‘countdown to ecstacy’ ‘fire wacker’ ‘blind terror’, etc, etc, etc, always amused at some of the names given to the gnar trails on the North Downs, who names them? Do like descent down side of Wolvens Lane though, hadnt done it for a few years and rode it last sunday, very good fun.

Not sure about damaging your prostate but I am sure 20 odd years of mountain biking has affected my waterworks, my euretha seems to have been crushed into a crescent shape rather than round (had one of those uncomfortable camera things down the old boy), not nice! Tried all sorts of cut away saddles, etc and currently using a specialised toupe expert which seems ok, not sure if your damage is permanent but told mine is, pretty sure that biking twice a week for years may have something to do with it?

oooh me too! (chichester), been spending a bit of time lately at rogate and lovin the place. Have always fancied giving Kingly Vale a proper go, did a xc ride up there from Chi last summer and really must explore the area a bit more. Thanks for the post, will check out the site.

Nite ride on ss round stammer park last nite, clear skies and semi frozen mud, great laugh, managed to blag the morning off and did a club road ride approx 60 miles this morning, clear and sunny around Chichester/goodwood but very slippy in places where sun hadn’t melted frost/ ice, ace fun though. Off to rogate on the dh bike tomorrow so hope the weather holds.

Ooops, double post

Got some Easton havens, seem quite light, not sure what the weight is, there is also a carbon version for silly money

SC-XC, from memory I remember you being into Kickboxing? same here been teaching for the last five years and the skipping rope along with press ups seems to do most of the workout I need to be honest.

All the above (except excersize bike, dont see the point although a turbo trainer or rollers would be good), do make sure you include a skipping rope (good cardio workout), possibly a swiss ball for core work, medicine ball and my faviorite some kettle bells.

Do all my own spannering so dont use shop mechanics, cant stand shops where the staff are patronising, misserable and clueless (quite a few bike shops that I know), only buy MTB’s, frames, kit from my LBS (not the closest as its 40 miles away – Freeborn in Horsham) as the guys there are friendly and always willing to help and I get a discount:-), even though they sell MTB’s and road bikes not sure that road bikes are their strong point so buy all road bikes, parts etc from Geared Bikes and Wear who are very good to deal with and know their stuff, conversly probably wouldnt buy a mountain bike from them as again their expertise seems to be road biking.

Not a great fan of CRC or Wiggle although occasionally I will get something there if its not available in either of the above, dont mind spending a bit over the top to get good service/advice from LBS.

For grip (wet, gloop/mud) I have started running the Spesh Hillbilly DH tyres on my Wilson, seem very grippy although not light. Normal conditions (dry and dusty Sierra Nevada, etc.) run dual ply 42a/60a 2.5 minions front and rear (front tyres on both wheels).

+1 for the santini 3/4 bibs, way more comfortable than the latest endura bibs ( club issue kit), seen the same santini in short versions which going to get for warmer rides, well worth the money.

Like a lot of people on here our small brighton based group has riden at Leith and Pitch/Holbury most weeks for over 15 years and over that time it has changed beyond recognition, it never ceases to amaze me the amount of cars in the carpark and bikers at the tea shop but hardley ever that many on the trails, just seems that the meeting points are a bottle neck. Already mentioned in another post regarding the vans in peaslake village and the uplifting that going on, dont have a problem with it par se but it needs to be done in a more respectfull manner, i.e. dont park in the village and load up! this must be p1ssing the locals off no end.
Rode there last weekend and didnt bother with most of the ‘usual’ trails and we made a point of riding some of the old trails which suprisingly are in reasonable condition, time will tell if they hold up with an increase in traffic.
Same is happening at our local riding spot (Stanmer Park) which has seen a drastic increase in the amount of bikers over the last few years, not sure what the solution is but keeping away from mullered trails helps.

Mate has just brought a new canyon, can’t remember what the model was but it’s their freeride model, maybe worth looking at if your after a whole bike, very good value for money.

Stayed in ax les thermes quite a few times and the riding around there is superb, lots of very nice single track, if your looking for a place to stay a friend of mine has a guest house in Ax, he also does guiding.

Not had one done at Corridori but had a fitting with my local bike shop in Chichester (geared bikes and wear), was very good as my posture on the bike was causing back problems, for me the changes made to the bike from the fitting have been well worth the outlay for the fitting, no more knee or back problems.

Good luck Ian.

As for TJ, you really are a total tool and an obnoxious self righteous ****t.

Dixon, tis superb.

Just put the fox air spacers in my rp23 on my devinci Dixon, shock feels so much better and a lot more progressive and less linear, doesn’t blow through all it’s travel as easily, pack comes with three different sized spacers and a doodle to fit, got medium in at moment.

Got a spare one if you want it, £10 off a £75 purchase, I can email you the code if you want?

Not into new years resolutions but have a couple of goals for this year, since getting married in November to my partner of 18 years we have realised that we want to simplify our lives and get away from the stresses of work, etc. So:

1) buy a van and convert into a camper in the next few weeks,( anybody know of a good vw t5 or similar going)
2) ride more areas, lakes, peaks, quannies, etc
3) get out surfing every week
4) do more sportives
5) and most importantly spend more quality time with my family and friends

Been out with switchbacks dh 3 times and switch backs am 7 times and cannot recommend them enough, superb riding at both locations and mike is a great host, the riding around bubion is superb.

fair play for being honest and considerate, not something that is reflected on stw and whilst out riding with too many folk ready to slate beginners / less abled riders.

+1 for spesh storms, very good mud/ gloop tyres and ok on rocks and rooty sections.

Deal!

Wife brought me tickets to go and see frankie Boyle, can’t stand the bloke, he’s a c0ck!

Bunnerscj who posts on here has one, looks very nice although I know he has cracked his frame and replaced under warranty with no issues. Know he rates his and will probably be along to give his views? He seems to prefer his singular swift? Big top does look smart though. I have only just started riding 29ers and just built up a singular swift (fully Rigid and ss) really nice bike to ride and can recommend it as a cheapish 29er frame set.

Devinci Dixon? 145mm travel, builds around 28lb, good “one bike does all”

Duir, the Dixon is defo a bike that gets better the more you ‘push’ it, the faster you ride it the more it seems to want! in flat single track it does seem to plod a little but I have got it at the slack setting (due to forks set at 160mm), built mine with 36’s, Easton Haven wheels/finishing kit, 1 x 10 and reverb, all in weight of about 29ish lbs which isnt too bad.

+1 for comments re; Freeborn (my local shop), Paul, Jim & Joe are really good to deal with a well as good riders.

+1 for what Shandy said, got a Dixon and very pleased with it too, a bit expensive but the guys at Freeborn are good to deal with and my 4th Devinci (johnsone, Frantik, 2010 wilson and 2010 Dixon) so know that they are good solid bikes.

Can’t fault the specialised defrosters, but I do have narrow feet though, just got new pair from Hargrove cycles for £75

Chojin, I work for barratts (senior project manager) and there is always room for negotiation and haggle as much as you can, even if you can’t get a cash discount try and get some additional items included. Also barratts are the only 5star builder that I am aware of, this is achieved via feedback from customers and is collated by external companies, the current customer feed back for my region is approx 97 percent. Contary to popular myth most developers want to look after their customers as any negative publicity can destroy reputations in a time when sales are very few and far between. Remember it’s a buyers Market so haggle as much as you can, all barratts regions set monthly sales targets so are very keen to get plots sold. The first buy scheme is very good and a good way of getting onto the property ladder, everyone is a winner, you get the property you want with a five year warranty with barratts/nhbc and barratts makes another sale rather than you going to another developer, if you want any further info email me (email in profile)

Riding the gnar single track on the north downs, will stick out like a sore thumb as I wont be on a ubber travel carbon full sus but will be on a fully ridged swift ss.

Brilliant, very true

Fly tipper is only a short push, have noticed a couple of pickups with bikes shuttling around fly tipper and trails other side of road, almost got taken out by one of them a while back whilst pushing back up road.

Been riding and building trails around peaslake for the last 15 years and recently it does seem to be the ‘unofficial’ south east trail centre, great to see people getting out and enjoying themselves but it really does feel like the area is saturated with bikers and trails, we haven’t built anything for a good few years (T series and xp were the last trails) as the area can’t sustain any more trails without destroying what if little credibility we bikers have with the locals and hurtwood. I for one hope it settles down and bikers show a bit of respect for the local residents as it would be a real shame to lose such a good area to ride.

Rode Holmbury and pitch with a short trip over to the boundary trail and ‘dangos’ trail on Sunday and couldnt believe how busy the carpark at peaslake was as was reservoir/bkb, although further east and west saw the number of riders thin out a bit. Trails didnt seem too claggy considering the previous rain and amount of riders, T0 and T1 are suffering a bit, Was quite funny seeing different groups of riders queuing up to go down reservoir/bkb, didn’t ride it so not sure how it’s riding?

One thing that does concern me was the amount of vans parked in peaslake village not sure but was there some uplifting going on at bkb? As well as over by evian(?), not sure what effect this is having on the locals but when the village is as busy as it was on Sunday (not just riders but riders vehicles as well) I wouldn’t be surprised if things get a little tense between locals and riders.

Trailmonky, you ever heard of a site waste management plan? Would like to know where you get you figures from as almost all the ” builders rubble” as you call it is recycled, it’s too valuable to dump in landfill, as is all plasterboard waste, timber waste, etc. Materials are specified from the green guide to obtain the most sustainable materials available. Typical normal developer bashing about them making money, the average profit margin is approx 4 percent, add to this the substantial section 106 payments made to the local authority, local employment, 35 percent affordable housing provision on most sites. Most of the big developers are open to local residents concerns and in most cases will revise layouts to suit. I have been doing this job for 20 years and get fed up of I’ll informed comments regarding developers making money as I would love to see it. As for sustainability take a look at code for sustainable homes which almost all developments are built to and also considerate contractors scheme which places responsibilities on the developer.

With regards to the op’s concerns, talk to your local planning officer to see if outline planning has been granted and if the developer has a public consultation evening/ day go there and raise your concerns, you will be surprised at how approachable most are as the last thing most developers want is to fall foul of local residents as the the success of the development will rely on good community relations.

Grew up in Brighton area in the late 70s and early 80s and was heavily into the skinhead look as were most of my school mates, none of us were ever into the NF or what they stood for and most of use used to support the ANL and CND, in fact some of the coolest guys that I hung around with at school were black and were skinheads/rude boys. To us it was the music, clothes, etc, although did see the nasty side of skinheads during the bank holiday scuffles in brighton. There are a couple of young lads (17ish) where I live now In Chichester wearing the full skinhead look, don’t envy them trying to pull that look off without being branded a racist/BNP supporter.

+1for Mississippi burning, must watch it again as haven’t seen it for ages.

Also rate French movie Le Hain as one of my favourites and one flew over a cuckoos nest is an absolute classic, very hard to choose.

Owned one for a few years as did a mate, not sure they get/got slated as really enjoyed mine, downsides were they are quite heavy and a bit flexy at the rear, mine was qr not sure if they did a bolt thru version. With 7″ travel they werent really a dh bike but a bit of an all rounder, rode mine with 66sl’s and not sure if a set of dual crowns would suit? If it’s a full on dh frame your after try and find a big hit as they build up into a very good/ cheap dh rig. failing that if the asx is cheap go for it.

Devinci Dixon
Devinci Wilson 2011
Cotic soul
One on inbred
Willier gran tourismo.
Argon 18
Langster
Singular swift

Plus wife’s specialised dolce and sons hard rock and bmx, running out of shed,hall,loft space, they all get used as well!