Cheers FunkyDunc. I’d managed to squeeze an extra years warranty out of the mazda dealer that I bought it off (expires today), so tried mazda to see if they’d replace or refurb. Got blown out, ‘cos I’d had the last big service done by local MX5 independant, not main dealer.

If I was keeping the car, I’d challenge this, but ain’t got the time at the mo.

Thanks for the advice. As far as ‘the haggle’ goes, if it does come down to the wheels being a deal breaker, I’ll def. aim to only knock £40 per wheel off. TBH, I don’t think it’d be a problem with a ‘normal’ buyer, because the blistering etc. really is very minor – and the local Mazda dealer reckons just touching them up would be fine.

The ‘problem’ is that I’ve got a fella from the MX5 owners club very interested, and as a member of the OC myself, I know what fussy bu**ers some members can be. The fella has asked me for details of any known ‘faults’, so he can make his mind up whether to come up from Windsor. From a couple of other people that have contacted me, I think the blistering of the alloys is one of the known faults that people have read about on the Mk3 MX5’s (the original wheels on the car were replaced under warranty by Mazda ‘cos of this problem).

FWIW, the car is a 4 year old 2.0i Sport MX5. The car is low mileage and extremely good nick for it’s age, and it’s priced very realistically & competitively. So, at the end of the day, if this fella is expecting the car to be 100% like an absolutely brand new car and comes in with a daft offer, he can go and stump up the extra 9 or 10k for a new one! (er..do I sound like I’m getting peed off with timewasters?!..ahem)

I’m in Sheffield, but I’ve got a member of the MX5 owners club coming up from Windsor to look at the car. If I have to, I reckon knocking off £75 per wheel might be fair(?)

Love the show, has me LOL. IMO, however had the idea and commissioned the show is a genius.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ve had a reet good ferret around my garage today and, in the bowels of the bike cupboard, have found an unused Crossmark (2.25 Folding) :-) Bonus! Just got the fun and games of trying to get it to inflate tubeless. Have tried it on a spare wheel using an old tube, and the size and ‘luginess’ looks pretty good – I’m gonna give it a go and see how I get on.

Cheers.

ADvantage is an awful front tyre, when I tried an orange 5 with them on both ends I kept washing out.

Yes, I really didn’t like it as a front tyre – seemed OK if you kept the bike upright, or really heavily leant over, but the transition between the two felt a bit too vague for me.

Crossmark is an interesting suggestion – how do you find braking grip?

oh and Sheffield / Derbyshire have recently been complaining they don’t have enough budget to fix proper roads so it makes no sense at all to resurface houndkirk just to use up money

As a Sheffield Council tax payer, this is what p****s me right off – the normal roads are completely sha**ed, but then they find money to spend on this S**T! I wonder how many tens or hundreds of thousands this has cost them…..oh, sorry US! :evil:

Cheers :D

Cheers for that nbt. Doesn’t sound like I have any excuse now!

(If you see an tired looking old bloke getting his fat a*** burnt off by his OH on the hills ’round there, that’ll be me :wink: )

OK ta. Looking at the route the missus has planned it’s relatively low down for the most part (much of it is Marple – New Mills way)

For the type of riding you’ve described, the Minion DHF front and rear is a really good suggestion IMO. We live on Eastern edge of Peak District, but also occasionally ride in Sherwood Pines when we want a break from rocks! My wife runs Minion DHF’s on her bike and they’re a really good balance between grip in varied conditions and rolling resistance – pretty good if you want to leave ’em on all year round.

err…an incessant Avid/Hope/Shimano brake fiddler here :wink:

Depends on the model of Hope brake, obviously an old Mini is going to feel a bit weak compared to one of the latest generation of ‘monster stoppers’. Having said that tho’, if the performance has gone off recently and you happy with the power before, a bit of TLC should improve ’em a lot.

If I were you I’d give the disc rotor a really good clean with Meths or Isopropyl Alcohol, then check your pads – give ’em a wipe over with the meths, but be aware that if oil or brake fluid has got on ’em and soaked in, bin ’em and stick some new ones in. While the pads are out of the caliper, check for brake fluid leaks around the pistons, lever and hose junctions. Stick the pads back in and give the brake a try, see if there’s any difference – if none, get some brand new fluid and do the rebleed (just follow Hope’s video).

TBH, at 3 years old, it’s probably time they had new fluid anyway, so it’s not gonna do any harm.

HTH, Good Luck!

(not sure about the library but if you’re coming up from englandshire you’ll probably have forgotten what those are :wink:)

Yep!, we’re in a non-Tory votes area, so basically it’s a re-run of the 1980’s to early 90’s again – Midlands and North of England, last one out turn off the lights job!

Mind you having said we live in a non-Tory vote area, our MP is ‘bend over’ Clegg, so I guess we do actually live in a Tory MP’s area (fair few locals want him done under trade descriptions act :lol: )

Sounds good :-) Ta for the heads up on the flood plain, that’s well worth knowing. Well, the wife reckons it’ll be September before we can get a week or two up there for a good look round (maybe able to bung a weekend visit in between) – so it’ll give me some time to get the current house tidied up! Wife’s sister works in Stirling Hospital, so we’re gonna see if she can check out any properties we see online (I just hope the payback isn’t weeks of babysitting her little monsters :D )

Thanks for the info Flyingfox. Just had a very quick scan through some of the properties in Causewayhead – yeah, looks good. Might even be able to convince the wife to get a cheaper house to reduce the mortgage :wink: (releasing more dosh for bikes and holidays :D )

There definately sounds like more scope for natural riding up there. My bro-in-law in Falkirk does a bit of biking and I think he was surprised by the relative lack of legal trails down here. Can appreciate what you mean about people getting drawn into the trail centres. I find it a bit strange, but like you say, more room for those of us willing to get a map out!

Ta for the offer of further advice too – might take yer up on that.

All the best.

Thanks for the feedback :-) Crikey, it sounds rather good. We’re not really into hacking around trail centres ticking off routes that much, so it’s very good to hear that about the potential of the local riding. House buying budget-wise (if I pull my finger out and get the decorating finished on our current house..ahem), we could be looking at the £300k mark – IF we can sell our current house. Nothing wrong with the house or location at all, but the market is as flat as pancake at the mo.

Location wise, I wouldn’t mind being in a village, but I think my wife prefers facilities like school, local convenience stores, green grocers & library etc within walking distance (like where we are now) – so I guess we’d be better off looking in the suburbs or larger villages(?)

Thanks again for all the replies. Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply, I’ve been pretty manic with work, and then had one of my debilitating migraines – brought on by work stress (er…maybe another thing to address if we emigrate?!).

Some really interesting stuff, especially the housing, access arrangements and the driving. I can appreciate why the Aussies at work were winding up a couple of the Kiwi’s up about coming from Oz’s poor old fashioned relation – I’d just put it down to their general p*** taking Aussie humour! (tho’ the Kiwi’s could give it back!). Well, as far as the driving goes, at least living in Sheffield will have conditioned us to the sh**e driving a bit :wink:

Work-wise, I think my wife should be OK, as she’s done a bit of homework and is on the ‘most wanted’ workers list, and she could potentially be on a reasonable salary. I think I’ll find it very difficult though, as my field of expertise is so highly specialised and pretty UK specific, I’m currently working as a self-employed contractor. I also really need to have occasional access to specialised equipment that only certain Engineering Materials type companies or University’s have. Realistically, I think I’d probably be scratching around for work. Prior to qualifying, I spent a few years working in various unskilled (dead-end) jobs and I certainly ain’t above doing it to keep myself busy and earning a bit of dosh. However, if my previous experience is anything to go by, unskilled jobs are often the hardest to come by in a recession. Also seems a shame to basically waste a degree and PhD that I worked so hard for in my 30’s – but, if this could be offset by a better quality of life, then it’s something I think I could get over.

I think I’m gonna do some more homework on the job option front – and we’re keeping our options open for a minimum 3 week visit to check some areas of the country out.

Thanks again for info.

I bought some Crest/Pro 2’s for my Trek EX and was a bit disappointed with ’em, didn’t seem as stiff as my old 355/Pro 2’s, so went back to Flow/Pro 2. They’re all Hope Hoops, so guess should be same level of spoke tension(?) – For info., I’m just over 90kg in full riding kit, and most of my riding is Dark Peak area.

Thanks for all the replies folks. I haven’t had chance to have a proper read of them all yet (work getting in way…blurgh!), but some very useful and interesting stuff read so far. Will have a better look at lunchtime. Once again, thanks for replies (p.s. didn’t think about time difference of original post, until I’d hit ‘send post’ of course :D )…durrr

Amongst other things, cultural/social wise, do you think people generally take more social responsibility for their actions, and are less ignorant than their UK counterparts?

On a more mundane, practical level, we’re wondering about quality and accessibility of healthcare. Don’t know if you’ll have had cause to use it yet, but in reality, do you need full private medical insurance over there?

Oh, and again, don’t know if you’ve been there long enough, but how does the economic climate and outlook feel over there? (if you don’t already know, the Govt over here has put the economic recovery into reverse – and the full effects of their economic and social changes haven’t even taken effect yet – outlook is very poor, unless you’re Philip Green, Lord Ashcroft, Rupert Murdoch of course)

There’s a good reason why they’re so cheap…..they’re C***!

Had a demo bike for 3 days that had standard compound Mountain Kings on – they were probably the worst tyres I’ve ridden in over 10 years (and I’m a complete tyreaholic, so’ve tried lots good & bad) The standard compound is very plasticky and can let go very quickly. They were quite light, but functionally, only really worked when the bike was lying on its side not moving :-)

You could always see if On-One still have the dual compound Kenda Nevagals on special offer – very good all round tyres for the price.

errr…..anyone?

Good idea posting this, nice distinctive colour & fork combo. – I’ll keep my eyes open for it.

Hey, thanks for the link. This one seems pretty good

http://www.vimeo.com/17740455

Good how it’s a mixed male-female group on mixed terrain.

Think it’s safe to say that some of the full face helmet type vids might put ’em off :-)

My wife is just over 5’10” and after trying (and discounting) lots of womens specific bikes, she bought a mens/unisex Giant Anthem X in medium. I’m 6′ and it fits me perfectly too. Hers is the X4 base spec, only upgrades have been Elixir brakes and a decent Specialized D4W saddle. Bike weighs less than 27lbs with dirty great flat pedals – and the latest Deore drivetrain is as stiff and shifts as well as my year old XT stuff (with new cables)! Absolute rocket of a bike that performs far better than its 100mm travel suggests.

Depending on where we’re riding, she also borrows my Orange Five (18″ frame, 70mm stem), which fits her very well indeed. In her opinion, the Five is more difficult to handle in tight twisty stuff, but is really good on longer rides over natural moorland and bigger/steeper descents. She’s also had a couple of rides on my Trek EX, which she said is ‘OK’. Again, it’s a mans 18″ frame with shortish (70) stem, but fits her well – kind of a halfway house between the Anthem X and Five, but on ascents its a lot draggier than the Anthem – in fact, I’d say marginally worse than the Five, even with same tyre/wheel combination.

Er….so what i guess I’m saying is that you might be best just going straight for a mans/unisex frame, then just concentrate on finding a bike that suits her and the sort of terrain you’ll be riding.

HTH, best of luck!

Quick update for anyone interested – Shock is on its way back from Mojo. The shock was making a really noticeable squelching noise on compression – especially bad once the bike had stood for a few minutes.
The guys at Mojo phoned to say it was cavitating and has been fixed under warranty. There was a tiny bit of oil around the PP lever & rebound dial, but not sure how fresh it was – no real traces of oil on the shaft of the shock. Wife & I have 3 other bikes with RP2’s and RP23 and none of them sound squelchy, or show signs of lots of float fluid on shaft.

FWIW, I used to have a Pace405 with DT rear shock and it suffered from the same squelching noise – which turned out to be cavitation, fixed under warranty job. If that was anything to go by, the bike rode far better when the problem was fixed.

Looking forward to getting the shock back on the bike now :D

Cheers for the info fellas. Good to know about those little washers and main pivot in advance (though I still managed one chip :cry: ) – shock is now off & on its way to Mojo.

p.s.

p.s. I knew asking for, and getting, a new set of allen keys wasn’t wierd! Chocolate & Socks….bah

Oh, I meant asking for ’em for Xmas….doh!!

OK, ta for the info.

p.s. I knew asking for, and getting, a new set of allen keys wasn’t wierd! Chocolate & Socks….bah :D

…long warranties that they honour, unlike some ’boutique brands’ who offer 12 months and then try to wriggle out of claims.

Yeah, from personal experience I can vouch for this.

FWIW, I had an ‘Alpine Trail’ single pivot FS, an ’03 or ’04 I think. FWIR, it was the base model of the FS range. Over time I upgraded the wheels, cranks and forks – and it I really liked the way it rode. However, like a bl***ing idiot, I dobbed it in for a first generation ‘quad link’ Wolf Ridge – because I thought the quad link would be better. Not sure what they’d done with the geom & BB height, but the Wolf Ridge was horrible.

High BB and long head tube not visible if I grow the beard bushy enough.

……Nice :-) If you want to complete the look, I have a pair of shagged out baggy arse Ron Hill Trackster pants I can lend you :wink:

Can we have a vote for things for you to put in the vac. chamber and you post the videos please ?

No chance of video-ing the action, as the glass window in there is so covered in gunk from previous mishaps, you can’t see in there :D

p.s. I’ve just tried the bottle of fluid in the vac oven, but b****r all has happened, so it’s back to the syringes (and new seals on the vac oven again :roll: )

the less air in the fluid the better for any brake system. I wonder if the avid kit just allows you to use this method with it’s lock-off clamps.

Yes, I reckon the Avid kit could be be used to de-gas a brakes worth in one go without too much trouble. I was just going to be a lazy so & so and put the whole bottle of fluid in the vac oven – er..though in fact, it might be potentially less messy to use the syringes.

If I had an industrial vacuum chamber, I’d be putting all kinds of shit in there

There have been a couple of mysterious ‘incidents’ involving the chamber, not that I know anything about those of course…cough

Currently got some Pro 3 and Pro 2 Flow’s, Crest’s (kind of a v.lightweight, mid-width version of Flow) and Bontrager Rythym’s.

For my 88 to 90kg weight, I find the Flows are by far the best for rocky natural riding on a 5″ travel bike. If you can afford the Hope Pro 3 SP/AM on Flows, they’re well worth the money – very nice stiff and strong wheels. Doddle to go tubeless with Stans kit aswell.

Thanks very much for all the feedback and suggestions. I’d missed the recent MBR feature on the BW links in the area – and, (I’ll get flamed on here for admitting it, I do have an electronic subscription to MBR – which I hardly ever get time to open :? ).

The venue sounds a bit Sherwood Pines-ey in nature. When we get bored with bouncing around on the local Peak Dist. trails, we go over to Pines for a XC type blast – we find the red route a bit duff, but it sounds similar to Grizedale, in that you can cherry pick the best bits to link into good ‘off the radar’ stuff.

From what’s been said, I think I’ll definately use my wifes Anthem X (way lighter and faster than my Trek EX), it sort of has the ability to bring tame trails alive. Cant’t wait to get up there now :-) (my client had better not cancel!)

p.s. cheers for the parking tip offs.

Thanks for the info. Hmm…sounds like it might be fun to really whizz around it on a fast xc bike – might have to borrow the wifes Anthem X (just to test and bed in the new brakes I’ve just fitted to it :wink: ).

p.s. ta for the link to bogtrotters site.

I’ve got a 2009 P7. Bought it frame only in a sale, with the intention of running it as a winter hack, but seen far more use than that. Whenever my other rides need fettling, the P7 is just always good to go. Had the option of a Cotic Soul but, tho the Soul was lighter, I prefered the size & geo. of the P7 (not much in it tho TBH). Had great fun blatting around Glentress etc., but also been surprised how well it performs on local Dark Peak trails – much better than some of the local brand snobs would have you believe. Having said this, I gather the latest generation have been beefed up to meet the new EC(?) testing requirements, so are a fair bit heavier. If your heart’s set on a P7, you might be best to look for a second hand one. HTH.

I’ve used a double layer of clear ‘copter tape – because I didn’t want to cover up the loverrly white paint :roll: Got the tape from JustRidingAlong. Quite expensive, but have been impressed with its performance on previous bike.

Here she is, in all her white glory……sorry, just can’t help it :D

My wife’s got a Panda 4×4 and she occasionally collects (oh..and keeps me waiting for ages!!) me on linear rides. With both wheels off, my Giant Anthem X (medium) goes in the back easily. The bike is quite a large medium if that makes sense – probably same size as a large Specialized FSRxc or 16″ Orange Five.

HTH.

Should I just force them on with metal levers or am I doing something wrong? Don’t like resorting to forcing things.

If you haven’t done so already, you could try using some neat washing up liquid on the tyre bead. I’ve found this sometimes helps with really awkward tyre/rim combos.