It seems the “end of scheme” payment is the crux if the thing. My employer is currently looking at Cycle Solutions by Wheelies. Unfortunately, it is far from clear what the final payment will be.

As you approach zig-zag stay on the fire road (signposted as Y Wal out) this will take you up hill before dropping you into the new single track section. This will pop you out on the fire road you have just biked along before zig zag. This time around follow Y Wal (in) sign which will take you onto zigzag. Hope this helps.

I’m also looking at a “toe in the water” 29er and its difficult to nick the value on offer with Canyon. Heavy and potentially flexi fork and basic but reliable 10 speed transmission. I’m not a fan of Avid brakes but I’m sure they’re upto the job. Heck, it even looks ok.

I’ve been looking at Genesis as I’m looking to use C2W but the Canyons look better value.

There was snow in parts last week though majority was just wet. A lot more snow has fallen this week so I’d imagine it’s rather white :)

The Wall is back up and running after several months of maintenance. It now has some new bits which have only managed to add to the fun. Drains well too…. the place to go when the weather is foul. Hot showers at the Afan car park too :)

Australia?

To far??

Nice bike you have sir! Well worth the wait :)

Fantastic deal on a 26″ 120mm FS to replace a 26″ 100mm FS
…still fancy a 29″ though (N+1)!

Genesis Mantle? Trek X-caliber? Whyte 729?

I’ve no experience of any of these but I’m hoping our office will re-start C2W so I’ve been “window-shopping”.

As jota says, Ground Effects certainly had an agreement but it may be worth a quick email to “Ernie” for the current situation.

Oh, and they make some great stuff…

This is on my shortlist for a new bike if our firm decides to take on the C2W scheme. I look forward to hearing your thoughts…

RoadID bracelet here! Also a sticky label in my helmet. It won’t save my life but it reassures my family when I’m out alone.

BTW Welsh NHS hospitals will only accept encrypted memory sticks.

Panic not! Back to work on Wednesday… that’ll bring on a good spell of dry sunny days and fast rolling frozen trails!!

Glad to hear mtbdirt is still going strong! Essentially you’ve named the major trail centres. I was a regular at Daisy. It does get busy and with limited trails you need some local knowledge to enjoy some “less utilised” trails. I’d suggest riding the known local stuff first as you will soon learn or spot the other trails. And most of these are XC type stuff that I would ride on my old GT HT.

Mt Coot’tha is a proper fire road slog but the cafe at the top makes it worthwhile. As for bush riding, beware that Oz isn’t keen for you to ride in the reserves, so again ask around.

Lots of roadie stuff and Lbs’s but I don’t know of any major online Oz retailer.

Great climate, food, coffee and drink too but watch out for the Wildlife :)

Evans are the importers for both I believe, but they’ve dumped RM for 2013. Your local Evans should be able to get the right size in for you to demo. They do ask for a deposit but it is fully refundable!

I recently bought a RM Element as it proved to be a bit of a bargain: good kit, built to last and with a nice finish. Geometry was spot on for me too. I did a “sit on test” of the Altitude and whilst it felt good, it was more bike than I needed. Don’t forget to haggle… I managed an extra discount :)

Beavers here too…. prettty impressed so far

I was in a similar place a couple of moths ago after my old FS 26er was kicked (by some thieving b@stards). My usual riding is between trail centres and general XC (or mince-core as my mates refer to it). Anyhow after much research and reading nearly every article and opinion I could get my hands on I decided I was the perfect 29er rider. Guess what, I bought a another FS 26er!

My take is that wheel size shouldn’t be looked at in isolation. It’s just another chassis variable to throw into the mix. I rode some nice 29ers; all rode well and pretty much flattered my lack of skill on the long descents. But I failed to find one that climbed as well and I preferred the “chuckability” of some of the 26ers. At 1.74m i was also concerned that a 29er made me “over-wheeled”. But the biggest “but” was VFM: I got a 26er that I liked and fitted me. And it cost me £800 less than a similar spec’d 29er (yes, I got a good discount).

My advice is to ride as many options as you can. Good luck.

Yep, hated them on the front, and to be honest, I’ve pretty much abandoned them to the floor of the garage. I may give’em a go on the back in place of the WTB Raijin that I’m currently fighting.

Great thread sir! I remember your 2011 thread well too, so in front of you all I promise more proper mountain bike riding next year.

Hey, DrP you can now tell the punters that your sound advice has the official NICE stamp :)

I’m planning to use this as “evidence” to encourage my employer (who I think is the second largest in Wales) to re-instate the c2W scheme.

Not the sort of thing I would ride, but hell, that not only looks amazing, but fast as well! Enjoy…

Having trawled through the mud on Friday’s ride and with limited time, I opted for an early and frosty road ride. A lovely few hours covering 60k around Cardiff. Back home for lunch and a family outing. Nice :)

As above. And yes, a lovely ride.

Just finished dealing with iVal. Pretty pathetic initially needing a lot of chasing. You can certainly forget about their 48hr rule! IVal directed me to wheelies but were happy to payout a cash settlement when I said there was nothing suitable. To be fair, once my claim was up and running, they were pretty good.

I like RaceFace gloves, though I can’t remember which version. Fit well, last well and I pick them up when they’re going cheap. QED

When my bikes were knocked from Penarth 6 weeks ago, the local plod suggested I had been followed home. Apparently there’s quite a racket. As well eBay, look at gum tree and cash converters.

Thisisnotaspoon, my Element was a replacement for my Epic. At RRP the RM is both cheaper and better spec’d. Then factor in Evans’ end of season sale and a bit of haggling and it’s a no brainer. @gary, if you’re still thinking of one Evans seem happy to do a deal… though its a bit worrying that they’ve dumped RM.

Lovely looking bike there. Unfortunately I couldn’t quite make the leap to a 29er so went for an 120mm Element 50 MSL. Looks to be a beautifully built thing, though unfortunately I’m yet to hit the trails with it.

I’m a big fan of merino and Icebreaker in particular. I also have some Ground Effects stuff and a HH warm base layer, all of which I’d happily recommend. A couple of tips: never use bio detergent and always ensure zippers are fastened when machine washing… will prolong the life.

I’ve been pondering one of these for a while now for when I’m out on the bike, or running. If you’re interested in Road ID then the promo code pc453665 gets you a 15% discount… swung it for me.

A tradesman earning £150/day cash is not in any way morally comparable with a millionaire minimising his tax exposure

In order to clarify, are you suggesting that high earners should have a different moral code to low earners?

And as a declaration of interest I reduce my tax burden by using a company car…

I keep forgetting about the Certini set up. When I visited it a few weeks ago, I found it rather disappointing with a poor supply of kit and accessories. I can’t see it surviving, not with Skene’s expanded shop. Evans is certainly proving to be popular and is probably more of a threat to Tredz and Halfords as they cover most of the bases. Had me too… I went for a browse and spent over £2k!

Thanks germinator… that’s my thinking too and great VFM.

How are you finding the MSL frame? Any issues??

Shimano HT2. I replaced the OEM version with a rather nice SLX crankset. Easy job.

My recently stolen ’08 Epic comp had the old style Brain which I think was actually manufactured by X-fusion. Worked brilliantly but it has also been back to Spesh almost annually for warranty work. My understanding is that the fox built units of the newer Epics are a better quality. The only reason I’m not buying a new epic is the price… they’ve gone up exponentially over the past few years.

Light and motion’s urban range is fantastic. I use the 300; 3hrs of light on full blast!

I often have days when hills seem steeper and longer, bends seem tighter and sections that seem more technical… I put it down to incorrect tyre selection ;)

Was looking at this (via a PC) at my LBS. Spec looks ok and lifelong bearings! 69 degree front end appeals but I’m not convinced by the name or looks!! Merida’s new big ninety nine also looks a nice bit of kit.

@flokl, that sounds a good run. A question for you…. where’s cowpat lane? Is it the hill out of Bedwas, or the one past the old colliery near Trethomas??