Useful yes, but I got bored going thru the detail.

More practice then…
It’s all about getting over random trail obstacles like waterbars and sticks etc smoothly, instead of jamming the brakes on, and generally adding to my skills, than it is about height and styling it up in the carpark… (although that’s always attractive!)

My roadie club leaves £1000’s worth of bikes outside when we have a cafe stop. No problem

Only know about the Soul but 120mm is the sweet spot and it keeps up with the FS if you ride it hard. And it’s definitely a ‘grinner’
I love mine. The FS stays at home now…

Try and get something with similar geo to yr FS, then you should settle into it pretty quickly.
IME riding both FS and HT regularly lifts your riding, you end up riding both better

I don’t think I’ve explained this too well.
What I mean is when I’m belting downhill I’ll already have the saddle down, but not as low as I’ve learnt to hop.
When I come round a corner and find a water bar or mess of roots that I want to hop I’m not going to stop and lower the saddle further…
I’ll carry on practising with saddle as low as it will go and then practice with it slightly higher, at the height I ride

Wild Country Trisar

Pete, I have one of these which I want to sell. Barely been used, Glastonbury last year and about 5 nights total in Wales. Replaced it for a Terra Nova Voyager.

It’s not superlight but it is tough, stable and roomy. Comes with all guys, poles, pegs etc and always stored in a dry place and aired after use.

I’ll be down in London at some point in the next month which would save postage and can supply photos if yr interested. Email in profile.

Whoever conceived of, let alone built the badger site should be knighted!!

The mental image is hilarious :-)

I would have thought Scotland for proper wilderness stuff. Torridon looks good.

Lakes has so many classic, proper mountain day rides that I can’t imagine you’d have a bad week up there. Well served for shops for spares too.

Cy recommended I didn’t do too many 2foot drops to flat on my Soul.

I’m riding mainly in the Peaks at the moment and it’s great for that.
+1 for speaking to Cy. He knows his products and what he designed them for and is happy to give advice.

I’ve put flats on after 16 years of SPDs.
I’m finding it easier to learn how to pump. Bigger pedals mean I can push through my feet more. Same for fast cornering and riding berms, I feel like I can push my weight on the outside pedal more cos there’s more of it.
I’m practising my manuals and wheelies and I worry less about coming off and going down with the bike when I’m using flats.
Also, it’s helping me learn bunnyhop technique, less tempted to just pull the bike up.
I would buy a cheap pair (DMR V8’s) and ride them round your usual trails for a while and see how you get on with them.
Horses for courses I guess

Garotting people with brake wire. Um isn’t that what other people have done to cyclists?

Wales[/url]

Lancs

Surrey

Secret skills coaches offering stealth bunnyhop practice

Will the law business contract?

I don’t know anything about the law business but lawyers here who are thinking about a career change might want to read this…

Or publicise the fact on t’internet?

They’ll be worth something if they’re like that. Decent pair of roadie SPDs. Need to try and sell them with the cleats if poss

get cheap stem off classifieds, try it for yourself for a bit?

That bike certainly has never been ridden on proper trails with those forks. I have that age of Five frame (2004), it’s rated for 150mm max.
Looks a bit dodge to me – seller is clearly very poorly informed about mountain biking and kit. To say the least!

a step in the right direction – sends the right message at least.
No doubt the ‘war on the motorist/what about cyclists’ lines will be trotted out again.
But we do need more bobbies around to spot the offence if people are actually to be punished for their behaviour. Only when there are consequences will people change IMO

Saddle height? Maybe over-extending?
+1 for stretching and conditioning exercises.
Would recommend a proper bike-fitting assessment too and/or visit to a physiotherapist who understands cycling…

It’s not actually the law I’m tired of. It’s the office politics, the abusive and dishonest clients and constantly having to look over your shoulder and protect yourself from those you work with.

That sounds like my experience in marketing! I really don’t get how some/most people seem to be able to enjoy a job where this is reality. Maybe I’m naive or just expect too much.

The one time I actually felt like work was ok was freelance. You accept you have no job security, get paid a little more for that, and so long as you remain aware of the politics you can sidestep it. Don’t know if that’s an option for the law?

People I know who are freelance or self-employed rarely IME have these kind of gripes. I guess it’s because they’re more in control of their destiny…

Good to meet a few more STWers too. I’m looking to hook up with a few local riders so if anyone’s going out, be great to join you – my email’s in my profile.

The thing I like about road riding is it’s brutally honest.
ie: if you’re good, you’re good and people will respect you for it (so long as you’re not a pr*ck about it)
If you talk a lot, have the kit but can’t ride, it becomes clear. You can’t blag it.
If you’re in the latter group but learn how to ride your decent kit and learn to give it a bit less chat, you get the respect that’s due.

Timperley’s nice.
Sale will be cheaper

If financially you can, then give yourself a break is my advice.
I’ve done 15 years in marketing (you might say serves me right!) and only enjoyed it/felt like I’ve fitted in for about 1 year of that total. It’s taken its toll – signed off for stress once and nearly again this year, and now just been ‘persuaded to leave’ a job that ostensibly I’m well suited for but I just thought was ridiculously demanding, could have no impact and was, at the end of the day, meaningless.

Prob is, if you have that thing within you where you have a sense of adventure/ability to think for yourself and live outside the consumerist/social life/sit at a desk world that is seen as the acceptable norm, then it can be hard to feel fulfilled by the standard life.

I’m taking my recent experience to push for what I really want to do, before it takes too much of a toll. I recommend taking some time out as it really helps give you a broader perspective on what you can do to earn a living and how much cash you really do need.
Also, speak to friends and family who know you and will support you -they can be invaluable in providing insight and direction. Career coaches can be pricey but maybe a worthwhile investment.
I know it sounds a bit hippy but you have to be true to yourself…

This book too, highly recommended: How To Get A Job You’ll Love by John Lees.

Good luck :-)

+1 on the thanks for organising.
Relieved I didn’t forget to keep pedalling.
No doubt will feel it tomorrow!

I lived SE London for years, just moved up to Manchester for better biking. A few comments to make:
1. I can’t say much that’s favourable about Nirvana either but Diary Of A Mountain Biker (google it) are a really friendly bunch. Based down Leatherhead way
2. Dulwich Paragon – road club. Ditto, really friendly, social rides. Highly recommended for making biking-type friends. I really missed them when I left.
3. Dulwich Park Runners if you want to run in the evenings. Serpentine Running Club is massive and centrally-based to get to quickly after work
4. London’s great, I won’t knock it but it’s not the friendliest/most neighbourly so if you don’t have a network of friends it’s can make you feel isolated
5. That’s a massive post you’ve put up there, I get the feeling you need someone to converse with. Might well be worth popping along to see the doc just for some advice. Obviously outdoor sports are highly recommended for feeling down.

CycleActive[/url]

Based in the Lakes. I had a bad couple of falls a few years ago from not having jumps and drops skills and my confidence needed sorting out too. A couple of days with Rich and I was dropping off 2-footers and generally flowing better than I ever had before.
Not well known on here but highly recommended

Speak to Cy. IME his customer service is excellent

Pump down into it.
+1 ask your mate

You’re right, my figures are unproveable, I don’t know how you do measure the social and economic impact of a tube strike but still, how can a dispute between 2, TWO! men and their employer lead to millions of people not being able to get around our most economically valuable city for a day….

I’m glad I don’t live in London anymore – tube strikes have an impact which is totally disproportionate to their starting points IMO.

Whatever the politics, truths, rights and wrongs of this specific situation, I’m not sure why a dispute between 2 employees and their employer means 12 million people end up being inconvenienced and costs London and therefore the country millions in lost business and makes London less attractive for international businesses to come to.
If we make the city’s transport unreliable, international visitors will just go elsewhere. We shouldn’t underestimate the impact to UK economy of this.

However, the growth in cycling and technological advances making remote working easier are developments which will reduce the impact of tube strikes which is a Good Thing IMO.

As recommended above, go into a shop and ride some different brands and then decide. I don’t know if you’re new to road riding (on a road bike) so apologies if this comes across as patronising but road bike fit and comfort is waaay more important than MTB.
MTB you stand and move around the bike constantly + stop to look at the view, wait for your mates, get your breath back, wallow in the stokedness of the gnarr you just ‘had’ etc
Road bike, you get on and pedal for 2,3,4,5 hours with very few stops. Once in a while you might stand but overall you stay in one position, powering away for a long time.
My thoughts on why there are so many: Cycle Surgery stock them and they’ve massively expanded in the last 2-3 years (10 years ago I think they had 3 shops, all in central London, a proper LBS chain). Road riding is where the growth in cycling is coming from. New-to-cycling customer walks into posh-looking bike shop and says I’ll have a road bike please. Next thing you know, Wilier sales have gone up…

Not Rival but Athena on a road bike is great. So many gears to choose from there’s always the one you need…
Beware tho that the only Campagnolo chain tool on the market is a mahoosive workshop one priced at £180 or something silly so if the chain needs adjusting or snaps when you’re out, it a long walk to the LBS.

Don’t let my MTB out of my sight.
Generally if I stop I’m half way thru a ride anyway so it’s a moot point cos I’ll be in the middle of nowhere.
For road rides I have one of those ABus things. Very light and small and great for keeping the opportunists away at the cafe stop

Junkyard, no offence taken. I agree with being assertive and confident as a cyclist. It’s because as a group not enough cyclists are, that IMO we are seen as 2nd class citizens.
On this particular road being too far out risks being taken out by cars coming the other way. Either because they’re driving too fast for the corner, or they’re pulling the opposite trick to the people who were passing me. Last time I rode down there I nearly was!

Cynic-al. Primary position.
Narrow-ish country lanes but ones that are used as a quicker alternative than the main roads. I can see how people would have decided to ‘take the risk’ cos I was ‘holding them up’ and so few places to overtake.
Lost count of the number of people overtaking round blind bends, plenty of whom then had to cut in!
Although pleasantly surprised by the number of people who held back until they could see. They all got a wave of thanks.

I think people are confusing the Five per se, and the Five at it’s current price.

I bought a 2nd hand 2004 full bike when it was 18 months old for £1200. At the time I think the frame on its own was about £1000 which was comparable with the competition. Now, however, I think it’s coming out as relatively expensive, for a design which is older compared to the competition. And people are questioning what they’re paying the premium for. I think that’s a fair question tbh.

As a bike per se it’s an effective design which clearly a lot of people are very happy with, maybe not as sophisticated and scientific as newer designs but clearly still a very effective, reliable and cheap-to-maintain one. I think this last point can be underestimated in its appeal and not something non-owners are as aware of.

In general, I think people who own one are judging primarily on the performance/reliability/maintenance thing. They’re not worried about current price so they see all its good points when they ride it.
People who are looking around are looking at the price, the old design and thinking WTF?!

Being friendly makes life more pleasant.
Seems worthwhile making the effort to me.
I moved up to Manchester last year after 20 years down South and it definitely is more pleasant simply because people interact more on a day to day basis. It’s where a sense of community comes from isn’t it?

I think when people don’t respond it’s usually for reasons other than ‘I’m not going to respond’, generally they weren’t expecting it or have something else on their minds.
To the OP, ignore the critics on here, if you want to be friendly, carry on. I read somewhere that people who think of others are generally happier :-)