White Room – Stevo’s Tour of Tarantaise
Overall, it worked really well as an introduction to the variety of stuff available in the area.
Our group were polar opposites of what P-Jay described though and we were keen to escape the bike park stuff. (The steeper, rockier, techier and narrower, the better).
Tour incorporated a lot of top-notch trails like LaVarda & Spiderpig as well as some lesser known stuff that was equally good.
A small amount of hike-a-bike too to access the more remote ridgeline descents. These were often the stand-out trails too, so well worth the minor effort.
The tour concept, staying in a different location each night, was a good one but the necessity to collect/drop bags by road on most days meant that it would have been logistically as easy to stay in one location and move people to the start point each day.
The only minor drawback of the tour concept was that to connect the best trails up occasionally meant bike-park trail sections were unavoidable.
I’d give the Tour of Tarantaise (as a specific offering) 9/10
and I’ll definitely go back with Whiteroom.
Next time, we’ll probably be talking to Stevo about a custom package for the group. Dedicated use of a Landrover and trailer for the week would probably suit us better to maximise the tech. :D
Whiteroom as an org, I’d give the full 10/10
Excellent food, free beer & wine. Great.

Comparison with Garda is a difficult one. It’s a different geology.
I’ve done Garda about 3 or 4 times and love it. Not better, not worse, just different.

My XL P7 suffers from this.
>20 mm of spacers and a 20mm rise bar but the XT shifter still clobbers the top tube. Brake levers aren’t a problem as they’re more forward facing, just the bloomin’ shifter. :?

yep, I concur with OP.
I initially set up my E4s on Shimano RT76 (XT) rotors.
203 front (Hope adaptor)/180 rear (direct post mount, no adaptor)
Yes, the pad extends below the breaking surface and down the rotor arm.
I swapped out the XTs for Hope rotors.

Are these the two you’re on about?:
Boredale descents map
Didn’t realise one was a bridleway and the other a path. We usually ride both in same ride. Both are good.

Good way to get both in is this route:
Hartsop, Boredale & Lakeside

As cp said, they may physically not fit with the shifter when inverted.

Operationally, the reservoir sitting below the master cylinder would give you a high risk of pulling any air, which would otherwise sit harmlessly at the top of the reservoir, into the master cylinder.

I wouldn’t risk it. Swap the hoses over.

I was on the raw Liteville 301 Mugboo.
The thought struck me just after we’d left you, that you might have been the guy on STW asking about Stake/Rossett route.

Glad you enjoyed it and had just about perfect weather for it too. You can’t have a proper day in t’Lakes without some hike-a-bike :wink:

Mugboo
Was it by any chance you and your mate that we bumped into near Sprinkling Tarn? (The three in our group were heading for Grains Gill because of the fell race which was going down Styhead)

Rossett Gill as a descent… about 90% rideable. It’s a couple of years since I did it last but seem to remember a couple of rock steps/squeezes that we’d ended up pushing/scrambling down. Not that much that was impassable though, vast majority fine to roll. Very much “built” though as you say, so more of a technical set-piece challenge rather than a fast blast like Boredale or Seldom Seen.
Found it, here you go, Rossett as a descent: https://www.strava.com/activities/142290111/%5B/url%5D

I always by mine online these days.
I can highly recommend spex4less. They do a no quibble money back thing which means you can send anything back for a refund if you don’t like it, which is pretty damn good considering that’s something that’s been to an individual’s prescription.

Ex Münchner here too. I’d second everything that Alpin said except I’d disagree about Dachau. Id say it’s definitely worth visiting.

I’d also recommend Kehlsteinhaus[/url] (Hitler’s mountain top retreat) if you’re near Berchtesgaden.

I’m pretty sure all variants of Pike can go to 160mm.
Just fit the appropriate solo airshaft.
RC vs RCT3 makes no difference to the travel.
I recently bought bargain Pike RC 29er at 120mm and extended it to 160mm. Dead simple 5 minute job once you’ve got the lowers off.

I don’t subscribe to the whole furtive, almost apologetic “cheeky trails” after dark and only in small numbers thing.
I’d say ride the footpaths whenever you like, just be nice and considerate to everyone you meet along the way and don’t assume that you’ll be chasing KoMs on a sunny bank holiday.
Sensible and considerate, yes, but if it’s considered OK to be walking, then it’s probably OK to be riding there too.

To be honest, I’ve experienced more verbal from walkers on low-level bridleways than I’ve ever had on the footpaths in the mountains.
It’s always the old ones too and the Kinder Trespass significance is invariably lost on them. Just carry on anyway. They’ll be dead soon enough and subsequent generations will be accustomed to seeing MTBs riding anywhere where they walk and probably never see fit to even question it.

Just reread this, is the Stakes Pass descent good? Worth the climb back out?

I would say yes, but I’ve never done the right-turn alternative along the tops to Angle Tarn, so can’t compare the two. Stake Pass down to Langdale is rocky, steppy, water-bar & switchback-y fun. Not technically difficult but challenging to ride as fast as you dare :D
Rossett Gill climb is the price you pay to “earn your turns”.
Suggest you decide at the top of Stake Pass, based on prevailing conditions and progress made.

If wharnscale is towards your limit, … Grains gill alternative may be too tech to enjoy

as would Rossett Gill as a descent. They’re both significantly tougher descents.

Cheers Northwind & JAG. Will probably have a go next time, as mine are approaching end of warranty.

Well, if the general belief is that they are no longer simply replacing all the sagging warranty reverbs, I guess it’s time to start thinking about DIY fix.
I know there are plenty of reverb strip and service videos on the web, but can anyone recommend a “bare-minimum to fix the sag” method?
What’s the minimum tooling required? Syringe and tube to set the fluid height?
Ta

ISCG05 (tick)
more tyre clearance (tick)
No unnecessary internal routing (tick)
Threaded BB (tick)
Replaceable mech hanger (tick)

Yes, I’d have bought that if it had been available a few months ago.

You could go up Langstrath and over Stake Pass into Langdale, then back up Rossett Gill.
Rossett is a brutal hike-a-bike up but a very efficient way to gain height fast. Rossett as a descent is brutal too, but in a good way :twisted:

If you want to try an alternative descent to Stockley Bridge, I’d suggest Grains Gill. It starts from near Angle Tarn. Bit more technical in places than Styhead Gill.

North Lakes
South Lakes
East Lakes
West Lakes
Calderdale

Happy to oblige Jekkyl
:wink:

BC bronze membership gives you a provisional race licence as well as your CRC monthly discount code. I’ve used that in the past and was accepted for Mega.
Have also done my own “Dr letter” on a previous Mega.

Drop me a line when you’re planning on coming up this way stevied (email in profile).
Depending when, I might be free to show you a couple of routes if you want.

1-5-7-8 on that pic is actually a really nice singletrack descent (when dry)
1-4 is a brutal set of steps.
Best route up is not numbered on there, it’s from Barley side, close to 4 but its the opposite diagonal up the face. It’s ride-able up if you have the legs.
Pendle is all cheeky. Go in an evening.

I think I’ll be able to join you.
Whenever doing Pendle, you must always go to the top, then get the full Ogden Clough descent in as far as Ogden Res. It’s the law!

Loads of Bogtrotters are based in/around Lancaster. Most of ’em ride the Lakes at every opportunity though.
The nearest to “doorstep” is probably Farleton Knott (which is v.cheeky but OK of an evening)

Staveley is <30 mins from Lancaster. Plenty of choices from there.

Also remember that excess protection policy is a single claim per year!

It lapses at either 1 year, or at the point that it’s paid out, whichever comes first.
i.e. You probably want to buy another one if/when it pays out, so the excess policy would then have a different renewal date to the main policy, which isn’t a major problem though.

Recently claimed on Pedalcover policy, crash-damage; rear mech, rear wheel and frame.
Just sent them a picture of damage plus URLs to replacements. Sorted within a couple of days. Paid in full. Slightly longer for the excess protection policy to pay out but both were fairly painless.
Just need to see what happens to premium at renewal date now…

Prompted by this thread, I’ve just been out and bought a pair of Mammut Wall Guide approach shoes from GO.
I’ve got skinny feet, so Mammut and Scarpa seemed the best fitting brands for me.

mini psa… Good thing about GO is that they price match and give you another 10% on top. Found same at Nevisport for £66, so <£60 at GO. :D

My worry now is that I’m kidding myself and at some point soon they are going to let me down.

This, 100%, they will let you down when you’re either
a. on a steep, narrow descent
or
b. on a trip miles from civilisation

Anyone had experience of this and fixed them.

Yes, had piston out and freed it up a bit. Felt better temporarily.

Did they last?

No. A couple of decent rides maybe, that’s all.

Did they fail?

Yes. Pulled to the bar on a set of steep Calderdale steps.

Warranty, all three sets. Sold the replacements. Bought Hope E4s for all bikes. No regrets.

I have not managed to get on with inserts at all. Usually ended up with steamed up surfaces of glass, rather than just one.
Same with Ski goggles.
If I could get a decent single vision prescription lensed set of riding glasses that would take circa -5, then I’d be a happy chap.
I normally just ride in frameless titanium prescription glasses at about £50 a pop and treat them as consumable items that inevitably get too scratched to be useful in less than a year.
I’d happily pay up to £100 for a direct glazed pair of riding/skiing glasses.

Slight hijack on the subject of White Room

You’ll do infinitely more riding (well at least double !) with White Room than in Morzine and on more varied / bigger terrain away from the crowds and the bike parks

Anybody got experience of their Tour of Tarentaise?
Have booked on this after Trans Savoie Tour with TA fell apart.
Similar sort of thing? Looking for more tech than flow.

Don’t fall into the trap of buying based solely on what’s cheap to insure as a learner. Look at the cost to insure when she’s passed and buy based on that.
C1 fitted the bill for our daughter. For some reason they were considerably cheaper to insure for models after mid-2012, which coincided with the zero tax rating.
I believe they also increased the diameter of the clutch plate around about the same time.
(edit – correction – clutch plate was 2009-onwards)

Used to be a regular at the Muenchner bladenight when we lived in Munich 2001-ish.

Every Monday night, 10,000 people doing a tour of the city centre with police providing rolling roadblocks to stop the traffic. A real party atmosphere event that ended in a pop-up beer garden. What’s not to like? :D

Wish they had something similar here. I’d dig my blades out and support it.

Not familiar with this specific hub, but I’d be wanting a broken axle replaced under warranty on an 18 month old bike.

I’m in – long course 11:55 start.
Think I’ll take the P7 too.

Welshfarmer,

One query/challenge on your list of bearing codes.
Based on what I know is the case for the 301, I suspect the main pivot on the 601 will not be a standard 6902. It will likely have the extended inner race.

For the 301, the bearing code detail is:

Main pivot – 2 off – 6902 LLU MAX-E 15x28x7/10, (extended inner race)

I’ll be surprised if the 601 isn’t the same. I haven’t had cause to open mine yet. Can anybody confirm?

I used to use Auto aid but a couple of years ago I realised that I was probably better off getting breakdown (inc home start and European) & travel insurance (inc winter sports) as a package with a bank account.
Nationwide Flex-Plus is £10 per month and covers both of us just by making it nominally into a joint account.
Cheaper than a breakdown policy and a travel policy. Other benefits like extended warranties and all family mobile phones covered too.

The OneUp guides are pretty good.
I’ve used the ISCG one and the e-type one so far.
They also do a high-direct mount and a BB mount. BB mount appears to accommodate a smaller chainring than High-d-m one does, if that makes any difference to you.

Just bought an Outdoor Revolution Airedale 4 model.
Quick trial in back garden only so far but initial impression is that it’s very sturdy. More so than any alloy or fibreglass poled tent I’ve been in. Air-beams are lifetime warrantied too.
About 25kg packed, inc pump.
Really quick and easy to erect. All goes up together in about 5-10 mins.
Probably take it along this weekend for Sam Houghton Challenge in Lakes.

Standard DU bushing code for Fox shocks (and many other) is 08DU08.
They are available from bearing factors or online and they’ll cost pennies. Change these first (as chakaping says).

Needle roller bearings are a step-up in longevity, in my experience at least. (They’re standard fit on Litevilles)

Don’t know if it was the w35 specifically, but Hope rims have had a bit of a slating from a couple of the guys we ride with. “Made of cheese” seems to be the consensus.
DT Swiss appears to be usual replacement when the Hopes get trashed.

I’d definitely be sticking a procore in to protect the rim if going with the Hopes.

I had a puncture on one of my bikes last week, when I checked the sealant had gone dry – less than 6 months since I topped it up.

That’s a hell of a long time to leave any sealant IMO. Check every 3 months I’d say.

Got first email from SIentries on 1st March, acknowledging preferred start time range.
Follow up email from SHC on the 5th of March with exact start time