Hmmn, just ordered a Sony one for £230 (reduced already). I had £70 of John Lewis vouchers though and the Sony model is well written up.

At < £130, Garmin is an absolute bargain. The GPS I have from Garmin costs almost as much and has no real navigational role, just use it for Strava to see where I have been.

have ordered a sony and an SDXC 64GB card – will get a gopro mounts adaptor, depending upon what comes in the box. looking forward to playing with it.

thanks all for the advice.

Ashy, many thanks. I have just picked up a copy of STW from the local shop. :D

Interesting to see so many compared together and get the opinion of someone who has actually used one.

Did you have to buy separate mounts to get yours set up for mountainbiking – I don’t think it comes with a helmet mount.

Eddie – your were spot on, it was simply the old bottom plug left in the tube. It had got stuck.

I did not make clear to all, but I had the lbs change the headset out. It is 1 1/8th, and the whole purpose was to get the bike going again but also allow me to put more modern bars and stem on, which are now fitted.

Just got crankset, brakes and gears to sort out now.

Roverpig – many thanks. Never one to miss an opportunity to embarrass myself, I think that may be the issue, I suspected it is still rusted in place.

Will get the WD40 and a mallet out and see where I go from there.

Will try and get some together later this week. Bike (and quill stem adaptor) currently at in laws.

Great shop. Also received good service from Tom. Will buy from them when possible, although I am also lucky to have Cycleworks on my door step.

Liked the footage from the Nirvana ride danbo. Where was that?

The 3+ model does seem to have a better spec. Every time you look at one model, the next model up the range entices you to consider spending the extra cash…

The 3+ Silver does seem to have a better quality camera. I might well use it for non-biking stuff too, so need to consider if it worth me spending the additional cash from the basic model.

The wifi remote looks cool, but then again my work smartphone has a micro SD card input, so that may solve the issue of not being able to look at footage while traveling.

Fathomer – great footage and I don’t think it is mundane. Well edited too.

I think the quality of your film is impressive. I am sort of torn between the basic Hero 3 (removable case, wifi, ability to add spare battery) and the basic model (which looks cool and is a mega bargain it seems).

Not sure there is any difference in picture quality though and I think the basic model has some features the next one up does not have. Difference is £50 I think.

Will look into the SJ4000 too.

jambalaya, Sorry, that was my download speed.

Test earlier today was 0.712 mbps.

Would prefer a fixed connection, rather than a mobile.

I have some Maxxis Zenith 1.5 tyres, that you can have. If you are happy to pay postage, I can send after the weekend. PM me if needed.

Thanks all. I was going to take the train and meet my brother (as my wife needed the car), but combination of lack of trains and hassle getting to the local station meant it was likely to be a pain.

Would also have been a 10min walk to our local station (that is not timed with a bike bag)…

Eddie, you are a lucky guy.

Right, first of all get yourself on MTBR forums. Most states have a sub forum, California has specific north and south Cali listings. People on there have been very helpful when looking to plan a trip in the past (North Carolina, Tahoe in California).

I think there is a lot of choice of natural riding in Oregon and Washington and I know there is some riding just to the east of Seattle – I have no experience of Washington St or Oregon, but there have been articles in ‘Bike’, (which seems to have a lot of articles from the pacific northwest).

I have ridden at Tahoe and it is amazing – lots of 6,000 ft + riding with some amazing views, but as importantly dusty trails with lovely grippy rock. There is a trail map for Tahoe, which is an absolute must, as it highlights lots of trail choices. Lots of riding can be self supported, but some have the option of a shuttle to the trail head, depending upon season.

There is also Donnieville to the north of there and lots of riding just outside San Francisco.

Things could be worse. He could be a roadie or a golfer.

Tom, thanks for the comments and advice. That bike seems sweet.

8 speed seems increasingly old school, so I have decided to ditch the 8 speed altogether and will ditch the horrendous shifters currently on the bike.

9 speed mech, cassette, chain and cranks ordered. Probably not the cheapest way to do it, but will hopefully make it work a bit better and allow her to get some miles under her belt. Just need to sort the headset.

All in all it will be a completely different bike. Although it makes no financial sense, it will giver her something better than another bike from a shop at the price she originally paid.

I took the same decision when upgrading her hardball mtg – although I was given a nice set of DT Swiss wheels, so that helped with costs.

I have a diablo (few years old now). Sounds like joystick is almost as powerful. I say go for it.

Another option is to go for basic Mavic wheels, if you want new. Crossride I think. Merlin knock them out cheap.

Have been fine on my hardtail and i am near 12.5 stone. Hubs are easy to service, they have sealed bearings that pop out. 6 bolt usually available.

Further to my above post, now set up. Minimal faff, but good advice on the tape – get wider tape to ensure a proper seal. I think Maxxis tyres are supposed to work, regardless if they are marked as tubeless ready or not.

I have used Specialized 2 bliss, they seemed easy to fit.

Goo stuff easy to fit, only issue I had was leaking around the valves. Will see how it fares after a couple of rides.

Hi, you will need three things:

valves – other brands available

rim tape (yellow stuff also available from stans)

Sealant – a few different makes available

I only know all this as I am looking at doing the same thing, with the same rims. Apparently Maxxis tyres are fine to use – the gloop should help keep them sealed and I think only very thin, or very loose tyres cause major problems. Please note my above advice is based on internet reading, not any actual practical experience. :!:

Some good videos on stans website and generally helpful information about pressures, set up and which tyres work and which don’t etc.

all, I think the main reason for my move would specifically be the customer service. that is my main gripe with BT, alongside the slow speed.

Interested in this. Finally made the decision to bin BT, as quite frankly their service has been dire. 0.5 mb/ps last night. Whoop whoop.

I was thinking of Plusnet, on account of the reports from other people.

Would rather pay a couple of quid more and receive some sort of service – on ‘instant chat’ last night BT had a 12 min delay…rang them up instead and they said they would ring back in 30 mins. Yeah, slam my nuts in a drawer rather than feed me a line of poop.

Thanks, have a pair on my hard tail and will consider giving it a go.

Thanks both. 5th – how old is your Dad’s Anthem out of interest?

I was thinking about a Giant Contact Switch, but I have looked online and you can get a Reverb for the same price. Giant post does look good though.

24 hrs late coming back from Chicago, Airlines’s fault.

Missed birth of 1st and only child by about 30 mins as a result (picked up text on landing). (FYI – Daughter was 1 month early, not me being irresponsible and travelling that close to the other half getting ready to pop). Anyway, airline got me off the plane before anyone else so I could go and see the wife and child.

Standard compo. I included the child birth miss in the covering letter for effect. Didn’t work :lol:

Did a Cycle Active skills course ages ago and enjoyed it. Good present idea, for yourself or someone else.

Was thinking of a skills course for my brother for his birthday – are there any particular recommended skills providers ( in addition to Jedi which oft seems mentioned here)?

Private tuition may be cost effective if there is a small ground of you.

I would go down the bottom of the garden and tell him that when one is amongst polite society, one must follow the ‘puff puff, pass’ rule.

Had meant to ask, would I need the following kit to make the bike ready for tubeless:

Stan’s Kit on CRC

Agree with Glasgow on the forks. 140/150 mm are not that much more than a decent 120 mm model, so I would get a longer travel model.

I do have High Roller’s on my bike and they are draggy as hell – HR2 front, HR original rear. 8O Helps makes me fitter and god knows I need the help.

Rubber,

I work in property and my first piece of advice is to pay a professional surveyor to advise you. If you want to find a surveyor to act on your behalf, google RICS. Ditto with a solicitor.

Probably not what you wanted to hear, but if you ever ask a lawyer for ‘casual advice’, the first thing they will tell you to do is to instruct a lawyer, for the same reasons. It also means they are liable if the advice is bad and they can be shown to be negligent.

Send me a message direct if you want to discuss further.

Please get advice (both a surveyor and solicitor). They will protect your interests and that could end up saving you large sums of money.

Russian, I have a 2011 US sourced frame that I bought in late 2011 or 2012. Mine came with the fox shock, but that was basically it.

As per the Doc’s advice, I would get onto MTBR ans searxh out their Giant owner’s forum and related threads. There are lots of pics and build advice on Trance X bikes.

Having read the advice online, I went for a Revelation fork, that adjusts from 120-150mm. I did have a sektor dpc (coil fork), which asjusted in the same way, but upgraded after a year and a bit. I think Giant sold the bikes with either a 120 or 140 fork for a while, depending on spec, so either would work fine. Online lots of people seem to have put on a longer fork as well, 150 does seem quite common. There are lots of discounts online of Fox/rock shox in both white and black, so you can colour match to make it look pimped. (I hasten to add that I don’t look pimp on mine, as I have grey hair and am not very quick.

My wheels are flows as above, which seem fat rimmed, but are supposed to be good. I am not good enough to tell, but they look good, so that’s me sold.

When building mine up I went modest on the drive train and brakes, so mostly deore with a bit of xt. Components like brakes/gears wear out, so I would just replace as they get shagged out. I would spend money on decent tyres/wheels/fork, assuming the grips/seat you have are comfortable.

Good choice of bike by the way, I think they are very versatile and have been pleased with mine.

I have also looked at this for a short weekend of riding. I like the idea of not having to spend hours in a car, but I think it still works out pretty expensive and not sure Scotrail let you book that far in advance?

Let me know if your plans develop further, want to loom at the same thing for a future trip. Will also look at the mag in the shops.

maxtorque – further to your post above, I may well be wrong on the failures not affecting 6 cyl engines, but previous (very limited) research has not shown any 6 cyl issues.

Having said that, take your point that the 320d is a very common engine and therefore failures are likely to have been more common, due to sheer weight of numbers.

Does anyone know how the 320 petrol compares to the 320 diesel?

Thanks for the other suggestions martin/amp/mack.

I personally would like to go back to Snowdonia again, spend a bit more time at CYB and have another ride on Snowdon, as it was just different to normal trail centre riding.

Forrest of Dean and Dales Bike centre going on the research list – not been to either, so appreciate these two suggestions.

Thanks for the suggestions above – are any of them closer than Wales from the south east, where the majority of people will be coming from?

Any cool accommodation suggestions also welcome.

Apple Airport express – couldn’t set it up properly (and still can’t), although their apple tv works great
Bioncon c.guide – shite. One fell apart on the south downs way, after coming loose
specialized gloves – fell apart, but still comfortable
cheap fenix torch light – waste of time and batteries lasted 20 minutes, went exposure in the end for 4 times the price

Second what mind map says re: 320 d. I have one and wouldn’t buy another, but I would get a more powerful 330d 6 cyl. Just google n47 engine issues.

Our car has had engine out twice, luckily still under warranty. I am extending the warranty when it runs out next month, simply because I don’t want to take a risk on it going wrong again before we sell it. Friend has just spent £8k on theirs, which was outside of warranty. Timing chain went pop, then ecu, then electronics got damaged in the rain at the garage.

Jota – :lol:

Thanks for the above suggestions. IOW probably not on the list, although it is close, would prefer a more remote destination.

Quantocks possible, although given the need to herd sheep, may be easier to do something organised, i..e simple route/trail centre.

I basically look at car ownership as luxury money, i.e. how much money are you prepared to put aside and never get anything back? Depreciation is so huge that old, reliable second hand cars make a lot of sense. There are loads of 10+ year old Japanese cars that I would be happy to drive. Previous car that we owned (Passat TDI) was 9 years and 93,000 miles old and has been as reliable as the car we currently own (bought less than 1 year and 8,500 miles old).

Unfortunately I do not put my money where my mouth is anymore in terms of buying cheap. The other half was keen to have something ‘reliable’ and that she wanted to drive. From savings we paid £19.5k for a 1 yr old BMW estate. The new price was over £33k, so in the first year the original owner lost near £14k on a car they didn’t even like that much. For £20k, I was hoping for a great ownership experience. Whilst it is good to drive, in less than 3 years it has had 2 bits of major work done under warranty. A friend has had the same issue rectified on an identical, but older model, at over £4k… Dealership service has also been mediocre, as we were not the original purchasers.

Because the repairs would have been so expensive if we had had to pay, I will spend circa £400 on a each year on a warranty extension, as practically nothing can get repaired for less than a few hundred pounds if you go direct to BMW.

So now I think if we are spending those sorts of amounts on a car, I would rather either go cheap and live a stress free existence (the last car we owned cost us £3.5k), or just bite the bullet and chose something expensive but brand new that I can whine at the dealer about if it goes wrong. Either way, it is best to see the purchase price plus running costs as money down the toilet.

At least hookers and coke would be fun.

Excuse my ignorance, but do the seats slide forward to the same extent in both the California Beach and SE? Seems a big plus point to me, that rear load area (in squeler’s post) is massive.

Come on everyone, this thread has to stop. :lol:

I sit in an office, have grey hair and drive a grey estate car – I am just getting jealous of all you guys who have either of these vans.

Just out of interest can I saw some high top models for sale earlier this year, with showers/toilet facilities. Only thing is they looked rubbish compared to the regular vans with pop up bed/roof things.