For the sake of £50 we bought our wee 5yr old laddy a Ridge MX16 instead of the Cnoc16. I had to replace the freewheel immediately because the gearing is savage for flat, never mind hills (he loves MTBn) – still feel the chainring is too big and he’s got sturdy legs. He also destroyed the pedals on berms and bails in the first month. That’s the £50 saving more or less lost already.

Got his older sis an Islabikes Beinn20 which weighs the same, is third hand (was neglected by the second owner) and still runs great. I know that not only will puppydo666 inherit this in working condition but expect their cousins can become 5th generation abusers in good time and can probably go on to sell it for not much less than I paid. I challenge you to find an Isla in any condition for less than 2/3 retail.

Another idea I saw recommended (here, I think) is to get an Inbred 14″ and bang 24″ wheels until kid grows proper legs. Works if you have a well-stocked parts bin to delve into. Probably not great for 8 unless she’s pretty big though. My 7yr old is only just big enough for the small 20!

The Orbea looks very nice. Anyone else notice the chain droops?

Aaw bless, I’m oop Nowerth laak lad. Have been in Oxford a lot of late but shan’t be back again. Ta muchly f’t’offer though!

So you don’t find it ponderous on corners? Have you mod’d it at all? I wondered if sticking normal bars (42 c2c) might tighten the steering feel at all. Of course it might be that the roadie I was given is sharper than I need and it’s just a matter of acclimatisation.

Lots of chuckles, thanks everyone. Matt_outandabout wins my ultra-dad award this week.

Last minute romantic weekend in Snowdonia courtesy of ma-in-law’s babysitting pass – ten year anniversary with my wonderful wifey B-) Walks by sea, in forests, by streams, to pub (which had my fave ale on tap), by lakes. Granted a ride pass to Penmachno on Monday which was extra fun with no glasses (no point thanks to rain and mist) and failing brakes!

Wow. So I like MTBr music then? A fairly eclectic mix to be so widely shared. Except, of course, Plumber. Well done, haven’t heard of
any of them!!!

Lots of the above, but including:

Talk Talk ‘Spirit of Eden’
Tool ‘Lateralus’ (but the Holy Gift reorder, probably just because I first heard it as such, though it still seems that each track has more power in that order than the album release)
Steve Reich ‘Music for 18 Musicians’
Marvin Gaye ‘What’s Goin On’
Stevie Wonder ‘Innervisions’
Bert Jansch ‘Jack Orion’
These United States – the debut with a massive name I can’t be **** to type
Ani DiFranco – could be lots but probably the best produced is ‘Educated Guess’ or ‘Reprieve’

any best of list is only until I think of more. I prefer ‘first ten awesome albums to come into your mind’

Read OP several times now and see nowt that infers pushiness. Good luck to you all!

Delilah

I reckon the unbelievers have no nurses in their immediate circles. Very sad when one loses the love for it but hardly surprising that not everybody has the emotional resilience to withstand been treated like dogmuck by doctors, senior ward staff, patients and families alike.

The pay ain’t bad but I’m still not convinced their efforts aren’t worth more.

I don’t spend much time farting aboot on t’web but a friend had told me about HTN a while back, tried to find out more, no mailing list options, came and went with me missing it by, emailed to request a heads up when it is next on and nowt in response. Ergo suspicions of secret handshake ;) The eldest pup is up for a go too, she’ll be 7 by then…

Bike polo took a back seat to hitting hills on the roadie which took a back seat to MTBn which has taken a back seat to sitting around with fookin peas on my hand watching my frankenfinger slowly look like a human finger again, having had surgery to put a screw through the joint after a very large puddle ambushed me. 5 weeks off already and another month or so to go :'(

Mostly been riding up at Gisburn and in Hebden with some locals who hoon around like nutters on crack. Booked onto theGreat Rock’s Alp Prep on June 15th to get me in the mood for Fort Bill a month after!

14mph + stops? 3500m total climb? Sounds great. You doing it solo? If you fancy a ride buddy I could join you as you get into Chorlton and go to Selby with you. Or if you fancy a ride in t’Peaks any time from around mid-May that you’re not feeling competitive about, I’m missing my wheels. All of them.

Mrs DoGGG sends her love

Interested! PM me if you get owt for this? I don’t exactly hawk t’forum but am deffo up for it.

Also re Phillips Park – Really want to get in on HTN but seems you have to know the organisers to be told when it opens or sumat, yesno?

There’s enough riding at Clayton to make a trip if you’re within the M60 – I was there over Easter with the pups and the trail builders were v helpful, encouraging them to try what was already laid. Also would recommend a recon’ first lap as there was much broken glass over obstacles and whatnot. Is this a Manc thing or does everywhere suffer such degenerates? :(

That Sheffield trail looks lovely. Will I find a Soul waiting by a tree for me?

Deets!!!

Haven’t tried it. Got halfway across the C2C in an adventure of epic ill-preparation, ended in Alston having locked myself out of my room in a deserted hotel wearing no pants so couldn’t crack on (pardon pun) until let back into my room, by which time I was too late to do the second half :(

Up for tackling that again in a day next year (sans camping gear) or two days this summer, fancy joining me?

Pint of Boondoggle at Bulls Head soon, replete with CD swap?!

Salty

Raw Donner

Lots of pink polka dot wearers on this forum. Did I not read the rules before joining?

Brant – does that make it a 96er?! While you’re here do you fancy sneaking us some details on the 29er fullsussers you have up your sleeve?

Cheezybeanz – what travel have you got there? It’s a 16 frame innit? Same as mine. The front is slightly elevated too, isn’t it?? Felt like I was falling off my chair staring too hard at that! …ah, this be Mrs Beanz?

Might try it rigid next winter, could be fun.

“Hearing my children screaming “Daddy” as our car slammed the barrier & rolled after a blow out on the motorway brought home to me the fragility of life. Likewise crawling around the same overturned car trying to unclip the belts on their car seats convinced the thing was about to blow up. Which one do I get out first…”

Ok so I only skim-read the following four pages but no-one even noticed this? I felt sick with empathic terror reading this post!

And I know it’s an MTB forum but surely some of you ride on roads sometimes, or are a least aware of road-using cyclists? Can you be certain there are none around, perhaps obscured by one of the many vehicles obstructing your progress?

On a 50 mile drive on single carriageways you’re unlikely to shave more than 10 minutes off your time trying to get past the queue immediately in front of you, after all, there is probably another one not far ahead of that. I personally think the maths describing traffic flow should be part of the driving test, but then I also think everyone should drive on all types of road on bikes, in cars and in long wheel-based vans – you could never guess how massive the blind spots can be without direct experience. Of course this would make it prohibitively expensive to get driving, so we’d end up with less traffic. Win-win???

If you’re loved one is in need of urgent medical attention and you feel it is safer to overtake than wait then do it. If not then maybe it /is/safe but it’s probably not possible to prescriptively determine that on a forum.

A big thank you to all the trolls, Crikey might be my forum hero now!

I’ve been going up there nearly weekly over this winter and found it all very rideable (except the Slab) even in snow, though Hully scared the bejaysus out of me last time. Admittedly I’m off the bike for 2months having smushed my little finger, but that was definitely rider-error :(

Funny thread!

I wear shorts and a t-shirt when I’m riding either of the bikes, with long johns and knee-high socks when it’s snowy. Yeah, well stylish. Asked at my LBS for an interesting route to Glossop to take on Snake Pass wearing the summer version and the kid suggested I might not be able to do that many miles without some branded gear. Really?

Took a long route and do you know I nailed the Pass in a personal best, AND made it home. Though to be fair I may have shaved a minute or two off my 50mile ride had I been wearing lycra. But surely I’d then have to find a long way home too???

Wow you guys are awesome, thanks everyone!

She’s 5’1″, inside leg 30″ I tink. Petite lady shaped, whatever dimensions they be!

I hear the test ride thing, just not sure how to go about getting a go. Maybe a trip to Grizedale is necessary ;-)

I built her a sweet wee Peugeot roadie and she loves it but I can’t see her getting into more than about-town use on it. I think she’ll end up more into MTBn, if only coz It’s so fun seeing how much the weeuns buzz off it! So remit is to keep up with enthusiastic under-10s, perhaps red routes pushing the steeper or gnarlier sections in a year or two. Bearing in mind the boy doesn’t seem to grow n will likely be on his new Ridgeback MX16 SS for a good 2yrs. (changed the freewheel to 22t as Ridgeback seem to think a 5yr old will get torque on a 36-16 ratio!)

Fleabay rationale is v sensible! We’re able to get cyclescheme tho so all bikes at 30%off… Still couldn’t convince her to go more than 500 I reckon, plus I’m hoping to lobby for a Cotic X when I’ve paid off the 456!

Interesting – only one mention of laydee specific model… The difference is shorter TT and bit lower standover height only, isn’t it?

I have a cro-mo rigid hardrock that’s done everything from centuries to Gisburn black sections via kiddy-carting round central Manchester. It was out of action for a fee months while it was cannibalised, was like being reunited with a dear friend when resurrected. Good to know the newer models are still turning folk on to the joys of wheels B-)

One reads these cheaper toys have forks not worth riding on tho – at what point do they become fun/useful? I
went from rigid to Revelations so no experience of the mid range. The trailstar has decent On One cromo forksbbut she liked the squishy Recons.

Or I buy some forks for the TS n a new polo bike! I just think she’d feel the weight n poor climbing of the TS if she got up to bigger rides than the kids…

I guess budget would be £500 tops, BTW.

Aaaw c’mon, I’m bored as hell sat in hospital with a broken finger, gimme sumat to get excited by until the Codeine kicks in ;-)

Tell us more bout the kaffenback trail… You may yet save me from going Cotic, esp if you do an 853 ;-)

+1 456. Pseudo full susser.