Doesn’t seem like a particularly risky idea.
But future stag will almost certainly cringe (and not in a good way) at the complete lack of imagination displayed on deciding the theme.

Also worth noting that, if you run your stem pretty high, you may reduce reach a bit when you slacken the head angle.

Might be fine, might make a bike that already may be a little shorter than a slack modern bike even more cramped.

Coaching course will be booked, but I’m looking to try and start an improvement so I don’t go to the course thinking I can’t do this.

Worth noting that a good coach will expect people to turn up thinking they cannot do this, but wanting to do this.
It’s actually a really good starting point for coaching because you go into the course with fewer preconceptions abut how to do things and often end up progressing quicker.

So, I’ll start by saying get some coaching.

Even a group jumps / drops course will help you progress massively. I did one at Cannock with Adam who owns Skillsloop. In one day I went from clueless to able to get off the ground and back again comfortably. I know he has a course coming up soon…

Anyway, there were a few things I learned which seemed really important. First was timing, and this was done by learning to bunnyhop over a stick. Tiny steps, but the method of the ‘american bunny hop’ is almost exactly the same motion as a jump. And learning to do that, and time it well, means you learn to do it on the lip of a takeoff.

Then it was just a manner of expanding on that over a few hours. Pulling the bar towards your hips, not perfect. But a bit of backwards pressure on the bars to keep the front wheel high is good. Then a push of the bars to complete the arc.

As it happens the push on the bars is much the same one as you do over a drop – we called it the trolly push – and it works really well.

I switched from Nics to Vitoria Mazza 2.4 last year. Similar weight to the NN but feel like they roll quicker.

What exactly feels cumbersome on jumping?

I get the ‘want a new bike’ thing, I live pretty much in that state of mind at all times, but most of us are kidding ourselves if we think a new bike will fix issues that are more likely to be setup or technique related. Knocking a couple of kilos off your bike isn’t going to make you suddenly fly better – how much really is that as a percentage of your overall bike & rider weight?

Ok, caveat, I don’t actually have an osmo 4… but I have a GoPro which must be somewhat similar, right?

I would set it to whatever quality you wish, and either 24 or 30 frames per second.
If the option exists to use a linear or narrow field of view go with that. The wide lens is bad.

Use a local shop.

I wish it were that simple but it just isn’t.

When I wanted new shoes I learned the nearest shop that had any actual stock of MTB shoes was nearly an hour drive away. Their range was extensive but choice of sizes very limited. When I was looking for a new helmet the stores nearby offered me a choice of exactly one brand per shop – and often one size ‘but we can order them in’ – so two visits needed then.

And that is before we look at the money which can be saved buying online.I’m not talking about from online only retailers either – there are brick and mortar business which have adapted to the time and are still someone’s local shop. I’ll turn to those over local shops because believe it or not I get better service and they are more convenient. Not like I’m out in the sticks either – I’m near a major city.

So tell me, why would I travel to a place to pay more for a thing that is not the exact thing I am looking for? Because the inconvenience involved far outweighs the benefits of trying to prop up local businesses. And I have tried many more times than the examples given above. The results are always very similar.

I’m sure my subscription that in cancelled earlier in the year was 12.99.
Feels like they have moved into the taking the pish territory.

Just to echo the already excellent advice.

Call the number. Detail everything you have said here. They don’t pi$$ about when it comes to potential gas leaks. They also have much better deterction equipment than a 20 quid detctor of unknown heritage from Amazon.

Additionally, I saw it mentioned above but wanted to clarify, no meter whether it is mechanical or digital will do anything to adjust the actual unit consumption for standing charge.

Oh damn that looks and sounds… great.
I always thought the raw was the way to go – but that green is… interesting…

Being honest, how does it pedal? Every time I see one of these I think they may just be the answer to my multiple bike problems. I love my trail bike but the longer back end with the 29er is not exactly playful. I love my 27.5 remedy but it feels twitchy af in the air and the front is really low compared to the 29er…

Maybe I need to just go and visit airdrop to try one.

When referring to exceedingly under inflated tyres…

Flat as a badger on a bypass

Are you willing to name the company in question?

Quite often, much like the domestic suppliers, the company who send you the bills have little to no relationship with the company responsible for accurately maintaining the meter database.

You need to make quite sure that the meter which is on the bill that they sent matches the meter at your premises – there will be a serial number on the meter. Once you confirm to them the meter serial does not match your meter that should stop them taking any action.

If someone came to reconnect the supply, they can at least book appointments with the meter operator to check meter details. This would have the effect of updating the MOP databases, but there would still need to be some work on the part of your supplier to remove the old meter (once the MOP have send the relevant data over).

Makes me wonder if the pub went under due to crippling energy bills, and this was the cause!

What sort of trails/routes are you going to be seeking out?

I moved from a bar mounted device to a watch to avoid this.

I was just drawn to the numbers and not enjoying the headspace a ride gives me.

But yea, I am quicker when I can see how fast I am going. Much easier to say ‘ah, going to keep the speed over 14’ than it is to just let it drop a little because my legs are tired.

It’s all about progression.

If you don’t jump much, going to hit gap jumps is going to be scary. If you can confidently clear tables on every attempt then it becomes very much a mindset thing.

About a year ago I went right back to basics with jumping. I started to make sure I had a good front wheel lift technique without having to yank up on the bars (turns out I didn’t). Then moved to using that to bunnyhop a stick, consistently. Then I moved on to two sticks and just started moving them apart. Simple stuff, but fundamental for getting the timing right on the takeoff as speed.

Once I’d done that I started going back to a local jump spot that had a perfect table for the job, steeper takeoff but mellow landing. Just practiced hitting it at different speeds to get used to how much effort I need to make on takeoff to still clear the jump.

After that, it is just a matter of being comfortable on the bike and in the air, and hitting small gaps becomes and extension of that. That said, I still can’t hit gaps on super steep dirt jumps!

Yea, the longer droppers have a longer post length to contain the larger cartridge.

Leisure lakes have some good prices on oneup droppers if your post is 30.9 – sadly 31.6 or 34.9 are out of stock in 210mm. I expect you would get a good amount of money back from selling yours too (maybe from me, if it’s 31.6 :D )

I’m in.

Won’t lie, my predictions were based on who I enjoyed watching last year and have no bearing on actual chances of winning!

Is your evoc pack the standard or pro?

I found that any pack that used a standard webbing belt was far more prone to slippage than my evoc hip pack pro which has a decent belt.

Does anyone in your family already have an Office 365 subscription.

The software subscription becomes surprisingly cheap when you pay yearly and share it (legitimately, through Microsoft provided features) with your family.

It’s pretty much being red lined especially if I’ve got the bikes/other people in the car

What on earth are you driving that is being redlined at 20mph in second?
And why does the number of people and bikes make a difference to the RPM in second?

the technique I was taught was to be leaving the top of the takeoff ramp with straight arms – pushing the bike up (like a manual) rather than trying to pull the bike up with your arms.

That sounds like an awfully risky way of jumping to me. Straight arms means your weight will be back, and I cannot help thinking that is the last place you want your weight to be while getting airborne.

When I was taught to jump it was weight central on the takeoff ramp and compress down a bit to preload – then pop upwards as you leave the lip applying very gentle backwards pressure on the bars. No pulling up with the arms, the energy of the jump coming from my legs.

Not an issue, more a change that appears to have crept in…

All the text in posts now appears to be bold. It’s really not very easy on the eye and makes anything more than very short posts quite hard to read.

Is this intentional?

(Windows 11 / Firefox 125.0.1)

Hm, could probably smash this pretty easily…
Although I expect they are keen for people to be doing it at offical trail centres not the top location I ride… although it could count as more off the beaten track.

Having had a chainring that claims to be shimano 12s compatible but isn’t, I know what it looks/sounds/feels like.

When you pedal, the chain will noticably stay on the ring for longer, no smooth disengagement from the lower side of the sprocket here. It was holding onto the chain for at least 1-2 teeth per rotation more than my shimano chainring. This is more noticable at the extremes of the cassette. It will also be noticably louder in general operation and with that will be much more sensitive to muck and dust.

Had this from one popular UK brand and went back to Shimano rings. THe bling just did not justify the drop in performance.

Contact the retailer and give them all the information. It’s up to them to persue with royal mail as the product you ordered has not been delivered as agreed.

Why did you go out if you were expecting a delivery, if you haven’t got an obvious or arranged safe place to leave it?

Because Royal Mail have this fantastic system where, if you are out for any reason, they put a card through the door to inform you of the missed delivery.

No need to put this on OP, Royal Mail are the ones that failed here.

She’s now a bit of a stooge, we help other people as she doesn’t (and never has) react to being barked at so we can walk past and provide a controlled opportunity for training other pups.

@joshvegas It’s fantastic when you can help others out like that isn’t it.
When we first got Stanley he was an absolute monster to walk, any other dog no matter the distance would have him standing on his high legs and making *halloween noises*.

Once we got him through that (with a bit of help from a behavourist) he went completely the other way and just seems to ‘get’ how to meet other reactive dogs (in a controlled environment). So like you, we help, because we know exactly what it is like to be on the other end of the leash!

@relapsed_mandalorian I really wish one of our local pubs had that much space! Round here all the pubs are just too small to comfortably fit my daft long hound and still allow people to move around.

Nearly managed it once, but he insisted on unfurling his tail.

Anyway. General word of warning. Greyhounds (and often other sighthounds) multiply. Either in the house or by the fact you have inadvertently joined a cult.

@funkmasterp it makes me a bit sad with all the information we have available that ‘pack theory’ and the alpha crap is still peddled so widely. Such opinions should not be contentious at all.

Anyway, my hound doesn’t require order or discipline, he just need to know he is safe. He need to know that when necessary I have his back and will look out for him. He also knows that he will be getting a bit of my sausage roll or my bacon sandwich – and that is absolutely OK too. In exchange, he will sit patiently by my table (on his bed) and his focus will be entirely on me. It’s such a shame he is just so damn long, I’d love to take him into more cafes and pubs.

Of course there is, if Fido’s owner doesn’t understand the constant discipline, leadership and structure that dog needs all its life (including not eating from a plate/table/titbits) then how do they know that dog shit shouldn’t be swinging from trees?

Utter rubbish. Giving ones dog the odd piece from your meal is a choice and a perfectly valid one. Just because it doesn’t align with your opinion on what is acceptable does not make it incorrect.

Whereas I think everyone here can agree that hanging a dog turd in a bag from a tree and leaving it is NOT acceptable. People who choose to do that are either very forgetful or extremely lazy.

Allow me to repeat what I said.

“Oh, I forget, this is STW and being judgemental and drawing stupid conclusions is expected”

Anyone feeding a dog titbits from the table are probably the ones throwing dog shit in the trees and letting them off lead inappropriately.

Or, just a thought, maybe there is no correlation between the two at all.

Oh, I forget, this is STW and being judgemental and drawing stupid conclusions is expected.

I did a bit of looking at this a while ago, before I found a method of getting the bike in that works quite well.

My sub 15kg 29er full suspension trail bike goes into the back of my Octavia estate with relative ease now.
Front wheel off. Lean bike over so the front of the forks are against my thighs. Lean forward as much as I need to grab the suspension linkage and lift bike. At this point I am reasonably well balanced with the bike in the air – so can just walk it into the boot, one knee on the boot lip to get it in the final foot.

Probably a poor explanation, happy to try and video if it would be of use.

(Next car is still going to have panels and a high roof)

Most people just walk away.

an organisation (there’s a magazine?) that allows atrocities to take place while imposing a gag on those who might question them

But this, well this made me laugh out loud. An internet forum is not allowing activities to take place by any stretch of the imagination. Shutting down a conversation because of multiple forum rule breaches is not imposing a gag either.

But you do you, I am quite sure you won’t be missed if you draw these sorts of conclusions from what is standard internet forum moderating 101.

Sorry – for the hard of thinking, what’s so wrong with two finger braking?

It reduces the amount of your hand used for gripping the bars which in turn can reduce the amount of control, and increase fatigue when riding rougher terrain.

Non issue for many people, but makes a difference for some.

In my experience the buyers who lowball will, when you counter, turn up with no more cash than their lowball offer.

Had this with a car. Guy wanted to pay 800 for a 1200 car, I said 950 minimum. He turns up, had a look, says he’ll take it at 800. Then protested he had driven 75 miles when I told him to do one. Should have driven 75 miles with 150 quid more in your pocket then mate. Numpty.

Now I just won’t deal with people whose first and only question is ‘what’s the lowest you will take’. Same as people whose entire message is just “£xx?”. No, got better things to do with my life than deal with chancers like you.

Currently running the WTB Koda on my bikes.
Bought because it has the deepest cutout that extends all the way to the back – invaluable while I had severe coccyc pain. Keeping them because they are actually damn comfy.

Found the Ergon SM saddles uncomfortable. Really like my Bel Air 3. Hated the charge spoon.

Just realised, my wife is still on an Iphone 6S with the original battery. Needs charging a lot and the camera is a bit shonky, but it works just fine and is still getting all the security updates.

Still running a 2020 SE here and it’s only just starting to feel a bit sluggish – I do have a lot of stuff on it though.

Battery is still good for a full day of use even though it’s battery health is in the low 80s. Camera is not so bad either – guess I’ll feel the upgrade more when I do get a new one, but I don’t really feel the need to yet.

Based on my sample size of one, I will never buy a Fox pump again.

Very good pump, virtually no air loss. But the head has failed to work on a couple of different Rockshox shocks now.

Topeak digital I replaced it will has been great, zero air loss on disconnect.

In other news, the number of people who are on the minimum wage has increased dramatically today.