When mounted on the chest I use the extender pieces to enable me to tilt the camera back far enough, (it won't go back enough just mounting the camera on the chest harness clip). When you sit down it will be pointing about 45 deg upwards, but it works;-

http://s100mphplus.pinkbike.com/channel/Whistler-2010/

Track's running pretty sweet too, was racing there at the weekend and it's the grippiest I've known it for years :D

If you want someone to guide you for a day or two and show you some of the best trails you'll probably ever ride in your life, then have a look at http://www.ticket2ridebc.com for the various day trips to Pemberton, Squamish et al.
They also have Commencal bike for hire too and are only a few hundred yards from Nesters.

The new Hope integrated cassette/freehub with the 9t small gear had me soiling myself 8)

I work for a tunneling contractor and we regularly cycle through the tunnels to get from site to site, far quicker than using the car in city centres.

Best one was the London water ring main, where we would cycle from Merton to Battersea through the 3m dia tunnel and have competitions to see who could do the highest wall ride.

I went down the tunnel one day to see a tyre track looping all the way round, but the Engineer in question finally admited he'd rolled ot over by hand – ha!

The Top gear feature last year where they drove the car through the tunnel was also on our Belfast Tunnel job and believe me there were a lot of bent cars dragged out of that tunnel – ha!!

The Dog and Monkey is now a 14 mile loop, you can always do one of the loops twice if you want a bit extra. You'll see tracks disapearing off these trails all along it but I wouldn't recommend you try any as they can lead you into oblivion of you don't know your way round. I've been riding Cannock for 10 years now and still get lost as it all looks the same in some places – ha!

If you want to avoid paying Forestry car parking then head for Marquis Drive as you can park on the grass verges although there are no facilities up there, whereas the main Birches Valley car park has a cafe, toilets and Swinnerton Forest Cycles.

What colour were they?

If greyish then they could be road tax monitoring cameras and if they were blue they are likely to be traffic monitoring cameras.

Whistler, T2R All Mountain package;- http://www.ticket2ridebc.com/summer/holidays.php?id=90

I ventured out of the park a bit this year and did some XC routes in Pemberton and Whistler and they were mint, mixture of easy/smooth to technical singletrack climbs with fantastic singletrack descents. If you can afford the add on the Chilcotins XC riding is biking nirvana, did that 4 years ago. They fly you up to an alpine lake and then you have a 5 hours ride back to the Tyax Hotel – absolutely stunning.

You won't regret it and there are direct flights from Glasgow to Vancouver with Canadian Affair and Air Transat.

Mention the code T2R01 and you'll get a 5% discount too.

Just had a look at that 'frameskin' site and he has basically just done the 'specific vehicle kit' that Venture Shield try to promote, BUT he doesn't mention what material he is using which is interesting since I'd mention it if I was using one of the top two!!

Just did a search on venture shield too and noticed that 3M have acquired them!

Apart from 'heli tape' (which has the feint armour in it and yellows :( ) the best two protection tapes I have used are 3M as mentioned above or a product called 'venture shield' or sometimes 'Rhino Plastic'. They are by far the best quality and consequently cost more.

There are lots of cheaper versions out there and they are cheaper for a reason. Venture shield is quite difficult to buy off the roll as they tend to do specific vehicle kits only, so I get rolls of 3M off ebay, thinner grade for the frame triangle and thicker grade for fork legs and chainstays.

I use the chest mount instead of the helmet, as mentioned above you get more impression of speed and the trail ahead rather than the 'floaty & detached' view of helmet mounted.

I also have started to mount it rear facing under the saddle, using the after market bar mount fixing on the seat post, so you get the rear wheel moving around on the bottom of the screen and your mates following you behind. Looks quite good but the screw fixings alone cannot be tightened enough to stop it dropping on big hits, so you need to zip tie / tape the camera housing to the bottom of the saddle to offer additional support.

Yeh, there was a silly little lip on the 2nd landing which most riders couldn't quite make, so it was easier and faster to pump through the last two.

You need one of the tube / 'gun barrel' cleaning brushes to get the gunk out, sterilising fluid will not clean it on it own.

Also, store your bladder and tube in the freezer between rides, it stops the germs growing.

Well I'm with votchy and think they're crap! I have always used Michelin Comp 16's, the original design that every tyre Manu has coppied since and the grip on the HR edge is pants compared to the Michy.

I can get High Rollers free via a sponsorship deal and I have tried my best to like them, trying all four different compounds, but they just do not grip as well as the Michy.

You wouldn't happen to have any of riders 462, 292 and 116 would you :wink:

The weekend was good up until the point where the anal commissaire took out the bomb hole 'bunny hop' up near the start which was seperating the men from the boys and resulted in a few 'non jumpers' sneaking into the results!!
OK I appreciate why they did it as the air ambulance was ferrying them out nearly every hour :(, but hey could have taped it more as a chicken run than a flat out section that took all of the skill out of it.

I usualy 'deflate' my ust tyres to about 20psi just to keep them seated and have never had them checked, so don't worry about it. If they ask you if you have 'deflated' your tyres say yes, you're not lying 'coz you have deflated them :wink:

Another vote for the ebay Bolle's, we use them at work and tbh you cannot get better value for money as the quality exceeds £100+ cycling glasses.

Whenever one of the MTB mags do a cycling glasses review and come up with their ferkin stupid best buy recommendation of a pair that's £100 I send a letter in telling them about Bolle and guess what they've never printed it yet – ha!!

My race sponsor offered me a pass as he's displaying there, but I can't be bothered TBH, ain't life a bitch sometimes :twisted:

I've turned shocks around in the past and not noticed any detrimental effect.

Oh please, please, please just for one year 8)

Yep worked for me;-http://www.osmountainmayhem.co.uk/pdf/mm_route_map2010.pdf

Arena is in the same place as last year.

The directions on the MM site are telling you to TURN RIGHT from Ledbury. Not sure though if they've just copied the normal tourist directions to the castle, or if these are specific to MM ?????

…..or even carry on up the road for a few miles and do Sunn Peaks instead that has full lift assisted trails.

I hired a big pick up truck, Chevy Silverado, one year that cost me just under £20 / day fully Incl. Pre booked it in the uk through Hertz, picked up and dropped off at the airport, doddle. Even returned it with a full pot on my left arm after breaking my wrist – they didn't even ask or mention it!!!

Another option is http://www.ticket2ridebc.com, I first went with them in 2006 and have been back every year. Whistler spoils you, once you go you'll never want to go anywhere else ;o)

All holidays are based around the 'Basic Big Mountain'package ;- http://www.ticket2ridebc.com/summer/holidays.php?id=89 you can then add extras on to this depending upon your hearts desire. It's not just the bike park – you need to get out into the rest of BC – Pemberton, Squamish, North Shore… some of the best trails are a shuttle ride away. T2R can organise trips to all of these places and actively participate in the trail repair / renewal scheme to make sure they stay open.

Flight wise only cheap option now is Can Affair or Air Transat, that use the same Thomas Cook planes, but they can be purchased cheaper than stated above if you've got some 'bottle' and leave it to last minute when they reduce the prices ~ 4 weeks before to fill the planes. My mate does it every year but I never want to take the chance.

Also food wise you can eat cheaper by doing some self catering from the big supermarkets and also visit Merlins for the $5 burger night. Beer wise go for the 4 pint pitchers of local brews rather than bottles. If you like real ale then try the 'Brew House', a bit expensive, but very tasty.

Cheaper time of year May / June but only the lower slopes of the bike park are open then whilst the snow is still melting up top. If you are into snow sports, you can also still ski / board up until the end of July if you fancy a 2 activity holiday.

POC do a flexible back protector that is enclosed in a vest. I have the full DH version but it's the comfiest armour I've ever used. Once it warms up the VPD spine guard moulds to your body shape and is really flexible and doesn't restrict movement like the hard shell armour.

They just pull out. They are retained by a rubber 'O' ring that gets dry and hence sticks. The best way I have found is to try and spray a bit of GT40 etc around the sides of the adaptor and then clamp it in a vice (with jaw guards)and pull the wheel away whilst rotating.
Another way is to use a pair of mole grips with suitable jaw protection.

They will pull off honest.

Was driving past on a delivery the other day and I couldn't resist :wink:
Had a brief chat with the owners, super nice guys who really know their stuff. They said they were planning regular shop rides and they're certainly in a prime spot to hold them, a few other events planned too and a cracking cup of coffee was also on offer. They seem to know what they're doing and have the right approach, so best of luck to them. Hopefully I can get over there with my bike next time.

Check out http://www.commencalownersclub.com/index.php/board,3.0.html there's plenty to see there.

North West MTB Centre, Stockport has a few 'World Cup' and 'World Champ' mechanics, I wouldn't go anywhere else ;)

Get yourself an Obtanium spring to match the Rolls Royce shock ;)

If it was TNT, UPS or Fedex you will receive a letter from them with a bill for the duty, VAT and 'handling fee'. Check that they have used the correct code for the import duty fee as they have tried to overcharge me in the past. They tried to charge me the 15% rate which is for full bikes, whereas bike parts in only ~ 5%, (can't remember the exact figure). If they have billed incorrectly ring them and ask them to re-send you the bill with the correct code and in two previous cases I never received anything more sp I just ignored it :)

You'll need to google the Government web pages to get the correct code.

I got some off ebay ~ 6mths ago

I can highly recommend http://www.ticket2ridebc.com, I've been 4 times and have made new friends within hours every time.

Everyone is so friendly and helpful it just takes all the hassle out of the holiday. Your only worry everyday is which one of the numerous trails are you going to ride :-)

I emailed Slick this morning and he has just replied saying my custom graphics will be available in about 1 weeks time, now that's service!

Do a search on ebay for Bolle safety glasses, you can get a pair in either clear, persimmon or tinted that are anti fog, anti scratch, ce approved and only cost ~ £8 a pair.

I got some and they're pretty good quality, just make sure your rims are spotlessly clean and wipe over with meths prior to installation. Then give them a blast with the hair dryer after placing on to really get the glue warm so they realy adhere.

Had no problem with mine so far. Obviously you don't want to be putting a jet washer directly onto them, but that's true for most decals.

Get it sent to TF Tuned to be 'Pushed' it will then work like it's supposed to ;)

Have had a few pairs on numerous DH bikes and can highly recommend them. They have been developed from MX bars and are much copied by other Manu's.

TBH you may be able to find them cheaper this time of the year, I got a pair for ~£30 12 mths ago, so worth a google before you buy from CRC.

I have a Spine VPD Tee and Bone armour and it's the most comfy body armour I've ever worn. The VPD moulds to your body and stays put unlike my previous Dainese, Knox and 661.

It's more expensive that it's competitors, but I'd say it's worth it based upon fit and comfort.

Next stock isn't due into the UK until late March though, so unless you can source some from european skiing shops, then you'll have a wait to buy some in the UK and I'm guessing a lot of the stock is already on pre-order.

It's been rubbish for years :wink: