I wish my office had a bike stand and a place to work on my bike!

I dont understand why all road bikes dont have hydros now, or at the min cables. They are so much better than than the “old fashioned brakes”. There is a reason why MTB’s all have them – they are a zillion times better. Plus there is no rim wear. I have gone through about 5 sets of wheels on my commuter due to brake pad wear on the rim. Currently looking for a hydro drop bar bike that isn’t stupid money. If they increase in popularity then hopefully the price of them will decrease.

up date on this – after sending the wheel back to e13 in Germany in mid dec, I finally got a new rebuilt wheel back a few weeks ago. New rim, spokes, free hub – using my existing hub. Haven’t tried it yet but cross fingers its all good. There was a delay with rim stock, so I was told. Either way, I’m happy for now. Time will tell!

I was thinking about getting one of these but was worried about them falling forward. How stable are they? I have visions of them sliding along the wall or tipping over and smashing in to things inside the house.

Has anyone taken the train from London to Bourg-Saint-Maurice? That could be an option that I hadn’t thought about.

Thanks Guys. Sounds like driving is the way to go. I am worried about bike damage via flying, so much rather know that my bike will be safe. Taking spares is also a big plus. I’m 1.5hrs from Calais so could do it in a day (a long day) if catching the early ferry.

Entirely off topic, but relevant. I work for a US company….I bet my salary is not going to increase 20% this year. In theory, it s much cheaper for them to pay UK staff now!

BPW rides really well in the wet. I was really surprised when we had a wet Nov weekend there. I’m sure there are people riding every day of the week.

Quite a few previous threads on this topic which will help you out.

I would go large. I am 5 9″ and have a large. It a perfect fit. A med would feel to cramped for sure (for me anyway). I have short legs (30″ jeans) and have no issues with the large frame.

that’s how they make money…. crazy high mark ups on things that you really need when you need them!

haven’t touched mine since Aug last year and can still hear fluid sloshing about. Didn’t actually realise it needed changing so often…

if you know anyone in the US get it sent to them and they can then send it as a “gift”…no import duty then :-)

No need to splash out on fox oil…its just repackaged under their name. I have used silkolene fork oil in my fox RLs since 2009 and had no issues. Its motorbike fork oil. Much cheaper and the same thing.

whoops – just saw TRS+ and started on attack. Didn’t realise it was just about tyres. Probably due to my annoyance about my rear wheel!

Have the wheel set on my Capra. Front seems ok. Rear is crap. Spokes keep snapping, rear hub is rubbish – all three springs broke/snapped and had to be replaced. The pawl even managed to work its way out of the free hub groove. No idea how that happened. Wheel is current in Germany with E13 to get “sorted out”.

Give it a try you might like it!

Totally up for it. My question was/is actually genuine. Its not a dig at Enduro at all. I haven’t done one before so was interested in people’s experiences. Some very valid points above and food for thought. I think I will give it a go and find out.

If you’re of the “I could ride their any other day for the price of parking” mentality then no but that’s kind of missing the point.

Has been done to death on here in the past.

No, not really – however I do think the attraction of events should be that you get to ride on at least some tracks/areas that are normally closed or not accessible on an average day.

you know you have to ride between the stages right?

What – there are no up lifts… ;-)!!

I recall having huge issues getting my standard marathons on a few years back. I resorted to loads of washing liquid all over the tyre and it finally went on!

depends where you are riding. I used marathons for two 3.5k touring trips a few years back and didn’t get a single puncture. However I wasn’t in the cities at all so that probably helped, ie no glass and crap on the roads. For the last 5 years on my commuter I have been using gaiter skins, which have been pretty good – considering all the debris on London roads! They have now become thread bare and I have gone for some Vittoria randonneurs – havent tried them yet so cant comment on those.

I wouldn’t stop doing what you enjoy…..that would be the worst thing! I often feel the same way about MTB’ing. Always seem to be pulling my bike apart, cleaning, fiddling et etc and it can get annoying after a while. But once you get out riding all of that tends to go away due to the fun factor. Also, if you dont work on/look after your gear, sods law it will brake or fail when you are trying to have fun and ruin your day, so a bit of a catch 22 really. Its worth putting in the effort to get the hassle free reward.

For a period a few years back I was buying all kinds of outdoor gear until I had two of each item or even 3 or 4! Eventually enough was enough and I just stopped. Gear lasts for ages – so what if a jacket is 2 years old. As long as it still functions well, there is no reason to replace. I just stopped online shopping and that fixed 90% of the problem. Living in London also had something to do with it…..space is not on my side and the wife was starting to moan! Now I only buy something if I need it. One thing out, one in. It seems to work.

Good luck finding the happy medium!

I have thought about making some of my own stuff but by the time you add up all the costs to get fabric, zips, seam sealing etc etc it just doesn’t seem make economic sense. Off course there is the “I made it” factor which is cool in it self.

Sounds like a few things have changed since my last visit in November! Interested to see what clunk looks like now. Hopefully the last drop before the last two “big ones” is still there – that was nothing serious, but enjoyable. I just hope the area doesn’t get toned down to beginner level – that would just be boring and a real shame. There were always chicken runs – people need to ride with caution, they cant expect everything to be 100% safe. Health and Safety and US suing culture creeping in now :-(

I am 178cm and I have large. A medium would be way to small for me. For your height I would def go for medium.

was having a discussion with some mates the other day about this. Two of us have newish bikes and both of us have had issues with them. It seems bike are getting more and more expensive and the quality is just getting shite. My older bikes, years ago, ran for 10 years with next to nothing being done to them. Now I’m having to fiddle, repair, adjust all the time. I have spokes braking, shifters playing up my mate had his rear shock bolt snap……maybe the plot is make stuff cheap these days so you have to come back and buy spare parts all the time!

If you are willing to do a late deal you will easily get under £600 to the Alps. I did this two years in a row (3 years back) – booking a week before hand and got deals for £300, fully catered, airfare, transfers etc etc. Of course you cant be to fussy on location but most of the resorts the TO’s go to are main stream and will be better than Bulgaria. If there is an even number of you it will be even easier! There are always late deals available if you have the nerves. good luck

I would love a 30min drive to any trails! London living doesn’t suit the MTB life! 1hr min and then 1.3 hours back due to traffic….still better than sitting at home doing nothing

I ride my capra there every weekend (well most weekends). My theory was to mix the riding between my stumpy and capra but since I bought the capra in Aug I haven’t touched the stumpy. Just have to much fun on capra. Little bit heavier on the climbs but it smashes the single track. Will only switch back to the stumpy for winter. I use all of the 160 travel.

Canada v NZ – I would they say they are almost as expensive (same price) as each other. The NZ exchange rate is shockingly crap at the moment (thanks Brexit) and will prob continue that way for a while. Stuff is will seem pretty expensive in NZ. Although if are going to work then you will be earning local currency so it will be ok. If it was me I would do Canada. Looks insane over there! Good luck.

I guess all instructors will be recording all of their sessions from now on…just in case they need to prove something was said, or not said, instructed etc

i had a wider one…it was ok. Only lasted 2 hours then fell off never to be seen again!

thanks guys. Sounds like i need to stop being a wuss and just pump it up. I like the idea of putting inside a bag though….hadn’t thought of that. The fire extinguisher method is next on the list.

NorthCountryBoy – not sure i’ll get anywhere close to air compressor pressure – a fun experiment though!

Not good news. Its easy to place blame on either party but in the end it wont change what happened but hopefully it might help stop it happening again if the cause is found. I have cycled to work in London for 9 years now and its unbelievable the things I see. I must admit a lot of it is from cyclists, there are so many people that pay no attention at all (some even have headphones on (really??), pull across lanes without even looking (just chucking a hand out and hoping it will be “ok”), passing inside of cars, trucks, buses at busy intersections where the vehicle is likely to turn, running red lights at the most ridiculous intersections.

I also see drivers do really stupid things as well and I have had a few minor near misses myself – avoided by experience and quick reactions. Its crazy how huge trucks are allowed in the CBD, the roads are so narrow its just a recipe for disaster.

As for how to solve it…..it will never be solved. But i guess its critical for cyclists to
1 – be aware of what is around you
2 – stay well clear of buses and trucks in tight sections
3 – don’t wear headphones, please dont wear headphones!!
4 – Use lights at night (amazing how many people have no lights at all!!)

I feel for the guy and his family

I guess if we had a choice it would be as central as possible with Ambleside being “the centralish point”) but really we just want to do some good hill walking/hiking. At that time of year we are not fussy on location

Update on progress – Customer service in Germany has been pretty good to be fair. They said I can post the wheel back to them and they will do their best to fix it….what exactly that means I’m not sure.Hopefully it means “give you a new one” or at least a full rebuild. Postage looks to only be around £15 so its worth a shot.

However after reading the last post I would rather send them back to Silverfish (ie within the UK).

Will update further with what I end up doing

so I am not alone then. Crazy for a set of wheels that are over £500!

icebreaker are good, but can be pricey. Sale just appeared on sportpursuit though!

I have some devold tee’s and long arm….lasted for 2 years so far. I wear the long one everyday in winter and the tee every day in summer to cycle to work and back, so far so good.

Interesting to read about the “lifetime” warranty. Must admit I did think it was lifetime. In fairness though, I have a 2007 stumpy, that on average has been ridden about 15-20 times a year. I would still expect the alu frame to last that long – in fact mine is still fine. However if you think that that is around 180 rides, it does sound like a lot. Still, they should be made to take some abuse….

I have a Capra CF -having come from a stumpjumper it did initially feel like a bit of a tank to pedal uphill but I got used to it pretty quick and now I can ride all day – hills, trails etc no problems. The down hill performance more than makes up for the little bit of extra effort.

gheez, a lot discussion over a simple and honest question. That’s what forums are for….to get advice and guidance etc. Chill pill people :-) No such thing as a stupid question.

As mentioned above – you need a blind bearing extractor. Something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Small-Blind-Bearing-Extractor-Puller-8mm-10mm-12mm-15mm-Specialized-Bike-Frame-/131940374879?var=&hash=item1eb842595f:m:mY7P-u91TrW3WSW74JcX8qA