if you dont mind the extra bit of driving kirroughtree is better than all those imo :-)

yep bouldering route, the clue helps find the pic to confirm :)

would do but i'm on a stag do over the weekend so no biking for me… :?

some pointers here:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/chopwell-woods-north-east-advice-please

have a good un! :)

doh, could've saved 5mins on wikipedia if i'd waited for this! :D

:D

garycartwrightAThotmail.com

i do except in the wet when i'm partial to a bit of 2 or maybe three action… :wink:

looks amazing, was tempted to try and sort some biking out when i was in ladakh but didnt have the time (had an amazing trek/climbing experience instead to make up for it!) :D really want to go to kerala now!

early 90's kona's/spesh's seem to be everywhere at mo. quill stems, canti's, eye bleeding colours etc cant go wrong with that :-)

definately worth a punt for 8quid. if you have the time (plus patience/skills) you can run cables to external aa battery holders. if you run 2 sets of 2 batteries in parallel they are much brighter and will get about 3 hours burn time with decent fully charged aa's. maplin good for all those bits

buy a van :wink:

ah i thought so… nee mind

kona cowan ds frame as well? dont forget rolhoff/alfine hubs need tensioners/ss dropouts too :wink:

llandegla – its just a big bmx track after all! :D

i've got recons set at 100mm in singlespeed mode! :oops:

plenty of decent riding there, maybe heading there tomoro night depending on work. the powerline trail runs from the car park so easy to find – about 2 miles of trailcentre type stuff but if you're more adventurous heres some quick directions below. theres logging in the main woods at the moment so some bits by the car park are innaccessible btw

head down powerline from car park, turn left on the road where you pop out after the first small section, go straight past the houses (round a gate) and take the second fireroad on the left (the one after where the big diggers are parked where the main fireroad bears right). head up hill and turn right onto singletrack opposite the little fence blocking the singletrack coming out of the logging area. follow this and cross a few fire roads till you pop out near the bottom of valley at a fireroad with a small clearing (braking zone!) in front of you. if you're more adventurous turn left and immediately right down a steep chute onto another fireroad, straight up the hill and explore the top of the ridge (plenty of steep trails here to the right, tiny bit to left). to get back to car park just head back up hill!

alternatively for a twisty singletrack section, where you turn right onto singletrack above carry on instead until you see some big wooden hands on the right. go behind these and follow twisty singletrack to fireroad (turn left brings back round)

alternatively, head out of the car park along the fireroad opposite the entrance. follow round a few corners/across a cross roads etc. where you hit a T junction with another fireroad go straight on on singletrack. turn left at end and follow fireroad to T junction by a big gate and turn right. follow fireroad (woods on right, fields on left) till you see a footpath sign and turn right onto singletrack – follow down, cutting back on/off fireroad till end where you pop out back on the same fireroad you climbed up.

from the start of that trail you can also head straight back down the fireroad into the woods and turn right where you see a wide trail with a jump split off. follow this and go straight over fireroad to the end. turn left to follow back to car park

hope that makes sense and have a good ride! :D

oops wrong forum

btw i approached on from blanchland then turned left onto more bridleways so i imagine i was at the top of the forest :-)

5 miles round trip every day (pathetic i know!)

yeah i think i'll go with the wanga – not much to upgrade as its pretty workhorse type stuff anyway, maybe upgrade the wheels and obviously tyres of choice…

singlespeedable a bonus too (feels a rohloff project coming on :wink: )

crank bolt washers – a shop tried charging me a quid each when i needed 5!

leisure lakes doing the crush with a slightly downgraded spec for a grand especially for c2w. if it was a p7 and i wasnt limited to halfords i'd go for it

i'm still deciding between a boardman pro and a voodoo wanga – looks a good bet if hung up over a boardman frame?

agree about the suspension forks, well some anyway – my £500+ revelations make knocking noises because rockshox 'forgot' to shim out the travel adjusters and it needs doing aftermarket… jokers

second surfing, got into it over last year and its great. depends on if you're near a good spot tho

raleigh rsp100 – had it since i was 16 and use it for commuting/pub bike/touring/shopping bike now. had it locked up next to an uber trendy fixie outside the pub last night which made me realise how uncool it is in fashion circles especially covered with old no fear and mbuk stickers and panniers… glad i decided to stick with it tho instead of getting a langster/flyer which i was toying on replacing it with and deciding to treat it to some new gears and cranks instead :D

oh i think it was 3 laps of about 6miles btw, and the location near the black sheep/theakstons brewerys makes it a winner also!

me and a few mates have done it for past few years – course is quite tame but good fun for any ability (some small sections of singletrack in the woods but mostly dirt/gravel tracks and grass – how often do you get to ride in a theme park!). we'll all be doing it on singlespeeds… :wink:

mines lasted 9 years and the bearings are still great – got it second hand for about £40 and its in its 3rd frame (hardtail xc) with me. probably spent twice that on cheap headsets on my old dh bike alone in the same time and my hope needs new bearings after 4 years. wouldnt pay £100 for it tho…

i run both as well – rp23 (and air rev's) for general riding/trail centres/peaks/xc and i'll stick the dhx coil (and my coil pikes) when heading somewhere more dh orientated ie: innerleithen/ae etc. ps: i got a rp23 from merlin @ £175 – can put the savings towards getting it tuned/pushed etc

can i get it on cycle to work scam and save 2k?

on one scandal – xc
cotic soul – xxc
on one 456 – xxxc
sc chameleon – xxxxc
dialled alpine – xxxxxc

i'd go for the cotic myself but that might not have enough x's… :wink:

may be interested – can you email me details (in profile)

cheers

ah forgot about the pompino – will check them out, ta

raleigh burner?

discs fine with 25x700c here – had a bit too much initial power on wet roads where the rear would skid upon a fine touch of the lever (bb7s/sd levers) but otherwise do the job :-)

tried the sintered on my xt’s (bought about 4months ago). bedded them in as per the instructions and low and behold, one of the pads fell to pieces the morning of an adventure race in the lakes which meant having to replace the set even though they were only a few rides old (luckily i noticed it but could have easily gone to ride without any brake material on one pad!)

the set on the rear have been fine and i’ve got one more set left so i’ll give it a go to get my moneys worth but not overly impressed and hope they can improve quality in the future

http://www.budapest.com/thermal-wellness/budapest-szechenyi_bath.htm

bolloxed that up

Szechenyi

stechnyani (have no idea hwo to spell it!) baths in the park are ace and outdoors too… great if its cold as the steam fills the courtyard too :)

looks like someones got a nice free trip on work time… i hope his garbage howies zips break in russia…

i’ll have a battery pack, cable and pouch (maybe 2)

garycartwright@hotmail.com

cheers