I had been running 2.1 Advantage front and back on the HT during winter bashes around the local woods and found them to be perfect for slicing through the mud so I thought I’d do the same on the FS.

Biiiiig mistake, twitchy as hell especially when you get that first rain fall creating a layer of grease on the rocks and stones in the peaks.

LBS told me to change over the front end to a 2.25 Ardent. Could not believe the difference. Loads & loads of grip with no noticeable change in the wet. Best tyre combo I’ve run.

I have been told that the CrossMark works well on the back with the Ardent too but I suspect the Advantage is better for the Peat & mud in the Peaks.

I run them all as UST’s with about 34 Psi at the back and 30 Psi up front.

Also WTF is the big pink line that the Garmin draws on the map when I’m about to start the course. I’ve started one from the front door and it draws it differently every time. Some of it follows the course some of just goes off in straight lines.

Or is my new Garmin just shagged !

OS Explorer maps aren’t on the latest version of MOBAC and have you tried it recently. When I tried to download the tiles last week it said that many were missing and I think it eventually down loaded 2 !

It looks like the scanned image has to be split down into a series of 1024 x 1024 pixel tiles. Anyone know how you do that ?

Thanks mrjmt. I was using MOBAC 8.1 and the Multimap OS source but it’s been got at by OS along with other sources I believe.

Not to be beaten I’m scanning in A3 extracts of my hundreds of hard copies of the maps. Complete pain in the arse !

@ druidh

Getamap does not allow you to down load the actual OS map itself or sections of it so you can upload the map onto your Garmin.

Actually for £20/year you are paying for the privilege of what you can do on Google, Anquet Maps & Garmin Connect (amongst others) free of charge.

@ xcentric

Having looked into this further I understand that Anquet Maps do exactly what we are after but at fairly hefty prices. Not surprising they are also licensed by OS. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that there is a lock out agreement or exclusivity agreement between OS and Anquet. Hence, it will be difficult or they will be reluctant or Anquet will protest if anything else is suggested.

How ridiculous does it sound that you can by a paper OS for one part of the Lakes for £7 at 1:25k and have to spend some time photocopying and marking out a route but to save time & effort by utilising modern technology we have to pay the earth !

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=nikwax

Get some of the Tech Wash for a 40 degree wash and then use the spray on after. You then only need the Spry on once or twice a year if you keep using the Tech Wash. That should bring all your water proofing back.

On the label it recomends use on GoreTex and the Endura stuff (can’t remember the name).

Someone at Scottish Mountain Bike Gear moaned at me when I sent a jacket it in for repair because I’d washed it in Fairy Non Bio. He said that eventually the soap will wash all the water proofing away and the tape on the seams will come off. I’ve lost several jackets that way before being told about Nikwax and wondered what I’d been doing wrong.

You can get the Nikwax in bigger bottles and as a twin pack.

PS If you’ve got wooden or Kardine flooring DON’T spray the the shorts over that, best take them outside. We’ve been doing comedy slips on the floor for weeks now :lol: !

What’s the point, there’s no ST there !

OK, I know the source through Mobac was free and that OS is a business that has costs of it’s own to cover, and I suspect that the developer of Mobac didn’t get any permissions before developing the software.

Likewise though I don’t think the developer did too much wrong in utilising a source such as Multimap OS that was originally available to all FOC and putting a programme over the top of it that creates a map. Isn’t that what Google Earth now does ?

I can’t believe that OS sells many of it’s digital OS maps at the the prices it charges or indeed the custom maps on it’s web site. To put it into perspective you could buy a second GPS device for the price of 3 National Parks ! I also understand that even when you do buy one of their maps then the use of them is very restricted.

Also, how much does it cost for OS to create a digital map ? If it’s down loaded = the cost of their servers, and if it’s a physical send = the cost of a memory card which they undoubtedly buy in bulk.
How often do they up date their OS maps and by how much and how much does that cost with modern technology ? I suspect very little in answer to all those points.

So it comes down to their current business model. Which is to charge too much for a restricted product and have very few sales and hope the costs per unit can be covered with the return.

Surly a better model would be to charge very little for something people are going to want to buy on mass and be unrestricted with it’s use.

Sound familiar. Itunes. A CD was £10 a CD single £5, sell albums for £6 and tracks for 99p instead and you take over the music world.
And there’s your argument to OS. Free up the 1:25k nationwide so that everyone can use them on their smart phones and Garmins unrestricted but charge them small amounts for the privilege. Everyone knows the OS maps are the most accurate and have the most detail and everyone would soon discard alternative sources and maps.

It’s not like that business model is untested and the devices and the ability to use the maps is already out there in everyone’s hands waiting for the maps.

I had a similar problem last year every time I went out on the HT, and the stairs were a killer for days following every ride. My pain was more at the back of the knee though.

I Googled it and everyone came back with ‘seat too high’. So I lowered the seat by an inch and never got the pain again. It’s definatly to do with your seat position

… said this in almost the same thread yesterday. Might not be your cleats. Just try a ride with the seat dropped an inch from where you normally have it.

I had a similar problem last year every time I went out on the HT, and the stairs were a killer for days following every ride. My pain was more at the back of the knee though.

I Googled it and everyone came back with ‘seat too high’. So I lowered the seat by an inch and never got the pain again. It’s definatly to do with your seat position.

Since I sorted my knee pain I’ve been able to get out a lot more on both bikes but I now seemed to have developed a shocking pain in the arse who won’t stop moaning about how much I’m out and all the ‘jobs that need doing round the house’. Apparently washing bike cloths in the bloody washing machine now breaks washing machines !!! :(

Never used to wear them until March of this year.

I was up on High Street & dithering because I’d gone the wrong way and lodged the front wheel in between some small rocks. Stupid embarrassing off and my knee landed on the edge of a small rock edge.

I had just a small cut but with a stringy thing hanging out that I had to push in and I now have a permanent impression of a rock across my knee cap and a dull ache sometimes.

I tried loads of different knee pads but eventually settled on the Endura MT500 ones. Not something you can buy off the net. Go to a big store and try before you buy.

Protected me in a big icy fall on Saturday too.

I do like the look of the G-Form ones though.

What are you up to ? Come and talk to me about my new bike but no photo’s and no spec’ but oooh I need help fixing up my garden !

You’re like a chat room groomer…. everyone beware 8O

I’ve had 3 pairs of those and they are great but they’ve not much grip and they leek like an Italian captained cruise ship.

Just bought some of these instead. They come in 0.5 sizes, are a lot more snug and have some tread for grip.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=56219

Clearly they have copied the best bits of the AM’s but then improved on it.

Try lowering your seat. Just a half an inch can make the difference.

I suffered for a while with pain around my knee and couldn’t walk up the stairs for days after….. but it was only after I’d been out on the HT.

Googled it and everyone said try lowering your seat.

Seat lowered, worked. Beats paying £52 for some Stickle Bricks FFS :roll: .

Also, stop running. It f***s up your knees. Try swimming instead !

Just seen the new 2012 Zesty. Awful… :(

The top tube is as flat and as wide as an aircraft carrier. They’ve had to put a flat grommit round the stem to stop it looking odd. Also, the frame build up around the head tube is about the size of a small paving slab. I can’t believe it needs that much more extra stiffness.

They’ve come down in price this and you can see why. The build quality and spec’ does not look as good to me.

Interestingly they haven’t changed the Spicy frame that much and last year there was little to difference between the Spicy & Zesty frames.

I’ve always been a big fan of Lapierre and Zesty’s but on this evidence they are turning into over priced, over engineered gimmics, especially when you compare it to one of these:

http://www.whytebikes.com/2012/bike_page.php?ModNo=W-1-002-12

My advice would be to buy one of last years Zesty’s with the better frame and spec’ (still quite a few about with upto £600 off) or go for something like the Whyte… there, can’t beleive I said it 8O !

From what I heard there have been issues with Zesty frames cracking near the brace/seat tube junction. I have seen one myself, and rummour has it that it is commonplace. The ones with carbon rear triangles are supposed to have bushings at the rear stay junction which have been problematic.

Apparently that was down to a tooling problem in the factory and was rectified. The two I heard about were replaced under warranty.

I had 2009 Zesty which I replaced with a 2011 Carbon Zesty. I was a HT devotee and couldn’t be tempted to FS, but on an off day and a demo Zesty thrust into my hands I gave it a go and was instantly converted.

Don’t worry about climbing ability, the Zesty can climb, and dare I say better as well as my my HT. The bike really stiffens up on climbs and the tension works in your favour. The 2009 Zesty’s didn’t even have the Pro Pedal switch on the rear shock and never struggled.

As above the new Zesty’s are shorter and more nimble but they’ve not lost any of their climbing prowess. Fork compression set and lock out now fitted on the rear shock I’ve not struggled anywhere on some pretty big climbs. I actually ran my ’09 Zesty round a trail in single speed once when I’d snapped a gear cable and then I’ve chose to do it that way a few time since, again no problem.

Most of my ridding is natural stuff in North Wales, The Peaks and The Lakes. The Lakes has seen some really big stuff thrown at it and it’s never struggled. The Dolly Waggon Trail off the back of Helvelyn was a true test.

The only time I wished for more travel was coming off the back of Snowdon down the Rhyd Ddu trail, but that was just because I’d just read up about the Lapierre French chap ridding the Trans Provence on a 160mm Spicy and I was riding like a bag of shite, so I blamed the bike !

For your riding. Zesty every time IMO.

Yes, you are supposed to be able to convert a Zesty to a Spicy (or change a Zesty to a 160mm travel) but that say’s to me that you’d struggle to notice the difference if they’ve made them so similar. You could always get your LBS to switch the shock over for your trip to the Alps, but are you going to ride it that hard !

One final point, a lot of bikes supposedly suited for the Alps and ‘Big Mountain Terrain’ etc only come with 140mm of travel.

Krap, vats my dizlexiya kikin in agayn… ment to say TFFT (Than **** for that).

Dont wurry Ive joyned va DNA. Va Nashnul Dizlexic Azosheashun. Dey shud ce me ryt !

FFFT…. this isn’t the thread I thought it was 8O !!!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/walna-scar-update

More here too. I spoke to the council about it when they were half way through it. TBH it was more like a runway when I was up there in the summer. From what you’ve said it now sounds like it’s washing away…. just give it time and will be as rough as it ever was :wink: .

Talking of ruining trails… who the **** has put f-in sand all over the f-in Three Shires Trail in Macclesfield. You could here it being sucked up into my bearings. Motorbikers I think trying to smooth out the transition from natural rock to natural rock :evil: !

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/125k-os-maps-for-garmin-edge-800

Follow this link to my similar question. Mobile Altas Creator as described works and is dead easy !

Here’s where to get it safely:

http://mobile-atlas-creator.en.softonic.com/

…. you can also import all your recorded routes from other app’s !

Sorry, but I think Endomondo is a far better GPS app’ service.

Unlike some of the comments here I’ve never had it drop the GPS signal. I had been using Gpsed on a Blackberry but that’s gone to the wall, constantly drops the signal and doesn’t even allow your time to keep going now..AVOID.

Endomondo allows you to tailor the data to suit different types of cycling and loads of other exercising. It also puts the data into loads of different graphs (if that’s what you’re in to) for instance it will tell you how your times have improved (or not) over 1k, 5k, 15k and 20k over all your rides. When it records it has some really nice features like auto pause, so if you stop for a ‘chat’ to a walker it will pause your route and time. Definitely worth looking at, link below.

http://www.endomondo.com/home

I run my jackets into the ground (and everything else for that matter).

Went out on Sunday and my (crap) Endura Jacket was wetter on the inside than the outside, the tape on all the seams is coming off (looks like a Spiderman costume) and the pockets are now just bottom less vents to me arse. Don’t get me started on the smell (of the Jacket… not my arse !)

Clowner, nre, neilb67,

I had a good play last night 8O !!!…. down loaded Mobile Atlas Creator 1.8 and got the map tile creation part sussed. Interestingly it’s the ‘Multimap OS’ map source that has them at 1:25k with exactly the same detail as the OS Explorer maps as the actual OS maps for the National Parks and not the ‘Ordnance Survey’ source…. and all FOC (easygirl – they really are all there and totally FOC, don’t worry about the quality of the map when viewing it in the programme(you’ll notice it’s not quite straight) when you down load the created map it’s all corrected). Great programme. Thanks.

spangelsaregreat – Great link with very clear instructions (just got a bit confused over the naming bit though). Thanks also.

If I’ve got it right using the Atlas Creator programme and the Multimap source I just create a tile for the area of a new route I want to create, save it on the PC and then onto the Garmin. I’ll then be able to either create a route in Google or in Garmin Base Camp using the new map and then we’re away, seems almost a waste of time buying the Garmin with the 1:50k maps included (?).

But if you can waste time on STW forums you can equally waste it setting up your maps

… very, very funny.

Thanks for all your help. I think I’m more confused than I ever was but I’ll have a look into the suggestions here. Then again I may just stick to the old method of work’s colour photo copier and big felt tip pen !

Well worth doing.

I did Llanberis up and the Rhyd Ddu path down in October. It was blowing a gail and the Rhyd Ddu was really hard work with very little momentum gained because you need to keep stopping to get over obstacles (man left boulders from former mining).

Went back 2 weeks later and Llanberis up, Llanberis down to the top of the tarmac road, then back up via Llanberis and down the Rangers and over Maesgwyn and back.

Double climb, well worth doing and you get both a fast descent down Llanberis and a techy descent down the Rangers. You need a good day to do this, loads and loads of fluids (a got horrendous cramp half way down the Rangers)and an early start. Took me just under 5hrs and the weather was very kind.

Visibility… er… low !

Visibility… er… bit scary really !

Wet !

Cheeky ST in the forest. This is just before the final metal gate, RH turn and then drop down to the reservoir. The two photo’s after the ST show the view in either direction. You can see it’s at the edge of the forest with the long view over the Cheshire Plain.

Got there for 9am, parked at Teggs nose. Very low cloud and very, very wet.

I was the only one in the car park so Teggs Nose Cheekyness done first….excellent. Very, very slippy at the side of the steps past the bottom gate, shouldn’t have tried to ride it really. Very funny off !
Charity Lane was loads of fun. It was a full flowing river and done at speed with a good dose of luck was great.Pretty much the same for Dane Bower Hollow and Cumberland Brook (the water acrsoss the path to the waterfall was hub deep).

Could have done without the road sections. Didn’t feel safe without lights… it really was that misty. Visibility down to about 10m !
Didn’t do Narnina (if I have it right and it’s off Charity Lane) but did loads of other cheekyness in the forest. Spent some time climbing back up and messing about.
Took some pictures of the best bit of cheeky trail with some reference photo’s which I’ll post tomorrow (need to get cleaned up, dry, and out round to more f in relatives).

Overall, some great natural sections outside the forest (I can take or leave the forest TBH) and lots of fun in today’s weather (or in snow !). I imagine the forest will be rammed in the summer, (it was busy toady). Definitely one to use for a quick blast or over two laps but as everyone has pointed out there seems to be loads more to extend on to it and most of it natural.

Thank’s for everyone’s help with the route, especially gonetothehills.

Route as settled as much as it’s going to be. Pretty much as Goingtothehills has suggested but starting early on Teggs Nose to try some cheekyness, then maybe some more diversions as suggested as I go round.

Just looking forward to getting piss wet through but away from the house and the faff that is Christmas and New Year with the relations !

Is there not a cheeky descent off Teggs nose ?

Walked it a few times… smacked me as quite a good one to try but I know it’s popular with the walkers !

Oops…Should have refreshed the post first. Consider Teggs Nose checked out. Report to follow !

Tomorrow am…early

In between cooking dinner for a load of freeloaders, sorry relatives… thanks for the route gonetothehills, that’s the route I pretty much settled on from a few guides and the OS. I’ll definitely go for the longer route. The longer I can get out and get away from this cabin feever of freeloaders , sorry relatives the better.

Don’t know why I’ve not ridden Macc’ forest before, I’ve done the rest of the Peaks to death. I think it’s because it’s a little bit too close to the shop front aka work.

Looks like Macc then…

next time give me a heads up and ill show you the good stuff! and the same goes for the whole of the conwy valleys finest hidden singletrack.

Plecostomus – I’ll take you up on this. I’m only an hour away (hour away from Macc’ too. I was going to just link up some of the Good Mountain Biking Guide trails and OS routes.

I’ve had Shimano hubs on the FS and the HT bike, both of which didn’t last very long.

The HT now has Hope hubs which have been on for 12 months now without a hint of trouble.

Also, remember back to those days when you tied a piece of plastic to your frame to make a loud clicking noise…. Hope hubs are like having one of those again :D

Easton rims and hubs on the FS now. Bearings last on average 3 months… bag of shite :evil: !

Christmas Day… no chance, but did manage a 56k bash around the local canals, woods and firs on the HT on Christmas Eve morning. Tried out a new stem and bar set up, very nice too. Planning a FS ride between now and new year.

Aracer… you need to calm down, relax, and get out of that sweaty gym with all those egos flying around. Why not go for a swim :lol: !

Why does (nearly) everything that anyone says on here always have to end up in confrontation. FFS this post was just someone asking if swimming was worth doing, it wasn’t an invitation to flame what each of us do for additional exercise :roll: !

Each to their own Aracer. You enjoy the gym, stay in the gym. Others enjoy swimming, let them swim. Some of us may even like to Zumba 8O !

The point is cycling plus another form of exercise is better for you than just cycling. Doing another form of exercise, wether it’s in the gym, pool or in the dance hall will build your strength, stamina, mussel power and endurance meaning you will be able to cycle harder, longer and yes… faster.

Now I’m off to eat a big fat f in cake :D !

Every 30mins swimming is the equivalent of doing an hours work out in a gym

…IMO. There you go Arracer, that ought to cover it !

Dan… done.