i tried using tape on the inside of a new tyre but kept having to replace it every few weeks as the tape ripped on stones/ roots.
recently have been trying to use a plastic shim on the inside, like the ones you get for mounting lights, and then holding it in place with some duck tape. not sure i would rely on it for a remote ride, but for trail centre use it has been holding up fine. saved what was an expensive tyre for me.

still got that thread bookmarked! lots of good info on there

flatfish has it nailed. out and back probably the best.
i did it on a wet weekend going in a clockwise direction (i.e. Glen Sligachan section last). instead of taking the notoriously muddy strath mor path, we took the strath beag path (slightly further east if you're lookinbg at a map) as we thought it might be better. we were wrong- the strath beag path, although it looked promising at the start, soon turned into an unrideable murky path. about 45mins/ hour later of pushing we reached the summit. from there down towards torrin was superb, but you have to weigh up the awful push to get there.

the glen sligachan bit was superb though.
can give grid references or maybe a .gpx file if i can figure it out to steelfan if you are interested? email is in profile i think.

this thread from the summer might help:
Skye biking

everything was running well today except the edge which was a little soft in places. if it stays dry tonight (!) it should be really good tomorrow.

the man lived on london but regularly commuted to bristol on a train returning with a shiny bike each time that was probably cleaned for longer than it was ridden. After stealing 51 bikes from bristol, the thief fancied a change of scene. One day he decided to head north to hertford and stole a rather nice demo 9 from the back of someone's car.
giving chase, the thief would have got away, but failed to pay attention to the 'what tyres for stealing a bike thread' posted on stw, and thus failed to get away from jedi. a number of other stw'ers happened to be in the area and on finding out that all the bikes had their brake pads changed over to superstar resin pads, decided to set upon the thief with bombers which they carried around in briefcases for just such an occasion.
the final shot was delivered in drive-by shooting style by TandemJeremy as he passed on his singlespeed 29er tandem fully rigid titanium, pulling a wheelie and giggling away. the cash was discovered to have come from the thief selling bikes on ebay. although originally thought to be dyslexic, the thief turned out to be just crap at spelling.
the entire saga was filmed on a gopro wide headcam in full HD and will be available to Premier Subscribers only on the STW website.

it will probably be something like verbal or numerical reasoning tests. i did a couple a few months back and hated them.
the verbal reasoning is all about reading a given short paragraph and then answering questions about the paragraph. they are often on subjects people may feel strongly about (e.g. health issues, immigration, science). if you start thinking about what you know outside of the paragraph you are likely to get the answer wrong. there are a few examples on the internet:

Verbal reasoning test
Verbal Reasoning Test2

The second one above was more like the one i was given.

I also had to do a Maths reasoning test. All the practical tests i did were very basic (simple addition, multiplication), bu the actual test i took was harder. The questions were often deceptive in how graphs and information was portrayed. it was often a case of choosing an answer based on deduction and elimination of answers, rather than actually finding the correct answer using calculations. i guess that is why it was called a mathematical reasoning test instead of a plain maths test. both tests are carried out in a given timescale that will probably only give you 30 seconds- 1 minute to find an answer, testing your ability to make quick, but correct decisions.

hope this helps. imo the tests are rubbish as they are testing your ability to a) not draw upon your full knowledge and b) make quick decisions sometimes by guessing instead of working it out.

ah, okay. for my 2004 z1's i used this guide:
Marzocchi Z1 2004 guide. i don't know how similar to yours that is, but was an excellent guide for me having never done a service myself before. mine all went back together and were working as new almost striaght away!

a quick google search for yours brought up this which might be what you are looking for?
Marzocchi All Mountain 2005/6 Service guide
i havn't used it myself but looks pretty definitive

have you tried the marzocchi website?
2005 fork manuals here

2005 fork oils here should give you all the info you need. maybe put a little less oil in as they are often overfilled from the factory

might be biased as it is my local. but i like the way ae makes you work hard to get round it. if you want a gentle day riding up and down smooth trails then it is not the place for you. it is a hard fitness route, but the remote feeling you get on that trail is pretty special i feel. i agree with the curry paste comments though- it is a bit of a strange surface, and not much fun in the wet.

for a few weeks now i have done their saturday trail maintanance days. we have been working on the granny green luv sections. although i too was a bit dubious about the 'smoothening' of the trail, i have ridden a few times since and think that it is actually required. after all it is only a countouring piece of singletrack- so does not need to be a technical descent or challenging climb. there are enough sections that have become rocky enough for a challenge elsewhere (e.g. the descent down to the face, and the face itself). i don't think the trail maintanance is taking anything away from ae. for non-regular weekend warrior riders the smoothening of the trail is required because ae is such a tough workout.

maybe it doesn't have the technical challenge or flow of some of the other stanes, but this makes ae unique. tbh i love it. the fact it is not like every other trail centre makes it stand out. like marmite, some will not like it, but then that is up to you.
the cafe at the end is a great addition now, and i hope it will bring in more riders to boost their income and ability to maintain trails in the future.

pindale farm for a cheap weekend. £10 each per night.
pretty basic, but you get a big room with alpine style bunkbeds, basic cooking facilities, shower, and plenty of room to keep bikes inside.

from the door you can ride out to hope/ edale loops. the ladybower loops are within distance if you know where you are going, otherwise not too far to drive to. only thing missing is a pub nearby (nearest is about a mile away). but on a good weekend just take some beer and some chairs and admire the views to mam tor!

you can get luggage weighers for a few quid in some bargain stores. saw one in BM Stores before christmas for less than a fiver. Would have been grand if i hadn't already bought one at £15 a few weeks earlier.

they weren't as sleek or small as the one from the OP, but who cares?

i tend to carry one. if a fork is leaking air then it can save your ride.
however, i have only once needed to use it on the ride (on a friends bike) when his fork suddenly lost air.
not a huge extra weight to carry, and as i said above can save an uncomfortable ride home.

i would have thought he should pay for most of the gas and electric, although the rest of you may want to put in a couple of quid each month if anything is being left on standby (e.g. if your freezer is not an auto-defrost you may want to keep it running, or if you have an alarm on the house).
water depends on if it is being paid on a meter or whether you are paying for it quaterly? if on a meter i would make him pay it all, if its on quarterly then you all have an equal share even if you are not living there.

got to be careful with student bills and making sure everyone pays their share otherwise it can all get messy! get it sorted before your rent starts

Pretty much anything by Andy McKee- try Africa or Drifting to begin with.
Ulli Boegershausen does some great acoustic covers- Kiss From a Rose is awesome!

not sure about mabie but im not too far away and there hasn't been ice outside the forest for weeks.
i was up at ae at the weekend and there were only a couple of very small patches of ice. i would be surprised if there was any ice left at mabie at all.

Checking here suggests that coverage starts in just over a quarter of an hour with ski jumping qualification.
maybe not quite the most exciting of the winter sports, but a good time for dinner!

Looks like next weekend is dig day.

i think the dig day is tomorrow. usual meet is in the cafe at 9.
i did my first dig day a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. in the afternoon i got to ride the bit we were working on and appreciated why the work is being done. i will hopefully be back down again tomorrow

you don't need hills to enjoy a good ride!

i agree. having spent 4 years at uni over there, i grew to appreciate thetford and the less ridden trails. i just don't think it gives a full flavour of mtbing. the OP suggests that the group are looking to book a proper trip in the summer. unless they are going to holland, i don't think thetford is a good example of a normal mountain biking trail.

still a good place to start, but they should go somewhere with hills to get a better example of mtbing, which is why i suggested the peaks- easily accessible, plenty of trails at all levels, never too far from help if needed, usually plenty of other bikers around, etc…

oh, to the OP. if they are going to thetford, then don't hire the bikes from bikeart (the on-site bike shop). in 3 years of hiring bikes for groups there, i only had one day where a bike didn't break into pieces. most days the bikes had no brakes working by the end of the day due to bad maintenance!

Depends where in East Anglia. Thetford has some good singletrack, but it is practically flat. good for fitness, but nothing technical.
a few small hills around norwich if they are there (e.g. ringland), but again very short runs and not worth travelling to. if they are further west, maybe towards kings lynn area then the peak ditrict will only be a 2 and a half hour drive away. much better if they are able to spend a weekend away. if they want some cheap accomoodation, then pindale farm is cheap but liveable in for a few days (£10 per night per person).

if they are down nearer essex direction then that is where the olympics are being held so there might be some riding down there?

out of intereset, how come the big diversion at ae has been lifted?
was at ae at the weekend and was told the bridge was unsafe and needed to be torn down and rebuilt. either there is a very quick turnaround, or is the bridge now considered safe to cross?

either way, i am glad as that diversion missed off a huge chunk of the route including the face and the edge, 2 of the best bits!

when will memory map hit android though? don't want the iphone cost, and android looks perfect for me except for the absence of a memory map app.

don't they say drinking 10 cans in an hour is the same as taking a dose of speed tablets? having never drunk 10 cans in an hour, or taken speed i can't say how truthful this is.
but my brother drunk about 10 in a night (he was driving so no alcohol) and spent next day in hospital getting an ECG because his heart rate wouldn't slow down.

monster is much more energy-fastic, like a haribo handful sugar rush.

6, but guessed a few and then struggled with a few others. would probably have failed if it wasn;t multiple choice.
US geography not a strength of mine, but went for the french connection= Wrong

thanks ski. taken 42

can any of you with the htc hero tell me if you have tried using it with memory maps or any other OS map product? i already have many of the areas i ride in with memory map so would want to stick to that to prevent any further expense.

and has anyone used it as a sat nav? and which product do you use? it looks like a great phone for what i want, and i can get it for near £20 a month which is only a little more than what i am paying for an old phone now. as people have said above the new android releases are quicker, but then they will be more expensive and i will end up saying 'oh the next one is better, i will just wait for that one!'

Well someone had to:

might have a look into the halfords one – is that instore Mugg?

in case Mugg doesn't come back, i'll answer it.
yes, instore you should see the promotion signs. hadn't realised you were able to buy more than one at a time though- doh!

i did manage to do some trail repairs this morning- it seems like rob and craig run the trail demons together, so another bit of granny green luv has been attended to. and i appreciated it when i went for the loop in the afternoon- it seems a lot rougher in places than i remember (been 2 years since i last rode there), but left me grinning at the end which is what matters! it appears a few people know who you are around here- a bit of a local celebrity!

will have to get out to mabie again soon, but not tomorrow unfortunately. one of the helpers today was saying that there is a new bit at the start? it has been a couple of months since i was last there so what have they done?

again, thanks for the offer trekster. hope the weather is as good tomorrow morning as it was today- superb!

banff national park is fantastic. winter for skiing is superb. never been in summer but heard it can get quite busy in the main towns. better than whistler for scenery and less commercialised. take in the hot springs in the winter for a superb experience (hot springs in most hotels, but with bar service at the banff springs hotel!)
however, i don't know how it compares much to anywhere else, but is a great country what i have seen of it!

is rob the only one that organises these sessions then?
i really should have got round to calling them today. hindsight is a wonderful thing. have just looked on the website and the shop opens at 9. trail demons meet is at 9 also. i will probably try ringing early in the morning and hope someone is in the shop before opening times.

if i don't get out tomorrow then i may take you up on the sunday ride- will reply back on here tomorrow if i can make it, otherwise assume i can't. are you doing the normal route or your off-piste mabie special (which i have heard a lot about, but have yet to come along on!)
thanks for the information, will be better prepared the next time the trail demons head out!

yes. no expert, but aren't tyres designed to shed water to the outside of the tyres. having them the wrong way will cause you to die in a big flaming ball of fire.

imo

i think it used to be a get out clause for the old student loans, but i had a look and it appears not to be possible anymore.
just make sure your friend tells them when he leaves the country as there is definitely a fine for leaving the country without telling them first.

join the queue. finished an msc in environmental sciences (hydrology/ climate change) in august and still nothing. this is the time to get all your applications in- graduate schemes are where i am looking, but then i am going down a slightly different path to you.

also had a look at the FC graduate scheme but it seemed very abstract what they were looking for and decided that it was definitely not where i wanted to be. other thing is looknig for short term internships- my uni has sent me some info on a couple of 2/3 month placements specifically for graduates who can't find employment during this recession.

the other plan is speculative applications. as many have told me, half of all environmental jobs are not advertised as they realise there are enough people out there- well none of my speculative applications have got me anywhere.

basically, you are screwed like the rest of us. i would have a word with your lecturers or uni career service if you have one. it seems that it is not what you know, but who you know. get networking! however, none of my contacts have said anything good- the EA have now stopped hiring to increase their workforce and have returned to one in one out technique. might be more jobs the following year (or so i am told), so maybe you should save up some money and head over to the US for some travelling?

could be one of the gullies off the side of striding edge on the dollywago pike side. pretty steep all the way down there and i imagine some good winter routes. know helvellyn pretty well, but mostly in summer.

hopefully heading out to the northern lakes this weekend (with ice axe). the weather up here (just over the border) is set to be blue skies and cold weather, so not too much more snow planned.

can't wait, will be the first time in almost 2 years!

Was this last night at Mabie?
And how was Ae this morning? Might go along to the Trail building tomorrow but trying to find out if it is still on, and whether Ae is iced up like many of the minor roads round here.

If you are wanting to try somewhere different to the normal egocentric downhill parks of morzine/ les gets then maybe you could try the area around briancon on the french/ italian border?
been there for a couple of summers, fantastic weather, great range of mountain trails and rarely come across any other bikers, let alone anyone else on the trails. a friend of mine runs a small holiday self catering place in the area, website is here:
AlpSun

alternatively you can camp in any number of good campsites in the area. plenty of other activities if you dont want to bike all the time, but there is so much good biking to be done, why would you not want to!

If you have been a STW reader for a while you may remember an article in Issue 36 of the magazine about one particular route in the area- if not then there is a link on the website, or here: STW Article

The area is really safe for taking bikes and certainly doesnt have the same attraction for thieves as the big resorts. If you are looking to guide youself around then there are a couple of good guide books, but they are only in french. alternatively, if you are staying with AlpSun they have a number of printed routes and gps tracklog files that you can follow. If you are looking for a guide then they can give you some numbers. When i was out there, a friend of theirs was trying to become a recognised guide, and he is featured in the STW Calendar in the Briancon picture.

If you are looking for a good biking destination with big biker-crowds then Verbier is a must! Although the trails there tend to be very steep as a warning- all great fun though and plenty to keep you interested!

Enjoy, and let me know if you want any more info.

One ball is all it takes…
lance armstrong

im just wondering what that green stuff is on the file cabinet in the picture?!
lasted 50, mods must be on lunch