Can confirm the (mainly treeless) main hill at Old Kilpatrick is running well. Some trees down in the Brown Hill woods where Spexy etc are located.

Can anyone suggest somewhere accessible from Glasgow that’s running okay? We were thinking of going up Ben Ledi but the wind forecast isn’t looking too good for anything higher up. #enduro style trails preferred.

I’m honestly not sure – I’m 180cm.

My hardtail, which I previously thought was a great fit, is:
455mm+50mm stem = 505mm.

Then I bought a Geometron G16:
502mm+35mm stem = 537mm.

I recently got the hardtail back out for winter and it feels terrifying now!

Good advice gents – thanks. I think it’s the couple of “sprints” in the warm up bit i’m missing. I’ll give that a go next time!

Started running again recently after a 15 year hiatus. I’m absolutely loving it!

I did the Scottish Island Peaks Race way back when I was still in school (pre Strava unfortunately) but haven’t really run since.

I’m finding my bike fitness has transferred over quite well but it took a few months for the legs to build up and be able to stress the lung properly. Ran a 49 minute 10km during the week there but felt like there was quite a bit more left in the tank.

I’ve not touched the turbo this year at all yet – much preferring going out for a run around the city in the evenings. I think the best bit about running is how little faffing, driving around and kit there is compared with riding bikes…

What is the suggested distance for a warm up before an effort? I’ve just been running a bit slower for the first 2KM or so when going out but I feel like this maybe isn’t enough?

As an update to this thread – I picked up some of the Endura MT500 Plus Overshoe II for flat pedals. Rode them in anger for the first time at the weekend and they were very good. I think it says it all when I didn’t have to think about them once on a very wet and sloppy ride.

Undid them at the end to reveal dry and clean shoes underneath! We rode at Ardgartan on Sunday morning and it was extremely wet / muddy – roads flooded on the way there sort of thing.

I was expecting the pedal feel to be not as good but, honestly, absolutely fine.

They’re a bit of a challenge to get on so best not done in a dark, wet carpark. Took me about 3 minutes to fit them to my 5.10 Freerider EPS.

Longevity TBC but they looked completely unmarked from the pedals so far…

My setup is:

Dakine Hotlaps 5L: Really good! I only really fill the bladder to about 1L max. Refilling in a steam if it’s real hot. Can easily swallow up a waterproof jacket along side a 1L filled bladder and some snacks. The new one has a hip pocket which is really handy for quick access snacks / phone for the gram shots. The straps do need tightening a bit if you take out a bulky jacket or drink all the water but it’s a minor issue.

Wee Cog Dropper Saddle Bag: Tube, multi tool, Co2 and spares in here. I don’t like frame bags as they rub away the frame paint in the winter grime.

I used to use the smaller Dakine Hotlaps 2L but my new frame doesn’t have a bottle cage so I upgraded to the 5L version with the bladder. The 2L one does have a bidon pocket but it’s not really possible to use it whilst riding along – you have to stop and use two hands.

I’m going to go for a pair of Trailcross GTX. How’s the sizing on them?

I’m normally a 45/10 in normal shoes and mountaineering boots.

Socks! I tend to wear thin cotton ones in the summer and thick wool ones in winter. I’ve tried a couple different types of waterproof socks in the past but always ended up with cold feet.

Street Pigeon’s video is there – I just watched it.

A new red would be fantastic – surely then everyone would be happy…

I do wonder if they’ve deliberately left the berms a bit shallow and not built up lips on the potential jumps until the surface beds in. They might have ended up with lots of folk in the Belford if they had!

I remember when the additional trails at Cathkin first got built- the loose, gravel surface was absolutely terrifying and your front wheel washed out even on MASSIVE, super supportive berms on “Down the Clyde”.

(It would also be much easier to carry anyone injured off the hill at Cathkin than 600m up the side of a hill in Lochaber.)

I’m starting to feel really sorry for the builders – everywhere I look people are slating their work. The amount of graft they must have put into this trail is truly unbelievable – it’s absolutely massive! Blue trails are by far the most work as you’ve got to smooth out everything. If you’ve done any sort of trail building you’ll appreciate that.

Any new trail is going to take months to bed in properly, especially one that’s been built that take this level of traffic/weather where rock, gravel and sand has been used throughout. There is only one way to bed in a trail properly – it needs people running laps.

Also, as with any new trail, some tweaks will be required as lines develop and problems present themselves. I’m sure they’ll sort it out and it’ll be running great come opening next year.

Presumably it was the same people who built the DH track and Top Chief so they know what they’re doing!

Some man – cheers Fly.

Getting ahead of myself and thinking of my build now…

What’s the verdict on fork travel on a G16? I’ve got a tuned up 160mm Yari/Lyric to hand but I see lots of people running 170mm forks with the 650b wheels. Can you get away with both or would I be better ordering the 170mm air shaft?

Thanks for the help guys – much appreciated!

Ally – That’s the one, why do you say that? (I was going to only go for the 155mm setup…)

Cheers Jimmy – I’m in Glasgow so maybe not ideal!

It’s sounding like the medium / longer likely do me fine – especially with a 50mm stem on there.

But I could likely also ride the large / longest no problem.

Stu – thanks for the feedback – sounds like at 5.11 I could go for either size then. That seems to be exactly what Nicolai suggest with their size guide on the tech sheet. Either top end of medium or bottom end of large.

What stem length / bar setup are you using on your large?

George, These are the numbers on my current bike – size large:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT5p1B2dbM-sPy-E2m4gfVdUOUyuDTQ9g6YZvgeEx3VBat5gkSDx1LAuVfcoS_5IF7EI7W0mBrjDSkm/pubhtml

Top tube wise, looks like 625mm on the Helius vs 641mm on the longer G16.

I’m running a 50mm stem on the Helius. I guess with a 35mm stem the g16 would feel fairly similar position wise when climbing.

Cheers George, that’s sort of what I was thinking. I’m currently on a large, 2016 Helius Ac with a reach of 455mm…

I tend to ride some steep / techy / tree lined /twisty stuff so I don’t want too much of a boat.

I’m looking at a g16 frame just now in size Medium/Longer – does that sound sensible at 180cm?

I got a full 11 speed SLX group set on there – arrived in 10 days or so with no issues.

Genuine Shimano in my experience. I filtered the search results by number of sales / feedback to give a good idea of who was a good seller.

Massively cheaper than UK based shops too. In my head, i’m imagining they do a lot of assembling of bikes in China – likely get container loads of groupsets in from Shimano and sell on the surplus / old stock.

Monk – what are those inner bar ends? I’m doing a similar experiment and looking for an aero tuck second hand position option.

Sounding like an FN2 Type R is now officially the STW car of choice! I’ve got one too, taking us to three or four I think? Never saw that coming!

If you can live with the ride, an excellent fun, cheap and reliable car.

These do look like a bargain just now – do they weigh the same as the titanic?

The Marmot Driclime stuff is worth a look too.

Rab vapour rise ridge line:
https://rab.equipment/uk/vr-ridgeline-jacket

Roll the sleeves up instead of removing them?

It sounds like you really want a Buffalo jacket…

I’m currently running a Michelin Mud Enduro / DHR2 combo on my hardtail. Our lockdown riding venue (Old Kilpatrick) is a swamp at the best of times haha – just now it’s under water / deep slop.

When you hit the slop the tyre is unreal, feels like cheating. Off camber slop lines are mind blowing! I did cut it down when I first got it, would be mental to pedal otherwise I think.

Mine is the older version and it had markings on the knobs for cutting it down.

I ran it at my normal 22psi and it felt awful; noticed it said 26psi minimum on the side and it’s been amazing there. A hard tyre to pedal but not as bad as a Mary DH I had previously. Doesn’t feel great on roots, seems to be knocked off line by them. Worked well in snow/ice and on the minimum rock I’ve ridden on it.

I’ve got a milano red FN2 I picked up for £2500 @ 90k. Solid car, not much touches it for reliability / performance / value. Not the most comfortable of rides but it is a hot hatch!

I think you can pick up a champion white FN2 for around £5/6k or go all in for a the Japanese FD2 at £12k and watch it go up in value…

If you want a stiff, good handling, 4 seater car with around 200bhpish – why not save yourself £7000-8000 and buy a Civic FN2? Likely to be much more useful that a Fiesta as the boot is gigantic.

Chromag Wideangle – i’ve got one and I love it.

I went on one ride with them and never went back! Too many pile ups and arguements for my liking… The day I joined there there must have been 60 riders – must be popular.

Old school fibre pile fleece jackets are just about the warmest things going. Lots of places do them but I’ve got an anchient Rab one. Another good point with them is they don’t lose loft like down and synthetic insulation will when sitting around in it.

Mountain Equipment ‘Moreno’ jacket, Patagonia ‘Retro Pile’ jacket, Helly Double Pile Jacket etc.

Although, remember clothing doesn’t generate heat – they just keep what your body generates in close to you. Doing some star jumps or similar, drinking hot drinks, being well fed etc are all very useful.

Thanks for the feedback gents. The actual bike sounds great – the company service and future parts availability less so. I guess it’s cheap for a reason!

They appear to have plenty of stock again – at least for this bike. I guess any warranty issues might be problematic if they go under.

I’ve got a Blue Ice Warthog 40 – very good sack. They also do a smaller one I think but I find 40L the perfect size for winter when your howfting lots of gear and clothing. As a side, my small terrier fits in there perfectly… Designed in the Chamonix for hardcore winter alpine climbing or ski mountaineering but equally suited to Scottish winter mountaineering.

My smaller sack is a Sumiteer Crag Rocket which is around 25L – made in the Lakes and quite a small start up company – I think the designer used to work at Aiguille Alpine. Also highly recomended – possible the most simple / light weight bag going! I think some would miss all the pockets and other gubbings but once you get into the jedi mastery minamalism of it it’s very good.

Both carry axes, walking sticks, crampons etc with ease and have proven to be robust, comfortable amd reliable.

It’s also worth just going down to the rescue places on a regular basis for a look because the “good dogs” never end up on their website as they’re snapped up quickly.

We got a 8 month old Wollie (Westie / Collie mix) from SSPCA a couple of years back. I get the feeling that the workers at these places over analyse dogs because she’s absolutely perfect but they had her down as a highly strung psychopath.

I think being in the equivalent of dog prison might make anyone act oddly. Go for a rescue dog!

(We found Dogs Trust impossible to please unless you happened to be a retired surgeon with a massive garden, no kids and plenty of time on your hands.)

Civic Type R FN2.

Reliable? Aye
Fun? Aye
Fast? Sorta alright!
£3500? Easily

It’s also like a van in the back and the seats fold totally flat so it swallows bikes with ease.

I second the suggestion for the Clydeside stuff. Some really good, short, techy trails down there. They tend to run extremely slick all winter but all good fun.

Chatelherault is okay but more of an XC or gravel bash.

I’ve got a Sage Barista Express we got as a gift. It’s one of the best things in the house – if it broke I would buy one again immediately! Not sure I could live without it. Tend to get beans from Pact.

I also have an Aeropress and stove top but they just don’t compare.

In reply to duncancallum:

They look promising! A good bit lighter than some of the others.

What compound do do you recommend?