The good news is that you wont be short of choice for that kind of thing OP.

The questions will be ones of practicalities, as others have said above. Price is going to be a factor.

Fireball, hobie (405, or a catamaran?) or pico as your starting options list is pretty wide though 😂 which makes me think perhaps you are thinking about taking it places, rather than being at one particular club? If you are trailering it, weight and size will be a factor in how easy it is. Rooftop, even more so.

Worthwhile working out if your lad will want to race and that will start to narrow down options to some classes suitable for him before you really invest in anything fancy. Until then, rent if you can, or get something pretty generic that can take a beating. RS200 was our last “everything” boat and I loved it, but it isn’t really cruisy or cheap or super tough.

Well, either Pivot are happy to basically pull out of the UK via pricing, only selling very low volumes in comparison to their competitors.

Or Pivot think that the mtb price points for more desirable brands has now crept up to the 7-15k range and they think enough people in the UK will pay (or finance) the new going rate. Not sure which.

Cant see why I wouldn’t just buy one on holiday though. Premium brands love to go above and beyond on their warranty after all.

I assumed you were invited to take part if you were either very good or very bad at punting. Not sure which.

video on Vital of a guy trail riding a Pivot Phoenix

Beaten to it! I would have said the Phoenix is the only DH bike I’ve pedalled uphill and been surprised it wasn’t horrific. Not cheap, but that was 5 years ago so who knows…

Scott also do XXL in their hardtail range – Aspect, I think. A mate has one and I reckon it’s too big for me (I’m 6’2″), I couldn’t put a dropper post on it.

It is more conservative than full on long, low, slack geometry – but that’ll suit a lot of people for the style of bike as quite XC.

You might want to hold back some cash to customise some of the kit to fit you best. Some great bikes still come with e.g. 10mm rise handlebars, which wont feel great to many tall people. Likewise tougher tyres, especially if you do go the hardtail route and ride rougher terrain.

I’d suggest looking at Spank for things like handlebars, including their Skyscraper bars, if you find front ends feel low when the seat post is up at your level. Likewise DMR do a cracking stem in the Defy if you want short but higher rise.

Tyres, maybe look at the tougher options for the carcass. Without breaking the bank, Specialized do tough tyres, but if you don’t want super aggressive tread, also check out WTB and their tough/fast range. Yeah they will be heavy, but could help.

Very day-dependent at the Winchester end at the moment. Muddy holes in places but the big puddles aren’t at their winter levels at all and exposed ground is drying fast. Under tree cover there are both wetter bits and drier bits, but plenty of green slippy chalk.

Heavy rain is forecast all day Thursday, but just a few showers after that. Suspect Saturday will still be messy on the ground, better by Sunday and probably pretty good next week.

I’d go for the following weekend if I could – dry week in the lead up, it’ll be ideal.

Does anyone still ride theirs?
If not…why not ?…

I don’t own one, but could suggest from a non-buyer perspective that new sales have dropped off as the bubble of full fat bikes got tied up with the boom-and-bust of “plus”.

Everyone got excited by the prospect of grip, but then decided the compromises were too great with plus (and I’d suggest by association, fat bikes). The main killer was I reckon the perception and shared internet wisdom that big tyres couldn’t be ridden fast without collapsing in corners or puncturing. And whilst it probably wouldn’t have been an issue for many, many riders in reality, most people like to think they are fast. End of boom, except for those who had tried and liked them or sand, snow etc.

Obviously I couldn’t have plus or fat, because I genuinely am fast and the tyres would pop in the corners, oh yes 😁

@Brant every single one of those crashes is actually caused by chain suck.

That’s the magic of the original prizm trail – on overcast days they are *really* good in the woods – way better than clear. 

We must have very different eyes! Found my prizm trails a bit dark in many conditions, especially winter. Open woodland, moorland that kind of thing they are great, but not dense woodland or fading light.

Bought some prizm low-light lenses for my Jawbreakers (light pink effect, very similar to my snow goggles) and been really impressed in all conditions, so now they are in by default.

Safer Seas thing?

Yeah I keep an eye on it. Mostly when out with the kids. But being aware of heavy rainfall locally may be more up to date.

I’m going to suggest that in terms of adoption priorities environmentally, people with occasional-use vans and rural vehicles are pretty low down the list.

Surely one of the big aims of EVs is air quality in urban areas and existing AQMAs. Some of those areas are genuinely worrying for health risks. Those are the places where a high percentage of people in EVs would be best. Coincidentally it’s also where the chargers are, So is that the worst thing?

Clinging on the Transporter VanLife would only become a significant issue if people were buying vans as fashion vehicles in urban areas, and hey, maybe fashions will change. EVs do seem to be looking like the “new tech” for the fashion conscious.

I would make sure I was the 1st whistleblower.

Financial reward and immunity in return for throwing your company under the bus if you get there first, OP 😁

Otherwise…😳

Any locals that can give tips or a clue as to how early we’d need to be to get in without much queuing?

I’m not that local, but also have small kids. The key to this to me is in still having a fun time when you get there. Sure, you can be set up on the beach before 8am if you plan to get everyone up and out, but will everyone be having fun at that time? If you are then done by 11am after an early start (my experience of the little ones is that a whole long day on the beach isn’t always great) you may find yourself hitting gridlocked traffic, even though you are trying to leave.

Aiming to be at a beach for 9am is like a good starting point for us – at least a few spaces will open up at most beaches then as dog walkers and joggers leave.

Also check out the more local lakes with beaches too, as a backup option to the seaside. Might give you more flexibility.

Once you’ve decided how far you want to go with prepping the ground to establish the new lawn (recommended),

Fill your boots with a mix you like (Emorsgate)

(But do try to match it to the conditions in your garden)

Why don’t I just use a carbon bike?
– Er I don’t know, sir, you can if you want.

Ahh yeah, see your point.

I believe the approved answer is to keep shouting “SteeL iS ReaL” whilst pouring beard oil over yourself while hip thrusting to show your single speed strength?

But then, I’m not in marketing. Maybe I should be!

Well ookay, I’d be pretty surprised if I went to a bike show and someone working at the Orange stand went off about single pivot being rubbish and how they much preferred VPP, but the rest of the Orange team hadn’t thought it through. I’d think “why work for Orange”? It seems likely that your example isn’t so radical or divisive, though ;)

ever feel like you just don’t fit your job?

Yes, I think that’s very relatable. I had a previous “career” direction that at some point I realised was not ever going to make me happy – just more promotion to do more of the same stuff I didn’t like or really feel part of (and I wasn’t bad at it). Went back to university part time whilst working, got lucky with a job that allowed me to change, now (although work can have crap days) I never feel like that. Perhaps taking control of the change was as much a part of the psychological boost as the actual change, I’m not sure.

I’m constantly putting my foot in it at work

If that’s real, rather than just your worry or perception, then possibly do take some steps to work on not doing it. It’s kind of annoying to have a group of people working really hard – and it is possible your colleagues are, including long hours and lots of effort – just to watch someone sail in and undo things, even if it’s unintentional.

Edit: this might be why they seem annoyed. You’re not asking for solutions, but if you don’t think you can fix it, things might just continue to be really frustrating!

Could you not hang around outside, as a compromise?

I’m no church expert, but my limited experience of church christenings is that the font(?) is often at the back, by the doors. If you hang out in the porch at a church with that kind of layout, you’ll be pretty close to observe the main event. It is July, so doubt they need the doors closed.

My line of thinking would be that if I was worried about actually catching covid, I wouldn’t be staking my trust on mask wearing in an indoor setting. So many people will have their nose hanging out, have it over their chin, all sorts. You can’t really police it so best stay in the fresh air.

Maybe google the church / streetview it and see if a bodge is possible.

Hmmm so that’s all about lease cost, then. But the range / WLTP thing does seem to be real, some big vehicles are still surprisingly short-range from some manufacturers. Appreciate my expectations will adjust and the charger network will improve, but I’d want to be able to do 200 miles in a family car I think.

Are you looking at used?

No, that’s why I think I’m going a bit mad!

Peugeot e-2008. GT spec. 50kwh. Has a range calculator on the configurator, which is honest at least. 70mph (motorway), 10 degree outside temp…118 mile range. There is no “longer range” version. And this doesn’t seem that uncommon. It’s £37k!!!!

So am I crazy, or why the heck would I buy that over an ID4 or similar, with much more battery capacity? What am I missing?

Is the WLTP basis of mileage calculation really that inaccurate, if 190 miles out of 38kwh is actual reality? These are bigger vehicles, though.

I haven’t read the whole thread, so can anyone offer a synopsis? Casually / seriously considering a car replacement in the next year to 18 months, family car sized, and would like it to be an EV. This is replacing two cars which are 8-11 years old, so tend to keep cars for a while.

Having looked around, I’m surprised how variable the options are. I quite liked the look of some of the Peugeot EVs (understand its a shared platform with other manufacturers). But the only options are 100-130 mile range and this seems quite common? I’m not planning for daily long drives, but 100 miles would be a squeaky day out to the seaside and I can imagine what charger availability would be like at honeypot sites (i.e. more clogged than a bank holiday car park) so this would seem really low for range. An unfair assumption for a family car?

There do seem to be other options (VW, Tesla etc) with much more range, bafflingly for not much more money (assuming you are on the line for 35-45k for most of these vehicles). Why is there so much difference? Is range even an issue (we have small kids, so although a 45 minute stop on a long journey wouldn’t be the end of the world, I don’t want to be doing that all the time to do a 50 mile return trip)?

Is the Tesla supercharger network worthwhile?

Honestly, before I started “shopping” i thought it would be easy, but the completely different approaches by manufacturers makes me feel like I’m not comparing apples and apples. Either that or some manufacturers genuinely are way behind others in what they are offering. Anyone got any clarity?

Never mind, he’s in the minority most people are pleasant regardless.

I think there’s always been that sub-group of riders who are overly competitive in normal trail riding situations. The sort that never liked being caught on a climb and would be rude or surly if you did.

Those people should really go racing, because then they could realise they were firmly mid-pack at best and chill out the rest of the time! But they won’t, and now they have a new thing to hate / blame.

It’s not elitism or being a purist, it’s something more Grinch-y, or someone just having their own crap day.

I’ve always been a bit baffled by the SS, but people do seem to like them.

If you run lower pressures, don’t the side knobs drag even on the straight and add the resistance back? If your trails are soft enough for the side knobs to dig in when cornering, wouldn’t straight-line braking on that loose surface be bad? If it’s all hard pack, what will the side knobs dig into, surely just better with a smaller tread tire all over with a rounded profile?

Is the rolling resistance actually much less than other tyres, or is it a bit of a placebo effect at normal trail tyre pressures?

With the rise of Emtbs, I can only imagine what the trail centre of the future will look like, once all those svelte, beautiful mountain bikers we all see all the time have been pushed out forever.
;)

I was a passenger in a car that was hit pulling out at a junction, by a van that was indicating to turn into the road we were coming out of. Just like your scenario, the van was indicating left, but carried straight on and hit our car side on as we pulled out. No major injuries, thankfully.

The police didn’t really get involved beyond the initial mess, but the insurers later split the blame 50/50 if I recall. The driver of the van made a mistake leaving his indicator on, but did have right of way. The driver of the car I was in was entitled to rely somewhat on the indicator, but did pull out of a side road immediately in front of someone. A horrible misunderstanding really.

Why would you make an altitude-based bet with someone who has access to a chairlift?

How on earth do you quote? I’ve never managed to do it.

My way, I:

1. Select and copy the text I want to quote.
2. Go to the comment text box, press “B-QUOTE” button.
3. Paste text.
4. Press “B-QUOTE” button for a second time.
5. Write some nonsense, start an argument over someone else’s choice of car, that sort of thing. Bingo!

Do Owls eat bats?

Oh, I know this one! Yes they do, the predation making up a not massive, but not insubstantial, proportion of estimated bat mortality. Other birds also prey on them, including kestrel and peregrines (although in that latter case you have to allow for the ease of assessing prey remains in peregrine nest boxes, so may over-report compared to other species and unsurprisingly the bats most preyed on are the earlier emerging species including noctule).

An interesting fact – great tits are recorded regularly preying on hibernating small bats (pips) in Hungarian caves at times of food scarcity, seeking them out and pecking their brains out. Fascinating.

a tale of proper middle-class outrage

No front lawn

Hmmmmmm. But then cul-de-sac and a high bin count is in your favour I suppose. Even if one of those is full of crack poop.

WTB Ranger 2.4 in tough/fast version?

What is a pirate’s favourite letter of the alphabet?
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You’d think so, but their true love be the C

Wages wise, I could probably just about get by on £25,000 which I don’t think is an unrealistic target for somebody my age with my experience.

Not entirely sure about forestry, but ecology / wildlife – you’d be up against people with 3-4 years full time experience and related qualifications, not entry-level in that salary bracket. More a reflection of how underpaid some sectors are really, in return for that magical outdoor/rewarding perception.

And conservation sector here…ecology. Same as for other “outdoorsy” work, it’s a popular area for people looking for a change.

The questions really are whether you can take a drop in salary (at best, you’ll be coming in at the bottom of paid roles) and also can you afford the time and money for training and getting some volunteer experience? It’s highly competitive as there are lots of volunteers around, so paid roles get snapped up.

For ecological assessment type work, studying wildlife, yes a degree or other higher level qualifications are common (the CIEEM website has good info on those routes). It’s not such a requirement in more practical conservation land management, where LANTRA / NPTC type qualifications can be the best route. But you did mention physical work has given you health concerns, so that might not be what you want.

I wouldn’t want to put anyone off, just that it’s best to have a plan, do some initial stuff yourself and meet some people, rather than apply for jobs online. Hope it works out.

Yeah tough carcass, fast rolling tread.

It’s the sharp flints that get you. Make no mistake – that’s different to “riding rocks” elsewhere and some manufacturers have protection in the right place, some don’t.

Poking around will sadly be unlikely to get your friend anywhere other than more wound up about things than they already are.

Completely agree. Sadly, it sounds like she is relatively junior in the company, at least in the context that she has not been involved in the decision making and doesn’t have the authority to just ask about the process.

So yes, she could leave – but unless she makes a change in her line of work/seniority, it will likely be the same story elsewhere as this is common. Not a criticism, but she sounds over-invested at work without the power to make changes, and that’ll just lead to frustration.

I bought a “second hand” emtb a year ago (it was an ex-demo). I was aware that it wouldn’t be a brand-new warranty situation at the time. It has been fine.

I think it’s just about each buyer’s attitude to risk. I fancied trying an emtb, but wasnt sure I’d take to it so I didn’t want to spend over 2k. Buying a used bike allowed me to do that. I accepted the motor may implode/fireball or whatever, but was confident it was one of the lower-risk motor brands and even if I had to fork out 1k down the line for a new motor, it was still cheaper than buying new.

No difference from any other used bike purchase really – the forks/brakes/shock may need you to pay to sort them out, this is just a higher price risk and some may take it to get an emtb, some won’t want to risk it.

I think part of the issue is that the new emtb warranties are so good (clearly a priority for the bike brands to build a market) and replacements widely reported, people feel exposed without the full coverage.

Maybe you’ve nothing left to prove.

I can assure you that is not the case!

It’s an interesting point, though.

Why do you ride? Is hitting these features really important to that? Riding changes over time for most people, might be you’d just enjoy doing something else more than making yourself do these particular features? What’s the goal here, to be able to do them again even if you are shitting yourself each time you do? To progress through them, to do bigger ones so you can dread those too?

That’s deliberately a bit mean, I know. There’s definitely a good point in seeking out challenge and progressing, but this doesn’t sound fun, more like you are solely judging yourself as a rider on a yes/no to these particular features.

So Option 1 for me – come back to it if you want to, but no need to stress about it if that’s making your bike time less fun.

Bats. They are mammals, fascinating, hoover up midges and sort of cute, but for some reason they are generally depicted as scary / evil / harbingers of doom.

It’s a constant war of education for pro-bat groups to contradict the TV/movie depiction. My own kids are nervous of bats thanks to the cartoons they watch, and I’m a bat-licensed ecologist so I’ve tried pretty hard!

Down a bit this week after the plateau of a half-term holiday last week. Trend appearing downwards now, which is good. Got to keep the exercise up and the booze down as 1.5kg could easily reappear!