Just to add a few comments that haven’t been mentioned yet for anyone looking for more opinions (loads around the web already though!)…

First, I would say both are very good.

I would say that shifting from SRAM is quicker and smoother than my previous XTR…. in the dry

My main gripe with SRAM is that the rear mech doesn’t seem to perform that well in the mud- the jockey wheels seem to get clogged pretty easily which in turn makes shifting a little imprecise and the chain doesn’t always settle in the correct gear.

Aftermarket spares and bling upgrades are also more readily available for Shimano.

As far as cassettes go I would say get a 12-28 Ultegra (or Dura-Ace if you are flash) and save tons of weight and money on the MTB equivalents. Durability has not been a problem at all for me over the winter, and the closer ratios are a real plus.

Finally, I don’t know why anyone would go for Hope’s XC brakes when there are so many better options on offer. I personally went for R1’s and have been blown away with the performance. The new XTR brakes seems to get good reviews too.

It’s nice to be in a position to worry about XTR or X0 :wink:

Proper Welsh comment amphibian!

Ah Paulio, you had to ruin the game :D It is indeed outside the Millennium Centre. It’s a good background to a silver bike.

I’ve always liked the understated look to bikes and I think we’ve achieved it with my GF’s build. As I’ve said a lot already- very happy and very grateful to the STW Massif

Thanks for the great comments :D

The wall was a little costly but unfortunately it isn’t mine… if anyone can hazard a guess where the photo was taken I’d be impressed. Think slate… think Wales maybe…

The pedals will stay unless some bling flats come along any time soon. My GF may well like speeding but she has had battles with the tarmac in the past so I don’t think clipless is on the horizon. A broken wrist, elbow and collarbone in one go have hopefully have already earned her rite of passage as a mountain biker but I’d rather not risk any more mishaps!

I think I probably paid around £500-600 (hard to say as the parts have been collected for over a year) for everything which although is a lot of money is something of a bargain I would say. The frame is Kinesis Aluminium. My GF chose everything so the whole bike has a personal touch which you wouldn’t get off the shelf for the same money.

Overall, we are both very happy!

It is always hard to say what to expect as everyone is different. What I would say is do what you are told and don’t rush it :D At the same time if you are concerned that what you are told to do doesn’t feel right or doesn’t feel enough then make sure you communicate this to the surgeon/ physio/ GP.

Seriously, the worst thing you can do is try to get back to daily activities/ riding too soon and bugger yourself up in the longer term just because you couldn’t wait for an extra 2 or 3 weeks. You hear all the time about people who recover quickly or perform amazing feats in a short time but you never hear about the long term pain, problems and other niggles.

Bit negative I’m afraid but riding should be the last thing on your mind. Heal up!

LoCo- That is why I missed it then! I have sent a message and apologise in advance for the length!

Thank you for the extra info LoCo. I missed the update to the website, sorry!

I will send an email shortly. Thanks!

From personal experience I would say that the top end forks (as BB and FIT equipped fork are) are pretty similar. They may have different design and subtly different adjustments but both can be made to achieve the same result. I am by no means an expert but the difference of a well set up BB or FIT fork isn’t noticeable as others have already said.

P.S. LoCo, do you now offer servicing/ set up help/ or even tuning on FIT forks?

I went with Hill Dodger’s suggestion in the end- Lusso Max Repel bibs.

I tried lots of different brands and all bib tights from the mid range right up to the very top of the range and (save from Assos) nothing was comfortable, well fitting and decent quality. I really like the material and design of Mavic tights for example but they were so uncomfortable for me.

The Lusso didn’t look like anything too special but they do the job fantastically well and kept me warm and dry at the weekend. Very happy with the Lusso Max Repel bibs :D

Canyon offer the best value and for £3000 you can get a dream spec bike to do any definition of XC you may choose very well.

The other sensible alternative not mentioned yet is to shop around and build a bike up from parts- you will end up with a much higher spec and have the satisfaction of knowing everything is 100% to your tastes/ riding style. I would personally never buy a full bike where value is a consideration. Places like Merlin Cycles that have odd bits and pieces with huge discounts is a good place to start.

You can’t really go wrong with any modern bike. Go for what takes your fancy and enjoy every second of it :D

Why put a 90kg limit per tyre? It is meaningless unless there is a new wave of 180kg mountain bikers that are surfacing (slowly no doubt) and suing Maxxis in large numbers :D

90kg load taking into account the extra load of jumps/ drops is also meaningless as no-one will have the first idea how much extra force goes through a tyre for different obstacles.

I would have imagined that it is a 90kg rider weight limit by logic. The only other logical options are that you have misread the info on the sidewall???

First, get in touch with Maxxis. If you have no luck then sell them and stick to something you trust.

I tried the Endura Stealth Lite today at the LBS but found the sizing a bit off. The medium were far too short in the leg and the large were baggy and the bib straps were far too long. Can’t win sometimes :D

I think the sensible option is a decent, warm bib long with perhaps Castelli Nano-Flex leg warmers on top to layer up if it is exceptionally cold/ wet. Bit more of a flexible option in terms of movement and adaptability to conditions I think…

Thanks to everyone for their advice so far

So a mixed review on the Endura Stealth then?

I think I have the same feeling at the moment as you DruidH. I think I am convicing myself more and more that a good quality, warm bib tight is probably more practical for 95% of Winter rides. There arn’t many occasions when I really, really wished that I was wearing 100% waterproof leg wear.

The Castelli’s look very appealing at the moment…

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions- there are certainly some options there I hadn’t previously considered. A bit more reading and a few trips to various LBS’s and I should be able to MTFU and make a decision :D

I’m still open to any other suggestions if there are bib tights out there that meet the STW seal of approval :D

The Castle Bikes group rides starting from Caerphilly are really good for exploring the areas you are describing. I think a couple of guys head over to Cwm Carn from Caerphilly on a pretty regular basis but I have never had the legs! Get in touch with them and I’m sure someone will have the knowledge. Great group to ride with :D

It’s a controversial question as I’m sure we are all aware…

My first instinct is- why on earth would you not wear one?

But… there is no published evidence (as far as I am aware) as to the benefits. It is not hard to demonstrate benefits in terms of reducing the range of motion/ reducing stresses within the neck if they really wanted to. I guess it just isn’t in their interest as they sell better based on trust (no numbers for internet warriors to quote and misquote).

One thing which got me thinking as to why you may not want to use one is the idea that the weakest thing always gives. So, if you beef up the upper neck does this mean you are more likely to damage the surrounding structures? Just a thought…

Warburton banned for three weeks!

First reaction is “WTF”, followed by “hmmm”. You could see it coming but it still seems pretty harsh

I love Mike Phillips :wink:

From Eurosport…

Asked whether he could have touched down a bit closer to the posts to allow Stephen Jones an easier conversion, Phillips was initially lost for words.

“It was a great try,” he said. “I done my job, kickers should be kicking, I done my job.”

Interesting selective quotes in IRB match report :)

I have only just seen the English coverage of the game and it seems Fran and Lawrence were more irate than the Welsh! :D

Another controversial one:

Florian Fritz

I wonder who the referee was? :D

This example seems super harsh too but it is very interesting to see the reaction of the commentators.

The tackle here was different for sure (falls on the side more than the head/ upper back) and there was more of a ‘driving’ action going on but I would argue still no less of a harsh call

I would argue Sam’s tackle was more of a “tip” tackle than a “spear”.

This distinction that only driving the player to the ground constitutes a “spear” and a bit of a careless/ unfortunate tackle where the feet go high is a “tip” seems to have been a common sense addition from the SH when harsh calls were made as soon as the feet go above the head.

Very interesting to see the IRB come out with a statement so soon to declare that they agree this was without doubt a spear tackle. As others have mentioned it would be interesting to see how the citing goes.

I forget which game it was (maybe France last time???) when Hook let a smaller player go in the tackle and the player fell head/ upper body first. This was a yellow and the consensus was that even yellow was a bit harsh but probably justified under the law…

So what do we think would make a better final?

Aus vs. Fra would be my pick.

I don’t think France have any sort of a chance against NZ

It would be mightly nice for the Welsh to go on and humiliate NZ with a win but this may just be wishful thinking :D

P.S. There have been several tackle’s like Sam’s this RWC and none have got red to the best of my knowledge. There was a period a year or so ago when feet above the head was an automatic red in Southern Hemisphere competitions but common sense seems to have to over lately and the automatic red ruling was relaxed to only being applied if there was real intent to drop a guy on his head. The law itself didn’t change at all though (after the BOD incident that is).

It was the South Africa all over again really…

The odds were against Wales…
Yet you always felt Wales should and would win…
But the Welsh kicking was sub par and they didn’t take the opportunities for points…
To end up losing by a single point

The red card was super harsh but not “wrong” under a subjective interpretation of the law. To be fair, if the French had lost through the Leigh Halfpenny kick then they would have rightly been unhappy given how Charteris held on to the ball on the floor two or three times. These may not be directly comparable ref decisions but Wales still were given their chances

Now lets smash the Southern Hemisphere for 3rd place and show the world what could and should have been!!!

As I said I think I feel happier with Hooks’s place kicking so that is potentially a huge positive.

I think Rhys has directed the Welsh attack very well and my only concern is that Hook kicks away the ball too much which will play right into France’s hands. I’m sure the Welsh have thought of that though!

I don’t remember Priestland playing so consistently well for the Scarlets although he has always been exciting whenever he has played. Perhaps it is the difference in players around him? I think it is more likely the Welsh coaching and strategy which has worked well so hopefully this will transfer straight across to Hook…

I guess in summary, strangely uncertain feeling although not long ago we would have taken Hook at 10 without a second thought

I think I feel happier with Hook’s place kicking so that is a positive (not that Rhys was awful). This could be very important in what is likely to be a close game. It wasn’t long ago that the idea of Hook at 10 was giving Wales new hope… now the idea is making the Welsh slightly nervous!

Based upon previous experience, overall player quality over the last few years and wotnot then your post may be vaguely accurate AA. Truth is that it is what happens on the day that matters and Wales have already proved to Ireland that experience and track records only count for so much.

The good thing for Wales is many of the guys that can really disrupt a team like Wales were left to enjoy the world cup from the comfort of their home in France. Poor selections aside the French are dangerous! Plus France are being pretty clever to build themselves (up?) as underdogs, hence trying to put the pressure on Wales… and we know how Wales generally deal with expectations

Interesting to see the fun never stops with England…

England star jumps off ferry

I think the games today highlight the difference in mental attitude, leadership and team spirit between the home nations as others have already said. Super proud of Wales and impressed with Ireland too.

How funny was Mike Phillips? “So were you surprised when the gap opened up for your try?”… “well to be honest there was no gap and I had to beat several players to score a good try” :D Not an exact quote but you get the gist of his modesty! Bless him.

I think the only team Wales or France would really fancy in the final is South Africa- a little more predictable and controllable. I’m no fan of France but a France vs NZ final with an northen hemisphere victory would be pretty funny :D

Another vote for Conti Gatorskins.

Super grip, cheap, great puncture protection and great wear all year round which are my priorities (although I am not a super hardcore roadie so can’t comment on the fractions of differences in speed between tyres :D ).

Great result for Tonga today!

As others have said, winning when it matters is all that is important. You can’t criticize the team that does this best as they will be the world champions!

On the note of player numbers…

I’m glad Wales pulled it together in the end! The end of the first half was starting to look iffy.

No-one had a bad game as such but Priestland seems to prompt Wales in to attack much better than Jones. Jones didn’t do too badly considering he’s been out for a while but how many interception passes does he throw?!

Plus, if Wales get any injuries to the wings then we now know we have cover in the form of Gethin Jenkins :D

It looked more like the French didn’t really want to win more than anything else today. At times it looked like they were deliberately throwing the game [end of cynical view]

You have to fancy Argentina for the win tomorrow

Great comment on the advert for sport Wales a few minutes ago…

The jungle drums in New Zealand indicate Wales will be making changes for their next game… I’d like to see Leigh Halfpenny picked at 15… I wouldn’t trust Lee Burn with a kettle at the moment

:D

Sorry to resurrect this thread…

Can someone summarise the differences between the various softwares for Garmin GPS devices?

Garmin Connect seems fine but I’ve only had my Edge 800 for a few days… what am I missing out on with other softwares?

So which team is going to cause the first ‘upset’ of the RWC? The minnows have done well but no shocking wins as yet

I’m not sure I fancy AAA batteries or a big bulky unit… but the models suggested are options I will look into further

Phil.W where did you get an Edge 500 with HRM and cadence sensor for £170???

The apparent robustness of the 310 is definitely appealing!

Also I have just noticed the 310 can give a readout of longitude and latitude so if the worst happens it isn’t too difficult to work out where you are which the Edge 500 and 800 don’t appear to have.

I think I would only ever use the live navigation of the Edge 800 in the event of getting lost so this advantage over the 310 is somewhat lessened.

The waterproofing is a concern for me too. I am not sure if I trust the Edge 500 or trust the horror stories! Any experiences either way for the Edge 500? £100 for the peace of mind with the waterproofing of the 310XT seems like a lot to pay over the Edge 500 though. Hmmmm….

I don’t think battery life is too much of a concern as I haven’t ridden for more than 12 hours so the extra battery of the 310XT isn’t too much of a selling point for me…

There are plenty of horror stories about screens cracking easily from offroad riding (no crashes) and not maintaining waterproofing… maybe these are just very rare horror stories.

Does anyone really use the navigation ability of the Edge 800? I can’t think of many times I want to follow a pre-planned route or get lost enough to wish for an interactive map on my bars. Knowing where I have been seems enough to learn about where various trails are located and to plan future new loops in my head… maybe I am wrong though?!