knutspeed

Norway - Eurosport channels. Yeah, if I go to eurosport.no, I get redirected to a page with subscription for disco+/eurosport, at roughly EUR 16/month. I do not want tennis, snooker, soccer, golf and yet more numbing tv-shows. As in I refuse to pay for it. I might consider the price if it was for a dedicated MTB channel. Will sadly be the first season in many years we will not be watching XC or DH. More time for riding, though.

Actual dead sailor on water doesn't come often.

@anyexcusetoride: haha, not even a Knut by name, but yes. Saw you drop by at the Bear House, but you seemed a tad busy. I'll say hello next time!

Nesbyen is absolutely brilliant - and I'm saying that after riding just a small selection of what it has to offer. Seems you lot have the perfect job. Also, the Bear House has taken everything up several levels. Just last fall I stayed at a mates cabin, pedaled up and did Hallingspranget down. Lunch w/beer, pedaled up to Trytetjern and trails back down. Can't have a more perfect day out! And yes, I've also ridden with groups shuttling with Trailhead Nesbyen. Probably the easiest way to get to know the place, as the ascents can be somewhat epic too... Well done to all of you, looking forward to returning many times this season!

I've gotten used to having it since it came on the Stumpy in '15. I always keep a tube, pump, levers, chainlink, der hanger, spare tubeless valve, tubeless repair kit and spoke in there. Only ride with a backpack if I'm carrying a cache of extra clothes, food, coffee or trail tools. On my current MY 21 Epic Evo, I have to resort to the XC lunchbox and a pump mount. Hurts the eyes something fierce, but not having a backpack killing/heating up my back as well as being able to ride in a loose t-shirt is worth that trade-off. Probably not enough to throw out my current EE, though - still enjoying it way too much.

Thank you!

@ChrisNJ: Nail, head. Seen my share of tech inspectors obsessing over date stamps, not giving a lot of attention to other far more potentially serious issues.

In motorsports, the FIA introduced a 5-year or even less rule-system a few years ago for harnesses, seats and other safety items. For certain classes, national regs would extend the allowed lifespan. This applies to lower-level racing, top flight championships have their own rules. Interestingly, an independent testing unit (think it was in Austraila) did a lab test of brand new, 5 year, 10 year and 15 year old used harnesses - and could not find any degradation whatsoever. I'm a lot more worried about mech sloppiness. Dropping it on the floor, scuffing with tools, cleaning with solvents etc. All of those can degrade the gear just as much as a crash. For MTB, I change my lids every 2-3 years if no crashes. I do have a full face which is 5 years now, but I've worn it 5-6 times and never bumped it. I still think it offers better protection than a brand new XC helmet.

1: GX 11 - wrapped a stick info my rear wheel and mech. Bent the mech out by hand and rode on with naff gears, used a large wrench to straighten it at home after replacing the broken spokes. Rode it for a couple of months until i broke proper. The forged bit had a crack from the violence I applied to straighten it. 2: NX Eagle, first gen. Last stage of an enduro race, it tossed the top cogwheel, and buried itself in the spokes. That's it, averaging 7-8 hours per week all year for the last 12 years or so. Esp GX 1x11 could usually be repaired with a big hammer.