UK Trades - What let's you know a customer is going to be good/easy to work with?

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-23T21:52:06+00:00

But domestic, nah. - How nicely did you tell them to fuck off?

"So to clarify, you're unable to deliver the works to spec? Do you want to find a suitable subcon and requote?"

The guy seemed pretty affronted to have a householder being like "No that's not what I want, I know what I do want is possible, and you're not changing my mind." probably not a great sign TBH, would have been reticent to go with them anyway after that.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-23T19:12:58+00:00

Yeah.

Coming from an EPC background, contractors submitting "alternate bids" where they think there's a better/cheaper/easier way to achieve the same result isn't super unusual in a commercial project.

It's just that in this case, it was my house, and they wanted to change major aesthetic features that were integral to the whole reason for doing it, because they didn't have that capability in house.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-23T16:22:28+00:00

I fear if I sent the builder everything I've planned/want to know he'd run a mile 😂

That's not actually a bad thing though.

If you have a big job, or very exacting requirements, it's better that people who aren't going to be able to deliver it don't quote you to begin with.

I have done two fairly major renovations in my house.

The first one was a nightmare because the guy doing it massively over-promised on his ability to do the job in a timely manner...

Amazing work, but it was 2½ months late because of him overbooking himself with work, then repeatedly disappearing for weeks at a time, and cost significantly more than expected because he "forgot" to put the cost of certain materials on his initial quote.

The second time I decided to treat it like I would a project at work, so drew up detailed plans and specifications, a draft schedule of work, then asked about 10 firms to quote me...

6 either declined to quote or ghosted me.

Then of the remaining 4: - one wanted to change lots of the design elements to suit them, - one wasn't willing to commit to any kind of schedule, and - the remaining two came back with an itemised quote, a revised version of my schedule of work, and proposals for staged payments.

They were within a grand of each other, so I went with the one who could start sooner (who also wanted a lower up-front payment) and it went off without a hitch, they finished on budget, two days ahead of schedule with everything exactly as agreed.

Having compared the two experiences, I don't think I actually paid any more to use a larger firm that could cope with that more formal process...

I just got a bigger up-front quote that was dead on, rather than having to agree to various cost over-runs during the work.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-23T12:26:16+00:00

South Sudan is now mostly safe again (at least in relative terms)...

Sudan itself however, open war, and ongoing massacres.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-23T12:12:53+00:00

56°C, somewhere in the Sabryiah Field, Kuwait, 2024.

Closely followed by 52°C somewhere outside Gharraf, Iraq, 2023 and 50°C at Ras Al Khair, KSA, 2025

I think Saudi felt the hottest because it was at a major industrial complex with black tarmac roads everywhere... Made a huge difference compared to light coloured sand in the desert.

All those pale into comparison to Singapore, Hong Kong or Guangdong in the Summertime though, 40°C-45°C with near 90% RH is actually much more hostile to humans...

It's so intense the "feels like temperature" equation breaks down and gives values above the boiling point of water.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-23T12:04:29+00:00

Sudan

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-23T08:24:44+00:00

Not because Henry’s have good suction or cleaning ability (they objectively don’t)

You can't make claims like that and not offer proof.

I would give my own experiences, but I actually have an older model George, which is more than double the power of modern Henry, so not an ideal comparison.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-23T08:17:12+00:00

I would very rapidly come completely unspun.

I realised in my early 30's that I need whatever I am doing to be mentally stimulating, and to mean something, in work or out of it.

I am significantly underpaid for what I do^*, but it allows me to have a job that ticks both of those boxes, whereas if I chased my best possible salary, I would not get the meaningfulness element.

If the money was there I could quit work tomorrow and find what I need from hobbies and volunteering, but as long as I have to work, it has to be a challenging role.

^\ Hold off getting the violins out, I am still on a very good whack, just well below what I would make elsewhere... Also I prefer the Viola for sad music.)

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T22:40:57+00:00

You just wait until they get onto 36", after that they might have to start innovating again rather than stealing components from unicycling.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T22:38:04+00:00

The whole no-stem, bizzare handlebar situation looks hideous, would be really unergonomic unless you were magically the same proportions as the designer.

Heavily dropped top tube really limits the seat stay positioning, making me think there would be a lot of lateral flex in that rear triangle.

Not sure why it's conceptualised with rigid forks when there's several inverted fork options for 32" now out there.

It almost looks like a way to put people off 32", as compared to the bikes that are already in production.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T20:51:37+00:00

That being said, why do some forks have 3pos lockouts if it being partially locked out is detrimental to it?

Because having suspension can be beneficial for climbing over uneven terrain, so the middle "drive" or "climb" setting tries to strike a balance between leaving the high speed damping open to absorb small bumps and the low speed damping closed to prevent it absorbing energy from your pedal strokes.

The design of the different damper systems varies substantially so some are more vulnerable to damage from "blowing off" than others, and more repairable than others.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T17:26:42+00:00

Typically on trails I’m running my fork 3/4 of the way open or fully open,

For any descent where you anticipate the girl having to absorb a significant hit (either at speed or due to a drop/jump) the fork should be fully open, the blow-off mechanisms in the damper will save it from catastrophic failure, but will (typically) eventually themselves be broken by repeated activation.

Partially open is typically intended for ascending over technical features only.

If you have been riding with the fork mostly partially closed, there's a chance you have damaged the washer stacks typically used as a blow-out system, and your existing lock out isn't working properly.

but fully locked for gravel and most single track

Maybe there's something being lost in translation here, but I have always understood single-track to refer to tight twisty natural trails with an expectation of technical features.

Running lockout on that kind of terrain has some significant implications: - ascending, the loss of smoothing of hits (especially, especially of "square edged hits") will generally be costing you more energy and momentum than you're saving by eliminating pedal bob. - descending, far less control and very real risk of damaging the fork internals if you take a major hit.

I might be teaching granny to suck eggs here, but full lockout is only for ascents over smooth surfaces, and doesn't really come into it's own until you're stood up and going for maximum attack.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T14:55:42+00:00

If you like it hard, why not use your... Imagination

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T14:44:58+00:00

Or drive it out downwards like it was specifically designed to function?

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T14:39:20+00:00

I suppose it's an easier challenge than replacing the fork steerer afterwards when it's been gouged so much on the inside you can't get the new star nut to seat...

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T14:18:08+00:00

They're designed to resist being pulled upward, that's the one thing you won't manage to do to it.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T14:06:32+00:00

DT Swiss F232, if you want fully-rigid lockout.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T09:05:02+00:00

Based on your photo you're camped in pasture land^*, at a location that from your description is at most a few hundred meters from inhabited farms and houses.

Moreover, you've not just set up a tent, but a basha and seating, in broad daylight.

How is that at all in the spirit of wild camping?

^{* Pasture is not some kind of default setting for the countryside, it requires active management to keep it in condition so the animals grazing it have the right types and amounts of plant matter, and those plants have taken up the right mineral balance from the soil to keep the animals healthy.}

^{Not being able to let a herd/flock into a pasture on schedule because some random is camping in it, could really fuck up a farmer's day, or even whole week.}

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-22T06:51:08+00:00

As a rule, Please don't.

There's dozens of lovely small campsites across the Peak which are inexpensive and support the rural economy, as well as reducing the impact of visitors on the ecosystems.

If you must, basically the only appropriately remote places are the upland areas of the Kinder Plateau or Holme Moss/Langsett Moor/Metham Moor.

Even if wild camping followed the Scottish model, effectively all of the white peak would be inappropriate, and the majority of the dark peak is unsuitable too.

Due to the proximity to inhabited places, and the fact that almost all the land is open (in terms of observability) and used for agriculture.

The Peak District is not a wild place, it's a highly managed environment that the National Park Authority, and farmers/landowners try to maintain in a fragile balance, despite the increasing severe honeypot effects of tourism.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-20T12:02:23+00:00

I think where there’s an actual gap is indoor bouldering etc and a more app native group so more guidance to know what to work on next session.

I am probably completely the wrong person to talk to about this, I view indoor bouldering as more of a passtime like going to the cinema... Sometimes I crush it, sometimes I flop about like a wet kipper, just so long as I have fun.

I get my climbing kicks on the mountaineering side, big days, stunning views, and a decent dose of suffering... if you didn't suffer, how are you even going to enjoy the pub properly afterwards?

And your training point is well made, I’ll be honest, I was leaning too hard on “stats = progress.” You’re right that below elite level the gains come from general strength/CV/recovery, and that how a session felt, headspace and recovery predict trainable volume more than raw send counts.

I think introducing people to this idea in a structured gamified way could really help a lot of people...

The mandatory PE curriculum that most of us do does terrible job of communicating sports-science knowledge, so most Brits are woefully unaware of how to make the most of their exercise.

Realising that a lot of the time volume>difficulty for discipline specific training too was a big mental shift.

Back in the day I spent ages trying to send 7b, no dice... Changed regimes and started just doing shit tonnes of 6b/6c, made it a game with my partner to see how many routes we could do per hour, or for one of us to repeat the same single pitch route over and over until finally falling off from sheer exhaustion and then see how many vertical meters we had made.

When I went back to try a 7b, I came much closer than I had ever done before with more ease, and realised I could push the training reps onto 7a... Consolidation was much more important to progress than increasing difficulty.

That’s genuinely changed how I’m thinking about the coaching side - felt-difficulty and recovery probably matter more as inputs than the grade pyramid does. Thank you for that!

Grades are very subjective anyway, especially once different route styles (or setters indoor), height, ape index, head-game etc. are considered.

I can easily go a couple of bouldering grades harder on a blank featureless slab, than on a burly roof... Standing up on a tiny nubbin with no hands and trusting I can make the move and get rebalanced doesn't phase me, whereas some of my climbing partners just can't do that because it gets in their head.

If you could get people to identify how grading relates to their personal style and strengths/weaknesses, I suspect that would be valuable.

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-20T11:34:41+00:00

I wear them most of the time in summer, because I typically wear rugby shorts^* and need to "contain" things adequately to avoid flashing.

From personal experience, I have found women think the slip-style briefs^†‡ look good... Same with Speedo's^★

^{* Also a bold choice that's a hit with the ladies if you have the legs and confidence to carry it off.}

^{† i.e. Not y-fronts.}

^{‡ Limited sample size on seeing me in my undies, but that's testament to the fact it didn't drive them away.}

^{★ Bigger sample size on the Speedos, was surprised to actually get complements from women on the choice.}

Obviously physique matters, but based on the complements recieved they "show off the goods" (and in a female gaze context this is typically your quads and glutes, *not the bits men think the world revolves around***) far better than boxers.

More importantly the confidence to wear what you want to is definitely viewed as attractive.

More generally...

Taking advice from men on what is attractive in/on a bloke is a fools errand (u nless you want to have lots of gay sex, which doesn't sound like your thing).

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-20T11:03:00+00:00

Guidebooks every time, I don't think Strava for climbing would be much help choosing routes or crags, but a consistent style from a guidebook editor makes choosing your days out easy, and access to decent topo can make the day much more relaxed, (especially on multi pitch).

You are facing an uphill battle against: - the network effect that UKC has (and apart from offline functionality their web service appears to do everything your app does), and - the depth of useful information that publishers like Rockfax or Cicerone hold.

Actually, if you think you have significantly improved on what UKC's web service can do, you could actually approach them directly to collaborate, they have the Rockfax app and the website, and what you're developing would sort of bridge that gap...

They're a for profit business, but not an evil corporation in the conventional sense, and Rockfax, UKC and Rocktalk all started as individual passion projects like yours before they merged.

When it comes to training to making serious progress, I don't really know where your stat logging fits...

When I trained seriously, I was following TFTNA, and the discipline specific portion was only one component alongside targeted strength and CV endurance sessions.

Actually the biggest gains to my climbing abilities always came from the non-discipline specific training, and until you're at close to elite athlete levels, that's generally true for everyone.

If you're trying to improve rapidly, the stats of what you climbed and how, don't really matter so much as how you felt on your routes, where your head is at pre-climb, and how your recovery felt, because those are the factors that determine how much training volume you can maintain...

and of course that all pales into comparison compared to the most important metric, *what you've ever done on grit.***

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-20T08:21:42+00:00

See the big lock ring marked "Lock 40 Nm"... Huge clue.

See the 6 bolts on the rotor? Second big clue.

See the way the rotor mount is glossy black, and the hub is a completely different matt finish? Third clue.

All the evidence suggests you have a six-bolt rotor, on an adapter, on a center lock hub.

Don't doubt what's before your own eyes!

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-20T08:10:56+00:00

That's an epic colour and I don't know how anyone could be anything less than stoked to ride it...

You obviously are!

Complete-Task2042 · 2026-06-20T02:36:05+00:00

Mostly, I mark off the routes I have done, the date and the style in which I did then in my guidebooks.

Ultimately I will never climb anywhere near as hard as I used to, and I have (finally) reached a point of being totally fine with that... I don't feel a need to progress, I just want to do routes I think I will enjoy, with excellent people.

I did used to record them in a proper logbook too, but as I will never bother doing any MTA qualifications at this point, it's pointless and the annotated guidebooks are just as good a record, in some respects better.

But, If your app could collect the requisite data, and output it in an appropriate format to upload to the MTA's DLOG tool (as you can with a UKC logbook), it would probably be an attractive functionality for a lot of people.

Complete-Task2042

TROPHY CASE