Agree completely with you OP – really hope your boy’s ok!

I don’t have dogs myself but was brought up in a family where we always had big dogs (parents had a Rottweiler when I was a baby) so have always been pretty confident around them myself. Last week however, I had my first experience where a dog really spooked me – in the local park with my 10-month-old son, crawling around the grass in the middle of a playing field. It’s a popular park with dog walkers, and plenty of them have their dogs off the lead, so naturally I was watching him like a hawk.
I sh*t you not, I took my eyes off my son for 2 seconds and when I looked back a staffie/cross-breed type dog was charging at him! Fortunately he was facing the other way so didn’t see the dog and get scared and I was able to scoop him up, but the damn dog can’t have been more than a foot and a half away when I got him off the ground.
The dog then proceeded to jump at him/us, nipping at my arms. I shouted and pushed the dog away with my foot (wearing flip-flops at the time I wasn’t really in the position to go booting away) at an animal with fairly big jaws and teeth.
Anyway, the owner sauntered over and was able to get a lead back on the thing, saying “sorry mate, if it’s on the ground he’ll go for it”
“So, you thought it was a good idea to bring him to a public park where kids ply and let him run around uncontrolled?”
“ah yeah normally he’s ok”

At which point he buggered off, telling his dog in a jovial manner “well, that was a bit naughty, wasn’t it? You can’t go charging at children, people get a bit upset” as if I’m the one in the wrong
I’m left standing there, thinking to myself “Am I going mental? Is this how society is now, where that sort of behaviour is acceptable?” The dog might well have just been coming in to play, but if you know your dog goes for things on the ground which are smaller than it, why on earth would you bring it to a public park and let it off the lead?!?!

I think the whole attitude is symptomatic of society as a whole. Maybe it’s getting worse or I’m just noticing it more, but people just don’t seem to give a damn about one another any more – as long as they’re ok they can just carry on doing whatever they like, without the slightest regard for anyone else. I can’t imagine acting like that, and can’t even begin to comprehend why people think it’s ok…

Whatever the case, my boy’s fine (he didn’t even know anything had happened – as far as he’s concerned he just got picked up for a cuddle with dad) and perhaps something has changed in that dog walker, as when I saw him in the park again this weekend the dog was on a lead. If that is the case then that’s good, but sadly he’s just one of many round where I live who feel it’s acceptable to let their out of control animals do whatever the hell they want.

Ever thought about a holiday to Switzerland?
http://dignitas.ch

Easier/simpler – yes.
Cheaper – no.

I bet it will be by the time you wreck a cassette & freehub trying to bodge it.

I fly with mine all the time and have yet to have an issue.

Obviously nothing’s foolproof, but as long as you pack it correctly you should be fine.

Somafunk

It’s a 355ml can of citrus degreaser, with no propellant left so what exactly is going to happen?, even if it was pressurised the worst that would happen is “Psssst” for a few seconds, it’s not going to shoot across the yard and take the side out of a car – for what it’s worth i puncture all my wd40 type cans to empty them into my benchtop degreaser as the propellant will run out before the fluid is all used up.

I bet you’re fun at parties…

somafunk – Member

Punch a hole in the top with a screwdriver and pour the fluid into a hand squeezy bottle

^^This & have someone filming it.

Be sure to use candlelight when filming though. Makes for a much warmer light.

I believe the correct spelling and pronunciation is : ye ken?

That’s if he’s from Edinburgh

Gealic is more confusing than Spanish.

Scottish or Irish?

I don’t even know if we’re joking any more… Have i genuinely misinformed you?

How do they get that with a J?

It’s a silent J

Jock?

Sassenach…

It seems Jo-a-king is the German way.

Almost. The German equivalent is Jochen, pronounced YohChen (with the CH pronounced like the Scots pronounce Loch – a gutteral chh from the back of the mouth/throat)

Pinetree Jr is called Ruaridh as both my wife and myself are Scottish and really liked the name. Would be great, except we live in Plymouth…
“Rudy? Roorid? Roderick?” We’ve had some belters.
Best one was in the early days – I was out walking in the park with him early one morning (after much sleep deprivation) and a lady stopped to say hello:
“Who’s this then?”
“This is Ruaridh” Being so tired I must have slurred the first two words, as she responded with:
“zuhroory? that’s a lovely name”
Proves one of two things: A) She has terrible taste, or B) People will nod and smile through anything.

I went off the side of the track & straight down the hill at that point.

Cheater!

The hardest part is not losing your temper with the middle-aged wide-boys behind you at the first bottleneck, screaming at everyone else to move or hurry up, as if they’re going for the win. It’s a bloody bottleneck, there is nowhere else to go and no-one is getting anywhere fast right now. If you were really that fast you wouldn’t be in the bottleneck with the rest of us!
They’re the same kind of assholes you find in Morzine who think they’re rock stars just because they can go fast on Pleney (*hint* anyone can go fast on Pleney – it ain’t difficult)

As you can see, I’m still a little miffed about that particular experience I had at the mega…

Could have been worse, mind. A buddy of mine got stuck behind a Frenchman in the lower section who kept getting off his bike and running every time he came to a steep switchback!

Those negatives aside, I really enjoyed the mega. You’ll have a great time, but just remember not to take it too seriously!

I’ll pop the kettle on…

WHats oberusel like!? I may be spending some time there for work soon.

Pretty nice. It’s right at the foot of the Taunus area – very hilly with lots of decent trails.

Echoing above, I wouldn’t want to live in Frankfurt. Although there are some cool spots the whole place felt pretty cold to me. Then again, sort of depends what lifestyle you like- there’s plenty of good pubs/cafes etc.

I’ve only been to Wiesbaden once and didn’t really like it, but some of the other surrounding areas are great.

Plenty of riding to be done – there’s some really good stuff over Darmstadt direction, and out towards Alzenau.

I’ve been working between the uk and Germany for 3 years now. It was tough to get used to as there are some cultural differences, but once you get to grips with the language you’ll realise we have a lot more in common than you think.
One thing that is really good, I find, is the german’s approach to work/life balance. Family/free time is very important, and they tend (outside of the big cities anyway) to assign quite an importance to time outside/in nature. Really like that as I find it a much more balanced lifestyle than in the uk.
Overall I’ve found the people to be really friendly, especially in Hesse. Not like the Austrians – I’m on the road down there this week (sales rep) and have found a lot more people to be kinda cold/unfriendly. Not all, mind, there are some nice ones.

But yeah. **** it, move to Frankfurt (or nearby) you’ll have a blast.

Disappointed. Thought this was going to be a rant about students’ inability to cook a pizza without destroying it (as i did, often, when I was a student)

where you can have your cake and eat it.

Well that’s good. I like cake. As long as no bEUrocrat tries to tell me what colour or shape it should be, or some remoaner points out that there’s 20% less cake than there used to be. They’re just being negative, clearly!

I can’t help thinking suppliers are ‘taking advantage’ of the Brexit situation and trying it on somewhat.It hasn’t even happened yet

I can’t help thinking that people still denying the effects of a monumental shift in British economy are utter morons.

Dan Stanton is a really good guy, and I don’t believe he would have jacked his prices up unless he absolutely had to. His margins will be getting squeezed right now, just like everyone else’s. I can’t believe there’s a massive amount to be made on a £599 frame (especially when they’re produced in the relatively small numbers he sells) and he works bloody hard for it! So I fully understand why any pressure on what must be a fairly small margin has to be hard to suck up.
In the grand scheme of things his bikes are still relatively cheap (they are also very pretty) and you can always find ways to make it affordable (use cheaper or 2nd hand components to build it?)

Re: the question about the £ being low a few years ago. It was very low back in 2008, but so was the $ too, right? Part of the global financial crisis, which I think hit the $ harder than it hit us (and bigger business possibly suffered more than smaller ones?)

Maybe stick with the following for a little while yet as the little star next to the price sadly seems to indicate vat is excluded 🙁

My heart bleeds for you. It really does… 😉

Ive bought one. Do i hide under a rock or post a picture?

Wear your turquoise with pride 🙂 Don’t let the holier-than-thou-because-I-ride-an-On-One-rigid-singlespeed-that-cost-a-tenner STW types put you off enjoying what you worked hard for!

Is your point that Yetis have always been a rip-off?

It’s only a rip off if you have no choice but to pay it.
They’re expensive? Yes. They’re a rip-off? Not so sure about that.

The reality is that there has never been a better time to be a mountain biker. Yes, premium stuff has always been, and will always be, expensive. However what’s now considered a low/mid priced MTB is a hell of a lot better than it was 10-15 years ago!

Thanks for the replies. I’d assumed a back protector was necessary. In this case I’d be using an evoc Rucksack with built-in protector. Assuming that’s fine..?

Bit miffed I’m gonna have to buy a new FF helmet. It’s been years since I’ve used one, and will probably be another 5 years til I have to use one again! Oh well… it’s cheaper than a new set of teeth.

Hey Riddoch,

Sounds good. I’ll drop you an email.

Cheers,
Scott.

Great PSA. I’ve just bought two!

Then remembered that I actually only need one (completely forgetting mrs Pinetree’s bike already has an integrated light)

Anybody want to buy one from me, without having to sign up to Sport Pursuit and receive their 25 million emails a day?

I’ve got one of these on order.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.CamelBak-Podium-Bottle-Mud-Cap_87410.htm?sku=297050&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&gclid=CJ-D0Y7x1dICFUMo0wodP5IBDg

Means you have to use a Camelback Bottle, but they’re great, so that’s no bad thing.

Took me a while, but I eventually got a photo!

Did you have any joy, kaiser?

At least you get a free bike locker as a gift. That’s nice of him.

Depends on the crank, but I’d generally always use chain tab shims, rather than shorter chainring bolts. If you use short bolts you’re basically applying the same amount of force to a smaller area, which can lead to damaged crank tabs/snapped bolts.

9 speed should work, yes.

I’d not buy any of them for all the tea in China.

I suspect you’d have bigger problems once the Chinese find out you’d traded all their tea for a bike frame.

Trading Standards?

For what, exactly?

didnt the bearing guy on here once write up how when he pooped em they had virtually nowt in em

He did what to them?!

Being Scottish “Smell yer ma!” springs to mind

Well, that’s certainly one approach.

Being euqally Scottish I’m already charging my 5 month old son rent. It’s being kept on a tab and will be charged retrospectively once he gets his first paper round.
His mother has still to decide if she’ll backdate the rent to include his 9 months spent in the womb.

Don’t know about dodgy, but it’s certainly a crap website with nothing particularly special product-wise.
Is there something you’re looking to buy there that you can’t get elsewhere?

Cannot recommend freeridemorocco highly enough. A buddy and I went there in 2013 for a week and had an absolute blast. The riding was amazing. Lots of climbing, but totally worth it.
As I understand it most other companies out there ride primarily on dual-track/fairly basic trails. Simon’s trails are very technical (lots of singletrack) so expect to be challenged, but if you’re up for it it’s a hell of an experience.
Don’t expect cushy alps-style accommodation- it’s very basic, but that’s all part of the experience IMO.
Having just had our first kid there’s no way I’ll be going again this year, but was thinking about it for next season.

Oh screw you, OP. I was genuinely looking forward to a rant with half the facts missing.

Got a pack of biccies in and everything…

On another note, be very careful driving on the roads round there. They’re littered with variable speed limits and speed cameras with a 0% tolerance over the limit.
I was out there a couple of weeks ago for work and got flashed twice in one day, going only a couple of KPH over the limit (about 54kph in a 50… GRRR!)

There’s a trail center in Brilon (biggest town in that area) and in the hills around Willingen and Winterberg there’s plenty of good riding to be had.

Normally I head out to Willingen Bike Festival each year and have ridden a few “local” trails in addition to the bikepark stuff. It’s ace!

Just because it’s shown on a website, doesn’t mean it’s available.

It does when it shows the quantity they physically have in stock 😉

Already available, it seems..,

http://www.silverfish-uk.com/ProductDetail/8201/18746/TRS-Aluminium-Cassette-Cogs-11-Speed
http://www.silverfish-uk.com/ProductDetail/8201/18740/TRS-Steel-Cassette-Cogs

Surely its not tyres either? What would range mean?

You’re absolutely right! That’s weird… could have sworn the title said tyre.
Whatever, it was late, and i’d had a few Whiskys…

So, ummm… cassette. I’ve not used one, but a couple of my riding buddies are using em. Seem to get on fine with them.
I like that you can replace parts of it, rather than the whole thing.