@zomg Surely a Hammerschmidt, DH mech and a tightly spaced cassette covers that?

I saw a very confused looking elderly lady stood at a self-service checkout in the local supermarket the other day, so went over to see if I could help and she had no idea how they worked. A few minutes later and I’d helped her scan all her shopping through and pay for it. It didn’t take much time but helped save her from standing around feeling confused until an assistant arrived.

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Officially all of the Glentress trails are closed but follow the previous advice and you should be fine.</p>
As @intheborders mentioned, put Gypsy Glen on the list. On your way into Peebles you can divert to Cademuir and do some of the trails there – they’re not waymarked but Trailforks has them.

The Southern Upland Way over to Yair (which the Marathon route used) is a nice XC option too.

I get similarly drained after a couple of hours of MTBing so have decided to take a break from riding unless I feel really good. Seeing your thread made me realise I’ve felt on more of an even-keel recently and the key changes are:
– Vit D supplement for the last few weeks (as others have suggested);
– 15 minute yoga sessions almost daily, for the last 1-2 weeks;
– Reduction in my sugar intake.

Hopefully you find some of that useful.

I suspect they’re playing the same game as Specialized and Santa Cruz, buying up existing independent businesses to create a dealer network.

@thegeneralist head out for a gentle spin before you write off a trip North – sometimes sitting on my backside for a week is the reason I feel exhausted and some gentle exercise may perk you up a bit.

If you head to the Tweed Valley maybe look at the Capital Trail? The X62 bus between Edinburgh & Gala takes bikes so you can do a decent ride and get a lift back. Not sure if it’s up your street terrain/style wise.

A group of us did a decent ride round Yair Forest and the Three Brethren in summer, let me know if you want a copy of the route.

Bring your warm layers though – there’s a cold spell arriving next week.

@tjagain I would try and demo a Bosch powered e-bike if you can as the motors feel very torquey when they kick in – some people like it, some don’t.

@dyna-ti the longevity comment was based on what we see in the shop I work in. We deal with Spesh & Boach equipped bikes and, whilst we sell many time more Specialized’s, we see more in for issues. That being said they’re fairly easy to “repair”.

My reference to Bosch potentially refusing a warranty was merely acknowledging the possibility. I felt my comments on warranty would prove helpful to the OP as they mentioned warranty and repairibility.

Given how well water & electricity play together, e-bike systems are impressively sealed but eventually water causes a problem. My experience is based on MTBing. Most commonly water ingress is via bearing seals but does take a while and pressure washing definitely quickens their demise.

In the context of shifting performance, by the time a cable needs changing the housing general does too. Any decent shop would change both to restore the shifting and some e-bikes are definitely easier/quicker to work on than others.

Bosch motors tend to last slightly longer than Specialized ones when used like-for-like but when they do fail you’ll be without your bike for much longer. Bosch require the motor back before accepting/rejecting a warranty whereas Specialized send a replacement out then ask for the faulty unit back later.

The biggest factor in how long a motor lasts is how it’s washed – let the dirt dry and then brushing it off is best practice, as is making sure any moisture can escape from around battery connections.

Also bear in mind maintenance ease/cost. A lot of the time the motor needs to be removed to change (internally routed) cables so shop labour charges will be higher.

Check for bearing roughness or play in your hubs/pivots
Remove, clean and grease your pivot bolts
Give your suspension & dropper seals a wipe
Check for BB play
Check your bars and controls are still tight (because, lets be honest, when did you last check them?)
Check for chain wear

Cave Dale? Guess I’ll have to make an effort to get there before it’s ruined repaired.

BMW 130i if you can find one in budget but check it’s been maintained (the handful of age related things that can add up quite quickly) – they’re not that expensive to run if you maintain them yourself and think of them as a sports car rather than a hatchback.

Beware the M Sport suspension is terrible though and the front wheels are a defunct size so there are only a couple of options now.

Assuming the Schrader cable core and top cap are tight I’d be checking that the ramp control plunger hasn’t become dislodged so it’s sitting slightly cockeyed and that the seal is well greased.
Next thing I’d be looking at is replacing the internal spring seals; I’m guessing that if these have been done then it doesn’t correlate with when the issue started?

Adrenaline is definitely a part of it but isn’t something I seek out, as they usually immediately follow a massive “oh sh!t” moment. It’s a glorious feeling when it happens though.

I suspect there are 2 reasons people enjoy MTB:
1) A feeling of control. I believe people inherently know that there’s almost nothing that, as an individual, you can fully control but MTBing provides a sense of being able to choose how much control you have from total (flow trail) to minimal (tech trails beyond your ability). I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the core of feeling satisfied with how you ride a section of trail where you controlled the bike just right.

2) Experiencing G forces. Most people enjoy the sense of G force; G force and noise creates the sense of speed for boy racers, kids enjoy being thrown in the air by their parents, some MTBers like the feeling of pushing through berms or holding on through long corners

Another one here that’s met Emily. She guided our group in Les Arcs in 2012 and I fully agree with the ” an all-around lovely human and has some pretty nifty skills on a mountain bike ” line in the article!

As other have said, exploring is a big factor in fiding ‘gravel’ shortcuts and off-road sections. If you head out towards Marple & Roman Lakes there isn’t much to worry about on a gravel bike but you’ll almost certainly get sprayed with horse muck.

I’ve not ridden it yet but this is a route I pinched off someone else on Komoot and goes right through the city centre.

See if you can get hold of any old kitchen cupboards – it’s what’s supporting my bench and they make excellent legs. Saves you having to build any storage too.

Another option is a Goatlink/Roadlink to extend the hanger and allow you to use a standard road mech with an MTB cassette. I’m currently running an 11-40 with a 105 mech and Roadlink and the shifting is perfect. If I were doing it today I’d go GRX mech (no link needed) or at least an Ultegra RX for the clutch.

From reading your opening post, and what I understand about the Tractive Tuning, I doubt you’ll get much from it. The advantage of it is the scope for custom tuning so unless you know what you’re after (and how to explain it) you may not see much improvement, especially as you like the setup you have.

Maybe give TF/who you’d use a call and have a chat with them.

I think @liamhutch89 has hit the nail on the head – you’re using retail therapy to make up for a dissatisfying job. However you don’t feel you deserve a new bike/stuff; I’ve been here and know how much it sucks.

What you need to consider is the value of the bike, not the price – the price is irrelevant if it brings you comfort and acts as therapy to stop you falling towards depression.

Sorry if this got a bit dark!
My approach is to see what bikes I like & are suitable, then which of those are available as frames before discounting anything that I don’t perceive as good VfM. The reason I look at frames is that I’m happy with 1×10, want the shiny suspension of the top end stuff and don’t always like how full builds are spec’d.

If I’m riding from home I’ll hose the muck off (if I’m doing the bike there & then) and stick them in the airing cupboard. If I’ve not hosed them off, I’ll bash them together when they’re dry to get the mud off.

With yours being leather I’d treat the leather every so often and after really horrible & mucky rides.

Yep, the same with a RF crankset.
68mm shell width: 2x spacers DS, 1x spacer NDS.
73mm shell: 1x spacer DS, 0x spacers NDS.

If you’re not sure on the shell width you can use a normal ruler – as long as 0 is lined up properly you can tell which side of the 7cm mark it is.

I rate the Schwalbe MM (2.35, snakeskin, soft)/On One Smorgasbord (trail extreme) F/R combo on my 29er.

The WTB Trail Boss rolls reasonably, the tough casing is heavy but bulletproof IME.

I also rate the Bontrager SE4 which I find rolls well and has decent grip.

Sorry to dampen your spirits but Decathlon have a habit of doing a single, very limited run of the bikes that the “enthusast market” actually want and would buy. Combined with late, almost non-existent marketing it’s common to only hear about them once they’re all sold out.
Also see the Ti Triban 900 GRVL model, if it’s still on the web.

Your best bet would be to message them on FB and ask if they’d build another batch.

As a Bird AM9 owner I can vouch that the Aether will be great fun and a massively capable bike due to the geometry. I came from a 120mm XC/trail bike and started riding descents faster and harder almost immediately. The Aether should be perfect for the riding you describe if you want to progress, I only opted for the AM9 as I’d heard that the LLS geo on a shorter travel bike can get you into situations where the suspension runs out of travel.

The guys at Bird were great to deal with too.

Decathlon only do Cyclescheme, Bike 2 Work and possibly Cycleplus (you’re best confirming this last one with your local store).

I’m afraid I can confirm what doomanic said – you’re not going to get a Stilus anytime soon as (apparently) their manufacturing is way behind schedule and unlikely to be seen before the New Year. They’re not actually a Decathlon brand bike, they’re stocked as a higher-end option alongside the Rockrider offerings.

I emailed Bird as I was debating between the AM9 and waiting for the Aether 9 and got the following reply:

The Aether 9 is basically an Aether 7, but with bigger wheels. If you adjust things like BB drop & chainstay to account for the bigger wheels, then you have an Aether 9. The AM9 is probably more rounded as a do anything bike. Like the Aether 7 the Aether 9 is designed to extract the most hoots and grins from trail centre type riding but isn’t necessarily the most efficient bike we do. Aether = fun, AM = all rounder (maybe we should have called it AR).

Hopefully that’s of use for those debating which one to go for.

You can load the route up on the free version and it’ll show your current location as a dot. It’s rudimentary GPS route following but it works to see where you are.

If you want navigation then you have to pay for the relevant region.

I use my normal road stuff however I do have one of the Kalenji (Decathlon) running belts that I use for MTB rides that I can do with just one bottle – it’d be ideal for a gravel ride. I find it doesn’t move about despite me being slim (28″ waist) but I have to wear it slightly off centre so the tube sits (comfortably) in the small of my back.

I use it for a tube (external pocket), levers, pump, chain splitter, multitool, keys and snacks. It’d easily take a phone too and I can carry a packable jacket or banana/large snack in the second external pocket.

I have wondered for a few years why it isn’t a condition of the planning permission in flood risk areas for new builds to be elevated 1-2 feet off the ground, to help reduce the chance of flooding. If houses are to be built in flood plains surely this is a logical & reasonable requirement?

Is anyone able to shed some light on this for me?

I know that you’re not supposed to bump start “modern” cars that have Start buttons and that batteries for cars with Stop-start systems don’t like being jumped. This could be why CountZero found Merc’s don’t play nicely.

I’d be wary of jumping/bumping a hybrid unless the owner was sure it was fine. Big engines, particularly diesels, pull a lot of current so may require care depending on what is jumping them.

As others have said that’s terrible news! Hopefully the police get to the bottom of it and it’s good news.

I’m happy to donate some parts I’ve got knocking around if that’s the route taken.

You can get various levels of difficulty of RC car and assuming you know which way round to hold an Allen key, and have some mechanical sympathy, you shouldn’t have much trouble putting a kit together.

If you fancy learning an instrument don’t forget that if you get an electric one you can use headphones with it to avoid waking MiniMonkey up.

You mentioned climbing – what about building your own mini bouldering wall? If you’ve got a conservatory it probably isn’t used much during the winter so could be used for the wall.

I agree with Outofbreath about letting his daughter retaliate when bitten, provided it was just the one hit in response. I am assuming the biting phase didn’t go on for long enough for retaliatory violence to become the norm.

I also agree with the point that madmechanist is making about respect being key although don’t necessarily agree with the method of achieving it.

I don’t see why it would be so difficult to make large cities Park & Ride only zones – provide huge parking areas in various locations around the city limits and have a number of regular electric/eco-bus routes into the centre and through the suburbs. Restricting the hours within which deliveries can be made would help in reducing the pollution levels and would mean that public transport & active travel infrastructure would need to be decent & affordable, if only for fear of pushing people (and money) out of the centres.

As with others I used to enjoy driving but not any more due to a combination of the quality of the roads, standards of driving and the volume of traffic.

I’m afraid I can’t comment on trails on the European mainland but in the UK riding with your trail dog shouldn’t be a problem, as long as you clean up after his ‘bathroom visits’ and he’s well behaved. If you’re riding natural trails then make sure you take a lead with you and check the route as some farmers state that dogs need to be kept on leads when crossing through their field(s).

The trail grading can vary a lot between trail networks and unlike in Canada the manmade trails tend to be routes rather than individual sections that you link together yourself; if you use Trailforks to explore then bear in mind that it isn’t heavily used in the UK so a lot of trails aren’t marked.

As for natural routes I’m sure that plenty of STW members will be happy to show you round their local area if you’re passing through, or share GPX files.

Just finished reading all 5 pages – a great thread, very entertaining ☺️ Glad to read you made it in the end too.

I always lead with my right foot and it feels really unnatural to lead with my left – I expect it throws my body position out and makes me imbalanced. I’m not too bad on the road bike but still prefer right foot leading.

The bit that caught my eye was: “nearly 12 months on from a nervous breakdown, 8 months on anti-depressants feeling like I’m going nowhere fast?” The first question you need to ask yourself (honestly!) is whether you feel mentally stable/resilient enough to take a leap into potential failure if you leave and your next job doesn’t work out.

It’s easy for people to shout ‘jump’ but if you’re not ready then you’re not going to make a true success of it. If things are really dragging you down and you have some savings then hand your notice in with the intention of unwinding for a couple of months before looking for something else.

Just remember that the grass is always greener because it’s fertilised with bulls**t 😉