Thanks Bez, in that case the result makes sense to me given how the courts work. It also explains some of the attitude of the police since they would have known they couldn’t get a guilty verdict on that charge. I’m curious why they tried for that though, perhaps shooting for a bigger penalty?

I’m unclear on what she was found not guilty of. There are differing reports of what the charge was with some sources saying death by dangerous driving and some deiving without due care. This is important because I agree she didn’t necessarily cause the death which may have been prevented with a helmet (and in court it can be that cut and dry), but she’s clearly not driving with care and attention if she didn’t even stop!

Not going with the flow but I think the courts did well here. There are many “issues” which would lead someone to think they were doing the right thing. Aspergers being one (I have this, but don’t think he’s right). A small scare will unambiguously tell people with these types of condition they are not right and they won’t offend again.
Yes, the outcome would be horiffic. No, the offender didn’t realise that. Yes, the offender did think the person they were targeting deserved it.

No, you can’t understand. Neither will they. They will still think they were right. From their perspective they are right, and will remain so. It’s likely no malice was intended.

I found out about my condition by being told I was wrong. Really wrong. I still cannot understand why and probably never will. You can’t understand how upsetting it can be to not even understand why literally every other person agrees you are wrong and to not even agree or understand why. In my case it was just people thinking I was mean at work, but from my perspective they are wrong and I can genuinely explain why. It turns out I’m wrong. We’re human, and you need to take that into account (I never used to…part of my issue!).

@deadkenny thanks for this. I never pass on my ticket because I thought it was paying for the fun bits. If it’s council money I’ll start offering to people as I leave.
Anyone know a way to actually contribute to the trails? I feel like I use them a lot so not paying is weird for such a good facility.

@cheers_drive if I’m up I’ll see you there… ;)

If you did 1:25 on your first go you’re doing quite well. I find Swinley less technical but more fun than other centres (admittedly a local). Kind of like a campsite compared to wild camping – less real but more sleep. Swinley gives the swoopy, fun, fast, “I’m amazing”, “look at that air” type feeling you want from a MTB ride :)
Unless it’s Saturday and full of noobs. Then it’s like the most pointless MTB video you can imagine as you follow people at 2mph watching their rusty bike rattle over the bumps 8O (I’m kidding, naturally I run them off the trail and plough on…)

I have two of those Reparto Corse callipers in as new condition – ridden for about 25 miles on new bike before replaced with better ones. I’ve no idea what they are worth but £10 plus postage and they are yours. Message me if you’re interested :)

Looks like it was on swinleyriders I read it. The old mtb permits were replaced with parking charges. I read that as parking pays towards trails as the old permit did. I’m not sure I’m right now you’ve questioned it, but it appears they swapped one for the other.

I read it on one of the Swinley pages, might have been the crown estate one. I’ll see if I can find it

That’s not the official loop in that new seg, probably the reason so few have done it. I’m wondering if there is a segment for the actual current route. Certainly at 1 1/2 miles shorter it’ll be easier to hit an hour. The lack of mud will help too I’d have thought.
I’m sure I’ll think of other excuses shortly but that’s all I have for now :) to be fair I’ve not done the loop since as I’ve been detouring down the ‘black’ run

Wherever you park, swing by the Swinley car park and buy a ticket as these pay for the maintenance of the trails :) it’s only £2 so easy to carry

If it’s literally just mileage (or pension if higher rate tax) or both of these then you don’t need to do a full assessment. That said, if you requested a code that means you asked to fill one in and therefore do now have to fill one in regardless. It’s an odd rule but you just have to go with it.
From their perspective, sending you the code is asking you to fill it in. This isn’t clear at your end so tell them you were never asked to fill one in and they should drop the charge. Last year they dropped all late fees completely and I thought this year too.
To adjust your mileage or pension you can call and do it over the phone as a one off, or there is a form on the site (which the phone call will confirm the correct form). As I said though, only if you don’t yet have a code.
With HMRC it’s good practice to write down the time, date, length of call and who you spoke to, as well as what was discussed/decided, and keep ALL letters in a dedicated folder. That way you can “prove” how things look from your side.
In all my dealings with them they have been fair, reasonable and competent. Slow as molasses but no actual issues other than they tried to charge me for a year I didn’t submit until I pointed out they never asked me to; they then dropped the charge.
Hope that helps.

+1 for a 2016 Scale. If you find a choice of model, check the frame between them. The 700 is top banana, then 710 down to 735 are all the same carbon frame and 740 on are Aluminium. I believe it’s the same on the 9xx range 29ers. The difference on a given frame will be components which can be upgraded later at your leisure but they are all reasonable quality parts these days. A 2016 model will be well under your budget too.

Thanks they do look good on paper so good to have feedback

Yes I really did run out of gears. Spinning out on a fire track is irrelevant, you can’t hold that cadence off-road. The 32t chainring is nowhere near what I need and I’m not massively fit, in fairness I was only riding Swinley so an easy ride. My point wasn’t that I’m some kind of superman but rather that everyone has a comfortable range and you need to find that to be happy with 1×11.
2x setups generally covered everyone and then some at one end of the range. 1x works because we can drop the end we don’t use or a bit from either side.

I have 1×11 on two of my bikes and it’s fine. I run 36 at the front and 11-46 on the back and have yet to have an issue including Afan climbs which seem to go on for most of the ride!
That having been said, I rented a T130 RS this week which had a 32t chainring and (I think) 11-46 at the rear. Yes, I ran out of gears, but not at the low end. I pretty much only used the smallest 3 sprockets for most of the ride and was frustrated by lack of speed at the top end.
1x can be great, but you absolutely need to match the chainring to your riding. Too big and you’ll suffer on hills and too small and you’ll go crazy spinning out.
At the rear, you need to decide your strategy. There are two camps here, both pretty much want the biggest sprocket on offer. One side loves even spacing right through the cassette. The other camp prefers to have a massive jump (Shimano style) to replicate having two chainrings. Shimano provide two “climbing gears” and 9 cadence gears for the trail. I believe Sunrace (from reading here, no experience) more evenly space so you lose the cadence changing through the block but get more even changes throughout. Horses for courses :)

Thanks all, are WTB and Spank rims any good? I’m completely new to both brands and want to make sure I’m going the right way.

Spank could be the answer are they strong?

Sadly Hope still don’t do Centerlock so are off the cards, hence needing to build some up on XTR hubs. Also not a fan of that infernal clicking!

Good point, I definitely don’t want carbon rims on this bike. Nothing against carbon in general, just not here :)

How are people OK with riding everything in a weekend? Do you guys just amble about or are you incredibly fit? I did White’s Level on Saturday and that was me done for the day!

To Ben fair that’s filtered to only show forum members in the group, only 15 have chosen to “enter” this “race”. Everyone can come first with the right filter…

I’m 5’11” and ride a medium Scale 735 it’s perfect for me but I’m usually fine with the smaller sizes when I’m between sizes. My road bikes are also 54cm if that helps

@jimdubleyou thanks I wasn’t aware of that app it’s awesome!

Thanks all that’s pretty much my findings so far which is very frustrating when you’ve never been! @Juanghia OS don’t put the trails on their maps :)

Just gonna leave this here…;)

Deadkenny have you tried riding faster? A lot of the people I overtake look bored too but I’ve never had that problem :)

Right, I managed a 1:19:31 today which means there are 12 people I now have deep respect for on Strava (although most did their laps before the pool was installed at Red2…)
I really don’t think I’ll improve a whole lot on that, perhaps a minute or two in the dry and when the roots get covered a bit. My lungs nearly fell out so I don’t think I could have done much better.
4th this year though, not doing terribly :)

That said, with a new bike…

In 1995 Rockshox top of the line was Judy SL. At the time they cost £500 (I still have them…). Taking a average of 3% inflation for 20 years that makes over £900 today. Then, as now, people never paid retail price if they were smart. The margin in a bike shop is big so always buy last years model in the sale or get to know your LBS well.

Shimano brakes come with the bleed block so your lbs will have loads of spares which most will hand you for free. The funnel is cheap and any 50ml syringe will work if it has a spout to attach some clear hose. Paying £20 for an 80p syringe and 30p of poly tube is not a fun day of shopping!

@cynic-al it’s also great when DA breaks in your third year and it’s still under warranty when Ultegra wouldn’t be. Chainrings are nowhere near that much either! The only crazy money part in DA is the cassette to me

Those of you thinking an old bike with skinny tyres and narrow bars is better in Labrynth I can confirm it’s not the case. I have a Big Ed with 4.8″ JJs and 740 bars and set my PR in there. Tried with my Kilauea on 2.0″ mountain King and a traditional straight narrow bar and was minutes slower. Both similar spec with the Kilauea being a few KG lighter. Both have front suspension, if you still consider Judy SL to be suspension. I get more travel from my fat tyres! The Kilauea was something like 10-15 minutes slower for the lap despite having barends!

I think you’re all confirming what I thought, I need another bike! I don’t have a full sus in the stable hence my appalling lap time

@mb51 thinner tyres aren’t quicker I’ve done a 1:24 on the Jumbo Jim’s at 4.8″ and a 1:27 on the Rocket Ron’s 2.2″. You’re all right that Saturday is not the day to try, need a big horn to get the people out of the way in time! Hope they don’t close any more bits soon, I need to get this done!

Even a d lock is trivial to break in the privacy of a garage, especially if it’s full of tools. A ground anchor may pierce the waterproof membrane under your floor but it won’t stop theft because whatever you use to connect it to your bike can Ben cut in seconds with a portable angle grinder. Even if they don’t take your bike, a set of Allen keys will have every single component off in five minutes.
Get good insurance, and whatever locks your insurer specifies. Anything else will just cost more money. Also, take pictures of all your stuff so you know what you have.

lol I was hoping for something clever but irony is always nice too :) I’m still curious what the plan was before bike computers, surely if electronics are so bad from an assessment perspective there must be a way. I have the same issue with sailing, only there instead of accepting that the 7satelite devices on board won’t all fail at once we have to accept that a wristwatch won’t break and that the paper almanac won’t get wet which is required for using a sextant!
Madness, but very British madness :)

It blows my mind that there isn’t a simple database where a buyer can check a frame number, or an owner report a theft. It’s impossible to be certain when buying second hand bikes :(

Out of interest how do you keep track of distance? Not being awkward just curious if you’re not using any computers how you track position. Are older non GPS computers allowed?

Just did a quick experiment in the lounge. If the torch is pointing down at all it doesn’t dim so adjusting the bar mount may be the solution. I have mine angled slightly down so perhaps it’s my fault it never dimmed and not that it’s aimed at people who stop :)

I just got a Maxx D and a Diablo and from what I can tell reflex works for people who stop a lot. For me in program 1 A3 I got 2 hours same as the non reflex mode. I didn’t stop moving though. It definitely dims if left still though.
The Diablo on the other hand was still going strong 1:35 in on the 1 hour setting so well impressed!
Between these two lights a lap of Swinley is about the same time as in the daytime albeit with the occasional surprise slip and associated swearing :)

I use one of these. Exceptionally well made and robust. Doesn’t need power and plenty of pressure to wash my muddy fat bike and filthy legs/face after a ride :)
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/portable-shower-8-l-id_8333161.html