My folks lived near La Clusaz and we had loads of great holidays there, La Clusaz and Le Grand Bernaud are great summer resorts and Annecy is lovely, especially the lake. Chamonix is always great and has loads going on. As it happens we’re off to Alpes D’huez this year for a couple of weeks.

Ignore Skyline, that’s unless you want a long XC ride. Whites level and Y’Wal are brilliant, if you’re up for a long ride do W2, that’s both one after the other – about 40km. Superb singletrack.

Cycleworks have one. Call ahead and they will get it to your closest branch – Leatherhead I would guess.

Cycleworks[/url]

Better stay in doors, it might be contagious!

Plus I am a very private person, why would I want people I don’t know and have and will never meet to see anything about my life.

Why should you give anything away? I think this is a popular misconception. I used to think it was hideous but eventually I opened an account, hardly ever post anything but I do visit often, I have friends and family (some overseas) whom we rarely see and they use it a lot. I might think that much of what they post is pretty pointless but you do get to see what they’re up to and it keeps you connected in an electronic kind of way.

I think there comes a tipping point where it’s better to be in than out, even if you don’t contribute anything. Once you get used to this it’s pretty useful. I’m sure it’ll get replaced by something further down the line but for the time being why not?

If your friends or family don’t use it then it has nothing to offer, but if they do then it adds another dimension to your social communication, whether you choose to use it or not is up to you.

First when I was 32 (boy)
Second when I was 34 (girl)

38 now and my wife is four years older…

Surely it’s not what or where, you ride, it’s how you want to ride….

A HT is more efficiant, great for XC, makes you focus more on technical decents and climbs better. A FS allows you to push harder on technical decents and take on jumps/drops with a greater degree of confidence.

If you’re using your HT more often you’ve pretty much answered the question yourself. I live in Surrey and spend the whole time looking for steep, techincal fun and want to ride it as fast as possible… I couldn’t ride the way I want to on a HT so it’s FS all the way for me…

If I was to by a HT it would definitely be a 29r.

Just got back from a night ride – we timed it to attend lighting of the beacon at Gibbet Hill. The beacon was a bit of a limp biscuit but joining a thousand or so up the hill was fun. Great descent back home 😀

We’re arriving on the 27th so missing the Mega unfortunately.

And your his MATE? ???

A good one by the looks of it 😉

Test rode an AL100 in Majorca; good, solid, nice but not remarkable. Whilst it was a few months earlier I remember enjoying a Specialized Epic 29r more. I found itmuch better at climbing and faster on Single track. Close though.

Dashed, that’s what Powerline solves. You make network connections using mains wiring. Plug and play. But if you have CAT5 terminated at RJ45 sockets then it should be as simple as plugging into the router. I would get one of these and extend your wireless, set it up with the same SSID and password as your existing Wi-Fi but make sure you use a channel outside of the one you’re using on you wireless router.

If you’re not sure about Wi-Fi channels read this.

What a weird question…

Powerline[/url]

A little extra expense but reliable and no cable mess.

Interesting site[/url]

Sorry OP I can’t help at all. But I did want to say to Colournoise that his bike looks the nuts. Do what he did.

Lost me there Jam bo.

Goodsync. Been using it for years and it’s pretty perfect IMO. Cross platform to.

Here

Quite a few more to explore but they’re quite well hidden and only a few have easy routes out like up your way, but they’re all fun. Up there tomorrow morning 😉

Make sure you havo some good TV recorded, early morning TV sucks. Buy some quality tea to enjoy and be thankful it’s 4.30am not earlier…

Cycleworks Haslemere. Good lads, patient and a nice place to shop. Bought my bike there and very happy with the experience / service.

The term “endorphin rush” has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress

I hear you but I would not call this ‘fun’ in the same way that a gravity fed Adrenalin rush hits you, especially as it takes so little effort. I suppose it’s a bit like bondage, some people just get their kicks differently.

EDIT; I’m not suggesting that people who prefer climbing are into bondage. That’s for a different thread entirely…

Pretty simple really; Fun (fear as well for that matter) and adrenalin go hand in hand, you don’t get adrenalin hits riding up (scary steep hills aside) so ‘Fun’ is associated with going down.

Technical climbing is more of a challenge than ‘fun’ and anyone who enjoys fire road climbs might as well speak to me in Chinease as I’ll never understand them anyway.

Riding flat Single track is fun too, definitely. But down is more fun if you enjoy that natural high… I’ve seen some pretty big smiles at the top of a long climb though.

A good ride has both.

Cookeaa… brilliant.

Yeti = Sexual deviant, carrier of at least one STD, sexual contact best avoided.

😀

I have three for four mates with Yeti’s… just the thought makes me laugh. They couldn’t be further from that description but hilarious anyway!

Sorry for the poor mobile picture…but this is the one I played with for a morning. Up hill was comfy and sedate, nothing outstanding but got me there, down hill was a hoot – like surfing on wheels.

I tested one at the end of last year, built up very nicely with X0, Crank Brothers Wheels etc… so around the 30lb mark. I thought it was bloody excellent. Bought something else but it was a very close call. Left with me a very good impression of the brand.

Definitely test one if you can.

mboy you talk of Five owners going on and on and on and winding everyone up…

The irony just kills me 😉

That’s very nice. One thing I’ve always wondered is what a fat bike is like to ride – I imagine it being slightly soft and able to roll over almost any surface. Would love a brief description. Good work and love the colour scheme – surprisingly!

Leaving aside HUGE assumptions which I’ll ignore, this point about price and product development mboy raises is interesting. Out of interest why do you think Orange don’t invest in product development? They may not but I’m fairly sure they have played with other suspension systems, for me the fact that they continue with a proven system is reassuring. Is it perfect, no, but neither is any other, and I’d rather spend my money on simple bomb proof design than filling the pockets of expensive research departments who spend all their time fiddeling… only for the marketing and sales team to take the latest fiddel to market and tell us it’s the next big thing – this year. Poor argument IMO.

As for being expensive, Orange charge what the market will wear, if you think it’s too steep go buy something else and be happy, but for those of us who get it the cost is worth it 😀

I’ll admit I nearly fell into the ‘big brand’ trap and buy based on market penetration, but then I tested five bikes. The Orange won. How many people can honestly say they tested several bikes before buying? In the wider market not many I’d guess. When it comes to replacing mine I’ll do it all again, and I my buy a DWRVPP4BARHORSTYLINKYTHING then, but right now no thanks.

Oh, and David, for those who have strong opinions about the look of Orange bikes I’m curious as to what they decided to spend money on – I’d like to see what’s so much better looking about their choices, no more. I’ll admit there are better looking bikes out there, but I didn’t buy my five because it was pretty I bought it because it’s bloody good fun to ride.

Here’s mine…

I would like to see members own ‘better’ looking bikes… It’s all immaterial but fun all the same isn’t it…

Six months in and still over the moon with mine (Five). Bloody perfect for me and that’s all that matters. Tested several and bought on the basis of that, not for any other reason. I think mine looks pretty cool and would love to see some pictures of bikes owned and ridden by those who throw scorn on the looks 😉

Edit; and the comments on noise? IME no louder than any others once you protect the swing arm as you would the chainstay on any other bike.

Afan lodge. Couldn’t fault it really.

Lowepro Slingshot. Been using one for years and has a stowaway waterproof cover.

One immediately springs to mind… Laird Hamilton. This guy invented big wave surfing.

I run 40/28 and 11/36 mixed XT/XTR on my Five and it’s pretty much perfect. The only negative I find is that first gear is quite big when compared to triple set ups, I have to agree with Sambob here, on very steep climbs it reminds me that I need to weigh less, get fitter and try harder…

My bike is built for fun at just under 30lbs so if you’re aiming for XC use then the lighter bike will make this ratio pretty much perfect IMO.

I think I’m too old to learn Macs and it would be hypocritical as I wont have an iPad/Iphone/Ipod (or a mini). I just can’t follow the trendy folk, just cos I’m wierd.

That’s just it. If you know your way around a PC a MAC is a walk in the park, about the most complicated bit is adjusting to the slightly different keyboard layout. Don’t waste a good recommendation on a fear of something new!

Samsung and Panasonic are the two brands to choose from. Both great at the top of their ranges.

Thanks Hugor, I think Y’Wal will win as it’s on our doorstep.

Weather not so hot and had been thinking of Cwncarn and the uplift, but that’s fully booked. Now looking at Y’ Wal as it looks fun. Still considering options. Bloody weather…

First time for us so we don’t know what we missed. But the bog was a little unpleasant I agree. Still, the bit afterwards is a hoot.

Well that was well worth it. Not a drop of rain and just a pesky wind on Skyline which made it quite a slog on the fire road. Whites level in the morning was absolutely superb and we did the black loop as well. That last section is a bit of a surprise when carrying speed isn’t it…. Thank you Orange, I just properly found out how good my bike is 😀

How was your day?