I do like that cover! 👌

I know I nominated my Contour, but am also going to nominate my Aeris AM. I dont think it’s quite as pretty, or ‘right’ as either the Contour, or Transition’s latest bikes (I really lusted after a pink Smuggler for a while), but do think it looks muscular and purposeful.

Does a Monday count as ‘mid-week’ … or is it an extension of the weekend pics thread.

Anyway, feels like I’ve been waiting ALL WINTER for conditions like this morning. Dry, frozen, fast, ace trails!

Swarf Contour …

Yesterday evening, I baked a batch of cheese scones. Elevensies this morning was a lightly toasted cheese scone, a chunk of cheese, and red onion marmalade. Delicious enough, but I prefer my Stilton and cayenne pepper scones.

There’s a local deli around the corner that bakes the most wonderful Chorizo sausage rolls.

Mmmm. Pizza. By my reckoning, that Pizza rack’s max carrying capacity allows the rider to transport 15 takeaway pizzas. I would expect this feature to be rigorously checked as part of the test by @Chipps

95% riding from the door for me. North Leeds, so a great and varied network of trails, pockets of woodland etc. Gravel bike, HT, and FS all get used regularly and there’s riding to suit each bike.

Mostly, it’s about time. With other life stuff, and my need to ride regularly, ie 3-6 times per week, my riding windows are 1-3 hours, therefore I don’t want to waste riding time by driving. Environmental impact of driving is a secondary consideration.

Usually get 2-3 weekends away through the year (Lakes, Boltby Bash), so drive then, invariably car-sharing.

And, certainly when the weather is better, will drive somewhere up to 1hr 15 away maybe once every 4-6 weeks, and try to car-share.

Out for a short 22k local loop, plugging through the slop. First ride of my newly built up Ti Hardtail, built around a second-hand On One Vandal frame, and other bits from a donor bike / CRC bargains. Currently in trail MTB mode, but will get a second set of lighter wheels (and possibly a carbon rigid fork at some point) and XC tyres, and run it as a ‘gravel-plus’ bike for long non-tech/gnar rides & a spot of bike-packing.

Shonky understanding of the nativity story there … “I thought the Angel was the Star”? … what an irreligious lot we’ve become …. mutter mutter….

There’s a few initial thoughts within my NBD thread here:

NBD … Aeris AM (and I’ll sort the drainage in the garden)

It’s a bloody brilliant bike. Since the Hamsterley shakedown, I’ve done a decent ride from the door locally on it, and also a night ride up at Stainburn (some greasy, rooty steep tech plus a chunky rocky trail centre loop.) It’s really good, pedals well, feels sprightly up hill. Best bike I’ve ever had for techy and steep climbs. Confident down hill. Wants to fly, so feels playful too … am loving it!

Me & son #2 on a very very wet Cut Gate ride.

Isn’t it tomorrow (22 Dec) this year?

Possibly then XC/Light are not the wheels for you, I’ve Hunt TrailWide’s on my FS, 1800g and happily survived the likes of the Golfie.

Possibly not. I’ve got the Trail Wides on my steel FS bike, dinged the rim on the second ride out. And after 18 months, there were a couple of small cracks coming from the spoke holes (Hunt customer support was excellent, replaced the wheel without quibble the next day). And I’ve got the V1 4 Seasons on the gravel bike, several dings over both wheels. I’m not especially heavy (75kg ish kitted up), or a hard / clumsy rider. Possibly, tyre pressures have been a touch low at points. But I’ve also put plenty of mileage and (and arguably harder riding) on DT Swiss rims without bother, and no dents even on the odd occasion I’ve felt the tyre bottom out on the rim.

So, yeah, a bit wary of another set of Hunts I think…

Now this is a prize I’d love to win.

(For the hard of hearing  you get the answer twice in the video!)

Thanks. Had considered the Hunts (have mostly good experience of them already, but have found the rims a bit soft) … but yeah, catalogue wheels built down to a good price … am hoping for something a bit better.

What should I be looking at DT Swiss wise … am following a set of XR1501’s on Ebay and have messaged the seller several times but not getting a response.

Anything else that might have sold for £500-£700 new, that might now come in at £300-400 used?

When gnarpooning goes less well! Son #2, second ride back after being away from MTB for about 8 years!

 

Another from north Leeds here.

There’s a brilliant network of trails in and around the North/West suburbs, little pockets of woodland, twisty singletrack, some rocky/rooty XC-tech, some short, fun descents. I can be on the trails within 100m from my door, and TBH, that’s priceless; the ability to get out onto fun trails for anything from 20 minutes to 3 hours is just great.

There’s steeper off-piste stuff 40 minutes ride away (doesn’t hold up so well in the wet). Stainburn is 20 mins drive; Ilkley 30 (or ride out, train back). Long gravel/XC moorland half-full days are doable from the door. Calderdale, North Yorks Moors, northern Peaks all accessible within 1 hour 15 via train/car.

Riding (and, to a lesser extent, trail running) several times a week, usually 3-6 rides, is really important to me to get, even a quick (30-45 mins) fix of exercise  fresh air, escape, reset,  being in the woods, whatever the weather, and somewhere with decent access to that would absolutely be amongst the top priorities if moving.

 

Nice! I was considering a Carbon Sentinel for my new bike, and was trying to get a demo, but Transition could only get an alloy one in for me to try. Also, the price new (full bike) was a fair bit more costly than my better-specc’d Aeris AM (which, 3 rides on, I’m loving!)

Pretty sure 95% of bank cards are contactless so no pin required?

Occasionally, it will decline the card and ask for the PIN, presumably as an occasional security measure.

That’s weird. I’m sure I recall forum posts from previous years, where it was discussed about sunsets still getting earlier AFTER the shortest day?

Anyway, I’m mildly lifted by this news (not that we can see the sunset, as its always hidden by the grey cloud!)

Mostly fine this afternoon. Had a series of 502s late lunchtime just as I was trying to submit my Megasack entry, but been fine since.

Well, clearly that’s pretty much how I ride my gravel bike. None of that pottering around our broken country roads and ‘wondering where that track goes’ bo**cks for me, thankyou very much!

It would be kind of cool, to be approaching an actual urinal queue in an actual music arena, whilst reading posts on the STW forum, and getting an actual 502 at exactly the same time as being turned away by security from the actual urinal queue.

Make you think …

Yep, format seems to have changed this week, with a tick box for your double entry. Only got one confirmation email as well.

 

Looks great.
How’s it ride?

Well, seems to be pretty good! I had a test ride at Hamsterley a couple of months back, and then did a quick shakedown of my bike there yesterday. Just the red/black. Very wet conditions.

My build is DT Swiss XM 1700, Lyric Ultimate, RS Superdeluxe Ultimate shock, XT, Sram Codes, Raceface Bar/Stem, Schwalbe Tacky Chan & Big Betty. Weighs in at just over 14kg before pedals, so pretty pleased with that.

It’s (quite a lot) more bike than I’ve ever had before. It’s sprightly when climbing. Feels like it has quite a firm, yet composed ride heading down. More on the side of sporty and with good feedback rather than magic carpet/plough through stuff. It wants to go faster than I do!

There’s a bit of imposter syndrome going on for me, as I don’t have the skills to do it justice … but I do intend to ‘grow into’ it, and am going to get some coaching as I think I would benefit from a bit more confidence in speed, jumping ability etc.

Aw what a pity that “limited” colour didn’t make it to production. Nice one!

Well, it’s worth lobbying @benpinnick about getting this onto future frames …. he was saying yesterday that initially, they were a bit ‘meh’ about it, but then put the ride-wrap on and it really came to life. He said they’d asked for a few more samples with a slightly less matt/more satin finish. So … who knows ….

Toolkit. Maddison Clothes. Wheels are too burly for what I need …

But … when I win the Megasack …

(“M-E-G-A-S-A-C-K …”) 

… ALL the prizes will be mine!

Time for a change of forum name?

I don’t think it’s possible is it?

@mark ?

It only really pops like that in good light. Otherwise, it just looks a bit like a metallic grey. I think it’s a rainbow/holo flake over a matt grey, underneath a matt lacquer … but am sure @benpinnick can give more info.

@joebristol … how tall are you? I’m a smidge over 5’8″, initially pre ordered the M, but after the test ride (on a ML) changed to ML. It fits me well.

NBD!

@benpinnick … its a bloody marvel!

Unboxed my £90 prime attaquer wheelset, absolutely lovely.  A smidge over spec weight at 1440g but I am well chuffed with them for the price.  Along with the prime carbon parts arriving my gravel bike is going to be like triggers broom at this rate! 

Kind of lost track on all the different threads about these … but do you get the end caps/skewers for QR axles?

name doesn’t check out.

Hah! How naive I was when I joined STW, thinking all I’d ever ride/own was a HT!

So … any recommendations for somewhere in northern England?

And, would I get more out of 1-1, or a group session?

Picking mine up Friday I hope!

Anyone used their Touareg tyre?

Yes. They’re OK. Tough, dont think I had any punctures. Not very supple. Not that fast rolling for such a lightly treaded tyre. And (obviously) not very good in mud. I thought they’d be good for hammering stony, rocky stuff, but otherwise there are better tyres.