Its all fine… conditions now are very different to a month ago. There are pockets of snow and ice but nothing to worry about. Winds the main worry looking at the forecast

I use the finishline xc wet lube(green cap) sparingly. Works fine for me, but any similar medium weight oil would do.

Yep scarth gap is part of the 3 passes route. There’s a fair bit of hike a bike up, but also there’s a fair bit thats rideable up if your fit enough. Scarth gap, blacksail, styhead descents are all rideable this way round(riding level dependant, its a techy lakes rockfest). Scarth gap into Ennerdale isn’t as good as the other 2 but it’s still good. Folk often tag in the bridleway on the south of fleetwith pike(warnscale bottom) to make a full day of it, you go up past the Honister slate mine to access it.

Fits exactly the same.

Its ok I suppose, part is a carry down. Far Far better the other way, styhead to borrowdale is as good as it gets and if you do a loop of the passes Blacksail into wasdale is equally brill. 😉

Better deal on XTR bb here 😉

Yeah I think they’re worth the extra, I get 2 years out of mine riding regularly in the lakes.

Endura stuff seems to have very dubious durability nowadays, stopped buying there gear 5 or 6 years ago. For the win its got to be Assos, but for value and function Gore and Pearl Uzumi are well worth considering.

When my ARC head unit died madison offered me 10% off the rrp seca head unit. Thing was I could buy a complete seca light set battery charger and all for only £10 more with the discounts you can get online. Needless to say I passed on Madisons kind offer 😉

Under the carpet there is soundproofing which won’t dry out this time of year without you lifting the carpets and drying it out with heat. You want to do this if its wet because VW in there wisdom also put the ECU and control systems for the car under there and surprise surprise they ain’t keen on the damp conditions!

P.S remember the cartridge that holds the pollen filter is the real problem, unless this is fettled you will get water in again when it rains heavy whether the drain plug is OK or not.

Not in the same way but they can have water ingress issues, blocked sunroof drain being a common one. Easy to check it its damp, lift your rear seat and you can see were the floor carpet ends. Loosen it a little and push your hand down under the carpet to the floorpan, if it feels damp you’ve got a issue.

As soon as I saw this thread I thought Passat. The B4 and 5’s all do this(search VWAUDIforum). As posted above the Plenum chamber drains block and allow water to build up and get in the cabin via the air filter. But also road grime can build up around the bonet hinges and do the same thing. Basically the filter cartridge is a poor design. Its just under the passanger side of the windscreen under the Plenum chamber cover, check it out if the filter is damp you need to remove the cartridge and re-seal it to the car. The water shows itself in the rear passanger footwell. You need to lift the carpets to dry under there this time of year if you leave it the car will start to smell, or better still get the garage how sold you it to do it. Speaks the man with, bitter experience! Binned it off in the end and got the new B6 which doesn’t leak but has its own set of common problems…. Bloody VW’s!

Looked into it last night, think your OK. From what I can gather they have only changed the pull ratio on the 7900 front mech. The swines(another how can we get people to spend more strategy) 😉 Sorry for worrying you, just thought it was worth checking out.

Sounds like something is miss aligned (assuming they’re the same as crossmax’s) there is washer that goes between the bearing on the hub and the bearing on the freehub. Sometimes people service the freehub and forget to put it back. Too heavy or too much oil can also cause problems.

Edit: too slow 😀

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/groupset/road/product/dura-ace-7900-groupset-09-34164

Mentions the revised pull ratio in this review, plenty on weightweenies about it too, not sure exactly how critical it is in the real world.

With dura-ace the 7800 9 speed front mech’s won’t work with the new 7900 10 speed shifters they’ve changed the pull ratio and done away with the trim facility you got with 9 speed shifters. Not sure if ultegra is the same but worth checking 😉

Not a chance, the both generate serious amounts of income from parking and retail and rent, why would a private buyer want to lose that?? You never know they might actually wish to develop the forest parks further, more parking, more extensive trails and some maintenance on the trail. Which both need after this winter. Dinny panic.

I’m with you there aP, wouldn’t fix my posh carbon frame into a turbo. The stresses are very different to normal use.

Sounds like a chest infection after a cold. Go easy on the training once you’ve recovered 😉 slowly does it. I’ve always found if you start putting the miles in too early your weakened chest and immune system leaves you much more susceptible to picking further bugs up.

You of course its your car, gasket would have gone sooner or later anyway. Just don’t lend them your car again if you think its been used outside what you’d agreed.

Yes they seal really well, probably the best standard tyre to use with stans etc.

Way back when,when most cars were RWD we could always steer where we wanted go,it was getting going that was the problem & if the road was a bit off camber cars could be seen going down the road side ways on full lock on a regular basis.

Yes but way back in those days they had thinner tyres which were good in the snow, the big low profile jobbys bmw’s come with will handle horribly when the rear is applying too much rear traction in slippery conditions, as said chains on all 4 wheels is the best bet.

Crossmax xl is possible because they have a hub wide enough for 20mm. Totally different hub on the Sl’s and Slr’s. 😉

Don’t think so definately not pre 2009 wheels, you can tell by taking the QR caps off. If the inside of the hub has a hex bolt inside 15mm won’t work. From 2009 crossmax ST’s did both QR and 15mm, you simply remove the caps to reveal the 15mm axle. They may have applied this to the SL’s and SLR’s after 2009 but not sure but its easy to check. They don’t do conversions for the older stuff.

Having the chains on the front means the car will brake and steer better, so maybe there not quite so daft as you think. Sure they will have very little traction to get going.
Rear wheel drive cars really need chains on the front and the rear because if you put them on the rear the car will understeer terribly.

Did the B Bash on sunday + all the cheeky bits it was all rideable. Whinlatters also very rideable at the mo.

Yes defo not on just 2 wheels you’ll kill the diff. 😯
My sti is fine in the snow but I’ve just put new tyres on it and the deep tread makes a big difference. Only real issue I have is clearance, the prodrive suspension lowers it and turns the sti splitter into a bit of a snowplough.

I’m the one who grits the road and reports the bin empty, so I’m not worried in the slightest. It would also be impossible to prove a accident in wintery conditions was directly down to a grit bin being empty because someone has used it on there driveway. Councils don’t persue this as people just plead ignorance, so this unfortunately is a moral issue not a criminal one in the eyes of the council… I’ve checked without naming names. 😕

Elfinsafety – Member

Yeah, but you knowingly allowing a criminal activity to go unreported makes you culpable in any possible accident too

Hahaha. Perhaps on planet Elf but not in the real world fella.

No we just take the pee out of his cr*p 4×4’s subtly trying to get the message across. At the end of the day he knows its not right so he’s got to live with that if there’s a accident because the bin was empty. I’m not going to get into a neighbourly dispute over it.

Mudsharks spot on, not for use on private driveways. County Highways websites clearly states this, although they rarely do anything about abuse. My t*t of a neighbour takes a wheelbarrow full everytime it snows to do his drive needless to say he’s non to popular with his other neighbours, as we live by a hill that has accidents regularly when it snows. He has a RangeRover sport and a X5 so cleary they must be a bit sh*t in the snow. 🙄

Just turn the bike upside down for ten mins before every ride. Allows the oil to run past the bushes and into the foam rings.

Fells are covered again, but it isn’t deep at the moment. Most roads are snow free, but the untreated back roads are very icey, mind how you go and have a great weekend.

Snow and ice is a fairly safe bet looking at the forecast from thursday. Rode from ambleside on sunday and whilst there was some ice about it wasn’t a problem, so I won’t be overly worried about hidden ice. If it does snow thursday its gonna be so cold after the snow won’t melt and therefore will be grippy. If it rains thursday then freezes we’ll all be doooomed………….

Outdoorkit often have some good deals on Northface stuff in the sale section.

You can get 4WD focus’s here quite reasonable 😯 with one previous careful owner.

I’ve got a impreza sti and while yes they do have a little more traction to get you going. They skid and slide just like any other car when you want to slow down probably more because of the sporty tyres and big brakes. So I have to pootle round when the weather is like it has been, just like everyone else. Winter tyres are the answer not 4wd, but it costs and we may not get a winter like this for another ten years.

😆

I still blame my fall in 2003 on my I.D. As I never really did feel at ease or comfortable riding anything on it. The place where I hurt myself- I rode down it first time, first time back without checking on a Santa Cruz Blur4x. At ease with the frame and its handling. Never was on a Ellsworth and never could have done that same bit again on it.

Poor craftsman in tools blaming shocker!! Haha

-12c cockermouth this morning so its chilli, but yes its very bikeable if you like winter biking. Some of the side roads are dodgy if they’re hilly. It’s due a bit of a thaw from thursday so it’ll be different by the weekend no doubt.

You must have some thunderous thighs ridethelakes