Try https://www.kineticbikebearings.com/

. I think it’s backfired massively.

Had a lad at work yesterday (he’s as thick as a submarine door) banging on about how “it says you have to give 2m space when overtaking cyclists, I always get as close as I can cos they shouldn’t be allowed on the roads cos they don’t pay road tax”. Another lad pointed out that as his car has extremely low emissions, he doesn’t pay tax so surely he shouldn’t be allowed on the roads either, he had no argument other than to say he would now pass as close and FAST as he can whenever he sees a cyclist on the road, you just can’t reason with morons like that no matter how you put your point across

I don’t have a degree, nor have I ever really considered doing a line of work that would require a degree. Several good friends have more than one degree in subjects that ‘interest’ them but not a single one of them has ever found a paid job that required their expensive qualifications. I was talking to a lad who was doing ndt (non destructive testing) on a job I’d been welding last week, he’d done a degree in film and media production after his A levels, got into a load of debt doing it and then ended up doing deliveries for Amazon before he did the ndt training. Doing a degree just because mum says she has to is absolute madness unless she has a clear idea whether its going to be of any use in life

Carbon mega frames are like hens teeth at the minute, been looking at them for a while myself

2nd winter of using Fox Ranger 3l, no complaints at all. Also have a pair of Decathlon AM pants which are ok for the price but not a patch on the Fox’s. I use nikwax tech wash and never put fabric conditioner in the washing machine (apparently it can clog the holes that allow moisture to escape)

They are overpriced, I looked at a couple of swb T6’s a few years ago but couldn’t justify the cost. I went for a Berlingo Caddy Maxi instead and it does 100% of what the Caddy Maxi Transporter would’ve done for around 1/3 of the price

Having used a works Berlingo many times they weren’t in the running. They may well do everything a Caddy Maxi can do and are significantly cheaper but it was possibly THE worst thing I’ve ever driven, each to his own I suppose

don’t look at the costs now they are far higher than they were back then.

Every car/van I’ve looked at recently is a fair bit more now than an equivalent of similar age and mileage would’ve been a few years ago, Transporters especially so. Glad I’m not looking to buy anything in the near future

they seem really overpriced,

They are overpriced, I looked at a couple of swb T6’s a few years ago but couldn’t justify the cost. I went for a Caddy Maxi instead and it does 90% of what the transporter would’ve done for around 1/3 of the price

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Troy-Lee-Designs-Flowline-Long-Sleeve-Cycling-Jersey_236040.htm

I bought some clear racing jacket copy lenses from Ebay last year, they were too thick for the frame. I can’t remember the seller but they were in the uk

Would refusing to voluntarily give a sample be reasonable grounds for them to suspect you were over the limit?

Yes, a lad I know has been arrested more than once for refusing a breathalyser. He’s actually been jailed twice for drink driving offences (and caught and fined on several other occasions) so they had good reason to pull him over, he was warned the last time that he faced an indeterminate sentence should he be convicted again

Minion 3c Maxx Terra’s here – basically wanted best grip.

3c Maxxgrip = best grip, maxxterra is probably the most popular 3c tyre as they last longer but definitely don’t have as much grip. I generally run 3c maxxterra dd on the rear and 3c maxxgrip exo up front on the full suss

Sod that! 😃

Couldn’t have put it better without swearing

The question is: am I just reacting to the booster or do I have actual Covid?

A lad I work with ‘assumed’ he felt rough as a reaction to the Moderna booster last Monday and it was actually covid. I also tested positive the following morning (lateral flow and pcr both positive) despite no symptoms at all so I’d be getting tested before going anywhere. Test and trace obviously haven’t been made aware of the recent rule changes as I’ve just had a txt to remind me I MUST isolate for 10 days, although the current advice is that 2 negative lft 24 hrs apart on the 6th and 7th day is acceptable

Blimey, Cav not even on the list: that was a comeback from a Rocky script

Agreed it was one of the most unexpected comebacks of all time, but possibly waiting till he gets that 1 more stage win and takes the all time record next year. I’d have to give it to Fury tho

A lad I know recently sold a hardtail and reluctantly used Hermes (his ad stated it was collection only but the buyer convinced him to post it) and it was delivered with a fair bit of (mostly cosmetic) damage that wasn’t there when he boxed it up. I’ve used parcelforce in the past without issue and as said already its cheaper if you drop it off at the depot

like minded people and share information that bolsters their views

People don’t need to find others that share their views, algorithms do that for them and once started down the rabbit hole the constant drip feed of similar information continues to convince people they were right about their views despite evidence to the contrary

Just been sent this-

Sadly the situation is worse at Thrunton.
If you have not been past the forest we are seeing 90% of the north face of the forest at the main car park is flat.
Crews are unable to get into the forest to see the extent of the damage but there are 1000’s of trees down, snapped tops and also 100’s still hung up.
It will be months – not weeks before we will have a full assessment of levels of damage at Thrunton.
Whilst we know it will be frustrating in the coming weeks we must ensure everyone stays safe and we do not have emergency service call-outs.

Hamsterley Forest in County Durham seems to have missed the storm damage and also Whinlatter in the Lakes so why not have blast there and as soon as we can welcome you back to the Northumberland forests we wll.

Best wishes
Alex MacLennan
Forestry England
Recreation, Public Affairs Manager
Northumberland

broken distal radius

I’ve broken both of mine, left was snowboarding about 15 years ago, right was on the mtb about 5 years ago and both fully recovered. The bigger problem was loss of strength/flexibility from not using the arm in question for 5 or 6 weeks each time so look 2 build general arm strength as well as regaining movement of the wrist when the cast comes off. I took it easy for a couple of months when I started riding the mtb again

The Signal look a bit less extreme but the bikes seem a bit short

A lad at Alpkit in Gateshead told me they can get the signal ti made to custom geometry/sizing (at extra cost but not sure how much) a couple of years ago, don’t know if that’s still an option but they do look good value

Thrunton is brilliant. Do you know of any efforts planned for volunteers to clear the trails? I’ll happily go along with a spade to help.

Fairly sure the trailbuilders meet on the 1st Sunday every month but from what I’ve seen of the damage (pics, not actually been up myself) I’d be surprised if FC allow anyone in for a good while yet, I’m told the steep stuff ( Pink Panther/Big Issue/Concussion etc) is completely wrecked, possibly beyond saving, same for trails back down to the car park (HP sauce, Monkey Trousers/Skullys Gully etc). Fingers crossed at least some of it survives and I’ll definitely muck in when they get the ok

I’d post a pic but no idea how I’d go about doing it

Do you think it’s a complete no go for the foreseeable then?

The lads I know that were up yesterday were saying months at the very least, most if not all fireroads blocked and no rideable trails at all that they could find ( they regularly ride there and know the place very well) . Both said a lot will probably be gone for good

local in Northumberland yesterday

A couple of lads I know posted pics looking up from the main car park at Thrunton yesterday, looked like the whole hillside has been totally flattened, hopefully I’m wrong but I can’t see any of the trails on that hill surviving. Hearing from another lad that Chopwell has been hit pretty badly as well, not just trails
blocked but completely gone, bad times for mtbing in North East England

Hearing trails across North East England badly hit, Chopwell and Thrunton particularly bad. A few lads I know been out 2day and found NO rideable trails at either, whole blocks of trees down like skittles and as a lot were unofficial I fear they’re gone for good. Sad times if its as bad as they say

Power and Internet still out (since some time on Friday night) and no estimated time of it being restored, its snowing again and was 7° in my living room around an hour ago. Luckily my mother still has heat and power so may end up down there again tonight (she lives around 500 mtrs away)

northern power grid website seems to be struggling so I’ve no idea when it will be back.

No power here (about 6 miles south West of Newcastle) either, mother has power but no Internet (she lives less than qtr of a mile away), off at 5am when I went to work this morning. The the northern power powergrid website was working fine and was showing cuts in almost the whole of Northern England so I’m guessing it’s not going to be fixed any time soon

AFAIK new shimano brakes come with the levers not connected anyway.

None of the Shimano brakesets I’ve ever bought came like this, always fully connected and bled but it’s an easy job to swap/shorten hoses

Easy, you want the Rock Razor in supergravity carcass.

200% this ^^^^^^^^

why would you say makes your Mallets so good?

The platform makes it easy to ride unclipped if I feel the need and they never clog up with mud. I switched to the Mallet dh years ago when there wasn’t much else around with a decent platform, had been using Shimano DX and while they will definitely outlast the mallets I found them terrible if unclipped and harder to clip into afterwards. There is a far greater choice these days tho

Scam

Basically forever.

Not in my experience, although I admittedly do a fair bit of push up/hike a bike riding so that will wear them out faster. I’ve never worn a set of shimano cleats out but rarely get more than a year from Crank Brothers (now on both bikes) before they start to unclip when I don’t intend to. They are by far the best pedals I’ve used (Mallet DH) tho so I don’t plan on changing

Having used both alloy and carbon Renthals I’d go for alloy every time with 35mm bars

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/clothing/trousers/fox-ranger-3l-water-pant-review/

Not cheap but I’d buy them again if I needed new pants this winter. I also have the Decathlon AM pants which are decent for the price but much prefer the Fox’s.

Start Cycles had a couple of pairs in store last weekend, 34 and 36 waist in black

Avoid Date Night & 2nd Date

stick to trousers for winter riding.

+1, not cheap but Fox Ranger 3l would be my choice, also have a pair of the Decathlon AM pants which are spot on for the price but the Fox’s are better all round

Defo more than 25% sag, personally never run less than 30 but depends on frame as to exactly how much

Wow! Worse even, than when Big Sam was manager?

Far worse. Benitez’s team wasn’t much better to watch but were at least hard to beat and had the best defence outside the top 6 in his final season with a net profit in 3 years. Bruce has a net spend of over £110m and has the worst defence in the league this season

No expert but I always thought one of the main selling points of carbon rims is that they stay straight? I have e thirteen trsr carbons and they’ve been straight as a die since I’ve owned them

I’ve tried flats several times over the years and hate them just can’t get on with them. Much happier on SPD’s

Not just me then, mainly because I know my foot will be in the same position every time I clip in. Using Mallet dh pedals and the

Axle under the midfoot rather than the ball of the foot and drop the heels

technique works just as well for me on the odd occasion I feel more confident unclipped with these pedals and Shimano me7 shoes as it does on flats. Last flats I bought were Burgtec composites, for the price I couldn’t fault them in any way