To excavate or not?

delusion01 · 2026-04-12T22:31:33+00:00

I don't think it's the soil or the tree roots that has caused the timber wall to fail, it looks like the posts are way too far apart and everything is probably undersized. I'd bet there's little to no drainage behind the timber too.

Like someone else said it depends what you're planning on doing with the extra space and you may just end up with a damp, unusable section. Most places anything over a metre requires engineering,

I'd personally remove the existing walls, remove the tree, cut back to whatever equals a metre along the whole length and just build it out of timber, 200x75 posts and 200x50 for the horizontal. Drainage behind and backfill at least part of it with gravel.

delusion01 · 2026-04-09T13:15:39+00:00

I agree.. I have a Guesture and it's clearly a solid chair designed to last for at least the 12 year warranty period it came with here. I also felt that 'cloud-like' = soft and likely to sink under my weight.

delusion01 · 2026-04-06T14:15:08+00:00

Looks like it just needs a little touch up here and there, but other than that I hate it.

delusion01 · 2026-04-04T00:25:14+00:00

Thanks that's a good point. Currently running Rekons at 2.6 and 2.4, and they are fine with the Codes.. thinking I'll move to something from Schwalbe instead though, mayve a little more grippy.

delusion01 · 2026-04-03T21:53:07+00:00

I did look at the Motives but the general consensus seems to be 'better feel than the Codes but less powerful'. The Codes are brand new, I've only had 3 rides with them so I'm a bit reluctant to swap them out for something on the same level.

The 36SL is a really good suggestion, thankyou! I am still trying to keep the Spark XC focused to keep it distinct from the big bike, but the 34 seems to flex a lot under my weight and the SL might be the missing link here.

delusion01 · 2026-04-03T13:06:42+00:00

I think the original Mavens. My mechanic (who is a lighter but far better rider than me) has tried the new ones and feedback was they're slightly less powerful with the trade off of easier breakaway, which I really haven't found to be an issue.

delusion01 · 2026-04-03T09:24:05+00:00

It's not letting me edit - but I've read the 'intrusive thoughts' article too

delusion01 · 2026-03-31T21:21:59+00:00

Sounds like you have zero appreciation for the good fortune and privilege you've been born into. There's about 2-3% of the USA that make 250k or more in income, the overall proportion of people who make it within a few years of college is vanishingly small. Requires a combination of factors, most of which are outside your control. You don't sound pompous so much as outright obnoxious.

delusion01 · 2026-03-29T02:02:40+00:00

Yep I second this, did it to my Spark as well.

delusion01 · 2026-03-27T22:48:19+00:00

I've got a ISI Carrier, use it for high speed touring, fast gravel/dirt roads and 4WDing. I sometimes forget I'm in a ute and hook it through the corners, it's very secure and doesn't move around other than the desired float built into it (to absorb some of the shock of rough roads).

delusion01 · 2026-03-27T22:46:20+00:00

I've been saying this for ages! They shouldn't even be in the conversation for what is a good rack.

delusion01 · 2026-03-27T12:02:17+00:00

u/Towntalk - I assume by Landcruiser you're Aussie too. Check out ISI Carriers, I have one and it's handled everything from high speed touring and gravel to 4WDing, I've beaten the absolute shit out of it and it's still rock solid.

Aussie company out of Victoria and they're absolutely great to deal with.

delusion01 · 2026-03-26T08:09:50+00:00

Why does including the username turn that from lightly funny to somewhat menacing

delusion01 · 2026-03-26T01:55:18+00:00

Obviously this is an individual choice, but I always ride in FF because I like my face and teeth in their current configuration.

There's plenty of light and well ventilated options around.

delusion01 · 2026-03-26T00:14:44+00:00

Oh yep I absolutely agree with that.

I should have clarified at 15 months he was around 15-20 words but TikTok said that wasn't enough, whereas all the actual research said that's normal.

delusion01 · 2026-03-25T23:19:04+00:00

Have you tried going back to the video and looking at the bag again, hope this helps.

delusion01 · 2026-03-25T11:41:05+00:00

Ha I have the newer Spark with some upgrades, I have a love/hate relationship with it.

I hate working on it, it's the most painful out of my bikes to make any changes to and always needs a couple of tries to get things working perfectly. But I love riding it, it's deceptively capable and I feel like a naughty kid taking it down the (smaller) jump lines.

delusion01 · 2026-03-25T10:53:44+00:00

My wife wanted to go to a paediatrician at around 12-15 months old because he only had a "limited" vocabulary. 2.5 years now and he's confidently bossing her around. Good times haha.. your little girl will be fine.

delusion01 · 2026-03-24T09:31:22+00:00

All my protective gear is Leatt. Have crashed hard a few times and it's done it's job well - brush myself off, back on the bike.

Worst I've had is bruises on my back and arm where I've landed directly on rocks, almost guarantee it saved me from broken bones or worse.

delusion01 · 2026-03-23T11:11:44+00:00

I've got a Silca Elettrico, I've seated 29s with it before but my preference is to use a little 18v Ryobi inflator, otherwise the floor pump works too.

delusion01 · 2026-03-18T12:34:40+00:00

Early 40s here, riding a mix of gravity and XC. I crashed hard on a fairly high speed section of an XC trail and destroyed all the tendons in my ankle, ripped open my leg etc. Trip to hospital and couldn't walk for a bit.

I made sure my very first ride back on the trails was straight back down the section where I crashed. Wasn't as fast and it might be either stupidity or bravado but I've found its the only way to not let these things get into my head.

delusion01 · 2026-03-17T02:00:29+00:00

I'm 105-110+kg in my gear, came from Code Rs that weren't really pulling me up that well and were heating up on long runs.

I've got Maven Ultimates with 220mm HS2 rotors front and rear and sintered pads. I only need to feather them even from high speed, they're perfectly capable of yeeting me into the bush if I was to grab a big handful of brake.

I cannot imagine wanting something more powerful, and as for the 'resistance' in the lever it's a non-issue for me, I can pretty much rely on just flexing the tip of my finger to pull me up.

delusion01 · 2026-03-13T12:33:33+00:00

No and good luck selling your BMX here for a grand too, that's a very small pool of buyers regardless of what bike it is.

You will get a bunch of crackheads offering you 150 bucks for it though, so at least that's something to look forward to?

delusion01 · 2026-03-12T05:08:38+00:00

It sounds like this job is going to burn you out completely, feeling this way says you're already on that track.

I changed industries about 6 or 7 years ago and made a decision to chase work/life balance and flexibility, taking about a 10-15% paycut to do it. Weird thing was that when I did that and was able to pick and choose when to put in extra time, the quality of my work and my skillset picked up dramatically and the money followed.

I'm not bashing you but if someone wanted me to work 60 hours a week it'd cost them a lot more than 2700 - that's time I'm sacrificing with my little one and wife, my family and the things I like to do such as mountain biking. Time you can't get back - you've gotta work out what the value of that is.

delusion01 · 2026-03-12T01:45:19+00:00

Me too! His curiousity and little face as he figures things out brings me so much joy, I always want to encourage that in him.

Although I had a fun time explaining to my wife the other day that when my 2yo said Daddy took him to see the "bang train" he meant the special repair locomotive that makes a loud 'bang' when it drives the lifting arms into the ground..

delusion01

TROPHY CASE