After realising that I can have a variety of rigids for the price and maintenance of a full bouncer I’ve got a selection. this, imho, is the pretty one:

Undecided between the common in yarkshire but brutally efficient O-O Lurcher on 32/18, Or monumentally heavy but slightly more interesting Trek Sawyer on a more easily span up 30/18.

Lots.

Went from the back to the front uphill. 105kg down to 85kg.

On the downside I fell off a lot on downhills as got thrown about a lot more without the extra weight to absorb and carry me through the gnarl.

Had to sharpen up to regain dh speed.

Andy

For an alternative view I’m resisting a switch from CB to SPD. Whilst I agree that shimano SPD is superior in almost every way the CBs give better support across the pedal. ie with a CB your foot has wide support at at either side by the soles of your shoes on the pedal, whereas with a spd your foot is narrowly supported at the centre by the cleat so tilts more every stroke. For me this makes the difference betwen ITBS knee pain and no knee pain.

On the plus side I can strip and re-grease a pair of CB pedals in the time it takes my riding mates to put their gloves on!

IMHO if you have decent stiff shoes then a cage isn’t necessary, If you have bendy sole shoes then a cage supports your feet and stops the shoe bending around the pedal spindle. Again not necessary but perhaps more comfy.

I don’t think having a cage helps at all if you miss a clip as you have the clipless pedal bit sticking up in the middle anyhow, and the lump of brass in the middle of your shoe both conspiring to be as ungrippy as possible! the cage sits as a low point around these so is useless.

Just make the clip.

I’m a Candy Bros fan and use eggbeaters on the ‘fast’ bikes when I wear decent fast xc shoes, but mallets (cheap old ones off ebay) for when I’m on the comfy bikes pottering around with big fat sponges on my feet.

Bars with a straight wide section in the middle for strapping your sleeping bag too.

And cheap so you can afford a really nice, light, small packing, warm down sleeping bag.

On-One El Guapo’s fitted the bill for me.

Love mine, Is a full rigid with the carbon forks. Kitted put with a variety of chinese carbon bit including wheels, it flips between being a 1×10 xc racer and a superlight SS at my whim.

Light, fast, simple and fun.

Me too

When 29ers first came out I went for a hardtail and liked the ‘connected to the back wheel’ speed but hated getting bashed about and still have suspension to maintain.

So now have a full suss 29er and a full rigid 29er (and a full fatbike). All of which are ace in their place. Hardtails are just a pointless compromise, as is 650b and +size tyres.

That’s 15 Or 17, only one.

I’ve removed the 17.

Edit, oops read that wrong, if you do remove two then yes put one back.

I was 6 months ago, then took advantage of an On-One discount code and go myself a bargain. has been my go-to bike ever since.

One ride may not be enough to bring on the chubby love. You want to explore its full capabilities on the trail, mountain and beach. Unless you plan a full peak to ocean day.

As you’ve said, raise it up a bit so you can get airflow between you and the tarp. Having it close will result in you getting as wet from condensation as you would have from morning dew. IMHO a tarp is for deflecting the worse of the wind and rain not for trying to make an enclosed tent out of.

If you are in a bivi bag anywa,y consider using the tarp to make a comfortable space for your upper body and let the bag look after the lower half outside.

Andy

Bath Uni and Conkwell are good places to ride with a DH trail too. Good contacts to be had in the Folly Flyers:

Folly Flyers

A bit further from you is the Longleat estate, lots of trails in the woods there around centreparcs and shearwater lake, Some little jump runs too. Back canon is the local club.

About Us

Andy (Frome rider)

Was riding through town the other day on my clean prepped fatty to meet my mate for a lift to ‘degla.

Saw some bloke laughing which only added to my day of awesome riding on my favourite bike.

Brilliant, it definitely needs resurfacing.
Happy with that.

Fatty is still my go-to bike. Used for the lot and just pressed the button on some new wheels to improve further.

Full susser and SS’s still get occasional outings for specific reasons but Fatty remains as do-it-all bike.

Pink tyres remain for total smilability :D

Ae is my favourite Scotland work-trip diversion. Not far off the motorway and a cracking ride. You can trim your length of ride to suit a little doing the Orange downhill/freeride loop at the top.

Isn’t it about time the bike industry responded to this sort of issue so we can switch bar lengths to what trail we are riding that day. A QR system for grips, brake/shifter clamps and stem would cure this easily.

Then we can have longer bars for downhill/gnarrr/fat tyres and switch back to a 3mm shorter bar should a bit of forest singletrack be on the days menu.

expanding on that it could open up a whole new market in backpack bar quivers to so in-ride swaps could be made.

Why am i telling you lot, I’m off to the patent office straight away! This time next year………..

A Sterile dressing or two, and insulation tape to hold it on.
Nothing else stays on in rain.

Drive.
Found it lots cheaper once you add getting to the airport, parking, hiring a car (or tranfer) the other end to your flight costs.
Plus general flecibility to go to different areas.
And of course you can take more gear.

Also if you happen to feel a bit rough on the last day you can phone in sick on monday and drive home a bit later ;)

So far have done it geared and singlespeed, going fatbike this year.

Only 6 hour this time though, aiming to maximise on evening BBQ and cider time.

Also hoping for good weather!

Nice solution.

Does a handlebar end-plug fit in the open end to round it off a bit?

Removed, wine talking!

I always use a new link with a new chain but strip out the old ones from worn chains to use as spares. i think my bitsa bike has a chain with about 4 in, they seem to last longer than normal links!

Another discount code bought £640 on-one pink fatty owner here.

Bought as a “well if i don’t like it I can sell it on for the same” punt, and it currently remains the most used bike from my varied stable despite the new-bike-itus now being worn off.

I advise you save a little longer to get a decent one rather than a weighty boat anchor. You can and will ride anything on it, but best not go out with your fast mates on whippet bikes. I also advise that if you get an On-one fatty you start saving for some carbon forks soon after as they feel good on it.

Andy

La Rosiere

Nice Village.
Good singletrack trails (both made and natural) down from there into Bourg to access the funicular and other more downhill resorts.
You can ride up and over into Italy La Thuile for excellent singletrack.

Discounted Pink Fatty owner here.

V8’s on mine stay round as long as i i don’t go too low on pressure. Must try the pink floaters i have to make sure they’re round! Still running tubes but have swapped out the weighty O-O tubes for lighter Spesh 3″ tubes from Evans.

No problems whatsoever with carbon forks, have stayed tight riding on all sorts. You are correct, bung should be redundant once the stem is tightened, not sure why yours misbehaves.

My bottom bracket did come loose. There was(is) a problem with the installation as the length of the crank spindle is longer than the bottom bracket width. This allowed the plastic tophat to drift out of the BB on the drive side causing the spindle to be loose in the bearing. I solved this by making a 3-4mm spacer that slides in the spindle between the drive side spider and the bottom bracket tophat so its a snug fit with no gaps between the two crank arms. Incidentally i made the spacer from a piece of the carbon fork steerer i cut off and filed out a bit.

Despite the faff the fatty is my go-to bike and get ridden everywhere, a lot.

If they are folding tyres, bung them in the washing machine with the rest of your biking kit.

Andy

I love riding my bike.
I love it when my dog runs with me.

Both our lives are too short to worry about what others having less fun than me think.

Andy

Road with a trail/brideway sections thrown in. Its what CX (and 29ers) are made for.

I found i’ve driven to much less trails since i’ve gone to big wheels and am ranging further and further afield mixing road/offroad in some excellent diesel free rides :)

Excellent

I could set it up to message my biking mates every time I pass a trig point whilst they’re still at work/stuck at home.

Muscle the bars round.
Positively push the front into the corner.
Lean it into bends more.

I crashed mine a fews times whent I first got it. Found I needed to work harder as I was (am) going faster and you gotta counteract the extra momentum from the speed to get it round.

Tempted by an inbred bundle for the same price as an inbred frame-only, am sure my wife/daughter needs a bike to fit the alfine rear wheel I’ve been saving.

I got one in 2014, love it.

Agree with all DickBarton’s answers.

I little tip, I found you need to be postive with the front end to get it to turn, particularly when at speed downhill. Leaning back and tentatively turning earned me a few visits to trailside undergrowth. Getting over the front and muscling it round keeps speed astonisingly high.

Andy

Small Block 8s

High 5 zero in drink, for hydration and flavour without the stickiness of squash. Picked up as freebies in bottles or wiggle packages whenever possible.

For food it flapjack all the way, real food is a million times tastier than chemical gels. I ride to eat cake not over-caloried mush.

Did an XC race on a fatbike at the weekend. I came lower midfield as opposed to upper midfield on the same track before christmas (on a SS rigid).

I’m a reluctant FB rider and only got sucked in by the OO 20% discount code but now must admit that its more fun riding a pink tyred fatty than a rigid SS in a cross country race, up a mountain (Pen-y-fan) and along a beach (Saunton sands)

In face though its probably a bit of new-bike-itus the fatty is currently the go to bike. Thats unless i’m riding with other non-fattists who expect me to keep up!

The 4″ of suspension offered by the tyres is total rubbish at speed, you just bounce, at climbing mountains/dunes in granny ring crawl its awesome.

As for the Foes one above, looks fun but i think i’ll save suspension for the proper bike.

Clipless all the way. For me its just better.

No spastic duck walking as shoes are exactly the same as flat shoes just with a bit of metal sunk into the sole.

cold, wet and dark

Happy to ride in any two of the above whatever the condition of the trails, all three is too much.

Days out:
Tube
Pump
multitool (hexus)
gear cable
mini leatherman thingy
one pair brake pads
puncture repair patched and glue
chain quicklinks
Zip ties

Local woods:
tube
pump

Best not to point out in a smartarse sort of way the compressed air cylinder in every lifejacket under every seat either. Airport security has very little sense of humour!