Get the main point across in the first sentence. Then stick in important details and so on, down to what’s least important.

To that end, work out what’s important about what you’re press-releasing about. What’s new, how’s it going to benefit people reading about it etc.

Keep it brief and don’t get too wordy – you don’t want editors etc to get bored and stop reading.

Make sure you’ve got contact details etc at the bottom so that you can be contacted with any questions/for images etc.

Bear in mind that it’s not unusual for press releases to be used without editing – so make sure it’s up to scratch. No typos, reads well etc – get it proofed. Basically, make it easy for the press to use it.

That all refers to a press release/news story. Not sure what you mean by ‘epilogue’ sorry. Hope it helps a bit.

EDIT: Think about who you’re writing it for too – you might not want to assume any particular knowledge on the part of your audience!

I’d love to have had my first bike made for me by my mum or dad.

I do this.

I couldn’t afford/didn’t want the expense of two bikes, so switch between a Soul and a Prophet frame.

I leave a few parts on each – headset, bottom bracket and front mech. I’m also lucky enough to have a fork in each frame. The hoses aren’t wildly long on the hardtail or too short on the Prophet, so it all seems to work out. If nothing goes wrong (important!) it takes about an hour, once you’ve routed all the brake hoses and index the gears etc.

But, that’s an hour I can’t often be bothered with and I get annoyed with buying cables all the time – so the Prophet was built for about three/four weeks last year and I rode the hardtail the rest of the time. I’m currently slowly gathering parts to run two bikes.

Exactly the same ones I’d put on any other bike I owned? (Road bike excepted. That would be silly.)

I’m so sorry Bruders.

I don’t know if this poem is the right one, or the right thing to say, but it’s a lovely one:

You can shed tears that he is gone
Or you can smile because he has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him
Or you can be full of the love that you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember him and only that he is gone
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

I’ve done four solos and never had anything other a hardtail (28lbish too – Cotics, Prince Alberts etc). Had a couple of pretty decent finishes too.

Lots of solos get won on hardtails.

You’ll be fine!

EDIT: Having seen people finish (and give up) on all sorts of bikes. I’m pretty sure that the bike you’re on doesn’t make as much difference as how your head is. You’ve finished one, you know you have it in you, you can finish more.

Yup! Same as last night, Monday night and Sunday! Ride planned tomorrow night as well. My legs are getting a bit wobbly…

better than those daft “sealed ” bearings which get chucked so often

“so often”..? Like every 4 years?

Or two months in the case of my new Superstar wheels. Now I have to spend money on new set (not cheap if I want decent bearings). If I still had cup and cone, I’d just put some grease in and tighten them up – takes what, 15 minutes? My Hopes go through at least a set a year too, probably more.

I’d buy cup and cone again.

And that his identity is hearsay at the moment of course.

Yeah, that’s what I meant! Clearly whoever it is is guilty!

That ban and the anonymity are a complete and utter joke.

Having said that, (and I know internet rumours and angry mobs are great fun), before we all march off en-masse to the Kona Facebook page, should we maybe consider the whole ‘innocent until proven guilty’ thing?

Yeah, they lost some stuff I returned. Meanwhile, I cleverly lost the tiny little receipt they give you…

Just snug it up – I’ve virtually never used the clips, but it has cost me: I forgot to tighten a caliper in the Alps. The rattling around caused the retaining pin to rattle out, taking the pads with it. Luckily there weren’t too many rocks in the ditch I crashed in to!

I guess that’s a word of caution against incompetent mechanicing more than anything else!

I’d suggest that while it may have little visual impact, people screaming as they go and all this extra traffic that aracer reckons there will be would have an impact. And that while it may be a small impact, any increase at all is arguably a step in the wrong direction.

(I’m not really sure what I think about all this. I don’t want to see 4x4s banned from anywhere, and yet I’m arguing against a zip wire. Today’s been a long day…)

Fix the Fells continually create incredible scars across the fells with the footpaths they build, and that’s with the blessing of the National Park. That’s also a part of the problem: there’s an inconsistency with the decisions made by the park authority, Allerdale, and the County Council.

I’m certainly not going to disagree with that! It doesn’t really affect my view though.

Employing more local people? They seem to be the ones objecting to the development.

Anyway, I don’t know enough about that. As I said, I just don’t like the argument that it’s ok to build on already ‘damaged’ areas, which is what a fair few people seem to be suggesting.

You have a point there.

But why does it need developing at all? So a reasonably big business can make more money? A single extra ‘attraction’ isn’t going to attract more visitors.

There are zip wires only a few miles away in Whinlatter.

EDIT – I’m not sure what I think about the zip wire in question. I just don’t like the argument that because Borrowdale is already ‘scarred’, it’s fair game to put more stuff in there. I’d say the argument is ‘don’t do anything else to this already damaged close-as-we’ve-got-to-wilderness’.

No they’re not.

If you follow that argument, you just continually develop ‘already developed’ things infinitely. You could just leave them as they are and not let them get any ‘worse’…

Yeh, not like the thousands of miles of footpaths scarring the land.
They weren’t man-made were they

And of course the miles and miles of drystone wall, completely natural they are

etc etc

So – this occasional screaming person would be visible to all the folk in their cars going up and down the tarmac-covered, armco-lined roadway cut into the hillside?

In fact, everywhere you look, you can see the effect humans have had on the land, unless is somewhere covered in native forest. “Open Fell” is in itself man-made.

Seriously, does anyone actually believe these are valid arguments for further development? 😯

It can’t survive on short walks and tea shops for ever..

Why not? As the rest of the country gets busier and busier, the appeal of such things will only increase.

Particularly if everyone has this attitude:

So – this occasional screaming person would be visible to all the folk in their cars going up and down the tarmac-covered, armco-lined roadway cut into the hillside?

and decides that the existence of a road means that building anything else is fair game…

falkirk-mark – Member

I’ll drink to that.

With whose beer? hmmmmmmmm…

You’ll get more outright power from a set of Shimanos.

Just to really help you, that’s exactly how I feel about my SLXs.

That doesn’t look like it’ll fit. Are they confident it will?

Cheers, Al. I’ll see what TBC says first as he’s gone to the trouble of phoning!

Ha. Typical. Do they know when they’ll have some more in?

No need for that, but thanks for the offer!

It looks like the right one. I’ll give you a ring at lunchtime.

Cheers everyone.

Cheers. Do you have these in stock?

Cheers guys. I’ve tried emailing Genesis for the second time, so fingers crossed.

EBC were one of the shops who got the wrong thing in. Clearly, they’re not sure what’s what!

I’ve been in to two shops with the old hanger. One I never heard from again, the second got the wrong one.

Kinger – thanks for the code. I’ll look in to that.
TBC – It’s definitely similar. I’ll have a look when I get home and may well drop you a line. Cheers.

Thought I’d resurrect this. I’ve now tried four dealers and the result is two that aren’t right!

I got bored and filed one down until it was the right shape, and then bent it again this morning. Probably as a result of my filing. Back around…

It’s definitely not just you who has this problem. I persevered with my SLXs for a year before giving up an buying an XT for the rear. Same pumping up problem. And that’s with a lot of bleeding.

Now all three are hanging up in the shed and I’m back on my Formula Oros. Nowhere near as good a brake, but at least the lever feel is consistent!

Cheers everyone.

It’s the ‘feel’ that’s bugging me. I don’t think the bike is necessarily ‘too heavy’, but it’s bigger than I’m used to, which doesn’t help. Fantastic heading downhill fast over rocks, less goo nipping through the trees.

I have no idea what any of my other bikes have weighed, but then they rode more to my taste. The Ariel is fantastic downhill, but I like hitting the flats and climbs just as fast (I’m really looking for a bike to have a proper crack at some enduros). I think I did indeed buy the wrong frame. Ah well, every day’s a school day!

Having punctured everything bar tubeless dual plys, I’m not up for dropping them, at least not on the back.

Spec is basically SLX 10 speed throughout, bar an XT rear mech and cassette. Revelations RP23, Easton Haven Bar, easton stem, unbranded (but light enough) post, charge saddle, Hope hubs with WTB rims (listed at 470gm) and single-ply high rollers run tubeless. These are admittedly wire-bead ones, but I find kevlar ones stretch and blow off rims when riding fast. Brakes are SLX/XT 180 front/160 rear.

At some point, dual plys and a dropper will go on.

As I said, maybe I’m being unrealistic trying to get a light bike without spending silly money.

Don’t have any pictures sorry. I think the weight’s in the frame…

It’s not a bike that ‘feels’ light.

I did Eastridge on my hardtail – it was great in the twisty stuff, hopping over roots and having fun. Not sure the Ariel would be as enjoyable.

I guess I was hoping to get a 29/30lb build with ‘normal’ bits. That way, when I stick dual plys and big brakes on it, it’ll be around 34lb.

Maybe that’s just unrealistic without paying silly money.

Edit: Quoted weight for the rims is the same as Stans. The tyres are single ply maxxis (double for racing) and run tubeless. I’m not prepared to go lighter with tyres. There’s a small amount of weight to be lost by switching to Stans rims, but not much.

The only original kit on it is the headset. Everything else is SLX/Revelations/Easton.

I’ve been getting in to the whole enduro racing thing. Been doing ok on a hardtail this year and fancied a proper crack at it on a bouncy bike. This is going to be great on the descents, but useless on the flat sprints. I’ve done the Mega a couple of times on a Prophet I used to own and that felt like a better ‘all-round’ bike.

Wheels are Hope-hubbed WTB rims (not overly hefty) with High Rollers. I don’t want to go over-light on the wheels or tyres for obvious reasons.

Edit: Beginning to think I just need to look out for another Prophet.

Cheers, I’ll have a look at them.

I’d have thought that a tyre at 25/30 under a 15 stone rider would have tonnes of grip, regardless of make or model. How do they feel normally? Maybe you just had an off day.

I’m 12 stone and can’t go lower than 30/35 in the Peak or I start pinching left right and centre. And I run tubeless!

You went through the rubbish looking for receipts? 😯

Not strictly relevant, but I’m using WTB Speed discs and find them the easiest rims I’ve owned to set up with the BMX tube/Stans system.

Watch Gareth riding in Whistler.

Or you might remember his superb home-made cable cam video down the Beast

Gareth spiral fractured both ankles years ago in a climbing accident. I remember him describing the feeling later as having an ankle full of broken glass. He eventually had to have one fused and yet still played squash, skied seriously well, climbed well into the E grades and rode a bike better than most people here ever well (see the video).

Sadly, he died in a climbing accident in the middle of a year-long biking, climbing and skiing trip – but he was proof that fused ankles needn’t stop you doing anything you want.