<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; color: #565a5c;”>The old format was seeding Saturday which put you in position for Sundays race, usually 5 stages.</span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; color: #565a5c;”>Problem that meant was that you had to camp, and if far away take the Friday off. Also most people were getting there last Thursday or early Friday. So getting two or 3 loops in before the race. Made it very difficult to place well at all as they knew the course so much better.</span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; color: #565a5c;”>Eastridge seems a small venue for one of their races. I did 6 of them altogether, Grizedale twice which was a very good round, dyfi and triscombe also good, hamsterly was not so good, too short. </span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”color: #565a5c; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;”>Have done plenty of other welsh grav enduros, welsh enduro series etc and all just as good. Not as many stages though which is a shame. Wish they did 5 blind stages but also I do like the mash up format. </span></p>

I use my cx bike for commuting, to an extent where it now has roadie tyres on. I initially used it for gravel and easier trail centre stuff. Now almost exclusively commuting. It’s most ridden bike, but that’s for commuting. It gets used a few times a year outside of commuting.

I’ve always planned to go on some decent length rides, off road but on fireroads etc. But I’ve always grabbed my mtb’s and had more fun on them instead.

i have a bontrager one and it’s great.

I refer the honourable gentleman to my previous post, freeride bikes are coming back.

Always preferred them to DH bikes myself, you can pedal them to access trails in the Alps, winch up fire roads easier and they don’t need to be ridden at mach 3 to make sense like a DH bike.

Yeah a 160mm or 170mm travel enduro bike is very capable, but they just don’t have that lovely coil plushness and ability to swallow almost anything.

I know they’re coming back, i just don’t know why or who is buying them. They almost seem like the worst of both worlds – Not as good at DH as DH bike, and not as good at pedaling as an ‘enduro’ bike, also likely the same DH performance as them.

Also, quite a few enduro bikes now have coil shocks. And air shocks are used just as much on DH bikes now anyway…

Probably should have said or… Saw plenty in whistler that had something for just blasting out laps, same in other places with uplift. If I lived there then I’d not be running my enduro bike with nice wheels etc all day in a park, something like that would be good fun, just need to live in the right place

Totally agree on this. It just surprises me there is a market for this that bike companies are willing to fill. Must be a fairly small market.

Plenty of uses, cheap and cheerful, will pedal some stuff and get you around a bit. If you have access to plenty of uplift then it’s a good cheap bike to keep your DH and Trail bike running sweet while you smash laps out.

If you have enough cash to run a DH and trail bike, and have this as an in between, then good on you. If that’s the case though, it’s unlikely you would buy cheap and cheerful, you likely have enough cash to buy another DH bike.

Enduro/trail bikes these days are so capable that you almost don’t need a DH bike in most cases.

There’s a few of these coming out again now. New Nomad, the Commencal SX etc.

Don’t really see the need, almost filling a gap that’s not really needed (bike industry through and through though I suppose).

Realistically, either buy a DH bike if you’re riding downhill, or buy an a trail bike for everything else. These fill a niche which just isn’t there.

Also for that year above Patagonia turned over around $800 million

Well ruddy hell, i didn’t know they were that big. I suppose they are expensive to buy, but didn’t know that many people had that much cash. I thought this outdoors stuff was still a relatively niche market, evidently not.

Still, mass production, done in as a sustainable way as possible, I believe is more sustainable than some of these smaller companies claiming to be so.

Patagonia for example – where does their down, materials source from, and manufacturing take place? And is it really sustainable to post something from the UK, to somewhere abroad to get fixed, and then back?

that post above about how much patagonia are giving away, they can’t be that big that they’ve given away over $100m in 16-17 FY, unless I’m reading something wrong?

I deal a lot with sustainability in my job, and am increasingly cynical. Mainly as no one can define what is sustainable and what sustainable means. Mass manufacture and production is often more sustainable as you have a more efficient supply chain around it, with less waste etc.

Legally, i doubt assumptions would ever hold up.

If they can’t prove they ever sent it to you, then just tell them you have 1 months notice and that’s the last signed contract you have.

All depends if you want to burn bridges or not? Sometimes it’s good to, sometimes it’s not advisable to do so.

My girlfriend was adopted and it’s a conversation we have every few months. At the moment she has decided to leave it as her parents have done so much for her, and inevitably would cause some upset to them, even if she does have their full support doing this.

In your situation, I can’t see you have anything to lose. As you’re not a direct relative requiring any type of support to your potential family members, you won’t be a burden a such, therefore much more likely to be accepted into any existing family environment.

Worst situation is either you find nothing, or your fathers blood family don’t want any contact. Either way, you don’t lose out and at least have an answer.

Keep us updated anyway as the missus would be interested to hear the outcome.

I don’t see the point, it’s not like it’ll make the bike much more sale-able?

I would argue that a bike thats around 3 years old, invsiframe pays for itself in resale value as the bike is in such better condition. I wouldn’t touch a well work bike.

also know someone who has had the frame eat itself through the bearings.

Considering the amount of tales I’ve heard around warranty issues and broken frames, I would steer clear….

this could be ideal for you:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/one-one-4560b-21-frame-100

calling records ‘vinyls’ just about sums it all up really, and the next step is to litter facebook with posts showing an album cover by your set up with ‘now spinning’ typed in the content.

records are lovely on decent kit, but really digital and cd are better with cheap stuff.

Apologies for not using your terminology, I also don’t use facebook but feel free to try and find me. I am not knowledgeable in this area, hence requesting advice, so your input is really appreciated.

Everyone else that has actually been constructive, thanks for your help. I will head to Richer sounds on saturday to see what’s best.

@gavtheoldskater – don’t worry, i may add a ‘now spinning’ photo onto here once my vinyl (record) set up is working.

If you are transmitting via bluetooth you are converting analogue vinyl to a digital signal to play it, so why bother with vinyl at all and just put a CD on?

very good point. I’m not after bluetooth likely anyway, as the sound quality for the price just won’t be there compared to non-bluetooth.

My thoughts were tunrtable, into amp, into speakers. Amp having several inputs and the ability to select which input is used.

Budget ideally below £150. may pop into richer sounds, thanks for the advice.

Speakers likely bookcase type.

I believe it does have an audio output, the red and white inputs?

wrong forum, mods please move!

how are you guys making the mudflaps?

I’ve got a slash but never ridden the Pole so can’t comment on that.

The Slash is a great bike, and whilst it’s longer travel, in reality, it’s 10mm more rear travel than Pole. Difference in wheelbase length, geometry, reach etc makes much more difference than 10mm. Having said that, I’ve always thought people get too caught up on length of travel.

The slash rides very well, it’s a fast bike, but still can be playful. Certainly not as playful as my old 650 mega though (old frame shape).

where is all the skiing in London? I must have missed it….

Biggest issue at the moment for me is that it doesn’t differentiate between mtb and road cycling.

i have a number of friends who mainly gamble on apps. They have gone from purely a few quid on footy matches to now gambling on everything.

It’s got to a stage where i’m pretty sick of seeing them watching any football match is all based around gambling.

Also, they bet on motorcycle speedway. They have no interest in speedway, but they watch it, so they can gamble on it. All of these are intelligent guys who earn good money.

It’s an addiction which is unpleasant for themselves and all around them

magic mary and hans dampf rear used to be my go to tyres of choice.

I can’t see the point in them at all unless you are a total gym-fiend looking to bulk up muscle mass and regularly do hard work-outs (ie, most days). A proper balanced diet is enough for us normal people.

A lot of people use them for recovery as they’re the easiest source of protein to consume minutes after finishing exercise.

A proper balanced diet is enough for most, but what’s the balance. If high in protein, that’s fine. If not, then you’ll struggle to recover.

it’s a scam

depends what level you ride at. I’ve seen a big group at llandegla (i’m talking 20 people), bunnyhopping over a small log for hours on end, maybe useful for them but also not effective.

It’s worth getting one to one coaching if you can afford it.

It’s a tragedy of the age. IMO. But then again, I’m old.

Don’t think you’re particularly right. There has always been mainstream popular music. I grew up listening to Led Zep, Pink Floyd, The doors etc in the 90’s. I now listen to a lot of old blues from the 30’s/40’s.

Good music is and will always be good, whether it’s a week old or 300 years old. I think most people appreciate that.

I love a lot of the seattle late 80’s early 90’s. But Soundgarden and Pearl Jam stand out for me. Also Temple of the dog album has been on repeat in my car for about 4 months, it’s a special album.

Vedders soundtrack to into the wild is also a great piece of music.

I’ve always thought the comparison against Nirvana is unnecessary, they’re all good. What’s wrong with having more good things.

struggled for ages then found a barely used one on ebay for 25 quid. think they’re struggling for stock

if you prop up your bike in the car, it shouldn’t get crushed.

Mine has both wheels off and bars turned. I put my riding bag under the bars and stem and props it up enough not to crush the fr version

Wait a minute – a 34 week working year? so you get 18 weeks off? I.e 90 working days holiday? Oh just checked previous thread, you work in a school.

So – where would I prefer to spend all that time off, south coast or Devon? Devon, without a shadow of a doubt.

If you own your property, I would rent it out, and rent in Devon, at least short term. Means you can always go back, and you don’t have the issue of house prices moving. Even better would be to buy a second home in Devon and keep your current.

To me, the move is a no-brainer. Nicer people, nicer area, more outdoors, more laid-back.

Negatives – my sister just came back after 10 years in Devon. She loved it there but her three kids all want jobs and so have come back to Hampshire

This happened to my family, my parent still live in North Wales, we all moved (Bristol/New York/Manchester). Just because your kids want jobs doesn’t mean you have to move.

Also, 12 mile commute. Why aren’t you cycling that? Should easily be able to do in less than an hour.

Marin>Llandegla all day.

As shown by our unemployment rate which is the lowest since 1975?
Thou chattest dung!
The reality is more like this…

http://uk.businessinsider.com/unemployment-in-the-uk-is-now-so-low-its-in-danger-of-exposing-the-lie-used-to-create-the-numbers-2017-7

Thanks Darren, saved me a job.

Go and chat to the 100’s in my organisation who have been made redundant due to increased costs, directly related to poorer UK sterling against euro and dollar. They were high earners, hard workers, and considerable contributors to the tax man. 0 hour contractors do not offer the same.

Looks like the dung is actually located in your mouth

A lot in my business are (large facilities management). As much as a lot (51%) will disagree, it’s directly related to drop in value of currency for us, which came about from brexit.

One way or another, and whether it’s better in the long term is a different matter. But short term, Brexit has cost a lot of people jobs. Cost to service customer is now 10-15% higher for us, which means people have to go.

Apologies to bring up so early on a thread, but it’s inevitable….

Surely Adam Brayton will get a good seat…

this season wasn’t as strong as last season, and he stuck with Hope. Although surely a pay cheque from a bigger team would be too much of a draw.

I would have thought more and more riders will be drawn towards the EWS. It must be getting close in terms of where the money is, as that’s where the bikes are being sold.

Almost without exception, England qualification games consist of 60 minutes of struggling to do anything against semi-pro teams, often postmen etc. Then, when superior fitness of the England professionals kicks in, they score 5 and makes the game look like a whitewash.

It’s unlikely England will ever win anything again – I’m glad I’m Welsh, at least our boys actually try and play with their hearts. The Euro’s meant so much to our nation.

I’ve always found Endura products well designed, and great quality for the price. Sizing can sometimes be off, as I’ve read here before, but that’s as much down to the fact that we’re all different sizes.

That jacket you’ve bought looks pretty thick as well, if you’re going that quickly it’s going to get sweaty, any jacket would.

Pretty sure Greg said in an interview recently he would be carrying on at least another year. He was close to the top spot this year, if things had fallen differently he could have won it outright, and he’s always a good shout for the World champs.

I can’t see Richie moving from Yeti, he’s the star rider, and this seasons results haven’t been anywhere near the previous two.

I am wine dependent.
Have a glass or two on probably 5 days out of 7.
Bit more on a Friday night.
Don’t like going out drinking.
But a pint of ale on a Sunday afternoon is bliss.
Don’t like being drunk.

This is not meant to sound too harsh, but this is basically what I hope I never turn into. For me a few binges a few times a year is healthier than 3-5 bottles of wine per week, every week.

Also, I only ever drink to ‘enhance’ the occasion I am at, just drinking at home to me is basically someone who is reliant on alcohol.

After a weekend of drinking I can safely say I wish I could give up.

If I’m perfectly honest, my early 20’s (uni), was dictated by drinking. Now my life is almost the opposite, and I rarely drink other than binging heavily. The issue I have is most of my social circles enjoy drinking, I’ve come to realise that I have nothing in common with some of my oldest friends other than drinking, and I don’t want to throw those friendships away. So I manage them by doing 3 or 4 big nights out per year with them. Means I maintain friendships without killing myself.

I rarely if ever drink at home, and could go weeks without unless I’m seeing friends who drink. Where I struggle is going to the pub and not having a few, it just doesn’t feel right to me, and I actually quite enjoy a few pints.

I do wonder whether binging maybe 10 times per year is better or worse than regularly having a ‘few’. I would prefer the binging regardless, as at least I spend the vast majority of my time without a fuzzy morning head.