thanks to fraz and the crew if they even read this. also to lee who helped me bodge a my snapped rear mech together to use as a chain tensioner with parts from his broken slx mech at the bottom of the feed station climb. made it round with one gear fine! left you a beer and the b-hanger thing at the caravan which fitted the description you gave me :)
gaz

i’ve got a lwb vauxhall vivaro minibus. massive inside way bigger than a T5 bandwagon. taken rear seats out and putting a crash tested r&r bed in the back from JDS metaltech, its already fully glazed/carpeted/insulated/lit. will do a sink/gas cooker and storage when i get round to it. converted a van before so it’s all in hand. building a boot in the rear for the bike to go in side on with wheels off, but can always add a rack (hence the lwb – for the extra 500mm). when i save enough cash and have a mrs in tow i’ll put a pop top on it, for me on my own with my daughter it’s perfect, she loves sitting in the front looking out the window, and can seat 3 in the front fine. will be taking it round wales, scotland, the lakes, and hopefully spain next winter. no way would i go back to a car no good for anything than just driving about in

rossendalelemming – too true. gotta be hard on the other side of the fence mind i was talking to one girl about the whole situation (we’re on tinder, but didn’t meet through it she’s an ex of a mate so not going there..) and she gets barraged with spam everyday. they just put that on to put off the extreme sex pests i reckon

Welcome to the hell hole that is online dating. I’ve got a co-dominant after me at the moment. Going for a drink on Monday with her see what happens… Hopefully she’ll get the note about the knickers ;)

I actually got a reply from a girl the other day saying she really liked me but I was ‘too nice’, she wanted to play the field before settling down. How the hell can I be too nice. Maybe I should buy an Audi, upload only pics of me on the piss with my mates and send out pics of my nob as an icebreaker…

this happened to my old focus. scrap yard for the door £90. put it on myself there and left them the old one. respray was about £80 locally and actually did a decent job. then again i’m not fussy and wasnt holding on for any resale value

aye good to see some t25’s unfortunately having to sell mine due to having to move down to one vehicle (newly found single…) :(

VW T25 1986 – 30th this year! :)
Subaru EJ2.0 converted with full RJES kit
I took the old basic interior out and replaced it myself, all new units/SMEV cooker/sink/LED lighting/insulation/crash tested R&R bed etc
mpg – ? 25-30 ish
tax £200 ish insurance £275
had it 6 years and its passed every MOT fine except for a bulb out once
usual service & odd jobs £100-£200 a year
value – well had it valued at £5-6k but lets see what happens. it has loads of ancillaries too (awnings/bike rack/spare wheels & tyres etc)

probably slept in it 300nights and its saved me and my ex a fortune in campsite/hotel/b&b costs for holidays, weddings etc as well as being an awesome base at festivals & the dyfi. never let us down except once when the head gasket went & the cost of getting that engine rebuilt triggered the subaru conversion. to be honest the subaru is head and shoulders above the old vw 1.9 that was in it, drives much more like a modern van and cheaper to run too

gonna be a sad day when he goes

i preferred my old 26inch bike to my 29er for fun stuff/jumps/trail centre bashing but preferred the 29er for big days out. in either case the 650b does both well – best of both worlds i reckon

ygm

sorry smith ones not spy

i’ve got some decent nick spy ones you can have for £7 posted so i can get a pint. i prefer my 10 year old oakleys

agree on all of the above. from what i remember simple bar was class and the baths are awesome, open in an evening too for sitting out under the stars :) the market is great too

cheers just got last pair 10.5’s

i’m the unexpected visitor on the blog btw!

had a great time in and around el berro – met a chap called pitu who runs this website below he’s a qualified mtb guide and knows all the trails like the back of his hand. can tailor routes for all abilities not just ‘enduro’
sierra espuna enduro

i’ve got the 800mm spike dh vibrocores on my DH bike with ESI chunky’s. suffer from ganglions in my small finger joints on both hands and ESI chunky’s on my previous sunline bars still gave me issues. only had a few outings on them so far but not had any arm pump or ganglion issues using them. going to get some for my trail bike when i can afford them :)

kye forte was on sprung 5

but there’s some seriously fast guys in there & imaging forte and lacondeguy will be styling it up

i live nearby and usually out riding there wednesday nights or odd weekends with a few other folk. not had chance to make it out with the tumbler lot as they’re out thursdays, and i usually ride a longer way home via beamish woods/dipton woods then. happy to show you around though, but not out tonight as busted my ankle at a festival at the weekend… :oops:

the jump you’re talking about got knocked down by the forestry buy happy to show you where it is in case it gets reincarnated :wink: it was canny massive mind! they’ve been knocking down a few of the jumps/drops on some of the off piste stuff which is a bit of a shame as some of them were really fun trails, but they’re all rideable still

saying that there’s loads of other stuff to ride, from flowing rooty trails, to jump tracks and proper steep gnar at the bottom (around/near the ridge you mention), mostly under the radar so best to be shown really. pretty sure most of the established trails are on strava now though

drop us an email (in profile) if you want and i can see when i can make it down

done the woodcock route a few times, in 3 1/2 days each time bivvying with all our gear. first time solo & navigating off a dodgy printed map and second time with a few mates following a gps route (thank god!). it’s hard going, but if you enjoy a challenge very rewarding. quite a bit of hike-a-bike in the lakes but made up by cracking views and hairy descents :) dales is easy mileage, and NY moors make a really nice blast over to robin hoods bay

usually camp in boot campsite (pub next door), mosedale cottage bothy (route goes right past it just before drop to shap), and osmotherley campsite for the chippy. there’s a bunk house in st bees (lakeland camping barns i think) which is cheap and good if you arrive the evening before you plan to ride

i get the train to st bees and back from whitby which makes it pretty easy to DIY it without a support crew, but if you weren’t too interested in carrying gear you could try the rat race c2c version too although it’s pretty pricey imo/not my cup of tea

i’d be keen to take lights this time of year too – i wouldn’t want to be stuck out on the moors in the dark

i’ve got a nukeproof scalp – 26inch but only £550 for the frame from crc. think merlin had boxxer wc’s for £500 or so, leaves a lot of cash to build exactly how you like

really like mine, bit on the heavy side but awesome on the rough stuff and on big jumps/drops – feels indestructible. i’ve taken it to spain for a week of DH with switchbacks and even fitted a 1 x 10 drivetrain & a long seatpost to ride it enduro style with 600m+ climbs :D but over here usually ride hamsterley as its just down the road with occasional trips to scotland & wales

if you’re gonna do BPW/Antur other trail centre type uplifted trails maybe a 6inch or so bike would be better (i went to BPW in spring and my scalp was total overkill except for the big jumps and maybe the fifty shades of black trail!), but for proper DH then a proper DH bike is definitely worth while – if you have the cash/desire why compromise yourself?

technical author – basically i research stuff and write it up for our clients enjoyment, almost like being back at uni. very laid back office and well paid. really enjoy it & learn new stuff constantly :D

the current trail routes as marked out are useless – you really need to do the black and add the good bits of the red/off piste on to get the most out of it, but it’s pretty hard to describe without actually showing you or following a GPS route. i really like riding there, but if it’s you’re first time and you just rode the red it could put you right off as its mostly fireroad and the black is a bit short. lots of the sections are easy to double back on and do again (ie: transmission>nitrous>accelerator then back up the fire road to blast it again). roots 66 is my favorite bit – proper tech climb with a fast rooty descent, very challenging in the wet. new oddsox bit is ok too, shame they sanitised pikes teeth would have been better to keep the old rooty trail and build the new bmx track next to it

if you can download legolam’s route that would be the best start. if its dry the off piste stuff is definitely worth doing but you will need a local to show you

alternatively if you like tech give descend a call (check facebook) as they have uplifts running on the DH tracks tomorrow – we’re there friday :)

i had to bleed my girlfriends LX brake with finish line wet chain lube whilst we on a bike tour in Spain a few years ago (we were miles from anywhere and only had bikes as transport). worked surprisingly well for the remaining 200+ miles including rocky mountain roads AND she didn’t die! :) reverb oil is pretty much the right stuff in comparison to that!

i’m 6ft and have an XL/20inch st on the way. having compared geometries with my el guapo 26’er it should have the same reach with a 35mm stem as my el guapo with a 60mm stem and only 0.5inch on the seat tube so no problem for getting the reverb at the right height. tried a 35mm stem on the el guapo and really like it’s handling, except for the fact its waay too short for longer rides. fancied a bird but bit out of my price range (need money for wheels too)

had a look at a medium TR and a large AM in a local shop. the large mega am seemed a good fit with a 50mm stem on, and apparently its 10mm or so longer in the top tube than a TR…

EDIT: and if its this one you’re talking about it does say it comes with a Monarch RT3 custom tune :D

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-mega-tr-275-rockshox-monarch-2014/rp-prod106879

i have both – flows on my hardtail/general trail full susser and ex721’s on my dh bike

both have been good for me, but my mates who run flows on dh bikes have complained they ding too easily at the lower pressures. the ex 721’s are brilliant on dh bike – easy to swap tyres/fix punctures quickly at an uplift (rarely) but the rear has a few dings/flat spots now

my rough indy c’s went on ebay for about £15 plus post

for the people who haven’t figured out how to deal with an odd seatpost size frame

seat post shim – works for everyone else

friends of outs also took 18month to thailand for a few months similar to above experience flying out/back

tooks ours away when she was about 8months, luckily had a big bunch of grannies sat around us who loved her to bits and babysat her for an hour whilst we chilled out and on the way back too as our flights coincided with theirs! air hostesses were great too – no problems with babys crying its the stag do w&nkers who annoy me ;)

wylams a pretty safe place (safer than ryton or blaydon as far as i know) – there’s a car park right next to the cycle path towards hexham near the train station which should be ok, can’t remember seeing any no overnight parking signs on my way through and it’s plenty big enough

link

EDIT: if i had a big drive/no street parking issues you could park it here but sadly not the case – plus it’d be about an hour off road mtb to wylam :)

can’t see the point of spending more
– to impress the other parents!

ha we let the skills do the impressing round here :P

our daughter absolutely loves bezzing about on her trax bike we bought off here for £12. she’s 18months old and quite small for her age – far too small for a proper bike yet but no doubt she’ll be away on one in a year or so. one of these and a bargain for £25 now :D can’t see the point of spending more they’re only kids after all and hardly chasing strava times or getting airborne (yet) :wink:

link

we have a fiamma rack on our van and a croozer kid for 2 – not done it yet but was planning on fitting it on exactly like stoners bottom pic for our trip to scotland next week. the bumpers should be in the best position to strap to the bottom rail and over the bikes using a few ratchet straps i reckon, also misses the pedals nicely :)

i’ll probably put a strap around the croozer too so the top flap can’t undo and spill its guts out into the path of cars behind… 8O

cheers guys got a couple of leads to go with now. open to any options really, just carbon bars were first thought. like the steering damper but may be a bit overkill mind but i’ll keep in mind if it persists! cheers :)

hora – set up of bars/stem/brake levers is no different to other bikes except maybe levers a tad higher for steeper stuff. gonna have a play with the set up again on some local stuff over the weekend but its only the big fast descents which start the ganglion pains off sadly

if i do go for new bars looks like sixc or the enve if i’m feeling flush or the spank spike vibrocore if i can hold out till end of may!

i went in at lunch today to check out some bars and asked about servicing – £95 for a boxxer service which is on par with others i’ve seen without having to send them off. pretty sure one of my mates has had his done there and he’s not reported any problems

hora – using ESI chunky’s and POC dh gloves with the knuckle & palm protection, plus hope tech m4’s & 200mm rotors for DH. 2.7 tyres, boxxers set up nice and squidgy. the brakings not really the issue its vibrations when riding fast on relatively smooth but rocky surfaces which really set the ganglions off. its weird not like arm pump which i get as well on big steep descents and can handle, but when it sets in i can barely hold onto the bars :(

cheers chaps had a look at thomson and renthals at the bike shop today but think the sixc are going to top of the list. thomson didnt seem quite as nice as the renthals

jimification – tried all that. thanks

Spank Oozy Vibrocore bars look pretty good and save some cash too – nice one :)

cheers fudge

thought of the on-one knuckleball chewy but its not as wide as i’d like for the dh bike. tempted to get one for the trail bike mind as the old ones getting a bit long in the tooth now

cheers will be 31.8mm unless i get a new stem too