Haven’t tried the Magura but got a few rides on the SRAM HS2 and they offer a good bump in power over the centreline they replaced. I changed nothing else, just the rotors (centrelines were good nick and clean before anyone says anything, just fancied giving the HS2 a try). The lever feels better as well as the thicker rotor reduces the dead lever play.

I know I raved about the Mini before, but in my mind it is the PERFECT size for a phone, work phone is an 8 Plus and it’s a right brick in comparison. IF they made a Pro Mini, that would be the perfect phone in my mind. It will be a huge shame if the Mini is dropped from the 14 series as is rumoured :(

@oldtennisshoes, I’ll echo what Kryton57 has said, if you can jump up to a 13 Mini, do it! It’s a big step up in battery life and I can get pretty much 2 days out of mine on a single charge. I’ve always been a bit of a tech noob but in the last 6 months I’ve got a bit more savvy (still probably way behind the average 30 year old mind!) and gone for a full Apple “ecosystem” with a Macbook Air and watch to go with a 13 Mini (had Iphone’s since a 4S in 2012) and the way they all function together is impressively easy and intuitive. If I can work it out, anyone can. I bought a cheap-ish Amazon tablet last Christmas (2020) as I had some vouchers and will likely get an iPad later this year as it’s just so nice to be able to Airdrop from one device to another. The camera on the 13 Mini is ace too as its basically what the 12 Pro Max had minus the Telephoto lens. Shame it doesn’t have ProRaw for photos and the ProMotion screen would be nice, but I struggle to fault the 13 Mini for the money, it’s chuffing ace! I’m actually loving MagSafe as well, I got the Magsafe wallet and not only has let me cut down my wallet to just 3 cards (which I’ve wanted to do for years, hate having a bulky wallet) but I find it makes the phone ever nice to hold too. I was a fan of Apple before, but the last 6 months have converted me for life I think! (though I will still only buy Samsung TVs, even though I don’t touch anything else they make!)

@cheddarchallenged, ohh he wasn’t running along side the bike with me, we just had him sat on his lead while I rode past at a safe distance. He gets 10-15 minutes walk as you say, if anything because we’re both busy with work, we worry about under exercising him but he seems to be a good routine now :)

He is such a little dude! He fell asleep on my lap Monday night and it was nice to see him so comfortable with us and a relief for me to be so comfortable with him. Drives me up the wall when he eats everything in sight when he’s outside (he coughed up a small stone he managed to find on my parents drive in the night while we stayed with them over New Year), but that aside he’s been good as gold really, touch wood!

Easy way to solve it, if there is any incident that is deemed worthy of a full safety car (not VSC) in the last 5 laps, then throw a red flag. All drivers can change tyres and they have the remaining lap/s from a standing restart like we had in Baku. It avoids the need for a rash reaction to better the “show” and everyone knows where they stand. Yes, it’s still harsh if you loose a huge lead and then loose the race like Lewis did, but at least they’re all fighting on the same terms.

Thank you all for your posts, it’s really helped. I went to some dark places in the first week or two, but thankfully, all seems to be going much, much better now.

We dropped puppy (his name’s Parker) with the in-laws over Christmas, so he could get used to staying with them as in future if we go away or we need to leave him for a while, he will go there as they are round the corner from us. This gave me a break and allowed me to reach out for help. After talking it through with Samaritans and my GP, we came to the conclusion that really, these mental issues have been there all along and getting Parker has acted as a massive trigger that pushed me over the edge. So I’m now waiting on some more counselling to help me be in a better place mentally, but already I feel much better within myself.

He’s settled in well, is very well behaved for the most part (though still tries to eat everything when and is taking to his training well, we have a few 1 to 1 sessions booked with a local trainer to help out and may put him in doggy day care one day a week so he can socialise with dogs a bit more. He is a very confident little chap though, not fazed by much at all, was fine with my MTB as I rode round him on his lead and is fine with cars. Christ we even had him outside watching the fire works at New years; didn’t bat an eyelid!

So far, so good. I’m under no illusion that there’s still a long way to go, but talking about my mental health has been a huge help and here’s hoping with some counselling, I’ll be in an even better place for the future. Ohhh and hopefully this works, as we’re missing a picture of the little guy!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYUlP7gr-sF/

Go 7mesh for sure. Best bibs I’ve owned by a mile. Spendy, but 3 years later and still so, so worth it!!!

The new 2022 wheels tyres are larger in diameter overall, but the front/rear widths remain the same. The entries to the ground effect tunnels will need to be pretty robust, if someone cleans out what was the bargeboard area, you’ll lose a LOT of performance from the floor. Hoping the cars are a little shorter, even if they are heavier. With rumour of many teams struggling to hit the weight limit, we might see 800kg cars before fuel is added :O

Thank you all. I honestly think my anxieties are extending from the fact that it is such a massive change in lifestyle that I thought I could cope with. We should have done more research into dog ownership for sure and we both freely admit that things come to us very easily usually, so we have walked into this ignorant to how hard it would be and I’m ashamed to say that.

I’ve often noted that changes in routine unsettle me and I feel at my most comfortable when I have more time to prepare for things, rather than spontaneously being able to cope with sudden change. Obviously, this is a huge change and I feel awful for both my wife, the dog and our families that I am struggling with it so much. I want more than anything than be able to give our gorgeous puppy the time he needs to develop into the dog we hope he can be, but my head just isn’t letting me think clearly with any clarity on what the best thing to do is.

Thanks all for the feedback and help. It all helps. For sure, the issue is with us and not the dog; while we’ve never had a dog or a puppy before, we and others can tell that he is not a menace, just a puppy, and that really hurts me as he has done nothing wrong.

My wife and I are very, very close; aside from my MTBing, we do everything together and we do enjoy being out and about and doing things as well as having time together to kick back and relax, as we do so much when we’re out we need a rest! We’ve both said we miss being ourselves. While I’ve had issues in the past, I am generally very laid back and most things do not phase me, everyone remarked on our wedding day how calm and relaxed I was. I definitely think that I was expecting some time to relax after 2 years planning the wedding, so we could get the last few things around the house in order (the garden for example, which is not puppy secure at the moment) and be ourselves with our routine for a bit.

While I said we’d thought about one for years, in terms of actually planning for one, it all happened in the space of a few weeks; we finally found a good breeder, travelled to meet the pups and loved one of them.

My idea of routine has gone well out of the window for the last 2 months and I think that is the thing that is throwing me the most. I get we will have a new routine, but my worry is what it will do to us both in the meantime. For sure, my mental health is a big part of this issue and it kills me that I’m finding what should be such a menial thing is causing as much stress and upset as it is.

This is just going to drag on and on isn’t it. The repercussions of this are bringing the sport into previously imaginable levels of disrepute and there is certainly a chance Lewis could walk away from F1 for good, which would be a tragic outcome. It could even make Mercedes withdraw from the sport all together.

The more I think about it, there is only one way this can be resolved fairly; void the result and have a race re-run, funded entirely by the FIA. They cocked this up and it’s down to them to right the wrong. They can’t just void the result of the race and we have effectively a 21 race calendar. Red Bull know that if the roles were reversed, they’d be in the same boat. And given how they haven’t covered themselves in glory this year, a bit of good sportsmanship would go a long, long way to restoring a bit of respect for them. A football match would be re-played if a similar thing happened.

Heck, it could even work for F1 and the FIA from a marketing point of view. Imagine given how much coverage the fallout of this has created and just how many people would tune in watch the re-run. It’s fair, sets the record straight and we can all enjoy another race with two drivers at the peak of their powers going hammer and tongs in a fair fight.

Nothing wrong with the current SC rules, it adds to the racing in some cases and has worked for years. As others have said, the issue is that the SC rules were not applied to the letter of the law. Unless Lewis crashed or had a mechanical, he would have won the race and the title. Red Bull know that, Verstappen knows that, everyone knows that.

The only way things could change is if there was interference. Yes, a SC is an interference, but had the rules been applied as they should have been (and have probably been at every other race with the current SC rules) the result is the same. Lewis wins. To change the outcome of the race through an in-race rule change/amendment is not right.

A red flag would have given the potential for the same outcome; yes it would still be harsh on Lewis, but at least he/Mercedes would have been able to prepare for it and the playing field is levelled in the fairest possible manner. As far as I see it, that’s the two options Masi had; Red Flag and standing start ala Baku earlier this year or stick with the SC and finish the race under it as per the written regs.

What Masi seems to fail to see is that he cannot make everyone happy. Charlie knew that and he said it as it was and acted accordingly. Either of those eventualities I outlined before, someone is going to peed of with so much as stake. Accept that, stick the rule book to the letter and don’t let the teams have a direct line through to yourself during the race.

Should have red flagged with 3 or 4 to go. Everyone gets fresh rubber, with race positions reset – straight forward few lap race for the win.

100% agree. The whole debacle was a shambles. If the FIA/F1 really, really want to mix things up from a false “entertainment” point of view, red flag the race, let them all change tyres and have a lap or two as a shootout. It’s not ideal from a Mercedes/Lewis point of view, but at least it’s fairer and everyone know where they stand, rather than having to make title changing decisions without knowing all the facts.

As some drivers have said, if this any other race or the title had been decided, it would have ended under safety car.

I’m not angry about Max being champion, but if the shoe was on the other foot and Lewis won it in that way Red Bull would be equally fuming and we’d still be in the same position, so the issue is clearly with the FIA and Masi. There is no way in well Charlie would have let anything like this go down. Masi lost control a while ago and he should resign and apologise to all the teams. Other drivers lost the opportunity Max was given because not all cars were allowed to unlap themselves. I can’t see that CAS will have a good view of the way things were handled if it ends up going that far… The decisions made in those last few laps smack of incompetence and complete disregard for keeping the race a fair sporting contest for all competitors.

None from my end on the suspension front, both fork and shock have been totally reliable so far. Shock leaked a little oil at first, but LBS say every Rockshox shock they’ve had through in the 18 months has done. They had one Sid fork with bushing play, but all others they’ve sold on Spurs have been fine, so seems isolated to a few forks. I think it’s the ideal setup for the Spur, both have seriously impressed me with how smooth and controlled they are for how ridiculously light they are.

Buy it!! I’m just over 13 months on mine and I still can’t get enough of it. It just plain rocks. Short blast, long spin on the moors, hell I’ve even commuted on mine, I just love it. Deep Sea Green is the best colour too, though the grey has grown on me since launch, but the green is just 🤤🤤 As said supply is shocking and demand is how so snap their arm off for it let alone a hand!

If you snapped a Smuggler (presumably alloy?) I’d avoid the Spur. It is NOT a direct replacement for the Smuggler and while I’ve ridden my Spur hard, I doubt it would hold up as well as an alloy Smuggler given how overbuilt they were. As others have said, I’d reach out to Transition for crash replacement parts for your Smuggler or look at a FlareMax.

I have one ride on my Glidepath pants and am super impressed as always with 7Mesh. They kept a bit of light spray at bay yet remained cooler than my 7Mesh Thunderpants. Fit was good but the ankle cuffs are really tight, but that is all I can fault on them so far.

No idea where those weights have come from, but the stock Fortus 30 in 29 weighs 2435g for the pair. Rims are 720g each in 29 for the normal Fortus 30, if the SC weighs 600g as claimed they’ll be 240g lighter than the stock Fortus 30 so around 2.2kg. So basically still sodding heavy.

Another big fan of the Mini series here. I recently went from an 8 to a 13 Mini and it’s brilliant. SE is basically an updated 8, so is not bad, but the 11 will be better overall and the bigger screen is nice, but for me, the 12/13 Mini are the sweet spot at the moment. Perfect size, great screens, great cameras and new enough that they will be supported with the latest updates for years to come. More money again compared to the 11, but worth it IMO.

I’ve had one of those Duff Monster bags for years and really rate it, such a shame they’re not made anymore, though they were a PITA to get even when they were made, sure there’s thread on here somewhere of people waiting 18 months for theirs! Scott do something called the Bike Sleeve that looks similar, so perhaps worth a look: https://www.scott-sports.com/gb/en/product/scott-bike-transport-bag-sleeve

When we got our new Arona last September I got a boot liner from the Hatchbag and still use the Duff Bag too for a full belt braces approach to car interior preservation! It’s really, really good and so quick to whip in and out if you need too.

Come on now, that is not a “downcountry bike”!

Forget shorts, get Trousers. I’ll always recommend 7Mesh as the quality and durability justifies the price, but saw some decent looking Altura waterproof trousers in the LBS the other day that might be worth a look if they fit OK. Might not be the most durable though.

No doubt Max judged his last stint very, very well at the weekend, he just kept enough life in the tyres to keep Lewis at bay. The pace picture is muddied somewhat by the rumours that Mercedes had to make some big setup changes after running away with FP1 because the car was running so low that while fast, it was just hammering the floor. They were also running higher engine modes compared to Redbull but it could be that they maybe have a small pace advantage still that they couldn’t fully show in Austin as the track was so bumpy. Going to be a fascinating end to the season!

Sat in Copse B back in 2013 and it was great! Saw a number of overtakes and you can see them pile down into maggots/becketts etc. Great day out, funnily enough, my mum and dad got me the tickets for my 21st! Really enjoyed it, great atmosphere and plenty to see/do. Was nice to hear the final year of the V8s though, my god the noise was incredible!

Endura and Madison make kit that looks OK and I’d consider OK-ish value, but the fit is abysmal and quality so-so. Fox fits OK unless you have long legs but the quality is abysmal and way overpriced. I can’t understand how brands can get fit/sizing so wrong. I converted to 7Mesh about 5 years ago and haven’t looked back. Yes it’s pricey, but the fit is as close to tailor-made as I’ve ever seen from a cycling clothing brand and the quality is beyond exceptional; my first pair of shorts from them are still going strong years later and they get hammered. If you want to have your cake and eat it, pay for it because you’ll be eating said cake for a long, long time.

@lowey, don’t have the Revelation but do have the 7Mesh Guardian (Gore Active rather than Pro) which is not a million miles off and it packs down fairly small, but not tiny. Too big to put in my 2L Dakine hip pack, but would go in a 5L one no problem. Revelation will be slightly less packable, but not by much.

Think the post is super slow at the moment, I had to wait an age for my crank decals to come through. I emailed them after 3 weeks and they sent another pair out, they were really good about it to be fair. It’s not Slik’s fault for sure!

For road or MTB? Either way, you won’t go wrong with 7Mesh, I have an older Guardian jacket and it’s next level! Fit is superb (they do size up a little big so may need to size down).

Rebelion for Road – https://7mesh.com/rebellion-jacket-hi-vis

Copilot for MTB – https://7mesh.com/copilot-jacket

Job done! Ohh, and get a pair of the Thunderpants they do if you want to really ride through winter, they have totally changed the game for me and I’d buy another pair in a heartbeat, but I don’t need to as 7Mesh gear lasts forever!

https://7mesh.com/thunder-pant

There’s no doubt set up/car characteristics didn’t help Bottas gain ground compared to Max. Max had a full on low-downforce set up specifically to help overtake. But that’s not really the point many are making. The point is, other drivers would have made that Mercedes as wide as the Atlantic Ocean to keep Max behind. Valterri made it look like a puddle, let alone an ocean! Yes he is quick, yes on his day he can win races, but he could, and should, have done so much more to keep Verstappen behind and car set up has nothing to do that at all. If anything, handling difficulties should make it easier to keep him behind!

Yeah, his “defence” against Max was pitiful, he might as well have stuck his hand out the cockpit and waved him through. I’m dubious there was an issue and I’m of the thinking they put him back there solely for the purpose of keeping Max behind and he failed that miserably. He needed to get his elbows out, weave around, block, do whatever was necessary within reason to keep him behind and he didn’t. His “recovery” to 5th was largely down to luck and Merc using him to test the conditions/tyres so they could make the right call for Lewis.

He is very quick over one lap, no one can deny that, but his race craft is not up to the standard of the best. I mean look at Alonso keeping Lewis behind in Hungary, or the Alonso/Schumacher battles at Imola in 2005/2006. That is how to defend like your life depends on it.

Two ways to get to it really, you can follow the blue and it then cuts off to the Michelin once you come back out of the trees after the first blue descent.

Alternatively, follow the red from Snowdon view, but when it then says turn left from one fire road to another via the short new-ish connecting trail, head straight on until you hit the blue and then you’re where you would be from following the blue as outlined first. You can’t miss it once you’re on the blue!

It’s alright, I’ve done it 4 or 5 times now and some of the berms have amazing support, others not so much. It’s bedding in better and better but for me it needs a little work to make it properly fun. I just hope they don’t continue with this trend of building ever smoother, flowy 6-foot wide trail stuff. Bring back some tighter, more techy singletrack. I always think that short section of the old red with 3 or 4 corners one after the other is one of the best sections there, plenty of other places to ride if you want go jumping and fail miserably as most people I see riding up there do!

I’ve used the men’s version of these and they are the best shorts I’ve used bar none – https://7mesh.com/wk3-cargo-bib-short

Super, super, super comfy, durable as hell and loads of space for phone, gels etc. Spendy, but so worth it!

The alloy frames are hefty, but seem decent value. You’re giving up around 1kg compared to the carbon (though for some reason on the full bikes the difference is closer to 1.5Kg, which I find odd given the spec is basically the same aside from the fork/shock).

I’ve had a Spur for nearly a year now and it is by far the fastest and most fun bike I’ve ridden. Given how agile it feels, it makes me question the need for 27.5 wheels unless you’re a Josh Bryceland type of rider who really, really wants to and can throw a bike around. I just find modern 29ers are faster, just as fun and in my mind better all rounders.

Despite that though, if you went the 29er way with a Sentinel or 27.5 Scout, you’ll love either, Transition are on a roll at the minute and the bikes are just plain awesome!

Looks like they had a Yard Sale 5 weeks ago according to their instagram and no posts since… not looking good which is a shame as they did make lovely bikes. Never got why they limited their all road/gravel bike (the Pilgrims) to relatively small tyres…

I learned last winter to skip winter shorts and go for winter pants/trousers. I got some 7Mesh Thunderpants and they are a game changer for me. I rode way more, was more comfortable and they mean waterproof socks actually work as water doesn’t drip down your leg into them. They are mega expensive (but still hard to get as they sell out very quickly) but they are good. Check out Endura/Altura if you want something not stupid money.

Yeah putty was the best colour for the Secan, shame they discontinued it!

I was stuck between a Secan/Faran, Fearless Warlock, Nordest Albarda 2 or the Escapade. Ordered an Escapade as I like Cotic (this will be my 3rd frame from them) and aside from the Fearless it’s available the soonest, hopefully anyway! Gone for the new Matte Blue Steel colour and will have 1x Rival AXS XPLR kit.

You’ll love it! Such an epically good fun bike, never need an excuse to post mine!! The Deore build looks like a good base, swap out the wheels and drivetrain once it wears out and you can shed serious weight for not a lot of cash :)

@thebunk it started as a GX buil but is now an X01/GX AXS mixed with Hunt Wheels. Basically I wanted to build frame only but couldn’t so I’ve just changed bits along the way! All that’s left from original spec is the frame/fork/shock, headset, seatpost and tyres! It’s about 12.3kg with pedals, bottle cage and the aftermarket fender for the Sid, you’d have to spend serious coin to get a Flaremax that light.

I’m 6ft and ride a large Spur, the Soul was also a large, but the Longshot frames are so long that even with a 31mm stem on the Soul and the saddle shoved all the way forward, compared to the Spur and a 50mm stem with the saddle in the middle-ish bit of the rails, the Soul feels bigger, almost too big.

I doubt the FlareMax would weigh the same as the Spur, but as others have said, very different bikes, but similar at the same time! I’ve had nearly a year on a Spur and love it, it’s fast, agile and properly fun little bike to chuck around. It’s so brilliant I haven’t ridden my once beloved 27.5 MK5 Soul and its been split down for sale…

I haven’t ridden the FlareMax, but as Kelvin said, I think a lighter build like the GuyKes TV one would bring it closer to the Spur, but while it no doubt rides brilliantly, I’d think a frame like that almost should be built a little heavier components wise, and that’s coming from a proper weight weenie!