If you never cross-chain you can use whatever length mech you like. I like a short mech together with shorter chain, but big ring/big end of the cassette is not possible – you should never do that anyway.

Two day First Aid course – very good too. Tailored to mtb, so just the statutory basics for things like electrocution and drowning, and much more time spent on mtb-likely stuff – esp being incapacitated and cold.

Good luck with getting a business together – it takes time, for sure. The most valuable thing is experience. You can go through all the training, but it takes quite a while on the job to get to the point where you can spot the little details in someone’s riding etc. I’d recommend trying to shadow someone who is taking a group out (usually they would be open to the offer of a free back-marker/puncture fixer!) – although they might be a bit defensive if they think you might set up in their back yard!

The Colombus Max ones are a superb frame – very stiff and responsive. I’ve got P2 rigid forks on mine to use as a get-about – its a bit uncomfortable offroad by modern standards, to say the least!

Looks a bit like it has been sat on or otherwise squashed. I’d get a new one if I were you, although wearing that one is obviously safer than not at all.

We (allbikedup.com, Surrey Hills) are all CTC qualified instructors and indeed are now running the instructor courses.

We believe the structure behind the scheme is excellent, and in particular the skills system is a very powerful tool for teaching every level of riding. Although we do many hundreds of beginners, plenty of much more experienced riders have had significant moments of revelation – for example one international downhiller who came to do the instructor course commented that certain elements of our beginner cornering lesson had allowed him to re-think his own technique. Obviously this is a rider on a different planet ability wise to us, but the way that the system breaks down the riding into simple elements really does get you thinking clearly.

As for first aid, we went for a mountain bike specific Rescue and Emergency Care course which was organised with the CTC and run at Llandegla. We may well run one down here at some point if there is sufficient interest.

If you want to find out about the CTC system and instructor training/accreditation/qualification then get in touch with Ian Warby at the CTC.

allbikedup.com (Surrey Hills) are part of the network of qualified instructors under that scheme, and indeed instructor training courses are run here in Surrey Hills by us. If you want to fond out more about that send an email to Richard via the allbikedup web site.

I don’t doubt you are an excellent coach – most of the work will be with beginners and intermediates (from our experience) and there is actually quite a lot to discover in terms of how to maximise effectiveness with that kind of group. Having said that, our system caters for all levels of skill and experience – right up to world class downhill riders, several of whom have attended instructor training with us.

I had some Michelin tyres once that were virtually impossible to mount – made worse by the Trek rims, which were tight also!

Normally you stand a pretty good chance at getting them back on without using tyre levers at all. Getting the tyre bead very well into the middle of the rim helps a lot, as does sort of dragging the tyre around in both directions towards your last bit (pulling it tight where it is already mounted and maximising the slack for the last bit).

Another tip is to have a little bit of air in the tube so that is holds shape, and then using the end of a tyre lever to poke the puffy bits well into the tyre as you go. You can also try wetting the end of a plastic tyre lever and sliding it along the rim, rather than using the normal bending action – but expect to lose some knuckle skin if you try that one.

Hmm – well that sounds like a whole can of non-provable worms, so I’ll just leave it at that – hmm.

A good skills session would be money well spent – but I would say that!

The basics would get you much better placed on your bike (certainly not sitting down, ffs!) and we can give you lots of help with gaining confidence.

TJ – Not sure what set up can make my pads last 10 times longer in super wet conditions! When it is properly p!ssing down and there is plentiful sandy mud as a grinding agent I haven’t found any pad that will last “thousands” of miles. In the dry, yea.

I suppose if I kept out of the woods all winter they might last quite a bit longer.

Nothing will last a few thousand miles of wet sandy singletracking.

I think you’re just reading the aggression into it! I’m just not the smiley type. :D Is that better?

I don’t believe they are inferior. I also believe the reason for the bargain price is rather obvious.

I’ll carry on using them. If they were no good I would not use them – I take out groups of riders virtually every time I ride who do not expect me to have a bike that fails.

Optilabs – I don’t think £145 is expensive compared to other prescription glasses. My every day glasses were double that, and prescription Oakleys are outrageously toppy.

I think you’ll have trouble finding unhappy Optilabs customers – the products are very nice quality and very tough.

Wasn’t being aggressive.

The reasons for the price are obvious – if you remove the importer/distributor and also the retailer from the chain (or make them all the same person) you take out masses of mark-up. Add-in the premium you pay for the well-known brand with all the marketing and advertising that goes with it and guess what? Much cheaper.

Don’t really know why I’m wasting my typing on the subject though – go ahead and spend if you want to. I’m just trying to help out and say that in my experience the SS ones are a good product and its what I use on my bike which I ride for work and which I do need to rely on.

Optilabs offer a fantastic service and a good choice of styles/tints etc.

They are very friendly on the phone too.

“Too cheap!” Just send them some extra money then. Or send it to me.

They work just as well as XTR, and are just as durable. What more do you want?

Superstar sintered are great – very durable, no different in performance, a quarter of the price.

I’ve also used Discopads without problems.

Middle or granny – super cheap Deore steel. Much more durable than the Shimano alloy equivalent (mind you, Brie is more durable) and cheap as you like.

If you can’t bring yourself to get such a deeply unfashionable bargain then Blackspire are very good.

To jump nicely you really need to know and understand how to pump. Building up the skills progressively is def the way to go – the guys at Llandegla are great – using the same base system as us at allbikedup.com (Surrey Hills).

One hint though – it certainly isn’t anything to do with yanking the bars up. In fact, to get a smooth powerful launch you actually need to push into the ramp, not pull away from it. As with all bike handling, it is much more to do with the feet than the hands.

I’ve given serious thought to giving up everything else apart from cycling.

Why do you want to end it all?

I’m a bit surprised that anyone would go that kind of speed without standing up – even on the road I take the weight off the saddle, shuffle back a wee bit and push my heels down behind the pedal axles. So much easier to control the bike if you whack a pothole, or indeed if a wobble develops.

Basically, never freewheel one pedal up and one down with all your weight going through the top of the bike (saddle and bars). Mega important off-road, but you might as well go with the same practice on road too because it is so much more stable.

We did Rescue and Emergency Care First Aid, specifically tailored for mountain biking. The course was run at Llandegla, but there may be a chance of running the same again down south if there is enough interest.

A couple of essential points – take a phone (with well charged battery), and don’t underestimate the need to stay warm and comfortable.

Don’t go to Nant and miss the full loop including Mark of Zorro! Just awesome – great fun, fast, sweeping.

Make sure you’re ready for the infernal noise if you get Hopes. I couldn’t stand it myself – I like to be stealthy.

XT hubs will not require frequent maintenance – I’d be very surprised if the interval between needing a little tightening of the cones was anything like annually.

If Llandegla is within reach I’d recommend that – not Athertons, but the regular skills instructors. They use the system that Ian Warby brought in to the CTC, which is very powerful yet simple. Same way of doing things as us at allbikedup.com (Surrey Hills) – I think it has a lot more impact on your every day riding than, for example, learning to trackstand and bunny-hop which might be useful for just a few seconds per ride.

Obviously there is nothing wrong with learning trackstand/bunny-hop/wheelie/manual – but there are a hell of a lot more essential elements that virtually every rider can benefit from working on first.

Michael Hutchinson’s hour record book is a good read – gives you an insight into what it takes, especially technically. Although it has to be on a traditional bike you can make it deliberately ill-fitting (as Obree is doing here) so that you still get a stretched position. If you see pics of the current record holder (who took the crown from Boardman) it is interesting to see he took a different approach with almost vertical arms to make a flat back.

Roscoe’s aren’t light, but they aren’t heavy either – and they certainly don’t “ride” heavy. Best of all is that they are a good neutral easy-handling bike that feels invincible at speed too. I reckon you ought to try one.

Frame fit is old-school but much easier – Blackburn are excellent and will do 100psi no bother. Not sure I’d fuss about a pressure gauge – as hard as they’ll go will do.

This progression argument is plain stupid. The place for a progression of that kind is not anywhere sensitive and public. Sorry, but 8″ bike and full face (and the riding that kind of gear merits) aren’t cool in a mixed use space.

To reiterate, we are making lots of progress here – progress towards great singletrack with maintenance where needed (progress is admittedly slow, but certainly in the right direction). Also, hopefully, progress with community relations and land owners/managers and, significantly, with groups such as Surrey Hills AONB and the National Trust.

One minor point – don’t throw anything with that arm! That really does hurt!

There can be progression – towards ever smoother, less fussy, less damaging, safer, cleaner riding. The kind of riding you can do in a public space without causing risk or hazard.

I imagine the timber at the reservoir has been taken to be put to the use it was cut for! It wasn’t delivered there for riding purposes – probably been built into something on the Hurtwood, or nicked!

Hurts, doesn’t it? Mine was quite a big separation and never did go back to normal – the end of my collar bone is just moving around instead of being anchored to the shoulder blade. Amazingly this doesn’t seem to make much difference.

I think you have a better chance of it settling back to normal, because type two is not severed from its moorings, just stretched and strained. It will be sore for a couple of months – mine is still slightly uncomfortable two years later. I did ride my road bike just a fortnight after but was a bit shy of mountain biking for about six weeks, mainly because I didn’t want to have a silly pratfall and land on it again.

Tough luck – keep taking the Diclofenac!

The Hurtwood is privately owned and made available for everyone to enjoy. There have to be some restrictions to maintain cordial relations – live and let live.

Don’t build anything at all, please. Esp woodwork!

The volunteer group always needs new help – slowly things are getting done and earning the support and confidence of the land owners, rangers, committees and other groups such as Surrey Hills AONB. It might feel a bit frustrating to not have the freedom to just do whatever one likes – but compare and contrast the constructive attitude of Hurtwood land owners with, say, Wotton Estate to see how well off we are.

Sorry dr_adams, I honestly thought you were joking. If you ride in middle and 11 all the time the chain is permanently twisted. The same gear ratio is repeated elsewhere – I suggest going two or three gears easier at the back and into the big ring. The general aim is keep the chain more or less parallel with the bike all the time. Def never use small ring and 11! Same with the big ring – don’t stray to the fat end of the cassette and twist the chain the other way either – switch to middle ring before that happens. And so on.

TBH is you keep the chain running nice and in-line you’ll very rarely use the 11t and you can prob go for ages without even needing it.

I once did it in a loop from Dorking – road to Bramley, Downs Link to South Downs, SDW to Devil’s Dyke, road to Brighton, and train home. Good mixed day out, but obviously not exactly singletrack.

Please tell me this is a joke!

As with virtually every other mtb component, I think you need a really good reason not to use Shimano. esp true of QRs. Just normal plain vanilla Shimano ones. If you can open it with one finger its not tight enough.

Win the tour? Don’t be daft. If he gets to Paris it will be massively impressive.

Specialized gloves (and others?) have an ulnar nerve pad which might help.

Also, don’t lean on your bars. Riding downhill should always be on your feet, not your hands – and uphill/flat try and relax your upper body, incl arms. That’s really a general riding point, not just for numbness prevention. Apologies if you’re already doing that.

I ride downhill with the brakes on and pedalling as hard as I can – you really do feel the performance increasing after a minute or so.