I had a flash 29 last year and can say it was the best ht I have ridden. Having ridden a fair number of 26 and 29ers I would always go towards a 29er. I’m 6ft and feel far more comfortable on them. I do not believe the wheel size slows me down on technical trails. I’ve got a cannondale trail 29er (al) as a winter bike and if possible would advise going for the carbon model.

Get it checked out, if the doctor is recident then push him/her. Identify that you go bike riding, your fit, active, etc. dont take chances with your heart.

I race at the elite level and have suffered from heart oalpitations for about ten years now. Had the first episode riding a road crit race when i was doing my msc. I was feeling comfortable in the race, then suddenly my heart rate clinbed to over 200, i had no power and pulled out looking quite ill. It scared the hell out of me, my girlfirend and the race organisers. The doctor brushed that occasion off. Roll on a few years and it started hapening more frequently and i think is linked to stress, anxiety and tiredness. After a few trips to the GP i was referred to get resting ecg, 24hr monitor ecg, exercising ecg and eventually the cardiologist said basically my heart gets a little confused and the elctric impulses which stimulate the heart mis fire causing the palpitation. I was offered drugs but taught myslef to control it through relaxation, breathing and muscle control. This has taken a lot of time and mistakes i.e. Palpitations at start and mid race. It annoys the hell out of me, is uncomfortable and can be scary.
Not sure if that helps at all? But it migt offer a different perspective/experience.

Congratulations buddy. I have two daughters (3 yr & 17 mth), they have been the source of some of the best and hardest times of my life. Many have said it, and i cannot emphasie enough: they are all different and most of the tips you read will be for amusement than usefulness. The things i found useful (no particular order or merit):
– get some more birth control (my wife got broody too soon after the first one arrived)
– wear and old tee shirt when changing nappies and stand between the wall and the babies butt (binning a tee shirt covered in liquid poop is easier than trying to clean it off the wall)
– lidl nappies work great. Pampers resulted in nappy explosions (you’ll know it when it happens and it will happen)
– never go out without spare vests for baby (ref nappy explosions)
– get an mpv (best move i made – it fits in bike and most of John Lewis baby range)
– even when you are **** (and i mean seriously worked 50hrs with no sleep), just never go home and say your tired
– have no aspiration of riding at any particular hour. Fit it in when you can (i have a bike on the turbo trainer ready just for those 30min when the world is quiet)
– enjoy it. The baby will drive you to hell and back but when he/she smiles at you for the first time….

Thanks Puddings. Went for the HTC. Here’s hoping….

Wow, i’m 39 this year and though coping with exercise induced heart palpitations was bad. Makes me realise it can get plenty worse and i guess that is the message: plenty people in worse positions (though always worth trying to get sympathy off the wife)

I was lucky enoughto have spent a couple of summers in Boulder when completing my degree. Basically, you cannot go wrong. Moab is stunning but i got bored after five days there. Fruita is also amzing, spent one day there but moved on as just too dam hot. Moving back east towards denver, winterpark is great, loads of trails there. And then just do a few internet searches to find other trail areas. My advice: hire a mini van and roam. And avoid the thunderstorms, they kick the shit out of UK storms.

A new £1200 29er will be more than adequate to ride and race on. I believe the only limitation will be your legs. A couple of years ago my race bike failed to arrive until mid May, that left me racing my wifes 2003 specialised rockhopper: the forks were (and are now even more) f#cked. But I did okay and beat several elite riders on superior bikes.

Gee and his fat bike – it weighs something like 23lb, has wheels which would be competitive on a 2k ‘normal’ mtb and he is amazingly fit. He’s fast on any bike.

I fundamentally disagree with most of what mtbel says.
I raced a mega a back in 1999 on a LTS DH, had a disk on the front and v brake on the rr. I struggled with the rear brake power throughout. Brakes evolved because riders demanded better brakes that were less affected by environmental conditions: more power and more control.

Last time i raced my wifes bike the forks barely moved, I was getting bounced all over the place. The race was a Banjo Rampage night race, not the bumpiest course and not the most technical. Every lap I lost time to riders I normally best and I base this on the bikes lack of suspension. Njee can probably confirm that although not the fastest, I am definately not the slowest rider through technical sections. When my new bike did arrive I was beating those who beat me at the rampage. Not very scientific but I felt it was significant.

Would a rigid bike with v-brakes be slower than a carbon bike with front/full suspension and disc brakes: Yes, significantly. It would give you less control, increase fatigue, increase the risk of punctures, reduce traction, etc. With races being won and lost by seconds, having make up ‘those few seconds’ you lost on every technical section become significant (and annoying).

My rule is: a course becomes more technical the faster you ride it. The perfect example being Sherwood Pines, technically not very difficult but when you’re blasting through the singletrack at warp speed it becomes very technical with little margin for error.

Everyone has there opinion of course. Think this is the longest post on this thread…

Or Cannondale Flash (lighter than Njees)

Myself or nejee will give an update on the Scalpel post weigh in. My 2014 Flash was 18.75lb, which was very nice. Current weight of the rider will embaress the bike though:-(

Thanks. I’m looking forward to new bike day. I’m very lucky to have a sponsor that supplies only top quality bikes. Last year was my first time on Cannondale (Flash Team) – they really are superb bikes. Went for a full sus for 2015 after so many positive comments.

The new whip.Weighs something like 22lb.

I spent a race season on a 19. I’m 6ft and felt comfy on it. It was set up more racey but with a couple of spacers undervthe stem it would be a great all day bike.

Nice, very very nice

I find it hard to believe that Mavic do not do spares kits for wheels that new. They have a UK service centre, which when I have used them (rim and hub rebuilds on Crossmax and Cosmic C) have turned around witihin a week and at a really great price. I think a lot of shops still remember the days when Mavic where dsitributed by a UK wholesaler who were, basically shit.

I too find it safer riding in the dark. I don;t think car drivers are able to judge a cyclist well in the dark and therefore don’t aim to ‘squeeze’ past. had two near misses in the past two days, both in broad day light. Started using joystick on the helmet which seems to give the right balance between pot hole spotting and not blinding everything else on the road.
Not sure if the ride home tomorrow in the rain will be quite so welcome.

I’m not sure what people are compaining about here. The statement reads that BC made the decision they could no longer insure enduro events. Through meetings with the current organisers, for enduro to meet the insurers requirements, enduro would have to change which as both BC and the current BC organisers agreed, would be detrimental to the dicipline. Enduro has succesfully taken place and will continue to take place through its own insurance policy as have many other events.
Regarding BC support for mtb, the 2014 world champs team included 15 dh’ers. Thats massive and fully recognises the successes of the UK in dh. Or am i wrong? A while back an analysis was made of the make up of bc members, it was recognised that mtb (be it dh, xc, 4x) made up a massive minority of members, therefore is it not right that funding is proportinate to its members?
There is a lot of complaining about BC, how they fail to support mtb etc. but very little in constructive suggestion in what could be done. How could BC better support mtb? What else could bc do to support Dh?
I think ipt also worth understanding where bc regulation is derived: the uci. This includes the controversial helmet camera rule, no skinsuits in dh etc (which was a response to dh’ers complaining about skin suits giving an unfair advantage). I guess the point being the uci do listen and respond to rider feedback? Perhaps mtb could gain more support from bc if a greater number of members were mtbers, or if we had representation on the board, but to do that you need to volunteer and get involved in the sport beyond riding. Anyone done that or willing to? (I dont think you get paid btw)

Njee does love his and got great service from trek. I on the other hand did not. How about ex team Cannondale flash 29 team, xx1, full carbon lefty, carbon wheels, 18.4lb. £2350 ono. Immac condition (gotta try haven’t I).

I rode a superfly a couple of years back. It rode nice but found the steering quite slow. Rode it 6 times and then the frame cracked I the middle of the top tube. Trek refused a warranty stating the frame had received a heavy front wheel impact. To put it mildly, I was unimpressed. The cube I rode last year was better. Now riding a Cannondale Flash 29, and it is beyond doubt the best bike I have ridden. I really recommend you try one

As a weak elite mtber, I can manage about five. After that I’m left whimpering on the floor having lost all use of my arms. Same at the dip station. I am friends with one of the paralympic hand bikers, here is a depressing fact: he does three sets of 100. With a 40kg weight vest.

Thank goodness there is no strava!

Got a 920, love it. Great camera, works well and plenty of apps if you like that sort of thing. Don’t understand the claim that there are not enough apps, looking on the apps store there is an abundance. The standard maps software is superb as is the sat nav.

Even some of the elites were dismounting from that little step down. Courses are great: real variety so at some point a course will suit you and your riding style (if you ride the whole series). Bike – people have won the elite races on either 29 HT or 29 FS. I’m guessing some crazy mofo will ride a fatty next year…mention no names…cough Mr Budd cough…

Hi
I commute on the bike each day (about 40m each day). I am currently using a Kinesis T2 built up with ultegra, rack and guards. Requires deep drop brakes to fit round the guards, the only reason i mention that is becuase they are sh#t. When the bike has me plus pannier bags on it it weighs a bit and the brakes are a significant weak spot. The rest of e bike is fantastic. Takes 25mm tyres, solid, reliable. Can’t ask for anything more. What would i buy in the future? The same but with disc brakes. A cx bike would do that but check it can take rack and guards.
Hope that helps
E

It is incredible to observe the power of marketing. I hate the term ‘enduro’. To me, it describes going mtbing. It is what I started doing in 1992/3 and continue to do. Is Enduro mearly a marketing term that a large number of riders can relate to i.e. they hate the climbs but enjoy the descents? Or perhaps it is a dicipline created by the manufacturers specifically for the 5″ bikes which they sell?

Perhaps the question to ask is ‘what do you percieve to be xc racing?’ Is it racing round a field? If so then you are far from truth. Courses have developed over time, some are massively technical, some hilly, some flat. When you ride off road you ride over a variety of terrains which is what I think is reflected in courses used in xc races. Is it bunch of idiots in lycra? Well, lycra is more comfy. As alluded to already, Gorricks, Southern xcs you get the range: baggies and lycra.

XC as an elitist sport? Not sure where this has come from. I’ve raced national XC and DH and find XC far more friendly. With one or two exceptions, xc riders are approachable and happy to talk with anyone.

XC development – there is more money in DH and road for sure. Not sure how this can be tackled, but then its not my job. A few years ago road racing was pretty low key, Wiggins won a big race and now road races are over subscribed, road bike sales have gone through the roof and certainly the competition has gotten tougher. Perhaps if xc generated a one big success, we would see similar?

I also support the use dog a foam roller and sports massage. Regarding overtraining, that’s a very hard thing to diagnose. I’m am pretty sure i overtrained two years ago. Did a fair amount of riding, with some significant volume of mid to high intensity efforts with little recovery time. I started to feel tired, not ‘normal’ tired, but seriously struggling to get out of bed, falling asleep at 8pm, etc. On the bike i struggled to push out over 200w. Took four weeks off and started to ride again and started to get tired again. Eventually i was off the bike for 3 months. It was a very unpleasant experience. Little more that i can say but listen to your body and don’t be scared to rest. It is very common for pros and amateurs to take a month off at tje end of the season, personally i don’t like that, instead i have a few weeks alternating between riding and day off.
hope that helps.

Saw them in Newport about 10yrs ago. It was a mental gig. And my car got broken into. That was the last time I had a night out in Newport.

Hell yeah! But then, you know that. Have you got sticky handing out bottles?

Got an out house…

Back in late 90’s when Shimano first announced hollow forged cranks, middleburn asked the their forgers (apparently an industry leader) they had no idea how Shimano were doing it. Speaking to middleburn recently, it sounds like they have come up with a process. Saying that, the RS7 and RS8 have an extremely good record. I guess the big gain will be weight savings.
don’t much like the look of the cranks, especially the graphics. I will be interested to hear about longevity of the bearings. Will not trust magazine reviews because, well, how much do you trust them? The spline thing allowing multiple spiders/rings…sounds like a rip off of the middleburn design.
hope have got the skils, tools, in house. Why not come with something that stands out rather than copying what’s already out there?

Try a middleburn hard coat. The hard coat is worth the extra cash, the rings are designed and manufactured in the UK, and the hard coat will out last anything out there.

Jacob, i am in precisely the same mindset as you. The bike is the only way for me to get to work, in the past week i have had too many near misses. I do not think any of these could have been avoided by myself: two were cars pulling out from a side road (on the right hand side of the road) – i have a front light on blink even on day time commutes, the road is straight, visibility clear. The last time i was following traffic going about 20mph, i left a 4m gap between me and the car in front and maintained primary position on the road, car behind wanted my position overtook and forced me into the gutter, i was tapping on the side of the car to try and alert them. They ignored me and forced there position and once in front kept tapping the brakes to try and force me to crash. The first two occasions i can accept, the drivers stopped, apologised and i think the incidents gave them hell of a shock. The last incident, the women should not be on the road. A camera would have recorded and supported a case against her should the cps wanted to pursue it.
Most importantly to me is my wife and two children. If/when i am hit, i want to ensure that any compo is given as quickly as possible to reduce the impact on my family (assuming i am not dead). I do everything in my power to ride safe, be seen, i obey traffic laws, i defend my position. Bit as we see and hear everyday, insurance companies and drivers will not admit guilt unless presented with un refutable evidence, which i hope video footage will be (or at least support).

I’ve lived in Reading for about 7 yrs now, lived in lower earley which is good, safe (for me anyway) and good transport links. Its not a big place, so even from the village i now (spencers Wood), it only takes me 20min to ride into town. Avoid Whitley for sure.

George, you are special. I still cannot belive you rode an elite xc race after a 6 hour solo, where, lets face it, you were at the sharp end of things! Big respect.

Heck do i love my annual pilgrimage to Brighton! Myself and my team mate have made the journey for the past three years and continue to love the event. Course was great, atmosphere was great, fellow riders were great, beer is great, prizes are great. Love it.

Had my first Cannondale this year, it is bloody awesome. Qr rear is fine. Lefty is better than the fox i had last year. Team bikes will be up for sale soon as well (f29 team)…

Thunderburts* That is all.

*I’ll be the one spending most of my time sliding into the bushes

Hi,
I gathering 3 peaks advice. I’ve entered this year for the first time, this will also be my first cx race (although I am a eltei mtbr). General questions:
Any top tips? Tyres, presures, spares, bottles, pacing, how much running (and what locations), what is the track surface like, etc. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks

I hate to say it, but i am 99% sure thats a crack. Based on my experience, it looks like heavy front end impact causing stress behind the head tube. Fresh paint coat would suggest the original owner did a cover up. I hope Jungle are able to help you out.

Was in Harrods last year and came across a £35k tv. But this comes from the store that also sells £5k furry toys. Stunning to see how the rich waste their money

I agree, Enve rims are expensive. My team have been using carbon 29er rims to race on all season. Price ~£150 per rim. My experience so far has been nothing but positive. They have built up into a stiff, lightweight set of wheels that have stood up to all the abuse hurled at them. Never had to true them (if i did no need to take the tyre off) and they certainly ride better than last years Crest rims.