traildemon1 – thanks very interesting comparison and I get where you are coming from. Def intrigued by the trc, but also want to try a 29er before splashing out on my next bike. Guess I need to try a few.

Traildemon1…..would be interested in your thoughts on the TRc esp vs Mojo HD which is what I currently ride in 140mm mode…..

Thanks for the advice. Already had an email back from GD themselves – great response time!

Mayan….when are you there? My folks retired to Llanbedr a few years’ back so know the area well, both for walking and riding. I’m going to be there in a few weeks’ time for my Dad’s 70th. PM me at ajryan@btinternet.com

Slackline = £400
BFe = £329

Simple mathematics arithmetics.

When I demo’d one, I tried both RP23 and CCDB. CCDB was a big improvement in control whilst at the same time minimising the usual bug-bears of single-pivot designs.

Plenty of cracking walking to be done, including climbing the highest peak on the peninsular which is about the same height as Ben Nevis and gives awesome views of Naples etc. There’s a sunflower guide which gives some great routes. Loads of steps on the trails which rule out biking.
Trip to Capri is worthwhile but leave the credit card at home as full of bling shops.

Did a great route which exteneded the Syfydrin route to about 55km last Saturday. It’s similar to Pistonbroke’s route but a bit shorter.

From meeting the road at the resevoir, turn right, over the dam then left, and at the end of the road continue down rocky track. Cross the bridge over the river and pick up the track heading N, turning left to the farm buildings at Hyddgen. Take the left fork bridleway 200m west of Hyddgen, climb a bit, then enjoy some cracking singletrack down Esgair Gorddi. Turn R at the track, then L through some fords to pick up the track alongside the Afon Lluestgota. At the top, in the old mine workings, turn L to take a great bit of downhill past Llyn Nantycagl. Turn L along road to rejoin the Syfydrin trail.

Used one recently for the first time and thought worked pretty well. Not light mind, but does the job for a pretty low cost.

I dont think you can go far wrong with Nant Yr Arian, Doethie Valley and the Elan Valley

Pretty much what I was thinking. Any favourite sections in Elan Valley I should include?

Whilst I’m all for conservation and restoring habitat, I have a number of issues with what is going on in the Surrey Hills at the moment.

Firstly, there is pretty poor communication on it given that the stated objective of the Friends of Hurtwood is to help “maintain this beautiful area for the benefit of the public”. The most I could find on the website re: tree felling referred to activities in 2010!!! As a paid-up Friend of the Hurtwood, I’ve emailed the ranger to ask what the current situation is but have yet to get a response.
Secondly, large parts of the Hurtwood currently resemble the set of Gladiator, without the benefit of the cash a film crew would pay to destroy it! It’s unsightly and many of the offcuts of trees seem to be left to rot which will take some time.
Thirdly, the activities are trashing choice bits of singletrack and cutting up bridleways and leaving them strewn with bits of wood ripe for trashing wheels and rear mechs. This is clearly a myopic MTB view, but still – this is an MTB forum.
Fourthly, this is a well-used area by a broad range of people. Trees hide people, particularly in summer. With the trees gone, the numbers of people using it will become more obvious not only to humans, but also to the wildlife this action is designed to encourage.

Took my German Short-Haired Pointer for her first proper ride last night on the Surrey Hills. She’s 2 1/2 years old, and we’ve recently adopted her from owners who were too ill to look after her.

Bearing in mind it was her first outing with a bike, it was awesome, and she seemed to love it. On flowing singletrack she can hold my pace and will sit behind my rear wheel until either (a) I slowed down, or (b) she thinks the trail is too windy, when in both cases she will just straight-line it past you! The only place I managed to pull a gap on her was on a rocky singletrack which is one you can hit flat-out on a full-suss, and even then the gap was only about 20 yards! She even had energy to chase a few deer too!

GSPs are known for their energy and she showed it yesterday. We’d already done a 2hr walk earlier in the day and then an hour on the bike, plus some ball-chasing in the garden!

Did it with my old man a few years ago – he was 60 at the time and no climber / scrambler and had no problems. Was in the mist and most difficult bit was navving off the last summit!

Never bother myself either.

Awesome news – esp as we’ve just booked a house for my old man’s 70th birthday celebration in August minutes outside Blaneau!!!!!

You need to speak to JPCapel on here. He trashed a set of bearings working out how to do it, even with the tool. He’s promised to do mine for me to avoid me going through the same!

I run both extensively.

In 140mm rear I run 160mm BOS Deville forks and feels nice and low, still pretty slack, and sprints nicely. I run it with an RP23 at the moment but likely to get a BOS VIPR to match the forks.

In 160mm mode, I’ve run it with air (BOS Deville and RP23) and coil (180mm Totem and CCDB). In air mode, it feels like a long-legged XC bike, which is ok but doesn’t seem to be a big advantage over the 140mm mode in terms of plushness but you lose the nice’n’low feeling. In coil mode, it feels like a mini downhill bike, which is lush!

That’s a beautiful dog! A new breed to me too!

Will she be a trail dog?

We picked up our first dog last weekend – a stunning 2 year-old German Shorthaired Pointer bitch called Misty. Since she moved in, all she’s known is snow, so I reckon she thinks she’s moved to the Arctic or something!

Great write-up again Nik. Castle Tioram & Dorlin is a special place to finish your trip – I once spent a great family holiday there watching otters and seals in the loch!

Nirvana Cycles in Westcott should have both available for demo shortly as they are in the process of building up a Tracer.

Stunning photos. Rare that I’ve seen photos taken in such weather that are so vivid. Makes me realise it’s been far too long since I’ve been to that part of Scotland. Awesome stuff.

Anyone tried an Intense Tazer VP as a regular bike? Would seem that is pretty close on paper to the Blur 4x.

Adding a CCDB to these makes a massive difference. I know someone who may be interested in doing you a swap + some cash……..

Also thought Follow Me was the better film, and still think the more recent stuff is lacking the impact of earlier films such as Collective or Roam. Also thought very short – went for a pee at what I thought would be half-way through, only to come back and see the credits rolling!

Rode a Hummer back to back with my Ti 456 and the Cove felt slacker. Was only a brief ride so you can take this with a pinch of salt but thought I’d offer it anyway.

Yes adaptor required for 203mm.

I agree with Hora’s assessment of the 2009 / 2010 frames in Large. I had one and liked it, but never fell in love with it like I did my old HL medium. I ended up selling it for a Medium Mojo HD.
My mate, on the other hand, has a Medium 09 and fitted one of the Angleset rip-off headsets from the guy in Israel along with a CCDB and it’s totally transformed the bike.

PS Also worth noting that based on his posts on MTBR, Dave Turner isn’t beyond tinkering with frame geometry based on what riders demand rather than what he personally feels is best!

May sound obvious but comes down to how fit you are and what weight the bike is. I’m reasonably fit although the wrong side of 40, and my Ibis weighs sub-28lbs (in part thanks to running 1×10). Around the Surrey Hills it’s fine, but on longer days around the Peaks / Lakes / Wales I sometimes miss the granny ring. Am running 32 at the front 36 rear btw.

T_i_m has it spot-on – best way to the top imho.

Plenty of decent little trails on Puttenham Common that can be linked up to make for a couple of hours riding. Best avoided at peak times though as very popular with dog walkers!

Most of the suff around pollenca is road bike orientated (both hire and routes). When I was there with the family, I drove down to soller for the day to ride with Andy at Tramonana Tours and was well worth the drive.

Just got back from the first ride on mine in a while and forgotten how awesome this bike is!!! Loving it!

I’ve had one for 7-8 months now. It is probably one of the most versatile bikes out there. In 140mm setting (forks and rear) you can build it under 27lbs and will feel nice and low and very very quick. At the other extreme, you can stick a coil shock on it (I have a CCDB) and a set of 180mm forks and it will still only weigh 31lbs and be spot-on for alpine duties. Oh – and you can have everything in between….for Surrey Hills I run 140mm rear 160mm front, a trip to Lakes / N Wales I’ll up the rear to 160mm via an air can, or an uplift day at FoD I’ll put the Totems and coil shock on the rear.

How can anyone go from V1 to V2 and produce something 10x stronger?? In engineering terms, it suggests your original design must have been pants (and ones made from papier mache at that)!!

Whilst mine didn’t “break” as such, I had the occaisional non-engagement issues. I sold them on before it became terminal!

Always a bad idea in my view. Irony is that GA had been barely used in the past few years!

Went to Puttenham Common area instead – always a little disappointing as when you find a nice bit it is always too short. Nice for cruising around and a couple of big hills to drop down. Found old jumps area in woods nearby (not on common) but there looked a bit old/decayed to try out!! Again nice little sections around Britty Wood.

Puttenham Common used to be my local patch, and I miss it despite having moved to Holmbury St Mary. Agree the sections are a little short, but there is some awesome stuff on there, easily the equal of some Surrey Hills stuff, and has the advantage of very low levels of usage and being sandier, so better all-winter riding. The stuff in this video is very close by, if you know where to look!!

Puttenham Video[

We had a great holiday at Easter staying about 4 miles outside BF. There’s a reason the National Park excludes BF – it is a hole, but you don’t have to go far before you reach some stunning scenery.

I did a ride through the quarries as you can link up some of the access tracks and the old inclines – not classic riding by any means, but good fun and “interesting” as well as having a sense of industrial history to it. There is some great natural riding in the area too, which can be linked into Penmachno – hopefully you’ll be able to do the same with this too. Bring it on!

Cant believe they knocked down Hot Burrito – it was one of those I was “building up” to!!

Allthepies – yep know the one and tragic. The most times I’ve shouted the C word was when I rode down the “improved” version of this for the first time!