dont know about the ones you’re looking at but i’ve got a 3 man one, not sure the model but i’ve had it for 9 years and its still going strong. used mainly for festivals/family/general camping trips etc. alloy poles are very good, came with good alloy pegs too. guy lines are fading and the floor needs some sealant applying as its starting to let in water a bit but otherwise good for the foreseeable future

home made muckynutz or neoguard-esque mud guards

Just off the phone to Thomson who have confirmed that the bike allowance is 23kg. If your bike bag weighs more you can book additional weight at the rates on the website up to 4 days before departure, otherwise it’s the ridiculously expensive excess baggage charges at the check in desk on the day with maximum weight of 32kg

ok seems like differing experiences. i’ve booked my bike on for £30 return but the guy on the phone said there was no weight limit! will try tomorrow and see if i can get a firm answer

cheers for replies – it sounds like they’re pretty relaxed about this which is what i like to hear! :)

756 rp23’s in 215x63mm sizing at £110. fill yer boots!

£38 inc VAT for my chameleon at Bettablast in North Tyneside. they do loads of bike frames so know what they’re doing about stripping/masking etc etc. really good finish too

i cant see why not you may have to adjust the front mech to accommodate the bigger diameter of chainring though

whistler bikepark is fantastic but if you are just going to ride green/blue runs you may get a little bored after a few days. imo it suits a dh rig and commitment to riding the big stuff, but you can have a great time in the area just by riding other trails like the xc stuff round emerald lake and at different spots like squamish as others have said above

I like it. Beats the retards on Radio 1 by miles and just can’t press the button on Radio 2 just yet…

wilko own brand plasticote stuff – costs a fiver or so and does a good job just thoroughly de-grease and rough up the old paint as people above said. i’ve done a few bits and bobs but not a whole frame with it as i tend to get frames powder coated for a harder wearing finish. a good powder coating will be £35-£50 depending on extras like forks etc too, but obviously the finish will be good. if it was a hack/commuter i’d be tempted just to spray with the plasticote stuff and if you c&ck it up you can get it powder coated and you’ve only lost a few quid

i’m thinking of switchbacks for a week early feb to escape the slush and put some dinks in my dh bike prior to starting a new job – interested in other/similar suggestions too

for a budget build go for halo spokes from winstanleys, built my wheel with them for less than £7 free delivery too

Its good – if you’ve ridden PDS downhills you’ll be fine. I rode the black/DH runs mainly on a rented Glory from Vertigo, and they chucked in knee pads/full face too. Try the miners path trail too if you can sort an uplift. Grundy was my favorite, steep off camber root fest :D

out on my ice spikers today too its mad how much grip you get on the slippy stuff! nice vid btw – where was it?

how did you get one for £12 shows up at £23.98 for me (which is still cheap enough!)

if you like a bit of DIY try building your own. I’ve built 2, one from recycled/salvaged timber (cost about £30 to build it) and the second using timber i bought from a local merchant (total about £120). took about two weekends for either, plus a bit of time to sort the recycled timber into usable/matching sizes. lots of guides online but i freestyled it a bit, mainly inspired by my dads sheds he built when we were kids. both are solid and way more secure than a B&Q shed for the same money

MW81’s here infinitely better than my old spesh shoes with merino liners/sealskinz/neoprene overshoes that i forced myself to wear until i bit the bullet. mine are 2 sizes too big to allow for thick walking socks and the fact they are a bit narrow like most shimano shoes. my feet have never felt so warm :)

i’d avoid karrimors imo – my bro bought a pair and they’ve split after a few months regular use. if you are in newcastle area blacks have a 50% off everything sale and had plenty of boots in yesterday

e13’s website had a guide u can measure yours and compare to confirm

ran mine for the first time at antur stiniog in the wet on sunday, on the front with an old high roller super tacky on the rear. seemed a little skittish on wet rocks on my first run of black powder so lowered the pressure a tad and it was fine all day. really happy with it, and was ok in the small sections of mud near the bottom too. seemed better in the mud than a high roller imo, but then again black powder is more rock than mud…

thebikechain – Member
gazc – do you need this one:

that looks like it – will check tonight to confirm cheers! :D

the latitude is not the one in the pic above. has two screw holes, and compatible with alptitude as well

Edinburgh bikes are a genesis dealer and told me that they’re no longer available for my one year old latitude. also emailed genesis direct twice and got no reply. luckily only wanting one as a spare so not desperate but its a pretty poor show by genesis and one of their dealers. think i’ll end up getting a wheels manufacturing one if i can find the one that fits

mine don’t fit a shimano bashring, but its old and a bit rough so i’m going to cut/file the bashring (not the spider!) to fit

oh you could also consider normal ie: non-oversize carbon bars – they’ll give more flex too

duane – i developed a ganglion on the joint of one of my fingers a few months ago which gave me chronic pain when riding my mtb, so much so i had to stop riding off road altogether at one point. i bought some ESI thick grips and they’ve totally stopped the pain i was getting, and the ganglion feels better now too. i’m getting it chopped out in a few weeks but i’m going to keep the grips on, they are really grippy too and i reckon spot on for alpine trips :) good luck!

agree with wwaswas if the slabs to fall towards the garage you need a drain the whole length of the garage or re-lay the slabs to fall towards the grass, both could cost a bit. maybe worth checking the drain isn’t blocked with bike washing detritus first and hence not draining?

it may be possible that if you report to the council they could enforce her to clear up her overgrown garden and hence drainage which will likely be blocked

also, if the water is definitely coming from her side and she’s not wanting to help sort it, you may have a case for claim on her part to help re mediate the problem – as she’s clearly not doing anything to stop water running off her land onto yours which is then damaging your property. you might want to discuss that with a proper legal person tho before sending the bailiffs/brother in law round… :D

as above, start small, get the shape/lips right then build bigger as you get experience :D

don’t do what some kids have done in my local woods and dig a trench across the entire width of an established trail and pile some dirt in front of it looking like someones gone hunting moles…

uturn sektors then just wind em down

got a 224 frame and parts i’m looking to sell soon if of interest. i like it but its a tad small (i’m 6ft its a small/medium) and am selling as just got a scalp frame to build up

single pivot so lively back end, jumps and pedals really well. email in profile if u want pics/info

general good manners to be nice to walkers/other trail users be it footpath/bridleway/BOAT/road/canal – they genuinely might be lost or not know the consequences of their actions. if they are a bunch of nobs so be it, karma will hunt them don’t and own them with bombers. much worse things happening in the world to worry about tbh

yodel is an utter pain in the proverbials… seems to be anyone who has a vague grasp of english and can drive can get a job as driver/delivery/customer service person

had a mare with city link once. bought a stem off a guy on southerndownhill, who sent it with city link in one of their own boxes. got to me with no stem inside, yet miraculously appeared untampered with – like some sort of cheesey david copperfield trick. he ended up claiming and refunding me but i’d never use them after that

Buy cheap, buy twice.

at 17 quid you can afford to buy ten times and it’ll still cost less than the big brands!!!

agree the chargers seem garbage on the cheap lights though, especially with a sketchy chinese adapter. got one of the £17 lights as a back up light to leave in the car, but intend on using my proper charger that came with my uk sourced light to charge the battery

main problem with my chinese ebay special is it has an extremely tight spot which i hate – going to tin foil the reflector to make a flood beam

didnt realise stans/joes had brought out schrader valves now… doh!

andyrm those valves sound good but your link doesnt work.

cheers!

oh and i want just coming to the idea of these gold ones too! nevermind :oops:

ah, hadn’t realised schrader valves come in different diameters! will send them a msg to check, and have a gander at those roval valves too. cheers!

150mm revs here

stayed at wraeburn cottage in thropton last weekend. a great place but maybe a bit big/pricey for the three of you (it sleeps 8 comfy) but it worked out less than £300 for the long weekend and you’ve got free reign of 720 acres of parkland. great views, good little village annd some good walks/rides on the doorstep at simonside/thrunton etc

really like mine. as above the bb is super low but got used to it now

also paint is a bit thin