[*]Alpkit Gourdon, it is MTB specific, if you want it to be.

Gourdon 20

Just take the elastic off, it gets stuck in trees.

It’s always dark in Tod, the valley sides are so steep the sun only gets to pavement level on midsummers.

I have the OneUP 42t/16t/RadCage conversion on my hard tail and it shifts fine and I like it. Yes there’s one less gear and a tooth (just one mind) difference at the top.

It’s also not SRAM and has nice Shimano shifters rather than the clunky other stuff.

Oh, and however much I justify it, I simply can’t afford 11 speed….. 🙁

I have a Works N/W 30t chainring, a 10spd casette with OneUp 42t/16t conversion and an XT shadow+ with the OneUp Rad cage fitted. I only ride tarmac when I have to.

At 50yrs old it gets me up the hills and by the time I’ve exhausted the 30/11 top speed off road I’m normally going quite fast enough thank you very much. Shifting is very accurate; all works perfectly.

C

Having mucked about with gloves for over 20 years motorcycling, mountaineering, ice climbing, kite buggying and cycling I have never found a pair of waterproof gloves other than big rubber ones AND despite the data to the contrary it ALWAYS gets in the big hole.

Just get proper windproof gloves and use a silk/merino liner; you will get wet but warm.

As for those with white finger etc, the only real answer is heated gloves.

Shave in the shower; I’m as shiny as.

Done.

Sat next to Robert Plant in a pub in Ullapool.

Stood behind Stuart Pearce in a sandwich shop queue.

Tried to persuade The Clash to play Tommys Disco for free on the Busking Tour.

My Dad started Mercian Cycles in his garage.

I’m 6’1″ and a 31″ inside leg, I used the Canyon sizing tool and it said I needed a small. It seems to be unduly influenced by inside leg measurement!!

I got a large (it’s a while now – Nerve AM) and it fits me fine with enough standover.

C

The Nescafe Azera is actually really good. Apparently we are the only country in the world that drinks instant coffee….

I’ve had Northwaves – found them too bulky but nice and warm. Currently running Shimano MW81s and they are about right in terms of bulk and fit. They are waterproof too…

However – all that waterproofness is a handicap though, once the water runs down the leg and fills the buggers up you’re pedalling in a permanent puddle. Not my preference to be sure. I have considered gaffer tape to seal them up but not resorted to that yet.

I don’t have an answer to the issue I’m afraid – stay at home if it’s pishing it down?

Chris

I was wondering whether rebound had something to do with it. Ta.

I was the handsome guy with a orange jacket and a beard dibbing your chip finish time – had a great time. Riders who finish are hard as nails imho.

Chris

Did the couple who had it before sell it eventually then?

So long as I’m several stone overweight all this thread has done is convince me not to ever waste my money on 11 speed.

Running my hard tail on XT with a One-Up 42t and Rad Cage. Works fine.

Best place in the world when it isn’t raining and the midges are away on holiday.

My favourites are Barra (wild camp on the beach at Eoligarry), South Uist (stay at Gatliff Trust hostel at Howmore), Berneray (off top of North Uist) again stay at Gatliff Trust Hostel there and Harris (Gatliff at Rhenigidale). You can camp outside the hostels (maybe not Rhenigidale) for 50% the hostel fee. Still get to use all the facilities (!) etc.

It’s all about splendid isolation, beaches, the sea, mountains on Harris and just having the place to your self.

http://www.gatliff.org.uk/%5B/url%5D

Chris

Broken my left in two places and right one twice.

The doc said I really shouldn’t break either again as the brachial plexus is very close to the bone and re-fracturing a bone can release very sharp fragments that could cut the nerve supply to the arm…

This was 20 years ago, gave up biking, took up climbing, then kite buggy racing and now been back on the MTB for a few years. Don’t think about it…..

#clickbait on Singletrack???

Just make sure you’re trollied before the landlord runs you back from the pub….

We always go for a meal at the Anchor, great place and right by the sea/estuary.

Nothing wrong with HDs and I do know what I’m talking about :p

However, Superstar rear hubs….. utter rubbish – need to be supplied with at least two spare freehubs.

My Mum and Dad rode through the Lharig Ghru on Mercians in 1951. My Dad built them as he started Mercian Cycles in his garage with Tom Crowther.

Don’t talk to me about mountain bikes; any bike is one. Just up to you to ride it.

Would you KINDLY stop SHOUTING?

Paint the forks blue.

I have a Reverb on both my bikes and have only had one minor problem which Fishers fixed for free and it was out of the warranty period. The bushes do wear and regular replacement is advised. Other than that they have worked perfectly for me and I’d have no hesitation in recommending one.

Only one caveat; neither are the stealth model.

I have a Magic Mary SG VertStar 3 in 650b, brand new and unused. £40 posted if anyone is interested.

Chris

chrisdbarker@gmail.com

We need to contrast this with the woman I saw squatting behind the barrier on the M5 recently…

Rode it from Langsett to the top and back again on Saturday. It was dry as a bone and good fun. Partic the return leg 😉

Chris

Improved my shifting 100%, now as slick as a standard XT setup.

Photo by chr1sdb[/url], on Flickr

I have a brand new Magic Mary Sg VertStar 27.5 – unfitted – if you’re interested?

I did mine the same (motorbike). It didn’t heal properly and I was down for a bone graft and plate. However I moved house and the invite for the op never reached me (it was in the nineties – no mobile phones). Eventually went back to hospital and it had healed wonky, now have a .5cm vertical lump in the bone where the central piece sticks up.

I then broke the other one twice on my mtb and thats the size of a banana!!

Anyway, the quack told me that the risk with the collar bone is that the brachial plexus (nerves to the arm) sits very close to it. When people lose the use of an arm it’s often due to damage to this by the collar bone breaking… Fitting a plate / graft / screws has some risk associated with damage to the
nerves. However this doesn’t stop professional athletes having a plate fitted so they can get back on with it…

So, do I wish I’d had a plate fitted? Yes, because my left arm is now shorter than my right and I’m always thinking I don’t have my bars on straight!

Chris

60ml in mine. Seems to do the job.

Pump up on a Flow EX with a track pump no bother at all.

C

Sony RX-100

Mine is ace.

I have a brand new, unused etc 27.5 Magic Mary SG Vert Star if you’re interested.

£40 posted. Got sent the wrong size from Germany.

Chrisdbarker @ gmail.com

I’ve had my Reverb on my Carbon 456 for 18 months. I haven’t suffered any galvanic corrosion at all.

This may be due to the fact I regularly whip it out, give the seat tube a clean and reapply clean paste.

I’ll be marshalling this year, wave as you go by!

The Lightwaves look amazing.

I bought a pair of the Vert Star HDs and thought I’d lost a lung…… they grip – permanently.

Now fitted a Rock Razor Pacestar on the rear and my lung is back!

Chris