Ski99: the M20 isn’t open to non-HGV traffic past jct 8, or at least that was the case last Friday. All traffic is routed off the m’way, with police at the slip road to get back on allowing only HGVs through.

lithium complex grease is what you want, with Mobil XHP 222 being the best. It’s the blue stuff Hope use, but as far as I’m aware is only available in quantities smaller than 18kg barrels in the U.S. There was a guy called Matthew Wells selling it online (I think he’d bought a barrel and was repackaging), but his website appears to have been deleted.

We had a 5pm Chunnel booked last Friday. Left Bristol at 10.30, motorway traffic was as bad as expected for school hols, but traffic for the crossing got really bad about 4 miles into the A20 diversion from jct 8 of the M20. We used google maps to find a way through the lanes to cut round Ashford and easily cut 90 mins off our journey from what people were saying in Twitter. Arrived at the quietest Chunnel terminal I’ve ever seen around 4pm and were put on the next available train, slightly earlier than our intended one. According to the news, those arriving around an hour after us got stuck in serious delays. Returning in a little over a week, considering a ferry to Poole if this persists.

I snapped the top off my humerous just over a year ago in France. There’s a thread about it here.

French surgeons pinned it the next day. I was able to hold stuff almost straight away, although was advised not to. I ensured it was out the sling as much as possible after day 4 and moved it around to avoid stiffness for the first month. Can’t exactly remember when physio started, but I only used the nhs which was pretty good. Possibly helped that the girl was a keen mtb rider. All medical staff were impressed with the speed and extent of my recovery, so your experience might be different. I think the fact that I’d been doing a lot of sustained strength work for the previous 18 months helped me in that respect.

Garmin connect tells me I broke it on 13 July, first road ride was 6th september (although it was quite painful so I cut it short) and first mtb was 26th Oct (although I hadn’t rushed as the weather had been shit). I endured the turbo for a bit prior to either, but that didn’t require much pressure on the shoulder. Helped keep my fitness up but boring as ****.
Skied at Xmas without issue and rode plenty in the new year. Have already done one week in the Alps and am currently on another 2 week trip with no physical problems (only psychological as the crash was at high speed and still struggle with this). I do pull-ups and push-ups every night to keep the surrounding muscle strong.
Good luck, make sure you do what the physio tells you!

Same dilemma for a 5pm Chunnel. Delays are due to migrant disruption rather than op stack as I understand it. Not sure if the backlog will still be in place tomorrow or not.

On the bright side, at the end of the journey, is another trip to Whiteroom and a second week self-guided. Cannot wait!

Firmware update needed on 510, 810 and 1000, which is being rolled out between now and sept. 520 is the only unit that has it currently. No other garmin units will have it as I understand. You also need to be a premium strava user.

So basically a reason to buy a newer garmin and subscribe to prem strava. Almost like the marketing teams got their heads together…

^£200k isn’t going to buy you much in Morzine.

^does the nomad not also have 27.5″ wheels?

I enjoyed my day, but I wasn’t blown away and I’m in no rush to go back in the short term. I see it as a 1-2 times a year venue for me. Prefer FoD uplift or Mendips winch & plummet, but both are prone to getting waterlogged which the all-weather grit of BPW should address.

You’re doing well to get 10+ runs in a day

I managed 12 and called it a day as I was tired & making silly mistakes on the last run. I felt like I’d had may money’s worth.

Drafty (if you seal them up you will get damp)

Most of our double-glazed windows need to be left locked “open” to create a through-flow of air to eliminate damp. We sometimes utilise a dehumidifier when drying washing in the winter. If you seal the house up with draught-excluders & plastic windows & doors to meet current efficiency guidelines, you will end up with damp.

Our old house was built in 1867 & our new one in 1895. There is a noticeable improvement in build quality. Not sure if it’s a result of 28 years’ technological advance, or because tobacco was more profitable than the railways.

What do you mean by not tainted with dot fluid? The system uses dot fluid so it won’t taint it…

Reverbs use 2.5wt suspension oil

Aeropress into the food waste bin.

Spend the extra £20 and get a XTR shifter. You won’t regret it.

bikediscount.de for shimano. I don’t use third party pads, regardless of whether they’ve fixed the de-bonding issue.

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-disc-brake-pads-g01a-resin-53981

For good MTB photos, follow Pinkbike, Davetrumporephoto, parisgore, svenmartinphoto

Not sure if that’s directed at me FF, but Gonefishin was querying the impact on pension & isa funds. A fund that receives dividend income on a share it holds as part of a mutual fund is not suddenly going to see an increase in the dividend receipt to the “gross” level, so there will be no impact to the value of those funds.

Any type of tax payer that receives more than £5k in dividends a year is going to have to pay more tax – 7.5% more than they do currently.
Of those that receive less than £5k in dividends a year, basic rate tax payers will see no change to their tax position and higher rate payers will avoid the 25% additional payment they are currently obliged to make.

Basic rate tax payers would have paid 10% tax so they will benefit too

No. Dividends paid by companies that pay UK corporation tax have a 10% tax credit attached. This is not deducted at source & investors don’t have to physically pay it. Dividends are not going to increase by 1/9th overnight on 6 April.
The only circumstances where a lower rate tax payer would have to physically part with 10% of a dividend would be on overseas dividend income where no dual-taxation agreement between the home country & the UK exists.

It will also make no difference to the dividends received by ISAs & Pensions. The notional 10% tax credit will be removed, but the net receipt will not increase.

The only people better off from the dividend changes are higher rate tax payers that earn up to £5k in dividend income. Whereas they would previously have had a tax bill to pay of £1250, they now get to keep the lot.

The rule change both closes the loophole utilised as a tax avoidance measure by the self employed &, in tandem with the £1000/£500 interest rule due in April and the increased personal allowance, probably removes an awful lot of people from the tax system, reducing resource requirements at HMRC.

And where’s the thread/ranting about the bank’s maximum protection threshold being lowered from 85k to 70k, thread?

does that only count for a single bank – ie can you spread it out between different banks and be protected?

£70k per financial institution. If you’ve got £210k in cash, place it with at least 3 banks. Be aware that cash balances with other firms (investment brokers for instance) are likely to be placed with similar firms & you may, in aggregate, have more than the threshold as a result.

The reason for the reduction has nothing to do with our government, its an EU directive. €100,000 is the maximum protected, Sterling equivalent is reviewed every 5 years. The strength of sterling means the GBP protected amount has fallen.

Not Swiss & below your budget, but Daniel Wellington make nice simple timepieces too

https://www.danielwellington.com/uk/men

Couple of guys at work have uniform wares watches; simple, understated & stylish.

TLDR; Evoc

Long version; Having used a hard shell case to transport my Bronson to and from the Alps, this is another vote for the Evoc. Wheelbase is long on the Bronson and you need to pretty much disassemble it to fit in a hardshell and even then it’s a squeeze. The other guys at the chalet had Evocs and it was really straight forward. I also read something online from a baggage handler who said hardshell cases can slip off the conveyors into the luggage compartment whereas the fabric cases grip better. Finally, weight. My Bronson is 28lbs in Alps mode (weighed with salter luggage scales which correctly weighed my suitcase, so I know this is right). The hardshell case with a spare tyre and a set of Allen keys was 30kgs, so heavier builds (32lbs+) would be right on the limit.

tweedviper – there’s a 4 page thread on creaking Pikes. Known issue with the assembly compound used to seat the stanchions in the CSU being eroded due to washing/water ingress. SRAM will replace under warranty.

Wolfrider – my Bronson can make noises when too much dust gets in the linkages, between the bearing covers & frame. Given the unprecedented dry spell we’ve been experiencing, it would be worth removing, cleaning & reinstalling these ime.

I think the recommendation when the pikes first came out but rockshox had failed to distribute any 0wt30 was to use reverb oil, which I’m pretty sure is 5wt. I did for my first service, but serviced them again when the proper stuff arrived.

If I were you I’d get some 0wt30 ordered and do them next weekend.

Black Iridium are good in bright sunshine, but no good in dappled light (under trees in sunshine) or overcast days.

I know this isn’t on your options list, but Prism trail are excellent when the foliage is green & your trail is red-brown. They provide an excellent contrast between the two colours and in the detail on the trail itself.

Protip for Afan: There are 2 final descents on Whites Level. The first you come to is slightly shorter, more eroded & rocky with drop-offs throughout. Slightly further up the hill is a longer, less eroded, smoother trail. Choice depends what you want from your trail…

I bought these brakes recently. Not been as impressed with them as the reviews led me to believe i would be. Too much lever throw for my liking. The little screws to adjust this seem to be next to useless. I’m sure they can be improved with a bit more tinkering; I’ll give it a whirl when I’m free.

Remove wheel; pump lever once, maybe twice; re-insert wheel. Lever throw = significantly reduced.

Also see Hope video on centralising calipers & balancing pistons, which is fairly straightforward with the use of a small flat-head screwdriver if you’re not using finned pads.

What’s going on with them? Can they leak in use and do this? I cant think what else it could be?

I had similar problems when I changed to Goodridge hoses. Re-cut the hoses & re-installed steel fittings & the problem went away, so air must’ve been getting drawn in somewhere. Did you shorten the hoses when you got them? Sure the olive & insert aren’t mangled?

Chainless Gwin!

Has Ratboy got a camera on his helmet? Didn’t the UCI ban them?

edit – looks like they changed their mind http://www.pinkbike.com/news/uci-notification-on-helmet-cams-2015.html

Headwind looks like its eating into times for the later riders & Loic’s last section looks like he set a good time…

Les Arcs side tends to be electronic. I think the only time I’ve been asked to show my pass is when the barriers weren’t working on the funicular & accessing lifts on the Le Plagne side (which don’t have the electronic gates).

Funnily enough this has just happened to the RP23 on my wife’s Orange 5. I rode it last night whilst she test-rode a Santa Cruz 5010 & it felt like one of the pivots or bushings was gone or really loose. About midway through the stroke. Pro-pedal has stopped working too. Was only serviced fairly recently, so back it goes.
Annoyingly I’m only getting it sorted to be able to sell the Five (she’s sold on the 5010!).

Milkie’s right. Season passes have your photo on.

At your weight I wouldn’t go near crests, partly for flex, but also because the rims ding easily for anyone that rides hard ime. I was 20kgs lighter than you and still managed to destroy mine (albeit on a hard tail). Someone will no doubt be along shortly to tell me that it’s because I’m a shit rider again. My arches have held up better to abuse.

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Another vote for TLD and Dakine longevity. Probably not as good as the POCs, but at half the price. TLD airs are my current favourites. I have some POC DH index from 2012 that are still ok, but the fabric is quite heavy and they’re too hot on warm days.

The giros fit nice but don’t last. The scotts from start are shit, poor fit and baggy palms. 661 rajis used to be good and for £10 from CRC were a good deal, but they changed the design and moved production to Thailand and suddenly the fit was horrendous. Fingers not long enough or palms too baggy.

TLDR; Yes, I buy a lot of gloves. Have been trying to find the perfect pair. Might have found them in TLD Airs.

I’ve not tried personally, but I’d imagine a 140mm 5010 should be “enough bike” for the Les Arcs trails, which are less braking bumps & more natural singletrack, whereas somewhere like Pila (cetrtainly the park trails up the top) you’d benefit from a bit more travel to make the braking bumps more comfortable.

I used to think DHB bibs were excellent until I bought some Assos ones. No way I’d use anything else now, road or MTB. I’m particularly prone to saddle sores (I think I fidget too much on the saddle) & have completely eliminated them since getting the Assos bibs. Factory outlet for end-of-line-(relative)-cheapness

http://www.assosfactoryoutlet.com/men/shorts/t-fi-uno-s5-black.html

Also, Bristol butt’r is an excellent chamois cream.

Oh and on the Reverb point, I’ve found (4 posts and counting) that they tend to develop the slight drop when sitting on them at around the 18-20 month mark. Not sure how SRAM are making any money on these as each one has been replaced with a brand new substitute each time, but can’t fault their/Fisher’s customer service.

I certainly wouldn’t buy a secondhand one. And I do now have a substantial collection of bleed kits (the 8th arrived yesterday).

I looked at the Hilo T&C’s and one clause says (similar items to) seals and oils aren’t covered.

That’s unfortunate.
I had to send back 2 posts (27.2mm version) in the space of 2 years for the same issue as you; one after 11 months & the replacement after another 9 months. Wiggle offered a full refund for the second issue as they don’t stock the 27.2mm version anymore. They were very quick to do so, so I got the impression that they just wanted shot of anything to do with it.