[/quote]i rememeber the guy posting lots of “show me your favourite DH bike” or “show me “X””…. a little childish/adolescent, if you will…
bit wary of that sort of character.

Or a good way of collecting photos for future bogus sales adverts elsewhere.

Just a thought.

Can’t fault mine.
Does what it says on the side of the tin, no more no less.

I really like the blue and there are a couple of places I get a little bit of air and I mean a little.
As I don’t have the skill or confidence to go for anything big as of yet.
I would like to see more jumps to flat with enough straight before and after, as the more air I get the more confidence I get.
Maybe widen the trail slightly in places with a few small drop offs to one side and a roll over on the other like the big rock about half way round.

Ok sir, that is quite plausible ,and the fact you some how forgot your pants this morning although I find it hard to swallow is not completely beyond the realms of belief but..

How do you explain the lunges.

Yes officer it was not untill the new girl ran from the room screaming that I realised my flies had accidentally come undone.

I would like to make a suggestion for next weeks challenge.

Strange things you find in the woods.

Cafes and cake crumbs,

So if you got in before 8.30 and stayed later would they be fine with that or would you get back to find a parking fine on your windscreen.

Sorry I can not help I have only been on Mondays, although it was quite busy during the school holidays it was still fine. People give you a few minutes head start at the start and then if they catch you I let them go by.

I only got held up a couple of times by families with very small children. But I was not bothered,i just hung back and as soon as they found a safe place to pull over they did. All very friendly.

Not sure what time it opens but Carpark is open till 8.30 pm in the summer months.
Pay and display £2 for 2 hours £4 all day.
Well worth it.

I looked into this, and this is my limited understanding.

I use all the cassette when using the middle ring,
Top three gears only when using the big ring and only the lowest three gears when using the granny.

Using a long cage, gearchanges are not as quick and precise as they would be with the med but if I did through lack of concentration or accidental shifting find myself using all the cassette in all of the rings it would not be ideal, noisier and putting more wear on the drive train, but over a short period of time no real damage done.

With a med cage and 3 rings if i shifted correctly using only the ideal ring cassette combos you should be ok but if you accidentally found yourself in the granny ring/high gear combos for instance the deraileur would not have the lengh to take the required amount of slack out of the chain and it could drop off.

I think.

Thanks nick,
I will give your points serious consideration as I have the hardtail for riding out of the front door to the local woods where the big ring is handy for there and back.
As the five would be overkill, Quite frankly my rigid would be enough for this.

The five will be for putting in the car and taking places more suitable so you could be right in what you say about the large ring being surplus to requirement.

b r

I bought the forks as I decided they were the best new forks in my budget.
If I was super lean I may be super OCD about the weight of my bike paying through the nose to shave off a few grams.
But the best way for me to knock weight off my ride would be to stop filling my face with pies and I could knock stones off it for free.

I don’t see the point of a 15 stone man worrying about a few gramms here and there on my build.
I am just trying to build a good bike on my limited funds and wisdom.

I used to run for an hour (7 miles) every other day up until a knee injury last year and bought a bike to try and keep some fitness, I have put on quite a bit of weight which will have to go, and have just started running again but I really enjoy riding a bike and getting out in the woods.

I was still in the middle ring, in a low gear.
Like I said I am constantly caught out in to high a gear and then have to try to push hard to build just enough speed to be able to unload the peddles to knock it down a gear or two.

But then I will still go down just enough to be able to make it up standing.

When commuting on my hack i will stay seated and spin but then hills are normally long and gradual and you see them coming a mile off.

Made a cock up in my previous post , I actually use the pressure washer detergent neat in the chain cleaner.
Also seen asda are selling 5l for £4 so may have to get some more although I am sure I got two for a fiver previously.

This stuff,
Bought loads to put through the karcher when b&q were practically giving it away.
It says its biodegradable and can be used on patios, cars, pastic windows and patio furniture.

So I gave it a go in the park tool chain cleaner 1 part to 10 parts water,
Works a treat.

I use fenwicks to actually clean the bike but could not afford it in the park chain tool as I always seem to be cleaning the chain at the moment.

Summer, summer has been cancelled for the foreseeable.
And we are going with a new two season system, snowing and raining.

Thanks to all who have answered so far.
The bike I am building is a five, I am trying to keep it as light as possible bar the forks which are rockshox 150 sektors DP coils.
Everything so far drivetrain and gearwise is xt, not sure how much it will weigh when finished but hopefully should be average.

I currently ride a voodoo hoodo HT which halfords state as weighing 14 kg,
Which has a 44/32/22 Alvio triple and nine speed cassette. Not sure of the cassettes ratios as the bike is not with me and cannot find info on the net.

I’m not too keen on hills and see them as a necessary evil but still don’t like being beat.
I was following someone last week around swinley and at every climb they just stayed in the saddle and span like the clappers, where as I was always out of my seat trying to power up.
Although I think this Is more to do with better organisation on his part as I am always getting caught out in the wrong gear.

I guess I need to find out what lowest gear ratio is on my current bike and go from there.

I was going to order the shadow+ mech.
They come in either long or med cage, not sure which one to get or why.
Please help.

Red crumpet, sounds like a character from a carry on film.

Blue custard doughnut.

I did order a uv one cheers,

Aswell as the sweat in the eyes which also manages to drip on my glasses it will help my helmet fit a bit tighter.
As when I bought my feature I bought the 59-63 as opposed to the 55-59 ( odd there is no overlap in sizes).
As my hat size is 59 and it was blinking freezing at the time and wanted the option to be able to wear a warm beenie under it in the cold.

It fits fine with nothing underneath with the straps set as small as poss untill I fit my camera. Then there is a little movement which will be solved if it was a gnats tighter.

I have a 120mm hardtail and was considering fitting some 150mm forks as I have some sitting around.
But after some googling which said the bike would be slacker and less responsive and generally worse to ride in an xc capacity.

And also I would be pushing back the seat tube angle there for putting more strain on the frame.
Which would then snap and I would die.
so did not bother.

So does fitting a 29er wheel on the front not have the same effect.

Just asking like.

Just ordered a buff thanks,

I am a MTB god,
I did two laps of the blue run today and only came off three times.
And narrowly avoided crashing a further two times one of which I would have died.

Seriously I really enjoyed today, I threw caution to the wind and went with reckless instead and found myself several times going a lot faster downhill than my limited skill could cope with.
I was also surprised by how well I bounced for a man of my age and corresponding spread.
And by how well my brake levers worked as mini ploughs.

Also by how family friendly the place was, it was really good to see lots of parents going around with kids knee high to a cigarette paper on their equally tiny bikes.

Really enjoyed it and once I reactivate my self preservation brain cell and can manage to hang on I may try the red trail.

I shall be out on the HT tomorrow, so will check for this coming weeks topic before I set off.
Some very good pics and post this week gone, note to self,
must try harder.

Just bought a new xt crankset,

Thank you.

Hi doncorleoni.
Thanks for the kind offer mate,
I may yet take you up on that.

ATB

I may be pushing my luck here.

Thank you to everyone who has replied.
You have really helped and i will definitely be going soon.

I am fairly new to mountainbikes and fast approaching middle age.
I wanted to try swinley and would be happy doing so at my own pace.

But I am worried I may be a nuisance to other riders who wish to go around as quick as they can,
Or even getting clattered from behind.

Is there plenty of room to pass or be passed in my case and clear unobstructed views all the way around or are there any parts I need to watch as I really don’t want to get in anyone’s way.

I drive a van everyday for work and I’m relatively new to cycling on public roads, as had not cycled for nearly 20 years and then did most of it on the pavement as a kid.

Up untill now I had never really even considered cyclists. I would just pass them by when i considered it safe giving them plenty of room.

And by and large that’s what happens to me. Every now and then a car will pass uncomfortably close even when there was no traffic coming the other way and they could have given a wide birth. And I am not making this up 9 times out of 10 when this happens they have one of those big private hire stickers on the back.

Another thing I swear some people think that cars have priority over bikes full stop, an. Example being you are riding happily along and notice a car in the opposite lane coming in the opposite direction not far in front of you pull over tight to the white lines to wait for a gap in the traffic in your lane to cross it and exit at a junction coming up just to your left. Then they suddenly attempt this as you are crossing the junction as if they expected you as a cyclist should have seen them waiting and indicating and you as a cyclist should have then stopped as they as a motorist clearly should have the right of way..

When I tell people at work that my bike is a carriage and the law states I must ride it on the carriage way. And as a cyclist I should be treated as an equal on the road. It’s some time before they stop laughing.

My postman, I have never seen him in trousers.
I do think this is common practice amongst posties.

Thanks for the list.

I know where there is a trig point, its blinking miles away but i am sure I could make it there and back.
Memorials, there are a few quite nearby.
Derelict could make for some interesting pics,i find deralict buildings quite haunting especialy
old factories or industrial buildings. Although there is nowhere I can think of off the top of my head.

Now a horse riding a bike would be worth seeing,
It would have to be a 29er obviously.

Or a couple of jokers in a horse suit on a tandem.
How long has this weekly photo series of threads been running for and is there a list of the subjects already covered.
To avoid being flamed for making a repeat suggestions.

I am not as lucky as some, especially some of you northern types who are blessed with such big scenery, cram packed with large rocky outcrops and steep rooty hills.

Most of the local woods I ride are really quite boring by comparison and if I was to iron out the bumps any more I may aswell hit the Tarmac.

Had a jaunt along the towpath today.
One badly Broken tree, One badly burnt tree and one laid out flat on the deck.

I have a hack bike I use for any occasion which requires me to leave my bike chained and un attended for more than a minute.
Then I use a kryptonite New York M18 i think its called and good cable lock.

When out on my mtb I only take the cable lock as it is only locked while I nip into a shop but then I will only do this if the counter is near the door and I can lock the bike in clear view nearby.

If you leave a heavy sleeved chain permanently chained outside somewhere.
It has been known for thieves to cut a link hidden in the sleeve when the bike is not chained, less busy, people less likely to challenge someone cutting a chain that is not actually securing anything.

They rejoin the chain using strong cable ties and then comeback when your bike is chained and only need side cutters or strong scissors to liberate your bike.

I have read this being done quite a few times to people chaining expensive motorbikes up outside work.

You are not breaking the law carrying a non locking folder with a blade of 3″ or under.
But you still need to excercise common sense, as in it would be unwise to take one to a pub or football match for instance.

Swiss Army knifes are well known and I would happily take one out in public.
Where As my charge TTI I carry at work I would not as the blades lock and are very large and are quit aggressive looking in my opinion.

As a side note in my riding bag I have a leatherman blast on which I have removed the main blade and put a spacer in its place and have a separate single bladed SAK.