170mm:

For GRRRR use only.

but I spend most of my time on this:

Which can be set to 130mm, but has and will always be 110mm.

Does 120-130mm actually count as “long travel” these days? Surely it’s more “average” now we’re living in the age of 160-180mm single crowns…

I had a trip to Aldi a few weeks back and got one of their “winter cycling jacket” in snazzy red, And a pair of their winter cycling gloves, so cheap I though I may as well try them…

Both have gash looking logo’s on them but for the money they are not bad value really…

The jacket keeps the worst of cold and moderate showers out, it claims to be breathable, I’m not too sure I’d quite agree, but this time of year I’m not overheating in it…

Considering I was looking at spunking £80-100 on an Endura jacket before, £15 even if it’s not perfect and looks a bit shit but does the job seems pretty good value to me, think I’ll be spending some of the difference on base layers… might leave the Endura purchase till the summer when it’s cheapest…

I think the gloves were £5, I’m quite impressed with them on a cold morning they keep the cold out but aren’t so thick you can’t feel anything, and the gel palm is actually quite comfy, they may be a touch narrow but I can get them on ok and they’re comfy to ride in.

Brand name kit isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, I think a bit of supermarket own brand stuff can help keep the cost of cycling in check…

There are an awful lot of dangerous things mentioned in various forms of print media which I have read about and yet not felt compelled to try, Suicide, Bestiality, Religion…

The fact of the matter is if you talk something up enough it goes from being a non-entity to the worlds biggest issue, apparently all Children over the age of 13 are knife wielding, drug addicts (According to various forms of print media), I’m not sure the actual facts always bare these kind of assertions out…

I have been for a post ride pint on occasion, and like many people I am capable of self moderation, what you may see as “promotion” of an alcohol centred culture is most likely a simple statement of fact, basically people do on occasion go for a drink to be sociable after a bike ride and nothing bad happens…

Just because we have a bit of an issue in this country with our drinking culture doesn’t mean we need to jump to the polar opposite position of total denial, remove all references however benign to alcohol consumption, you don’t make someone an alcoholic simply by mentioning beer, it’s a confluence of individual circumstance: upbringing, mental health, poverty, peers, and the media can all have some influence…

I don’t think reading MBUK, however poorly written it may be, is going to knacker anyone’s liver…

The details of how you do it are down to you, what you need though is several minor mechanical sabotages which collectivly cripple him, but cannot be traced back to you, thus giving "plausable deniability"….

Thanks Juan I don’t actually have an “Irony filter” of my own and did actually believe he was after tips on antisocial behaviour, thank God you’re here to pick us all up on such minor points and prevent standards from slipping…

The point I was basically making though; use a bit of healthy competition as a training motivator…

But in the spirit of things, get the cone spanners on his rear hub at lunch time and add a bit of drag to the rear wheel, loosen the cable clamping bolts on his mechs so they slip out of alignment on any hefty up shifts, Oh and move is bars marginally off line too, too many course corrections will slow him down…

Earthquake – Member
You lucky people!

I only get to ride once a week, usually wkends, if i'm lucky…..

…..kids n work, kids n work, kids n work……..

i'd be out everyday if i could.

Similar issues for me, at the minute I try and Cycle (Road) the 20 miles each way to/from work and I get in at least 4 hours MTB at the weekend (Sat or Sun depending on family plans).

Have to admit I skipped riding in this morning though (not the first time either) as our 4 month old decided to scream the house down at 2:30 this morning and I basically lost most of a nights sleep, it's an excuse I guess but if I'm not up and out before 6:00am it's not happening

I'm still waiting for my DX light to appear so I can try and squeeze in some evening MTB rides….

Summer was better for me, later sunset and the missus not having dropped the sprog yet meant I was commuting 3 days a week and normally got one evenng ride and at least one if not two days riding at the weekend.

Now we have the nipper my health is approaching a low point and my "trail craft" is starting to feel a bit rusty… :cry:

Still there's always summer, I've alrady bought the sprog carrier… :D

I have a good workout as a commute and there are a couple of far faster roadies who I presume are doing training runs who fly past me now and then, I have in the past done my best to keep on their back wheels and see if I can pick up any ideas on technique, last time was useful I realised I really wasn’t really using the gears as effectively as I could, others I’ve noticed have very precise body positions for Climbing and chopping along on the flat, many of them seem to be almost glued to the saddle…

Best comeback is to work on technique and fitness then smoke him next summer, no witty comment at the lights or minor act of violence/vandalism will ever make you look or feel any bigger/better than him, as it won’t change the fact that he’s faster on a bike than you…

Maybe ask him for some tips, most people respond well if you are friendly and enthusiastic, you never know he could well help you improve…

ATC 3K owner here:

Positives:

-Pretty cheap to buy
-Uses SD cards (Again cheap and plentiful)
-Comes with various mounts
-Video quality and frame rate is OK for interweb videos
-Very robust
-Appears to be water tight (only ever used it in damp conditions not pissing rain)
-Takes AA batteries so easy and cheap enough to replace if they run out on the trail
-Not too bad battery life (normally use energiser rechargables with it)

Negatives:

-No screen to review footage or check your mounting is lined up (I’ve had several videos looking just off to the side of the trail)
-Not the widest viewing angle (which would probably help with the above issue)
-I find the buttons a bit fiddly and hard to use (even worse if you’ve got gloves on)
-Bar mounted footage is pretty much un-watchable due to vibration
-Microphone barely picks up any sound until your moving at speed when all you get is horrible wind noise.
-If you want to watch your footage on your telly it’s pretty low res so looks a bit blocky and piccellated (sp)
-The supplied mounts (Big rubber band, or Velcro straps) are not that secure so you often wind up modifying a visor, breaking out the Zip ties and/or shoring things up with Gaffa tape…

It’s a bargain bin toy, does the job but don’t expect too much out of it, I probably wouldn’t replace it if it broke tomorrow, as I barely use it very much anyway, it's quite old and outdated now…
I’ve had better footage out of regular cheap digital cameras gaffa taped to the side of a helmet…
But use it often enough and you’ll probably shoot a few second of reasonable footage for you-tube…

aP – Member
Of, course there's the sub group of cap wearers who cut around the elastic leaving themselves with just a band and the peak…

Well then the obvious next step is to adopt the good old sun visor, I think it's time to start a new cycling fashion:

there's plenty of choice out there, just you wait this time next year MBR, MBUK, etc will be doing group reviews for them…

I quite fancy the Khaki one, unless theres a waterproof desert Camo one available…

I can’t believe how bitchy some of you lot are about something as mundane as bike clothing, as a mostly MTB rider I own various “Clown” outfits, having crap eye’s I have to wear glasses when riding, if it’s cold I’ll wear a buff which I find to be possibly the most versatile bit of cycling clothing about.
I also ride a road bike for which I Lycra up, don’t own a cap or fancy one really, but I can see the positives for them…

I try not to make sweeping judgements based solely on peoples cycling attire, wear what you like, ride what you like, however you like, just don’t start throwing insults at those who haven’t quite got the same uniform as you…
It’s all cycling, right? apart from the Fakengers but that’s a different matter…

Xipe Totec – Member
None of you lot appear to be keeping up with developements, as I've read very recently that slopestyle bikes are being produced as SS, because the type of track doesn't really require gears, and it's one less part of the bike to be trashed in a crash, and such bikes are very suitable for a lot of the DH courses in the UK. and to those who persist in saying they don't see the point in riding a singlespeed, do you actually enjoy riding a bike? You do? Well, that's what a singlespeed is. A bike. A simpler one, true, and lighter, definitely. Try one sometime, you might learn something.

I’d like to think I keep up with MTB related developments.
“Slopestyle” isn’t actually as prevalent as a discipline as the mags would have you believe, especially in the UK, and as much money and bling is on show at Crankworks and Redbull events there aren’t that many slopestyle specific bouncers about, even fewer are SS specific, many competitors are on HT’s and a fair few actually run a geared drivetrain, thinking about it there’s what Kona, Solid, Cove? nope those are the only 3 I can think off the top of my head who make or have made a concentric BB, SS-able, hard hitting 4-6” bike….

As for Riding DH SS, sure but not really viable for Racing DH is it? Even on an HT racing DH you do gain a net benefit from having gears. You’re against the clock so being geared too high or too low for certain sections will cost you, that 2Lbs you saved means bugger all if you run out of gear inches a quarter of the way down the 1st pedally section…

For DH; Mechs and hangers are as much of a consumable as tyres and brake pads. If you don’t like it don’t race DH…

For a fun low maintenance DH Bike to do uplifts I reckon a Mr Big ST10 or Cove G-spot with SS drivetrain would be great, but for the amount of use it would get, total waste of money, you’d soon be missing gears and wanting a proper race bike…

@eviljoe: a SS Canzo ti would rock, Do it!

dickie – Member
Mmmmm!!
20 years experience in Civil Engineering, likely to be made redundent on Wednesday 11th November, HND in Civils, mad keen on biking.
But live in North Yorkshire

Worth a Punt I reckon…
The last site job I worked on the PM was commuting 3 out of 5 days a week from just North of Manchester down to Oxfordshire, Monday and Friday he “Worked from Home”.
However he was a contractor and was probably being paid more than double the FC’s proposed salary, plus travel time, accommodation and costs on top.

There’s no reason you would have to be in the SW all the time to oversee these projects, I mean I doubt anyone can micro manage 10 projects to that degree, in some ways a ~50% home worker might make sense, if I actually believed in the concept…

Thinking about it, I could be tempted, if it meant I could “Work From Home”…

I was exaggerating slightly Civil engineers aren’t knuckle draggers who throw steel and concrete at every problem, plus for this particular job I don’t think the FC would employ anyone who doesn’t know at least something about MTBs and MTB trail design.

I just thought the role sounded less like that of a Civil Engineer and more like a Project Manager the FC are not an engineering organisation as such their a government land management outfit, they don’t design or build these trails they appoint contractors…

They do only ask for HNC or equivalent, so they’re not after a chartered engineer, but probably someone with enough of a background in construction and/or engineering to appreciate material and labour costs, manage a budget, fudge a Gantt chart, and shout at contractors….. So a PM who likes riding bikes, and isn’t too fussed about earning a fortune…

Cranks wise I’d guess your Isoflows are ISIS fitting the BB’s for which are pretty poor in terms of bearing life (you will notice them creaking eventually), again I’d say the current Deore HT2 crankset is pretty good value, and can be picked up for ~ £50-£60 which, when you get to the point of needing new chainrings on your existing cranks, isn’t much more than the cost of replacing 3 chainrings, yes HT2 should be lighter but be aware that stock shimano BB life isn’t amazing, they are serviceable and as with other parts this can extend service life, but odds on eventually you will end up looking for an aftermarket HT2 BB replacement…

Basically you can never win, the upgrade path is an infinite one the only limiting factor is your income Vs your personal BS filter, it’s good that you’re looking at it in terms of function before fashion, keep that mindset ask on here for personal experiences of parts read reviews and shop around for the best deals, that’s about all you can do…

It’s all relative, I currently have a stop gap Alivio 8spd shifter on my trail bike driving an SLX rear mech and I would say the shifting isn’t on a par with the older LX 9spd I have moving the Tiagra on my DH bike, but it’s a marginal difference, I can live with the cheaper crappier shifter for now till I wear out the cassette and switch it over to a 9spd cassette and shifter in the summer (probably Deore, maybe SLX)

The other thing to consider moving up the range is features like dual release and the slightly better shift lever shapes, which all help improve feel and operation.
I guess what I’m saying is if you want to see a more marked improvement in the operation of your drivetrain, change your shifters to something blingier before you bother with the mechs, I reckon the likes of Deore/SLX probably offer better function relative to value when compared with XT, simply because they are functionally where XT was maybe 3-4 years ago, you don’t have to layout the cash for XT, there are pretty good options between Alivio and XT groups…

You raise a good point, basically you are correct it is a game of diminishing returns, you loose a little weight, and depending on how often you hurl the bike in the mud, neglect maintenance and grind the mechs back and fourth you make some gains in durability, but a well maintained Alivio mech should last a good few years, where a neglected XT will still die pretty quickly…

The one thing that is maybe more noticeable after a few years of use is the shift performance, cheaper mechs will have less durable bushes and springs, and cheaper shifters will have similarly less durable components, everything wears with use, but plastic parts worked over in grit however well looked after will not out perform brass or steel equivalents.

I have a 15 year old STX mech sat in my spares box, it’s probably had 10 years or so of mixed use over it’s life time so far, it no longer has the original jockey wheels, and the springs are noticeably less springy, it might not shift as well these days as my current SLX or Tiagra mechs, but having looked after it since purchase I know I can rely on it if I need to use it in an emergency.

Maintenance is really the key to getting the best out of drive train parts, keep them as clean as you can, lubricate them properly where possible, keep them well adjusted.

There is always the option using of a URT to go SS, probably the best way to do it I reckon, but many will no doubt turn there nose up at such a bike…

While I’ve seen a couple of SS bouncers including a few quite novel DH bikes, I don’t think I’d bother personally, Concentric BB bouncers are pretty inefficient as far as bouncers go so you’d be relying even more on the shock to help with pedalling efficiency, and the requirement to have a sprung tensioner of some sort on any other type of linkage/single pivot design means that you don’t really reduce the complexity of the Drive train that much and you still have something dangling off the mech hanger to catch rocks, so why not just have the gears?

On a HT it make sense to me, but why try to make an inherently more complex bike slightly less complex and ultimately derive no real benefit…

Assuming it's a completely on road commute then get a Road bike and lycra up, I've had mine a couple of years and compared to the MTB it makes my 20mile commute a relative joy, so much more efficient…

Having said that if it was feasable for me to commute more offroad and simply take longer I would…

if you do have an offroad or partially offroad commute then I reckon a nice robust fully rigid, skinny tyres XC bike is the way to go, it's all about saving some energy for the journey home later…

Back on topic…

Anyone got any particular recommendations for waterproof shorts?

SWEET JESUS WOULD YOU TWO TAKE IT OUTSIDE!!

Good luck to them finding a half decent Civil engineer for 25K

I’m not a Civil engineer but in my job I work with a fair few and we do a fair amount of pouring concrete over Re-bar and, I guess you could say my remit crosses over a bit, the main thing is though I’m not sure trail building really counts as “Civil engineering”…
Most Civil engineers I’ve met get in to it because they like building… well buildings, not bit’s of trail with the odd minor wooden structure.

Reading through that JD it sounds more like they just want a project manager, although I’d have thought someone with a bit of conservation experience would be handy too, most of our Civil engineers would just tell you to build Shore out of mild steel sections and have done with it, none of this mud/rocks/planks nonsense…

Stans 355 or Mavic 819s

Personally I hate having a wet arse, damp shins and calves I can live with…

As for using mud guards, fair point, if your commuting or just plodding along tow paths but not always practical if you’re a bit more “active” on the bike, those bloody great whale tail things get in the way and get knocked sideways quite easily riding more technical single track leaning the bike over, hanging you backside over the rear wheel and having the odd off (even more likely in the wet) and while closer mounted Guards keep more spray down they also suffer from a high potential for damage on the trails and can get clogged in proper mud…

Plus there’s all the other water to consider, spray from other vehicles if on the road, heavy rain and collected water gushing off trees or out of guttering…

It’s simply easier to try and waterproof the rider than try and prevent all possible sources of arse soaking….

So what your after is turning a 1×9 into a 2×9 high ratio Manly Grrr machine…

What is your current front ring and Cassette setup? 11-32 cassette with a 32 or 36t Chain ring Perchance?

I’ve only been using Devil pedals for a couple of years, my initial choice was to default to Shimano, “industry standard” Cheap functional and pretty durable, having heard various stories about CB pedals I decided to steer well clear, Glad I did…

Using bottom end again here M520 and M424:
Not too bad in mud, it actually makes more difference if you can keep the shoe sole/cleats clear I find, I also try to keep the pedal bodies clear-ish by spraying a bit of silicone on them post cleaning, although this only really lasts a few miles…

I Would consider the M540s but I’m a budget led kind of fella so wil probably stick to M520s.

For XC I have to say Ritchey WCS Mountain V4 are my wish list pedals, silly money, spanky finish, totally unnecessary, probably total gash…
I’d quite like some M647s for my trail bike maybe, but I’m a wrongle and actually like the resin caged SPDs…

A friend of mine once pointed out that given the differences in weight/price/function between the M520 and just about every pedal above it in the shimano range you may as well get them and spend the difference on lighter stiffer shoes as that would make a greater impact on your pedalling:
M520 ~ £20 – weigh 415g while M770 ~ £50 – weigh 352g, that extra £30 could probably save you much more than 73g if spent on shoes…

But yep Shimano FTW…

So winter boots are fine unless it’s wet (which it tends to be in the UK during winter), in which case they let in water and freeze your feet?
Does make them sound a bit unfit for purpose… this can’t be true for all winter boots, does anyone have a particular pair they’d swear by? Just out of interest like…

Just as another pointless addendum to this subject, I normally use a bit of Gaffa tape to try and seal the back of the cleat plates in summer shoes (works quite well), I generally find it’s the upper toe box area that seems to get the wettest if I’m riding my summer shoes off road in the wet, so I guess a bit of Gaffa tape to cover the (Suede) upper Toe area and vents coupled with some overshoes could be a viable “poor mans winter boot”, I shall be trying it this weekend I reckon (if it’s wet)…

Did I read someone else on another thread suggest using dry suit cuffs for sealing sock tops?
Is this another option for trying to keep overshoes drier perhaps?

Your bars are just as Normal as OS 31.8mm,

sounds like the LBS Gibbon is just too lazy to find a 25.4mm Clamped stem…

There's about a million available…

This is my debate, I have the Pro "Blaze" (only sold as being wind proof, but do keep some water out) they also claim they are suitable for MTB use. I might give the MT500 a go

seeing as the weather has been pretty good up to now and we're being predicted a mild winter, I'm hoping I can put off buying winter boots till the summer sales and have them to use next winter, basically muddle through the next 4-5 months and save a couple of quid in the process…

but it all comes down to weather or not I can use them on my M424s or not…

As a side question, how well do overshoes work with caged spds?

I have a set of overshoes which I have only ever used on the road bike, just considering if it's worth attempting to use them on the trail bike or not…

I have a strap on rack I inherited from my dad, I have to admit I only use it at the minute because if we go for a family trip and I take my bike, with the assorted baby related equipment and my Missus penchant for packing everything under the sun there is simply no space for the bike left in the car (Golf Estate).

It’s not been a problem so far, but I take at least 20 minutes to fit it each time, strap it on to the tailgate, making sure it’s secure, then I put the bike on (Minus wheels) and re-tension the straps, I also use a few zip ties to make sure there are no flapping straps once it’s all good and tight, I use 5 Bungees to strap the bike on and make sure the bars cannot swing at all, and then I use a cable lock to secure the frame to the rack both for anti theft security and just in case the bungees fail…

I make sure the wheels go in the car, I would be worried that they would obscure the rear light clusters as I don’t have a lighting board and I’d like it if people didn’t shunt me because they couldn’t see my brake lights…

If it’s just me, or me and another bike rider then the bike(s) go in the boot, on a tarp’….

I have to admit I’d prefer a tow bar rack and proper lighting board, but the difference in price is pretty huge, £50 for a strap on jobbie Vs what £300-ish? by the time you’ve bought a decent rack and had the tow bar and lighting board fitted (Assuming you don’t do it yourself), I can understand why people don’t go for tow bars every time, but it’s on my wish list, I just need to convince the missus…

You do see some scary “installations” strangely often on bigger cars, 4×4’s etc, I think it tends to be family outings where Dad’s not bothered reading the instructions after getting home from Halfrauds and decided he knows best and can shove 5 bikes plus a roof box on the outside of his car and nothing bad could possibly happen….

Surely the STW Way is to agonize over which blinged to buggery £3.5K trail wagon, and matching gloves to burn your money on, finally decide and buy the bugger….
Then you stand about watching people half you age on bikes one tenth the value of your own, cleaning the awesome challenges of Jump gully, or the chicksands Dual course, mutter something too pithy to be heard, shoot them a bitchy look and bugger off back to the car park, then jack it all in for a rigid, single speed, 29er and spend the difference on an overpriced coffee machine that only comes out when you need to impress dinner guests…

mrmichaelwright – Member

great advice from the cookeaa 'facebrake' monster there

full sus is a different style, you can't lazily sail into a kicker and hope, you've got to preload at the right time and pump through it. Try moving your weight back a bit and using you knees a bit more to stop the bike swallowing it up

oh and as mr agreeable says, feeding off your bros and amping up the gnar will also help

the Face braking incident you refer to was what I consider a "learning exercise"

I was thinking too much at the time, not concerntrating on riding and hence got kicked up he arse, plus I didn't actually get hurt (other than my ego)….

Also I no longer ride bouncey bikes; they is for queers innit…

is that first pic posted above by Grumm the old dual course at Chicky? if so the rider is looking a tad back wheel heavy to me and the second rider is a prize plum riding that drop in a Cap!

Stop thinking so much! thought is your enemy!

I know what your thinking: What is I get it wrong, what if the bike kicks me up the Arse, what if the cool kids notice I'm shite on a bike….

Stop thinking about what the bike is doing underneath you, or what could go wrong and just ride it, if you could do it on an HT then you can do it on a 6" bouncer…

If your fancy bouncy bike is holding you back that much, is it actually worth having at all?

I have 1 pukka UST wheel and 3 BMX tube “Ghetto” wheels all working flawlessly for some time now with various tyres, but I have settled on Speccy “2Bliss” tyres for now as a sort of halfway house; lighter/cheaper than most UST, maybe not quite as chunky in the sidewalls..

I have also in the past done a 24” non UST tyre using the Ghetto method, it worked OK…

Some tyres do take a while to seal and I have found myself bunging in as much as150ml for the initial inflation on some…. I generally only puff them up to 50-60 psi and do the wheel shaking dance for a good long while, might too much back pressure just push the latex through the holes rather than sealing (Only and idea, not an actual observation)?

Some tyres are just a total bastard to get sealed, have you considered literally painting the latex on to the inside surface of problem tyres and letting it set prior to inflation (Again just a thought, never tried it myself), or using a tube to seat half the bead?

hora – Member
cookeaa, I dont know whats worse Paedophiles, Fraudsters or the hand-wringing liberal-attitudists.

We take a news story- and pass scorn from both angles without knowing any of the story. If you take the viewpoint that someone is wrong in this story- you'd be putting your money on the Mother and Father though- not us nay-sayers who sit behind out keyboards casting scorn huh.

Oh I see so what your saying;
is it's perfectly acceptable to take the piss out of a essentially quite sad situation you know next to nothing about, because it’s in the papers, and coincides with your own middleclass prejudices…

I didn’t say anyone was right or wrong, The Parents or local Authorities, seeing as unlike your good self I’m not judge, jury and executioner for the Under-classes.
It’s hardly high comedy is it, you are quite literally pointing at, and mocking the poor, Very big…

Yes I’ll admit I’m probably on a slightly oversized high-horse today, but you’ve responded to this story in just the way the Sun and Mail readership would, Crass, thoughtless and insensitive, did you start ripping the piss out of Tsunami victims?

How would you feel if the papers started on blokes whose closest friend appears to be a small canine?

You’re not “passing scorn” you’re behaving like a Childish prick, it’s only funny because it’s happening to someone else…

High brow, Pick on the “under-classes” Clever…

Of course while you derive fun from it, and various scummy papers bolster sales, a family all be it a poor one with undisclosed issues are looking at their children going into care, generally speaking the outcome for the children is not likely to be a “positive” one…

Still at least crass arseholes on a cycling forum can have a chortle at their expense, so it’s not all bad is it…

Perhaps a straw poll is required….

I’d consider STW a suitable place it has a mixture of what I would consider “true cyclists” (actual cycling enthusiasts, rather than Drunks with driving bans)…

How many of you cycle in towns and cities do so predominately on the road and properly marked cycle lanes and how many use the pavement more often than not?

I’ll start, I use the roads, and some cycle lanes, but I will own up to having used the pavement on occasion, where I considered it safer, for both myself and others, to do so…

I went as far as registering and then their crappy site fell over… now I'm going to get hate-emails and I still haven't had my say…

Ahhh, i see, what your getting at it may work if you used the 160mm Funn IS mount with your existing Giant post to IS “+15mm” mount…
Then again it might not work, and by the time you’ve pissed about with all these different adapters it would have been easier and cheaper to just use a 165mm rotor…