Cheers jedi i'll be in touch once i'm down :)

Cheers for all the replies, I will be in touch with a few folk shortly once i'm down and settled. Ilford didn't seem too bad an area when we looked around (so I hope it ain't all that bad) as i'm there for a bit now I reckon.

Thanks for the link duntmatter i'll be sure to check that out.

I've been to Esher and Chicksands before so it's somewhere i will be visiting again, just need some folk to ride with.

Girlfriend also lives and works in London so i'm in flat with her, i'm aware it's not the hilliest of locations and I am kinda spoiled with currently living where I do, but i'm sure with the right folk to ride with I can still enjoy some bike fun in the woods.

North east around the Ilford area, though my new job is in Hertford

that looks sweet, stupid similar set up too ha ha

My Surge, rides just fine at 120mm travel if you want it that way, but being able to adjust the fork travel for the more dh type stuff is great.

I ride the surge, it is kinda heavy though you can buld it up lighter if you so wish (sub 30lbs apparantly) rides really nice, I like the burlyness of it and it rides really nice.

Trailstar is a classic frame, had one and it was also quite nice, I do like the new swapout dropout system they have now if you fancy swapping between single speed and gears.

I'd definately look at the new BFe too, could be built up pretty light with 140mm forks and is a really nice sized frame (mate rides one and it is very nice)

I like the look of Cannock/Stile Cop looks like a cool spot. Are the trails as smooth as the video makes out (could be loadsa fun on a hardtail) or are the big rigs really needed. You can never tell on vids how rocky trails really are.

jedi – thanks very much, just saw your facebook pics thread looks a pretty cool place you have there. If all goes well I may be down the south by end of february and would very much like to take you up on the offer to ride herts. :D

Cheers for those links looks like some pretty good trails for hardtails down there. I also forgot about this video I saw a bit ago, seems like quite a cool spot overall.

And yes far too many people claim benefits up here and i'd rather not be one of them if I can help it :P

Oh well hopefully i'll find enough to keep me entertained and some new mates to ride with, plus everytime I go back north to see friends I know the trails will feel better than ever

Surrey Hills looks decent enough (I youtubed it) and Aston Hill is worth a look too I reckon. Anymore nice youtube vids worth look at?

I quite like the short XC trails I have up here now, but i'm just as happy hitting nice wooded singletrack or short DH style runs that can be hit with the ol' hardtail.

Pikes are the coil version and wind down when they take the bigger hits. If I have them wound out to 140mm and say do somethign like the omega man at Ae and hit the jumps and drops they will have woulnd down to around 110mm/120mm after that run, simple turn of adjuster puts them back up again but it's still annoying.

The wear really isn't all that bad so I might just try getting new seals and foam rings. I'll try get a quick picture later to show the wear as I have had them apart to check for any further damage (there is none).

May consider selling (as I do have another fork to use, the ever reliable zocchi 55's :P)

I'll check out 2nd hand stuff and even normal sale stuff, just thought I might be able to stop the stanchion wearing any further and still get some use. As I said the link above is a severe version, mine are nowhere near as bad as that.

furry_marmot – Thank you for a sensible and informed thought on the thread, seems some people are all too happy to go off the point and start slagging each other off.

As to the original point by the OP's post, I agree that anyone new to trail centres or just trails in general should be made aware of the generally 'unwritten rules' of trail etiquette. And all the abuse thrown his way just seems childish and pretty pointless, but I guess that's the internet for you.

I run rockshox pikes and have none of the above problems and it's not like I look after them, no stanchion wear and the bushings are just fine after a year of abuse. They are not without their little niggles though.

On the fox side of things mate of mine was advised to leave his bike (and forks) upside down as the oil in the legs helped keep the bushings/seals lubricated.

Castle Crag is a pretty rocky area from what I remember but maybe worth a look (we're all on hardtails, no squish for us), walna scar could be worth a look though, not often I go that end of the Lakes.

Cheers for the info above about damping curcuit, mine are leaking all the time, so i'll try take the damping circuit apart as you have said (I presume it is the same for coil 426's) and sort out the what should hopefully just be dodgy o-rings.

On a similar vein, since I never use lockout is it possible to possibly switch out the lock out damper unit for the domain style damper unit. Seems to have less leakage issues, anyone tried this, will it even fit?

Just get the berms railed and let the bike slide, loads of fun, just ready yourself for a quick foot dab. Don't think it's as bad as some folk on here make out and i've ridden in all conditions.

As grumm says watch out for roots as they do get slippery and the odd wee off camber rocks that appear on certain parts of north loop too.

I run highrollers front and back if you were wondering.

Another vote for the NS surge, have one myself and love it. Not the lighest bike but certainly a nice cheap option. The newer 09 models are a bit lighter than my 08 and have iscg tabs also.

Mine :)

Mate of mine still hasn't got his lock ring on his front saint rotor, it is still attached on using zip ties (feels very sturdy mind) can't say i would want to run it like this but so far, so good for him.

Wasn't too impressed with their 'freeride' hardtail build ups this month, sure they were on a budget but they weren't exactly what I would call 'freeride' hardtails.

Sounds odd that you have no order history, should be able to see your latest order and what state it is in.

I would probably email them if the order hadn't turned up by friday as their delivery times are usually pretty good (though they may be affected by postal strike)

Like the video, like the music. The rider is obviously skilled, though he probably does ride that trail quite a bit so knows the lines to take.

It's nice to see someone riding that stuff on a hardtail too, makes a change from all the vids with huge bikes and much smoother looking trails.

Sure there's plenty (well a few) of folks from this country that can ride a hardtail with skill too, just take a look at the unofficial hardtail champs or the chap who did stupid amounts of runs at the fort bill downhill enduro on his hardtail.

Was riding the downhill track at Ae on my hardtail few week back and it ain't easy but certainly do-able and probably quite fast once you learn the best lines.

Good that, who needs full squish eh :)

Me and some mates sampled a few centres in Wales early this year (Llandegla, Afan – The Wall & Whites Level, Cwmcarn)

Llandegla was probably my least favourite of them all (though I still enjoyed it) there was some really nice fast flowing pump like sections through the woods which I would love to visit again. Probably not worth the 2+ hours it took us to get there but if it was more local I would most likely use it quite often. (If I could avoid the park/ride fees which I found steep).

Forking Our Souls – Inners is my favourite centre out of them all I have visited, the descents are simply superb and well worth that first punishing climb

Looks about right to me. If in doubt get one from your lbs to make double sure but can't see why that wouldn't fit, it's all I have.

Yup mine are the same as these both sides have a slight crack/fault line in them, i'll keep an eye on this thread and on the cranks to see what develops.

That is cheap, it cost me £99.99 and that was before all the prices went up, if I had cash i'd buy another set for my spare bike, total bargain for that price.

Raceface bottom brackets are known to not last all that long, maybe that has been addressed for the newer sets.

Shimano SLX is much cheaper (still £100 on some sites) and gets a pretty good rep from most mags and users. Use SLX myself and it's taken plenty of abuse since I bought it.

Seen the photo, i'm sure that's do-able on a light/mid weight bike with enough rider skill and fitness (not saying by me though).

Can't really comment too much on magazines as I only really read Dirt and their mainstay is DH/Freeride and a bit of DJ so the ads and reviews work just fine.

What are you looking for in a review then. A technical break down of how well a bike climbs and how much faster it will make you?

Plus how technical are we talking here when you mention this need to have trials like skills to get up some trails?

My hardtail climbs pretty badly but it makes it for it when going down. I demo'd a spec enduro last year and it climbed amazingly when compared to my ht but going downhill the longer stem and steep head angle made it feel much worse.

My favourite ride so far was on a Cove Hustler, climbed nice, felt just like my hardtail going down (though a bit nicer due to rear suss) and was also lighter.

My mates BFe is pretty slack when he runs the Talas as 160mm and feels petty darned nice. I ride the NS surge frame and that also has a slack head angle with longer forks, tho it feels pretty good with my pikes tbh.

Never had any problem with my old DMR tensioner, needs QR to work though.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5777

The gusset one looks a pretty simple design.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17724

I tried a sprung fireeye one which broke/bent after a very small crash.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=39226

I run 9 (11-32) speed rear and a single 34T up front, so far so good. Works fine for most stuff I ride. I also run a e13 Ls1 to keep the chain from coming off.

Didn't you agree on price and components when you went in, if so shouldn't they have called you to check you were ok with an alternative that would cost you more?

Should be some details leaked after the cycle show (9-11th oct) that's when Cy is showing off the new designs and frames, there was a wee post from him on the front page last week sometime, so no doubt pictures will appear on here pretty soon after.

Not ridden Gawton (though i'd like to) so I can only comment on how good I think Cwmcarn is. Uplift was very well run when we went and you have the choice of whether to run the DH tracks all day, or if you wanted you can also hop off the bus and ride the last section of the XC route or the free ride park, like a couple of folk did when we were there. DH track down is super fun and I could happily spend a day running it, I wouldn't call it too hard or techy, we along with some other chaps were just running it on our hardtails. The last section of the XC track is also good, single track all the way and just so much fun.

It's not supposed to (at least on all the set ups I've seen it on), it runs on the inside of the ramped up bit of the roller when in the granny ring.