Oh it’s Bristol alright..

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=110+Cheltenham+Rd,+Bristol,+City+of+Bristol+BS6,+UK&sll=51.477558,-2.676424&sspn=0.010491,0.026844&ie=UTF8&ll=51.462056,-2.590284&spn=0.010495,0.026844&z=16&iwloc=addr&layer=c&cbll=51.461972,-2.59035&panoid=LeimkAM08wPTtu350dxHKQ&cbp=12,50.430181409634336,,0,23.70503597122303

Does anybody require lockout so much that they’re prepared to lose shed loads of cash selling a fork only to buy a new one?

Anyone got a geographic location named after them

Kind of…

any large area of still fresh or salt water, surrounded by land and lying in a depression in the Earth’s surface, which receives water from rivers, streams, springs, etc. I’m sure you have one local to you :)

What’s this endless maintenance with hydros myth? I’ve had a set of Hope Mono Minis for 13 months now without needing touching aside from a set of new pads.

With the amount of riding I do (and from experience of owning BB7s) I’d have changed the cables numerous times and be twiddling the red knobs every couple of weeks.

And the joy of a really long wet welsh gritty day and realising on the final descent that your perfectly setup bite point has worn through and the levers are now on the bars barely stopping you at the most critcal time… yeah cable discs were great! :roll:

Post ignored from my iPhone

I think this will always be one epic debate. Personally, I’ll always wear one. I wear pricey ones (Bell Sweeps do it for me at the moment) and in my MTBing life I’ve had two very, very big crashes where my head has take the entire impact (not slid but fully hit the ground) at speed. Without exageration, both crashes would have either killed me or left me brain damaged without the helmet. Both of them, split the helmets (not shattered so maybe there is a benefit to the more expensive ones) and I walked away with nothing more than ringing in my ears.

The anti-helmet crew can quote stats all day long but I’ve walked away twice now from epic crashes where a Helmet has done it’s job.

hopping 3/4 foot step ups

I know what you meant but I read this as 3 to 4 ft step ups LOL

Depends on the applicant – people with experience only can get set in their ways – a degree educated bod if any good will be keen to continuely move on and learn.

You can only treat the case on its merits!

Road lycra

Offroad – baggies

Offroad events/racing – lycra

Got full-suss and full-rigid (plus dark side), I grab whichever takes my fancy or makes sense. Would love to add a Front sus HT too but I’ve been told new bikes must now replace old bikes.

I think my five is the best goddam bike ever made but it’s more about the whole package, the designers concept and execution, the geometry etc – just happens to be full suss. I’ve not ridden a modern P7 or Crush but I’m under the impression that they’re equally brilliant.

To the OP, perhaps your intentions were honest but unfortunately your early posts did smell a bit of troll…

We’re being watched on the interents SHOCKER!

Been blown away by ’09 Troy Lee Gloves – got the GP gloves and by far and away the comfiest and grippiest glove I’ve had… If I ever have to resrt to my old Sombrios it’s a miserable choice to have to make…

Leave the Nevegal up front and run a 2.1 Small Block 8 on the rear – it’s what I run for trail centres except I have a 2.35 Blue Groove up front (much better as a front IMO than Nev)

Lovely people, lovely cottages: http://www.balacottagebreaks.co.uk/

We had 7 blokes in the Glynrhedyn cottage – lovely Holiday!

Hmmm, just dug out pics of mine and yours deffo isn’t the same…

2001 P7

Read my post – if you can give me a close up of the top tube decals I can potentially date it as 01/02. Meaning 80mm travel, 100mm tops.

Can I get a close up of the top tube decals??

I had a circa 2001/02 P7 and it looks quite similar to that. If it’s the case it actually sold with 80mm forks on it…

ADH – do you commute on a browny-gold resprayed GT by any chance? I may have seen you grinding away at the traffic lights outside the Berkeley this morning…

I’ll be riding a 140mm trail bike with no bottle mounts (clever) – might look into one of those waist packs with holders on just in case.

I’m happy with 2.5 ltrs for 3 hours but can I actually refill my camelbak at the feed station?

So refuelling… I have a 2.5 litre camelbak which I don’t think is going to be enough fluid (could be wrong, I never know how much to drink but from the colour of my Pee it’s usually too little).

It says refreshments half way – does this include being able to refill hydro packs or do I need to look at methods of taking more fluid with me?

And to be fair – frame only it’s barely gone up in price – only full build that’s rocketed which is a bit beyond their control.

What Nickegg said, RE: downtube – specifically the downtube is skinnier to allow more fork clearance and then gusseted to make up for the smaller weld area – or so that dude from Orange told me and I may have misinterpreted him…

I think the top tube is hydroformed too now.

Been getting the itch to replace my Five lately (’08) for no good reason other than wanting something new. Everytime I ride something else I’m reminded why I bought the Five.

Even at the Bike Radar demo day yesterday I was doing the skyline final descent on a Lapierre Froggy (biiiig bike) thinking, my Five would probably be quicker and more fun right now) and was doing white level climb on a SC superlight thinking, this really isn’t all that quicker than my Five going up either.

*swooon*

Clearly I’m the quickest Sarcy git in the west GNAR! :wink:

When you stopped pedalling…

I don’t buy into this stick to hardtails to ‘earn your stripes’ attitude as it were. 90% of the people I see out there on full sussers aren’t particularly good but are having a lot of fun and I really don’t see what they’d gain from going back to a HT…

I spent 10 years on rigid bikes, 3 on front sus and one on full suss. I do still run a rigid bike in order to ‘keep it real’ but I’m really serious about my biking and I do see the benefit of getting off the sofa bike now and again. For most people, I really dont’ see what they’d gain other than less fun and comfort.

I started my wife out on a full suss and it’s probably been the difference between her actually continuing to ride and possibly giving up after one ride.

North84, go buy your full suss and enjoy it mate! Just don’t get a Pitch, a lot of people have been caught up in the hype (woah, not aiming this at anyone on her in particular, just an observation on randoms I’ve seen out on the trail) and there’s many rolling around barely using any of it’s capability. In the spesh range, FSRxcs and Stumpys make more sense.

Riding (CwmCarn, Sunday gone):

gey one:

Token Holiday Shot…

Last years Hei Hei was one gorgeous bike – I think they’ve painted it s**t colours this year though…

Really like the look of their Scandium frames, I wonder if now they’ve taken the investment hit they might start speccing the bikes a bit better in years to come…

Mags don’t seem to have much bad to say about them either…

You get what I mean, either way, it’s in your interest for me to fall head over heels in love with hope’s new brown goodies and kit out BOTH bikes with it!

@ gary, that’d probably go nicely on the genesis too i reckon [:-)]

For everyone one else, teaandbiscuits is my LBS and he’s right, both my Orange and my Genesis would look simply epic with a full smattering of Brown hope kit… :'(

Update from Hope – better pics!

http://www.hopegb.com/page_mep_force_61.html

Fixed bike are the new BMX by the looks of it, ‘cept you can only do skids and akward looking bunnyhops and drop offs.

I won’t take anything away from the video as it’s quite nicely made but the content’s a bit meh…

5′ 9″ – 18″ Five but inline post, saddle all the way forward, 60mm stem.

I like them long in the top tube and then sitting right inside the bike with a stubby stem…

Why not just get a trail bike and get a DJ hardtail then?

I only mentioned it because I reckon the blood is going to feel like it has more travel than 130mm and as much as I’d love to give one a go, it just doesn’t look like something I’d want to ride all day.

Orange Alpine 160? MBR 9/10 this month 31.5lb

Posted on the cheesy riders…

Well it’s just Helvetica Neue – bit unfortunate and I’m surprised no one at Orange picked up on it…

Wonder if they’ll do ’08 decals on request..lol

racemonkey – but the trail’s about 2 meters wide at that point!

Having done this myself (my wife stacked on hidden valley, Penhydd) I’d say CwmCarn – the climb is harder yes but going up the road is no different to going up Penhydd’s fireroad, but at Cwmcarn it’s safer going back down as there’s less places to fall down and the descents tend to be drawn out and less steep so the bike is less likely to run away from you…