My brother is a groundskeeper at a school, works really hard and gets around half that.

Genuinely interested to know how he can survive on that, 13k is about £950 a month after NI and tax. Free accommodation? Living off savings?

Assuming say 10% pension contribution, 26k equates to what, £1700 a month net? From this deduct rent,council tax, food, utilities, travel/transport, debt servicing, phone/internet, clothing, insurance policies, savings….

It might be ok if you’re young free and single I suppose but there won’t be much left in the pot. Certainly not enough if you have dependents I shouldn’t think, unless you qualify for benefits.

You’ll be ok on 26k but your money would go much further elsewhere obviously. I wouldn’t expect to run a car or live anywhere decent unless you plan on renting a room in a house though. London is a great place, enjoy it.

I think the fact that they willingly spent way over the odds for a Skoda in drag says all you need to know about Audi drivers.

There is nothing I have tried in my life that gives the same buzz. Once you’ve ridden some great singletrack or a DH run, nothing comes close any more. Mountain Biking has ruined car racing and motocross for me, they can no longer compete!

100GB Dropbox account, forget about it and go ride your bike 🙂

If a bearded man falls off a 29er in a forest but there’s nobody else around, does anyone know it has no gears?

Get a pension, it’s a tax efficient way of saving money. Learn about tax thresholds and how to use them to minimise your tax exposure. If you’re a higher rate tax payer now, you could pay into the pension pot tax free and when you claim it back, only pay tax at the lower rate. If your company also pays in to the pot, it would be churlish not to have a pension.

You could buy property instead, but will you have the means to maintain that property year on year when you have no other income and you’re (presumably) 70+, and how will you cope if the property remains unlet for a period of time?

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you will never get old. You will get old, and will have to make some provisions for when you’re *really* old – don’t leave it too late.

OP what the hell is wrong with you?

Edit: OP there is something wrong with you

@cheekyboy Oranges aren’t overpriced, some people are just undersalaried.

There are no such people as lovers and haters, there are just people who have Oranges, and those who just wish they had Oranges.

OP you’re just butthurt because someone who didn’t even go to university made a load of money from you 🙂

Smashed my face into a tree and faceplanted in my old parachute, the first time it deflected the hit, the second time the jaw bone bit snapped, but my beautiful face was unscathed. Good helmets, will probably get another one (eventually broke it completely)

People get too spergy about tires. Try some tires you like the look of, they will probably be fine. For me, it’s Rubber Queen BC for trail riding and Baron BC for DH where I’m not so bothered about weight or uphill ability.

I’ve tried loads of grips over the years but always ended up going back to ruffians. Saying that, the day Renthal make a kevlar lockon is the day all other grips will be instantly obsolete 🙂

^^^ that image isn’t true though

I once worked at a place that occasionally required me to go to another site. They wouldn’t let me use my own car and claim the mileage, instead they made me hire a car each time, at a much greater cost to them and inconvenience to me. Bizarre.

Hard to feel sorry for you OP

Something like an orange 22x might be ideal, good bikes, tough as old boots, cheap to service and plenty of them about.

Probably a smart pension adjustment, doesn’t everyone do this?

I think people struggle with the concept of “stealing” something that doesn’t physically exist from an entity that they can’t relate to.

If you steal a block of meat from your local butcher it’s easy to gauge the consequences. If you “steal” a copy of Snatch from a torrent site, brad pitts still has his yacht and a mansion or twelve. I think this disconnect is what makes piracy acceptable to a lot of people.

Meh, VPN for a fiver a month and you’re done.

Seems as good a time as any to post this:

Just have good content. SEO “experts” are almost as bad as social media “consultants”

😯

Are BMWs the motoring equivalent of Orange bikes? Pretty much everyone who has one loves it, those who don’t (but secretly wish they do) make up stories about how rubbish they are?

VR50s here, very pleased with them, they are a bronzy colour.

@Skywalker Of course you are a petrolhead, of course you have been to countless trackdays and of course you could afford a BMW any time you wanted too. I for one totally believe you.

@Turnerguy You’ve posted that far-fetched drivel before, sounds like you “your mate” can’t drive.

It’s interesting to note that BMWs are generally perceived by the world at large to be excellent driving machines, yet there are STW experts who don’t agree. Please regale us with stories about the time you hunted down some BMW idiot (who of course couldn’t drive for toffee) in your Seat Ibiza or whatever.

I’ve always wanted to like BMW’s but every time I’ve driven one I’ve been soooooooo unimpressed.

So either

1: You can’t drive
2: You’re lying
3: You *wish* you could have a BMW and feel emasculated by those who do, so you spend time making things up on forums because it bolsters your fragile self-esteem.

I’ve had a number of BMWs over the years, some have been amazing, some more run of the mill. One thing they all did was drive well, even the midrange diesels.

OP I hear what you’re saying, but the people who typically buy bike mags want pictures of bikes shredding the gnaarrr, not some hipster artsy stuff

@Don Simon – Mahou Cinco Estrellas, the best lager in the world!

Dear STW

I bought an 11 year old, 2 generations out of date car and some stuff has gone wrong

waaaaah waaaaaah

charlie mort

Cool I bet dropbox respond by giving me even more space

(you aren’t the plant)

My experience with the tbones is they don’t feel great off the bike but on the bike they’re fantastic

Let me explain it for you simple folk, who don’t seem to understand the principle of gravity.

Assuming no stand, out on the trail.

Bike upside down = doesn’t move, supported by bars and seat. Slot in wheel with hand. viola!

Bike right way up = moves about and needs supporting as one wheel is out of dropouts. Hold bike with one hand and fanny about trying to slot wheel into dropouts with other hand.

But *people who work in bike shops* do it differently! Argh I’m so confused now

I wouldn’t want the lower classes in power – look at the state of them

I’d rather be some guy who rides bikes than a cyclist. When what you do defines who you are you need to question whether you have any personality.

Punctures? Really?

Dear STW

I ran my girlfriend over is there any way I can make some money too

Love

MTQG

The “Steve Peat and co only use 140mm brakes” thing doesn’t translate into the real world. They have to complete one run with a perfectly set up bike, and they are the world’s best riders.

You or I are ham-fisted duffers, and will likely be riding something that’s not perfectly set up, many many times in a row if on an uplift day or in the Alps etc.

Anecdotally the bigger the brakes the better, front and rear.

Edit: I thought you were talking about DH

How did you book the car online without a CC?