That’s useful to know – it’s not just a case of getting there early then!

I think I’ll probably park near some of the off piste trails then ride a mix if off piste and the official DH trails . Cheers!

I can’t believe anyone thinks Amazon’s catalogue, search and UI is anything other than a complete mess. If you try searching for a specific item, unless it’s something  bought by millions of others, it will show scores of completely irrelevant products first. Add in all the third party marketplace sellers who have the put incorrect details in the various specifications fields and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Why is it that in any thread discussing the future someone will make the assertion that the world will be some sort of dystopian nightmare in x number of years?

I’ve been hearing this sort of nonsense for as long as I can remember, yet I see no evidence that life in general is any worse than it was 10, 20 or even 40 years ago.

JP

As I said last year, the deaths data are extremely unreliable.

As an example, a few months ago, a relative of mine, aged 98, was admitted to hospital after a fall. Tests revealed various tumours that she’d been concealing from close family members, who were told that she probably wouldn’t survive for more than a few weeks.

She died a few days later in hospital. The primary cause of death on the death certificate was COVID19. When my relatives, who were somewhat sceptical about this, asked for evidence of a positive test, the hospital became defensive and stated that she’d been close to someone who tested positive.

I’m not suggesting that there is some sort of conspiracy, but in this case COVID19 was clearly not a cause of death. I’m sure that this is not the only example of this happening.

But, of course, Professor Kelvyn knows best and none of this is true – just wacky conspiracy nonsense.

JP

The problem with this little STW echo chamber and its more lockdowntastic members is that in their comfortable WFH bubbles they have no experience of the carnage that is being caused outside.

As an example, someone I know, who used to run a successful catering business specialising in festivals, is now homeless and living in his car as a consequence of these ceaseless lockdowns. There are countless others like this across the country.

Then think of retail – if we continue this cycle of lockdowns, who in their right mind would invest in opening a new retail venture when there is every chance that you’ll be unable to trade for long periods of time? Retail is risky enough at the best of times without introducing additional significant dangers. Ergo, wave goodbye to your town centres, cafes, restaurants, etc.

JP

If they don’t I suspect very little will happen in the short term.

There was never any need for this – HMRC are just being see you next Tuesdays.

JP

The problem with all of these eschatological movements is that if you take their assertions to their logical conclusion you would need to ensure you don’t procreate, then kill yourself. The impact on the environment of your merely being alive is greater than anything against which you can mitigate.

I’m not against environmental causes, I just think that they’ve morphed in recent years into a replacement for religious asceticism.

JP

DD is nothing like Exo – not sure what you’re on about there.

I’ve run DD and DH casing Assegais and I can’t tell the difference – there’s only 50g between them.

JP

We lose about 1% too – Royal Mail primarily. Rarely lose anything with FedEx, but if it does get lost it’s almost always when being processed at a sorting facility in Montana.

Royal Mail have been particularly useless this year – much more so than any other operator.

JP

Yeah – lockdown really worked last time, didn’t it? We’re in such a better place now.

JP

As much as I dislike leaving the EU, you lot are all barking up the wrong tree. The problem is that all of the courier networks are currently delaying shipments to the U.K.

We had 6 pallets of stock coming from Barcelona that was turned round after 2 days. We’re expecting it now in mid January, which is when the retailers mentioned above will probably start shipping here again.

JP

Don’t touch it until you really need to – it won’t last as long between servicing after the first service.

I was told this by a World Cup team’s mechanic and it’s served me well.

JP

The freight companies are making it hard at the moment, which I suspect is the issue here. You can still get things over but you have to pay much more than usual – we’ve just shipped 6 pallets from Spain and it’s cost £3k rather than £600.

JP

Stove tops over extract coffee because of excessive temperature for long periods of time.

Most of the coffee recommendations above are terrible (sorry – had to be said). You definitely don’t want to put a dark roast Italian blend in there, unless you particularly like the flavours of ash trays and burnt toast.

An Aeropress or V60 will give you much better results, which is why these, not stove tops, are used in brewers’ cup competitions.

If you must use a stovetop then go for a medium roast coffee and a medium grind. Reduce heat exposure by boiling the water first separately and cooling the base as soon as the coffee has extracted.

JP

It’s a well known fact that everyone who drives a Range Rover these days is a total bellend.

JP

I’ve yet to see any proper evidence that non surgical masks have any effect on transmission of viruses.

There is a handful of proper studies on their efficacy and they are all inconclusive. The widely touted research to justify mask wearing during the current pandemic is incredibly poor quality (go and look it up yourself if you don’t believe me). Even the WHO states that the evidence is inconclusive (again, look it up if you don’t believe me).

It doesn’t take a genius to look at case rates in countries where masks have been mandatory as soon as you step outside the door, and see that in the real world they are next to useless.

JP

It’s interesting that you lot will find flaws in bits of research that don’t fit your narrative, but will accept serious flaws in research that does.

I’ve yet to see anyone explain, for example, how the serious flaws in the population studies on mask efficacy aren’t contradicted by the high number of cases and deaths in countries with draconian mask restrictions relative to countries with more relaxed rules.

It’s very disappointing that few scientists seem willing to question the efficacy of masks (the mandatory kind, not the medical grade ones) despite the original research that promoted their usage being of incredibly poor quality (one widely quoted study, for example, was based on a sample group of 2, ffs).

Unfortunately, masks have become a political hot potato and science has been swept along with the flow. Just because studies show that putting material between two groups of rats helps to stop the virus doesn’t mean that in the real world, with humans, you will get the same results. I think the high case numbers in Spain and Italy pretty much confirm that they are next to useless in reality.

Show me how this isn’t the case and I will change my tune.

I know a couple of people who were pretty senior in the party and are still involved in the background. In the past they’ve been very supportive of Johnson irrespective of what he’s done. That support is noticeably waning now and has been for the last couple of months. I suspect Johnson may not see out 2021 as PM.

JP

Assegai works really well in all conditions – best tyre I’ve used. Much better in wet roots than a Magic Mary and more predictable as you lean it over. It is a bit draggy on flat stuff, though, but I try not to ride that sort of thing.

JP

Thanks for those who gave a sensible reply.

The original warranty is due to run out early next year.

In response to Cougar – it’s within the realms of possibility that something very expensive could go wrong – say a gearbox – and you’d need to put a large amount of money away each month to cover that. Your idea might work on an older car, where the values are lower, but not on something this new.

JP

Cheers.

He got stung with a £1k bill for sensors going wrong on his old A6, when the warranty would only have been £600.

VAG warranty is not on the cards, for reasons I won’t bore you with. I think he’s looking to get the nearest cover to a VAG one – it doesn’t need to be 100% as good, just as close as possible,

JP

East Germany was very much like this back in the GDR era, with people informing on their friends and neighbours. Just saying…

JP

eddiebaby
Full Member

So the bikes are really the advert for the brand yet their performance seems a bit below the competition?

Are you ignoring the two World Cup wins last year on purpose, or have you forgotten?

JP

13th month pay was optional when I was working there – Dutch companies did it but not many others.

JP

This is the absolute definition of insanity.

JP

Inker and Ancap make the best cups (which is why you’ll find them in most specialty coffee shops, including my own). Blue has been empirically shown to make espresso taste sweeter (if you don’t believe me, there are plenty of peer reviewed articles on the subject).

JP

Because they’re doofuses.

I know someone who can ride Ark at Ee at Wind Hill (black trail with some decent sized doubles and step downs) on a gravel bike. By the logic of the you’re over biked club we should all be able to do this, as it’s possible, so even an XC hardtail is over biked.

JP

I’m not sure if anyone has seen this, but a bit of digging has revealed some more details.

It seems to be carbon only, 180mm as 650b, 170mm as 29er. Both versions use 38mm 180mm travel forks. Otherwise specs are very similar to the 2021 Megas.

No mullet option that I can see.

JP

I used to regularly see him rollerblading in just a g-string when I lived in Amsterdam. He was regarded as something of a local nutter back then.

Strange how he’s suddenly found fame.

JP

Wild Enduro blows up too square on anything wider than about 25mm. Had them last year and they were the worst front tyre I’ve used – not because they didn’t grip, but because they gripped well then suddenly broke away with no warning.

Assegais in DD are the best tyres I’ve used – they grip better than anything else, and work in almost every condition. They are heavy, and clog a bit in very thick mud, but only something like a Shorty would be better in those conditions.

I think a variety of stuff is the best bet – then you can use the bits that work for the weather and trails.

For summer enduro type trails I just wear knee pads and an open face. If it’s not super hot I’ll wear elbow pads as well. If I’m riding at Wind Hill I’ll wear a full face, elbow pads and knee pads. At BPW and Wind Hill in the winter I also wear a Leatt motocross base layer with D30 shoulder pads (landed on my shoulder several tunes in the past and this protects that without being too hot elsewhere).

For full on uplifted DH or something like Megavalanche I’d add a Fox roostguard – they do one that has CE level back and rub protection, and many of the kids wear these – it’s not just a roost guard.

The all in one solutions seem a bit sweaty for everyday use.

JP

I had a custom MTB frame built back in the early 90s, using a combination of the lightest tubing available at the time. It was a mix of Columbus Nivachrom, 853 and Oria and the frame weighed 3.2lbs.

I was 16 then and only weighed about 9 stone, so everything was as light as it could be. I can’t imagine many steel frames being much lighter, as it was a 16.5 inch frame, so fairly small.

Only sold it a few years ago to a retro MTB enthusiast.

I think the Ritchey frames did weigh 3lbs, but they were designed to be ridden only for a season,

JP

Are you really so over sensitive that you find it offensive that other people have spare cash? (I don’t have that sort of cash, by the way, and never said I did). If that’s the case you really need to have a look at whether you’ve got some deep seated issues that you need to address.

I notice that when someone mentions an equivalent budget for a bike (about 4K, which, again, I’d say is a reasonable budget) it goes by without comment.

JP

Not sure what people on here find so offensive about someone asking for advice about what car to get with a reasonable budget. This place really is full of bellends sometimes.

My business partner’s S5 is quite nice – about £25k for a 17 plate, practical enough to use as a family car, too. I’m not usually a fan of Audis, but this drives very well.

I borrowed a Cayman S the other day and was very impressed – it’s not as raw as a Lotus, but has a similar feel but with a lot more day to day usability.

Having owned road legal race cars that I’ve used as daily drivers, I wouldn’t really recommend something like a Caterham or Elise unless it’s a car for dry days only.

Hyper hatches are a bit boy racers for my liking, especially if you’re spending a chunk of money. I’d rather have something like an M2.

JP

Not this again. Questions:

– Why does taking your bike somewhere in the car make any difference to the epidemic
– No gnar, suppose everyone should stop doing anything remotely dangerous then? There are hundreds of activities people voluntarily do that are more acutely dangerous than cycling.
– Not far again why, as long as you are following the rules on social distancing, you could ride 100 miles from home and would not be risking passing a virus on.

Exactly!

It’s always been more about virtue signalling and self righteousness – both things this forum, unfortunately, has in abundance.

JP

I’m curious as to what any so called ‘circuit breaker’ would actually achieve. All of these lockdown measures merely kick the problem further down the road – they change nothing fundamentally. When you re-open society cases just increase again.

Unless you’re planning to lock down until there’s a vaccine then you have just delayed deaths. Even the scientists who produced today’s widely touted paper suggesting a circuit breaker could save several thousand lives admitted this on Radio 4 this morning,

The only exception to this is countries that have taken a super hard line on lockdown and immigration, like New Zealand, but these are outliers that don’t have anywhere near the population of the connectivity of major economies.

It’s funny that repeating the same actions again and again and expecting different results used to be regarded as a sign of madness, yet during this situation it seems to be a widely used policy.

JP

Reverb is one of the better options.

If you want a quick sale, we might be interested in taking it off your hands,

JP

An out of control outbreak of this virus will cripple hospitals… deal with the opportunity cost of that. An out of control outbreak will result in the schools closures no one wants to see… deal with the opportunity cost of that. Etc.

Or you could have followed a more sensible approach like Sweden has, which will ultimately lead to better results. But then your weird personal obsession with locking down as hard as possible wouldn’t allow that, would it?

JP

DM me your WhatsApp details and I’ll share the route from Strava.

Cheers,

JP