I’ve had 2 dislocated shoulders and two broken collar bones in 1 year. Partly due to being very unlucky and partly due to pushing myself too hard.

I now build up to things rather than going for them straight away and if something doesn’t feel right (big drop, gap etc) then I won’t do it.

I used to just say MTFU and go for it, which normally works (the times I have broken things and dislocated shoulders have been on small easy bits of the trail) but I hate time off and cant afford to be injured so have to take it a bit easier.

It takes me a while to get my confidence back with my riding, but I get there eventually :-)

Kingdom vendetta ti 4x bike. Totally unnecessary. No 4x track nearby, too small to ride xc, expensive, I already have a jump bike.

I still want!! salivate!! must resist!!!!!

Urban dictionary, never fails to amuse :-)

Yes the top xc boys are pretty damm skillful. I’ve ridden with a guy who is a superfit xc type racer and he is very quick downhill.

The top guys are hard as nails, as are the top road riders. Loads of battle scars, tons of skill and supremely fit.

As for the rest of the xc/road riding pansies, the mickey taking shall resume…. :P

Makes no difference, he is still wearing lycra and looks like a power ranger :P

@dean

IMO in the majority of the uk a bike with 140-160mm travel out back is too much. Something like 110-130 is the sweet spot. Feels more like a hardtail, but without the sting in the tail.

Lots of people like their all mountain full sussers, but I have found that unless I take mine to a downhill track I can’t really get the most out of it.

A slack head angled, short travel frame with a low bb is perfect for 90% of the riding I do. If I want to ride anything more aggressive I will take the big bike and will get the uplift or push back up.

They look brilliant. I just hope the 10-4 comes with short(ish) chainstays and a low bb. If so it could be a perfect bike for uk trails.

@Simon.

The question was, ‘Why is there such a crap atmosphere on STW?’

I came up with a few ideas and voiced my opinion. Does it really bother me? No. I would rather spend my time chatting with the friendly folks about bikes and banter :-)

The muck is a small price to pay for great info, occasional bit of good banter and some bargains on the classifieds.

If I was a total newbie, would I feel the same? I doubt it.

Ahhh wannabe moderator Elf. This sums up what is partly wrong with the forum, someone always ready to jump down your throat for having an opinion.

On the internet there is always going to be someone posting up stuff you don’t agree with. What I don’t get is the need to constantly engage them.

If someone posts up something I don’t agree with, I don’t feel the need to get involved unless it is racist, overtly sexist or downright rude and obnoxious.

As a general rule I don’t take the stuff people post on the net too seriously, as the amount of fairytail caped internet crusaders is rediculious.

This forum has some real gems, but you have to search through the muck to get to it.

Yes I have pondered this very question. Do I look like someone who self harms to the man on the street?

Maybe, but unless it is for a job interview or something important, I couldn’t give a flying duck.

I really hope it rains, much more fun in the wet (for us watching :-))

Edit: if anyone boots it off the top lip, I will be mightily impressed.

I’ve been a member of many different forums and this is by far the worst interms of sniping, b1tching and whining.

It seems as though some people have nothing better to do than argue and put others down.

Maybe it is to do with the demograhic the forum attracts? Maybe the Moderation is looser?, Maybe some of these guys were picked on at school or are not getting any from their wives? :lol:

What ever the reason, I’ve found it best to ignore the victor meldrews and chat with the people who don’t seem to have a chip on their shoulder.

Overall the forum is great, bar a few idiots who act like plonkers on here, when they wouldn’t dare behave like it in real life.

I take magazine reviews with a pinch of salt now. Dirt seem ok, but the others are pretty poor. Bike radar is laughable.

Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale

Good shouts for Ferrari, Aston and Alfa.

Edit: I see Monty has beaten me too it. IMO the most beautiful car ever made.

:lol:

As it has gone past the 3 date rule, I would bin her, but that is me. Maybe you need to mtfu and invite her back to your house? If you are on the fence, doing the business will help make up your mind.

Nice looking bike, geometry looks decent. Not sure if it is the same as the 2011 though. Seems like it would take a reasonable amount of abuse.

As an all rounder I’d probably go for the intense, assuming I could get a good one.

Realistically I think I will be off until christmas also. Such a bummer as I was just getting back into riding.

8 weeks after mangling my collar bone, I started riding again. Had a little off on wednesday and have cracked it :( Another 6 weeks off the bike. Arsebiscuits.

Lesson learned. This time I will make sure it is strong enough before venturing onto the mountain bike. Lots of turbo trainer and swimming for me.

Anyone else off the bike at the moment?

Are these available in the uk? I can’t see them of the magicshine uk site.

Yep he was my mtb hero when I was younger. I loved that specialized, probably my all time favorite bike. R.I.P

Anyone tried the old extension cable on the new light?

If you are using more than one finger with disk brakes, something is amiss……

The smartphone option looks good, but I can’t imagine that they will deal with shitty weather and being bashed about?

Ideally I’d like to be able to download other peoples routes and have the gps navigate me around, although I’m guessing that there are a number of different mapping systems……..

@Lifer Ideally I’d rather have a separate device for biking as a phone would take a beating, but would consider it if it works well.

@thomthumb Does the memory map and geko do a decent job?

I worked in sales for a number of years. If you aren’t selling enough to cover the cost of you being employed you get a few chances and some help, but then then the sack. Plain and simple.

Think you need to give him another chance, but let him know that he needs to start putting some numbers up.

Don’t listen to the road riding devils, if you are bored and unmotivated the last thing you want to do is road riding :P I’d definitely give racing a go, xc or enduro. Also riding some different things, really steep downhill, some small dirt jumps etc.

I’ve been a bit down the last few days and have just taken my 24 inch dj bike for a spin around the village and it has cheered me up. :-)

About 2 months for me, I think. If it hasn’t come out too badly and goes back in quickly then physio can sort it. Otherwise you may need an op.

Brighton a bit far for me probably, and seeing as my vinyl collection only starts from about 1996 seems I’m a bit young for most of you!

I’m not old enough to remember the summer of love or the beginnings of acid house, but I still did plenty of partying in the 90’s :-)

Ok, so Pitzips are out. What are some good jackets that are not made out of goretex and are highly breathable?

Picture this…

A ride….A chill somewhere outside..Then a djing session, with peoples.. old vinyl…

This is the kind of thing I’m thinking of. Brighton perhaps? A ride around the singletrack in stamner and wild park, and then back to chillout and listen to some good tunes and talk bollox about going raving and to house parties :D

Sorry no grumpy old sods allowed GW :wink:

White gloves and boom box are optional, but a prior history of going to raves and house parties is essential :D

It is funny you should say that Jim. I went to a rave earlier this year (first one in years!) and every 200 yards there was a guy filling up balloons with gas and monged out yoofs on K crammed into cars. I drank beer and did lots of tutting :-)

No riding to warehouse and taking un-named substances, but perhaps a visit to a pub, playing some good tunes after :-)

Yep, agree that soul wax were the kings of mashup. They were able to make a destinys child song sound half decent……

The vast majority are cack, but there are a few gems about.

Quite liked the sexual high one and the prodigy vs white stripes is great.

dubstep

yep, still baffles me to this day…..

What the hell is dubstep? I think the official description is ‘99% sh1te’

I don’t mind the odd dubstep tune in a mix, but basically it is a mishmash of genres that don’t really work together, resulting in pretty rubbish music.

Skrillex on the other hand is awesome :-)

One query from an ameture. How do you go about slacking the head angle AND lowering the BB height just from ‘tweaking’? If you put on a longer fork it would slacken the head angle but raise the BB height?

Offset shock bushings

Old news.