Custard rules. It’s the glue that stops the world falling apart.

Probably been the Ciaran Path for me. It was basically like riding down a stream the day I did it. The rocks were smooth, round and loose so the bike was all over the shop. It’s also quite up and down which combined with the conditions made it very hard physically. I’ve ridden more technical stuff but it’s usually shorter and less sapping.

Voodoo

Ha ha. They’re not very baggy. They look like USMC desert camouflage with a big padded detachable liner. The padding is quite heavy duty and it feels a bit like wearing a nappy (I’d imagine)!. I’m going to put them through their paces tomorrow so I can post a review of them then. I don’t spend much on cycle clothing really, just the bike.

I know someone from Drymen. I’ll ask them tomorrow if I remember. Through Garabhan Forest and up over Conic Hill is a great cycle.

I once had a job strimming the South West Coast path in Torbay which we named ‘dog s***t alley’ and the bags in bushes thing was a common problem. People want to conserve their ‘reputation’ by being seen to pick it up when really they couldn’t give a f***.

There was a vid on here recently of some dude doing something similar on his bmx from almost stationary. It was really quite something.

I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for farting but I might just kick her out of bed for singing.

Great match. I don’t usually bother with the Champions League but Spurs are a great side to watch and thoroughly deserved their win tonight. It’s always great to see English sides go abroad and steamroller these fancy continental sides who think they have a right to win matches.

Thanks I like the sound of them and the reviews are great too. I might just buy a new XT back brake for now then!

I was finding my SDG Bel air uncomfortable after Christmas but I think it’s just cos I hadn’t been riding much. It felt much better today and I’ve been wearing an extra pair of undies too. I might get something a bit slimmer though if I have any more probs.

Ripping the head off it probably.

6ft 2 here with ’09 Large Trance X. 45mm stem, saddle quite far forward. I used to have the saddle far back but have moved it forward over time as it climbs better and I like the feeling of a shorter cockpit.

I think 6ft is a bit between sizes so it’s whatever you’re most comfortable with I suppose. If you go for the medium make sure you can have enough seatpost out to peddle comfortably. I only have an inch to spare before I hit the ‘minimum insertion’ mark with a 33 inch leg on the large.

http://www.sram.com/_media/pdf/service/coil_spring_chart.pdf

Here is the spring chart from the SRAM site. Scroll down the list to the Pike section where you can see the correct spring colours vs rider weight. The black spring is actually the extra firm.

I bought my Pikes second hand and they came with a black spring which was way too stiff for my weight of 12.5 stone so now I have a firm one in there. I might try the standard spring also to see how that goes but I think it might be too weak.

http://www.sram.com/_media/techdocs/05PikeSLRaceTeamCoilService.pdf

I used this excellent guide on the SRAM site for my Pike service. From your piccy it looks like the base plate spring assembly has become detached and may even be upside down.

I would say no on this one. I just serviced my pikes and they have a bottom out spring (not sure if that’s the correct term for it) fixed to the base of the stanchion. The spring can be removed and cleaned during service but I’m pretty sure that it shouldn’t be detached as it is here in your pic it should stay in place. It looks like it’s come away from it’s mounting.

Ben lomond is illegal to ride?

Not as far as I know. Loads of people ride it and the same access laws should apply to it as everywhere else in Scotland. Maybe the landowner argued it was illegal before the Countryside Reform Act came in but not now.

As for the best Trail in the UK? I’ve not ridden enough to say really but I like my local trails because I can keep tweaking them and practising to go faster and I can ride them from my house. I’m suspecting Ben Lomond could become one of my favourites when I ride it for the first time this summer. Everyone says how good it is.

I used to do a bit of BMX riding in the woods as a kid but my first off road MTB ride was when I worked in the Cairngorms. I only really used the bike as gaining quicker access along tracks to the hills for walking. That’s what mountain biking was to me back then and the rough tracks felt very fun to me on a fully rigid bike. When I go back there I’ll ride all that single track I never considered before.

685mm ea high rise bars. They felt very wide compared to the Giant own brand ones I had on but so much better all round really. I wouldn’t go any wider though as a lot of the trails I ride are tight in between trees.

Both mine squeel with the sintered pads. I don’t mind the squeeling so much if they would just stop me. The loud squeeling attracts everyones attention to you just in time to see you crash. I had a sticky piston on the back brake which I fixed but it still won’t work properly.

O M G! I ‘walked’ the ridge last summer with the usual hiking kit and I thought I was going to die. One of my mates had his dog with him and people thought we were crazy taking a dog. We did have to carry/push/throw him on some sections. I hope they didn’t try the Clachaig Gully. That would be some downhilling!

How is it at the moment Mr Plow? I’m definitely doing it this year even if I have to go on my own.

I don’t think it would work. Trail centres are about the most artificial people want to get with their riding in my experience. I know not everyone has access to trail centres but I reckon outdoor pump tracks or 4X type tracks would be much more popular in the city and probably a lot cheaper to build. What’s a bit of wind and rain? MTFU.

Is Mugdock very gloopy?

The last time I went to my LBS I was getting a wheel built. I went along with my old wheel and asked if they would fit the cassette and rotor for me. ‘No problem’ they said and they wouldn’t take any money for it either. I know it’s only a five minute job but I’m sure other places would charge so there’s no way I would ask for a discount there.

However, I find with some of the bigger chains that they can be a bit arsey sometimes and don’t often know their stuff. They may give you bad advice or tell you the obvious so I would consider asking for a discount at such a shop if I was making a big purchase.

I’ve had few issues with organic but my sintered squeel like crazy. I’ve had enough of my Juicy 3’s they’ve been nothing but trouble and they’re just not powerful enough for my riding.

I very nearly completed a cheeky trail I’m working on. Just need to build a small bridge and move a bit of soil and a log or two and It’ll finally be finished.

Watching my friends dog bite his tail then try to stop himself biting his tail with his foot.

Yeah it could be the bar which also needs to be maintained and filed. It doesn’t matter how evenly the teeth are sharpened, if the bar isn’t right she won’t cut right.

I’m 6ft 2 with about the same leg (maybe a little shorter) and ride a Large 2009 Trance X. They fitted me for it in the shop and it’s great although I have to have a lot of seat post showing for normal riding. I’d try out a Large before buying if I were you to make sure there’s enough leg room. I wouldn’t have gone for the XL though it must be huge.

I’ve waited for quite a while before expressing my opinion on this whole thing but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s definitely all bad. In my experience the FC are becoming an increasingly forward thinking organisation trying to sustain forests not just for commercial reasons but for the benefit of visitors and wildlife too. They’ve come a very long way.

The Tories (Clegg included because he’s just a sell out) show their true colours yet again by systematically destroying anything that’s good in the country to the detriment of the poor and the benefit of the rich.

England is very thin on woodland as it is without it all being sold off to an uncertain fate. What we have needs to be nurtured for future generations. I can’t see conservation organisations or Trusts being able to afford to buy it with all the cuts going on.

Bump

I went to the gym after work and I don’t know what was harder, that or cycling back. There were a lot of small branches on the road too which my light wasn’t picking out too easy. Good fun.

Thanks it looks good but I think I might have the same issues with it digging into my sit bones as it’s quite flat and thinly padded.

Reluctant – Member

That looks nice and it would go with my bike well. Is it suitable for all day riding?

WTB v are compfy too

I started off with a WTB Devo which came with my bike and didn’t get on with it. It was too wide and flat I think but the SDG was better but still not right.

So if I went to a Specialized dealer I could get measured up? Do you have to sit in a tray of putty or something?

I’ve had 454 Air U Turns and 351 Coil U Turns and there’s precious little difference in use

Not worth it, sorry.

Well if it’s not worth upgrading that’s a good thing cos It’ll save me money.

The thing is with my Pikes is that with my weight of just over 12 stone I’m between spring rates. I have a firm spring in which is about right for most steep downhill or the kind of G’s you get through a fast berm but not so good on smaller bumps.

My understanding is that with Pikes more advanced than the 351’s I would be able to use the standard lighter spring and dial out any excessive dive with an adjustable compression which the 351 doesn’t seem to have, resulting in a faster and more enjoyable ride.

Maybe I’m miss understanding how compression dampening works or maybe the preset compression dampening in my Pike would work just as well with the lighter spring?

These must have been off a pro then because they do have lockout, not that I’ll ever use the lockout. Why didn’t they just give them the proper bits in the first place I doubt it would have cost them much extra. Nice forks though.

Anyone know where you can buy the compression innards or do you need to get them out of an old fork?

It’s called a mountain bike so if you ride one you’re mountain biking surely? I would call any hill over about 1000ft a mountain but it’s not often I’ll ride to the very top of one and down again. Most of my mountain biking is done on local trails on hills and in woods and stuff.

Wookster. Maybe they meant cable stretch. Adjusting the indexing can be frustrating but I’ve found the Haynes bike book has some reasonably clear instructions on this and it saves having to wait for the shop to do it.