Cheers for the reply…will slow the rebound down and see how that goes. I can’t tell if I have bottomed it out, but I don’t think I have…perhaps very close to it though – the wee rubber ring thing was almost at the very end of the shock so I know it was close.

I just can’t tell if this ProPedal thing is doing anything though, I think that is where my confusion is coming from – air pressure I think is about right, but the propedal seems to make diddly squat difference to the movement of the suspension – I’d have thought it wouldn’t bob as much climbing with it on as it does with it off – but it appears to be the same…I’ve also got the pro-pedal setting on 3 which I think is Firm so I’m just wanting to know if I’ve missed something or not set it up properly.

Went out on it again last night and it was better – the ride of the bike is very different to the TRance so it takes time to adjust…the climbing on Monday was pretty grim (aside from the bobbing) but last night the climbing was a bit more controlled and not as wiggly – those bars are seriously wide.

Thanks for the suggestion, will keep having a play and see if slowing the rebound down will help (will that not them make it ramp up and packed down (or something) when it comes to riding big bumps repeatedly?

Mr PV – good grief man – £800 on a pair of forks? You can buy a whole bike for that laddie!

Hope it gets sorted quickly…have you got any documented report from TFTuned about the state of them and what needed to be done? Suspect a call to Citizen’s Advice might also be in order just so you know where you stand…also any documentation from Fisher?

Enjoy Scotland – where you heading?

Yup[/url], but my photography is pretty poor so most of my shots could be classed as “shot in the head”!

I’ll add myself to the group, but doubt I’ll have much to add to begin with.

Not had a problem for a few days but 2 weeks ago, I was trying to upload a batch of about 15 pictures…mid-way I clicked the ‘Upload a New Batch’ – the Uploadr barfed and closed down…I restarted but had to reupload it all…

Just after the finish line?

No

Forgot to say, this doesn’t fold away…it is rigid…also isn’t self-standing so you have to put a foot in the anchor point (which is good as you then don’t forget that they are in it and knock it over!)

LittleLife Voyager – not cheap but has ‘extras’, very comfy to wear all day and our daughter seems to like it. Feels very light on (without child) and sits comfortably on your back – can be adjusted for differing back lengths. Seems to have plenty storage for the child’s supplies.

Once on with child it feels very secure and s/he can get a good view of what is around them. You do feel slightly top heavy though to begin with, but after a few minutes of moving around you adjust to it.

It is pricey but typically the wife insisted on the best…money well spent so far in my view.

I’ve not but I have a few friends who have experienced them and they don’t look nice by any stretch of the imagination…

Get single journey tickets…I went to North Allerton from Stirling last week – £34 with 2 trail changes…but if I’d got it as a single journey would have been £85!!! So I priced the tickets between the stops I had to change…much cheaper and they were all reserved and the last one was first class from Newcastle (although admittedly nothing too fancy).

What do you know that others don’t? Why wouldn’t you buy that if it fitted your requirements?

Yes, I’ve ridden with my lower right leg in plaster…but not for a great distance…wasn’t that comfy but was bearable to get me to the bacon roll shop and back in the mornings!!!

Any holes a goal? sort of thing? Wonder if her mate had chalked his cue…

Just got an official email saying it had been cancelled, a real shame as I was really looking forward to it and hoped to improve on last’s years ‘result’!

Hopefully will be on next year as I’ll enter it again…

I know his father – Wise Old…

Sorry, IGMC

I’m meant to get up to 8Mb, reality is just shy of 1Mb almost constant with a few forays up to 1.5Mb when it is feeling frisky…I’m right on the limit of the exchange though so I wasn’t expecting much more than 2Mb…the fact it only does just 1Mb isn’t a surprise but still disappointing.

You don’t need wifi to go online to check weather…but it is nice to have…thing is, even if it is wifi-enabled, unless you can connect to a wifi connection – it ain’t any use…

All phones nowadays are 3G capable – but you can turn it off (which improves battery life).

As for your contract – I’m struggling to recommend Vodafone over anything bar coverage – I’ve got 600 mins/unlimited texts and a bonus unlimited data package for £35 per month – I have seen cheaper elsewhere but they don’t tend to give unlimited text AND data…but I’m no longer a high value customer of Vodafone – previous 3 contracts had me spending £35 per month and they would kiss my feet…this contract update I was fighting for everything and I was given the option of 3 phones (and 1 was never in stock!)…so £35 doesn’t get you much in the world of Vodafone mobiles these days…

I wouldn’t change from Vodafone though, coverage has always been the same (usually better) than any of the others…

Is that the one that is open to all but with a tourism slant and also costs about £120 per day to attend?

If so, no I don’t think it is worth attending unless you have stacks of cash and are into tourism*.

*Nothing wrong with tourism but it isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of MTBing…

Just went to register to get price – £150 per day or £425 for the 3 days…hardly encouraging everyone to attend and get involved but I guess it is targeting a specific market.

I emailed ATB Sales as well but they weren’t clued up on bike racks…so I asked about fork mount versions invalidating warranties and I’ve not heard back yet…I think (but not sure) that the Thule Velovise will work with the 15mm bolt-thru.

Will go look at that US model and the Discovery link thing…thanks.

Place in Tillicoultry – CamperScotland[/url] I think…

Bacon Explosion[/url] – not my recipe and not the healthiest but it does look the sort of thing worth trying just the once…I like the look of it but reckon I’d only manage a couple of bites of it.

Fox Flux?

I can vouch for the Mitsubishi Legnum VR4 (red Mitsu shot posted by acjim – plenty space and seriously impressive driving experience) – running gear of an Evo (originals were EVO IV’s and I think they went up to EVO VII (but not certain!)) – very good to drive and very entertaining when the foot got planted…but very heavy on fuel (on a good day about 23.5mpg best). Saying that, you can pick them up for about £3.5k so the money you save in purchase can fund the fuel.

Only other issue with them is the short service intervals – every 6k the fluids need replaced.

Natural stuff – about 30 seconds from my door (and there are days and days of trails to play on). Trail Centre stuff – Carron Valley is 20 minutes away, Glentress about 1hr 10 and Laggan about 2 hours (which gets visited most often out of the trail centres).

I know someone who used to do that but he never really posted many pictures up…

I’m riding carbon flats and carbon bar-ends on my hardtail…plus a set of Superstar carbon forks…feels nice…but it is my commuter.

So they are dumbing down the trails for us? I dunno…kids these days!

;-)

Is the post for those interested in bridge structures? If not, not sure the interest as it looks like just another method of crossing a ‘burn’ without getting wet feet!

the obstacle wouldn’t be considered dangerous by those who do regularly ride black trails.

An instant problem as it is subjective…I ride black trails, but I’m not skilled – the bits I can’t do I walk…but likewise I don’t go shouting about it being too hard – if I can’t ride it I know I need to improve.

Grading has been given a specification so you know a black will be X and a red will be Y – it isn’t really open to interpretation – before the grading was done, it was and that is why the Glentress Black should have been a red until a few years back when they made it harder – it wasn’t any more technical than the red but it was longer…so it got classed as a black. That has changed now, but when it was first around it was open to interpretation so one man’s black is another man’s blue…

From what I know, the FC do keep tabs on all accidents and where they happened – they need to show that they are doing what they can to remove/reduce the risk of accidents so when an accident does occur, they can show it was documented and their remedial work was taken.

They are also self-insured so if someone does decide to sue, it comes out of their bottom line i.e. they don’t have an insurance policy as such…so I’m pretty sure they will do what they can to remove the risk of anyone suing them…which can have a detrimental affect on a trail for some riders.

The builders do have to accept a certain level of responsibility. If something has been built and it is later found to be dangerous then surely there is a duty to rectify the situation?

So are you saying if the trailbuilder builds a black-graded trail and somone who tends to ride Blues (as an example) goes and rides it and has an accident then the trailbuilder has a portion of blame for building that grade of trail?

I think providing the trails are signposted well enough to make it clear what grade a trail is then the trailbuilder isn’t responsible as it is then down to the rider to choose whether or not they ride it or not…

If the trail is built and not signed then perhaps that would be an issue, but at an actual trail centre, it should be signed…

I think it needs to be collated BUT this sport is inherently dangerous…by designing a trail where accidents can’t happen is removing a large part of Mountain Biking.

Typically, corporations are happy to do the H&S thing to death (to the point where it becomes counter-productive in some cases) as it covers them…but the problem seems to be that nowadays, people aren’t willing to take responsibility for their own actions…each time someone crashes at a trail centre and someone posts up about it someone always responds that it may not have been the riders fault (or words to that effect!) – if that is the case then who was making the rider ride the bike in the fashion that they were and who made them come off their bike?

I think this needs to be collated but I think it needs to be looked at with the knowledge that this is a dangerous sport and it is part and parcel of it…using it to design trails I think is going to be counter-productive i.e. someone spends 6 months riding the new cotton wool wrapped trails and they think they are a mountain biker…go offroad on natural stuff and will come a cropper very quickly.

Have a read of all the info on the website…what is there was a struggle to get and wasn’t plucked from the air…the requirement to prove a need was rather heavy and it had to try to do everything for everyone – which it doesn’t do. What it does do is prove that the need is there and should be developed further – to allow multiple trails to be built and allow multiple gradings of trails…the need has been proven but due to some narrow-minded opinions of some people, this has been killed.

There may be a chance to resurrect what it there, but the drive has gone so no-one is going to go knocking on the doors to get it going again…and after reading through the documentation on the site, it would have to be a very thick-skinned and dedicated person to overturn all the obstacles to get it going again.

It’s been killed off and is probably not going to ever be sorted…the start of the round-the-reservoir trail was meant to be completed at the beginning of 2008 – then we were told it would be done by Easter…then Summer…then before the New Year…so far nothing has been done to the trail line – no machinery, no scoping (other than the stuff done by CVDG) – so it is blatantly clear that although they claim things are happening, nothing is actually happening.

It’s a real shame as most folk think what is there just now is it…nothing else to be done, truth it, what is there was simply a starting block…but we were never given the chance to build on it (even though we had approval from Senior Management)…

G5 in Southern Spain – I believe it goes from West coast to Eastern border…and beyond…

Volvo for looks but the loading space in the boot is very tight compared to the others…

Fiesta over them all for practicality – Volvo for the name and reliability/safety aspect…perhaps Toyota for out and out reliability – it’s Japanese after all!

With any luck they were eating it to get rid of the wee blighter of a vehicle!

3G isn’t a chargable thing – it is like broadband and dial-up for the web – it is the same thing, just one is faster – the contract you pay for will likely work on both 3G and GSM (I think the other one is known – or 2G as I’ve heard some folk call it) – basically it is a faster connection service so is good for web browsing on your phone/sending large MMS message but not much else in terms of improving the telephone conversation quality. It is also very good for video calling but that can ramp up costs a lot.

Running a phone in 3G mode will kill the battery far quicker than having it in GSM mode – I get just over half a day when my existing phone is in 3G mode – mainly due to me not being in a very good 3G area, but I can get 2 days out the phone if I switch 3G off.

Depending on your mobile contract you may have unlimited data in the deal – but you need to get that checked. If not, you may be offered an ‘add-on’ which will allow you unlimited data which means you would pay a flat-rate per month and not get charge any more if you use the web every day (although they say fair usage applies and all that).

Saying all that, browsing on the GSM network isn’t bad if you are accessing mobile-enabled websites – it isn’t fast but it’s not crawling along either…3G is good to have in a lot of situations but so far I’ve been happy without it as I don’t tend to do video calling/send MMS files or browse that much web stuff/stream music or videos.

I’m hoping to finally get a Nokia 5800 today as Vodafone seem to be out of stock of them the moment they come in…been every day for a week I’ve been trying to get my phone changed. Phone looks good and the battery life seems to be very good.

Not entirely what you were after but close –

Eh? How tall are you Hora? I’m 6’1″ and have slept in the Berlingo a few times…admittedely it isn’t comfy, but I slept the whole night no probs…guess it depends on how you sleep – if you sleep totally straight then it isn’t ideal, but diagonally would fit you…or curly up and plenty of room.

I owned a Berlingo for a while but sadly wrote it off after cartwheeling it down a slope – saying that, all passengers and contents were fine, but the outer shell was rather rough afterwards!

I really liked it, as much as it was a van-based vehicle, it was fine to drive – would happily take me around the country over pretty much every road and hardened surface without too much hassle – only problem I’ve had with it was trying to drive in foot thick snow…didn’t make it.

Space-wise – it carried 3 bikes and 3 bodies plus gear without any problems – only 1 bike had a wheel off but everything else rolled in and rolled out the rear. The rear seat is easy enough to remove, you need a torx head to remove the seat but best thing is to leave the single seat in and you can still carry 3 bodies. If you do remove the double seat you also get another 6″ of space in the back as the seat doesn’t take up any room.

I had the 1.9 diesel – it took an age to go anywhere but would happily sit at 70mph once there…I was getting about 600 out the tank. We drove a turbo’d version in Spain and it was superb compared to the standard diesel – same economy, just with a bit more power.

I did look at the Kangoo at the time but decided against it as it was slightly narrower and shorter in the storage space, the Berlingo was bigger. The Peugeot Partner is the same as the Berlingo but with a more ‘premium’ name to it and has a few standard things that the Citreon doesn’t (like a passenger air bag) – saying that, since the introduction of the new model, that has changed…my next car is probably going to be a new style Berlingo as it was ugly as sin so no-one would be interested in it, but it was supremely practical.

The only thing I didn’t try in the car was a full-on DH bike, but it did take some 6″ bouncers without any probs…I ride a large sized frame and my Trance fitted in nicely.

Got pictures on my Flickr account of the car in Spain with 2 bikes in the boot – can’t link to them from here as my work account doesn’t give me access to Flickr, but if you go to http://www.richardbarton.co.uk, I think one of the Collections on that main page is Bikes in a Berlingo…only a couple of snaps but it shows the storage is simple.

I’d recommend a Berlingo…immensely practical, very good economy and perhaps the last car you will ever need.

A 1993 Shimano XT short cage mech – still works but not been on a bike for 2 years – my 95/95 Trek 970 is still going strong – with a 1990 Shimano DX chainset on it and 93 Mavic rings…no longer mine though but it is in the family.