In order to get some/any riding in over winter I took a few hacks out down country roads on the roadie S/S. Just a USE Joystick, Exposure and Flare. Great feeling actually, dead quiet and nice to get some midweek miles in when you don’t expect to be able to :-)

I wrote speculatively for a job the other day to a company that have Orange as a client. That would be ace.

Depends what you want it for I guess but I’ve had one for 5 years and love riding it. Great on singletrack, I’ve ridden Peaks and Surrey Hills and it’s fine with both, and trail centres too. If I was riding in the Lakes or somewhere really rocky I’d expect to find a hardtail maybe a little too much like hard work.
It handles well but you need to have control of it IMO, not necessarily a beginners bike. It comes into it’s own when you’re riding fast.
I’d get a test ride and compare it, see what you think but IMO it’s not overhyped.
And Cotic’s service is excellent. They’ll advise you on setup e.g stem length and seatpost etc if you tell them what you’re after…

Often. My desire be energetic has plenty of outlets and feelings of achievement: biking, running, swimming, gym, core strength etc. My desire to be creative rarely delivers the results I’d like to, but that’s partly because my job is wrong for me (one place where I enjoy being creative) and partly because I don’t persevere as I do with the energy stuff, I have less confidence in my creative talents and tend to give up more easily as a result…

Mine have lasted for 5 years and still ok. But that was when I lived down South (less rain and rocks) and it’s not the only bike I ride.

2nd core training. Makes a big difference to your efficiency IME.
Get a personal trainer to give you an outline plan. Core isn’t just a six pack, it’s stomach, sides and back.
Also worth considering swimming as cross training and/or flexibility training to help stop muscles getting sore in the middle of long sessions.

is it worth running Presta tubes? I’m speculating here but maybe the lockring will help reduce the force on the valve stem.

I had an experience years ago when I kept ripping valve stems. Changing from a mini pump to to a floor standing track pump sorted it. The mini pump was stressing the valve because it was directly attached whereas the track pump uses a hose, and any movement from you pumping is prevented from moving the valve.

technically not legal on a bike.

Can you tell me which bit isn’t legal? From A57 through the forest looks like a fire road, then it’s tarmac, then BOAT and then bridleway down to the road again, as far as I can see.
Take your point about a long detour for only a short bit of downhill trail tho!

You don’t hear people saying that about Orange Fives :-)

PP, YGM & pics

nice one Pieface, that would go nicely

I’ve got a pair of Roadrat forks you can have. They’re 400mm I think.
£30 posted?

dial in stiffen up the suspension and bring up the BB?

Isn’t it also about being ‘a cyclist’ vs ‘a person on a bike’?

ie: cycling is one of those things that kind of gets under your skin, I mean look at the levels of obsession about kit, technique, memory of a day when everything flowed etc we all get up to? Sometimes riding the bike becomes more important and meaningful than anything else in our lives.

So seeing people new to the sport turn up with top end kit but not the corresponding level of experience and skill to justify it and act like they are a ‘cyclist’ rather than ‘a person on an expensive bike’ and effectively try and buy their way into the sport, something we love and work hard at. Well, it’s bound to cause some resentment isn’t it?

This is different from judging someone because they have cheap kit, it’s about people pretending to be something they’re not…

Ton – simplicity and lower cost of maintenance is defo part of the attraction

The respect a rider gets from the others generally comes from how well they ride doesn’t it?
So whether it’s a road bike or mtb, riding a top of the range bike, badly/slowly, tends not to engender respect, no? Isn’t that what the OP is getting at?

AllMountainVenture: email in profile if you’re interested.
It’s a 2004 model (130mm @ rear – which is bang up to date with the new fashion of shorter rear travel I might add!) with an upgraded Manitou Swinger 4-way shock.
All in perfect working order, bearings have been checked and are fine, being a bombproof frame and paint it really isn’t much different from when it was new other than a few dings around the bottom of the downtube from rocks (which are kind of irrelevant for a frame that tough anyway…)
It’ll be frame and shock only though + poss the nearly new front derailleur, all the bits will go across to the new bike

Herman: I would drop Cy a line and ask him.
He said that doing 2 footers repeatedly (like you do when you’re learning)may not be a great idea.
Then again maybe he just wanted to plant the idea of a bFe in my brain!

T’internet says Alpine is 5.5lb and new Five is 7lb. Mine is 2004 model so saving of 1.5 lb/3kg at least

Souldrummer’s thoughts are where I’m coming from. Basically the Soul will get me down plenty of rocky stuff fast, so why do I need a heavy FS?

Where the Soul doesn’t quite work is the really steep techy rock type stuff like the final bit of the descent to Slippery Stones at the end of Cut Gate. I had to do it in 2 sections yesterday cos I chickened out of one of the drops that I reckon is actually quite ridable.
Plus the drops at Lee Quarry – it’s the slacker angles/lower top tube/more chuckable aspect of the Alpine I’m thinking will help me ride the tech stuff and therefore improve my skills overall… I want to work on my manuals/bunnyhops/drops and jumps and Cy did advise me agains 2 ft drops to flat on the Soul…
Whereas the FS tends to just make it easier to ride fast I’m thinking hardcore hardtail will improve skills..

Skills session? Will do more for your riding than a new bike. Cheaper too :-)

Maybe you’ve got mis-matched wear on chain and rest of drivetrain:
One of these is worthwhile
Park Chain Wear Tool
All new drive-train, chain, the lot. Check chain regularly and before it stretches too much, stick new chain on. My drivetrains typically last a couple of years of weekend use.
If you have a new chain on overly-worn drive train you’ll have performance issues.
Maybe one for the LBS?

I ride best riding behind someone smoother than me. But not so much smoother that I can’t keep up.
Follow their line + competitive desire to keep up both help.
But I think riding on my own means I have to switch my own brain on to pick lines, judge speed etc.
A bit like mixing it up between FS and HT, good to do a bit of both for all-round performance.
I ride less well when riding with people slower than me tho, belting off at every opportunity tends to split the group, and sometimes cause resentment IME so I ride slower and therefore not pushing myself

I lube with Finish Line wet lube after every ride. Degrease the chain, rings, cassette and derailleurs, dry and then lube. I hate gears not working properly + it makes drivetrain last longer which is cheaper. Only takes 10 mins with a hose and mucoff.

you only need to lube the inside of the chain – where it comes into contact with rings and cassette. 6-7 revolutions of the cranks and wipe off the excess.

I’d be looking for stiff links in the chain, making sure cassette and bottom bracket are properly tightened up
HTH

Big carbo load.
+ in the morning, slow release stuff like porridge with banana and brown bread to get the right fuel in for the ride, AVOID full english

I’ve been ragging mine round the Peaks today so too tired to take and post photos I’m afraid but you WILL love it.
They do get hyped but I think it’s fair. I love mine, the FS hardly gets a look in these days.

Half orange juice, half water, pinch of salt. Works for me

I had a girlfriend once who’s sister was more conventionally attractive. But had also threatened her boyfriend with a kitchen knife. Didn’t hang around too long after that!
Class-wise, not so far off the Middletons, either, very middle-class kind of psycho!

I don’t think my manager’s manager liked me much either. And no I don’t think I was too good at my job. I hated it and didn’t think it suited me at all, or was the job it was supposed to be.
What I think I got wrong was some politics somewhere. I got a lot of good feedback from senior people who I subsequently found out were giving my boss’s boss a good kicking. I don’t think that helped my case tbh.
And I have friends who are very senior in HR who advised me at the time, no law was broken in fact. In any case I’d rather find a new job and move on…

IIRC from the signs on SDW, heathland is manmade landscape – for grazing and farming and not ‘back to nature’ Forests and trees are what happened in UK when nature left to its own devices.

My Lusso ones have lasted me years

possibly same problems the UK factories for the Japanese car makers have got with not being able to get any supplies from japan after the earthquake?

180/180 Hope M4 on FS and HT. Fine in UK and Alps. 12stone. Never had a problem

I’m riding the Peaks on my Soul and it’s fine. Cy rides in the Peaks regularly on his Soul. Worth asking him for an opinion.
Or 18 Bikes in Hope, they’re a Cotic dealer IIRC
Soul is a lovely bike, I used to ride Surrey Hills on it and it was ace on woodsy singletrack

Another vote for Soul. Versatile and really just a lovely bike to ride.
However I highly recommend riding some built up versions of these bikes before you make a decision as they’re all quite different

I love procrastination but lack the discipline and just keep putting it off.

sorry to hijack but I have a Freecom hard drive which is broken – the connection keeps dropping. I use it for backup but it doesn’t stay connected for long enough to fully backup.
This one[/url]

Is it easy for a computer hardware newbie to get the hard drive out of the case and into a new one? I can’t find any screws in order to get inside it…

Don’t be blinded by all the social media hype. It’s good for some things and everyone’s dead excited about it cos it’s the new kid on the block and cheap but it’s not the magic marketing cure-all that it can seem to be with all the hype…
What social media is, is a new (and more sophisticated) version of ‘word of mouth’ ie: what your mate, neighbour says about a brand.
So as a small local business, think about how you can harness word of mouth ie: encouraging customers to tell their friends and neighbours how great your place is. This might just be asking them to tell people, it might be asking for feedback, it might be giving them an incentive for telling their friends, giving them flyers to give out, social events etc etc. Lots of ways to do it cheaply but don’t assume social media is the only way..
Good luck…

2nd hand Soul? They’re well made and none are that old as they’ve only been around since 2004/5 I think.
I love mine, really makes you want to go out and ride

If you were on a footpath she kind of has a point doesn’t she?