monkeyseemonkeydo

Does anyone else have the search options permanently visible in the top right since the update?

What are your thoughts on oval rings @Adam@TartyBikes? I've been running one on the geared Whyte for a while (though never noticed much difference) and now I'm not sure whether it will help or hinder on the bike now it's singlespeed... Gearing-wise as well I'm a bit unsure- it's a 32T oval ring which seems to mean itis almost like having a 30T off power and 34T on power so maybe I need to consider dropping to a 30T oval (or 32T round of course).

This makes me angry... As someone who doesn't do football I think this dude should be banned for life and publicly shamed daily.

And we're officially singlespeed! Got the bits waterjet cut this morning and all seems good. Turned the lockring on the lathe briefly just to tidy up the Dremelling but works perfectly . Chainline seems about right too which is good!

I'm shocked you're not 'friends' with him!

Looks awesome Ads! Love that colour- reminds me of my 'Atomic Rust' GT Backwoods from way back when!

Here we go! 3D printed test run. I bought a knackered XD cassette on eBay and whipped the lockring out of it (a bit more dremelling required than I anticipated but got there in the end). One 5mm thick HG spline spacer that the lockring clamps on plus three 5mm spacers with relevant sized bores gives the correct chainline and we're looking good. Will get the bits waterjet cut at the start of this week hopefully and get it together properly soon .

I got a set of secondhand XCTs which are very basic but do the job .

Looks sweet . I've struggled to get replacement tyres along the same lines but have just run some replacement chunky ones instead and it's all good. I also added a set of suspension forks just because! Enjoy!

Just go with the lowest variable rate with £0 early fees and you can change whenever you like and jump to a fixed tariff if they ever look tempting.

I was with PFP until they went under. Currently with BG and have been officially for a couple of months now I guess. Still no bill and they've yet to accept an electricity initial reading or any reading since so f**k knows what's going on. Going to get a nice big bill eventually I guess...

Thanks @Adam@TartyBikes but I've already ordered an 18T to get me started (only £11 so not going to break the bank!). Hopefully that will get me started!

May end up with something in here in the end! Have decided that I don't really like the Gusset design as it puts the torque from the rider through the M32 x 1.0 thread that the XD 'lockring' sits on- something it's really not designed to do and there's only about 6mm of thread there (I've stripped trials sprockets before and I sure as buggery don't want to do that to a Chris King driveshell). Soooo... my plan is to make my own version of the Problem Solvers Zinger setup. I'm going to get a little HG sprocket carrier waterjet cut at work along with a few spacers to fiddle with the chainline and I've bought a dead XD cassette on eBay that I'm going to rip apart to pull out the 'lockring' thing from inside it. In theory the lockring will keep the carrier in place (and the carrier and HG spline then carries the torque) with an 18T Gusset sprocket bolted to it to give me a single speed setup. In combination with a dual wheel Acor tensioner I think we should be good. I was surprised that the XD standard still used the HG spline for the end drive part but I guess if it ain't broke... Just waiting for the parts to arrive now to trial fit some 3D printed mockups of the carrier and spacers as I think the lockring will need to be modified slightly (or possibly one of the spacers) to work right but we'll see.

Mrs was feeling rough last week but tested negative all the way until Saturday- negative test in the morning then positive at lunchtime. The boys and I are still testing negative (all had a PCR as well as her (in different cars) on Saturday) and I'm keeping clear of work for this week to minimise the chance of spreading anything (even though legallay I could go in). One of my workmates 67 year old mum had a bad BMX accident (!) the other day and has been in hospital and another is about to head back to Brazil to visit his family for the first time in over two years so I feel like it's not worth risking it for a few days at least. Mel seems to be over the worst and we're just being sensible, staying away from each other in essence!

Not sure if you've sorted anything out yet but GoOutdoors are selling the Polygon Relic for £200 in their Black friday Deals. In typical GO fashion they say it's the Relic 24" but all the pictures show the Relic 20" so who knows... Edit: It's also showing as out of stock online and even though pretty much every other item you can check stock in your local store for this you can't. Jeez I hate GoOutdoors.

Awesome cheers Ads! That looks wicked- lovely welds too! I think I'll give it a go (when Gusset get their delivery next month!) and see how it goes.

Bump! @Adam@TartyBikes what gearing are you using and how are you finding it? I've got a strange urge to turn my Whyte FS into a singlespeed for shits and giggles (it's 650B) but can't decide whether a light enough gear for hills will make it utterly horrible for literally everything else! Annoyingly the hub is XD and there are apparently precisely zero XD singlespeed speed kits (which come with a 16T) available in the UK until Gusset restock in a month...

Sorry, I needed a Ron Burgundy picture to go with that first sentence!

I don't know how to put this but Ali C is kind of a big deal. He doesn't get up for less than a free motorhome to drive around in! Jokes!

I would go as far as to say that 1) Dubai is a shit place and also 2) Cricket is just dull.

Pfff. Safe house electrics are so over-rated .

My outlook is pretty skewed to be fair. Both Mel and I earn over £50k so absolutely don't need (deserve?) child benefit in the first place. Since Finn was born we've just transferred it straight into a junior ISA (continued the same for Ash) which in the beginning, back in 2012, was actually giving 6% interest (now 2.5% I think). It's not far off £1k a year and they'll each get it when they're 18 so will get a £16k+ boost for uni or whatever then. If we're paying back the CB we'll just continue to put the money in anyway but having been totally unaware of these weird tax rules it's a bit annoying. The Charge thing just seems like a really odd way to go about it. If they decide that higher earners shouldn't get child benefit (which would be fair enough) then just stop them getting part or all of it. To pay it out and then charge it back as tax seems very odd. And to apparently 'forget' to charge it back in one year and ask someone who's always PAYE to then register for a file self assesment is completely mad. Our current plan (possibly misguided!) is to ignore the first letter and if they chase (which no doubt they will) we'll sort it out.

For once I was a good boy and got the Bergamont new from a local place, Hargroves (though online), for £280. It has the unexpected benefit of being the same colour as Danny's current Santa Cruz:

I'm now entirely bored of the whole thing. I'm double jabbed but being fit and healthy am not that fussed about being given any kind of booster or annual jab or whatever. We're now being asked to wear masks again in all common spaces in uni buildings and students are expected to wear masks in all lectures and labs.

It realy is ridiculous. I also find it very odd that the threshold was £50k back in 2013 when they introduced it and it's still £50k 8 years later. Surely it should increase in line with the income tax alllowance or inflation or something financially meaningful?