw them over the tail gate ffs. In and out in seconds not days. Bikes can be secured by chaining them to the bed meaning it’ll take a grinder to steal them. They are fun in the wet not lethal, rwd, power over steer.
Off road performance is far greater than most people will ever need, I’ve yet to find the limits, even in 6 inches of snow up a tractor trail over a mountain. Perhaps in comparison to a modified defender, maybe, but anything can be modified.

They are slow though, but that’s not the point.

Junkyard – Member

only the other day I was at the home of a middle aged persons house adorned with pictures of semi naked women and do you know what I thought
1.ah excellent a man at ease with himself.
2. what a sad ****

I take it these pictures weren’t Ruben’s?

Deveron53

Iam referring to the semi-naked women used as objects throughout the editorial and advertising in most MX mags. While this isn’t the cause, it’s certainly a signpost to something in MX that (to me) seems a bit ‘off’.

Do you think this could simply be evidence that mx is at ease with itself, knows what it is, who the audience is (men), how to target them and is big enough that it doesnt need to worry about being pc in the slightest?

Mine lasted nearly a year which is exceptional for me, I think my friends pair have been similarly long lived.