For off piste skiing I think it’s an amazing product. They’re in a complete fantasy land when it comes to their pricing though.

Why don’t the Spanish government let it go ahead but say it’s irrelevant and anybody who wants to stay part of Spain shouldn’t vote in it. That way it would be a 100% Yes on a <50% turnout and the government could say fine, do that every weekend, we don’t care, most people don’t want to vote Yes.

If time is short I’d pick Brevent over the Montenvers railway. I might even pick it over the Aiguille du Midi anyway regardless of cost. No messing around with queues and the view is better imo even if it isn’t as high.

In July and August you are best off going to either end of the valley to Le Tour or Les Houches. If you only have one day I’d go with Le Tour. You can get the train up there and bike back afterwards. Research the trails off the back into Switzerland.

I wanted to buy a used top-end 29er Specialized Enduro but the second hand prices were more than a new Capra with the same spec. Makes you wonder how many bikes like that actually change hands. Nobody is going to sell a £6-7k bike 2 years later for £2k, and nobody is going to buy one used without warranty for £3-4k.

Does anyone actually pay full price for frames like this? I think they just start it at a lunatic price so they can discount it more.

The most cost effective way would be to sell it and add whatever extra cash you have to buy a used trail bike which is a higher end model to start with. An even better solution if you can is to keep it and also buy the trail bike.

I moved from the uk to Geneva last week.

If you want people to ride with, particularly on the Saleve, check out the Geneve VTT/MTB Facebook group.

Used vs. new is such a pointless comparison. Yes obviously it’s cheaper.

Mechxiteers

If the new ones are wider, and you go a size larger, make sure their radius isn’t increasing too much, as that will make them feel quite different.

Chamonix is an option as bikes are banned from most trails in July and August so June is a good time to go. Some of the lifts will be running for sure, and for non-bikers there’s plenty to do.

The trouble with the SNP argument is if it’s a hard Brexit then independence and joining the EU means a hard border and trade tariffs with rUK, which would obviously be a disaster for Scotland. If it’s a softer Brexit with some sort of free trade/movement agreement then the whole justification for a second referendum disappears.

It’s just a very meh name. Is there a big market that specifically wants a female handyman? If not why even mention it?

SUVs are just cars that optimise for things like being able to see over other cars, ease of getting in and out, or ground clearance, rather than fuel economy or ease of parking etc. Nobody says an estate car is ‘poorly designed’ just because you can only see the arse of the car in front through the windscreen. All car designs are ‘compromised’.

^ Wow that looks terrible

Something genuinely useful for you: If you feel the urge to sneeze you can stop it by rapidly licking the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue.

If he’s just going to buy something without test riding a few first then he should just go for whatever YT or Canyon takes his fancy. He’ll get a great bike at that budget and the spec will be on a different level to half the suggestions above.

I guess if you can put together some good biking day trips which are point-to-point so the shuttle becomes an advantage rather than a chore then you could market it as such. You’d probably need to guide the riding in that case though, rather than say we’ll drop you off in Chamonix and pick you up in Samoens at 5pm, here’s a map, good luck. I think Trail Addiction do something similar.

Does anybody want to go on a biking holiday where you have to commute to where you’re going biking every day though? I guess it means you can try out different resorts but two hours in a van each day would be a non starter for me personally.

Why were you stopped and had to give a urine sample? Is that normal in Germany?

The FACT 9 frame game is used in the stumpjumper is used in the catalogue pro whoops forgot some commas and stuff here they are ,,,.,

I’m in Chamonix at the moment and sadly Brevent and Flegere are definitely closed to bikes this summer, hopefully just until the end of August but maybe even worse than that. If you’re going to ride banned footpaths from the other lifts organise it so you’re hitting them midweek either first thing or at the end of the day.

The promises a generation makes to itself aren’t legitimate obligations for future generations. There should never be an inter-generational transfer of wealth from the young to the old. We’re supposed to leave a legacy for our kids, not a debt. If the boomers just voted away their triple lock then good. That’s still not even close to what they’ve inflicted on those still in work.

As long as there are braking bumps there will be DH bikes in Morzine.

Bad luck, that sucks. I’ve broken both of my collar bones, and done the Mega a few times too.

Looking back at my diary last time I broke my collar bone I did it on Dec 28th skiing, had it operated on Jan 8th, and was back on the slopes again on the 21st Feb, so 6 weeks later, but I felt I could have gone back a couple of weeks before that if I was very careful. Skiing is a bit easier on the shoulders than biking, but you’ve got 7-8 weeks so you should be in better shape. The trouble will be how scared you will (rightfully) be of falling on it again.

If you’re anything like me I think you’ll be able to go out there and ride the course, but I don’t think you’ll feel like you want to ‘race’ it. When I went back skiing it wasn’t for another month that I felt comfortable enough to risk falling on it again and so ski anywhere near my limits. I think you’ll be able to get down it ok, but it’ll be at 80% pace being very wary of people overtaking you and walking the tech bits. If you were going to trundle down at the back for the experience and walk those bits anyway you’ll have a good time. If you had hopes of qualifying for the main race you might find it a bit frustrating.

I’m 6ft and on a large. I wouldn’t want it any bigger.

Pocket Earth is good as it can download maps for offline use.

What are the lightest decent flat pedals?

How long have you been on the LB rims? Just stop worrying until you actually break them.

No, Switzerland unfortunately.

I wish I could find a mobile bike mechanic near me. I’ve got a box of bits from CRC and I’d happily pay £20/hour or more for somebody to turn up at my house and save me the hassle of fitting everything myself. Given how portable bike tools are I’m surprised you don’t see more bike mechanics working out of vans. It has to be the future once all the LBS have closed.

Canyon and YT are so good and so cheap though that with anything else you’re paying a huge premium for after-sales support which you probably won’t need. I’d rather keep £500-£1000 spare out of the £3,000 budget to rent a bike or replace parts should I need to send anything back. Look how much bike you get if you buy the cheapest Capra vs. the Aeris.

Remind yourself by coming up with a relevant battle cry that you turn to your companions and shout loudly before every descent – e.g. “LOCK AND LOAD MOTHERFU oh wait I forgot to turn my travel adjust knob”

Have you seen the skiing version, PIQ? I love the idea of a mountain bike version just because I’m a sucker for a gadget, but I can’t really think of what useful data a rider could get out of it tbh. I’d like something I could tape to my fork leg or rear triangle and then it would tell me how I should set damping/rebound etc, but knowing I pulled 1.5g in a berm and my biggest jump was 1.2 seconds long isn’t that interesting.

These mostly heal on their own ok, and even if they don’t you don’t risk much (other than time) by waiting and seeing. That said I’ve broken both sides and had them both plated and would encourage anyone who isn’t a big risk for surgery to do the same. You getter a better end result, and you get it faster. Look online for a surgeon who does a lot of these ops and go and take your x-ray to him for a second opinion. It will help if you can say you need it to heal exactly as it was for your job or that you play sport at a high level etc.

the sooner we tax buy to let out of existence the better, would we allow any other necessity of life to be speculated upon by “investors”

The change in BTL tax relief for top-rate income tax payers is actually going to make it unworkable for a lot of people, including this couple.

Try with the red circled bit above horizontal. Do a google image search for ‘road bikes’ and you’ll see that’s the most common way of setting it up.

I’ve broken both sides and had surgery both times. My view is if surgery is an option take it.

I have no idea whether their guiding is any good but I’ve biked and can recommend most of the trails these guys describe here: Singletrack Safari