Kimbers

A lot of misconceptions & denial in the comments here USA imports about 14million bikes from China each year, 25% tarif on those is going to make them pretty much unviable. While many of the more expensive bikes are made elsewhere, the cheaper bikes are usually from China and these are the bikes that make up the bulk of most companies sales & pay for the R&D & sponsorship for the racers etc. Tarifs have also led to big increases in price of steel & aluminium also hurting US based builders. There will always be a combination of factors that caused this, but 25% on the price of an imported bike is going to be a huge one & estimated to cost US bike industry $1/4bn next year. The crazy thing is that American History is full of this exact same thing happening; tariffs to protect an industry end up costing the consumer more & long term damage the industry they were meant to protect. google Mckinley, Fordney–McCumber, Smoot-Hawley tarifs, all had disastrous consequences. Obama tried it with Chinese Tires in 2009 & it cost the country nearly $1bn but saved only 1000 jobs, thats money that could easily have been better invested elsewhere. The Scale of Trumps tarifs are far, far bigger than that. Looking at history, this could end up being very bad for the US bike industry.

Ive been on the Al 29 153 sfor a year now really, really like it, & agree with the review, stiff silent and fun, climbs waaay better than my old 153 mkI did. Its also getting me down steeper stuff than before, it feels like cheating. Stock the bike was limited by heavy wheels & a crap damper in the Yari, but they were 2 easy fixes and its great, Ive been caught out a couple of times on jumps, so much pop & speed carried through berms found myself getting air way above my skill level allows me to land!

brilliant to see also like to draw attention to the brilliant work by https://www.skateistan.org/

@fecalmaster: Hard to understimate how much a shambles the country is in over Brexit. Immediately not as bad as government warned it would be. But value of £ has tumbled- inflation means average family is £800 worse off since the vote. This + government having no clue how to make it work has stalled inward investment & led to GDP growth going from fastest to slowest in the G7. Manufacturing sector has just gone int recession despite low £ in theory helping exports. (Trumps tarif war has spooked markets & is a factor in this too, cheers) We were promised easiest deal in history- but exit negotiations have seen UK gov concede on every point so far. The 2 most prominent Brexit supporting MPs have resigned from cabinet having failed to come up with any plan. Cost of preparation so far is in the £bns & several large EU bodies have already left the UK. Numbers of doctors & nurses coming from EU to UK have dropped as NHS endures worst staffing crisis in history. All of this means that the government is paralysed, Brexit is consuming 100% of the governments focus, so theyre completely unable to deal with the real issues the country faces. The public & both main parties are completely divided on how to make Brexit work. The real problem is that no one has a plan for something this complex & politicians as usual wont be honest & admit this. So basically its chaos & no one has a clue what comes next. In summary, I am not a fan.

@hamncheez: because stuff is made in Taiwan to get around it makes little difference to UK consumer brexit passed beacuse some people here believed the lies of a few millionaire conmen

Trumps economic plans are simple answers to complex problems (just like Brexit) The world is far more interconnected than it was even 20 years ago, trying to turn back the clock to older economic models is just pissing in the wind (just like Brexit) His domestic economic policy seems no smarter, tax cuts without raising public services (infact the opposite) are foolhardy in the extreme, & jobs growth is great (although at the exact same trajectory as it was under Obama) BUT the deficit is soaring, with extra tax cuts this is a timebomb for America. His tarifs have already raised the price of domestic steel & aluminium. While there may be a short term boost to American manufacturers, long term this model is unsustainable. Chinese manufactruers are going nowhere but Trumps moves could easily see American ones pushed out of business.

better than the old 153 or 111 for that matter seat tube angle is steeper & it really helps, still use the lockout for long climbs, but its been an improvement on my old process

Stayed with Robin in same bunkhouse when we were racing RWS tweedlove a few years ago. For a top racer he was very friendly & a good laugh Ews races are great, but being there for your kids birth is waaay better. Wish Robin & his family all the best

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought koryak was just a rehashed Tranz-x/Brand-x dropper with a less reliable saddle clamp?

Wyn, Hans, the Mayor & some psychedelic trousers :-) :-) :-)