http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/time-atac-servicing-and-spares

Family members?

The whole wide bar thing has nothing to do with fit, it’s for extra leverage and control.

Ha, those Surrey Hills galoots wish they had the riding we’ve got oop North!

It’s a case of finding the right hardtail for you. See if you can test ride a few first.
I normally ride a 5-6″ travel bike but had a spare 4″ full sus that I hated, just for races/events. When I decided to sell that frame to buy a hardtail a few mates laughed and said I’d hate it even more. Truth is I love it (Ti), it’s way more comfortable than the 4″ FS and the last hardtail I’d owned (a Cannondale F1000).

Hope you like riding slippy roots! Good in the dry, lethal in the wet. They’re mainly on the black section. The whole course is quite short though so missing the black out would make it far too short, imho.

Can you use some blocks of wood underneath the shock? I’ve used old allen keys as punches when I’ve been stuck for something to knock bearings out of frames.

Breasty Haw at Grizedale. Rode it a few times! :D

The spoke holes are drilled right through on Stan’s rims. You need the tape or the rim strips to seal the holes! Depending on the rims you might be better off with the 25mm tape.
The 819 is a true tubeless rim (UST), so hasn’t any holes on the inside of it. Stan’s are a lot lighter though.

I can’t comment on the xcracer ones but have been using the formula’s…I can’t complain, 1000 times better in the wet than the organics!
I think I paid £15 each from CR, I had to buy four to get them for that price though.

Yeah, the standard pads are utter shog dite in the wet! Chain Reaction normally do good deals on sintered if you buy a few pairs.

I now use the Time Atacs after using SPD’s for years. There’s not a lot of difference really but I do prefer the Time’s. The cleat setup is easier on them too, you don’t have to bother about toeing them in or the sideways positioning…it makes sense when you compare the two.
I can’t comment on the durability of them as I’ve only started using them this year. They’re supposed to last years though.

Like others have said, there are always good deals to be had. Anyone who pays full price is an idiot or has too much money! It might be different if you end up buying on finance I suppose.
People say support your LBS…It’s hard too when you can save hundreds online! I do recommend buying frames from small businesses though, as they will often knock something off if you’ve got the readies.

bencooper

I always seem to get dirty looks whenever I turn up at Glentress with my old GT RTS, no helmet and ripped jeans.

Have you thought that it might have nothing to do with your bike but the fact you’re not wearing a helmet?
When I see someone mountain biking without one I don’t give them the time of day, whoever they are or whatever they ride.

don simon – Member

Why would simply working in IT make someone middle class?
I get a bit sick and tired of every Tom, Dick and Harry that has a decent wage thinking that they’re middle class. Unless you are of good education (no state school riff-raff) and managerial (proper managerial) you’re quite simply white collar working class.
Get over it and learn to live with you insecurities.

Well said! I think a lot of this working-class, middle-class thing could be better put as…those who get their hands dirty and those that don’t (office workers!). :P

They’re two very different bikes aren’t they? What kind of riding do you do?
edit. beaten to it by ashfanman

OP – Any car with a bit of poke will be entertaining for your first car! All the folk on here going on about ‘boring this’, ‘wouldn’t have that’, have all drove/owned multiple cars. It’s only on driving muliple cars that you notice the difference between them!
Has for the RWD, FWD and AWD debate…I have a RWD car and although I love it, I wouldn’t buy another. I live at the bottom of a steep hill and can’t drive up it when there’s snow/ice about. Luckily I can borrow a 4×4 when that happens, if it wasn’t for that, I’d have sold my BMW and bought an Audi Quattro by now.

Would you not be better off just using a decent rucksack? I know it’s better to get the weight off your back when biking, but it doesn’t seem like you would be carrying much weight anyway? (Unless your bike locks are heavy).

Whatever you’ve spent it’s worth it…isn’t it? :?
There must be more than ianpinder that’s into 5 figures? There’s too much carbon and titanium on here for there not to be! :wink:

OP – I was going to buy a new hardtail frame (steel) but like you couldn’t get my head around the weight. I spent the money on a s/h titanium frame instead and I’m very pleased I did! :-)

Surface make some nice gear that might be what you’re looking for?

If you’re doing it as a team of three, don’t worry about it! There is usually a pretty mixed bag of riders, I would say the size of the team roughly equates to rider ability. Me and a mate did the 10 at Kirroughtree last year as a pair, neither of us fancied doing it solo and felt we wouldn’t have got enough riding in as a trio.
We hired a van and taped a garden gazebo to the side of it! This was great for getting changed in and sheltering from the rain. We had a tent for sleeping in set up next to this so that it didn’t interfere with the rest of our set-up. It all worked out spot on and saved any running about we would have had if we’d stayed in a B&B.
The No Fuss events are probably the best organised events I’ve been to with a great atmosphere as well.

I know when I’ve finished looking at someones blog I sometimes click on ‘next blog>>’ to see if it is anything interesting. I’ve ended up finding all kinds of stuff, from all over the world.

ASR5 alloy upto 140mm fork.
ASR5 carbon upto 120mm fork.

I presume you’re on about Sierra Cycling? It’s Mountain Biking Spain I’m going with. My flight is booked and my deposit is paid…I can’t complain about the price especially as there was no single supplement on the accommodation. It’s because I’m travelling alone that I wanted to go with a company. The thing is that it looks like I might be the only person booked to go, for a fortnight too! Any biking mates have either got kids or work commitments.
Even though I’m flying to Alicante, I’ll be based a few hours away from Benidorm. I’m not really bothered about bars anyway as I want to feel 100% for the biking.
Get yourself there for a few days if you already live fairly local!

Have you looked at the Ibis forum on MTBR? This subject has been talked to death about on there. I think a lot of the Yanks are running Rockshox Monarchs RT3’s matched with a Lyrik fork.
I was going to try a Bos Vip’r with a Deville fork but mine is stuck in 140 mode for now. All my mates have have XC and trail bikes, so not sure where I’ll make the most of a 160 travel bike? :(
Whichever route you go down it will have been talked about on the forum I’ve already mentioned.

Have a look at these bags on my bike here. They’re available in different sizes, reasonably priced and come from Poland so the postage is cheap/no import tax.

I used to have a program on my old Blackberry that could do this, can’t remember what it was called though. Could you not use some kind of schedule or calendar program?
How could you forget to send it? Type it out now and set your alarm for 22.59. :?

Thinking it would be too wet and muddy in the fells we decided to go Kirroughtree…Excellent, forgot just how good it is! :D

I would say Gore’s small…Mr Smith, 3/4’s? Yes, they’re often baggy around the ankles!?!

Now then Excitable1, you’re better doing the route you mention after a good spell of dry or frosty weather. The section across Swindale is a nightmare after any wet weather, it ends up just muddy enough to not be able to ride it. The following walk takes ages.
The time one of my mates and I rode it, we thought 60k, 5-6 hours at most, more likely 4-5…I think it took us nearly 9! Sun was shining when we set off, got thick fog at the top of High Street and torrential rain at Swindale. If I hadn’t seen the funny side I would have curled up under a bush and cried for my mum. It was a good job we took plenty food and the garage at Ings was a godsend when we’d just about finished.
We were both quite fit and were used to longer, harder rides. We just didn’t expect it to take as long!
Hope this helps you to plan it right, good luck.

P.s. Sorry if I’m telling you what you already know.

XTR Chainsets…buying them is the easy bit, replacing the rings is the wallet emptier! You can buy a full set of Raceface rings for the price of a XTR outer ring!

Sombrio’s are usually tough as old boots. I’ve never been a fan of Endura stuff.

bigthunder – I sent a X 10 mini pro back! I found browsing the web on it a terrible experience. It’s also quite chunky and wasn’t as small as I thought.

Goose Island – Summertime…an American, traditional German-style kolsch beer!

Good stuff! I need to get a warmer sleeping bag too! :D

With the Shadow+ mech my bike is eerily quiet most of the time. You still get a little bit of chain-slap on the real rough stuff, I haven’t dropped the chain since fitting it though.

Forgot to say, have a look on Bike and Bivi if you’re liking your bivvying so much. Also Bear Bones Bikepacking, there are quite a few write-ups of some trips around Wales on here. Might not be what you’re looking for but plenty of advice on the non-biking side of it too.

Why on earth would you want a singlespeed all-mountain bike? What do you do when you need a bit of extra speed for a jump etc. I don’t think a 1x would be much better for that matter. I know what you’re saying about maintenance but do you want a bike that isn’t as much fun to ride? I spoke to a bloke in a carpark the other week, he had a Tracer2 on top of his car and didn’t look like the fittest bloke in the world…I looked over his bike and made a few comments about his choice of parts etc. I asked why he only had one chainring, “to save some weight and to save on maintenance! he replied, “walking up hills is taking some getting used to after coming from a triple too” WTF! Why would anyone want to walk up hills for the sake of an extra chainring or two and wanting to save on maintenance but buys a VPP bike, crazy!
If you really are sick of sorting your bike out a hardtail might be the better option. I know a lot of bike guides use them with a long travel adjustable fork. Can you not have a go on someones to see if it’s for you? I would still prefer a full-sus though.
If you are more downhill oriented definitely look at the Banshee Spitfire…it’s know as the downhillers trail bike isn’t it?
I have a Mojo HD140 and a hardtail with 120mm up front. I like both, but it’s horses for courses and I don’t ride them in the same places.
These are my own opinions of course so you may not agree with what I’ve said. :-)

XTR M985 Shadow+ rear mech. :D