Populist pseudointellectual drivel with no content!

I’m not interested in what he thinks is wrong and what he won’t do.

I would be very interested though to hear from him what he will do, when he will do it, how much it will cost, what’s the source of funding, how will he define success, what are the key performance indicators, how he will engage and manage the stakeholders, how he will manage the risks and opportunities, etc., etc.

Basically, I see the electorate as the project sponsor for whatever the Government does. I’d like to see the politicians as the project managers but sadly they invariably fall short on most measures of a good pm.

[edit] Shib’ for president! [/edit]

“Playful” is always going to be very subjective and entirely dependent on how you like to play.
All depends how you build it.
I have a Five as my all-day default bike but I’ve tended towards burly and capable.
Coil 140 Marzocchi, CCDBC, dual ply on the back. It all adds up. Mine is about 35lbs I think.
If you want a light Alpine, I suspect you don’t want an Alpine.

Insure it with a short term learner policy maybe.
We used http://www.collingwoodlearners.co.uk/%5B/url%5D

A mud-X has been on the back of the hardtail for the past 12 months.

2010 55RC3ti is 160mm

Alternatively: Do you realy want/need a 160mm fork if the bike came with 145mm though?

2010 44 RC3ti is 140mm but from 2011 onwards it was 150mm

Thanks for taking the time to reply Helen.
It’s encouraging that someone out there is taking account of what users are saying.

I’d also strongly agree with ndthornton’s point:

Please, please dont make the track any easier on our account.
Its currently one of the best descents in the UK.
If it looks un-ridable….that’s how we like it

It wasn’t said in jest!

RC3 from 2010 onwards, no earlier.

so I might get one of the Syntace bolt on guides to control that as I don’t have a clutch mech.

They do seem to work very well. I’ve ridden a mate’s 601 with one fitted and was impressed. Simple, efficient and effective.

Really interested to know how your 301’s bearings fair over Winter, as I’m considering a purchase.

The non-switchers subsidise the switchers.

True, and as a long time tart, I am more than a little concerned about the plans to make energy companies simplify their tarif structures and tell their customers if another tarif would be cheaper for them.

I foresee diminishing benefits from switching, which annoys me greatly. They promote switching then limit the options. Grrr!

wwaswas’s Liteville 301 with the Bombers on it.
Exactly what I’d be fitting too.

bottlecage would have to go though 😕

seen

Put me down as a “tentative”.

local club won’t trust members to behave so doesn’t have a jersey!

No, more the case that local club rides were it “shouldn’t” and wishes to maintain plausible deniability.

hmm,
my Goretex bag is an army surplus one and cost me £20 too TINAS. 20 odd years old now. No zips, nothing to go wrong.

…but there again I do like the look of that cocoon bivi.

A mate’s got the 30mm syntace one and it seems fine.
There’s also the Mondrakers with those 0mm ones. Look odd but work fine.

50mm is probably more the norm only because that was the shortest widely available length until fairly recently.

but there are!

I think there are about half a dozen MTB clubs in our immediate area.
Club jerseys less visible though. Possibly ‘cos that sparks all sorts of unwanted interest when a bunch of riders use the footpath through somewhere they “shouldn’t”.

to not puncture i need a heavier/reinforced tyre which kind of defys the point of tubeless

No it doesn’t. Well, not in my opinion at least.
The point of tubeless for me is to avoid punctures.
Dual ply Minnion, tubeless on Flow EX with Stans tape and fluid, is a really good set-up for me.

Yes you can still cut a dual ply on a flint but, as said, that would likely take out any tyre/tube combo too.

All three MTBs running tubeless here.

Pre-tubeless, I had one memorable day where I pinchflatted THREE TIMES on a single descent!
Now running tubeless and hit stuff a lot harder with impunity. I wouldn’t go back to tubes.

I’m in a very similar position in knowing fullwell that my all day/trail bike is getting a bit porky but I can’t see much room to trim weight without either spending a fortune or compromising its capability.

I know exactly where the weight is but it’s all stuff that I wouldn’t want to lose.
Marzocchi coil fork.
CCDB coil shock.
Dual ply Minnion on the rear.
Reverb.

So I’ve basically given up worrying about it as I’m happy with the way it rides.

My only serious suggestion would be maybe think if you can swap the 55 for a 44RC3ti

Lived in Munich for a few years and loved it. Would go back tomorrow.
Austria, NZ, Canada would all do fine too.

Another middle manager in IT.
No Audi
No logburner (did consider it but couldn’t make the business case work)
Yes, a nice espresso machine
Yes, an Orange Five, (and a Patriot)

Do I enjoy the job? No, it’s a means to an end.

Pay, reasonable for the location but not enough.

Not any of those specific models but I have tried glasses with inserts before and found them a nightmare due to fogging-up.
Maybe it’s just that I’m a sweaty lump but I have to stop all too frequently to demist the 2 surfaces of normal glasses in damp/mist/fog. 4 surfaces was terrible.

I disagree that it’s cheap to get into but immediately becomes a money sink once you’re hooked, you can keep riding on (comparatively) meagre funds.

I wasn’t suggesting that it immediately becomes…
Just observing that when buying that second/replacement bike, that’s the point at which new-ish riders seem to be heavily influenced by what everyone else rides.

I think “how accessible…?” is probably too simplistic.
It’s easy to answer – as it need cost very little to get started, but that only part of the picture.
It’s possibly more to do with the route into MTB that people take.

eg. We recently had a new rider, armed with an aging BSO, come along on an easy Saturday club ride. During the ride various riders helped sort out her gears, her brakes (which were binding badly), a cup and cone hub (which was lose), etc. So yes it’s very “accessible” to start with.

… but then other factors kick in…

The bikes that most of those nice, helpful, seeming knowledgable folk are riding are typically going to be around the £2k mark.
Despite her mechanical trials and tribulations, she had a whale of a time and was hooked (yay, success) so sought advice from those same folk as to a new bike purchase.
Good advice was given (go try lots etc) and not long after, a rather nice new F/S trail bike appeared.

So, my angle on this is, yes it’s accessible, but soon after there is an effect based on experiences/norms, what other people have/advise/etc.
This is what might appear not-quite-so-accessible.

1/10 here and no sudden urge to go music shopping.

new or well used? If not new then a lazy piston maybe?

look up these local FB groups too:
Rivington mountainbikers
Bogtrotters
team adrenaline
I dig Healey Nab
PMBA

I wouldn’t put it on the drivetrain though, there’s better products for that

agreed

Sunline V1 aren’t bad and you should find some for that budget.

up the ICR is entirely do-able but not much fun. Seen it done a few times. (Not me)

Hard to imagine a climb of Rivi and a trip over to Healy Nab that’s legit’ enough to publish in a mag and still fun though.

Jason aka http://www.reboundsuspension.co.uk/%5B/url%5D is pretty good.
He’s in Horwich.

I’m still playing catch-up. Currently early into S4 and I’m well and truly hooked. The way the characters change, develop and then completely break with what you’ve begun to relate to. Brilliant!

Aaaarrrgggghhhhh!!!! Noooooooo !!! 😥

All depends where you ride and what you ride.

Midweek nightride anything from 7 to 20 miles, maybe anything up to 3000ft in that and 1.5 to 2.5 hours
Full day out usually 20 to 35 miles but would be more like 5000ft of ascent.

Ton,

Did you know that the Liteville 301 is built for 29″ wheels in XXL size?
21.5″ seat tube. That’d be about your size wouldn’t it?

http://www.liteville.de

out of stock now

The Rhyd ddu descent is also pretty damned good.

If you’re making a full day of it and you don’t mind hike-a-bike, try Up Rangers > Down Rhyd ddu > Up Telegraph/Llanberis > Down Rangers.

Fish-eye lens exagerates a little but you get the idea. Some serious exposure.

(sorry for linking an MBR pic)

I pick up a copy of Singletrack from a bike shop or newsagent occasionally, but that’s all.
There was a point in time at which it grabbed me, with content like “Pass Storming” and the other good stuff that Vondally mentioned up there^^^.
… but it’s not doing it for me at the moment.

Marzocchi RC3Ti on my Five (in 44 flavour)
Marzocchi RC3Ti on my Patriot (in 66 flavour)

If I were to buy an Alpine, I’ll give you 3 guesses which fork I’d be putting on it. (Clue = it wouldn’t be a Fox one) 😉

I found that PB link useful when I did my 44ti.

Didn’t have any 7.5 wt around so used 10wt instead. If anything, I think it’s actually been better (but then I’m not light).