It’s going to cost at least £250 for something basic. More complicated stuff is £500+

Mate of mine has all the gear to do it (and used to do a lot of custom motorbike resprays in the past) but isn’t sure whether there’s enough demand to make it worthwhile for him.

JP

moshimonster

Member

I rode a 100m hardtail with a 71 degree head angle until a few years ago on the same tracks that I ride now.

Going from this ^ to a Mega I’m not surprised at the revelation on black runs! But I wonder how you would get on with my 2015 Enduro? It’s not a bike that I’ve experienced any of the understandable misery you describe on your hardtail. In fact it always feels rock solid on tough descents, even if the geometry is from yesterday. But the flip side of that geometry is that it’s still relatively nimble on tight techy singletrack too.

Back when your Enduro was new Dirt Magazine was always harping on about how much better it was with an angleset and offset bushings, so I think the bike was never quite at its full potential back then.

JP

So, for example, you might look at which countries have the best educational attainment at 18

And here is problem number one. Define “best educational attainment”. Is it just getting a subset of elite students as far as possible (even then define elite) or is it getting a better average level overall even at some expense to the outliers.
Is it about giving kids the best general skillset or saving business money in training them up.
Thats leaving aside that pretty much every country will have pros and cons and so you would want to select a mix of them all if you want to do the job properly.

You’re over-complicating things. There are already plenty of metrics for educational attainment out there – it’s really not that difficult to see where education systems are better than ours. I’m not saying this as a layman – I have a Masters in Education, a PGCE and worked in pretty much every part of the sector from primary to HE to private sector for many years.

JP

I would, however, vote for a party that made evidence-based policy decisions

The problem there is setting up test cases. I studied a bit of psychology at degree level and about the only bit which I proper retain was one of the professors mentioning how many of the studies we were about to look at wouldnt pass an ethics board nowadays and that was mostly experimenting on psychology students not the segments of the population.
It works in some cases but setting up proper studies is fraught with ethical and other concerns and without that generally you can twist evidence as you like.

You don’t have to set up studies to use evidence based policy making; you could just look at what works in other countries where there are enough similarities to your own to make the comparison valid.

So, for example, you might look at which countries have the best educational attainment at 18 and look at how the policies work to achieve that, rather than following some sort of weird right/left dogma about grammar schools (elitism) or comprehensive education (drag everyone down to a lower level).

JP

Ever since Agile came along nothing works properly. Every piece of software that we use for running our e-commerce companies feels like it’s half finished, despite the fact that we’re paying significant sums to use it.

JP

I’ve read the whole of that blog post. Whilst it certainly doesn’t follow one of Orwell’s primary rules for writing (don’t use a long word when a short word will do), it’s not completely without merit.

The government and the civil service is incredibly bureaucratic in a very Victorian way. This is why they seem to find it virtually impossible to deliver any major project on time and even vaguely within budget. I worked within what was a quasi-public sector industry (higher education) for many years, after previously working for dotcoms. I could scarcely believe how antiquated and full of petty bureaucrats it was. Government and the civil service are very similar from what I’ve heard from friends who’ve worked in both areas (one being, unfortunately an advisor to Boris years ago).

I should add here that I oppose Brexit and can see truth in the assertion of Cumming’s being a bureaucrat.

I would, however, vote for a party that made evidence-based policy decisions, rather than, as is currently the case across the main parties, making them based on political dogma.

JP

I rode a 100m hardtail with a 71 degree head angle until a few years ago on the same tracks that I ride now.

At Wind Hill it was miserable on any of the blacks, as the geometry made the bike really skittish and any little mistake was punished severely. When I got my Mega, after a while I went from being nowhere on the Stava segments for the black trails to being in the top 10 for a couple of them and top 5% or thereabouts on all of the trails.

At Bikepark Wales anything tougher than a flow red was a miserable experience on my old bike.

On the natural trails on the Mendips I’m massively faster on everything on the Mega compared to the hardtail.

Ditto at Tidworth and Triscombe.

The only places I’ve felt over-biked was when I did Blade at Afan – apart from the last descent it just didn’t have enough sustained gradient to make it interesting – and on one very wet weekend when the only place that wasn’t flooded was Ashton Court, which is similarly lacking in sustained gradient.

I guess if you live somewhere where Swinley or suchlike is you regular terrain then a shorter travel bike might suit you better, but I’m sure this doesn’t cover most of the mtbing population. I, for example, don’t live somewhere particularly hilly, but there’s some pretty decent stuff within 30 minutes. I reckon there are plenty of mtbers like me out there.

JP

The geometry on a current 160 mm enduro rig looks frankly ridiculous for riding around 95% of UK trails so this time around I didn’t even consider going over 130 mm travel. So it will be interesting to see how capable a modern 130 mm bike with 2015 enduro geometry really is!

I read this sort of thinking a lot on here, but I don’t see how it’s true. Almost every trail I ride on a regular basis is much quicker and nicer to ride on a bike with modern geometry (in my case, a Mega with a 63.5 degree head angle). Surely 95% of UK riding can’t just be mincing around on blue trails or bridleways?

JP

Great race for Danny – can’t believe he made up all that time!

JP

The trails around Meteora would be amazing. I used to live not far from there and it’s like nowhere else on earth.

JP

fossy

Member

Another University person, it’s not good. We’re doing quite well, but had some bad dips in recruitment in places and I’m one of those that has to deal with it – work out savings etc. We’ve got academics quite happy they will be teaching less – erm we could be millions down in money = no jobs.

Glad I got out of the university sector when I did – 6 years ago. It was pretty obvious back then what was coming, but the quality of VCs at most universities is so incredibly poor that they all pissed the extra tuition fees income up the wall in a zero sum game of who could have the biggest dick-swinging new building project.

JP

It’s all nonsense anyway – just a lazy generalisation used by a moronic media. The fact is that it’s never been possible to assign a rigid set of qualities to a ‘generation’ (itself a meaningless term).

SEOT.

JP

There aren’t really many RS forks that fit the bill. It’s either going to be:
Revelation/Pike – up to 160mm
Yari/Lyrik – up to 180mm

There’s also the 35, but I think that’s OEM only at the moment.

JP

Not the same thing, but when I was younger we used to use a friend’s boat to go out clubbing in Torquay then drive it back across the bay to home.

JP

I’ve got the Horizons – came with my bike – never had a problem with them, but they aren’t particularly light.

JP

Onzadog

Member

Nothing you can put on the kerb as its not your kerb.

Maybe ask the council for a residents parking scheme – then people can be fined for not parking wholey within the bay.

That’s where you end up paying for the privilege of a permit to park on the road in front of your own house, then it’s a total pain if anyone comes to visit? Think I’d pass TBH.

JP

The number of personal cars on the road… Take us back to around 1990 levels, no more than one per home and consequently residential streets free of cars parked on them and/or half the pavement.

No off road residential parking? No car for you! Only room for one car? Visitors have to park in official car parks, potentially 10mins walk away!

Any other totalitarian ideas?

JP

This place has a higher proportion of ‘the world is ending, everything is so bad’ pessimists than any forum I’ve been a member of.

JP

10mm extra travel really isn’t going to turn a great bike into a pig – I don’t know where these ideas come from.

JP

We all go through peaks and troughs of performance, but I often find when I feel my riding is bad it’s usually triggered by something minor not being right with the bike – tyres a little too hard, or shock slightly wrong – or by getting over a recent crash.

Go and session some trickyish stuff you know you can ride, then, when you start to get your speed back your confidence will come with it.

JP

Colditz (Celtic Manor) may be your best bet. It’s not exactly luxury, but it has reasonable facilities and its not far to BPW.

JP

Population growth is a total red herring – Malthusian thinking has been shown time and time again to be erroneous, but people keep on bringing up this tired old nonsense without really looking into the facts.

The other bit of flawed thinking present on STW is to extrapolate from the present day – just like a Tory MP did at the end of the 19th Century when he looked at population growth, and the number of horses needed to sustain society, and concluded that London would be 6 ft deep in horse manure as a consequence.

Here’s a little bit of information on population growth for the hard of thinking:

World’s population is projected to nearly stop growing by the end of the century

JP

Caterhams are hard work unless you’re just focused on trackdays/club level motorsport/the odd blast on a nice day.

I had a modified S1 Elise (Nitrons, roll cage, harnesses, etc) that I used as my only car for 8 years (just about managed to get my bike in it when needed – but only with the roof removed). These days I wouldn’t want something as compromised as that – rawness and pureness are all OK in small doses, but something like a 911 is a much better all rounder.

JP

jjprestidge

Member

whilst simultaneously having access to a gear that’s higher than any World Cup DH racer uses.

Those guys are thundering down hills. The gearing on dh bikes is fine for dh but no good for road, which a lot of people ride on their mtbs to get to trails. DH gearing isn’t really relevant.

(my trailbike has higher gearing than my dh bike now i think of it)

It’s 2019, not 1989 – what are you doing riding your mountain bike on the road?

JP

MT520 4 pots have been great for me for enduros I’ve done. 203mm rotors front and rear and Saint sintered pads, so power isn’t much different from Saints.

JP

Front mechs are shit – always have been, always will be.

There’s always some contrarian nutter on here who will argue that they need a gear so low you could walk much quicker, whilst simultaneously having access to a gear that’s higher than any World Cup DH racer uses.

JP

It’s interesting how much faith you both have in a materialist philosophy that relies on induction.

For what it’s worth, as Descartes noted, the only thing that you can truly know is your own existence. I think you’re making the mistake of confusing empirical likelihood within this world with absolute certainty.

JP

It’s interesting that you lot take this all seriously – as I’ve said before, none of this stuff is actually going to happen.

Anyone remember all the people on here who were convinced that the withdrawal agreement was going to be voted through/we’d exit with a no deal months ago, despite all the signs to the contrary?

JP

Something is wrong with them if you can’t stop them bottoming out – Yaris normally ramp up so much that it’s hard to get full travel out of them with any tokens installed.

JP

Bikes got stolen all the time when I lived in Amsterdam – mainly by junkies who then sold them on for the price of a fix.

JP

You can get new Yaris for £400 and a Charger 2.1 damper for £170. Ultimates are more than that, I believe.

JP

Yaris are fine – changing to a Charger 2.1 makes a difference, but it’s nowhere near as night and day as people make out (as an example, I’m yet to beat any of my PBs on local downhill trails since I installed the Charger damper, despite many attempts).

JP

Rode Blade in the end.

Bit disappointed – seemed like a lot of climbing for relatively little reward. Only the final descent was remotely technical – everything else felt like a blue. Great views and scenery, though.

I imagine that the better trails are off piste somewhere, but I didn’t have the time or energy to find them.

JP

According to STW logic you should make the journey by bike whilst self flagellating due to your very existence being a contributor to climate change.

I wonder how many of the more sanctimonious sorts on here actually practice what they preach?

JP

Unless you regularly ride your mtb for long periods on the road, you’re not going to want a 2×11; there’s easily a low enough gear with a 46t cassette for anything that’s worth riding. Besides, front mechs are horrible.

JP

Pretty soon the influx of starving migrants from places decimated by climate change will drastically alter anyones idea of “things are better now”.

This will be the point when we finally get to realise if we are truly civilised. It is going to rain on everyone’s parade.

People have been predicting this sort of thing for decades now (the cause du jour of climate change being a more recent addition). Funny how it hasn’t happened, isn’t it? (or any of the other apocalyptic scenarios mooted over the last few thousand years).

I think there’s a real need in certain sections of society to believe that everything is coming to an end. Eschatology certainly dates back to pre-Christian times, and seems as strong now, albeit in a more secular variety.

Getting back to the original point – yes, things are generally better now than they were in the past, at least in the developed world.

JP

Cheers. That was what I was thinking, but wondered if there was anything else to consider.

JP

I’ve had a few other interests, but the main ones were:

Motor racing – hideously expensive and, in hindsight, the amount of track time versus the amount of money spent was way out of kilter.

Triathlon – did all distances, including Ironman. Good for fitness, but ultimately a bit boring and a bit of a time/money pit.

Running – bit like triathlon. Got down to a 3.10 marathon, 1.30 half, but to have got any further would have required a substantial time/effort investment that I wasn’t prepared to make.

Music – still do this, and I work in the business, but I stopped enjoying the regularity of rehearsals/gigs.

Ultimately, for me, mountain biking gives the adrenaline rush and skills elements of motor racing, but at a much lower cost/effort. Plus it also takes you to great places, the social side is good, without being clubby, and it is beneficial to your overall wellbeing and fitness. Don’t think there’s much with which you could replace it.

JP

The Netherlands is not a particularly expensive country – I lived there for many years and never found it any different to the UK, apart from higher top rate taxes. I’d say the slide in the value of Sterling is more significant – all of the Eurozone will seem expensive now.

JP

The 26s aren’t the old Enduro rim – that was 23mm. They’re a slightly wider rim based on a similar cross section. The 30s are a downhill rim and are seriously heavy.

I really don’t get the hate for Hope wheels/hubs on STW – my own experience, and that of everyone I know in the real world who runs them, is universally positive.

JP