Dirt Tracker

Personally I would have loved to see Gee go all out for some monuments. I've always thought he has a Roubaix cobble with this name on. This year with the crazy calendar could be the perfect way of coming out of a GC and challenge for a classic. I get he has some GC itch that still needs scratching so I doubt that will happen. After the general thoughts that everyone was going to the Tour, recent events are looking like the Giro will have a good field as well. What a few months of racing ahead! I see Yates-S had resigned with Greenedge despite the furious rumour mill. Wonder if Yates-A is really headed to Ineos with Porte? Just when you thought you couldn't stack a team any more.

Don't worry about a shim they are 100% fine. If you wanted a longer travel post with out a shim then you can spend a lot more money for no real reason. Bike Yoke and OneUp do longer and more adjustable ones but rather save the money and get a better something else where. I've had shims in 2 out of 3 dropper posts. one self-made out of coke cans and another a Lyne shim. Both worked perfectly, never moved and you couldn't even see the shim. I would get the longest drop as possible as that will help you on the trail rather than comprise for something that is a thing.

Gee looks thrilled to be heading back to Italy.

Not sure if this is the best spot for it but in exciting and non-ineos news Fausto Masnada has had a mid season switch to Quickstep from CCC. Personally I hope he goes to Le Tour but I guess he'll end up a the Giro. Loved his performances in the Giro last year, picked up a stage for Androni and always seemed to be up the road until it finally stuck. Should be good support for JulianA if he goes. Guess he was drafted for Remco's tilt at the pink jersey until Lombardia happened.

Those are Pretty nice.

Anyway, should make the next Watts Occuring pod with Thomas interesting.

Charge Spoon in Brown. Great saddles. I've been running them for years on all my bikes and would be hard pressed to change. https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Charge-Spoon-Cromo-Saddle_65215.htm

That was all spin. Spin I'm saying is from the team as they look at reputation enhancement / management. Trying to get ahead fo the story and control it. Saying 'Gee has been 1st in the tour, 2nd in the tour, he needs a big challenge like the Giro'. Thomas has been explicit about wanting to go to the Tour and have a dig all year and has been backed up by team comments until it was exposed in the Dauphine. Fact is, the team they wanted to run is not firing and they have needed to pivot because of it. Coming out and acting like it's all been loaded in a PPT for weeks is pretty blind to what everyone can see. I've been a fan of Sky and what they have done for the sport over the years but I think they are believing their own PR a bit much this year.

Missed that press link. https://www.teamineos.com/article/ineos-grenadiers-set-out-grand-tour-plans-for-2020 Honestly, Sky / Ineos / Grenadier have been getting more and more sucked into this CEO corporate approach with CEO titles, COO titles and interviews sounding more like the latest corporate buzz word bingo. I was listening to an interview with Sir Dave last week and he was going on about the way he's working wiht all different parts of the Ineos company and if I didn't know he ran a cycling team I would have thought I was listening to a Tony Robbins business type waffle as there was barely a mention of the sport or a rider in it while talking about the team in 2020.

He signed a 3 year special at the end of 2018.

Ouch, no room for sentiment from Sir Dave. Wonder what they will do with Carapaz? He was always slotted in to defend his GC title and now he's a 2IC or co-leader at best? Kwiato seems a bit of the odd man out in that group but he has been putting on some solid performances. Wonder how Sir Dave will spin this decision. I'm guessing it will be 'all planned', no panic.

Not a bad 'minor' team hunting for opportunities. I've not studied the course but with the racing being so full gas the opportunistic stages will either be abundant as it will be chaos or strangled by the bigger teams. Nizzolo has been there or there about since the restart, Pozzovivo has alot of experience, Boasson Hagen has won before, Valgren needs to show some of the big ticket talent that got him signed and the rest are pretty solid. Would love Gibbons take a win for but it's going to be a fierce battle to the line for the sprinters even though it looks like a few are going to be missing through recent injuries and crashes. Wonder who in the team are looking for a new contract this year?

Giant flats and DMR are the go to for budget flats but if you are going to ride flats it is really worth investing in good ones as they make a lot of difference. Definitely some with screw through pins. I’ve tried a lot but best have been specialized boomslang without a doubt but they are quite hard to find.

Fook-a-Dook! That looks great but does it come in steel and what is the price locally? Well done and long live the HT!

How good is this season? It's exploded through the early classics and now this. Such a riveting stage with performances all over. Kuss is looking invaluable to Rogga. Either sky are bluffing and riding into form or they have something to think about. Hope Rog hasn't peaked too soon, again. Mostly I'm very happy to see Pinot back to some great form. I would love him to win the Tour even though the course doesn't look the best for him. It seems like the world has been on the journey with him from those days he got the descent yips. Last year was heart breaking with his injury. Sure his team isn't the strongest and his body seems to give up at bad times but having watched the French Pinot doc' no one could fail to cheer for him.

Still love the fact that Greipel is in this race. Chapeau Gorilla. Looking at the profiles for each stage I'm guessing him and Kristoff aren't going to battle it out for the points jersey.

Didn't realise that Adams, Woods and Paulo had such a long history as well: "Paulo and Sylvan are the reason that I am a pro cyclist today," said Woods. "I first met Paulo in 2013, and he immediately took me under his wing. He pushed me to quit my jobs (working as a bank teller and at a bike shop), and he told me I had the ability to be a pro. "Because of my age [27 at the time], I was too old to qualify for government grants or get a place on a development team. It was difficult for me to justify leaving my job. However, Paulo connected me with Sylvan, and the two of them invested in me when nobody else would. Through their support and belief, I managed to rise through the cycling ranks and make it to the highest level of the sport."

That is a great signing and getting him away from EF. Vaughters must be livid. He's been developing Woods from way back. Really like Rusty, his interviews and features on podcasts are always great value and he looks like he's been hovering on a big result for a while. That team is starting to shape very nicely.

Sorry, that was ranty. Stuff like that bugs the hell out of me. I run my own business and know how hard it is to get new customers (and how simply it is to keep them). So apologies.

I just checked the site and the local price. Crazy. The superstar is 1/3 that and is cheaper than the Hope locally. That is why I thought it might be a fun idea to have. Maybe I’ll abandon trying to buy locally then. My issue with Iziko has been from a Manitou stand point. The have failed at the simplest things, shown little to no customer service or wish to take my money. I’ve honestly had them tell me a part that was available world wide online for over 8 months ‘would only be released in 6 months time’. Another time I needed to know if o could get a part, lbs shrugged like there was no Manitou agent and I rang everyday for a week, left messages and nothing. If you run a customer facing business have customer service and work to create customer loyalty. If I did that in my industry I’d be slaughtered. /endRant

The angle set or Iziko? All my dealings with them have been nothing but frustration.

Thanks for the info and the advice. Had forgotten about Spank, I thought they had left SA. Has anyone got / used / know of a place I can get a angle headset locally? I’d like to Have the option of taking a degree or two off the HA after riding it a bit. Superstar make a good one and cane creek also make one so I guess that will be available but might be cheaper to get from OS.

Oh, you got the new giant! Very nice! Kidding. Looks amazing.

Good thoughts. I’ve been hunting about for a pike or an MRP stage but all of a sudden they all seem to have disappeared. I’ve never really ridden Fox 34s so not sure how they feel. I think I would like to go with a pike as I know them and find them to be a great all round fork.It is a shame you can’t adjust them without different shafts. I would like tostick at 140 I think. Most of my best bikes have had that on the front and I feel it’s a good amount in travel once you take into account the sag and I try to run a little deeper in t travel but with a big ramp up. Need to find a hope headset and seat clamp. Just feel that British Hardtails should have that as standard issue. Brakes will have to think about. Curas would be first choice but finances might be what I can find. Steering idealy would be Renthal Carbon with stem. I have a spare Renthal aluminum but that will be too stiff. So I’ll go see Dale and get some Lyne bars, stem and droppers. Wheels are always an issue. It is a blind spot for me I never really know if I can tell a difference to be honest. It’s a hard tail so something robust, wide and reliable. I would really love to have the money to push the boat out and rest some of the ‘lifetime’ warranties offered & free replacements with some carbon manufacturers. Will probably end up with some flows or WTBs or maybe even Lyne. All with a cushcore. It can take 27.5+ but I’ve no experience riding plus tyres and how that would work on our trails. Group set? Anything reliable. Slx / Xt mix would be best. I have never really been able to get on with SRAMs cheaper groupsets.

Would like to be able to tell you that but it’s in the UK and I’ve got to wait a week for my friend to bring it over. Itching to get it here but now I realised that I don’t have any parts spare. Will need to start a ‘son of help me build a hard tail’ thread.