I’m asking a question as denoted by the ‘?’ so, go on, what exactly are you expecting of a seller

“I have no quarrel with the seller” did you read that part? I was giving advice ffs. That being that you cannot expect the vendor to neccesarily know the condition of his product. i.e look at what you are buying

So what exactly are you expecting? That sellers strip forks down to there parts and then take photos?

no you are right. We should all take pot f**king luck with our hard earned money and buy blind.

or take it up with the seller instead of feeling sorry for yourself to a bunch of strangers on here

I appreciate the smiley face, mate but have you considered that I might just want to stop someone else making the same mistake? After all some of us hve just got into this game

Bit of a Hijack here, but a few of us are off to Afan for the first time in 3 weeks . We are going to camp on site if poss. Does anything go on “after dark” or is it lights out after 10.00 PM after an ice bath and rub down~?

A few beers with like-minded souls would be a good end to the day?

Any pubs to recommend?

Any pubs at all :)

Im ashamed to say that when im Home, my Springer sleeps by my feet and my cocker has his own pillow next to my wife. Cant imagine the tent situation would be any different…

I got an ACT2k from toys r us (25 quid- they are selling them off so probably none left now)

The pic is ok for the price but the sound is really awful. Nevertheless, 25 quid is ok for a few memories

Heres a clip from mine…

Think there was a problem with door seals early on, but I think a lot of them got warranty fixes.

Another source of leaks is when your tinpot local garage does an air con service and doesnt put the Filter cover back together properly!! (from personal experience)

most of my cars have cost less than that

You could say the same about the Music, dancing ladies, big sellout crowds and floodlights… Different game.

I still prefer a 5 day test though.

The prices of their bog standard bits/ bobs can be quite reasonable, actually. Also I really fancy one of the 800 quid boardman FS Comps..not sure you can get them anywhere else?

And there is always one nearby…

Did a few trails around Cranham Tonight before Night Shift. saw a couple of guys (no helmets?)

didnt see any Helix pomatia though :) Enjoyed the racetrack and Wall as usual. Learning that jumping is not my forte ; must join the “air in the tyres not under them” brigade!

30 mins to bodge the forks

nah I cant bodge on an empty stomach…chips first

I have actually found a doc with oil level (in mm) rather than in cc for my Mxcomps so I am going to play with that. that and a bit of rebound adjusting/ sag measuring FUN FUN FUN

got to go oven beeping…

Helix pomatia – look it up !

wow I didnt expect that!. Ill look out for one of the slimy little dudes next time I am up there.

hey I did to check a search for “urban dictionary” just to check..nothing came up…I have only been on here for 4 weeks cheeky get :)

now whats my bike radar password…?

“It is 3mm and about 250mm long.”

you have let me know too much! Ill butcher one of mine and weld it to a long bit of scap then :)

Cheers for the offer, though..

the one with the big bombhole in it

sorry but “bombhole” will be funny until the day I die ha ha ha ha god im childish

Those newish jumps by the shrine are awesome,who ever built them great job.

is that where that bit of north shore is? (Fell off there :( )

my NRS :)

Change your desktop walpaper to one of a lovely Shemale .

I dont know if anyone has said this, but whatever you choose, make sure you are prepared to walk it every day, and dont think it will be ok on its own all day while you are at work!

sorry to be all dog PC but I get so annoyed when people do something stupid like buy a Springer and get surprised when the poor mite tears up the house because it is left on its own all day BORED

anyway, I am a Springer fan. The little dude is obedient, athletic, (funny), great with my Baby, loyal, ACE! I never tire of watching him enjoy the countryside. I have a Cocker cross, too. He is the clever one…

ha ha ha. DTFU made me wee myself

Never seen the need for boots though. Curiously my Springer can run at 100MPH through a thorn bush after a rabbit and suffer no ill effects but one little grass seed and its hello credit card and a phone call to the insurance company…

BigDummy – Member
Felch-monkey

ha ha ha ha I think the use of Felch-monkey should be encouraged.

10 tescos 3w LED torches :)

…makes the bars a bit heavy though. I run 2 of the c-cell ones with jubilee clips.NICE

the ‘wall’ is in buckholt wood, id say its much more techy than those trails at the shrine and popes in the vid. dont worry about times just ride them, enjoy them, challenge yourself. keep coming back for more.

The first few times i would pause a bit at the top of the 2 drops and always end up hitting the tree on the left on the second one. The learning curve has steepened and now its so much more rewarding to set yourself up and ride straight down. Of all the tracks I have been shown, this is my Fav so far…

There’s nothing at Afan to catch you out if you’ve got your eyes peeled. Some trails, like White’s Level, have a few 1-3ft drop-offs at the side but you wouldn’t ride them by accident.

I love the drops…I think if I can see the other side then I am ok

thepurist – Member
Dan – IME there are two main attitudes for riding your bike – there’s the ‘I fell off last time i rode this so I’m scared so I’ll tense up and go slow this time and I’ll actually have less bike control and will probably fall off again and get even more tense and go even slower’ one and the ‘i cleared that so i’m feeling better about my riding so i’m relaxed more on the bike and carrying a bit more speed so next time i hit something the bike will move under me rather than pitching me off and i might even clear that too’ one. I’m pretty sure we’ve all been on both – I know I have!

Just go back to something that is on the edge of your current comfort zone, ride it a few times till it’s easy then maybe move to something else and do the same thing.

you know that is gloriously simple…might actually be a bit of fun to do the same trail over and over too

it annoys me that I cannot just get on the thing and ride it without all the need for the bloody analysis, but thats just how i am, i guess

NB Going to afan soon. cant recon there so any pitfalls? Really want to go for it but dont want to ruin my weekend! We will do the wall first probably

NB on a different note, does anyone have any benchmark times for the Wall, Cranham? That one i can do without falling off :), and its my sort of “Benchmark” for how things are improving.

and what about the “gibbering wreck, falling off every five minutes, scared-not-enjoying-any-more” stupidity that occured afterwards… Any cure of am I just going to have have a word with myself? After all, Malc (now with a wheel stamped into shape and no rear brake) doesnt seemed to have slowed down any.

god Im a (for want of a better word) Chicken :)

I think it was the bike rack that caused the crash… remove the offending item jobs a goodun!

aw dont be so hard on the lad..someone nicked his S-works epic last month.

How did that take you by surprise?!

lol I think it was a case of thinking we had ridden this track before and knowing there were no jumps on it ;)

you don’t need to be able to jump usually – you could probably have rolled that if you’d set yourself up properly, the rider in fornt looks liek they did.

..actually he landed on his front wheel closely followed by his head! Curiously, his back wheel ended up mangled but the front was relatavely unscathed. That is my point exactly though..for a start we were both sitting down on high saddles. I guess a good start will be to get the bodyweight right to roll over these

Makes me cringe that does, A good mate just picked up a MINT Spesh FSR XC comp for less than that

**goes off to cry
****wishes you hadnt asked

difficult one, I expect a shock but here goes

Gt Agressor. £50 (got his for the Marzocci Mx comps )
Giant NRS frame £114
Fox Float £40
front mech 9 new
Shim Xt rear mech £10
BB 15 new
Crank 15 new
Seatpost 10 new
Headset 25 new
Chain 10 new
fox seals 10 new
fork seals 15 new
grips 10 new
halfords back wheel 27 quid (ok actually) new
Panaracers 25
Brake pads 10 new

plus much more
OH MY GOD THAT IS 385 QUID without all the odds and sods.

the donor bike..those rotors make a reappearence here . I had a stubby stem on this one and seat right forward. Sill felt like a gate though…

mind you orig bike only 50 quid. Bought a wheel and some fork seals plus a rear mech and turned it into this

Difficult to say. My old GT agressor XC.3 was a bit too big for me and this may be teetering on too small. Seems to turn more eagerly though, and with the shock nice and hard now bob is minimal. Also seems more easy to balance in a wheely going up and down the road!

Need a longer seatpost though

going out on Tuesday in Glos. dont expect any miracles. I suppose the building is as fun as the riding for me!

Too hot to ride? If the tens of thousands of the English weekend BBQ firing, shirt loosing, skin burning, larger drinking (run round a stick-ing) can make it through the day then a few miles on two wheels cant be that bad can it?

SR Suntour 175mm square taperSR Suntour off Ebay here

I am a skill-less, top-heavy plumper who falls off every five minutes and is too scared to go down anything steeper than 3 degrees.

I wouldnt be any better on a hardtail than on a full suss, but I have built a fs for the sheer fun of it…

I cant be the only one who’s decision is based purly on aesthetics?

It came as quite a shock to me to realise this practice is commonplace.

I am a dog owner and on my walks, cylists have always been polite, always slowed down and always said thanks if I have called my dogs to heel if they go past.

Now I have started to ride in these same areas, I have always had respect from the dog walkers/ ramblers so who the hell is doing this stuff?

Good advice chaps. I am currently playing around with pressures to get a nice balance between plushness and bob (bobism? ) I have tried big pressures which cuts the bob out, but it seemed to firm up the ride loads.
Of course I am judging suspension performance on drains, speedbumps and kerbs. It may be that what feels hard on the road is just fine offroad where the fun is!

Ill have a better setup when my seals come and i can rely on my shock not loosing pressure (hopefully) but it is looking like ill try about 240 psi for the inaugural singletrack jollies next week. (if my cursed front mech and panaracers come by then, but that is another story)

Thanks for all your help

Im new to all this mounting biking thing – or biking generally (late starter at 34) I broke a chain the other week miles from home and i was so shocked when our illustrious leader popped over with a splitter and got me back on my way!

Note to self. Get one

ill give it a go. will service the air chamber too first. (see other post!)

Tried to get my company (just a small one called UNILEVER )interested in the scheme.

They were not. How can I chage their minds…?