All encouraging stuff. I’ll stick with the plan then – plenty of “Padding” round the bike.

Thanks a lot for the replies – sounds like I should be ok with a few things in there then….

I used a hacksaw on a couple of forks and never got a clean, straight cut no matter how hard I tried. Bought a cheap pipe cutter from Wickes and never looked back. Takes a while to do but I’ve never had any issues and the finish is sooo much cleaner

Still a few of everything (including garmins) in the Shrewsbury store.

As iainc said, the derailleur cable shouldn’t be anywhere near the fork stanchions. Unless it’s the upper section of a triple clamp fork, in which case a superficial groove is unlikely to cause any issue at all. Pics would make the whole thing a lot clearer.

Best do something now to stop it getting any worse though. It’s amazing how much damage something as simple as a bit of cabling can cause.

I struggled with a 2.3 WTB Vigilante and settled for a 2.25 Trail boss on the back which just fits nicely. There’s not an awful lots of stay clearance for mahoosive tyres.

I’ve been stung for the import duty before – warranty repair on a Contour camera that was posted back with value on it. Very annoying.

Unfortunately, this is the usual magnet-housing-unbonded-from-the-post repair. I can’t fault the backup as they’re fixing it for the price of a normal service but the whole posting thing is a pain.

I went with Parcelhero in the end – worked out at around £20 and trackable.

Float 120 ctd on mine (2015 model and surprisingly good). Fantastic fun and I wouldn’t want anything steeper.

Cheers OP. Picked one yesterday.

Beautiful – definitely makes me wish I wasn’t at work right now! Thanks for sharing.

Sorry – just seen your reply missnotax. Thanks for your help – that’s what we did in the end :)

Jovial Colliers Inn in Lydbrook is great. Cheap accommodation, friendly owner, great breakfast and a pub! Handy for the trailhead too if that’s where you want to ride from.

I think you could be right cb. I’d emailed them a couple of times to make sure there wasn’t a problem with the order and got a prompt reply saying it should be on its way shortly. Arrived this morning – black collar, enduro spacer and everything.

Mine too. Full retail with bleed kit and everything! Very happy.

Thanks again to the OP

On again at 2pm if you missed it!

I’m currently looking at a big (for me) camera purchase and got the same impression of slrhut – lots of bad and very little good on forums. I’m thinking of using an eBay seller but, for the extra hassle and potential import duty charges, I may just go with Jessops and tcb

The sale’s repeated again today – seems a bargain for the kit

Link

120mm Floats – I wouldn’t want anything less tbh but I enjoy the downs more :)

Well, I emailed them and got a reply within 24 hours to say everything seemed ok with the order and it should be dispatched this week! Seems a bit odd but hopefully still on its way.

Yep – arrived here too I’m afraid

edit – sorry, wrong offer. I’m thinking of the Havens

Well, I haven’t heard anything since the 2nd confirmation email so maybe this isn’t going to happen after all…

I was tempted to try the Kevlar pads with this offer (stopped using SS a while back for various reasons) but no XT – shame as I don’t need any Avids at the mo.

Yeah. Or upside down maybe – they don’t like that!

Don’t worry – I’ve only used Race Matrix pads for the last 2 year. Great in the UK and the Alps with predictable power and very little noise. IME anyway :)

edit – re-reading Northwind’s post, I guess the only time the Racematrix pads have let me down was on a big Welsh descent, with a 29er and 160mm rotors and XT brakes, so they can get overheated. I’m not sure any other compound would’ve fared much better though.

I’ve got an S4 and it does seem a to exaggerate the amount of signal it’s actually got – I’ve often had calls cut out when the phone was convinced it still had signal.

Unfortunately my Mobi is an older model with the screw on hose so it would need the 2 connectors at least which would only be £19 I guess. Hmmmm

Hmm – ok, most of those are the Aqua2go version, so I’d need to “upgrade” the whole hose kit for £36. Still cheaper than a new unit I guess…..

Ah – nice one! I’ve had a bit of a look on eBay but haven’t seen those before. I’ll investigate. Thanks very much :)

2 emails here. Initial confirmation, then one giving an estimated dispatch date of “week 50” so fingers crossed it’ll be on it’s way soon…

Unfortunately not Hammy. I actually bought that one, thinking it was the right part but it’s for the other end of the hose. I need the male connector that attaches to the main unit – the one you linked to is for the gun end.

Another top PSA – thanks op. I haven’t got access to my emails at the mo but the order seemed to go through.

And I regularly shim my current 30.9 to 31.6 with no problems at all.

Borrowdale Bash (with a few extras) – what a great little loop. Thanks very much for the advice – we had a great ride, helped by remarkably sunny weather!

Excellent. Many thanks for the ideas.

I reckon Borrowdale bash sounds like the one, and maybe head up Skiddaw/Lonscale Fell way afterwards if we’ve got the energy.

MTBguides – I like the sounds of your loop but I’m struggling to follow it on the map past Mosedale.

Either way, we’ll see what the weather does I’guess.

Thanks again

Nice one. Thanks guys. The Pooley bridge area and the Borrowdale Bash have come up before and sound intriguing. Not sure I fancy High Street at this time of year though?

Any more?

I can certainly verify they are indeed waterproof. I poured about half a pint out of each foot a couple of weeks ago. Twice!

No worse than more expensive ones though and definitely good value.

I’m no fan of Christmas in November but, that is indeed another cracker from the masters of the Christmas ad campaign :)

I wanted a bike that could climb well, descend better and felt fun/flickable on the trail. I demo’d a Sherpa and bought one soon after. I can’t comment on the other 2 I’m afraid but the Sherpa ticked my boxes.

That’s with a 120mm fork fwiw

Sorry – I haven’t been online much the last week and missed your post Irishdave. I initially thought the Vigilante would be fine but clearance was tight on the back and it rubbed when pushing out of the saddle or cornering hard. I’m currently running a smaller tyre and looking for the perfect compromise – the Trail Boss looks interesting…

Not sure this’ll work but that’s mine.

edit, guess it won’t then. Here’s a link instead Link

Short legged and 6ft here and the 19″ fits perfectly. I don’t see why it wouldn’t ride well with some long rigid Forks although, once you’ve ridden it, I think you’ll be keen to put some suspension on as it feels fantastic on the downs and the steel back end is pretty forgiving.

Again, I’m surprised you haven’t had a reply to emails – they’ve always been quick to respond to mine.