Dahl of course, can be a bit dark in places but surely the greatest children’s author ever!?

C.S Lewis and the Narnia chronicles….. The language can be a little dated and tricky but the writing is superb and I enjoy it as much as the monster.

Any of the Enid Blighton stuff is ok, easy going but a bit slow…..

Broccoli…… It is just ace.

And fresh ginger, garlic and chilli…. Great health benefits and an awesome flavour combo.

My good lady has just made a huge batch of detox soup which has virtually nothing even remotely bad in it and is pretty amazing….. Full of ginger and spices.

Suspension is not needed for 50% of UK Mtb rides….. Suspension makes them boring and painless and mtbing should be painfull.

Rigid mtb’s are not the same as gravel bikes… Rigid mtb’s are shit on the road, road bikes are shit on rough roads. Gravel/cyclo-cross bikes are ok on everything…… And are fun if you like drop bars.

Most stw forum members are miserable bastards…..

For the average STW member, the larger the cumulative value of the total number of bikes owned the more they sit on this forum compared to actually riding said bikes.

Rather than looking to change shifters why not look into some kind of prosthetic thumb extension, something that would strap to your hand to help with support

Would save you having to change shifters and would help you carry on as normal as possible in every day tasks

😆

My only thought with gripshift is will you be able to grip it sufficiently with only half a thumb?
If not you could fit it on the opposite side and use it backwards, assuming you are going 1xN, a bit of a faff but doable.

My left thumb doesn’t bend at all at the mid knuckle due to a previous saw related incident…. The most recent right thumb injury will at best leave me with a full thumb with a slightly deformed tip and restricted movement. Worst case, and most likely, is I will lose from just below the nail line…..

So…..I have worked timber all my life so I think I’ll have enough grip strength to work grip shift, even with a thumb tip missing.

Di2 is out of my budget at the mo and the misses ain’t very happy with me anyway so spending big money is out…

I have two drop bar bikes and I’m pretty confident I’ll get on fine with them. I just need a solution for the flat bar which is the one I take the kids about on and therefore the most important.

Ha….. Funny as I do actually own a sawmill and did my thumb ripping down timber 😆

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Cheers chaps….. I’m looking at grip shift now, sounds like a good cheap option. Anyone have any 11 speed grip shifters for sale?

Don’t fancy di2, mainly because I don’t like the idea of a battery that I’d forget to charge…. Plus the cost.

Shouldn’t you change your username to stumpy? 😉

🤣 F off….

Unfortunately my left thumb, although there, doesn’t bend due to a previous saw related accident….. Think I’m in the wrong game.

Adjusting lever length on the right may be an option but that depends on what movement and thumb length I retain.

There are some exclusions around Dubrovnik and up the coast but then you are relying on the fuzz not trying it on…..

Your story sounds about right for the Balkans. They are not all bad but they can and will try it on knowing very well that most ‘stranci’ will just pay. I’ve lived here long enough (7 years, 40km east of Zagreb) to speak the language and know the ways…. Most of the time I can get away with it by blagging or buying them a drink.

My mate here was an ex Met copper. Used to whip out his warrant card when he got stopped and never got a single fine, most of the time they’d take him for a drink. He even got some official Croatian police motor cycle leathers as a gift (he was a biker)….. Irrelevant story but, ya know.

I live in Croatia….. Winter or M+S tyres are compulsory here to November to April, or summer tyres with 4mm tread but I wouldn’t risk them…. You also are required to have your headlights on at all times.

Not only for your own safety and others on the road but also for your wallet I’d suggest getting the correct tyres. The police here love the foreigners and will have your pants down with fines if you get caught.

3t luteus ii will unofficially take a 2.1 apparently….. It has huge clearance.

400 a to c, 50mm rake

Any news on an ETA for these frames?

Also any Pompetamine type frame on the way?

Cheers Brant any more geometry figures on “the big dog”

And any further images?

I do worry that Marino is going to struggle to sell the other 48 in the same way that Sick have done

At over half the price and direct from a reliable frame builder with a great reputation I doubt he’ll have a great deal of trouble shifting them.

This whole Sick! Saga will work in his favour, the word is out with so many, his audience is huge now.

Only problem is the Sick logo on them….

Yep, just read through it…… Usual bullshit, running a business is hard, it’s not our fault it’s just how it is, don’t believe the forums blah blah.

My cynical side just can not believe those frames are ‘in stock’…. Maybe in stock in Peru and Taiwan.

I do love a T5, one of the most mechanically reliable of the bus van things…..

Stuff to look out for….

Drivers side drive shaft has a habit of eating its own linkage teeth…. Felt as a clunk between gears as it takes up the slack.

Rear engine mount can wear along side the above.

100hp models are underpowered… Go 130 or 173hp 6 speed. The 173hp is pokey as f…..

Rear slidy windows can leak

Rear seats on the slidey rail mounts are better for camping purposes.

Nothing to major or overly expensive to fix.

Great vans, roomy and reliable…. Just don’t get a white one.

Magura…. Not that hard to bleed once you get the hang of it. I find them better in terms of power and lever feel than Hope and SRAM….. Hate Shimano for leaky calipers and general varying performance.

I’m being lazy and not reading back through everything but will there be a steel gravely type frame with some decent tyre clearance, SS sliding dropuuts maybe?

Something like a Cdf/day one that you could squeeze a 2″ tyre into…

It’s called Big Dog. It’s in production.

Great stuff….. When is it due? Before I buy something else….

And any chance you’ll be doing a raw finish?

Brant….. Is that slack longish 29 hardtail mentioned a while back still going ahead?

No idea what it was called, or if it had a name.

Anyone?

Never really noticed any difference between the two….. How well they are bled has much more of an impact on lever feel and travel.

Brant, please go wild with the colours – don’t listen to these charlatans with their love of dark blue or dark green, or, tut, black

Nah, no colour….. Put me down for a slack 29er frame in Raw, just a subtle clearcoat….. Not all of us like shiny bling bikes.

When is the slack steel 29er likely to be available?

Tooth from a circular saw?

Yep…. Never seen or heard of it happen in the 20 years I’ve been in the trade.

Took some finding and getting out….. The hospital in Zagreb was superb, 3 hours from arriving to be being stitched up….. Cost me £7

`No baby robins were harmed, no sexual deviancy involved, no political salvation in the removal of Brexit…..

Here it is…..

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Not a bike part…..

The Fearless, by all that I have read, is superb and rates higher than many more expensive framesets….. I think it came second in some ‘best adventure gravel frameset’ test behind the Fairlight Secan which is double the price.

Small British outfit to and by all accounts the chap who runs it is a lovely guy who will personally help you out with anything you need….

I looked at everything I could and kept coming back to the Fearless. The only other I was tempted by was the Nordest Albarda (sp!) But that is creeping towards more MTB geo… Sort of….

What else can have 700x45c tyres?

My Cross Check, my 6 year old Boardman CX….. Tons of other CX frames….

Although I think this looks ok, it’s made of chro mo 4130. Isn’t that as likely to be as heavy and strong as pig iron?

Call me a snob but I like my steel frames to be of Reynolds tubing, like my Stanton Sherpa (Reynolds 853).

Yes and no…. The old Inbreds were ‘pig iron’ and rode excellently for what they were. My Swift isn’t anything special tubing wise but rides better than most other frames I have tried.

Tubing isn’t everything, there are multiple other factors… you are being snob, 853 sounds nice but I doubt you could tell the difference between that, 631 or 4130 over multiple frames.

Plus your Sherpa will be 3 or 4 times the price… It is in a different league.

The finish in the photo looks lovely imo. Doubtless won’t make sale like that though

Agree, a matt clear coat on that and I’d have one…. Don’t mind if it tarnishes under either, quite like the ratty look.

I think it looks pretty good…not much else on the market at the price point at which on one will most likely knock them out at.

Good angles, looks to have plenty of mounts and will no doubt be strong and utilitarian, maybe a little heavy but great for those who can’t afford a new Cotic or an over priced Stanton….. Or for a n+1.

Hopefully some decent, non to loud, colours….

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Just to follow this up….. Had swift replies from Rick at Works, friendly and professional…. All sorted.

Excellent service, well recommended.

Yep, just got a reply from WC …. A machining error that shouldn’t have made it into the stock.

Not easy to get hold of quickly out here in Croatia, especially not 38t….

what are the main luxuries you have to do without? what do you miss the most

Marmite, Walkers crisps, decent ale/cider…. You know, stuff you can quite easily do without but miss…. We get regular care packages from the UK to keep us going :)

Seriously though, the bureaucracy is pretty challenging…. It takes an age to get anything done, piles of paperwork for the simplest of tasks…. I miss the simplicity of getting things done in the UK….. But not much else.

The riding here is great to…. Mostly wild but endless….

that’s quite an adventurous leap for most Brits – sounds really interesting. Is your wife originally Croatian? How do you get on with the language?

We were both late twenties, free and fed up with the UK….. Definitely didn’t want to raise kids there. Tbh it was a bit reckless, we just fell in love with the place and let our hearts rule but then I’m of the mind that if you think about things too much you’ll end staying in your nice safe bubble drinking tea… “best not risk it eh?!”

My good lady is Irish/English….the language is tough, not Latin based so not many similarities to Western European languages…. And Croatia has not seen much in the way of immigration so they are not used to hearing foreigners trying to speak their language so can be hard to make yourself understood…. Easier in Zagreb. I get by and manage to run a successful business here, Google translate is a godsend.

It is very much overlooked as an option for those wanting to escape the UK. It has it’s issues but houses are dirt cheap, most often come with acres of land and forest, the weather is great, people friendly and it is safe, no crime at all.

I ditched the UK 6 years ago and moved with my then girlfriend to rural Croatia…. She is now my wife, we have two slightly wild kids, a home (old Yugoslavian farming estate) in a quiet village and near enough live off grid and can do what we want.

It is a beautiful place, the weather is great, open countryside stretches for miles and living is healthy…. There is also practically no crime…. We haven’t locked our doors since we have been here, keys left in ignitions etc….

We love it here, a million miles away from life in the UK but not without it’s worries and struggles…. Same as anywhere.

If you can lay back, keep your head and ride any issues that come your way and do without some of the luxuries you are accustomed to in the UK you can live anywhere….

We don’t lock our doors when we leave the house. Keys left in the ignition of the car,truck, forklift………. But then we live in rural Croatia, crime level zero……