I’d say not worth the round trip, I live 30 mins away and rarely go. In general it is pretty flat and pedally so not much flow to be had. Hard, dull gritty-gravel trail surface that sits above the ground creating adverse cambers in annoying places, braking bumps, and very busy at times.

Swinley but not as good…damned by faint praise indeed! Looks very wide for ‘singletrack’, and the surface looks smooth as tarmac in places. No thank ye.

sounds like the chain hasn’t been threaded through properly, shouldn’t run ‘over’ any tabs, and should be smooth.

for £79.99 from Merlin you can get sun ringle 29er rims (19mm internal) on shimano 525 hubs with 32 spokes. You may not have been after an entire wheelset but these are a bargain. Sturdy and quite heavy, but strong and good for touring/commuting duties, they’ll certainly take some abuse.

Headset noise transmitting down the fork…

Used the cheaper halfords stuff without issues, get more for your momey…

Kestrel on a pylon and a Muntjac deer last night. (almost sounds like a menu description though!)

Still good for training road rides in all conditions with disc brakes, I use mine for that too. Just feel more sturdier. Also used it on a summer ‘roadie’ trip to the Alps and coped very well indeed on long and demanding rides, comfortable after 100+ miles.

Giants and Boardmans are probably great bikes, but very dull and every other bugger has one. I use a cx bike as a commuter/road bike (Pinnacle Arkose 3) and it does pretty well. It is heavier than a road bike and not as ‘sporty’, but is comfortable, adaptable, and most importantly has disc brakes. Better for commuting as you have a bigger choice of tyres and guards/racks..

I had a down-to-the-bare-metal scrape on my old 853 frame, which I left untreated for 3 years. It didn’t rust at all. It may give you peace of mind, but I think 853 is such good quality that it won’t be an issue.

Cane creek do nice v brake drop bar levers…

Yes, it will work perfectly and is the simplest thing to do…compatible with FSA and pretty much anything.

As a budget option, Decathlon have this:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/tilt-5-backpack-ltd-black-id_8284872.html

Not the best colour for visibiltiy, but has reflective bits. I have one for commuting and have used it for a month or so in all weathers and it has been good. Quite spacious and totally waterproof.

As far as material properties go and as far as I understand it, Stainless has a higher tensile strength than Ti so they can use thinner tubes for the same strength as ti and thus make a lighter frame. I also think stainless is a fair bit more expensive than Ti and not sure how it rides for mtb. At least neither will rust!

Alu isn’t necessarily dead, and steel isn’t necessarily sluggish, and with either the fork and tyres will help with comfort. As long as the tyres are quite fast rolling and run at a decent-ish pressure, then either bike should be swift enough to not be tiring.

I have an alu disc commuter/road bike with a carbon fork (possibly the one you’re thinking of?), and it’s certainly not dead feeling, although the carbon fork is too harsh on bigger bumps.

What tiny wheels…

Although I see the point in not having too much grease for dirt to live in, but surely it’s worth overloading a bit to account for grease that will get washed away..?

Would highly recommend le Velo Jaune also, have stayed there twice now and is very well run and convenient for riding in the area.

You’ll always be able to find parts to spend money on, but focus on having decent and appropriate tyres for the events, decent brake pads and well maintained transmission.

By far the best preparation is to make sure you are fit and have had plenty of trail time beforehand…

They are nocturnal so you’re around when they come out to forage…and you don’t live in Somerset where they have tried to kill them all, so they’re a bit more chilled out!

Can’t stand this kind of trail, it’s a cycle path with tilty bits. It’s so out of sync with the surrounding environment too, being built ‘on’ rather than ‘in’ the landscape with graded scalpings not mixed size local rock. There’s not a lot of working with the terrain going on either…

As yet another person found out to their cost…

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/18/sixth-london-cyclist-killed-camberwell-lorry

Didn’t stop another cyclist being killed in London at lunchtime today…perhaps why lots of lorries being stopped this afternoon?

Just to be clear though, the difference in wheel weight (say, 400-600g for example)between ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ will only have a very small effect on climbing, as it is a tiny percentage of the total weight you have to lug up the incline. Gearing, gear choice and tyre choice and pressure will make more of a difference than a lighter wheelset.

How old is the inbred and how is it set up? I have a version 2 and it’s solid as a rock (and weighing close to a rock), it’s probably in the set-up and the combo of forks/stem/bars you have…

Has it always been this way? If not, the full outer cable run may need a clean and lube, as it will create lots of friction and create this kind of problem?

I thougt that in all of these interminable debates about wheelsize, that the following things reoccured:

– extra leverage is counteracted by the wheel travelling slower/fewer revolutions when larger, so doesn’t really make a difference?

– contact patch size difference is actually very small in terms of cm2, and more likely to be affected by tyre choice and pressure.

Crap, just got sucked into a wheel size debate, promised myself i never would [..swallows hand grenade..]

As said above, it’s a bit of a double edged sword. Cycle lanes are good to cycle on and can be better for cyclists, but they create the wrong impression to drivers (that cyclists should be there and nowhere else), and can create a false sense of security/complacency for cyclists. In this respect it means cyclists aren’t learning and applying useful rules of non-cycle lane traffic (which may save their life). There is no one approach, I think all are needed. Drivers need to change their behaviour and attitudes, as do cyclists. Segregation is good when you get a more direct and appropriate route. To encourage changes in attitude changes in highway law would help to protect the cyclist, whereby more emphasis on liability is put on the driver.

I cycled in Munich earlier this year, and it was a delight. Although you have to carefully observe the traffic rules and use cycle lanes where they exist, drivers all exercised caution and patience with cyclists and it was lovely! I can’t see Britain reaching that point sadly…

Some magazines suggested this was a ‘must do’ but it’s crap. Never done it, and still on original BB after 4 years and 2 different frames. I check the face for lumpy paint, and would lightly sand any if needed.

As cookeaa said basically – riding is good practice for riding. You’ll get more all round skills riding challenging normal trails, riding trail centre trails mainly just makes you better at riding trail centre trails…

I was in the purbecks on sunday (not riding, but a brief walk), and come from the area and have ridden in various conditions. I’d stick with your mud tyres! From bitter experience, the mud can be very tacky and sticky and it was like that in places last weekend, albeit a little further away from the route. Looking at the route, it does avoid the worst of the clay geology areas, and you’ll be predominently riding a mix of chalk down and sandy heath/forest. Although some large volume tryes will be good for the sand bits, on balance there’ll be enough gloop and mud to justify the mud tyres. Also, the hills are almost exclusively shortish (depending where you come from!) but steep, so you’ll get better grip there too.

As others have mentioned, experiencing consequences of risks taken seems to bring out a mix of caution in some areas of life, but also the desire to live life fully.

Crashing my car badly but escaping largely unscathed, and my dad giving first aid to someone who’s leg had been severed in a car accident, has made me a more cautious and considerate driver, wanting newer, safer cars for myself, family and friends.

Using cycling to help me over depression, but seeing a good friend in the same position badly break his leg. Makes you want to hold on to health and cycle whenever possible for all that it gives you, always wear a helmet. Enjoy being outdoors and travelling more than just outright speed/thrashing.

– Holding tractor 3-point linkage arms together, stopping clatter.
– Toilet unblocking jet – cut in half, put down bog with gloved hand, blow hard. Avoid blowback.
– Catapult.

Get a (free) anglefinder app on your phone and measure for yourself..?

It is a bloody annoyance, but you can only mitigate the effects and little else. Tubeless being the obvious one. But it’s worth keeping your eye out for freshly cut hedges, and lifting you bike over a bad bit. I know it’s counter intuitive and we must ride where possible, but I’d rather carry for a bit than fix a puncture or 2. Also, when possible I always follow the most well trodden/driven path, as trail users before you have kind of cleared a line, or made one where punctures are less likely. Tactical approach if you like, but i’ve found that it certainly helps.

Dropping wrists and heels is a very good thing to practice, and works very well as the others have described. It will stop the feeling of being pitched over the bars. It’s also worth checking your tyres aren’t too hard, as the bike will feel more ‘scrabbly’ and wheels will lock more easily: you’ll get more grip at the right pressure.

Sanding pads can help breathe a bit of life into them, but also make sure you don’t contaminate them with oil or similar product when cleaning/lubing. If you’ve been for a filthy ride then clean them off thoroughly with water, as grit will kill them. Also, when you buy new pads, ask for sintered/metal pads as these last a lot longer than organic/resin ones.

You’re going through pads very quickly – i’m on my third set of pads on the front, but i’ve had the brake for 8 years and used it on everything including Snowden and l’Alpe d’Huez!

Should be about a 70/30 front to rear brake split. There’s so much more power at the front – that’s where you need a bigger rotor/caliper. Cars have a similar braking bias, as when you brake, your weight and that of the bike get pushed forwards, so the front is what you need to concentrate on. As said above, brake before obstacles and roll through the techy stuff, rear wheel bias will loose you control, and it kills the trails too, that’s what causes all those hideous braking bumps just before corners.

Perhaps you need to try it out a bit and gain confidence using the front brake more, it’ll improve your riding no end…then treat yourself to a shimano saint front brake!

Try and avoid cars where possible by using quiter routes. Don’t add stress to your day by mixing with cars too much!

There seems to be some confusion about the taper on the fork, coming from Q’s on the website, but it is 100% a 1.5inch taper, I got this headset: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/m-part/elite-tapered-headset-integrated-ec050673

It works with a crown reducer or 1.5inch lower taper steerer, and being integrated, only need to slip the bearing in the frame, to headset press needed, which is a joy!