tramuntana adventures are very good – hire good mountain bikes, touring/hybrid bikes, decent roads bikes. they also will organise guides for mountain bike rides, mountain walks, gorge walks, kayaking etc. rock and ride will also take mtb rides, mountain walks and climbing ( really recommend the climbing especial if you haven’t climbed before)

some of the trails are reddish grade with some of them more challenging downhill type trails

they are both based in soller / port de soller. loads of good hotels at cheap rates !

thanks guys, very helpful. having fun turning an old titanium mtb frame into a 700 wheeled cx/ adventure race bike

hi, i have 700 wheels on 2 old kona mtg titanium frames , it makes a great cycle cross / adventure race / touring bike . i used a mavic adapter to start with, which worked really well. i may still have it lying about if you are interested. now i have adapted the v brakes with a wee aluminium extension which is a faff to make but is quite elegant looking and works really well.
i should also add that the 700 wheels roll much better that 26 on the road

i have a nice set of such, bontrager that i was going to put on ebay. they spin really well. if you have any interest i can sent pictures

we had a weekend in wales about 2 months ago. a bit wet and cold. did penmachno, marin and tarn? really enjoyed them all. i thought penmachno was a manmade trail that has weathered and worn over the years. it has all sorts of features fast bits, tech bits, fireroads etc. we rode the smaller loop then back and did the longer one, about 3 1/2 hours in all. i thought it was a great day out on a bike. quite remote never met anyone all day

so – thanks for all the advice, i bought a greenwood blade off ebay for a 24″ bow saw. and this update is just to say how brilliant it is. it is amazing what you can get thro with just a bow saw. most of the fallen trees were soft wood conifers, so easy to saw. in only a few hours we have cleared a lot of good old trails that otherwise were unridable and would have become overgrown. after seeing how erratic i am with a bow saw when tired, I’m glad i didn’t have a chainsaw in my hands, limb amputation comes to mind !

We stayed in hotel miramar. In port de soller in October. Seafront with balcony. B and b 35 quid per night. Lovely wee town. At the foot of puig major. Thoroughly recommend. Good bikes to hire just beside at tramuntana adventures

a dog is not worth the loss of a single human life. how many family members would mourn you for years to come ? a dead dog however the is owner upset for a few weeks, then replaces it with another pup.
last year a lad went in after his dog, his brother went after him, and then the father went after both of them.all three died, the dog trotted off. thousands at the funerals, go figure

http://www.causewaycoastar.co.uk
http://www.clec.ie
and i forgot i’ve done 2 gaelforce north – http://www.gaelforceevents.com

these are all really well organised. in areas of outstanding natural beauty !
and you will be challenged no matter what your ability !

hi paul,
there are 2 main hills in tollymore. there are 2 or 3 good single tracks on the slope below the outdoor centre; then off the top of the next hill there are 4 or 5 trails ranging from nice xc trails to endure type. then off the drinns there is the mountain path,the old downhill champs course,also the watchtower i think its called, and then most of the xc race course is intact down by the river. there is a good hard 3 hours there !

just bought an automatic door for the henhouse.
trickle down technology from the space program

the CCAR races are brilliant. 5 hour adventure races in northern ireland. teams of 2.
google them , buy cheap flights and you will be really well looked after. also try the CLEC. these are all true adventure races, suitable for all levels and held in beautiful scenery

castlewellan has a bit of wind fall damage at the moment but mainly rideable. look out for the natural stuff at the top of castlewellan park,
also head to tollymore which is all natural tracks. the natural stuff is fairly dry at present and is riding really well. there is a good 2 to 3 hours riding in both areas and also the mountain path behind tollymore is dry either down the back of the wall or over to donard where again there are lots of class runs ! especially the one from the top of drinahilly
i think we are very lucky at present to have a load of great tracks in this area. the last few days of gales have blocked the odd bit but hopefully will be cleared over the holidays !

hi tim, we are in northern ireland, i have been mountain biking in 3 local areas for the past 25 years. we are delighted with some really good purpose built trails just built. however i still enjoy the old natural ones and try to upkeep them .
the rangers or forestry workers are very scarce on the ground around here. a well used boundary path in castlewellan had been blocked for about 3 years despite many requests to the forestry park. a few people went in with chainsaws and cleared it in a few hours !
i take an hour or two , now and again to clear small trees etc. i don’t really envisage a lot of chainsawing, and i am respectful of their power and potential danger . at present i use a good folding saw, and as said above, it is amazing what it can cope with, however, i just thought a small cordless chainsaw could help with the occasional bigger trunk. thanks very much for the all the feedback. it looks as if i should get a new blade for the bandsaw !

yes, i should have said, i love my wee folding saw. and its amazing what you can manage to clear with one.. however i’m talking about stuff too big for that. a mate brought his two chain saws one day; a small 12” one and a regular one. we hauled both up the hill. could’nt get the big one to start and I was amazed at what we managed to cut with the wee one.
i thought a battery saw would be easier to start ( my previous experience with a petrol one was endless trouble getting it started ) , quieter to use ( partly for the reasons stated in the above post !) , and a bit lighter to carry up the hills.
I don’t need to clear a whole hillside by the way, just the odd troublesome tree that blocks the trail.
how big a diameter log can the ryoba deal with

most normal hardtail frames can take 700 x 35 wheels/tyres. i have an old titanium frame made up like this, great for trail quests, adventure races etc.

it was in newcastle, northern ireland about 4.30 pm for the airshow, along with the red arrows

for a spectacle the heine final was a brilliant match. the intensity of both teams was outstanding start to finish. clermont had all the stats, except tackle count and score !

thanks very much guys, i’ll give them a ring

thats brilliant. thanks for the help

above ideas all good. a drink in The Crown a must. Ginger, Deans Bistro or Cayenne all very good in my opinion for eating

Castlewellan forest park. new ‘trailcentre’ trails are just nearing completion, 19 km i think ! but today i stayed on the old singletracks,over the back of slievenaslat, the xc race circuit etc. after a winter of rain and wet the natural trails have dried up and are riding brilliantly. last week i spent 2 hours clearing windfall trees and rhododendrons etc from the climb behind the castle to the dark lake, well worth it today !

there are endless possibilities – my wife and i cycled in tuscany. flew to pisa, drove 1 hour south, took our own bikes. really quiet rural roads. beautiful little villages very unspoilt. it was self guided but booked through hookedoncycling who were excellent

notthesundayrun.com

then go to gallery

tramuntana region of malorca. soller or puera soller. mountain biking , mountain guides – hiking and climbing, and great beach for children

thanks very much. would tubeless work or be of any benefit ?

over the years i have bought 3 of these second hand, i paid £350 for one frame and about £750 each for the other two built up with used xt components. bought one on ebay and the other two on this site
they are brilliant bikes, with a long top tube they have great balance through singletrack and climb like a mountain goat. i run it with rigid carbon pace forks in the winter, fox forks in the summer, and with 700 wheels and cyclocross tyres for trailquests and touring.
the titanium frame means you dont have to get too fussy when transporting with other bikes, and washing is a lot easier than a painted bike.

i checked out a lot of these yokes and settled on a lumIx DMC ZX3 . i use it to photo mountain scenery, party shots, and action videos of showjumping etc. very pleased with results especially in the auto mode, and it is fairly small and easy to carry in pocket

thanks ,which direction has least carry bike

i dont think that will work , unless the frame has changed recently . it is a winter training bike , not a cyclocross bike

thanks lads

my friend and i have tinbreds , they take 700 x 35 cx tyres . no problem and are great fun to ride . really good for trailquests and on/off road touring . they fairly fly on the road compared to 26` wheels , and cope well with medium grade singletrack , just like a cx bike , but with added stability of straight handlebars

back to subject . i would be interested to hear what the glentrool route is like to ride

i found pilates a big help . you need good core stability to prevent it recurring .
if you drive a lot , get a lower back support cushion from your physio , again , i found this a great help .
when you get back on the bike , look at your position , lower saddle , closer , higher bars , even if only fractionally ,can help greatly .
i lay in bed for 2 weeks with a prolapsed disc unable to stand , i thought i would never work again ! that was 10 years ago . time ,and all of the above sorted the problem
as said above , lifting things is not a great idea , usualy a straight lift is not so bad , its a light lift with a rotation or pulling something out of the car etc. that can cause real problems

try these guys – http://www.walking-europe.co.uk . they are the same as hookedoncycling . i went to tuscany, cycling , last year under their guidance . very helpful , knew the area really well and gave good advice

i wondered about duty etc.however , the package arrived by fedex , with no extra charges .i ordered the greasegun and bushings set , and then decided a set of the wee zerts would be a good idea. i emailed them , and no probs. they added to the order . nice and simple – great

thanks stumpy , any idea where you get one

yep . i have a flux same colour as first one . with xtr and talas . a truely brilliant bike both up and down . its on rails on singletrack . weighs 26 1/2 lbs size large . only problem is i ve had it 2 years and still have nt greased the bearings as i cant work out how to use the zerks or zerts or whatever . still perfect but maybe i`d better leave it in with someone who knows what they re doing . it felt a bit upright to ride until i swapped the riser stem to a zero rise stem , now the balance is perfect

the seatclamp with carrier mounts is good and simple , as long as its not a biggish frame as the arms from the rack tend to have a long reach to connect , which leaves it a bit flexy , great on a smaller frame
i just bodged a band of light steel, wrapped around the tube with a piece of inner tube to protect frame . bolts and washers as above . works really well and was steadier on my 20` frame than the seatclamp idea

it is a terrific bike ride but fairly long and tough ( the bride might`nt be too impressed ! )yes the is a good distilery in bushmills , and the wee hotel there is nice to stay , eat and drink