It’s great fun!
The climbs are fairly steep, but the downhills are awesome, as are the views.
It suffers a bit in the wet I hear, ( it was bone dry when I rode it) but then it is pretty much unsurfaced. That’s what makes it good though. It has a natural rooty feel, a world away from Llandegla etc.
Well worth a visit.

Sounds amazing! Vintage Plastikman with extra lushness! 😀

Got to admit, I love Elbow. I’ve seen them five times over different tours, starting with Cast Of Thousands, but not since they became huge and started playing massive venues.
That’s nothing to do with losing interest in the band, but I don’t like stadium type gigs (plus suddenly having to pay three times the price to see a band you’ve followed for years!)and the band were so brilliant in a more intimate setting. Guy is a top front man and makes you feel like he personally and genuinely grateful for you being there.
The missus and I got to chat to Guy Garvey at the CD / DVD launch of the Leaders Of The Free World album in Brum – can’t see that happening nowadays!!!

Do it, I reckon! On two occasions, their performance of Newborn was as good as anything I’ve ever seen at a gig or festival. Just awesome! 😀
There’s a tendency for new listeners to think they’re a well-laid back act, going on later albums, but some of the earlier stuff was much more edgy and powerful.

Not so much interested me in this issue, tbh.
I thought the last few were great, but it’s the luck of the draw I guess. Can’t be strictly in-line with my personal biking interests all the time, eh?

I thought it was great, funniest thing I’ve seen in ages.
OK, not all the gags worked, but there were so many that it didn’t matter.

I can remember two young(ish) lads, fully-sussed up with all the pads etc, at the start of the Dyfi Enduro commenting on a guy riding the event rigid SS, saying ” That’s just stupid.”
No, it’s his idea of fun. He may not enjoy twiddling up all the climbs at slower than walking pace just to bomb down the other side.

Rigid SS isn’t for everyone (I know plenty who’ve tried and given up), but it’s a valid bike choice for the right rider a lot of the time. I was amazed at what I could ride on mine when I first bought one. It’s not better or more “real” than gears & suspension, just appeals more to a certain type of rider.
I’m not convinced riding rigid SS will necessarily make you a better rider, but you need a certain degree of skill to get the best out of / enjoy it.

I’ve never bothered and I’ve knackered ribs a few times.
My brother had a huge off in the Peak District though and had to go to hospital with bust ribs. He had pretty bad internal bleeding.

One time I must have lay funny on the damaged ribs and woke up in the middle of the night in agony. I went to the bathroom to get some water and the next thing I new, I was coming round on the bathroom floor with my wife slapping my face…
Not a lot of fun cracked / broken ribs. 😥

In the main I ‘ve found it best to keep busy and try to distract your mind from the pain. Bedtime is the worst. I’ve always carried on working each time.
Strange how they eventually suddenly seem to mend too – like almost overnight.

Best laugh I’ve had in ages! 😆

Either Cannock or The Wyre Forest. Can’t decide. 😕

Just have a ride on a few. See if they suit you.
My 29″ ss is pretty similar to my old 26″ wheel one (even the same brand,) but I like it so much more. I’d not buy another 26″ wheel bike now.
I was quite anti-big wheel until I rode one.

I shouldn’t have watched that “Last Minutes With Oden” video at work, even with the sound off.
I was nearly crying at my desk. 🙁

Bit of both.
If it’s hammering down – woods.

My best bud taking a nap.

My Genesis Fortitude SS at Staple Edge, Forest Of Dean.

I think it’s been raining on 80% of my visits to trail centres in Wales! 😉

He’s a beaut! 😀

We’ve had a rescue greyhound for a few months now. He’s adorable.
He spends all his time sleeping, if he’s not out for a walk or eating.
He’s pretty well behaved, but must admit, we only let him off in the paddock at the Kennels at the moment as he’s easily distracted. He’ll come to you unless something catches his eye and then you’ve got no chance. Not sure how much can be done about this tbh! Some (the more successful racers) have more of a chase instinct than others.
Can’t help with training from a pup. Arthur was 5 when we adopted him.

Anyone have any experience with Maxxis Beavers?

Oh yeah F1 for sure: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Also the obsession with having the latest all singing all dancing smart phone / tablet – whatever. 🙄

I can’t be bothered with much TV, especially anything from the US that runs for about a million episodes per series.
Not seen Game Of Thrones, Breaking Bad or any of that stuff, I’ve only got Freeview as I’m not willing to pay for more TV I won’t watch.
About the only channel I don’t have that I’d like is Eurosport for the endless live cycling, but ITV4 shows a fair bit now.

I dunno rOcKeTdOg, those steps were a tad gnarr. 😉

Tried to watch that vid the other day, but it wouldn’t play for some reason. Seems o.k. now though!
I still haven’t made it over to the NW Alps yet this year…

soulwood wrote:

If the vid starts off with full facers or piss pots pushing uphill I find I have already lost interest.

Amen bro. 🙂

If a vid contains music, there’s a 60% chance if it being blocked here (on Youtube – Vimeo is OK), cos the German equivalent of the PRS refuses to sign a deal, and they own rights to ALL music by default, not just that of their members.

So, if/when the GEMA warning comes up, I now automatically assume that it was a rubbish vid with someone’s bad taste in music. I can get around it with a UK proxy, but 99% of the time, I really CBA.

So… if you make a vid… please let us hear the sounds of the bikes, not the contents of your iPod. Thanks.

I have that issue at work, as our sever is in Germany.

discoduck wrote:

I agree ! Who the fuch watches XC ? Oh hang on I’ll just un clip and walk this section and make up the time on my 29er, the only thing more boring than riding in Lycra is sat watching it “In Lycra” !

I love watching XC racing.
You haven’t seen much of Nino Schurter riding if yoy still believe all XC racers can’t ride technical trails at speed.

I was expecting a bit of a backlash, but knowing there are some closet roadie & CX riders on here, I figure I can’t be on my own?

Having fun on a mountainbike isn’t limited to pulling jumps, btw. 😉

I don’t watch much in the way of DH & jump vids, but there seems little else and any MTBing is better tha none!

It generally looks crap on a video?

Depends on the viewer though – I’d rather watch a smooth rider. But then (and for that reason I guess) I’d rather watch XC, CX or road racing than DH, dirt jumping etc.

Yeah. I ride to work every day.

I had a couple of Klein Rascals back in the day, both with internal gear cables and they were a nightmare.
There was just too much friction, making the shifting stiff and needing constant over-shifts and then back to the gear you wanted and the spring in the mech wasn’t strong enough to come down the block – awful. Once you introduced a bit of water and grit it was game over.
You needed to clean the cables out all the time, but it was a faff because (obviously)they ran through the frame. Give me nice slotted guides any day.
The rear brake felt steppy too, once some dirt got into the cable. You could feel it at the lever and hear it crunching.
(Looked tidy though!)

Have they got a different method now (the Kleins had a thin “macaroni” style plastic tube from the outer cable stop to the exit by the BB,)to overcome these issues? I swore I’d never buy a bike / frame with internal cables again, but they seem to be getting more abundant these days.

The Chronicles Of Riddick seemed to get panned, but I loved it.
Look forward to seeing the new one! 😀

Would anyone care to tell me what a serp / surp is???

Got to be The Hobbit. I’ve read TLOTR a couple of times but lost count of how often I read the Hobbit, especially as a child.

In more recent years though, most likely one of Brian Lumley’s short story collections or Clive Barker’s Books Of Blood, followed by H.P. Lovecraft’s Omnibus series.
Short stories are great when you’re short of time, so I tend to re-read them a lot.

SS is ideal for Cannock. Me & most of my riding buddies ride it SS.

Doethie is pretty easy to navigate. Not ridden the Gap, but it looks pretty wide and eroded, so shouldn’t be difficult.

I’ve ridden CYB and the Dark Peak rigid SS several times.
I do it because I like riding rigid SS. Others may not. 😉

Don’t forget – there were folks (including me) riding rigid there long before Rockshox and Manitou forks started appearing on bikes. Suspension may be your bag, but it’s never been essential.

I’ve ridden the Llyn Brenig area of Hiraethog, but it was a few years ago now.
It’s a beautiful place, well worth a visit. The trails aren’t very technical though and the hills non-too severe so don’t go expecting much gnar-radness.

Llandegla trail centre in the Clwyds is a good laugh, but not everyone’s cup of tea: all man-made with berms, jumps etc. I’ve not yet ridden the natural stuff in the Clwyds, but there are some great trails there I hear…

I put some carbon bars on my Genesis Io, because the original ones were cheap, thick alloy, with no give and because of the rigid fork, I used to take a battering.
There was a marked improvement in comfort over rocky terrain with the new bars.

I wanted a Soul when a few riding buddies bought them a few years ago and it looked like the perfect bike for my style of riding.
I had a test ride on one though and changed my mind – it just didn’t feel right at all. Excellent position for climbing, but I felt way too over the front going down and struggled with a short rocky section (on the flat) that I cleaned easily on another HT with more conventional geometry.
Just didn’t suit me I guess.
I suppose you could play about with various things to tweak the position, but when other bikes felt perfect straight away, I don’t think I’d have ever been totally happy.
It was a surprise, as I fully expected to love it! (Saying that – I was riding a Cove Stiffee at the time, which I thought handled great, but I think I recall Cy once saying the Cotic had “anti-Cove” geometry or something like that…)

I think it’s really ignorant to expect to be served while on the phone. No one’s so short on time that they can’t wait until they’ve been served to take a call.

Around my way, rigid SS or at least SS is very popular with the “old hands”, with many of the SSers also having a full suss for big days away.
I guess it depends where you ride. If you live in the Lake District instead of the West Midlands, I suspect the ratio of stiff to boing would be somewhat different.

Some pics from my 2007 ride:

I rode the Rough Ride in 2007 in ideal (not wet, not too hot) conditions. I really enjoyed it, but it is a bit of a killer. Way tougher than the Dyfi Enduro which I’d ridden the month before.
I liked the terrain – it was different to much of the riding I’d done previously, but I can understand a lot of folk – the type who’d miss out the fireroad climb on the Beast at CYB 🙄 wouldn’t like it.
It’s not technically challenging, but it’s a challenge all the same. I expect those riders who have at some stage been tempted by the darkside (as I used to be)enjoy it most.