Avalanche. I know because of the exchange rate the cost puts a lot of people off, and the weight weenies world would melt at adding 300g to your forks. But its really that good. I’d happily buy a 2nd had set of old 36 or yari’s and send them over to the US to have a avy damper fitted, than buy a £1000 set of new fox 36.

Full on grizzly poon tang

They are quite good in that trail centre kitty litter stuff and really stick to berms, you can thunder round them. But as soon as you hit a rock section or loads of roots then they are rubbish, you just bouncy around. Riding on beaches is fun for about 3 rides.

I don’t think uplift is included in the £10. The £10 is for entry into the festival village. I understand that they are trying to put more on with more live music and entertainment and maybe the increase will justify the new charge, but if not a tenner to walk round a bunch of bike stands, still pay for food and drink and see a proclaimers tribute band ( sorry, it’s probably not them but it is Scotland and that the first band that came into my head) does seem a bit steep for none riders.

Have a look at cervina in Italy, it’s not far from Aosta so could be linked with Pila and La Thuile and there’s definitely a couple of days riding there. A mix of lift assisted DH style trails and big long lift assisted all mountain trails, similar to the natural trails around bourg. Not great in early season if there has been a lot of winter snow as it’s slow to melt. It can be linked up with the mtb trails in zermatt but don’t miss the last cable car to the top as it’s a very expensive taxi back. Always very quiet though getting busier now the maxiavalanche is becoming more popular. Also Italy is a bit like France so you can ride on the footpaths with no issues.

I’m just thinking out loud here, but could it be that they have realised that they are actually better at designing and marketing stuff rather than building it? And completely underestimated the process, time and cost it takes to get a 3rd party bike builder to do the job, at the same time because of their too cool for school attitude/ arrogance they don’t have the bottle to fez up to their existing customers to tell them what’s going on. It’s a shame as irrespective of whether you liked / didn’t like ( delete as appropriate) their rad goatie attitude the bikes looked good and it’s always good to see a British company do well. Sadly it sounds like the sick bike co, is sharp becoming the limp dick bike co. If they keep failing to deliver.

Lots more information here, a few more details, very interesting.

http://www.dmbins.com/riders/news/key-facts-consultation-evening

Interesting read, really ambitious. I was a bit skeptical as first but it seems to be very well thought through. It’s a shame to loose some of the trails at the Golfie but if it’s bigger and better and many of the natural trails seem to remain then hey what’s not to like. There’s been a few times we have ridden up there when we have wished for a chairlift, 3rd or 4th time up that climb starts to break you will. If there was ever an area in the uk that could handle it, it’s the tweed valley. Good luck to them.

On a delivery point of view is it privately or community funded? And how reliant is a project of this size on uk / eu grant funding?

I’ve used a camelback podium insulated bottle, it won’t keep your tea hot like a thermos flask, but fill it up with piping hot orange juice and it’s enough to give you some warmth for an hour or so.

@geex

Why ruin a great riding area to end up with a hill full of Dave Jevnveys?

I agree so why push for a Bike Park, why not just get an uplift service in there like at inners and put more money back into trail building / repair to coupe with the any increased traffic.

No but plenty go to BPW it’s this intended to be a bike park or are we talking about something along the lines of revolution?

Nobeerinthefridge – that would assume that riders that don’t like / can’t coupe with steep Golfie / Inners DH trails don’t like the benefits of an uplift service. Seems a bit elitist.

Would be interested to see what locals riders think, particularly those that build the trails at the Golfie, is the organisation / individuals that are putting forward the plans the key trail builders or have full support from them or are they just cashing in on the hard work done by others?

Also as a venue is it not a tad steep for a multi purpose bike park? It’s the popularity of BPW it’s mass appeal in that it offer something for all abilities, were as the Golfie is significantly more full on and beyond quite a lot of riders ability, they would have to put some serious traverses in to bring the trail gradient down.

How do Scottish access laws affect this? With no law of trespass then surely you could just turn up, pedal up and ride the trails as normal?

I genuinely don’t get those that bang on about use it or lose it with local shops when you often pay 30-40% more than online, I don’t think anyone minds paying a bit more if there is sound advice or a difficult part is fitted, but other than wheel truing and fork / shock servicing, and maybe getting the right bb or headset, there nothing on a bicycle that is rocket science, so why pay that huge premium? So all I can think is those that are happy to pay this massive premium are maybe more lifestyle, lonely or have deeper pockets than myself. Anyway there’s always the mobile bike mechanic who have filled the void.

However this gets away from the point of the original post, is Maddison’s new web portal a good idea. Yes it’s a great concept, the ease of buying online with the combination of driving footfall to a local shop through click and collect as well as any uplift between trade price and retail going to the nominated shop. But it is flawed if it’s not price competitive, it’s doesn’t have to be the cheapest but if someone can save £20 -30 on a £80 item by going to crc or the like then they will. Maddison and crc must be buying products direct from manufacturers whether OEM or not at similar if not identical prices as both are bulk purchaser’s, what this says to me is that Maddison are unwilling to reduce there profit margin per item to allow shops to be more competitive against online, I’ve heard plenty of shops say it’s cheaper for them to often buy from crc, rather than a distributor. Until this site is more price competitive then it won’t dent online sales and a lot of lbs will go the same way as many shops on the high street.

The concept is great but isn’t the reason people went online because the prices were much cheaper, a quick price check, XT m8000 rear derailleur freewheel £89.99, crc £59.99, and freewheel are the distributor. I’m sorry I know where my money is still going.

Bird am29 , 150mm travel . Very sorted bike and excellent value. Not carbon but why get hung up on material.

The thing that most surprised me about this thread is they have actually made a bicycle, 2 maybe 3 by the sound of it, I think im starting to understand their business model,( sorry rad bicycle collective ideology). sell a 1000 t shirts then make a bike. OP hope you get it sorted.

To put some perspective on this, I read a comment on Facebook from someone who was at the meeting when this was discussed. It was one person that made the complaint against mountain bikers. The BBC mustn’t have had much to report about that day.

Does stripping off mean groups of blokes standing there only in birthday suits or are we talking changing over sweaty tops and dirty shorts. If it’s the last what’s the difference between that and walking around in the summer with you top off and in a pair of shorts, seen plenty none mtb locals doing that. Sounds like a bunch of Presbyterian granny’s get hot under the collar about nothing.

That steep rocky bit in the middle of birkside might be a tadge icy, as it doesn’t get much sun. But otherwise all good. Should be a great ride.

Second ex511’s on a hub of your choice. Strong solid rims, really can’t fault them.

Total legit company, bought loads of gear off them. Some good deals – 2018 SC nomad c frame and shock £1798 I’m not on the market but at that money I’m tempted.

BTR

Or

there’s that brand it’s run by 2 hipster types with fashion beards, that kick off a lot about the braising on the frames – sorry can’t remember the name.

but the bikes look nice, I sure they do custom builds, someone on hear will remember who they are?

I was hoping, maybe blindly, you would get twice the life out of the more expensive ones, because of some extra special secret coating, if its just weight, I’m not sure I could push to paying the extra £2 per gram difference for the x01, over GX. then maybe I should look at the NX, but 612g for a cassette? That does sound heavy, compared to my current 10 speed setup.

My understanding is that if his ebike / e motorbike was more than 250w and / or capable of more than 25kph something akin to the bulltaco then it’s an e moped with pedals , and so illegal on bike only trails and bridleways etc with or without restrictor switch and illegal on roads without correct insurance & mot etc. Just to muddy some pretty murky waters still further there are now a whole  heap of 250w motorbike / moped looking bikes with pedals that are technically ebikes and so allowed any where pedal bikes go.

As for the ktm it’s equivalent ( in the eyes of the law) to a 125cc so can be ridden on L plates and CBT.

Great race and event, possibly my favourite of the year. 2019 will be my 3rd of 4 years. It’s grown a lot from its 1st year with 150 or so riders but still maintains a chilled friendly vibe. 5 great stages. Stages 2 & 4 are the techy ones and they can catch a few people out. 1,3,5 are fast. In the dry they are all fantastic, in the wet they are pure carnage.

BTR . Mate has a lacquered steel one, A thing of beauty . much nicer than the vendetta, which is still a tidy looking bike. You can get it tweaked to suit your required geo. And they are bloody rapid. We were on a DH track in Italy he was overtaking lads in full DH bikes that were fair shifting it.

You will get no joy on here, it’s all about ebikes, cx ( sorry gravel ) and the TDF , unless you go steel mtb, in which case you will balls deep before you know it.

I’m running a 38mm external 34mm internal on a 29 hardtail. Have used them with 2.3 -2.6 tyres. With no issues. I really rate them for xc / trail / all round go anywhere duties. Not draggy and plenty grip. Tend to run rounder schwalbe tyres, not tried any squarer edged makes.

Bskool pro trainer £335 at CRC, so not mega money for a smart trainer, very straightforward to use, not that heavy and you don’t need to calibrate every ride like the wahoo snap.

Out of interest what do you regard as disappointed with run time. I have one and manage to get a 3hr night ride out of it on low or mid while climbing and then full power on descending? As yet I’ve not run it out.

Could you not adapt the Diablo usb charger cable to connect to you batteries, so your 18650 batteries charge the Diablo while on the move. I’m sure the light still works while being chrarger I’m plugged in on mine.

A bloke on a ebike almost, but didn’t quite overtake me on a technical climb last night but posted a better time on regular Strava, I’m now gong to spend the next 2 days ranting to my wife, work colleagues, children, dog and neighbours dog about how I feel cheated and emasculated. Damned these ebikes.

You can still hike a bike with them as most have the powered walk function now. As long as the trail is wide enough to have the bike along side and you can lift the front wheel. you will get over most obstacles.  Throwing them over gates and high styles is less fun, and anywhere that is so steep that you need to strap bikes to backs to use both hands to climb up would be downright uncomfortable , but there’s not many like that in the uk.

Not cricket to modify an ebike but ok to ride on cheeky footpaths 🤔

you get free beer at the chalet with Whiterooms . nuff said .

People that ride often fall into 2 camps. The riders of enjoyment ( was that a 70’s prog rock band)  and the achievers. The riders of enjoyment don’t give a what other people ride or how fast they are on an ebike or pedal power bike, as long as they and everyone they ride with and meet are enjoying themselves and gaining personal satisfaction from what they do. The achievers do care. They what to be seen to make an effort, They care that someone can put less effort in but still go faster than them,  because this goes against their sense of achievement, they want to be seen to ride at 110% whatever that is. Achivers believe everyone should make a 110% effort.  Achievers don’t  like ebikes because ebikes are unfair, and they think ebikes will dilute how others appreciate their  efforts. We all have a little achiever inside us, but don’t let it rule your rides.

I accidentally ordered 35mm rims on the 29HT and run them with 2.35 tyres front and back. They feel good and roll , grip and corner well.

I think peoples experiences with plus tyres can be very different depending on where and how people ride, your best bet is to swap them around abit a see what works for you. Personally I found plus tyres are great for trail centre hard pack and dry trails and regular tyres work better on wet roots and slop. It’s been a few years since I’ve ridden on plus tyres and there is way more tyre choice now so likely things have improved.

I’m with those that say the Enduro is a race, it shouldn’t be taken as a social with your mates, if you are not wanting to race, or can’t ride the course  do one of the other ones . I spoke with one of the organisers a few years back and the idea of a Friday mega style qualifier was being banded about, but I think the logistics with then having an extra practice day, use of the land, marshal etc were just too complex. Passing or not was much better last year maybe they have got abilities grouped better or rider ability as improved or maybe I’m just slower these days. It’s a great event and they must be doing something right if it sells out quicker than Glastonbury.