I recently replaced my worn out 2.1 Kenda Nevegal’s for some 2.35 single ply High Rollers (super tacky on the front)and have been very impressed with them. They have definitely made me faster and are far better in the corners. They don’t feel as grippy going up hill but are a better tyre I think. No probs in the mud as yet.

Ok thanks. I might go for the non thru pin ones as they have more pins. Does anyone have experience of these pedals ? Do the pins wear out quickly and are they replaceable on the non thru pin pedal? Cheers.

It sounds like they're not training their staff very well. I've only been to one of their shops once but I was only buying some socks. The shop I got my bike from in Glasgow (not Evans) can be a bit hit and miss. Some of the guys really know what they're talking about and others just guess. I think this is a problem when a company gets too big.

I prefer natural stuff but really enjoy the odd trail centre visit too. I like the way GT makes every muscle in your body ache the next day. Really enjoyed Mabie as it has that really natural feel to it and you can pick lines in places.

John Wayne!

Thanks for the tip. A friend of mine is always hitting her knees off the top tube but never know how to tell her politely other than 'you really need to work on your attack position'

''What could possibly go wrong''

I often tell myself this when confronted with a new scary challenge.

I'm single so I don't have a girlfreind to get in the way of my morning routine. Got a forearm like Popeye at the moment.

My bike is a combination of those two colours and I like the red half better. Grey/silver is just a really bad colour.

Could be the time me and some mates got some burgers and went to sit down on a bench in a crowded street. One of my mates had dropped a sachet of mayonnaise in the street and before he had a chance to retrieve it a passer by accidently trod on it and the whole contents was squirted long distance straight into my eye. I was wetting myself laughing with mayo in my eye for ages.

Or it could be the time my mate 'big Kev' put his shoulder to a sticky door only to leave both door and frame in splinters on the floor.

I wear cheap shorts and tshirt as I can't justify buying good quality stuff until my bike is upgraded to just how I want it.

I get the same thing happening but it feels more like the rear hub which is also sounding quite noisy.

Anyone seen it?

but if Giant isn't cool at least it's doing cool things.

I got a trance X5 on the ctw scheme and thought I'd get laughed at cos everyone would have one. I haven't seen one Trance X yet other than mine and I've been to a fair few places. They do look a bit 'different' but it's kind of cool that Giant have put functionality ahead of looks and created something quite interesting.

As soon as I saw the title of this post I thought of the 'we buy any car add'. It's so annoying. Or the 'where's there's blame there's a claim' adds. 'I was walking along and I slipped on some water'. Well why the **** weren't you looking where you were going then you stupid bint. Walking about in high heels is asking for trouble in my opinion. If there's any kind of slippyness then you greatly reduce your chances of staying upright. She probly sued the company who made her shoes too.

I'd not lived here long when I was exploring the woods up behind my house on my bike. It was getting dark and I was trying to find my way home, not really sure if I was going the right way kind of lost. I noticed some kind of shelter built between 2 trees and went over to look at it. There was a Ram's skull there and a star of David sprayed onto a tree along with the word 'Gay'.

This freaked me out a bit and luckily I managed to find my way out of the woods before it got totally dark. I still wonder if my neighbors might be devil worshipping, homophobic sheep murderers.

Hopefully it's just local kids messing about. Not been back to those woods at night. There's burial mounds too and it's way too atmospheric.

No don't bother going.

dents are fine unless they're on a weld, stanchion or fork lower

That's nice to know. My dent's on quite a thick bit of the frame infront of the rear shock mount so hopefully it'll be ok

Thanks guys.

tyre rubbing battles

That can end really badly if you're on the bike behind. I was trying to annoy my brother once doing this and crashed really painfully.

Thanks everyone. So many tyres out there it's hard to know what to go for.

Pretty strong endorsement of the Trance platform, seeing as a few of us have been "upgrading" to another Trance!

Yeah good point. It's a bike that deserves good components too to get the most out of it. I was doing some seriously rough rocky downhill riding on friday and the bike handled it fine but not the tyres.

Can anyone recommend good tyres for the Trance X that are bigger than 2.1 and will fit 19mm rims? Got 2.1 Kendas at the moment but they're too skinny and worn out now. Cheers.

They look good in black buzz. Is that the X3? Mines the X5 and I've blinged it up a bit so it's looks better now than when I got it. I think they're quite niche lol. Not seen any others on the trails yet, everyone seems to be riding Orange 5's.

Yesterday I found a new bit of trail and as I pushed my bike up it I encountered a log lying across it partially obscured by the bracken that seems to be all over the place at the moment.

'OK I must remember to hop that or at least lift my front wheel over it on the way back down' I said to myself. Of course I forgot about it such was my excitement at finding this new trail and hit it very fast. I'm still aching a bit today but I was lucky it was a softish landing.

I own a 09 Trance X and I have to admit that after a year I still think it looks a little odd! It was probably the best bike I could have got at the time though on the cycle to work scheme and I love it so I'm not complaining. I really like the look of these new ones with the straight top tube though.

It's a shame that the desire to keep the high places special doesn't extend to getting rid of the funicular or the spectacularly guff mountain top cafe on Cairngorm.

Yeah definitely. It's worth remembering though that some of these remote places have an Arctic habitat and the associated flora and fauna that goes
with it.

The high tops of the cairngorms are home to rare bird species like the Dotterel which are a ground nesting bird obviously so it's very important to stick to the paths as much as possible to avoid disturbance. I read a write up in a MTB magazine about a route over Beinn a Bhuird which didn't mention any of this so I don't know if the authors even considered it.

Like you say, mountain bikers tend to stick to the paths but I think the magazines have a responsibility to inform the reader of the possible impacts of not doing so.

2.35 tyres

Do they fit OK at the back end?

I'd be up for it but my next available weekend is 3 weeks away but could maybe go one evening?

Ok thanks. My favourite trails are quite rocky and rooty so maybe I'll get bigger tyres if they'll fit.

Its a pig of a climb and its not good when you pinch flat on the front coming back down there either!!!

That's what I was worried about coming back down the track. I thought if I get a flat at this speed I'm done for lol. My gps said I'd got up to 55kph which is a record for me I think.

did u have fun then?

Yeah it was great thanks! The views are amazing aren't they? I could see all the way out to Ailsa Craig. I've got a Giant Trance X which is pretty good for this stuff if a little low slung at times. I liked the track a lot but have to admit I pushed up a bit of it. The sheep path rejoined the track on a corner at a cattle grid and the return journey on the track was very fun.

Decided to go up there today and it was great. I went out to Duncolm then on the way back went up to the trig point just south east of Loch Humphrey. There was a really nice bit of sheep track heading south west from there and along the top of the crags to rejoin the track. The path from the trig point going east down the ridge to Greenside Res looks like it would be fun too.

Dumyat and Andrew Gannel Hills (Ochils). Both are really good but be prepared for a couple of steep techy bits especially before the steps descending Andrew Gannel 8O.

(Trailcentre wise I much prefer Mabie or Kirroughtree)

I'd second that. Not been to many of the seven stanes but Mabie was totally awesome. It has a really natural feel to it and flows really nicely. GT is fun but I doubt I'll be going back there any time soon.

I'm not a huge fan of trail centres but I certainly wouldn't come away from one saying that I feel 'let down'. Someone's gone to the effort of designing and building trails for everyone to enjoy and you feel 'let down'. Maybe you could develop your own trail centre and invite as all then we can tell you if we feel let down or not.

I live just outside Balloch but I'm fairly new to the area so still exploring. Thanks a lot for the info I'll give that route a go. I met some trials bikers up Pappert Hill and they said you can get to Carbeth from there too but I don't know what the paths are like or even if there is one. I think there's paths in the woods around Overtoun too. Cheers.

I hadn't ridden my hardtail for about 9 months after getting a full suss but then one day I had to get back on it as my other bike was needing repairs. It was great to be back on the Schwinn and in some ways I enjoy it more than the full suss bike. I think it's because there's more trail feedback and it's a shorter bike so I can do a bit more with it rather than just point and go. I'm thinking a hardtail with a slackish head angle and big forks would be fun.

There's a thread for this already with a few piccies on it. I have had the X5 for a year now and have been slowly upgrading parts. It's a great all round bike but I've tailored mine more for downhill bits but it still climbs great. The Pikes made the biggest difference and I've just put a nice short stem on it too. Front end stays planted when in 95mm setting uphill then 140mm for downhill. It felt very under forked with the Recons it came with.

13thfloormonk – Member

Thanks. I might head up there this week.

Whereabouts is the stuff near Benderloch please?

It's mushroom season soon.