HobNob-are you getting the full bikes in diagonally or semi upright or just flat across the back?

Mine would also be used for going to work etc and MPG would have to be considered-I hear 35-38mpg mentioned regularly?

Also wondered if Insurance is majorly expensive?

I have one running 140mm Revelations. I loved the demo I tried and decided to buy one on the back of a couple of short rides. Although I will say that I have not found the ideal shock set up on my own yet…

It replaced a Zesty and I dont miss the Lapierre at all. Running a 2.1 Ignitor on the back and there is plenty of room for something wider.

As much as I or anyone else will say its great you need to get demoing to see if it suits/fits etc….

Good to hear how much gear that you can get in the VW’s thomthumb/jeff/piha.

I was worried about getting bikes in ‘whole’ with the passenger seats in there. Are people able to get the bikes in without removing wheels?

I do think the VW is the most refined and the best replacement for a car.

Good to hear positive reports on those 2.

Certainly seem easier to buy than the VW initially and would leave some money to fit it out how I would like.

I’m 6ft2 with 32inch inseam. Riding a large witha 50mm stem. Pretty much spot on-good reach and plenty of standover.

That looks great.

Mine should hopefully be ready to ride for the weekend!

Where did you get the stickers done for the forks?

oxymOrOn got any pics of your interior set up/seats?

when I have been mulling over getting a van I have thought about removing the driver side rear seat (or not having one installed if a panel conversion) to leave a longer spacce for bikes sliding in there?

Any good or a no go?

I’m sure it will be a great build, sounds good enough to me.

MrTall-what way had it disintegrated? Where abouts on the rear triangle?

Awsome.

What sort of build have you gone for?

Sorry to be pushing items in teh Biek forum but I have a set of brand new jawbone frames (no lens) that I am looking to sell if your interested. They are silver and grey versions.

FWIW both myself and my girlfriend are both wearing Jawbones while riding and I wore mine most days last summer off the bike too!

Looks nice for sure but probably a bit steep/racy for me I think

Cheers for the suggestion amphill,

Still on the lookout for something slightly slacker if poss though.

Thanks Captain, hadn’t considered the Camber despite thinking this years Stumpys look good..

Nuke-previously had a Soul so Hemlock is possible..

Any others?

You could get a Cannondale RZ120 or Giant Trance x full bike for just over £1k sterling from Pauls Cycles

Gives him the option of keepin the racey Lapierre for a while untill he sees how he gets on. Then could swap bits or sell one or whatever when he knows how he stands with the back and what he wants from the bike.

Good to hear you love the bike as I have been looking at maybe getting one but bad to hear of the frame failure.

Do they not have any RZ frames or just out of your model? If they didnt have yours in particular perhaps you could push for the model up?

The scientificly proven BEST way to clean your bike is the 5 step method outlined as follows:
1) arrive home after ride
2) put bike on workstand-30 sec
3) get the pressure washer out-1 min
4) blast the bike with water-3 mins
5) dry and lube chain-30 sec

done……..

Looked at the same bike myself but guessed that the forks would be pretty low value or maybe even unsellable….

If you dont fancy paying £50 for one you could try paying £50 for 2 off me. Only 2.2 width though and one has been used on about 10 rides…..

that looks great!

Can someone summarise it for me:
Is it ride out from carpark to the very top of the hill and then have mostly downhill being timed in a few spots

OR

Is it ride up a bit and ride down a timed section, then ride up a bit more and be timed then ride up a bit more and ride down and be timed…….

Thanks 7hz, that helps alot.

messiah-I am not sure why but I was under the impression that if I was running a single ring with a chain retention device such as MRP 1x I would have to use the middle ring position which is usually limited to 32t or larger.

If not I will be doing what you plan with a 24 or 26…..

You might get some useful ideas/timescales etc from here: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/training/training.php

Think its based around a 17 week training programme before an endurance type event but you could knock the base training stage off or whatever to make it fit 12 weeks.

If you want to train for something other than cycling or to change your body shape you might need to consider weights/resistance trainingand/or more detailed plans.

Loads of stuff you can do but it needs to stimulte and engage you in order to keep at it.

Went up today. A mixed bag-some sections are great-frozen and solid. Others are sheet ice and unrideable. Be prepared for a wee bit of pushing/walking etc

Powerline was probaby the worst section we did.

Same Brother and Myself on the TransWales this Year, photo by a Pro:[/url]

My brother on a 7 stanes trip

You will be totally fine if you enter the TW.

I did it this year with no training and never having done any seriously long rides. Granted I was at the back of the pack every day but all the same it was doable…

I had a good time, meet some nice folk and generally had a laugh. Some days were hard going though and you need to be prepared to just grind away for hours on end, sometimes on your own!

Mixture of bikes-a short travel full suss is probably the most popular choice and probably the best one for most folk nut there were HT’s, 29ers, 29er FS and SS riders too!

Thanks for the feedback guys. Think I will follow the ‘see nearer the time’ crowd. No mandatory air sounds good to me as-well!

Hopefully the snow will be away by then and we can have a good event….

I use a diablo on its own no problem. I use on low for fireroad, slow climbs and medium/max for more technical stuff and fast descents.

Usually have enough battery for couple of hours mixing those settings.

I have gotten over 1 hour out of the diablo on Max as-well but wouldnt want to be relying on it for much longer.

My girlfriend has a Maxx-D on the bars and a diablo which is the ideal combo I think. She usually lights up most of the trail for me as-well as her!

Mental Mickey-already checked those but was looking for more actual trail info but thanks anyway.

Thanks anc and gothandy! Looks like we should be Ok then!

I am having teh same problem looking for Jawbone parts-I need a screw for the jaw hinge but cant get one anywhere!

Sorry to hijack but thought I could benefit from this thread too-I will be spending the next week in the Cwm Pennant Valley with my girlfriend.

We are looking at doin a few days riding (happy to ride red routes in Scotland and assuming gradings wont be massivley different) Rides will be spread out over the week, not looking for any seriously long loops and were thinking of Betys Y Coed, Coed Y Brenin, Machynlleth and Nant Yr Arian.

Any of these a waste of time or unmissable-any particular routes that provide alot of flowing singletrack?

what has the owner been doing trail_rat?

I had a 2008 soul which had a load of chainsuck. The drive train set up was transfered from another bike and was fine on it. I then switched to a new set up which also sucked but then was fine when i moved it to a different bike…..

You will be fine without any training, But if you want to get a serious training plan there is quite a lot of useful information on this site: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/training/training.php

I have an in car safe bag which I could let go cheaply if thats of any interest? Covers the whole back of the car with seats folded down and keeps whatever you have in there hidden incase your parking up somewhere risky. Like these:http://www.roofbox.co.uk/safe-bag/

Hey I have a Zesty 314 too which I have upgraded a bit. The bike comes with mavic wheels with a sort of centrelock system which can accomodate 6 bolt discs. The discs on there are 6 bolt NOT centrelock.

You can buy an adaptor to run 6 bolts disc on those wheels you want to buy. I would say getting a set of wheels with 6 bolt fixing might be a better idea unless you really like centrelock? 6 bolt gives you a wider range of disc options for future.

Not sure on the mech question sorry.

food menu certainly better than I expected, things are looking up!

I am attending-supposed to be doing the whole thing but the mini looks tempting!

No idea what bike yet but I am hoping for sunshine and a strong tailwind every day…..

just out of interest sor what is it?