I’ve had BMW branded roof bars with Thule 591 carriers, bit of a faff as i had to get special adapters in order to use the two together.

Was always a bit skeptical that the bikes were stable on the roof, but never had any issues at speeds of 70mph when transporting a Transition Patrol or Giant Reign, you just need to make sure that the clamp has a good grip on the downtube.

i guess fuel consumption goes up a bit if your bothered about that.

Now using a Saris Bones 2 rack on the back of a Fiesta, not caused me any issues and is definitely secure, it does obviously limit access to your boot though.

The main issue for me with any kind of rack is security, its hard to leave the car/bike unattended for longer than 5/10 mins with all the light-fingered scum bags around, suppose an extra d-lock/cable lock could sort that out.

I’m hoping for a CGI Han Solo appearance! Surely Boba wants revenge for knocking him into the Sarlac pit?!

At the age of 5 I decided my 3 year old brother looked a bit dirty and needed a good clean.

Covered him in Mr Sheen and was just about to start dusting when my mum walked in….

I’ve got a pair of Royal Storm Pants, they are a bit of weird fit though – quite tight in the crotch and on the backside!

I’m a 34″ waist and went with the size large.

I chucked a 2.3 T9 Grid Trail Butcher on the back of my Hightower, replacing a WTB Judge (Tough High Grip).

Weirdly even with the 300g less weight difference and, I’m assuming a slightly less sticky casing, the Butcher felt terrible! Felt like I was pedaling through treacle unless I had it pumped right up which meant it wasn’t the best in “summer” slop. Would not recommend keeping it on for Winter!

Also managed to slice the sidewall – luckily wasn’t deep enough to cause a puncture, but its the first time I’ve managed that in a while!

Ended up putting the Judge back on!

Always used Fivetens, apart from a brief stint with the OWN FR01 which convinced me to go back to Fivetens…

Am waiting on a pair of the Specialized 2FO Roosts to be delivered, hoping the Slipnot ST rubber can match Fiveten stickiness!

Nicko74 give me a shout if you need a guide!

+1 for the Nukeproof ones, still going strong after a few years.

Also had a pair of Sombrio ones a while back however the pockets were quite fragile and quickly developed holes.

I moved to Dublin 3 years ago – sold my MTB as thought “I’m moving to a city, no trails there!”

Could not have been more wrong!

As others have said – Ticknock and Ballinastoe are close, plenty of off-piste stuff as well as man made. The GAP is bike park stuff. Other places to check out

Djouce
Carrick Mountain
Devils Glen
Roundwood
Downs hill
Trooperstown
Glencoria

There’s loads! All this is within a 50 minute drive of Dublin City Centre so will be closer for you, if you’re based in Bray.

Please make sure you respect the trails and leave no trace!

+1 for immersion heater in the cylinder.

Surely a lot simpler and isn’t electric cheaper than gas these days?

I’ve got Enve Foundation 45s – Fast downhills in the wind are scary!

It’s strange because I had 55mm rims on a Giant Propel previously and can never remember having an issue.

I just used Gear-aid Goretex patches – you can cut them to size if you need to, aesthetically they look better on all black kit but if that doesn’t bother you…

My C5 is grey with red trim so a bit better on visibility than the black one – not sure if they still make it in that color.

Also, the Gore logo lettering has started to fall off, but again, that’s a very minor gripe for nearly 4 years use.

I have a C5 shakedry, its pretty damn good! As others have said its pretty fragile though so use it mainly as a rain shell on the road bike.

I wore it for commuting once in the wet and had an unfortunate wet drain cover/clipped in/van incident resulting in a tear in one of the sleeves – fixed up with a Gore-Tex patch easily enough though.

My parents live in Brendon village, it is a lovely area, I really need to get the MTB over soon for an explore!

I also have my eyes on the Hunt Enduro Wide wheelset – just come back into stock but a bit hefty!

I started browsing Bikemag.com before it went bump, now been re-incarnated as BetaMTB. A lot of articles are behind a pay wall (fair enough) but they are also producing an in-print mag 4 times a year, unfortunately only available in the US.

For me, Dirt was the holy grail – I started reading at issue 4 (I was 15) and the anticipation of waiting 2 months for the next issue was unbearable!

Bi-monthly publishing kept things fresh – wish someone would bring it back, even quarterly would be great! It has to be a labour of love though, imagine no money to be made in print these days….

I started buying Shredder MTB which is defo different, i also bought the first few issues of Sender Magazine, but that seemed to disappear.

The way we consume information these days is scary – imagine waiting 2 months for the next update of the Pinkbike/STW/Vital/NSMB websites!

Reilly Spectre here, its my year round road/gravel bike.

Just swap wheelsets for different applications

I was referred to a local specialist by my GP – I was suffering from anxiety after being diagnosed with Coeliac disease.

Didn’t cost me anything and was a mixture of online learning material and a weekly one2one session over the phone – there was the opportunity to do it face to face, but didn’t feel the need.

I was very very skeptical at first, but it worked for me and still use the tools/practices I learnt today.

Yep, generally compromised rim tape.

This seems to effect road wheels more than MTB wheels for me

Still not received my copy of 136 in Dublin.

Still nothing on the Emerald Isle.

The last few copies shipped to me in Dublin have been at least 2-3 weeks late (if shown up at all) they seem to have been traveling via Sweden ?!

Brexit or something else?

Hoping 136 turns up quickly as I hate looking at Singletrack on my phone!

I ran G-One speeds in 35c for a while, defo slower than something smaller but the grip was amazing.

Now running Hutchinson Fusion5’s in 30c for my “summer” tyres – definitely not as grippy but a lot faster.

Have you looked at the Hightower Cascade link – supposed to improve clearance and let you run a coil.

Also ups the travel and lengthens the chain stays a little!

Prob a bit cheaper than a new Specialized!

Generally think the normal responses are:

Is there too much grease from factory assembly?
What are your HSC/LSC settings? Have you started from Fox recommended settings?
How many tokens do you have installed?

WTB Verdict light high grip front
WTB Judge tough high grip rear

The only combo you’ll ever need

Extra weight gets you fitter as well!

Thanks for all the responses.

Can’t believe the Enduro has 20 bearings!

I’m still in two minds – the jump in reach from the SJ (475ish mm) to the Enduro (511mm) seems quite a big change.

On the list at the moment:

Specialized Enduro
Commencal Meta AM/TR
Forbidden Druid (completely different to the other two, i know!)

Can you let me know your experiences of increasing reach on a new bike a substantial amount?

Not criticising your use of spacers, but I’ve always wondered if there is a reason that tall people don’t use higher rise bars? Surely that wouldn’t effect the reach as it wouldn’t bring the bars further backwards. Is it the look or being a tight arse and using existing bars? (I use a few spacers but then I’m only 5’11 and fiddle around with higher and lower bar height all the time, that and they’re old bars and I’m a cheapskate).

As I said, not a dig, just always wondered as I’m tempted buy some higher bars when I replace my trusted Fatbars.

I was running a Burgtec 38mm rise bar with 20mm spacers underneath the stem!

Interesting he’s on an S4 at 6ft 2.

The ETT does seem long on the S5 though, prob due to the 76deg seat angle.

I’d be putting a 40mm stem on anyway and also the carbon wheels/WTB tyres from my Stumpjumper.

Also prob swap the NX shifter/cassette out for GX that I’ve got knocking about

Not sure which Stumpjumper Evo you had to hard to comment on what would be better.

I had the 2019 Stumpjumper Evo Pro Carbon, S3 – i actually swapped the Fox DHX2 coil out for a Ohlins TTX air which lightened it up some what.

Main issue was the short headtube, I had to jack the front end up with spacers to get the bars at the right height, which reduced the reach to about 470mm.

The low BB was also a problem, the Enduro BB seems quite high in comparison?

I’m currently looking at the Meta TR to replace the Stumpjumper Evo Pro Carbon I’ve just sold.

Want more reach up front as I’m 6ft 2 (stumpy was about 475mm).

Obviously going to be burlier weight wise, my only niggle is the short chainstay with the long reach of the XL

How do the Commencals ride?

Stupid question – you’ve removed the caliper from the bike yeah?

This happened to me.

Didn’t find the remnants of the circlip until I stripped the frame down to sell.

It had pretty much disintegrated!

Would I burst into flames if I put a 150mm fork on it?

I moved onto other brands like Albion & Isadore due to their sustainability credentials.

Still wear my Rapha kit though, it was always an experience to go into the clubhouse in Manchester – always found it strange that they’ve never opened one in Dublin.

Also amusing when my girlfriend questioned my sanity after she saw the price of a jersey and bib shorts!

They seem to have problems with stock online – few of the core items always out of stock.

Just get Codes?

I run the Verdict/Judge combo – great feel and grip but not much lighter than a set of DH tyres.

I’m quite happy to just spin up hills slowly in the 50t cog though….

Prob the way to go is lighter casings and an insert?

Yep, Demo Pros for April to October-ish

I have Royal Storm Pants for winter.

Bit of a weird fit for me but they keep you dry and warm in all but biblical weather!

Hobbled myself on Sunday by ripping a couple of holes in my calf with my pedal…

Hoping I can salvage at least some of the Christmas period for a bit of road riding!

Deliveries to Ireland are affected as well.

I want to shop local but 2k vs 1400 for an AXS groupset is pushing it a little!

First world problems and all…