used to just use my bike bag (big one for plane travel) and stick my bike in there before putting in the car. out it came to wash it in the garden and back in to store in the house. sounds a pain, but had nowhere else to store it as it was a shared house and had to keep the car spotless (company car). took the pedals off an the whole lot went straight under the bed no problem. infact stored 2 bikes that way for a year till i moved out to somewhere with a spare room. bit of a PITA putting pedals on/taking off but meant i had them stored safe and didn’t knack the company car

food bag from the missus’s stash in the kitchen and a zip tie does the trick for me. suppose you could double bag it for extra protection

go for it! but if you’ve seriously never ridden flats off road before, i’d suggest going for a quick blast round your local woods/bmx track to get the feel for them first. you don’t want to hit the first jump flat out and lose your footing mid flight sending you somersaulting into a void of doom….

what about one of these alpkit Delta tents LINK

ok, they’re a bit compromised in the design as they clearly state, but its 60 quid and if you’re a bit handy you could mod it, and maybe not an issue if you’re a fair weather camper as the OP wants. plus the 40 quid saving would go towards a nice frame or saddle bag if you dont have one already

a mate has a gelert tent and it seems good too

I’ve got a vango superlight helium 200, which is perfect for me on me tod and can squeeze the missus in too so a bit more multifunctional than my old one man tent (cant remember model it was a mountain hardwear). also – agree on pack size being important. the helium is a tad heavier than my old tent but it certainly packs down a lot smaller so easier to get in the saddle bag

funny how a little mud separates the men from the boys (and weekend warriors/trail mincers)

never seen the issue with it, always ridden in all conditions and tbh i prefer wet/winter rides as it really tests your skills much more than in the dry. saying that nothing sucks more than riding to a jump trail/bmx track and finding the bombholes full of water :(

where are you based? i think for the dh bike rental to take off it’s best combined with uplifts – maybe an opportunity to get involved with local track development etc too. i’m heading down to antur stiniog in a few weekends time, a few of use have dh bikes but a few others don’t but are keen as mustard to have a bash. not even sure if they rent dh bikes from the website too

don’t a few shops already do this? a friend of a friend hired a sunday from pearce cycles to give it a go, and i think the shop in innerleithen hire bikes too. possible gap in the market at other locations?

i hired a glory in queenstown as i only had my hardtail with me. definitely the best £30 i spent last year :D

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a **** big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed- interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of **** fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit- crushing game shows, stuffing **** junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing you last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, ****-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life… But why would I want to do a thing like that?

do it

got a pair of esi chunky’s after i developed a painful ganglion on my right little finger. never liked the thought of foam grips before but they’re a revelation and sorted the pain i was getting previously with lock ons, which was that bad i had to avoid riding :(. nice and grippy too. got an appointment to take the lump off in a few weeks but will be definitley keeping them on – only problem i can see is they’re a little prone to damage from tearing/rips etc

got a 2.2 geax datura from on-one on the front of my hardtail. it’s mahoosive compared to my other 2.2inch tyres and a bargain at £14 a pop. it’s pleasantly grippy in the mud in my local woods, with a 2inch mud x on the back not had any problems yet. seems ok on roots/rocks too. but then again i’ve not had chance to give it a proper mag approved test on a gnarly rock strewn trail or a double hip to 180 degree tight berm combo to comment on the sidewalls/compound stability/knob flex etc. no punctures too. amazing!

if you keep you bike inside – it depends on what colour marks you want to put on the wall and get a bollocking from the missus for. i’d go white esi’s!

we do secret santa in our office, but leading up to this years barrage of badly wrapped, generally crap but often hilarious presents my colleagues who organize it have decided that the old limit of £5 per person is now insufficient – apparently too many ‘not serious’ and ‘cheap’ presents were bought last year which ‘weren’t in the spirit of christmas’. now they want to up it to £25 a person. not meaning to sound a scrooge but £25 – WTF?! i’ve told em to eff off or i’ll just sacrifice the shite present to save myself the bother and the cash

got mine the other week for £95 with dizzy code from CRC – could just about justify them at that price but tbh they have been a revelation. loads warmer than my spesh shoes and overshoes and certainly warmer in the wet and grippier to walk in than overshoes. definitely go one size up than normal – mine have plenty of room for thicker socks unlike my summer shoes and probably another factor to help keep feet toasty

among other things i ride DH. not built my new scalp up yet, but professional exams are in the way at the moment so all is on hold till they’re sorted. itching to get out again and can’t wait to get the scalp up and running and finally have a DH bike that actually fits me!

Baaaarnsley. although lost it now after moving around the country a few times and now i’ve got some annoying accent comprising a mix of yorkshire/geordie. still go back into proper barnsley accent when i’m back home and cant say anything starting with h properly. my girlfriend and southern mates can’t understand my granddad…

2 1/2 in spare room, 5 in sheds and 2 plus a huge box of bits in a lock up. need to organise myself a bit better methinks….

my choices:

xc – bib longs with 3/4 semi waterproof shorts

dh uplift/push in rain – dh race pants full length

if its a narrow frame 120mm or so you could try an old sturmey archer hub as they were narrower, possibly with spacers/washers if too narrow!

thinking of doing this too so interested to hear how people got on

oh and my mates dad made me a brace that goes between the trailer wheel stays and the top bit of the frame to make it more rigid. handy if u know a welder! :)

i’ve got one and its good, but the qr is knackere so waiting to get the better one from crc. mate has a yak and its definately better made, but if u ony want it for odd missions the ebay one is definately up for the job

he’s just replied to me within an hour on ebay so cant fault that :)

unfortunately my local bearing shop shut down a few years ago, good source for my old frames and hub bearings for sure

will try airbournes, cheers!

i run mud x for general winter mud, but trailrakers work great in super sloppy stuff if its getting really horrific out. only thing is that not sure if can run them tubeless – i had them on before i switched…

bar end shifters on my cross check commuter. went from singlespeed too in similar scenario (run 3 x 9 although never use the granny). easy to plug in just take your tape off and retape it up after with plenty of electrical tape in the bend of the bars :)

unless you have to go to sunderland, go to tynemouth, much nicer :)

if you can get an early start its doable in a day. if not, 2 days easy. good bivvy spot at hartside near some mine workings, 1km or so north-ish of the hairpin in the road on the way up just before the cafe – on OS 1:50k map

as for start, theres a good little bunk house near whitehaven its on lakeland camping barns website. cheap but u’ll need u sleeping bag (which i presume you’ll have anyway if bivvying!) :)

if you can get a cheap van do it yourself. that way you can get it exactly how you want it. but expect to spend about £2k on the build, so you’re looking at a basic van for £3k to keep it in budget. check out rainbow conversions, bluebird, and camper forums for ideas/fittings etc

we did this with our camper – 1986 VW T25. much better than decrepit 1980’s/90’s beige interiors and stuff you’d just want to replace anyway

cheers for the heads up i’ll be there with a box of bits, tyre mountain and a few frames/wheels :)

never used to wear knee pads for riding xc/trails but have always ridden dh with shins and knee pads and have plenty of scars for when i haven’t had them on too. recently got some kyle straits after shredding my knee on an xc ride and they’re so much more comfortable than i expected, fine for riding all day in. no way would i ride all day in my dh pads. but then again i wouldn’t wear them for all my riding either, just when there’s a likely chance i’d plant my knee onto some sharp rocks or doing jumps

OP – are you selling the levers? i need a pair so could be interested if you are, would obviously help fund new brakes as well. email in my profile, thanks

I’ve got a cross check and the only thing i don’t like is not having disc tabs – however thinking of putting a planet x kaffenback fork on it with a new front wheel. its only used for commuting but i like how versatile it is, rack, guards the works. intend to do some road tours on it in the future (like LEJOG), we use our mtbs for actual touring as do more off road routes. much more comfier to ride than my jake the snake set up in CX/road mode

me and my girlfriend did a tour of the picos, starting from santander, which was great and may be worth checking a similar route? we headed along the coast on minor roads via san vincent and santillana del mar (worth a visit), then inland and round to potes, up to fuente de and over the picos plateau back to the coast via smaller villages and got a train back to santander. about 10 days with chilled out days too. all fine on touring bikes except maybe the picos crossing. you can get the telecabin uplift but its a rocky/gravel track the rest of the way. the mountain nearby was worth the climb too, great views of naranjo de bulnes. the garganta del torres walk was a good day off as well – you can’t ride it unfortunately

this looks like good fun http://www.modelsport.co.uk/maverick-ion-xt-1-18-rtr-electric-truggy/rc-car-products/367885. 1/18th scale so won’t need loads of space too

my second hand flows on hope pro 2’s have been faultless and a hell of a lot easier to set up tubeless than previous mavic rims i had. only problem is the hub really and the fact the freehub body is made of cheese, so either buy xt cassettes or a steel one if you get them

will keep an eye out too – if anyone knows the shop maybe they can put a list up of what was taken?

using a sdg i beam post and saddle. not bent yet and the saddle weighs nowt

only got a 2 mile commute so ride in work trousers and a t shirt, put a shirt on at work. dead easy just to put waterproofs over the top if its raining too. only downside is a few pairs of trousers have worn through in the crotch/inner thigh

my dad and brothers have had patterdales since we were kids. great little dogs, some have been working lines too. just make sure you train them well, and as skink2020 says if you have any other pets keep them well locked up

PS: i might have a pdf of the book (maps aren’t great but the info is the same) – email me if you want it as the book is hard to get hold of :-)

done it a few times bikepacking the route so staying in bothies/bivvies/campsites and living on dry packed food and haribo. get hold of the book if you can in addition to your gps, will give you some optional routes/diversions in case of inclement weather/soaked ground etc rather than following a gps track

if you’re not into bikepacking the lightweight gear crowd defo get support – you don’t want to be bombing down lakes descents or scrambling up black sail pass with fully loaded panniers! :-)