Honorable George, what a well worded response. Totally in tune with the question I asked at the start which was why do people do it? Quality answer also, I suppose it could be previous injuries, sick pay if it goes tits up, anything really.

I would have said something mate but the bloke was a bit older than me and I didn’t want to seem like I was telling him what to do and I still totally respect the each to their own philosophy.

Don’t use Strava chaps, bit geeky for me and not the best with tech, however I could post mountain mayhem podium results and photos.

Don’t assume that someone can’t ride because you don’t agree with the post…..
;)

No Vicky, they are using the full face for the whole 1 hour loop, including the climb.

All the best,
Lee.

You get up out of bed on the wrong side this morning Andypandy? Or are you a secret storm trooper??
;)

Calm yourself down squire, threads like this keep singletrack ticking over. As you can see with the amount of people who agree and disagree is pretty even, so the thread is viable and allows people to discuss.

The thing here is, people can wear whatever they want, if you had of read my post you would have seen I actually said its mint that everyone is getting out. All I asked was what is the reasoning? Especially when hauling that amount of stuff was visably causing these fellas issues for the 20 min climb while knackering them out before they get the chance to exploit the benefits of the jousting kit on the way down.

If threads like this wind you up mate then read others, freedom of speech same as your comment fella. Now how about you go and put your dummies back in you handlebar basket……

As a few have said it seems to be that some people find it easier to ‘have a go’ than to ‘give a compliment’. Would love to know how many guys who have a moan actually ride their bikes. The lad is a top jockey and he is throwing a 29″ around like its a jumps bike.

Give him a break and get off your sky scraper size horses…..

Regardless of how you get it there mate, you will not be disappointed. Nobody and I mean nobody does aftercare/customer service like Hope does.

They are on another level.

Your wheel will come back good as new if not new so don’t have any hesitation about what they will do when they receive it.

Hopefully others on here have had similar experiences with Hope over the years and will back up what I’m saying. Top set of lads…..

Stoner,
That Cow Shed is mint!!!!!

Shows what can be done with a bit of imagination. Where did you get that Gucci stove from?

All the best,
Lee.

Loving it so far!
Not sure if the missus would love it when she goes to grab her bikes and she saw a mini Olympics set up!!

:D

I know its not a mainstream frame but anyone done this?

Cheers,
Lee.

Well said Scott!

@Scottifitz

In all honestly mate my reply was not aimed at you. Your reply was constructive and well worded. It was with the earlier ones that I highlighted and felt brought nothing to the discussion other that antagonising comments that were placed even after the Op complimented the teams work.

I did also used to live nr Qe2 Park and used to ride there often so while I am not emotionally attached I still know the area you guys are referring to.

All the best,

Lee.

I would like to add a non emotionally attached opinion to this thread from someone who ain’t bringing ‘feelings’ into replys.

Benmoto simply described some conditions, asked a perfectly valid question and then passed on his findings of sustainability when riding the trail through bad weather.

From there, certain indvuduals have had a go at him for riding it in the first place even though that’s his only real way of finding out for himself what conditions are like. Then, when he asks about the reasoning behind not going for a trail centre surface people start busting his balls!

‘Don’t ride it when you know damm well it’s in poor condition and then bitch’

‘How many build days have you been on?’

Did you not read what he said? Even when he tried to explain himself and complemented you on the work you had put in you still carry on? Listening to feedback fellas is the way we constantly improve. I was always taught in my line of work that if you receive 1 question or more after undertaking a task then there may be room for improvement. I reckon Rowen Sorrell must think the same as places like Llandegla are constantly changing.

Give the bloke a break.

@cx monkey

And to you mate! It’s nice when two people can lock horns on here and not turn things into personal attacks which unfortunately seems to be happening more often.

I also totally agree with you about enjoying the race. I had a right laugh and rode in conditions that I can honestly say tested my ability and my confidence. Iv ridden in worse conditions but never raced in worse. This race will be remembered by me as crying laughing trying to hold on ;)

@cx monkey,
Your right mate, no need for us to be arguing the toss, there is enough of that sort of thing that goes on here! I do totally respect your views as I hope you can mine. Big race, different perspectives and everyone is entitled to their opinion. I know what happened from where we were stood however you saw what you saw.

I actually left as they were lining the trophies up on the table. We needed to get back to Liverpool and when we saw Chris chatting to small pockets of people we decided that we thought he owed the hardcore 20 who were left an explanation instead of just talking to a few, especially as we had been asking for updates since four.

Our transporter pulled out of there at 1756 as I remember clocking the time on the dashboard as we drove out. He must have done the vote a few mins later.

I do a lot of races, some in the UK and some in Belgium and I believe that if Chris had of kept the big group informed about what he was doing at around five, then not as many would of walked off or been left in the dark. I also think there would have been a lot more understanding about the re runs. It’s my opinion and that of those who were with me, two of those getting on two separate podiums.

I do however appreciate yours and I am genuinely sorry if it comes across like I am forcing my opinion on you. I was just trying to respond constructively to your initial message.

All the very best,
Lee.

@ CX Monkey.

Mate, I was there with five others and I raced it also. There were loads of people going back up for re-runs. I lost count of the amount of people who were in the twenties and thirties who asked me could they pass me at the start due to being told to come back for a re-run due to no time being registered.. Also, my missus and the girl who come second we’re told no time had been allocated and they needed to go back to the start. On arrival with Dan Atherton he was told to go and then my missus and her fellow competitor were told that the course was now closed, so at that point they had no times.

When the boards of results went up initially both my missus and the no 2 female had been given results of DNF due to no times being recorded. On the point that we left at 1800 hrs they had one time recorded and my missus was given 2nd because of it. They were just about to hand out the prizes when we give up and went home so we suspected that her 1st place had been given out as that’s what they said was going to happen.

The prize giving was meant to be at 1600 mind so 2 hrs with not a microphone announcement or a guy jumping on a table and explaining is quite frankly, a shambles. So for you to say that it was only 1 person effected is wrong. That’s all that you knew about but as you can see on here there were loads of people affected, including Dan Atherton who when we were chatting to him and Gee he was completely finished with the amount of riding he had to do.

There is no point making excuses here. Riding was amazing. old School, rooty and down right fun. Organisation when things started to fall apart was not even good enough to be called bad.

Go on, be honest, did you hear any public announcement of what we going on in the two hrs we stood around like lemons waiting for a straight answer while the guy sat in his caravan typing away?

If you did then we must have been at a different event. This is not a hard thing, I ski race also and in 6 years of competition only once has the timing gone tits due to a holiday maker crashing through the start gate.

It needs to get better for the money we pay.

Awesome story about your mate and Gee Atherton! That’s what this Enduro shiz should be all about…..

And if they can sort out the timing then this will be what everyone is talking about.

+1 for what’s the Italian method? However should we have to resort to other methods when the one they have bought in is supposedly used in ski racing etc….. Bet Bode Miller would not see the funny side if his faultless run went missing or they made him jump back on the cable car for another quick ‘nip down’ ;)

I have done a bit and maybe with the exception of Innerleithen I would say that this course was up there on the tasty scale. If not completely by obstacles alone it was definitely there with weather conditions!

Generally good organisation but some points need addressing. No marshal in the middle of stage 1 but a 50 ft barrier that a lot of lads didn’t know which side to go on.

The cutting of the course also made for crazy numbers to be appearing in front as many rode up the road to stage 2 instead of through the 5km of red route singletrack and a prize giving that didn’t happen till 2 hrs after the planned time as none of the timing equipment had worked. For £45 snoots I would have expected a better event.

For instance my missus won the females race but her prizes have been given to the girl who finished 2nd as at the point of the prize giving they had only one timed section registered due to the faulty timing equipment. Many had to do their runs again including Dan Atherton who told me he had to re-run 9 times!! Not great when you justify the events price on superior timing equipment….

Trails though were great and the mud made for some interesting jockeying. I totalled my
brakes on the start of Saturdays practice so rode the course blind on the Sunday, some very scary seat of pants moments on stage 2 and 3. Notably the carved out gulley that threatened to take my pedals away and possibly my
Crown Jewels also!

Don’t get me started Oliver!

It is a lot trickier then I thought after proposing at the Chapelle Jacourt ride overlooking Mt Blanc last year. We are using a lovely place called the ‘farmhouse’ http://www.thefarmhouse.co.uk to host the wedding, however hiring a local celebrant is tricky and the local priest speaks little English.

Another thing is that unless you can prove that you live there for 40 days a year then you need to get legally married in the UK first before the French Government will allow you to get married over there!

Epic! Still, super excited and would not change it for the world. Why? You thinking of popping the question? ;)

I would be if I could find this hidden gems! ;)

Been coming to the Portrs Du Soleil for 7 years now and the most epic day with the exception of the passportes if you classing distance is Morzine to Lavey La Bain Health Spar In Switzerland. That is a great feeling to arrive there and then take advantage of the lasy river :)

If you know anymore wilderness trails for this summers trip then I’m all ears, especially since me and the missus are getting married in Morzine in August…….

That sounds like a killer build. Forgive me if I’m wrong but it sounds like the perfect bike for an overnight Haute stop on a two day epic trip across the Portes Du Soleil, finishing at Lake Geneve.;) If you would be so kind to put some pics up once its done that would be much appreciated.

I have the current Havoc Carbon 750mm set up and 50mm stem on my El Guapo but would be interested to know how you get on with the 800mm new ones!

All the best,
Lee.

Schweiz,

Really sorry about your frame mate. You must be gutted but I must say you are dealing with things with a high amount of decorum, as seems to be the case for CRC. Fair play.

When we had a similar incident a few years ago we were not so lucky. Me and the lads from my Military Cycling Club ordered a load of parts for a bike race in the Alps. The stuff arrived and there was not a tyre that had not been slashed with what seemed to be some sort of Stanley knife/blade, the tyres were all the wrong make and size anyway, my Chris King headset was not in the box, the DH inner tubes were missing as were all the arm pads.

I don’t know if this was a rogue employee who took a dislike to £2000 worth of stuff going to a BFPO address but it took heaven and earth to get a refund from CRC. They tried to make us prove that we hadn’t done it/lost it and kept referring to the guys signature that was on the check list that was against the parts that we ordered, so they must have gone out.

From that day I try to avoid CRC as they lost my trust when we needed them most. This is nothing against CRC, it would have been the same if it had have been Wiggle or anyone else for that matter.

Once again though looks like they have come up trumps for you and its the least you deserve.

All the best,
Lee.

In Woolys defence when I started riding in the early 90’s everyone called them ‘Front Forks’. Even the brochure that I had for my activator II referred to the as ‘Front Forks’

However, it is 2013 and from what I can remember you never owned an ‘Activator’ I or II so you should hang your head in retro shame.

On another note I ain’t got a clue about what your going on about tech wise but it sounds between yourself, Bear Back and Extreme dude that you have got that side well covered…..

Ciao

If your running 3 x 9 it’s nothing to do with your set up. My missus had this problem and had it adjusted to perfection by 2 good mechanics. Regardless every time she dropped into the granny ring it would get jammed around the bb and the chain stay.

Spoke to On One and asked why they said it would work with 3 x 9 as it as ruining the frame by taking chunks out of it. They said the info is out of date on the website and apologised. Moved to 2 x 10 and its never happened again.

Hope this helps a bit,

Other than that, lovely little frame…..

All the best,

Lee.

Neal, there is no toned down attitude towards a company that carries on shipping products that they know to have faults that are not fixed via firmware updates and are actually causing units to go into a frozen state. My comment earlier was referring to Andy and that the fact that it has nothing to do with a shop who are a mere cog in the sale of the goods.

I have based my opinion on the fact that many people are saying the exact same thing. You obviously have not taken the time out to look at them but instead like a few fan boys on here would prefere to call things minor when they clearly aren’t. So you can see what some real rants are like over this product I will pick you two at random:

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars New GP3B doesn’t work. GP not responding.., December 28, 2012
By Butler S. Cox (Colorado) – See all my reviews
This review is from: GoPro HD HERO3: Black Edition (Camera)
1) Can’t turn GP3B on without removing and re-installing battery each time you want to take pictures or videos.
2) Can’t turn it off after you do the above.
3) Even without using the camera, a fully charged battery will completely discharge in less than a couple of hours.
4) Battery sometimes gets too hot to touch! So when doing the above it needs to sit and cool for quite a while before it can be handled
5) GoPro does not respond to support queries
5) Study all the complaints on the web and you’ll discover many buyers are having similar issues.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Gopro fails, January 6, 2013
By ed skieens (CUTTEN, CALIFORNIA, US) – See all my reviews
This review is from: GoPro HD HERO3: Black Edition (Camera)
I’m on my third and what will be my last gopro black 3. I’ve been dealing with these headaches since the beginning of Nov., same issues as stated on prev. reviews. Freezing, overheating, stops recording, etc. on all three.

Here’s a couple new complaints from me…the anti fog inserts…. It would be nice if they didn’t decompose while inside the camera case.

The back panel for the battery…it’s a real pain to get it open at times. Sitting in a snowstorm having to “reset” my camera and not having that panel pop off made for some colorful language from me at the time. Now times that experience by about 50 and that’s where I’m at now.

For the record I have done the hard reset many times, did the latest firmware update standard the first time, then proceeded to do the manual update, I have in use a sandisk class 10, 32 & 64 card.

When the cameras have worked I do like them. I would be willing to hang in there and give gopro a chance. I cannot do that now. Not after seeing how gopro treats their customer base. It’s my impression that they are knowingly selling faulty cameras and then stringing unhappy customers along until there 30 days to return are over. I have to say that I’ve never seen a company practice business…. as gopro does. Seems to me if they don’t change their ways that this Pandoras box they call the Hero 3 could be gopro’s downfall.

There’s still time GOPRO , mine and a whole lot of other eyes are watching you close….

Best of luck,
Just one of many dissatisfied customers.

andy,

If you read this thread fully you will see that iv already sent it back. I have no issue with the shop, or any shop for that matter. One of my closest friends owns his own independent bike shop and offers a great service.

This was a warning to others to understand there are issues with the black model worthy of the CEO to apologise. If people are happy to spend their money after knowing they then that’s their decision.

Neal, do you have shares in Go Pro?

It may be fine for me to deal with the shop, however you may have people who have slipped out of their shop receipt and need to deal with Go Pro, or actually want it to work so maybe are persevering and ringing/emailing to stop having to get an exchange/refund. It’s being pro active.

You also keep quoting stuff that has not been said. Why are you going on about figures? I have said that I’m warning people who may be buying into something that is going to give them more hassle than its worth.

I don’t have figures of how many they have sold, or how many they are having problems with, but what I do know is that on their Facebook page they have 1082 complaints related to the CEO’s apology.

Neal,
You need to read it in relation to how it was written. It’s not a disaster for me, as I said its going back tomorrow. It’s a disaster for Go Pro as there are literally thousands of people sending their units back. How can that not be a disaster for a company a few months into a product launch?

And if Go Pro were to class it as a minor inconvience then that attitude would be fitting to how they ended up in this mess in the first place!

There seems to be a lot of people defending them on here, maybe you have had a great experience, I haven’t. All I have done is make people aware so if they spend there money on one they may have a unit that doesn’t work, takes 70 mins to get a phone call answered, a week for an email and a return to a shop, like the thousands of us who are faced with it.

Bottom line, these Blacks retail at £359, many have a manufacturing defect, CEO makes an apology, Go Pro carry on shipping them! If you think that’s fair then there’s nothing I can say here.

Nice one Dazz,

Nice to see someone seeing what I’m seeing instead of just telling me how great there’s is! Disaster is an understatement. Mine is heading back to the shop tomorrow for a full refund.

Go on Wiggle mate and look up Halo Sports Wash. The kid who invented it did it to fight MRSA in hospitals so it will take the smell out of anything!! £5.99 for a bottle that does 25 washes. Hundreds of people have literally said that it sorted out base layers that they were on the verge of chucking out, check the reviews.

Personally it has sorted out 3 of my Rab base layers that I use on the Turbo Trainer and they were honking!!

Give it a try ace,

Lee.

Great bike,

My team won Mountain Mayhem on a fleet of Aluminium hire 929’s last year. Turned a few heads on much flasher Carbon bikes. Great bike, totally sorted Geo and a good price. Would have one if I was looking for a hardtail.

Good choice mate!

Jonkinetic,

I totally see you point, the reason my missus bought it as a present was because of the awesome ratings that Go Pro receive. However, for the CEO to post a letter on their page apologising for the issues then there is a big problem.

Joe, depends how much you have or have saved up or have gone without. We go to the Alps every year with some mates and have watched from the sidelines as others have watched footage of their crashing, gap jumps, even a random heard of cows causing mayhem and yes, on some videos we were on it also. However, after that we miss out on a year load of memories when back in the UK as we didn’t own one. Even on Saturday my missus turned into bambi whilst trying to stay upright on an icy trail shortly after the Honister Pass. If the Go Pro had of been working this would have been priceless footage and for some people worth the investment.

Suppose its the same as paying for a nicer car, kitchen, Tele etc….. It’s whatever you feel you want to spend it on. We drive a van and have a 32″ Tele and if we have disposable income it goes on bike stuff. Others might have a flash motor but couldn’t justify a Go Pro. Reckon it’s horses for courses…..

Composite, you have made my morning! That video is priceless…. That would be a great thing to make for my stag do. Reckon people would be falling off bikes in shock!

There have been over 1100 responses already now to the CEO’s apology on their Facebook page from individuals who have either returned their device or are still in possession and having problems. He only made this statement on the 15th Jan!

I reckon we are on the verge of a worldwide product recall for effected units as it doesn’t seem to be made better by the firmware updates. This is a shame as I’m sure the video quality would be superb if we could stop them from freezing.

Sniff,

Thankyou for letting me know that the big cheese has addressed what’s going on with the particular batch of Hero Blacks.

Some people on here have questioned what I have said and some have gone as far as making a massive joke out of it. Certain individuals must be on a little more coin than me because when something refuses to work point blank it effects not only the enjoyment but also the pocket.

Reckon there may be just a little bit of egg on face come the morning

Nealglover,

I came on to try and help people who are thinking of buying one based on the many people having the same
problems of freezing and battery life.

I know what to do if something doesn’t work.

If other ones are working then that’s great, it was not intended for them.

Hear many people coming on here talking about cracking their Alpine 160 swing arms, however I don’t post on saying how great mine is because its fine. I just have a bit of sympathy with their situation.

Pugwash, I am happy that you have a gudden! Its a lot of dollar to splash out on something if its doesn’t work. However put yourself in my shoes and imagine how you would feel if when you looked into it you saw that loads of people were having exactly the same problem that deemed their unit useless. Its highly frustrating.

Just one of many people saying exactly the same thing:
GoPro HD HERO3: Black EditionGot the Hero3 Black for Christmas. Updated the firmware and took it skiing with my wife and kids and my brother and his kids. We’ve been trying to get his group together for years. It took about 2 minutes of video before freezing up. Difficult to figure it out on the mountain. That night I charged it, got it working and took a video at the condo that looked good. I charged it overnight. Took it to the slopes the next day, turned on the remote, battery dead. That’s OK because I can still video without the remote. Turned it on, pushed record, nothing happened. Pushed the mode button, no response. The camera locked up. Not even 2 minutes of video on the second day. I took it back. I can see getting a bad unit, but both the remote and the camera failed. I don’t have time to deal with expensive garbage. I’ll keep using my handheld Kodak playsport. I’ve had it skiing, snorkeling, river rafting, ziplining etc. It’s worked everytime.

Cheers njee ill look into it mate,

I appreciate that at times a pair of shorts may turn up with a rip in it or a frame with a slight dent, isolated cases. However this is of mental proportions. Looks like Go Pro rushed it out for the to catch the festive season.

Firmware updated, same either side of doing it. If you take a look everyone is saying the firmware update has made no difference or actually made it worse.

I agree Northwind, I don’t think there will be any dramas but the company my missus bought it from expects you to pay for returns. That would not usually be a problem if its a one off but this isn’t, everybody is saying the same fault and they continue to ship them. I heard about the production problems but was assured they had been sorted out.

37 1 star reviews in a few months since release all stating exactly the same problem? That’s a lot of folk.

Glad yours is working well mate.

Yes,

Because at present it is an expensive paperweight, if you read the reviews though on my link you will see that the faulty ones outnumber the good ones almost 2 to 1. Have you ever seen a launch with such negative reviews?

I just wish we would have seen this beforehand, however they should be off the shelves as we, the customers will be the ones shelling out for return recorded delivery when it’s happening to everyone. Total joke.