I was a proper Maxxis fanboi until I bought a bike fitted with WTB tyres. I’d even bought the Maxxis tyres ready to fit to the new bike, but I thought I’d give the WTB’s a try and was surprised at how well they performed. 5 months later and the Maxxis ‘replacements are still unfitted.

I run these on my fast wheels:
Vigilante 2.35 light high grip front
Trail Boss 2.25 tough fast rolling rear

and these on my grippy wheels:
Convict 2.5 light high grip front
Vigilante 2.35 light fast rolling rear.

I don’t find either set up particularly draggy, but both set ups seem to grip really well.

WTB seem to have got the balance right on overall weight, sidewall strength and compounds and the amount of choice.

I thought it was a small dirigible giving him lift 😀

125%, but I have no children so I am golden, I can do whatever the f*** I want to.

Ballater on Friday in beautiful weather
Ballater on Saturday in beautiful weather
Pitfichie today in beautiful weather

I rode with a HRM for the first time and discovered that even if I beast myself uphill my heart rate is still a fair bit higher on the descents!

I had a beautiful team titanium (all ti, not lugged) frame that I eventually sold to TandemJeremy.

I went the other way, born and bred in the NW of England and now live in Aberdeenshire.
I think I win on the mtb front 😀

Scolty and mostly the stuff on Hill of Goauch
Drumtochty
Bennachie and Millstone Hill

……would be the order in which I would choose to ride the ‘local’ish’ hills. I live closest to Hill of Fare, but rarely ride there as I think the steeper stuff just doesn’t work very well and is getting a bit worn out.

About 25 rear and 22 front.
Running 1000g, 650b, WTB tyres, tubeless with huck norris inserts.
Works well for me at 12 1/2 stone.
I did blow a little sealant out of the front on a particularly hard landing recently …..might have to go up a wee bit.

Cheers all. I’ve gone with the Garmin 230 bundle with a heart rate strap and will get a bar mount for my rare forays onto the road.
Hopefully that will give me some versatility as well as piece of mind about my phone.
(I really could not wear one of the fitbit, vivoactive type of things)

I really don’t want to take my phone out with me when I don’t take a backpack, it will get broken ar some point.

Thanks all. I’ll have a look at the Brayton and the Garmin 235.

scotroutes – Member
hairyscary » Various internet searches reckon that the edge 25 uses a smart technology to sample which picks and chooses when it samples. This doesn’t sound ideal for steep up and steep down kind of riding.trying to beat the current KOM time by 0.5s

Don’t worry, I ain’t troubling any KOM times 😆

Ghostracer app? Looks like I’m doing some more research 😥

Various internet searches reckon that the edge 25 uses a smart technology to sample which picks and chooses when it samples. This doesn’t sound ideal for steep up and steep down kind of riding.

I keep on coming back to the Garmin watches, but they all seem massively overkill for my non-techy mind.
I’ll have another read up about it.
Cheers.

Thanks for the heads up. He’s a bit hit and miss for me, but when he’s good he’s very good.

Take inspiration from this thread http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-should-i-eat-between-now-and-thursday-to-ensure-my-farts-are-hideous and each time they go for a smoke, step outside and fart in their general direction.

Marks & Spencer for everyday stuff
T Wright wine merchant in Horwich for the occasional special bottle.

Riding bikes makes me deep down happy…

I’m not really sure if this is a moustache beacause of the lower lip/chin triangle bit, but I grew it for a laugh and ended up keeping it for nearly a year. It went when I had to go for a job interview 🙁

The RAF took me from Bolton to Fife then Moray and I’ve finally settled in rural Aberdeenshire.
There was a brief period of anti-Englishness in Fife, but I think that was more to do with being single and in the RAF, I’ve not encountered it since.
I do not miss the dirtiness, the horrible traffic, the grey weather, the fear of my bike being stolen etc. of Greater Manchester.

…….and more importantly, the riding in Scotland is brilliant. From my door, at least six proper hills within 20 minutes drive, the Cairngorms about an hour and the West Coast in about 3 hours, all with open access.

I would not move back to England.

Others have mentioned it.
The Follow Me segment with Stevie Smith and Gee Atherton in New Zealand with a backing track of The Killaflaws’s ‘Set me on fire’.
Awesome scenery, trails, riding and music and they both look to be having so much fun.

Edit…….this is other than everything in the Earthed series.

When we shipped anything wooden out of America it needed that stamp on it. Pretty sure it was just heat treated to kill any bad stuff.
They actually look like the wooden sliders used on our engine containers.

A fair few years ago on a night ride I didn’t spot a pot hole and hit it very hard whilst seated, this hurt a fair bit and caused a small cyst on my left testicle to swell considerably. A few days later a nurse was kind enough to jab a rather large needle into the cyst and drain it 😳 😯

I’d do it again, though, just with a smaller needle.

Fit
Performance
Price…….usually wait for discounts

I’m not really a roadie, but I wear a lot of roadie kit as it is sooooo much better than MTB clothing.

My first choice is always Castelli.

Mountain bike by a country mile.
Rollers when I’m on nights is next.
Road bike for the odd ride in the summer, although I plan to do more this year.
DH bike, vert occasionally.

After hacking up a fair amount of green stuff on Saturdays ride I decided to take it easy today and ride the least pointy hill in the area…..Kirkhill. It was an absolute bogfest, but it was surprisingly good fun. I think I’m finally getting confident at riding slippy, muddy, wet, rooty and rocky descents.
The descents were sloppier than this!

Donated. Good luck.

I share a house with a horsey girl and have concluded that I would never want to own a horse even though it looks good fun. They cost about the same as a small mortgage, seem to be constantly injured/lame and consume all your free time. Give me a lump of metal with two wheels and no emotional attachment any day of the week.

I’ve had Saints and Zees.
If I could afford the Saints I would get them, but only because they look better.

Edit
The Saints died after 2 1/2 years. This does not bother me as I don’t really want anything as my ‘last’ component, bike, etc. Technology moves on and I’m happy to move with it.

Very steep and or techy climbs feel easier for me with an oval ring. It seems to get rid of that ‘dead spot….I’m going to stall point in the pedal stroke’.
On flat, fast trails there is a noticeable ‘pulse’ when peddling.

As others have said, I think it makes more of a difference if you are the type of rider who stays in the saddle.

I’ll be the first……… Chromag.

Pit bitch ar the Strathpuffer.
Why do I agree to do this?

I’ve just had some for my lunch on nightshift. M&S antipasti stuff, sweet and slightly fishy, lovely.
I’m not going to be popular when the burps start.

Best recruit at my basic training when I joined the RAF.
Basically I could iron a shirt!

Trailforks app is really useful. It tells you were the decent trails are and where you are.

The ‘enduro’ trails aren’t exactly ‘a gentle reintroduction’ 😀

Cheers. I did wonder if it was a poor screenplay, direction or acting.

beej – Member
I enjoyed the Hunger Games books

I’m tempted to read these just to see if Katniss Everdeen’s character is as pathetic as it is portrayed in the movies. I watched three of the films and I’m now rooting for the Capital.

The secret history by Donna Tartt, although I’ve all but given up on it as I just can’t stand any of the characters. I guess this is the intention of the author, but I just can’t get past it.