Mark W

The 20.2 is due out pretty soon so there isn't much info about it yet. I'd imagine it's going to be similar to the 20.1 though - they pretty much nailed it with that so I doubt they'll try and re-invent the wheel. I believe their frames are made in the same place as the Inspired Arcades, so you don't really need to worry about build quality or anything like that

Those old Montys used to feel quite compact/under you due to how short they were which is broadly similar to the Alias. From memory the old Montys were around 1000mm or a bit under, and that was with some long-ish chainstays on them, and a relatively slack head angle, so the reach of the frame wasn't particularly long. The 20.1 is fundamentally quite a different frame so don't expect to ride one and have it feel like an old Monty. That isn't necessarily the end of the world though - people quite often look back on old bikes with a bit of rose tinted glasses, and you may find that what was 'good' back then just feels dated now. I had really fond memories of riding various older 20" Onzas with 362mm stays, a +50~mm BB and around a 1020mm wheelbase and thought that was The Geo, but then rode one a frame with similar geometry more recently and it felt really sluggish and slow. I've ridden Flipp's bike a few times and the 20.1 is really, really nice. His bike has always felt the most direct or capable out of any bike I've ridden - it's hard to really describe it properly, but it's almost like the feeling you get when you use a really nicely made, well-designed tool for it's specific job. If they'd existed before I got so settled on 24" there's a good chance I would have stuck with one of them. Compared to your Skye it'll feel like you can make it do what you want it to do much more easily, and the manoeuvrability of it will be much, much better. Part of that will just be the smaller wheels, but the main part is the geo. The super short rear end, steep-ish front end and the overall compact nature of it mean you've just got that much more advantage over it, so rather than having to work around a 24" like the Skye, you can make it do your bidding a bit more. As Flipp said they're not the lightest frame out there, but I don't think anyone has managed to break one, and crucially the geo means they "ride light". It's similar to how the Arcade is one of the heaviest 24" bikes out there, but when you ride it it's not especially noticeable because of the geo.

The old CLS Pythons, was a bit of a fan boy back in the day but could never afford one. Kind of glad I didn't as I ended up having a go on one and found out I preferred chainstays that fit within one post code area. Never meet your heroes dream-frames. The Brisa B20D and the original Koxx Levelboss bikes too - lusted after them after going to one of the early 2000's Bike Shows.

What's the score with them? Just saw the BTF calendar and it lists 4 events happening there, but not really anything else about them. Is it just a little series they're doing themselves?

I make observations like I make videos. Poorly and infrequently.

I didn't really realise it, but I've missed seeing your riding Flipp - got such a good eye for using spots, and the versatility/technicality to do it too. It suddenly jumped out at me on that line with the gap to rear jam, then drop to sidehop back up. Just a really unusual way of using a spot, but really refreshing. Also, that static alley-oop 180 gap was a treat, as was the up to rear/90 thing on that little edge on that wall. Muy bueno. Great riding from you too, Jamie! Seems you're getting on well with that bike, even if it looks like your rear rim isn't too keen? Really nice to see a 'proper' video again of some good street stuff. Thanks for doing it! Oh, and this was the first time I actually spotted your location, Jamie - where I had it on my screen made it extra creepy until I moved it up and saw the Clean 3 reference, at which point it made more sense.

Can't help but feel for Leclerc. As everyone's saying, he'll get his chance, but still - you never really know. Bearing in mind how close he was with Bianchi as well, the whole "You've got plenty of time in future, don't worry..." chat might not mean much to him. After how shit Hamilton's pace was on softs I thought he was totally done. Turns out 2019 Vettel is still very much 2018 Vettel. Norris is doing really well, too. I'm glad that the new guys aren't all being totally dicked by shit cars (apart from Russell to an extent, although at least he's got a respected team mate to be judged against rather than having someone like Sirotkin to be compared to). If the Renault and Haas cars manage to finish a race properly it might squeeze Sainz/Norris down the order a bit but McLaren do seem much more competitive this year at least. Found them hard to really like as a team during the Alonso/Boullier years, but they seem quite a lot different as an entity now.

They drill out the existing pedal threads then insert the helicoil - the outer threads of the helicoil are larger than the original pedal threads, so even if it's totally stripped out it would probably still work. When I was there we got some mashed cranks in and they were still salvageable. If you can't get hold of Rob's crank you could try shooting them an e-mail with a photo of your crank to see what they think

You can just replace the cranks, you can unscrew the freewheel and re-use it. If you're UK-based, may be worth chatting to the guys at TartyBikes about helicoiling the crank arm - they fit a steel threaded insert into the crank arm meaning you can keep using it. If pedals aren't kept tight on bikes when they're new they'll quite often strip the pedal threads, and this insert has kept a lot of people's cranks running after that's happened. It works well It's quite a bit less than a new pair of cranks so could save you some money.

Possibly, although Mercedes have punted out a new design wing for week 2. Going back to a quote I copied in from before testing: "Perhaps most saliently, Mercedes has decided to break with a trend prevalent in the previous series of launched cars. The trailing edge of the front wing endplates fold inwards, which almost seems counterproductive in clawing back the outwash lost in 2019's ruleset. Looking back at 2009, when the first breed of wide front wings were brought in, Renault and McLaren both emerged in testing with inwash wings, completely missing the outwash trick that the remainder of the field had picked up on. Of course, we wouldn't expect such a gross oversight from a team as dominant as Mercedes." Week two: Now the same as everyone else... There are a few other tweaks elsewhere too.

Surprised someone like Lezyne hasn't tapped him up yet so he can stop putting BBs in with mole grips or whatever it was he used on his Flow. It's cool he seems to genuinely enjoy f**king around with bikes though. Not quite the same level of 'dead behind the eyes' you get with some people doing more novelty stuff to boost their play counts.

I was firmly aboard that train too, haha. Think you made the right decision with the lack of use though. Probably would have been fine, but ear infections can f**k the whole way off. Also, that spot: f**k yes.

Kind of get the feeling that Mercedes have missed a trick as far as aero development goes with them having a fairly basic front wing setup. Usual "testing is testing" caveat, but they don't seem to have the pace Ferrari have. "It's got a more conventional front wing, which doesn't drop away in front of the tyre. So downforce is being created in that area. Mercedes runs less rake than the rest, but the more rake you run, the closer to the ground you get your front wing, which allows you to generate the downforce without having to have the maximum allowed flap area. But with the front wing performance compromised when you have steering lock on, it's possible that Mercedes is losing some of that downforce in the corners, which could create a problem." If it does end up being that Ferrari do a "Mercedes 2014-16", hopefully they'll at least let Leclerc have a crack rather than going full "Vettel must win".

I used to ride about 35mins to get into town to ride, but we've moved further away so now it's a 45min drive each way.

Cool, makes sense Am I right in thinking this is the last year the Worlds are in China for now? Seemed to remember reading they had a 3 year deal covering 2017-19.

Skipping under high load tends to make pawls hate life too - with how fine that ratchet is I'd be concerned if the tips of the pawls started getting chipped or squared off a bit. Having said that though, we all saw what the dude from I9 said about using it for trials so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In fairness to him the Torch hubs do seem to have held up well.

The 160mm and 165mm Try-All cranks had a shorter threaded section, so they're not ideal with a bashring. Basically, 7mm or so is the minimum amount of contact you want for your freewheel. Maybe take the freewheel off and see how much you've got with the bashring there? From memory the SL bash is one of the thinnest out there, so it's that or bust.

I don't know what you mean... Ferrari have just launched their car. They've got a similar swoopy (high inboard, lower outboard) wing system going on too. Can't find any photos of it, just happened to see it in a video now. Through the power of Print Screen:

Word. Maybe now they're essentially the Ferrari B-Team they've been told to use it to see what it's like and whether it'll suit the main team? In case people haven't seen it, hopefully this image works... Slightly better angle: Seems Toro Rosso have got a different wing on now to what they launched the car with, going for that similar taper vibe further out on the wing: Predictions: Dawning realisation of what it's actually like to be in a team like SauberAlfa for Kimi half way through testing, and to just start turning up in the Ferrari garage instead. Christian Horner taping his mouth shut to avoid saying "Honda are shit" after they only manage 5 laps in testing due to reliability issues. Daniel Ricciardo's smile inverting after the first session in the Renault. Vettel's "I'm a fun, cool guy now" persona fully deteriorating when Leclerc becomes the new fun, cool guy at Ferrari.

If you're looking for example images to use, I'd probably find some of one of the trials parks in the UK or Europe rather than the photo above. Main reason is that the battered car and fairly 'rough' looking pipes don't look great, and that might put the council off. Places like Biketrial Academy UK or the trials parks over in Spain might be a better reference, and also give you some more ideas. https://www.instagram.com/triallevolution/ https://www.instagram.com/biketrialacademyuk/ https://www.instagram.com/derbyshire_biketrial_centre/ https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/1026185560788209/escola-trial-orrius/ Concrete pipes and rocks are a fairly safe bet. Lee Quarry have a few concrete sleepers that are versatile as well as being really hard wearing:

CNC-backed pads like the Jitsie Race and TNN pads tend to give a stiffer lever feel. The pad/backing fit is super tight, so there's no bouncing around at all. In all honesty, any of those pads should work well. Lots of riders like the Coust pads (I was never a big fan personally, but to each their own), the Jitsie pads are good too, and the ADMs are pretty consistent. I preferred the TNN LGMs to the ADMs, but there's not a huge amount in it. If you go for CNC-backed pads, just make sure you do a good job of getting them squared up well with your rim. Because there's less flex in the pad backing, they won't just flex to the angle of your rim as easily if they're at a bit of an angle so will wear much faster.

https://www.uci.org/news/2019/glasgow-and-scotland-to-host-inaugural-uci-cycling-world-championships-in-2023 TL;DR: UCI have created the 'UCI Cycling World Championships' which feature all their disciplines in one place. The first one will be in Glasgow 2023. The kicker is that they are switching to one every 4 years though, as far as I can tell. Not sure if they'll do individually discipline Worlds each year in between that, although they don't mention that if that is the plan.

I haven't as it happens. Just got some Kindle vouchers so might have to have a gander... Cheers for the recommendation

It is - it's a one-off test livery, according to Red Bull. This was an interesting thing picked up on on the Mercedes: "Perhaps most saliently, Mercedes has decided to break with a trend prevalent in the previous series of launched cars. The trailing edge of the front wing endplates fold inwards, which almost seems counterproductive in clawing back the outwash lost in 2019's ruleset. Looking back at 2009, when the first breed of wide front wings were brought in, Renault and McLaren both emerged in testing with inwash wings, completely missing the outwash trick that the remainder of the field had picked up on. Of course, we wouldn't expect such a gross oversight from a team as dominant as Mercedes. This could potentially be nothing more than a red herring, but could also be a different approach to directing airflow outboard; in combination with the flap adjuster on the top element, it could potentially act as a nozzle, in effect creating a jet of airflow and pushing it outboard."

So, launch season is here. Getting more excite. The cars are looking decent so far...