If sweat got me that wet on a 50 minute ride on a cold night I think I'd see a doctor 😉

No, definately water spray from the trail.

superstar_opponents – no, you're absolutely right, Saturday was a bit OTT – my eVent jacket soaked through too. It's more the fact that after a 50 minute jaunt round "follow the dog" I got a wet @rse from ground water (It wasn't even raining). I'd have thought they should've performed better then at least.

CyB was fun Saturday though wasn't it? Don't think I've ever enjoyed the Beast more 🙂

Rich – yeah, you should 🙂

what does it get given stick for, out of interest?

A lot of the nice technical rooty bits have been replaced by smooth "tarmac'd" trails over the past few years, apparently to creat more hard wearing trails to cope with the popularity of the place. It's great to see a bit more thought going into the more recent stuff with rock drops that can be rolled if necessary and corners that can be jumped etc.

Right then. CyB, here we come.

This should be a good one 😯

Good for spares – always good offers on tubes, GT85, track pumps and stuff.

There are often good offers on end of line stuff too – clothing especially & some forks etc. I think there's normally a selection of their current offers on the website isn't there?

You do need to get there early for the best stuff though.

The marzocchi DH stem on my 223 has a shim on it for standard bars – its just 2 halves of a cylinder that clamp down between the stem & bars. Not sure if you can buy them seperately but I've never had any problems – never really thought about it tbh!

I thought it was only older models Pace had problems with – I think current (espec DT) forks are fine with them?

I use one with my road bike (carbon QR) and Whyte (RS revs & Maxle) and it seems a lot more stable than the usual "clamp the downtube" racks I'm used to. The 20mm adapter needed a bit of filing down but is solid now.

Unless your driving's particularly scary I can't imagine the forces on the dropouts would be any greater than tanking down a good rocky descent.

Current offer is "Built for free" so built (saves you the normal £100 fee).

They take a lot of beating, especially with the current offers

What Mikey said – I was tempted to cut down the Monkeylites on my bike but I've actually got quite used to the width now. Don't even miss bar ends any more 😉

All you need to do initially is notify the tax man and get them to send you a form (basic one stating the name of your company etc). Unless you're earning big money, that's about as complicated as it gets.

You then get the joy of doing your own tax return next year – that's when it pays to have talked to an accountant to find out what you can/can't claim for.

Well I was quite disappointed – as mentioned, I'd had all the paperwork signed & stamped but no one was there to check it. 😯

You're right about the lights though – the ones round the Birches blind you if you're heading the wrong way!!!

Another vote for Leisurelakes in Wolverhampton from me. Not really my LBS (They're crap) but I work near Wolverhampton quite a bit so pop in when I'm about.

Always friendly, they know me by name and they've been really helpful with the odd bit of spannering I can't do (often without charge). Never any pressure to buy stuff either – they'll get something in for you but aren't offended if you then say no 🙂

I do still buy stuff online as well but I'm quite happy to pay a bit more at Leisurelakes given the support I've had.

Well, I can confirm that the FtD trail is actually REALLY good fun in the dark. surprisingly busy too.

The Landlord at the Horns Inn on Slitting Mill Rd was also very friendly – when we checked re leaving the cars in the car park he even offered us the use of a bike wash afterwards. Unfortunately it did mean we had to pop in for a couple of post ride pints though 🙄 . A good evening all round.

I suspect norfolk in chance has been having a gander over ther too

Sorry – not something I tend to do. I know how much work goes into those trails and how annoying it must be when they're trashed through people riding them before completion. I am looking forward to riding some new stuff when it's open though.

Don't worry – I know there's better more technical stuff there. I've ridden with locals quite a few times and had some great afternoons.

FtD is just an easy point and shoot trip out tonight, and I actually enjoy it as a bit of a blast. That's the great thing about night riding – it adds an extra element to familiar (and less technical) riding. Llandegla's great in the dark too 😉

When is this new stuff being opened anyway (obviously allowing for prats who ride closed bits despite signs/warning etc!!!).

lol. Don't worry. I have all the necessary documentation, stamped and validated by the warden 🙂

Again, I've done bits of that. The majority of routes round there do hold up pretty well – be prepared for mud but mostly rideable with a pretty solid rock base.

Great riding but can be pretty exposed if the weather turns nasty

It is amazing to ride there now the felling's progressing – you don't realise just how much doubling back there is until you see the track laid out bare like that.

It's great at night to see the lights zipping about on the trail too 🙂

Yep – I've been skiing with bruised ribs too. I caught a cold early in the week – sneezing on a freezing cold chair lift was absolute agony 🙁

It always takes longer than you think to heal for the reasons mentioned above. The more patient and careful you are, the quicker it will heal. Keep taking the iboprofen to help you sleep if nothing else!

lol – didn't notice that bit! How bizarre 😯

200 emails a day, 198 of them tend to be spam. No change over the past few years though – that's what I get for keeping the same email address for 12 years 🙁

And yes – lots from myself, "no sender" or random gibberish. Good job outlook's spam filter catches most!

Aren't road BBs wider?

I've just bought a Hope (stainless) having got P'd off with replacing RF/FSA ones every 3-6 months. They seem to have a pretty good following and the Hope customer service is always good. Plus the bearings are more easily replaceable than others.

I did look at King ones but, with the grease port tool (seems a bit pointless without it) you're looking at the best part of £150 😯

Oops. I was wrong then!

I've got some old Pace pro class forks with a 1" threaded steerer I really should sell if your mate wants the retro look.
Email's in my profile if you're interested 🙂

My old Prestige ('93) has a 1" steerer but I think they changed to 1 1/8" when the name changed to P7.

Could be wrong though!

They do look a bargain. Just a shame there's no way they'll fit my apparently freak like head 🙁

I had a similar problem with my Honda – persistent warning light after a service. A quick google and I found out how to reset the system (using 2 paper clips 😯 ) and it's all good now.

Of course there is a chance it could be flashing to warn you of a problem – might be worth getting it checked out professionally?

I was quite disappointed with Ae. Last DH run is great fun (we sectioned both the red & black runs for ages) but the rest just seems tired & poorly thought out with no real flow to it. Dalbeatie is more fun overall

imho 🙂

Hmm. Reading that report is like travelling back in time around 10 years to when MTBs were the source of all evil in this country! I'm amazed it's still so controversial in a place like Marin. I guess tourism isn't that important to them?

Ta for that. I really should get the bearings replaced this weekend though – it's starting to get annoying 🙂

Haha – though not 🙂 . That vid's on the Hopetech website too – I used it last time I replaced the bearings.

Nah – red route = just over an hour….although I'm sure someone will be along shortly to say they can do it in 10 mins on a SS!

there is circlip holding the second one in

Really? Oops! Maybe that's why my back wheel's made funny noises since I replaced the freehub bearings last!!! In my defence, the bearings had completely failed and I was taking shards of metal out so who knows what was in there originally!! 😯

Good call- forgot about this. Cheers 🙂

Great stuff – thanks for the replies. It confirms my suspiscions that I was being told porkies 🙂

mick – tiz a carbon crank

Now then, which one to replace it with….

Yeah – noticed this a couple of years ago. It's a really sneaky way of collecting extra cash off people – especially when you're on a contract with included texts 👿 .

Personally I've had loads of problems with the standard "battery cover" mount. I've had 3 seperate mounts, all of which were fine initially but gradually developed more and more play between the mount and the bracket that screws onto the etrex. The first was with an old Legend, the 2nd 2 with a Vista Hcx. Last summer the GPS actually fell off the bars because of this!!

I've looked at the ones on GPSW a few times. Maybe I'll get one 🙂

Mmmm DX – those red V-brakes were lurvely 🙂

mboy – 200GS? Pah, 400LX, that's where it was at 😉

10 litres of Fenwicks for a tenner*

*assuming you buy the concentrated stuff, not including water charges 😉

Oh god. They've found another way to completely miss the point of 2 bikes! 😯

My god – so much advise – some good, some crap (as to be expected on here 😉 )

ime, they're certainly loyal little dogs and good guard dogs but they genuinely can be snappy little buggers; down right aggressive in some cases. A lot of this comes down to training/husbandry, some is down to breeding – definitely worth taking advice re breeders…stay well away from the "farms" so infamous in SW Wales but rife in other areas too.

Main health problems are Skin, Skin, Skin and Skin. They're by far the most prone breed to various allergic skin diseases, most requiring life long medication to keep the dog comfortable. I'd ALWAYS recommend getting good (life long) insurance if you get one. There are good treatment alternatives to steroids if you're unlucky (none of the potentially nasty side effects) but they are silly expensive.

As for having one in a one bedroom flat – as long as they're not left alone for too long at a time and they get regular exercise I don't see a problem. Just go see your local vet after purchasing – many will do cut price post-purchase health checks and give you loads of good advice, especially if you start their vaccinations at the same time.