I think a bit of common sense needs to apply. If you only have a main and no drinks and three others have 3 courses and 4 drinks each why should you split the bill evenly. That would mean that your mates are taking the piss rather than you being a tight ass. Seems that everyone has to pretend that they have endless money when they go out and be the big shot. If they are your mates they wont mind paying for what they had and not expect you to pay. But if everyone has a pretty similar meal and drinks then splitting is by fair the easiest way rather than counting pennies

It will depend on your final destination within NZ. If Auckland is the end point then you have more flight options to choose from. If you need to fly to somewhere else then AirNZ is the best bet because if one of your flights is late they will put you on the next domestic one. If you book domestic one a sep ticket then you are stuck if a flight is late…and also the luggage allowance might be different. I think Qantus has code share with Jetstar within NZ as well

There is a flight via Shanghai from HR. First leg is on Virgin then on AirNZ (I have just done it a month ago). Not sure on Virgins policy on bikes etc but it might be better and you might be able to book via Virgin and get their allowance rates? Worth checking.

It used to be that flying via the US gave you way more allowance but that is no longer the situation and going via the US is a ballache anyway.

Unfortunately no spoke sticking out of the nipple…..I think I’m stuck with the painful method of retaping!

going from the topic title my two pence worth is that a pack with integrated back protector is more comfy. While in the Alps I used to wear a hard shell Back Protector and a hydration pack. It was ok and not overly uncomfortable. However I have recently bought a Endura MT500 bag with built in back protection and it is way more comfy – and less straps to worry about!

Having spent time around that area for the last two summers I would tend to agree with some of the others that it might be better to have base camp in Bourg St Maurice. This year I spent two weeks out there – 7 days on my own and 7 on a guided trip. I spent 3 days over in Aosta valley and 4 in Bourg while on my own. The year before was just a week based in Bourg.

I didnt ride Pila but did research it and decided against it however from speaking to others I met most say it’s good for about a day and that’s about it. But that’s purely going on what I have been told.

La Thuile, in my opinion, is freaking awesome. Gnarly, steep, rooty, hard riding. If you like that type of riding then you will love it. If you are not so keen on the gnar then it might not be your thing. In the wet it would be “interesting” shall we say. I did two hard, long days in a row and was pretty tired, although they were my 4th and 5th day of riding. No way I could ride a week there, plus boredom would kick in.

There is a lot of good riding at Les Arcs (I rode there for 6 days this year). Bike park is average – it’s the off piste that is great. Most of it is easy enough to find on Trail forks and or with a map. The town has all you need and might be cheaper than Italy.

You could fly to Geneva, drive to Bourg, do 3 or 4 days over there (Les Arcs and Tignes) and then drive over to Italy. It’s only and hour drive to La Thuile. Or maybe fly to Lyon – hire cars might a cheaper in France?

A good combo for the week would be Les Arcs, Tignes, La Thuile and Pila :-) Having a car would make life much easier – although you might need a van if there are 3 or 4 of you.

Have fun!

I have a Norbar 0-23nm (I think it’s 23nm) and it’s been great for the last few years. Can’t comment on the other cheaper ones as I have not used them. It’s a great piece of kit that gets used more than I thought it would – especially good for carbon. It was twice the price of the cheaper ones however.

sticker over it and then carry on….

If the Funi is still running then there is plenty of good riding from the top via the trees or a with a short up hill pedal. Just got back from near on two weeks their and found lots of goodies in the trees!

I have the exact same issue with my RS’s. Just got back from two weeks in the Alps. Power was rubbish, lever getting closer and closer to bars all the time – constantly having the adjust the reach and also pump the lever while riding just to make them work. They have been fully rebuilt with new seals, bled etc etc and they are still shite. They are ok for UK riding but dire for the Alps! Might just get some XTs and be done with them!

I agree with you to some degree. Things like bolts cost bugger all and they should have spares as you probably find the 90% of Fords share the same bolts for various parts.

I was surprised the other week when my local Ford dealer had Fuel Injector rail bolts in stock for my other halves ka – but again probably every Ford uses the same bolts.

My local parts guy can get parts in 4 hours however!

You are rotating the outer sleeve. You need to remove that first by sliding it off (first remove the O ring) and then the sleeve under that is the one you want to undo :-)

oikeith nailed most of the items I would look for. I was in the same position as you a few years back when I bought a carbon capra second hand. A few more items I would add are

* Check for replacement spokes – different coloured nipples or diff sized spokes —may indicate wheel issues
* Shift through all the gears
* Check the play in the rear derailleur —sure you can buy a new one but if the current one is knackered you need to take that in to consideration
*Check for crank bearing play
* Bounce the rear and listen/feel for knocking from rear suspension pivots/bearings
*Check for serious scratches on shock and fork
* Operate dropper post to make sure it runs smoothly
* Check for dropper post sag (again can be fixed but costs money to do so)
* Check chain wear – if it’s beyond 5% stretch then it’s likely you wont be able to just replace the chain, so you need to run the drive train until it dies and then replace everything –people have varying preferences on this
*Headset play
* Play in fork bushings
*Check shock/fork are smooth
* Ask for original receipts/manuals etc etc

That’s about it really :-)

I used tube glue and a patch and it’s been good for two years. Doesn’t look the greatest but it works.

That was never going to dry up before the weekend! Such a shame, was looking forward to riding, chilling, bands and beer!

The English summer strikes again. Two major MTB events cancelled this year due to rain! Been looking forward to this weekend for months! That is some serious rain though

The camping field looks to be under water at the moment, flash floods, not looking good

Noooooooo —please not another event cancelled due to the UK weather!

No-one seems to have mentioned the three quid a pop for a shower

I’ll be jumping in the river like we did last year :-)

A few odd rules (maybe new for this year??)

Due to licensing conditions no glass is allowed
No personal alcohol in the festival area —-this is def a new one. £5 or 6 a beer anyone?

I have a Laser circlip plier set and was able to get it out- albeit with a few swear words! I think the set cost around £6 from an auto parts store.

There are several companies that offer excess reduction insurance. I usually do a google and pick one. Prices are fairly similar. I had to use it once about 8 years ago, it was the best 15 pounds I have ever spent. It saved me about £1000! Cant remember who that was through. however. It is normally substantially cheaper than the rip off insurance the hire company will try and flog you. Yes, you do need to do the whole credit card “deposit” thing but that is pretty standard anyway. I just say “no thanks I have other insurance” when they try and sell their insurance to me. One thing to check for is that some policies only cover cars up to a certain age – from memory it’s 10 years old but most hire cars are newer than that. Once we hired a car in Canada through a “rent a wreck” type thing – the car was way over 10 years old and I didn’t see the insurance small print until after the trip. Would have been interesting had something happened!

get it sent to a friend in Canada, have them send it to you as a gift…..no taxes :-)

That promo is pretty good but unfort not via the Tunnel this year as they wanted £500 for the pleasure, which is scandalous!

You can get the bip and go tag which is cheaper than the emovis tag….but of course when you go to buy the bip and go it says “uk people use this site” which directs you to emovis tag and inflated prices. Emovis = €5 per month, bip and go €1.7. Emovis €6 per year, plus 10 euro activation fee, bip and go 10 euro one off fee, no annual fee. Great way to rip off UK people :-)

Quite a few comments there – more than I was expecting! Last year when we drove the same route in late July (I was passenger in a mates car) we didn’t hit any major queues at the gates and my Monzo card worked in all booths. Will driving down on a Fri and back on a Monday so hopefully not as busy as the weekends but it will be Aug though, so holiday time for the French.

Decisions….!

I bought a norbar torque wrench when I got my first carbon frame. £70 I think (0-25nm or maybe 20nm) it was but I have used it loads and there is no need to worry when tightening bolts. Would be worth while getting your one calibrated IMO. Frames are not cheap to fix!

Top tip. Do not try and remove the rubber seals on the piston, they will rip. I made that fatal mistake. You can buy new pistons without buying the entire kit. I bought the kit and then just bought just the piston from Taiwan of ebay. Both are the same and have been good for two years.

It’s not a hard job, probably the worst bit is the dam c clip.

seems to be a NO for the free roads then! Some useful links there. I will do some research.

Flying is still an option but I was thinking of doing a week on a guided holiday and then a week of touring around the other areas so a car is needed.

Maybe a two week trip to Spain on a MTB holiday instead. It would almost work out the same cost wise.

Depending on how mechanically minded you are you could try and fix it. The manuals are online and easy to follow. I fixed my old reverb and replaced the bushings, IFP and critical O rings for around £9 and a few hours of my time. It’s been good as new since (about 15 rides). You can make your own tools for oil height and IFP depth for next to nothing. They really are not that complicated.

I rode La Thuile a few days (3) after the EWS last year and everything was open. I would say that just before the event they would more likely be shut.

Update – fitted new O2 sensor and it was working well, ie flicking btw high and low voltage as it should. Previous one did not do this at all. Old one looked very dead! However after running for a while it stopped flicking and went all the way down to 0.1 and stayed there!

P0200 code came up immediately as well – however before it was P0201 (injector 1), now its just the circuit in general – FFS. It was idling nicely and sounding really smooth and then it got a bit rough. Seems like it might be an intermittent electrical issue causing the problem. I’m thinking maybe bad ground somewhere – there is a lot of corrosion on the car so that could be possible. . Bad injection would explain the low voltage on O2 sensor as it would be running lean but it doesn’t explain why the voltage stopped flicking between high and low! They all seem to run via two relays – fuel injection and fuel pump relay. Going to check the relays and the connections this afternoon

I so wish the idiots that ride MX bikes without helmets and tear around like nob ends would have a massive stack. It’s like the morons in London on sh*t scooters that rip around like they are on a racing track – please, please fall off while while being a dick or a cop appear around the corner and nab them. Sounds mean but they need to learn a lesson and nothing else seems to work!

F that – life is to short to be constrained by that rubbish. In five or ten years you will look back and wonder where all your time went….on working rather than other more enjoyable things and holidays in rubbish weather.

No one ever died wishing they had worked longer hours!

The idea of the e-moto bike (Honda CR above) is cool but part of the fun is the sound of the engine. It’s all a bit dull when its quiet. I used to love the two stroke screaming away when I used to ride trail bikes :-)

Nothing of value to add but just glad I was in NZ when I was a young driver. I never recall my insurance being more than $400NZ! Car insurance in the UK is a rip off-I still dread the annual renewal dance!

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-fort-william-world-cup-testing-tech-and-gear-check-with-finn-iles.html

Skip to 55 sec’s in.

it looks like my time in the Schengen area will exceed the 90 days in 180 days

The complications of Brexit bollocks! You might not need to worry about it depending on what the final “deal” is! Valid point though – I imagine there are going to be a lot of holiday makers caught out by this if it’s applied.

Having done a couple of smaller bike trips (2 x 7 weeks) – my best advice is to travel as light as possible. Be brutal with the gear you pack. All the weight adds up. Take good quality gear as well. The last thing you want is stuff breaking. Oh – and make sure your wheels are strong AF! Broken spokes are no ones friend.

Enjoy!

Rear cassette not tight and dry. I had that on mine – I was sure it was my BB so I replaced the bearings only to find the creaking still there. Tracked it down to the cassette. Took it off, cleaned it up. Bit of grease and done!

Don’t mention driving past Stonehenge —-every friggin time there is a tailback for NO reason. Its a pile of big stones FFS its not that great. If you want to look at it properly park in the car park and then look.

I bet they are going to lock their bikes up a bit better this time. Was it not last year when they all got stolen from FOD?

Great, thanks. I thought that would be the case. Info from DT Swiss is useless – actually there is none at all from what I can find!

I Stupidly thought it started last weekend and was looking on RB for coverage, somehow clicked on 2017 womens race and watched the whole thing. It wasn’t until at that they said 2017! While watching I had a few moments where I thought somethings were odd

1 – Whow – Rob W has grown that beard really quick since the last DH race
2 – Where is Kate Courtney
3 – Why is Neff not riding a Trek
4 – They kept mentioning that it was the second race of the season

In my defence I was feeling rubbish and not with it. I can laugh about it now :-)

decisions…..I have seen some “cheaper” upgrade kits on ebay from HK . Anyone tried them?