nobody is being aggressive. he said

one bit of grit in there and stanchions would’ve been ruined.

he didnt say “they ruined my stanchions”.

can’t see much in that pic to be honest. this grit he’s talking about that could get in, would make lines up and down the stanchions, no? – can’t see it in the pic myself. perhaps he’d like to post a better one which also shows the blue enduro seal

Just trying to sort the wheat from the chaff

pedigree chum = fray bentos

Why were they rubbish? You say “would have”, but did any grit actually get in there to ruin your stanchions? I have a feeling you’re just speculating. the mtbr reviews are excellent with not one person saying anything bad about them, and an overall score of 4.89/5 with 44 reviews. can’t really argue with that!

i think the whole point is that dirt just can’t get in. no flex in the seal = no opportunity for grit to work its way in. what’s not to like?

Thanks! didn’t fancy getting them all the way from USA :) Phil_H you are my hero

i think he should at least pay for new seals, no?

I know. i’m not ranting at him cos i prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt but it is a pain in the arse because i’ll be the one pulling them apart

i like it looks a bit more racey. i started out on a hardrock and look at the fine mountain biker i am now ;)

singletrack reviewed it in the last mag along with various other £500 hardtails and it won their seal of approval.

High roller

cheers doog i’ll look into it i was hoping for maximum detail with minimum effort. like the lazy git i am!

someone must have a route guide, surely?

TJ, we all know that the chances of hitting our heads are low. its just that people who choose to wear helmets are covering themselves for that chance. please don’t bore us with statistics.

Yawn @ tandemjeremy. don’t get him started on the subject of risk/helmets – he obviously knows it all. either that or he hit his head and can’t shut up

It does and i know this for a fact. last year i was really really ill, i mean i lost a LOT of body weight and most of my muscle mass. down to 7 1/2 stone. probably as low as my body could go. When i started to recover i was so weak that i couldn’t get out of bed without help and i struggled to walk up the slightest incline (like my drive). steps were impossible without a push. As soon as i was strong enough i was out on my bike around the park. I’ve made a full recovery now and can do 20 miles off road easily now. did my first race last week. HOWEVER, whenever i do something which uses muscles i haven’t used for a while – running – i get cramps!

I can also tell you that having sex with your feet on the floor uses calf muscles excessively! ;)

D’oh! of course. although i’d quite like to mix it up a bit and have a go at somewhere else. apart from lee quarry, is there anywhere else putting races on up North?

i saw one guy sat in the shade rolling a cigarette!

Have just found out i came last in the weekend warrior category by 2 minutes. Although from the photos rick sent i looked pretty good! If you’re going to be sh*t, may as well be sh&t in style, i say :)

I stopped on lap 3 to go for a wee :roll:

The thing about all the customers i find is that i can see a bit of myself in each and every one of them. quite scary!

just did my first day last week as an occasional stand-in type of job

snap. as and when needed kind of thing.

Nice pics retrorick!

copied and pasted from http://www.mountainbikerides.co.uk/fettling/shimano_hub.htm

Using the cone spanners tighten the cone and the lock nut to hold it in place. The cones should have a very small amount of play when you have finished. Insert the quick release skewer and try the hub in the bike. The compression of the skewer usually takes up the play in the cones. Spin and rock the wheel in the bike to test for play and smoothness of rotation. You may have to re-adjust the cone and lock nut until it is just right. There is no quick fix for this – it’s just a matter of trial and error until you get a feel for it!

it’s a quick lbs job looks like you’ve over-tightened the cones. I’m not sure how it works but someone on here will know what to do. if you dont get any luck on here try searching ‘tinternet for shimano hub service guides or take it to your lbs

Wave a little finger at them and laugh it off

LOL!

I thought my rear pro2 might have been squeaking. can you describe the sound a bit more, is it a periodic noise, when you pedal?

Well that was my first MTB race!

Even though i was spanked after the first lap i loved it – the fast flowy singletrack more than made up for the climbs! I filled my camelbak with High5 and it made me feel a bit sick, thought i was going to throw up at one point. gagging for a drink of water all the way round but my bottle was full of high 5 Xtreme! after lap 2 the sicky feeling wore off and the xtreme came in handy for the last lap :)

There’s nothing like getting home after your first ever race and seing your bike covered in mud with a Hope sponsored number on the front. Just need to make it a bit lighter now ;)

They are a lot of fun. I’d be interested to know what the limitations of a single pivot are, exactly.

I’ve got a mk2 heckler and it’s a lot of fun and a great climber, although it dosen’t excell in this particular area. it’s better at twisty turny singletrack and descents. a real trail rider’s bike. i managed to get mine down to 28.2 pounds and there’s room to drop another 2 lb if i had the money and wanted to sacrifice a bit of strength on lightweigh gear.

Test-rode a lapierre zesty however and it climbed like a mountain goat in comparison and (probably due to updated suspension) descended a lot better too. and this was at stainburn on the descent-line trail. It seems to squat back into its travel on the climbs and pins the rear wheel to the trail. I can’t speak for the new heckler because i haven’t tried one but the zesty is a seriously good bike and well worth a test-ride

The bandages are peeling off

i wouldnt go for a QR fork on that ibis you’d be seriously under-selling it. If moneys not an option i’d go for a 36 or a new bolt through 32.

‘Course i’ll have a bowl of porridge in the morning before the race. and thanks for the good luck, i’ll need it :)

theres no way i’m missing out the energy drinks on race day. for reasons i can’t be bothered going into on this forum they’re essential over solid foodstuffs! ( and pretty much a substitute) Question is, do i have a camelback full of 4:1 and take a bottle with xtreme in it?

damn it i’m sure i’ll figure something out

Sorry Andrew! i think i called you martin last time didnt i? We were drooling over the baby blue orange blood with 36 floats right? lol never have been good at remembering names! The 50 quid was very wisely spent (women, wine, u know how it is ;) )

This is my dilemma do i do the weekend warrior and probably come last or do i enter have-a-go-hero and take it easy but miss out the ginnell?

This thing about getting the runs – if i try some of it today but not the stuff i’m going to use ( i got a couple of sample packs with xtreme, 4:1 and normal stuff plus a couple of gels with and without caffeine) it’l tell me generally wether it suits me, right?

yeah im going all out and entering the have a go hero category! xherbivorex – is that you martin?

never used it before but need all the help i can get! why what’s so bad about it?

EDIT: i’ve never raced before either!

i don’t know anything about wheel building but i’ve read the thread. Could you just measure the tension on your rock-solid wheel builds using your park tensiometer and then knock a bit off for the stans? the meter might be out but it should be consistently out. if you know what i mean

I try and keep my riding as smooth as possible, that way you develop good technique. like anything, get the basics sorted and then when your more confident move it up a notch. If you watch downhillers in action they’re just so freakin’ smooth! Eeking out every last bit of traction and speed by reading the terrain and using every last little bump. smoothness is key!

steel4real,I couldn’t possibly tell everyone where these steps are as it would be highly irresponsible especially as they are already pretty badly eroded.

‘sfunny you should mention MMmmmmBop Brant, i was telling Neil that you were always on about it but i have no idea where it is. i think you should email me with the details ;)

yeah but in my defense i had to brake otherwise i would’ve been into that sign and that’s why i slipped. if it had of been dry i would have rode it off! plus i fell off and bashed my ribs on the first attempt and didnt fancy another beating

And here it is fellas – the proof you’ve been waiting for!

http://www.vimeo.com/4824610