Ross – Did you run any tokens in the fork?

Alpinestars make a waterproof gilet, the Descender 3.
PU coating, taped seams and water resistant zip. It’s got a vented back and packs away into its own pocket. £50-£60

Descender V3 Vest

The new Fox 36 looks like the original Rock Shox Pike.

I really hope they’ve gone whole hog on this AF and actually made the book.

Hold on is that Pace less than £6k? With a Lyrik Ultimate and AXS gears? What a strange world we live in where Pace are now offering better vfm than Spesh or Trek

Solid bearings, it’s something to do with sausages isn’t it?

Back in I think 2012/14 I had some dealings with Rapha with regards to supplying materials, chemical finishes, etc. They were a bunch of arrogant, know all pricks, who seemed to have little to no idea about product development from a performance perspective. If you bought some Rapha stuff back then I think you were either easily swayed by marketing or just really liked having a band round one arm like a 1930’s German as the kit was bloody expensive but no where near the quality of Assos, Castelli, etc.
Before I went to see Rapha I read an interview with Simon Mottram where he was saying something like ‘Rapha was about promoting cycling, it wasn’t a clever way of making a profit’. Then the first time I went to Rapha’s HQ I walked up the stairs into the office and greeting you is a huge screen that was showing everyone live sales data from around the world – TY v’s LY, Actual v’s Budget, etc, it looked like something you’d expect on Wall Street/Canary Wharf. Rapha would say that as a brand they understood road cycling and sold top quality products. The reality was that they were ruthlessly in pursuit of profits and that marketing and image was more important than product, performance, fun or sport.

That said though the new MTB stuff looks ok. Must be the Wallmart Waltons influence.

Hmmm, they are now £500 more expensive than Specialized’s Stumpy Evo Elite Alloy or an Enduro Comp and the Spesh’s are arguably better spec’d.

Does a ‘direct to consumer’ sales model have to be cheaper than through a retailer?

Why is the grey frame classed as ‘child seat unfriendly’? Yeah with the cable stop where it is you can’t have a Hamax style child seat but it has got rack mounts instead.

So, lorry deliveries in the UK are stopping vital bike deliveries from Taiwan?
Get real, it is worldwide.

Brexit is a serious compounding factor for the OP though. As other posters have mentioned Brexit has compounded the HGV shortage but it has also made life really difficult for non-British brands like Trek. Before Brexit Trek could ship its stock-holding all aver Europe (including UK) without worrying about import duty after it’s been paid entering the EU. Now Trek can’t move stock from the E.U to U.K without double paying the ‘country of origin’ import duty. Therefore Trek have to forecast (or in other words gamble) where the majority of the demand/profit will be with regards to E.U and U.K when allocating stock to warehouses.
So with limited supply if you were Trek where would you be allocating stock?

Oh, maybe the bike industry keeps it hidden cos they still use… 26″ wheels! 😆

There could be a fair bit of truth to that. Even at the world class level there are 4X riders using old stock frames and products as 26″ is still the wheel size of choice.
Why would bike companies promote bikes they either can’t or don’t want to sell?

On a different but related theme there has always been talk, especially so in the last 18 months, of trying to increase the racial and ethnic diversity in cycling. For me 4X and CX are the ways to do it. Most major cities have got parks that could host 4X and CX races. In any country it’s always the large cities which are the most cosmopolitan. Put on exciting 4X and CX bike races in easy to spectate, closed off areas in large cities complete with a trials and vert ramp comp. Invite the local schools to attend, spectate, have a go at racing, etc.
Immediately follow that up in the area by introducing inter-school 4X, BMX, CX racing with standardised bikes supplied to kids/schools at heavily subsidised prices. Hey presto you have got the kids from a countries most ethnically diverse areas into cycling.

Oh, maybe the bike industry keeps it hidden cos they still use… 26″ wheels! 😆

There could be a fair bit of truth to that. Even at the world class level there are 4X riders using old stock frames and products as 26″ is still the wheel size of choice.
Why would bike companies promote bikes they either can’t or don’t want to sell?

On a different but related theme there has always been talk, especially so in the last 18 months, of trying to increase the racial and ethnic diversity in cycling. For me 4X and CX are the ways to do it. Most major cities have got parks that could host 4X and CX races. In any country it’s always the large cities which are the most cosmopolitan. Put on exciting 4X and CX bike races in easy to spectate, closed off areas in large cities complete with a trials and vert ramp comp. Invite the local schools to attend, spectate, have a go at racing, etc.
Immediately follow that up in the area by introducing inter-school 4X, BMX, CX racing with standardised bikes supplied to kids/schools at heavily subsidised prices. Hey presto you have got the kids from a countries most ethnically diverse areas into cycling.

There are 2 acceptable colours for forks. Black, and matt black.

Actually I think there should be two colours offered for the aftermarket. Black ready to ride and a version with the lowers and seals off that’s primed ready for you to paint.

It’s no secret that the hundreds of brands that sell carbon frames have them all made in the same 10 or so factories.

Total bollocks.

How do you work that out? If you take the output of just Topkey, Quest, Merida and Giant that’s the carbon mtb frames for Cannondale, Trek, Giant, GT, Specialized, Canyon, Scott, Merida, Santa Cruz, and loads of others.

Now go to bike shops and trail centres and work out what percentage of mtb’s just those brands cover.

Yes there are loads of factories making frames but not all of them are going to get the business from the larger brands. Hence you can say that most of the frames people ride are produced by a few factories. In fact a lot of the smaller manufacturers in China are really subsidiaries of the larger manufacturers anyway.

It’s not just low labour costs that makes Asian frames cheaper it’s economy of scale.

It’s no secret that the hundreds of brands that sell carbon frames have them all made in the same 10 or so factories. Anybody whose been on a tour of the Giant factory will tell you that you’re just as, if not even more likely, to see ‘other’ brands bikes being built as Giant branded ones.

If each brand starts making its frames in house how is that going to be competitive with the Asian factories that are making frames for everyone and therefore have enough demand to run the factory 7 days a week 24 hours a day if they want?

If Dorel, Specialized and Trek collectively built a factory in the US then you could see competitively priced frames built in the States.

I thought not having UK commentary for the MTB but having it for the road race was an interesting choice. In this day and age fewer and fewer people watch tele live and instead stream it after the 1st broadcast. I thought the BBC would have looked at the minority sports like MTB, Road Cycling, etc and taken into consideration the chances of the UK picking up a gold in an event and therefore more people watching the event after it has happened. They obviously didn’t do that as we had a near zero chance of a road race gold but a really strong chance of a mtb gold.

cookeaa – I agree that outcome is good news for American public lands. I’m not sure you fully read the article though.

The pertinent points of the article are:

‘William Perry Pendley’s tenure running the Bureau of Land Management was illegal and immediately ordered an end to his authority. The decision has the potential to invalidate hundreds of decisions issued by the agency, dating all the way back to July 2019, when Pendley first assumed the role.

The actions threatened by the ruling include everything from oil development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), to a new rule that permits electric bicycles to be operated on federal lands, and even mineral extraction on lands that used to be a part of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument. It’s potentially an unraveling of nearly every anti-public-lands, pro-extraction effort taken by the Trump administration over the past 14 months, and the ramifications of all that go much further, too’.

‘Perhaps the most interesting part of the ruling, though, is what comes next. Morris has given both the DOI and Montana Governor Bullock (who brought the suit) ten days to file briefs explaining what aspects of Pendley’s work at the BLM should be retained or further litigated’.

In essence every decision made by the Bureau of Land Management in the last 424 days has been deemed as illegal. If the Governor of Montana or the Department of the Interior don’t ask for e-mtb access to remain then it will be removed. This can potentially have big implications on the demand for e-mtb’s in the states and therefore the willingness for bike brands that sell into states to develop and market them.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2417168/william-pendley-bureau-land-management-dismissal?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dispatch-100120&utm_term=dispatch#close

Oh well it’s obviously just me. I’ll keep my opinions to myself then

Cheers guys

thisisnotaspoon – ‘Polypropylene (and similar materials) tends to not absorb water (hydrophobic) so they don’t wick, but unlike lycra don’t get wet with sweat either.  The sweat sits on your skin and evaporate as normal, breathing through the layers. These are marketed as winter base layers’.

The above statement is not quite right. Polypropylene, polyester and nylon are naturally hydrophobic (repel water) as opposed to cotton which is hydrophilic (absorbs water). What you don’t seem to be explaining though is the difference between ‘absorbing’ sweat and ‘wicking’ sweat.

As cotton is hydrophilic it will absorb sweat and hold onto it. That then stops any ‘breathabilty’ in your layering system. Which means you’ll be uncomfortable while riding and become freezing cold when you stop as the water draws away body heat.

A well made synthetic baselayer will be woven in a way so that the weave next to the skin is tighter than the weave on the outside. The sweat will be forced through capillary action from the tight weave next to the skin to the more open weave on the outside thus spreading your sweat on the surface of the baselayer and inhibiting it going backwards towards the skin.

Discriminating against someone because of their sex is just fundamentally wrong to most people. So if we want to abolish sexual discrimination then we have to treat everyone equally.

Therefore we should scrap all ‘female’ sport and just have sport.

In cycling why is it fair to say that we need female only competitions because women aren’t as fast as men, yet at the same time say that women should be rewarded the same as men for something they are not as good at?

If everyone competes together how could anyone complain that wasn’t fair?

Ninfan  –  “development of hydration systems to breathable materials, GPS and optical technology, much of it continues to be led by companies heavily involved in the military and civilian shooting arena”. Is once again a load of nonsense.

All of those developments you list we’re military funded, surprisingly to be used by the military. They have got nothing to do with the sales of arms to civilians. Nobody in this discussion is debating as to whether the military needs weapons or not, its about if you disagree with the stance of the NRA then should you buy products from brands who (to be fair inadvertently) support and fund the NRA.

It’s quite simple really. The NRA are a powerful lobbying group that have the one aim of stopping the development of more stringent gun control in America. Lots of people believe a lack of gun control is why 17 kids died in Florida.

If America stopped selling guns to civilians tomorrow there would still be business’s able to arm militaries.

There’s an article in Outside about this: https://www.outsideonline.com/2282941/should-our-morals-determine-our-gear-purchases

They ask ethicists their opinions on whether boycotting brands is the right thing to do if you disagree with the politics of the holding company.

Interestingly I find the article is very much on the fence and there’s no mention of Vista Outdoor’s donations to the NRA.

It’s a Spesh Hillbilly 2.3 on the front all year round on my 29’er hardtail and then whatever I can get away with on the back. As things are getting a bit sloppier I’ve got a 2.3 Spesh Purgatory on there at the moment. If it gets really sloppy that will change to a Spesh Storm or Bonty Mud.

The Hillbilly though is the best front tyre I’ve come across for a 29’er

Howdo, I work for Nikwax so know a bit or two about this. The stuff that’s turned to powder would have been a polyurethane (PU) coating. PU would have made the fabric as waterproof as a cheap’ish jacket (£80-£100 jobbie) but as the seams weren’t taped it would still let water in. As you’ve also noticed it would also give the fabric some additional stiffness and help it retain its shape.

Fabsil (bare in mind there are different types of Fabsil though) is one of the thicker DWR replacement chemicals available but once dried it still won’t add much rigidity.

If they are of an older vintage then changing the air top cap for a newer one with volume spacers will make a massive difference.
If you are changing the oil seals then get the SKF green ones as they are far more slippery than standard ones.

where do you apply the loctite?

bearnecessities and larkim – If Canyon claim retention of title on pro-forma purchases haven’t they shot themselves in the foot with this purchase?

If they have retention of title then the OP could just offer them the bike back and they would have to accept it.

Boot fitting in ‘outdoor’ is like wheel building in bikes, the best places are still the indy shops.
The problem you’ll have though is that you’re unlikely to find a good outdoor shop that does proper boot fitting and sell boots for £70.

Decathlon and GO would be my recommendations based on your price point. Wear good outdoor socks (Bridgedale, etc) when trying on the footwear and what you are looking for should be a close enough fit that your foot cant move in the shoe but not that tight that it pinches anywhere.

Do the test here: http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/the-wet-test and get insoles (amazon sell Pro 2 insoles that are good and really cheap) that match your foot type.

In answer to the OP’s question, I think the answer is no there isn’t a better dropper for what you’d pay for a Contact Switch SL.

After 3 Reverbs have without warning catastrophically failed on me mid-ride in the last 3 years I got fed up of Rock Shox’s offerings and thought I’d give the Giant a go. At £130 they’re less than most 2nd hand droppers.

Now granted I only got the post at the weekend so I’ve only done two rides on it but it’s been faultless so far. It drops with less weight/force on the saddle than a Reverb and you only need to give the lever a gentle push to get it moving.

After reading other reviews it does appear to be really sensitive to the cable routing so if you’re not sh1t hot at fitting gear cables get somebody else to do it for you. Oh and I’ve put a bit of grip-tape on the lever as it’s a bit slippy in the wet.

Lizard skins made an Arron Chase signature grip that is the thinnest grip I’ve ever used. It’s thinner than bar tape.

I think it looks like a nice bike and is on my list of potential newbies.

Why do people still seem to be surprised though when Planet-X/On-One release a bike that looks like something designed by somebody else? Planet-X started by selling jump bike bits sourced from Asian factory catalogues, and the first Inbreds’ geometry and aesthetics were a complete rip-off of the Airborne Lucky Strike.

UK Sport was given the task of improving the number of medal winners at World Championship and Olympic level. To do this they have received money from the Exchequer and the National Lottery (Does anyone know the split between State funds and Lottery funds?).

You can’t argue with their results, UK Sport has taken the funding and massively improved the UK’s standing at international sporting events. Some argue that the way that UK Sport has funneled the money into sports which will give the best return with regards to world class performances has been to the detriment of other sports. UK Sport would argue that they have spent the funding wisely to get the best results and if you want a wider range of sports funding then give them more money.

If people really don’t like the UK winning medals at the Olympics then you can always not buy a lottery ticket.

I’ve got one thats modded with no need to pedal. got most of the MTB climb KOMs about my local tracks. its so funny passing people huffing and puffing.

I rest my case.

[/i]If youre that worried send the FC an email to let them know you saw it being used and their staff were unaware and may need training. Heck if youre that bothered call the police and let them know an unregistered motorbike is being used.

I’ve already emailed Bedgebury

But its very easy to get a 50lb DH bike upto 25mph downhill and that happens every weekend. Why is uphill worse?

I saw this bike being ridden on a slight incline past one of the playgrounds and you’d never be able to get a normal mountain bike to go that fast so no one would be expecting a bike to be going that fast.

Ive seen people crash into others dicking about at Buzzards Nest car park and they were on normal bikes, why is this worse?

I like to think I’m pretty quick but I don’t think I could get 60lb+ bike to do over 25mph uphill. If you hit someone at 25mph+ then you are going to **** them up, that’s why it’s a concern.

This isn’t trolling, this is real concern.

I’ve just had a look at what legally defines an e-bike and this is what I found

EAPC requirements
The requirements are:

the bike must have pedals that can be used to propel it
the electric motor shouldn’t be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph
the motor shouldn’t have a maximum power output of more than 250 watts
It must also display one item from each of the following:

the power output or manufacturer of the motor
the battery’s voltage or maximum speed of the bike

So as long as it ‘can’ be pedaled then it can also have a throttle as well. So if you put a sticker on the motor/battery stating ‘250 watts’ then who’s going to question it?

So the fact that this thing was ‘pedaled’ to and from the car park to the trails past FC employees and nobody said anything doesn’t make anyone else a bit apprehensive? This bike was perceived as an e-bike/mountain bike, the fact that the DVLA classifies this as a motorcycle is almost irrelevant.

If the rider had crashed into one of the kids he was riding past and had got away then I’m not convinced that the accident wouldn’t be pinned on mountain bikers.

It’s got gears and can be pedaled. It’s an e-bike.