High Roller 2 currently on front and pretty good, grippy. I also had an Ardent 2.25 which I loved, 2.4 version is supposed to be better.

Best car I ever had was a company Golf Match TDI (MKV). Better than the 320d touring I have now (i.e. less things went gone wrong).

I would still definitely look at a Leon, Golfs are excellent cars but there are loads around and I would be more than happy with a Seat, especially with a better spec.

Live in Haslemere and there is some good riding locally, but when we were looking to move I did fancy being closer to Dorking (my wife quickly saw through my lame made up non-MTB justifications to move there). Only thing is a 2 bed cottage in Peaslake was £500k a few years back (2007/8) :cry:

My wife travels into East London, 1 hr 40 mins each way (door to door). I often drive (not into London), but it does involve the M25, which is hit and miss.

Not sure the work life balance is that easy to get right, but I would try and avoid having to change to the tube, or drive to the station at the home end. Both add to the travel costs and add time.

Prescription Oakleys. Transition lenses make me look like Team America World Police on occasion, but they were worth the vast cost.

Glasses are a PITA though.

Absolutely top shelf riding today, dry, warms weather and lots of happy looking riders in the car park and on the trails. Even got a bit of a sweat on in the mid-morning sunshine.

I have really missed the sun.

I have a Trance X. Great bike, but as others has said I would keep your Trance. You could always fit a slightly longer fork (as lots of folk do with Trance and Trance X) and of wide bars, chunky tyre in the front etc which I personally have found help with confidence descending (certainly made a big difference on my hardtail).

However, best upgrade when I only had my hardtail was £90 on tuition. Really helped focus and make the best out of the bike I had, good fun and learnt quite a few new skills.

There are bikes out there for as much as you want to spend, but I think you have got a good bike to start with on which to either upgrade bits ( if necessary) or just get more confident on. Another way to spend the cash would be an uplift day, weekend or week away somewhere with proper hills or regularly dry days. If you are north of the border it is all on you doorstep, apart from the dry weather perhaps.

Thanks for all your comments. Seems to be quite a few different results, depending upon individual situations. Does look like the bike mounts themselves make things worse.

I have fitted the rubber strips. I cut them around the bike carriers. However, I don’t think they fit very well (as I had already cut them to fit on the Nissan Juke set up). Perhaps there are small gaps in the gutter where the rubber and bike mounts don’t meet, which don’t help. I think I also have not bothered fitting the rubber on the small bit of underside of the bars this time, it looked like a bit of a faff.

I think the bars are as far back as possible – the bike carriers can’t go too much further back as otherwise the back will touch the boot when it is opened.

My brother has a xc60 and has taken the wing bars off, as he said it whistled badly on the roof.

I know in the USA people quite often use those fairings/spoilers (they usually have the brand in massive letters on them, i.e. Yakima/Thule etc), but I am not sure I am ‘outdoors enough’ for that…

I used to really enjoy night riding, but frankly I am now quite scared of what I might bump into after dark.

Plums still in tact. Have a Trance with 120 to 150 mm adj fork, so a bit higher bar position than stock.

Even have a kid on the way, although that was through IVF (so you might want to discount this post).

Vindaloo in my pants from excitement at seeing dry trails (Swinley). Can’t tell you how excited I was to see dry trails, with a hint of dust. I have missed the sun.

Thanks ST. I like a good Korma, but won’t contribute to mucking up your local trails. Will save the ride for the summer.

The trails down south are getting drier, but just wanted the chance to ride something different. Still, dust is much better than sludge.

Thanks. I was hoping for a pre-work ride on Thursday, but looking unlikely. Now sunny and dry in the soft south.

Shame I changed the tyres on my car last weekend for the regular summer slicks, are the roads still bad?

Sorry to resurrect this, but I presume the trail have not had much time to thaw/dry out? Is the car park closed?

How long is it taking to ride the full 15 miles at the moment and are there any options to get a shower locally?

Well, went out today over lunch time. Some bits too iced up for me to ride up. Generally good fun and adds some interest to the different descents. Zig zags bit down to he car park mentioned before was interesting.

Thanks all for your comments. May get out for a ride again tomorrow if time allows.

Thanks Bob and StevieD. Are they any other easy options to the north-east of the Malverns? last time I did a route (following bridleways etc), the route was obstructed part way round.

Wouldn’t mind riding in the snow at all, but not ideal to ride amongst thousands of families walking (thanks for pointing that out Bob). Am not really local, so any help much appreciated.

Bump for the thank god it is Thursday crowd.

Like dazz, I used the Nissan unit ( mine was Nissan Connect) in my Juke when I had it as a company car. Worked well with iPod touch, memory stick, sound was spot on and very easy to navigate through tracks.

I have a BMW estate now (making up for being hung like a baby carrot) and of course the stereo is much more simple. Does have DAB though an one if those 3.5mm jacks, so all is not lost. If I were putting an aftermarket unit in, I would definitely make sure the unit worked with iPod/USB sticks, or at least one or the other. So much better than loads of CDs in the car.

Edit: one thing I would say is that if you are using an iPod, make sure the manufacturer allows you to use the normal iPod cable. BMW charge some crazy fee for their own one, apparently the one that came with the iPod does not work. Which is pants.

San Francisco – only bummer is the massive rent levels. Or Oregon?

Just bought all that junk myself. Lots choices, none of it As good fun as buying a bike. My wife is due in 2 months.

We got a phil and teds thing and the maxi cosi seat and isofix base. Best part of a lot of cash, but a lot less than some of the brands in John Lewis. Worth shopping around on eBay and online.

I wanted to get something small, but could not find anything small/sturdy/light/cheap. Too many similarities to mountain biking?

Andyl – I think the rack/mount you speak of is for the US market only. I have seen them on mtbr forums etc and they look like a good solution. Not sure which would be more secure or whether they are legal in the EU market, but have never seen one over here.

Snowing in Haslemere now. Only just settling, but I live in hope. Wouldn’t mind getting out on the trails with some fresh snow on them, will make a change to the wet mud.

Must go down to Waitrose and panic buy middle class items. I can’t seem to find that Blitz spirit anymore. It is every man/woman for themselves when it comes to that essential copy of the Saturday Telegraph and some herbal tea…

I think you might need to buy a complete bike if this on finance. I bought a Trance X frame from the USA. Spec is non exciting (lots of Deore). Fork is RS Sektor coil. Wheels are Crossride.

Came in at less than your budget, but then I have compromised with basic Mavic Crossride wheels and cheaper fork. The bike rides fine though and am really pleased with it. Another option is basic Trance X bike and then upgrade the fork. They always seem to be on offer at around £1k.

There is Snowway I am not getting out on my bike this weekend, regardless of pessimistic weather forecast. Unfortunately down here in soft southern Surrey, we are just getting more rain. I prefer the white fluffy stuff.

‘What tyres for Daily Mail type epic snow event?’

Thanks Senor J – I know I am lucky to live circa 30 mins from some top riding and certainly don’t mean to be ungrateful. There are some sandy/well drained tracks in the area that I know round Peaslake, which does mean I can ride without getting bogged down in mud. The trail pixies also do a good job there in my opinion. I suppose I am just dreaming of dry trail/variety/big hills… It is my fault for reading the ‘Pass Storming’ thread.

What is Aston Hill like for trail/xc?

I am also running a Trance X, with a 150mm fork (reduces to 120mm). Cheap to buy the base model and simply upgrade the fork to a longer/adjustable travel option. Apparently a lot of people run Trance (original and X models) with a longer fork.

Brother has one. They look very smart and well put together. His is a D5. Not that much bigger boot than his old shape Passat estate, but seems to have a fairly spacious cabin.

Good in snow – with winer tyres.

I hear you. This weather is really stewing my plums.

Local rides all wet/muddy, bike is covered in kak and I can’t be bothered to clean it.

Yes, to Atlanta, GA and San Francisco, CA. Easy both times and the bikes went as part of your luggage allowance. We were allowed an additional piece of luggage, so had two pieces each. Got a bike bag off CRC for £45 for the other half, fitted her pigmy sized hard rock fine.

Just be careful because even with our relatively light xc bikes it seems easy to add a lot of weight into the bag, once you have added tools, helmet, pads etc.

Check if you will be charged for an additional piece of baggage in Europe, if that is where you are headed. Also worth double checking as I thought BA had recently changed their policy for sporting equipment.

My mother has early onset Alzheimer’s. I certainly hope your mother in law does not have dementia of any sort, but the statistics are worrying – seems like a lot of us are destined to go down that route, which sucks.

Irrational behaviour like that is unfortunately common with dementia. My mum, now in a home unable to communicate, was never aggressive, but she did some stuff that was proper left field. It is very difficult to live with people who are no longer themselves and I should imagine made much harder when she seems so distrusting of the OP.

Best advice here is try and get professional help as soon as possible. I would love to say there is better advice I can give, but mental health can be very tricky and my Dad, brother and rest of the family have all struggled to handle the weird situation we are in. I am included in that list.

I am sure you are being a very supportive other half, certainly sounds like you have been patient, but your wife will need lots of support. People undertaking a carer’s role, which sound like both the mil and your good lady, have massive stress placed on them.

Make sure you make your wife a cup of tea and give her a hug.

2. I have 2 bikes, my wife also has 2.

Having usually had fat/mud/slick tyres as my bike choices, having a ‘spare’ bike seems a luxury. Best make sure I get out on the bike(s) twice as much?

Is a hardtail a ‘winter bike’ just because if has a rusty chain now?

Looks awesome. Thought I was going butt wild buying my wife a Recon Silver coil fork, budget gears and hydraulic disc brakes for her hard rock….

No idea on the technical merits, but have a 8 speed 320d BMW, just over 1 year old. Really nice engine and the gear box is great. Makes the car very nice to drive and changes gear much quicker than I could, even with me using the +/- change thing like I am pretending to drive a rally car.

I got it second hand and didn’t really have to pay any premium to get the auto box though, so no idea how much they are charging for it (suspect more than any bike I have bought).

Have had a selection of 3/4 and normal Humvee shorts, spray baggies and the odd top. Find their baa baa merino top too tight on my bulging upper body (in my dreams…), but the other stuff has lasted well.

Sizing seems to be random.

My wife has a ladies’ convert jacket which seems fine and I have a pair of their knee pads, but both have had too little use to comment.

My main decision when going with Endura has been price, which usually seems fair. I have recently got a soft shell Gore Alp X and the quality is impressive.

All if the stuff I have has been bought in the last 6 years or so that I have been riding, so can’t comment on how things were back I the day when East17 was in the charts and I thought Ford Fiestas were the height of cool.

I almost bought one, then bottled it. 2 years later I m in my LBS and they have a new one for 1/2 price, in my size. Karma.

I have a Trance X and am happy with it, but still like the look of the Whyte.

bigyinn – Member
Saw someone struggling up the a3 climb about 09:00 this morning on their own. Sadly I was passing in my mates skyline on the way to a dyno day.
POSTED 1 DAY AGO # REPORT-POST

Oh, the shame, I think that useless rider may have been me. On a silver full Suspension by any chance? Lost my fitness that I had last year and even with the best riding conditions I have seen in a while and a new bike, I couldn’t get round with any speed.

Loved the descent at the end though and only saw one other rider out…maybe he was the slow one and I am some kind of riding god. Maybe.

Good effort – another quality comment that I can’t quite believe he said – although I find amusing would never have the genius internal comedy to come out with it myself. Mad as a box of frogs.

Purchased photo chromatic lensed split jackets. See them on oakley’s website. Mine are prescription models, cost circa £330, so definitely not cheap. However, the are great and very comfortable, fitting my funny fat face.

There seem to be loads of lens and frame options – some lenses have more light that is let in, which helps for UK conditions. Mine look a bit yellow and I went for a matt black frame, so I look a bit like Team America World Police, but still am pleased with them.

You can eat a recon silver, or gold, from £120 to £200 ish, that can be had at 120mm or 100mm, with a QR lower. Ace value and some of the coil ones simple as a pretzel (not sure how simple that is, but low maintenance).

Stuck a 100mm fork on the wife’s hard rock, excellent for the cash at just over a hundred notes.

I laughed at the quality Youtube comments:

F**king Optimus Prime calling more Autobots

They are sending Bruce Willis in a spaceship as we speak

24mm might be me writing it down incorrectly – probably confused from a complete lack of knowledge when it comes to photography.

What a refreshing piece of news to here that some people still make some equipment that is backwards compatible, probably the first time in ages I have heard this being the case.