GD. I cleaned one when it jammed on the trailside at an insanely wet Afan. It worked for the remainder of the ride.

Servicing is nearly as easy as falling off a log.

Old(ish).

Obvious.

But bloody awesome.

Some great tunes there. I’d forgotten about IAM and Solaar.

More Kool G Rap, this time with James Lavelle:

Herbaliser featuring Blade:

Dinosaur Jr and Del the Funky Homosapien (live):

But surely you’ve got 2 more rings and 1 less derailleur and shifter, I would’ve thought that would make it cheaper not more expensive… (Just sayin)

I suspect the cost increase is very much “because they can” and “because people will think it’s better

The conspiracy is real, man.

Just been through the exact same process, get the last of the Mazda built Ford Rangers…

I keep on looking at these…

That was after buying issue 1 of the mag from Chipps at the Bike Show at the NEC. The same day the STW hire van was nicked with – if I remember rightly – most of the mags and Mark’s pants!

Same here. I was there with @Supersessions9-2. Still got that copy in the study.

bike stuff price inflation has nothing to do with Brexit or fluctuations in currency.

Er, it does actually.  You think sales managers aren’t looking at currency fluctuation and trying to hedge prices when setting retail prices and sales forecasts?  Of course there’s a degree of “how much can we squeeze them for” too, but most things are imported now so currency fluctuation will always play a part.

I stopped working for a certain distributor in 2009. In the weeks before I left trade price lists (and consequential retail prices) changed three times due to fluctuations in the pound / dollar / a certain far eastern currency.

It doesn’t just make a difference, it alters everything. Then factor in raw material prices (rubber was going up when I left, high-end tyres increased in cost). Then factor in shops such as CRC cutting margins to the bone due to bulk buying/selling grey and it’s a constantly shifting dynamic.

Assuming Brexit hasn’t affected imports is naive at best. I know of one company that lost a large order the day after the vote due to the unknowns faced. Since then I can only imagine Brexit ‘negotiations’ and Trump’s trade bungling has made everything even more volatile.

Pirate raid from BM.

:lol:

Yes. YES!

That’ll make its eyes water!

I feel the dog has a right to know what it’s potentially being sociable with.

:lol:

The slow lingering death of the Bike Magic forum.

<div>+1</div>

Old, but utter hip hop jazz-funk filth. Over 40 obscenities in there. You have been warned.

Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are French, the
mechanics German, the lovers Italian and it’s all organised by the
Swiss. Hell is where the chefs are British, the mechanics French, the
lover’s Swiss, the police German and it’s all organised by the Italians.

Read this before. Still makes me smile.

I do like France too. I’ve been lucky enough to live in several different countries (and visit my folks living in other countries) and France is probably still my favourite. I love so many things about the UK (and there’s an awful lot to love) but I find it difficult to reconcile that with how crowded our little set of islands are, especially down south.

Depends on the dog.

If appearing friendly I’ll slow to a stop and say hello, offering a fisted hand for it to sniff (so it’s harder to bite). I’ll also remove glasses to show eyes and remove any other visual obstructions. I’ve met dogs that don’t like people in helmets too – every one is different. Slowing also defuses the chase instinct and stops the annoying whistle your spokes make while passing through the air that the dog can probably here.

If the dog is approaching fast I’ll raise and hand and yell ‘STOP!’. My Dad worked briefly as a binman in London and it was advice he got. It does sound daft, but it worked well while guiding in Spain and being approached fast by two large, barking sheepdogs. They kept a distance of 30-40m after that and kept barking, but kept away.

What this needs is a smaller split. Say 52/48%. That 70% in favour is just not democratic.

(Sorry. Had to be done)

Mate, if I could give you a bloody huge hug at this precise moment, I would.

But I’m afraid in this instance you’re just going to have to have accept one in good faith.

Dusty in here isn’t it.

Sincere condolences to both you and your your children.

Sending positive thoughts from down south.

Gerrard Vroomen, previously of Cervelo, believes gender-specific bikes are nonsense.

With the amount of adjustment required to get a bike to fit anyway, I’m inclined to believe him.

QE over Swinley, every time

+ another. Rode there last Sat. Really impressed by the work that’s gone into it. Will definitely return.

Swinley to me is a bit of a wet weather venue when all the fun stuff is waterlogged.

INXS

+ another.

And taking it back to 1995:

Both of these guys have been floating around the UK hip hop scene for ages, but I love this old-skool-ness:

Thanks all. I’m going to take a long hard look at the Revive / my bank account / the floor, while my other half tells me how expensive it is.

There’s a lot here that is arguably late ’70s – Fleetwood Mac, The Police and Blondie standing out.

What’s the criteria? When the band was formed? When it was active? When the most popular album came out?

As an example, I love The Police. But my favourite albums are the first two, which both came out in the ’70s. Would that make it onto the list?

I also wouldn’t class any of the above as ‘pop’ either, but that’s another discussion. :)

Thanks all – that’s at least two I wasn’t aware of.

Got two LEVs already and have been happy with them; will use that as a starting point.

But the further out in front it is the less force it needs to exert to turn you around.

True. But if the tyre isn’t gripping that’s pretty irrelevant. ;)

You get a lot of flop from headangles that slack…

Less fork offset could help counter that.

My best guess, is that because it isn’t super slack and the bars are ‘only’ 750 wide, putting the longer stem on slows down the steering and makes me more confident to weight the front, so my body position shifts forwards a bit more and my arms have to reach forwards less far. But I could be totally wrong.

Yes… ish. More confident to weight the front? That’s down to the rider, as well as things like seat angle/reach, depending on whether sitting or standing. Wider bars increase the triangulation of the body over the bike, bringing it forward/lower; your weight will be further back with narrower bars due to the arms being closer together as they have to ‘reach less far’.

A shorter stem and longer wheelbase / slacker HA also means your weight has to move forward to maintain grip with the front wheel – it’s sticking out quite a way in front. It may be you were doing this anyway, or it could be you need to consciously think about doing it (I do).

Your hardtail’s angles will all also alter through the fork travel, pivoting round the back axle – something else to add to the equation.

have a look on here https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/outlet/

I like my TomTom. Fairly small, pretty basic with HRM and tracking, but a few different sports modes. Picks up a little faster than the older Garmin I had and is very simple to use. Strap is secure and fits my skinny wrist. I’d buy another.

Minor downsides? Screen hasn’t got anything proud of it so can scratch. I catch the control ‘button’ while stretching my shoulders after a ride(!) I need to buy a new cable as one of the ‘prongs’ has bent.

But that’s about it.

FFS. Can’t work out how to post a damn vid.

Web by The Roots: https://youtu.be/g93o4jhMUVk

But again, budget might prohibit such expensive frivolity. Definitely in the case of the RS6 – I was considering an older one some years ago until I started looking into the running costs. Big performance doesn’t come cheap especially in a big heavy estate car. Even if I was gifted one I’m not sure I could afford the running costs….literally. I don’t mean it would cost a lot, I mean it would be completely unaffordable.

I did this very same exercise, if only semi-seriously. It was a bit of an eye-opener.

Which proves Boost is horseshit…

Does it? I thought Boost was based more around wider axles to make for better wheel triangulation.

I’m riding my hardtail a lot more. With 650b+ and 29er wheels it adapts really well to conditions / riding type.

Saying that, I rode the bouncer last night. It was a massive amount of fun.

I’ve used a 29er Marz 320 LCR Carbon, 29er X-Fusion Slide and 29/650b+ X-Fusion McQueen (Boost).

Both 29er forks were 51mm offset and would take a 2.8″ 650b+ tyre. The McQueen has a 46mm offset and takes a 650b+ 3″ tyre as well as a 2.4″ 29er tyre.

All forks were/are 120mm travel.

Other than being a great fork, the shorter offset on the McQueen noticeably improved wheel ‘flop’ and low-speed handling on the bike (67-ish degree head angle hardtail).

I couldn’t possibly advise in this situation: I live alone, have 6 bikes in my garage and make all my own decisions without asking strangers.

That’s just insane.

Some parts of Scotland are quite magnificent…

France is generally warmer. And the food is better. ;)

The northern Vosges is only 5-6hrs drive from Calais, Dunkirk, Zeebrugge.

Been there. It’s ace. It’s a good shout and a lot less crowded than riding trail centres in Wales.

If I didn’t have the space, I’d have a hardtail with a couple of pairs of wheels, I reckon.

<div>Good advice IMHO.</div>

I have one on the rear in the tough fast compound.

I have a Ranger 2.8 in Tough Fast on my hardtail. It’s survived longer than the Light Grippy on the front.

My mate still has his H plate 1.6 205 GTI.

This story is brilliant. Genuinely. I’m more than a little jealous. :D

…without having to employ the British army method of getting 4 days out of a pair of undies.

Only 4? Which reg were you in?

Plan to get a Patagucci one on my next trip stateside. Love my laptop bag, and the lifetime guarantee and eco credentials tick my middle-class vegetarian do-gooder boxes.

Edit: those Auer ones look awesome.