Whereabouts in Calderdale were you?

Results up now…

http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/04/saab-salomon-avalanche-trophy-kielder-results/%5B/url%5D

WackoAk – yep, I use the TLR version on my Mavic Crossmax. I used a decent track pump.

Van Halen – the “Dry” has more spaced-out knobbles, at slightly differently angles, and more importantly the knobbles don’t have sipes (slits on top of knobble).

FYI the Big Earl “Dry” is a significantly different tyre to the Big Earl “Wet” (the latter being the one we like).

Excellent on rock – wet or dry.
Fastish rolling for a grippy tyre.
Not great in wet mud.
Available with really beefy “Stability Casing” sidewalls for those who fear the pinch.
I used them (tubeless with sealant) for last weekend’s Kielder Avalanche and they were fab.
They’re a real Calderdale/STW Test Team favourite.

It was a great weekend of racing/riding. I was number 47. I finished 75th I think. Must do some more training mileage next year! :-)

A feature about the Avalanche will be in issue 50 of SIngletrack.

It’s mostly T-shirt bagginess :-)

Hopefully it’ll be out in the real world at the end of next week…

Tests have their place in our mag but it is not the be-all and end-all of the mag. To fit more test pages in the mag would mean losing feature pages elsewhere.

Other more product-led magazines are available.

BTW get the Orange.

Juan – Nice idea. I’m not sure Singletrack is the mag for that though really. We’re not a product-led publication. That’s kind of the point really. We’re about features and words and flowery w*nk. We’re about the “why” not the “what”.

Did you read any of the non-test features in the issue you purchased? :-)

“Well I’d like to know more about how it’s test”

I was thinking of riding it a lot.

Where Singletrack Test Bikes

Juan – will 1000 words be okay? :-) We’ve reviewed the previous Hemlock in an earlier issue. I’m eager to see how the new Hemlock rides with the Fox shock, as the RockShox Pearl in the old Hemlock wasn’t my cup of tea.

There’ll be a Hemlock in Singletrack issue 51 (July 23rd)

“Travel is adjusted by interchanging the rocker plates, though you’d need suitable forks for each version as it’s designed to run forks spanning 130-160mm travel.”

That is just wrong IMO. The point of the Hemlock is that you can effectively have two different types of bike (via changing the rocker) whilst keeping the same fork up front. Shorter rear travel for punchy techy “hardtaily” riding. Longer rear travel for fast, lumpy ‘n’ jumpy descending. Or a “UK” set up and an “Alps” set up.

Shame about the production faults with the frame. Not good for anyone on any side of any fence.

Richieboy – My Alpitude is 18.5in. I’m 6ft 1in and would prefer a very slightly longer top tube.

Myself, Sim and Mats Gustav Lund will be racing. See you there!

Hmm… what tyres…? ;-)

Longer top tube. Always.

Brant – http://www.argos.co.uk/%5B/url%5D

My personal 2p’s worth… the Ragley’s head angle is not too slack… it’s slack seat angles that you ruin a bike not head angles… the not-mahoosive standover of the Ragley is offset by being able to genuinely drop the saddle ALL the way down ’til it hits the seat tube top… if you’re over 6ft get the 18in as the 16in will be an endo-machine on slow-steep-tech… the geometry feels 100% bang-on for what the Ragley has been designed to do… i’d still go for an aluminium frame rather than ti…

Keep an eye on the front page this afternoon… ;-)

Davey – why not just go and have a look down it? ;-)

The RC2 are more fit-and-forget than the R in my experience :-)

Bizarrely, silence is often a good response to “in house” threads like these IME.

The nature of internet forums is that if you get zero (or minimal) flak then people are okay with what you’ve said. Disagreement provokes a response much more than approval! :-)

I filmed it, if that helps..

Don’t judge it in distance terms. It’s lots of techy “play areas” with a red route joining/passing by :-)

Wait for them to bed in.

And “small bump compliance” is a job for tyres not suspension IMHO :-)

CrazyLegs – you’re roadie-ly wrong IMO :-)

“Bashguards have their place but that place is on full on DH bikes.”

What absolute twaddle!

I haven’t got a big ring on any of my bikes.

Triple chainsets have their place – on touring bikes.

And if you’re so bothered about weight saving – why do you use such long stems? ;-P

Should be in shops end of next week :-)

A bolt-thru swingarm Prophet MX is a brilliant bike (I have one) :-)

And I’ve just about to put a shorter eye-to-eye and shorter stroke shock on it (like a “lowering kit”).

A full report of my Prophet tweaks will be in a future issue of Singletrack BTW.

Chelmer Cycles are always good for Cannondale spares IME.
Tel: 01245 287600

Ace.
Time for revisit methinks :-)

http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/02/singletrack-classic-weekender-what-is-classic-trials/%5B/url%5D

Yep, expect a news update this week folks :-)

It’s £3.99 in bike shops.
And much cheaper to subscribe (obviously) :-)

James – that’s the easy bit. Seriously. It’s techy. It’s great :-D

Yep, Dave dislocated his elbow riding down from Sty Head Pass.

As for the others you’ve mentioned, well… you might want to get hold of a copy of the next issue of Singletrack ;-)

FYI the poll is now situated in a box on the right hand side of the non-forum pages of this site. (Hopefully it will appear on the forum pages as well in the not-too-distant future..) :-)

The track is by Bikini Kill.