The last dt swiss wheels I bought came with a 6 bolt adapter, if using centrelock they’re fitted with either a cassette or BB tool depending on the  hub

I wear whatever the weather  calls for personally,  ebike or normal bike makes no difference but I definitely do see a lot of ebikers wearing way more than I would

And it used to be a red

The first time I rode it (when it was still a red and extremely wet) I passed a young lass pushing her bike just after the end of the top boardwalk. She’d been convinced to give it a try by her boyfriend, who I passed a bit further down and who’d obviously never ridden it before. He’d told her it would be just like the red at Glentress but with a lift to the top. She looked terrified and asked if there was an easier way back down? After explaining I’d never done it before I told her to get off  the bike at any bits she wasn’t comfortable trying. When I passed the boyfriend further down he asked if I’d seen her, and from  the look on his face he knew he was gonna get it with both barrels  when she caught up. Personally I think it’s one of the best descents in the UK but each to their own. I still can’t believe someone decided to grade it as red when it first opened though

https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/accessories/packs-luggage/bontrager-rapid-pack-one-size-in-black__20401

Magic Mary is the best all year round tyre I’ve used, personally I would go for super trail purple front and Big Betty supergravity orange rear if I was buying at the minute. I’ve been using a maxxgrip  exo+ Assegai/maxxterra DD  DHR2 for a few years and the MM is better in wet conditions but not as good on harder ground, not much between them and while I prefer the Maxxis I would happily use the Schwalbe’s

(I think someone quoted the boss of Bird bikes as saying that this high failure rate is why he didn’t want to introduce an EBike right at the moment).

Pretty sure they were testing prototypes using Shimano motors and weren’t prepared to sell products they considered to be unreliable

Pinkerton let the side down. I flipped a coin over whether to pick a first year elite or a local. Greg Williamson would have earned me triple figures

Had Pinkerton so no points there, also had Williamson, Pierron and Tahnee.  Luke Meier Smith’s dsq and picking Louise Ferguuson instead of Mikayla Parton cost me a decent score but 66  not a bad start considering only 3 got any points

Used to live in a flat with a decking patio, just big enough gaps between to allow Allen keys and bolts through, but too narrow to allow a magnetic rescue or such.

Did this with a torx key on a balcony in Madeira last year, luckily I’d just finished fitting the last rotor bolt after I built the bike. It was the only one of the set I’d actually used

I have never bought Cranks before, is there any compatibility issues I need to be aware of when chosing a set of Cranks ?

Not a compatability issue but the last  Shimano Cranks I bought did not come with a chainring so I’d check on that before ordering.  And Shimano do offset on the actual cranks, not the chainring

SLX cranks available as m7100, m7110 and m7120 are three different width spindles, allowing use of the same chainring for different chainlines

The Crankset is E Thirteen Helix

I’ve had E Thirteen cranks on a bike (think they were TRS Race carbon) a few years ago, could never find anywhere with stock of compatible E Thirteen chainrings, steel or aluminium in any size. Tried an Absolute Black oval as they made one that did fit but it wasn’t cheap, and eventually replaced the cranks with XTR’s after a PSA on here

Descend is full face helmet only if op wasn’t aware

There’s a loads of trails in Hamsterley forest as well as Descend Bike park, just don’t do the red trail centre as the loop is marked out. K line, Transmission trails etc are worth riding, especially on a hardtail and there’s loads of off piste stuff,  some easy to find and some you would never find without a guide, I’m local to Hamsterley and haven’t ridden at Descend for years

Stayed in the Travelodge in Perth (Broxden) last time I was up that way, about 20 mins drive to Dunkeld but we ended up going to Ballo instead one day as the weather was looking better. Ballo is definitely worth a look if you’re in the area

I like Troy Lee Designs Resist pants

+1, I had a pair of the 1st version of the Fox Ranger 3l waterproofs and they were more comfortable to wear but above the knee was softshell and did get wet through after a few hours, I used them for damp but not raining days until I ripped a large hole in them a few weeks ago. The Troy Lee’s are much more waterproof but not as comfy to wear. Also tried the Decathlons as they were a lot cheaper but found them to be pretty poor compared to the others I’ve mentioned and only wore them once

Oakley Jawbreaker for me

+1

The wolverine trail is gnarlier than it looks on YouTube, and the fireroad at the bottom was like an absolute quagmire last weekend. There are weekday closures in a couple of places at the minute, think everything is open on a weekend except Flat White, the end of Bigbaw, all of Nemo and the start of Aussie Rules, not local tho so I could well be  wrong about that

I am struggling to envisage how this would be notably worse than a roof rack where everything is getting the full force of whatever weather is being driven through.

I’m not an expert but the guy on this video definitely is so watch from around 15 min and he explains his take on it

Another thing to consider is spray from wet roads combined with the airflow being sucked down behind the car means any water will be directed into exactly where ebikes do not like water. I’ve been told by a few people this is the main reason for not using a towbar rack, especially for ebikes

A mate was recently quoted over £20000 for a 2m sq porch with sloping roof, 1 small window and a door by a local builder (North east England)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5OYfEkOoGy/?igsh=enJjbmZtdXYwOHFu

Well that is interesting. Didn’t know that. My FF has GX and I’m going to see how it lasts, but I was thinking about Box prime 9 or linkglide stuff in the future.

I’ve just ordered a DT 350 microspline freehub, SLX 12 speed cassette, shimano 12 speed chain and a bottle of Fenwicks chain lube for less than I could find a GX cassette

Another thing to consider that I’ve only just found out is the drive train. My ebike came with a Sram GX AXS mech and shifter and a GX cassette which didn’t last long, mainly because of blasting up hills on turbo when I first bought it. 2nd cassette is warped/bent after 6 or 7 rides and I’ve just learned that only the NX is approved for ebike use by sram, despite a LOT of manufacturers speccing the GX, X01 or XX1 cassette

I have a Whyte e160 which is heavy, even by ebike standards and a mate has an Orbea Rise, which isn’t heavy. We can do similar distances when he uses the range extender but I can climb things the he can’t manage when using the higher power settings (he could beat me on any climb if both on non electric bike) . Mine is a chore to get over stlyes/gates/fences etc where his isn’t. They all have good and bad points and the Rise is his only mtb while I also ride a non electric trail bike, so I chose the full power bike. I wouldn’t have an ebike as my only option personally but I know a few lads that have gone that way and don’t regret it

Santa Cruz Megatower C S 29" Wheels

Always done very badly on the dh but ended up 12th overall when they did the EWS a few years ago, mainly because I had Hattie Harnden from the 1st race. In fact if I hadn’t swapped Jesse Melamed for Richie Rude in the final round (Innerleithen when he was disqualified) I would’ve been around 3rd or 4th. No doubt I’ll be near the bottom on here tho

I had a carbon Jeffsy which cracked on the downtube (under the plastic guard which wasn’t damaged) after 5 months, YT said it wasn’t covered on warranty but offered me a new front triangle for around €1100. I ended up getting it repaired for around £350 but I wouldn’t recommend a YT based on that experience

Towing using an ebike or normal mtb? I’ve towed a 14 stone mate up fireroads using a 29er inner tube (around my seatpost and his stem) on my ebike which just about works but is quite tricky and requires a bit of skill from the rider being towed. It was only shortish climbs and as he’s now bought an ebike I doubt I’ll be doing it any time soon but it can be done if the ground is not too rough

A friend was recently quoted over £25000 for the windows and 1 door in their 3 bed semi (7 windows), not sure who that was from but they didn’t get the job

The Hamsterley Beast has always been a single lap endurance event in past years and not a multi stage enduro race, not sure if that’s the case this year

Recently fitted Hopes to a GX AXS after 3 lads I know had the upper wheel disintegrate on sram 12spd mechs (1 gx axs, 1 gx and 1 xx1) in the last year, bolt and bearing still there but no plastic wheel for all 3 of them. I won’t be fitting any sram own brand 12 spd jockey wheels in future. The Hope’s aren’t cheap and don’t noticably improve shifting but I’m confident they won’t disintegrate

No recommendations I’m afraid, I had 3 pf30 bb’s seize in around 6 months (E Thirteen cranks on a YT Jeffsy), gave up and fitted Shimano cranks after the 3rd

I know he’s a wee lad but look at the scale,
^^^^^^^^^^^^

I could be wrong here but pretty sure thats the road gap, final gap is bigger but not a step down

Yes they’re behind Dortmund

Behind Leverkusen, Dortmund are 4th

Race is being shown live on Red Bull TV at 5pm

Its being shown at 7am on Saturday and isn’t going to be live, sure I’ve read 5 hours after it takes place so avoid social media if u don’t want to know results before its shown

Never ridden there personally so not sure how big the place is but a mate rides in Slayley forest (just outside Hexham) on his xc hardtail pretty regularly, mainly fireroads with the odd bit of singletrack and not a lot of climbing, he seems to like the place but no idea of actual routes

When I was into snowboarding I bought a waxing iron and the wax to do it myself for less than it used to cost for a shop to do it, its really not a hard thing to do and I’d guess there’ll be guides on YouTube these days. My 1st attempt was a better job than I’d paid for beforehand

Googling the Sram X01 replacements

3 lads I know have had the upper jockey wheel of a 12 spd sram mech disintegrate in the last year, bolt and bearing left in the cage but actual plastic wheel gone completely. 1 GX, 1 GX AXS AND 1 X01, I replaced mine with Hope’s after the 3rd lad told me. I’ve also tried cheap alloy jockey wheels from ebay in the past, they bent on the first ride and would barely fit through the cage by the time I got back to the van

I’ve had a Whyte E-160 rsx for about 6 months now and while its heavy, even by ebike standards, I really can’t fault it so far. 150 travel with a 160 fork and they’ve reduced the price by £1000 for the latest top of the range version version to £7000 so there should be some decent deals around for last years models

Santa Cruz Hightower (coil will not fit)
YT Jeffsy cf