Discovered that my Onza Ibex doesn’t have very tough sidewalls – holed it on stage 1! Then had a mare of a time with my bl00dyb@5t@rd pump and a presta valve core that snapped in the pump head – and then rapidly depleted my CO2 canisters… And lost over 20mins on that stage alone.

Plugged the hole with a rubber turd and ran a tube, nervously, for the rest of the day.

Last 2 years had Schwalbe tyres with no dramas – now I know what make I’ll be replacing the Onza with!

Had a great day in the Sport, but unfortunately punctured my rear tyre (holed a sidewall – bad choice of tyre – then the presta valve actually broke in the pump!) on stage 1 put paid to any chance of getting a mid-place in the vets this year…

But was with 4 mates, so tried to make sure I reclaimed *some* bragging rights on the other stages :-D

And even made it back before the rain – bonus!

Loved it – third year running. Now to decide if I do it again next year…

Last year on the Trance: Rock Razor Pacestar, Nobby Nic Trailstar – both standard Evo SnakeSkin and run tubeless – didn’t have any issues with that setup.

This year on the Jeffsy: Magic Mary Evo Snake Skin Trailstar on the front, with the bike’s original Onza Ibex on the back, pumped up hard!! For my level of riding, it’ll be fine. Again, tubeless.

If it’s wet, I’ll swap the rear for a Super Gravity Magic Mary Trailstar, but I’m hoping it’ll stay dry as I really don’t want to push that thing round!

BTW – Ran a Pacestar Evo S/S Rock Razor at the Ard Rock last year – it was fine: plenty of grip. But it was also dry – would be different in the wet!

I thought SG models were either Trailstar, or Vertstar? Pacestar being limited to the EVO SnakeSkin versions?

Great vid, great riding – bloody quick! Mega is on my bucket list, tentatively for 2019 (when I’m 50..). They have a ‘Grand Vets’, right?? :lol:

This just makes me want to do it even more!

This article had an interesting comment on the SRAM Guides (near the bottom).

PinkBike Whyte S-150 article

SRAM Guide RS Brakes:
I’m a fan of Guide brakes, but Pemberton’s steep, extended downhills ran the levers down to the grips on two occasions. My guess is that the master cylinder’s fluid recharge port requires a full lever release to allow the brake pump fluid into the lines to make up for pad wear and such. Instead of modulating the lever pressure on long DH runs, I had to completely release the levers occasionally to keep the levers pumped up.

How many wraps of the Tesa tape do people normally use? Is the standard ‘once round, starting/finishing a couple of spokes form the valve hole’ sufficient? For a tenner for 66m, that seems like excellent value!

From here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tesa-Tape-4289-no-tubes-rim-tape-complete-roll-25mm-wide-x-66-metres-long-/162354590164?epid=519694448&hash=item25cd1671d4:g:8wYAAOSwpdpVZtc~

Gorilla tape 25mm handy roll – usually about £2.99 for 10m – works brilliantly. Just stretch and ‘wiggle’ into the rim base.

My VPD 2.0 DH haven’t stretched in 4 visits to the Alps and several BPW days. They get very warm in the Alps and I wouldn’t want to pedal any distance in them. (have VPD Airs for that, which haven’t stretched at all in 2 years constant use). They keep me warm at BPW (why we do we always go in January?!?!?)

So I’m on the ‘they ain’t gonna stretch’ side of the fence.

Great pads though. Like having your knees sink into a soft cushion when you crash, without the pain of the knee/ground impact.

What edge85 said – apart from the faceplant! The Super 2R never fitted me, whether standard or MIPS (MIPS version was worse), so I never bought one. Just had the wrong shaped head I guess.

The 3R is a much better fit, much cooler than my old 661 full face (*much* cooler in the 30c of Alps we had), and I didn’t really notice the chin guard the day we went pedalling (!!! Yes, really…)

I’ll be using the 3R with chin guard for the Ard Rock.

I can sympathise – last few years running Shimano brakes (M615, XT) in the yearly Morzine Alps trip – no issues with power or fade or excessive wearing of pads.

This year the bike I was using had Guides – these might be adequate in the UK, but I found them completely overwhelmed in the Alps. Had to change the pads every 2 days when they were part worn so as not to have the lever come back to the bars after a few descents. Even after a very careful bleed. And I have large hands, so the levers are always at max reach.

Good trail brakes, maybe, but for me, not suitable for the Alps. Now being replaced. Guides will prob end up on Fleabay, with loads of part worn pads!

Brakes are 8 mths old.

Other bods in the chalet running guides also had similar issues. Those running Formula, Hope or Shimano – no issues whatsoever.

Avoid the Crank Brother highline if you want to stay stress free!
Had one, and nothing but issues since day 1.

The actuator they’ve deployed is overly complex and adds unnecessary length to the post. The decals also weren’t aligned properly, so it was a b*tch to work out where the correct actuator/post alignment was for fastest rise/drop. (apparently, they’ve introduced 2 more QA checks to ensure this won’t happen again…..)

Also, it’s sloooow on the rise. (I have YouTube vids if you’re interested)

The lever needs 2 pinch bolts to stop it rotating in the clasp (but only has 1).

And after 9 months, it lost 20mm of its height!! Cartridge replaced under warranty, but I had to pay for postage. 3 Year warranty – and it needs it!

And it wasn’t cheap. Overall not a happy experience. Now sold at a massive loss, and replaced with a Brand-X, which is cheaper, faster, easier to fit and so far has been 100% trouble-free! Recommended!

Ok, something a little more useful. For the ride take spares as you would for a big day of riding: tube (even if tubeless, as there be rocks!), water (there is an opportunity to refill about half way round, but I tend to take enough for the whole day, typically 2+ litres), spare mech hanger, waterproof, (used mine last year to keep warm from the wind!), and take enough food to keep yourself sensibly fuelled, and the usual assortment of CO2 canisters, pump, tyre levers, spare quicklinks, multitool etc. It would be a long and hilly walk back if you’re not prepared!

Ooh, spare brake pads (I actually lent my spares to a rider half way round a couple of years ago – got them back in the evening)

Oh, and a first aid kit, and hope you don’t have to use it.

Might be overkill, but maybe a whistle.

And, yes, all the above (and more…) is what’s normally in my Camelbak for *any* ride… (now a running joke in the club that people don’t take stuff as I have spares of everything…)

And take a smile – its a great event and you’ll love it!

Beer and pizza money…. ;-)

Thanks ahsf, do you know if they do ‘day tours’, rather than just holidays?

Would anyone recommend the Uber Race Matrix for SRAM Guides? (sorry to hijack) I need something with a little more ‘bite’ and less noise (esp. when wet), but don’t want to shell out for some Hopes… (not yet, anyway)

The Hot Crazy Matrix reminded me of this:

Difference between Men’s and Women’s brains

Tandems are great fun – acquired a mates tandem a couple of years ago for a pub crawl – Christmas one year, Halloween the next. The tandem is, errr, a bit old (biopace chainrings…) and knackered. It had a brakes that ‘sort of slowed you down a bit’, a stick rammed into the front mech to keep it in the middle ring, and a piece of string connected to the rear mech cable for the rear gunner to pull: front rider randomly selected a gear from the (no longer) SIS gear wotsit, which didn’t move the rear mech until the rear rider pulled the string, then you ended up with a completely random gear – usually one of 3 of the working gears from the 7 speed cassette…

Funniest moment was when on the RLSCC Halloween pub crawl. Pedalled the bike from Warwick to the meeting point in Leamington. I was on the front, in my ‘Zombie Banana’ outfit (as yer do…), and my g/f was on the back in a ‘Zombie Gorilla’ outfit.

We all pedalled slowly down the Leamington Parade, and we heard a girl scream to her friends: ‘See – look! I TOLD you I saw a monkey chasing a banana on a bike!’ :-)

Scariest/funniest moment – when we swapped round. Both hilariously funny and terrifying scary at the same time – for about 100 meters before we had to stop as there was no way this was going to end well!

Have now spent some money on it: new gear and brake cables all round, new combined brake/shifters on the front (now have 3×7 again, with no string required…), a new bell (v.important), new chains all round (the f-r chain was so stretched it kept falling off), and new tyres.

Now ready for the next crawl!

But I wouldn’t want to take it round Cannock!!

I have the 2016 AL Comp 1 29er in a Medium – absolutely awesome bike. If I had to have ‘one bike to rule them all’, this would be it!

Used it at Coedy at the weekend (MBR trail) – brilliant, then did a very wet day at Stiniog on Sunday, and it loved that too! (only the blue/reds/end of black – I’m not that brave!)

My Giant Trance 27.5 is now up for sale as it’s completely superfluous, and the Reign 27.5 is now very, very rarely ridden!

Will also be doing the ‘Ard Rock on it in August, and would have done the Les Arcs Enduro2 this year if it wasn’t for Trail Addiction woes.

Will probably take it and Reign to Morzine – but I have a feeling I’ll be riding the Jeffsy more often there too.

I love the way it feels ‘flighty’, probably due to short chain stays and top tube. I’m 5’9″ with a 31″ inside leg – fit is perfect for me, even with the 150mm Reverb.

Have changed the chainring to a 30t (was 32t), the saddle for my preferred Fabric, and the grips for my preferred – that’s about it. Oh, and the front tyre for a Magic Mary, but the Onza Ibex aren’t that bad actually.

I’m a POC tart – and have the POC VDP Airs (as reviewed), the VPD 2.0 and the VPD 2.0 DH pads, all for both knee and elbow.

It’s the VPD Airs I use the majority of the time. Once they’re warmed up and pliable, you really don’t notice you’re wearing them. Adequate coverage (so far, at least…), and real all-day comfort. And they’re slim enough they fit under my Polaris ‘longs’ I use in the winter.

I won’t go on any ride without at least knee coverage: look after your knees – you’ll sure miss them when they’re gone!!

Wait a short while (May for UK, various locations), get yourself over to a YT Demo day (YT Demo Days) and try the Jeffsy (29er, 27.5) and Capra.

Tried the Jeffsy 29 last year – loved it from the first pedal, even though I’d been wary of 29ers before for being ‘too big to handle’. I have a Reign 27.5 and Trance 27.5 as well, but now selling the Trance as it’s redundant – the Jeffsy is better (for me) in every single respect: easier to pedal up hill, far more fun downhill (and my Trance had 160mm forks), and generally more playful and livelier at everything.

I bought the Trance as the Reign was simply ‘too much bike’ for the majority of riding I do. It makes sense when I go to the Alps and do uplift days, but everywhere else it was hard work. I’m now considering taking the Jeffsy to Morzine this year instead – it’s *that* capable.

I use a similar technique to Tracey: after inflating the tyre I hold it almost horizontal in front of me, with a slight downward incline towards me, so the sealant sits at my end of the tyre. Then shake the whole wheel forwards/backwards, tipping the far end up and down (does that make sense?). Shake a few times, then rotate about 1/8 turn in your hands and repeat the shake. When you’ve gone round once, flip the wheel over and repeat. This ensures sealant covers pretty much every part of the tyre and rim, sealing any holes.

Usually fixes any leaks. But the valve seating is, in my experience, the most common problem. I use a dab of rubber solution in the split I make for the valve nowadays to help seal it.

We had a great time – really enjoyed it! My g/f really enjoyed herself, helped by several things: 1, the weather was great! 2, overall a relaxed day and the ‘mash up’ race format was brilliant, and 3, we went round together and I was able to follow her down, so she wasn’t worried about faster people coming up behind her and hassling her.

A much better day than her first race, which was a MiniEnduro in FOD, where she spent hours just hanging around (why do they send the ladies off last? If we’re supposed to be encouraging more ladies into the sport as they’re largely unrepresented when compared to men, then please send them off first so they don’t have to hang around getting cold and p****d off! Or have this style of ‘mash up’ race where they can go down with their partners/SO)

Will definitely do a Pedal Hounds race again!

Had the ‘no boxes’ email after the order – but wheels arrived last week, so very happy. Box looks a little used, but they’ve arrived safe enough. Need to tape ’em and swap tyres now.

You can ‘program’ you Nespresso to give a bigger cup – press and hold the button (of your choice) until the required amount of water has been achieved, then release. This amount is then your ‘new’ cup amount until you reset it (which I can’t remember how to do).

Light blue, purple and the caramel ones are best!

2nd Nespresso machine in 5 years as the first one sprung a leak (too much use!). All Nespresso pods recycled (250 every couple of months – I work from home…), and don’t bother with the 3rd party ones – have never had a good experience with them, and AFAIK you can’t recycle them. (G/F bought plastic ones – but they kept getting crushed in the machine)

As a precaution, run a full virus scan (defender??) and I’d also download ‘malwarebytes’ and run a scan from that as well. Just to be sure you haven’t inadvertently become a victim of malware which has hidden/encrypted all your files.

If you do clone, when it’s all up and running again start a command prompt as ‘Admin’ and run:

winsat disk

to force Windows to recheck the disk, which then reconfigures the optimisation routines. That’ll disable the defrag optimisations that will be enabled if your cloning from a spinny hard disk, and enable TRIM/wear levelling type routines instead.

You probably know this, but never ever defrag an SSD. No point (it’s not mechanical) and all it’ll do is wear out the SSD faster.

Lower end Trance (ie, in budget) will come with lower spec parts. Any replacement fork will be an upgrade from whatever is fitted as standard. I chose a 160mm Pike (eBay) to replace the basic RS Sektor on the trance – instant upgrade in ability of the bike. :-)

The Giant Trance (2014-2016 models) is an excellent all rounder, and you can fit 160mm forks as an upgrade at some point. Latest Trance are 140mm rear, 150mm front.

But I wouldn’t discount a 29er – the YT Jeffsy AL is roughly in your budget (less at the moment), and comes superbly equipped.

Taped mine with 1″ Gorilla Tape (handy roll) – works a treat. Pull tight when applying. :-)

Anyone tried the Conti Der Baron Projekt? They get good reviews, but at over 1/4lb heavier than an MM Evo (650b), seem heavy (not as heavy as a SG MM though…

I have some SuperStar Tactic rims (23mm internal) on their Switch hubs which have taken a battering over the past 18 months. After a week of rock gardens in Ibiza (great place to ride, BTW – go see Ash at Ride Ibiza), a few of the spokes became loose in the rear wheel. Rim stayed true though.

Sent back to SS for their lifetime trueing service, came back – another week battered in Ibiza and this time all good (trying to keep up with an ex-Spanish junior DH champ in his back yard means your bike takes a beating)

Weight is ok (1800g-ish /pair), tubeless ready (never had a problems tubeless with gorilla tape), and the colour matches the bike (red on a silver/red Trance SX-a-like).

And bought in one of their 20% off sales, so came to about £170/pr – bargain!

The ‘new’ Contact dropper is pretty pants (twin bolt saddle clamp, zero layback version). Don’t know how they’ve made it so, but it’s unreliable now.

Had 2 original (100mm with single bolt layback saddle mount) contact droppers which have worked through British winters with only 1 issue: excessive sideways play on the oldest post now to the point I can feel it twisting as I pedal.

Bought a new 125mm Contact dropper in Jan this year – kept it clean, but noticed that it was ‘graunchy’ on dropping – took it apart to find no grease internally. Filled it full of grease via the collar – made it better for a few weeks.

Anodising started to wear off (not a problem on the old version), and the problem came back. Would then stick, making it harder to keep down in place. Eventually the cartridge failed at the button, so it wouldn’t stay down at all. Refunded for a Crank Bros Highline (and more sorry stories for another thread)…

As I have 2 mates with the same dropper (one has 2 of them as one came with a new bike) with similar issues, (to the point the warranty isn’t being honoured anymore for one post replaced about 4 times), I can’t recommend them.

The old post – brilliant. Newer post – rubbish, get a Brand-X or something (but not a reverb!)

My mates and I now always apply the ‘always stop before your last run of the day’ rule when we go out.

Hope everything gets fixed soon!

Have a Jeffsy AL Comp 1 (SRAM equipped), and apart from the flippin’ reverb having the sag of death out of the box (and now getting worse – and these are super-duper revised model jobbies as well…), I love it!

5ft8.5inch, 30.5inch inside leg – went for a medium – fits perfectly.

I was dubious about the tyres, but converted to tubeless and with the right pressures I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Off-piste FOD in the loam, they gripped. Cannock in the damp – they gripped.

Apart from needing to recalibrate the brain for the bigger 29″ wheels (I also have a Trance and Reign in 27.5) I’ve had no problems whatsoever with riding it. It’s quick steering – the front lofts oh so easily and feels really light and lively.

Spec for the money is top class (apart from Reverb…) and I paired it with a set of Hope F20 pedals.

Changes: changed the 32t chainring to a 30t. That’s it apart from adding a e-mount OneUp chainguide yesterday. (it’s a ‘belt and braces’ approach – I want to race this so need to minimise chain-drop (which it hasn’t yet))

Tested these in the summer when YT did their tour – loved it then, love it even more now. If I ever had to reduce to just ‘1 bike’ (heaven forbid!), this would be it. The Reign gets used for Alps and uplift days, but I fear the Trance’s days are now numbered…

So good, my g/f has bought one as well (she has an ‘SX spec’ Liv Intrigue currently), and we’ll be racing them in the Les Arcs Enduro2 next summer.

For the money, the AL is an absolute bargain – get one before they sell out!!

Oh, and the saddle isn’t that bad!

A friend of short stature, who’s probably the best rider I know, borrowed the g/fs Jeffsy round Cannock – from the moment he sat the bike on it’s rear wheel until after coffee and cake, he couldn’t stop smiling (we just didn’t mention what he got up to in between to the g/f, but it was well tested!!)

Synology – they keep even older units updated with firmware, and the software additions are great.

20% off the OneUp guide and bash at the moment with their code (on the homepage)

I just bought some 5.10 Impact vxi – loving the grip and they do dry faster than my older 5.10 Karvers, and are significantly lighter!!

Also have a 2yr old pair of Shimano AM41, which I think I’ll still use when it’s really nasty out – the soles now have chunks missing from using with a multitude of spikey pedals, but they still grip ok and offer a little more weather proofing.

G/F has 5.10 Freerider and Shimano AM7 – but she tends to favour the AM7s, especially in this weather.

I wanted to try the Spesh 2FO, but none in my size in the shop, and I was also curious about the new ION Vane_Amp flatties, but not in stock anywhere yet.

Vaude also make some weather resistant flat shoes for MTB.

Seems to be plenty of choice at the moment.

Thanks all, sounds like Les Arcs is a place I’d like to visit sometime, with a guide. Will let the g/f know.