I’m not sure why it’s shady to have different prices on different websites with the same owner. Loads of companies do this.

JP

Daft bunch of clever people acting like morons. As has been said before, they don’t seem to understand that getting anywhere near their targets would result in a global economic meltdown that would make the start of the Dark Ages look like the f***ing Age of Aquarius.

So, let’s have less self-flagellation and self righteous asceticism and more focus on how technology can solve problems.

JP

Ultra soft is much better than soft on wet roots. For me, though, the Assegai in Maxxgrip is a slightly better all round tyre. Not much in it, though.

JP

I know this has been said before, but if linkage forks are better than telescopic ones why is it that no MotoGP or top motocross race bikes use them? Motor racing is incredibly competitive and there’s far more money in it at the top of the sport than MTBs, so if linkage forks offered even a slight advantage they’d be the dominant technology.

JP

One other thing – home espresso users get all hung up about tamp pressure. It doesn’t matter (and I’ve tested this when I did a review of the Puqpress, which can be set to tamp at several pressures). All you need is consistency, not the ability to achieve 30lbs of pressure (in fact a light tamp is less likely to create RSI issues when you’re working in a busy shop).

JP

Plenty of nonsense here. 7g is a single shot. 15g is what I and many in the industry have been using for several years.

One of the academics who worked on the paper is Chris Hendon, whom I know. He’s very, very clever and knows a great deal about the chemistry of coffee. The main take home is that you can achieve high extraction yields at lower pressures (peak of 6 bar) with a fairly coarse grind (I’m using 1.8 – 2.5 on my EK 43) and a quick extraction and it is more consistent.

If you don’t understand what this means then you’re probably not qualified to critique the paper, or write nonsense about using 7g baskets.

JP

They know exactly what they want and how its going to turn out. Deregulated sweatshop economy with more hoarding of riches for the rich. It matters nothing to them what actually happens overall to the economy so long as they retain more wealth and power. ie 5% reduction in GDP is irrelevant if they have 10% more share of the wealth.

I keep hearing this sort of thing, but I’m not convinced it’s true. I’ve always been a remain/Lib Dem voter, so I don’t have a pro-Brexit axe to grind here.

I really don’t think that anyone would benefit from the sort of economy you’re describing. In fact, I can’t even begin to think of any existing developed economy in the world that resembles what you describe; the UK is a high labour cost country – you’re not going to change that by leaving the EU and relaxing a few H&S regulations.

A 5% reduction in GDP would be disastrous for any governing party, so let’s get back down to earth and some common sense here.

JP

Another vote for Repack adn Marin – the home of mtbing.

Napa Valley is worth a trip if you like decent wine – Stag’s Leap is a good one.

JP

The Five has a flat leverage ratio – it doesn’t get any more progressive at any point in the stroke. This doesn’t matter with air shocks, which are naturally proressive, but it can cause issues with coil shocks which generally aren’t.

The only answer is to run a progressively wound coil, but these are few and far between at the moment.

JP

Never had any lessons but I had 10 years of classical training on piano before I took up guitar.

I can play pretty much anything by ear on guitar (and piano), although I sometimes need a bit of assistance from Youtube to work out really fast stuff. Can’t sight read either traditional notation or tab to save my life, though. We’re all different.

The main thing I’ve done over the 38 years I’ve been playing instruments is to practise. Not so much when I was younger, but from about 13 I was playing piano and then guitar all the time. Many people expect too much too soon and give up when they think they’re not a natural, but the key is just focused practice.

JP

This is where the confusion lies, because that part of the site is poorly written. I quote, from the same site:

“Driving in Europe after Brexit

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, you’ll need an IDP to drive in some EU and EEA countries. Check the table to find out if you’ll need one for the country you want to visit.”

The IDPs for Europe only apply if Britain leaves the EU without a deal (very unlikely). It doesn’t apply during the transition period (ie this year).

Edit – here is the page that is from:
https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit

Poopscoop

Subscriber

I got one a few years back and was stunned at how 1930’s it was.

How long they valid for?

Another Brexy bonus eh.😟

You don’t need one currently as a result of Brexit and it’s unlikely that you will. It’s amazing how much confusion there is out there about this.

JP

Why do you think you’ll need an IDP to drive in France? (You don’t, at least not in 2020.)

JP

I’m not convinced that politicians really have as much control over the direction of the country as most of you surmise. For example, had Thatcher never gained power, I suspect that British society would look much like it does now – our particular brand of post-industrialism was inevitable, no matter how many northerners lament the end of dangerous and dirty manual jobs in towns that were as awful when they were built as they are today.

JP

Cougar

Subscriber

… in any case, engine braking will only apply to (usually) the front two wheels, where as the middle pedal goes to all four.

Plus, y’know, ABS. It’s not 1980 any longer.

Anyone who’s ever raced a car with ABS on track will know that it’s not actually very good at stopping you when grip is at a premium. I ended up taking it off one of my production-based race cars years ago.

JP

mick_r

Subscriber

No they aren’t racing downhill, but they aren’t exactly lacking in skills… They can ride more tech than most people on STW 🙂

So, they go beyond blue trails, then?

JP

Do they close down conversations in real life if they go on a bit, or cover similar ground to a previous conversation?

JP

wzzzz

Member

Don’t believe all the rumour spouted and repeated by people on the internet.

I run my ’99 996 3.4 to work and back twice a week and for weekly jaunts. It is 21 years old, has 140k miles on it. For the last 2 years I have done nothing to it aside from change the oil.

£3000 for a clutch! They saw him coming. It’s sub £300 for a sachs clutch kit and an afternoons work. A luk flywheel is £400. Both these are the OE makers.

I replaced my own clutch and fly on my drive on axle stands 2 years ago- You don’t need to be a magician to work on a Porsche! It’s as easy as ANY car, don’t pay the “specialist” or OPC ransom.

People say stuff like this, but it doesn’t add up. My business partner isn’t going to replace his clutch himself on a brand new Cayman: firstly, most people can’t do this, secondly it would be awful for resell value on a new car, thirdly it would result in questions being raised if the warranty were eve to be used. Apart from that, if you’re buying a new car you are pretty much stuck with OPC prices if you want to sell it on at a decent price.

JP

One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that humans are completely useless at predicting the future. Almost everything that even the most learned people have tried to predict about the future has been wrong.

Regarding climate change and related conflicts, here’s an article from the Guardian in 2004, where the Pentagon tells us that London will be experiencing Siberian winters by 2020 and there’ll be ‘Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world. ‘

Linkie

It’s worth asking yourself who benefits from division and fear in society.

JP

That’s in an XC race with not much travel or really technical stuff, which is not the same as on a downhill or enduro bike with much more travel and more going on.

There’s a reason Troy Brosnan is using a 27.5 bike and Danny Hart is using a mullet – the big rear wheel is a hindrance if you’re not that tall.

JP

For future reference, (as so many of these sorts of thread come up on searches and most have no final resolution) it was the bearings. All were shot apart from the Horst Link pivot. Shock mount bushes/bearing and shock were fine.

It was interesting to see how bad the old bearings were – it was almost impossible to turn them – yet the suspension still felt fairly supple.

JP

People have been saying this for years. Funny how it never happens, isn’t it?

That’s why the next one will be WW3, because there haven’t been any before.

I was referring to the OP’s reference to India and Pakistan, obviously, but don’t let that get in the way of some moronic points scoring.

JP

People have been saying this for years. Funny how it never happens, isn’t it?

JP

My business partner has one. He managed to burn out the clutch in under 10K miles at a cost of £3000. I’m not sure if this is a weakpoint or whether he’s muppet (as a comparison, the clutch on my Elise was still going strong at 120K miles, even though I’d done over 200 racing starts with it at sprints and hillclimbs).

Parts seem pretty expensive on the Cayman, so beware.

JP

wwaswas

Subscriber

we went to Norway

Is this better than the OXO tower for the OP’s purpose?

Is this a joke on here too? I thought it originated on SELOC.

JP

My mate’s son’s 24″ Commencal Clash has Manitou forks, which seem pretty good.

JP

In answer to your question – no.

I was having this discussion with a former DH WC mechanic a few hours ago and he pointed out that almost all of the DH racers are on 25mm rims; doesn’t seem to cause them any issues.

JP

These threads always bring out the loons.

The fact is that no amount of protesting is going to stop people wanting to move around the country, towns and cities, in comfort and without having to wait for hours/make multiple changes of vehicle/walk for miles/get wet/getsweaty etc. The sooner people realise this the sooner we can get away from this ridiculous self flagellation and focus on developing technological solutions. More home working would be a good start.

JP

And there was I thinking that this was going to be a thread about Love Island.

JP

Both races – you must be a glutton for punishment!

Next year for me, but probably the Mega.

JP

Yeti – heard way too many horror stories about them direct from owners.
Santa Cruz – overpriced IMO and they’re always a bit behind on geo. Way too much anti squat on all the ones I’ve ridden (admittedly not the Megatower).
Specialized – that’s silly money for a frame from a mass market brand.

Personally, I’d be looking at something like a Geometron at that money.

JP

Either:
– they announced the bikes way too early into development
– they faced unexpected issues
– the Bikepark thing was much more work than anticipated
– turns out there’s not much interest in the product

Good example of a false dichotomy there – well done. Or it could be that this was the plan all along – I don’t recall there ever being a specific date when bikes were going to be available.

JP

Brilliant – thanks all!

JP

OK – thanks. I’ve got a bearing kit but I don’t think it includes any bushings. Can’t see any bushings on CRC either, so not sure what to do.

I’m riding at Wind Hill tomorrow – I guess I’m not going to die if it’s the bushing?

Cheers,

JP

dhrider

Member

It’s got a bearing at 1 end and a normal bush at the other.

At each end of the shock itself?

Cheers,
JP

speedstar

Subscriber

Are the headset bearings properly loaded?

Yeah – there’s no movement at the front of the bike.

JP

Northwind

Subscriber

Shock bushings probably

Do you mean the bearings? I don’t think it has any bushings, but I may be wrong.

JP

I thought we were meant to be experiencing Siberian conditions by 2020:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2004/feb/22/usnews.theobserver

JP

I did it for a few years – everything from sprint to Ironman and even a couple of off road tris. To be honest, mountain biking is more fun.

It’s good for overall fitness, but it’s really a sport that’s designed for people who have no family or are recently divorced; you can easily spend 20 hours a week training if you want to get anywhere in the longer distance races.

JP

I looked up things I need to know about including cannabis and the links are proven if the users have some genes.

This sort of thing can be quite misleading; when you read the actual Caspi et al paper that suggests this, the link is nowhere near as strong as indicated in the website above. It’s somewhat akin to newspaper headlines screaming ‘Bacon gives you cancer!’, when the actual research suggests a 10% increase in likelihood if you eat bacon for every meal for 10 years.

I’m not saying that there is not a mechanism by which cannabis is detrimental to mental health, but I am suggesting that much research into the drug gets surprisingly confused between causation and correlation.

JP