For maximum value I would say thats a good idea (assume they can show you off piste stuff?). It’s pretty hidden away & you could spend a lot of time looking for trails, rather than riding them.

I’m sure they will tailor a ride to your skill level – there is definitely some stuff thats on a par with the steeper trails on the Abercarn side of the valley at Risca, not dissimilar to DJ/Garbanzo on the same bit of hill Network rail is on, just about 4 times longer!

There is still plenty of tough features to get stuck into, as always, it’s finding them. The Wrekin is not the most forgiving place & probably should mention the climb up is brutal (unless someone can tell me an easier way up from the car parks!)

There is a huge amount of off piste at Dyfi, but finding it can be an issue if you have no previous knowledge. Varies in difficulty of relatively tame, to some dirty steep fall line trails.

If you want to go up to Betwys, there is some savage stuff hidden away there, on a par with the stuff peppered around Llangollen (near the DH venue).

Further south, I would probably go to the The Wrekin, which I rode recently for the first time in a long time & it was great – a decent amount of tough stuff there 🙂

If you are in the fortunate position of owning a team you can turn up and race when ever you feel like it. Given the way out was presented by her as a last minute decision then I’m less inclined to think she got a wildcard.

Or, quite simply, she is good enough to be able to do that.

I feel sorry for the athlete who got bumped out of qualifying and out of the race because she fancied racing.

For the sake of clarity, no-one was ‘bumped’ from being able to race. Being part of a trade team affords you the privilege of being able to enter the race, same as anyone else in that position, or with enough UCI points.

At that point, she still needed to qualify. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to race. Simple.

Maybe, rather than feeling sorry for someone who wasn’t good enough to beat a woman who has been out of racing for nearly 3 years with what could have been a career ending injury, having a child & just riding for fun, you could be positive about one of the best riders the UK has managed to churn out, male or female, in any discipline? 🙂

The pub/hotel on the high street is a bit of a dump.

It was pretty overgrown in areas. My suggestion in terms of toughness is Birnham is the easiest trails, there is some decent stuff on Atholl, which are a step up in tech.

On Atholl my favourite was Rocky Balboa, but some of the slightly hidden stuff over by yer maw, etc was pretty decent.

Mostly enjoyed Craigvinean. Fool Skool is super overgrown at the entrance but great to ride still & The Blue Route is a belter (it’s definitely not a blue!).

I’m doing this for the first time. Chose to enter the sport as I was originally away for work and wouldn’t have been able to make the practice on Friday, but that’s now changed.

Racing blind will be entertaining. I’m off at 7.45 on Sunday, which is heinously early to start a race 🤮

SRAM’s just seem so fiddly to bleed, I have the kit but last time it didn’t go to plan.

We are a committed household in the sense that the only brakes we run are Codes, so I’ve had to bleed quite a few sets over the years (stupid internal routing when fitting, etc).

But, they really are easy & simple to bleed. There is a great old MBR video on the YouTube which was for Guides I believe, but I found it & used it a couple of times & it’s just become my bleeding process. It’s really quite simple & works well.

Pretty different:
Transition Spur. Little short travel ripper.
Forbidden Dreadnought. Crushes everything.
Spec Kenevo SL. Basically a DH bike. With a motor.

We had a company wide increase of a minimum of 3% earlier this year, some discrepancies got up to 6% to balance things out. Fortunate enough to earn a decent salary anyway & in discussion for a separate increase due to picking up some more budgetary responsibility.

Other half is civil service so it’s been freezes for a while, but she also earns well anyway, their unions do the negotiations, but the talk is ~5%.

We’re currently undergoing ‘23 budgets & have planned in a minimum of 10% for next year, which will be nice :)

Surprised nobody has mentioned the ‘transition’ from stage 3 to 4…which involved descending on road from virtually the top of the mountain all the way back down to the campsite before setting off up hill again.

Frustrating, was the polite term I used. Especially as once you got out of the top of 2, and along the fire road to the main junction there was an absolute belter of a trail on the right.

Annoyingly, if you dropped out of the bottom of 3 & turned left up the fire road, after about 100m on the right there was also a peach of a trail which took you down to the river. After it was a flat fire road commute back to the road which the other fire road transition joined. They could literally have tripled the length of the stage if they added that in, and I would have forgiven them for a short little fire road sprint, it was that good.

There was also another trail that started before 3, higher up on the fire road & ended further down the hill, which was significantly better – however, all were a significant step up in terms of gradient & tech, so might have been a bit much for some…

The bulkhead is a pain sometimes (like last weekend when I needed some 8×4 ply sheets!), but it does cut down on noise for sure & I would rather it was there than not. Worst case I can remove it if I really wanted to.

Ours is an L2, so an LWB. I could probably sleep in it if I wanted to, not sure why I would as we have a camper, but it will fit a bed in. Although being a Transit, it doesn’t actually have an internal boot release, so you would be well & truly locked in! 😆

In terms of costs, yep they aren’t cheap, but I get a healthy car allowance & mileage rate which more than covers my personal use, we have an electric car we share anyway for work trips, which takes a bit of planning to not double book, but 95% of the time it works out fine, although we were fortunate enough to have the money there to buy it outright.

We have a Transit Custom Crew Cab, basically because there isn’t a car big enough to swallow bikes whole, with space for the dog & kit. I’m past the point of taking things apart, covered in mud & playing packing Jenga. It does have a full bulkhead in so the boot is completely separate & it will swallow decent sized bikes (just) without taking wheels off.

£25k will get you a decent one, likely not one newer than 2/3 years old in the current market with a decent spec. Ours is a couple of years old now & was spec’d up as I wanted a half decent place to be when driving.

I would have had a T6.1, but comparing specs, I would have been staring down the barrel of £45+k for a similar spec Vs £30k, which is a whole lot of extra cash to worry about.

I have a friend with a T6.1 which is probably a bit nicer (but not 50% cost more nicer, by a long way) – they drive fairly comparably, in the sense they are both vans, and anyone trying to kid you they are car like, is basically delusional.

Not a bad day of racing. Ended up 4th with a big old crash on stage 3. Can’t complain about that given I’ve done about 3 races in 2.5 years.

Probably time to do a few more now 😆

Well that felt like harder work than the numbers suggest!

Yep, their suggestion of the loop was significantly more climbing than they made out to be.

I’m a bit conflicted by the stages, as I guess they had to pick sensible stuff in case the weather didn’t hold but they have picked some ‘ok’ options when there is some absolute gold in those woods.

Ah well, we will see what tomorrow brings.

Yep. Weather is looking good & first race in a while, let’s see how it goes 🙂

get the impression the Ohlins are a bit more needy in terms of servicing?

Not at all, it’s no more or less than other brands.

I’d actually argue Ohlins is better than most, because they don’t fill the internals with plastic crap.

However, Ohlins of that era was questionable at best, so I’d be avoiding that full stop. Well, I’d be avoiding that vintage of Specialized too, to be fair.

One thing I would be doing, whatever you buy is be running the same kit in terms of touch points so he has familiarity between the bikes. Run the same brakes, same bars for sweep/rise, grips, pedals etc.

but he then decided it was either the Assegai (again) or the pressures, so went back to the usual 18F 20R.

It’s because you’ve got his front tyre on back to front 😆

Did you buy as a frame only, like this (£2399)?

That’s a normal (non Evo) Stumpy.

That said, the Evo (and the normal Stumpy) are neither a Downcountry bike 😆

The normal stumpy is a great trail bike, and the Evo, well, as someone who owned one for nearly a year – I still couldn’t tell you what it was good at? I likened it to a Ford Mondeo, just kind of got on with stuff, but bland and not great at anything.

The geo encouraged you to ride it like an idiot, but then the mediocre rear suspension quickly ran out of options, mostly because they didn’t make it progressive enough or put a big enough stroke shock on it 🤦‍♂️

Hence Mondeo – it’s a great one bike solution for doing a bit of everything reasonably competently.

The top lads are incredible…. the kid in 2nd hardly ever loses a race, the winner has won a gazillion BMX races in the last few years and has won national championships and raced at World level…. there’s a bucket of talent out there.

The kid who won that age group (on a trail bike no less) is a bit of a force on two wheels.

The top 5% in pretty much any category are fast as hell, then you get the outliers who put a decent chunk of time into them & you have to ask the question of how did that happen!

The really scary part is when those guys get given a GB jersey to go race a World Cup & they don’t even qualify. It’s like a different sport.

My question is basiclly to owners who may have had issues, what has the customer service been like from Silverfish and what problems have you had in the first place and how was it resolved if at all.

Yes I had one. Well, I actually had more than one, due to warranty issues.

Cracked frames, SI links wearing & shop getting basically stonewalled from the distributor claiming the wear was ‘acceptable’ 🙄

Silverfish, as ever were consistent. Consistently shyte. I’d struggle to think of a brand I would recommend buying less.

I’ve no idea how tech Rheola is but everytime I go to Risca I’m amazed I keep finding steeper and tighter corners that I sometimes have to stop and workout how to get round them. I’m not even on the difficult trails either – I think ‘Network R’ (which I haven’t looked at yet) is the really difficult stuff there. Then you’ve got Barry Sidings as well – again I’ve not tried there yet.

In terms of difficulty, not that hard, but it’s rough as hell at the top, flat out & if he’s only used to racing ~1min tracks it’s long – probably over 4mins, which would be a massive eye opener.

It’s a great DH track though. The pressure somewhere like that will be significantly more than the other races he’s done – it’s a stressful environment, even for seasoned racers.

Good in some ways to go and see/experience.

We went through this recently & the short answer is there is basically nothing estate wise on the market what would take a decent sized 29 FS bike.

Not even close in a 2019 Superb estate, which is what we had. Tried a Kodiaq & still no chance, as per the Enyaq. Didn’t want an MPV, as they are basically vans with windows, I’d rather have a decent combi van, which is what we ended up with. And the bikes fit in the back complete.

Not sure I would want it as our only vehicle, but we have a decent car as well.

Unless you are racing, I would probably stay away from the DD or above carcass on the front, the Assegai’s are seemingly a bit thicker & heavier than all of the other Maxxis range from experience.

I don’t think you can really go wrong with an EXO+ Maxx Terra on the front for most riding. There are places selling them at the moment (29″ anyway).

I have a few in the tyre stash of varying Assegai’s. Combinations of DH, DD & EXO+, mostly MaxxGrip compounds & the odd Maxxterra.

When comparing the DD/DH in the same compound, they are both pretty slow tyres (not as slow as the Michelin DH variants however). For the weight difference, the DH does feel quite a bit stiffer – much more like the DH22 in terms of feel. I found I needed to run a couple of PSI less to get a similar DD feel to the tyre (otherwise it felt like I was running too much compression on the fork).

I don’t think i’ve ever ‘worn out’ a 12 speed rear mech, Shimano or SRAM. The one on my little bike was from the spares box & it had done probably 5-6000km & half of that was on the back of my ebike last year & it still shifts fine. It’s a bit baggy, but I find they all do that.

Ridden in all weathers & conditions & also FoD based, so probably ride similar stuff. I’d be pretty miffed if I wore a mech out in 700 miles. I can do close to that in 6 weeks riding in the summer.

It’s no-where near as grippy as a MaxxGrip, I would put it as worse than a MaxxTerra.

Every time I borrow a Spesh, I’m reminded how shyte their tyres are. 😆

Even in the ‘22 great tyre shortage, I am running a haggard Assegai & DHR2 over a set of brand new Butcher/Elimiators I have in the garage loft.

Pikes of that era were a bit creaky. I warrantied a few sets at the time.

Fox have consistently been a bit creaky, and they only have a 12 month warranty. Having now had 2 sets of creaking 38’s I don’t hold out much hope for the rest of the range 🙄

Being blunt – are you actually any good? I mean really? Is it your living, because it’s become what defines you and if that’s all to be a bit higher up the mid pack, albeit of a decent standard race class, sounds to me like it’s no longer worth it if you don’t enjoy it.

As harsh as it sounds, this. Unless you are being paid to do it, you’re not an athlete, what place you come doesn’t define how much food you can put on the table or pay the mortgage.

I am a racer, and have done so to a reasonable level & had some half decent results over the years, but I am under no illusion that literally no-one beyond my riding group who also race or riding friends knows, or cares whether you won the race, podiumed or whatever. And even if they did, it’s forgotten in 48 hours.

Riding bikes is meant to be fun. If you want to be semi serious and train to do the best you can, then great – just take a step back and do a reality check. None of us here are racing world cups.

Would have been tempted, but my three local guinea pigs have all had endless AXS issues, so I’m sticking to cables 😆

Be warned the Freerider ‘prime’ use the less grippy sole than the normal Freerider Pro.

Probably not a problem if you are used to Teva lack of grip, but it is if you are used to normal 5-10 grip levels.

My left field choice is the new Spec Rime Flat. They are as grippy as a proper 5-10 & the soles seem to last really well. They dry out quickly & look like they are going to last 12 months, which is better than my last freeriders did…

If I could only have one, I would probably keep my Spur and 2 wheelsets. One light for XC/Trail duties and the other for racing/trips abroad.

I’d accept I wouldn’t be as fast on it, but I would have a great time!

If it’s any use I have a ‘21 DHX2 (new style) in a 205×65 setup. I think I even have the adapters to make it 62.5/60/57.5mm stroke, which are literally plastic spacers which bolt onto the underside of the shock.

It was serviced about a month ago.

That doesn’t equate to 30% weight savings

It pretty much does on the battery, compared to a 700wh one, which is probably the new normal, obviously even bigger = even more weight.

YT have been pretty vocal about a 700wh battery & how they weren’t happy with the detrimental effect it had on the handling of the bike (it’s not like it can’t be done, it’s just more cells & there is definitely the space in the downtube for bigger).

Whilst I don’t own one, I’ve ridden one fairly extensively & the Decoy Mullet is one of the best riding ebikes I’ve ridden. I can see why they are sticking with a proven theory. I’d go so far as to say there are very few ebikes with a 600+Wh battery I would chose, just because of the sheer weight of the things going up further & further.

For sure there is a market for full fat ebikes with massive batteries, but the ongoing arms race for bigger & bigger batteries is not something I’m interested in.

Not sure it’s keeping the weight low or how would improve handling on an ebike, only thing for sure is it’s keeping the range low.

Well it’s 30% less capacity than a 700wh battery so is significantly smaller & lighter.

FWIW as someone who has had a big battery bike, I would take a smaller battery, lighter option that rides better. The Decoy can still do a 2k+ vert day if you are prepared to pedal.

if the bike is ok for coil why would I need a progressive spring?

You wouldn’t, progressive springs are a sticking plaster solution to bikes with linear suspension curves. Most bikes are past that now.

You want a fairly common size shock for that bike, I would be on Pinkbike for one of the new style DHX2’s. The old ones weren’t amazing, but the new ones are really good. I put mine on a par with an EXT/Push. £400 will get you a barely used one.

I have a Trek FS bike that Google tells me was produced in the year 2000, and cost a fruity £1500. It comes with a smattering of 7spd Shimano XT, some RockShox Judy DH forks & a Fox Vanilla shock. It’s a large, which is smaller than most current smalls & pedals like it is broken in many ways. It is a truely terrible example of a bicycle, which is why I bought it as a £50 joke bike for a race.

Even inflation notwithstanding, 2 minutes on Google shows me I can buy a pretty decent FS mountain bike for £1500 from a variety of sources, which may not say XT on the mech & shifters, but will absolutely be a better bike in every single way possible. I’d argue the same could be said from a £1500 bike of 10 years ago, compared to now.

For the inflation adjusted £1500, ~£2600 would buy me a ‘really’ good bike. I’m probably not one to talk as I have a few expensive bikes, because I am fortunate enough/worked in a job that pays me very well to be able to do that kind of thing, but that’s life, some people have more things, bigger houses, more holidays, etc than others.

I don’t think the price of things has changed massively over recent times, what has changed for the better is there is no longer massive oversupply into the market, of heavily discounted components & bikes. You could spend well over £300 on an 11 speed cassette 10 years too…

Both are utter stupidity. They look awful & the design used by TR (and Nukeproof/Vitus + whoever else is using it) just lets water & crap in. It takes internal routing to an even more stupid level.

It would be a 100% dealbreaker for me. I’m quite happy to have well thought out external routes, and frames can be made in a way they don’t look rubbish, even if with most bikes now, internal is pretty good with internal tubes. There are still some bikes where you want to hang yourself with the gear cable you cannot route.

Also, both designs are f*cking useless if you actually race your bike – there is nowhere for the numberboard to go!

WRT Mallards, I wouldn’t be surprised if the the whole lake side of the hill is a total no go zone once they are done. It’s being clearfelled due to disease & they have said it will be deerfenced when replanted to stop the animals transferring it around the forest. I get why they are doing it there, as they will end up clearfelling everything if it spreads.

Looks like Blackpool Brook side should be ok & there is a chunk of digging going on over the road if you know where to look.

I’m not too fussed about Lydney being thinned – it’s probably my least popular spot, so the trails will come back no doubt :)

Whitemead is a pretty large site – from basic camping right up to apartments & it is pretty much packed full in the summer. We live about 5 minutes away & it brings a lot of people into the forest.

Having had a quick look, it’s also seriously expensive! However for a campsite, it’s pretty good from what I can see (in my limited experience!).

You are literally on the doorstep of the family trail loop from it, and there is good riding only 5 minutes from the entrance (albeit off piste, so may need some pointers).

That’s interesting, at first I’m suprised that amount of suspension increase doesn’t mask the square-edge impact differences more. But 45mm of travel difference, on average you’re using 50-60% of the stroke as you ride perhaps, so about 25mm of movement in suspension difference over a larger root vs the effect of a larger wheel radius. Less suprised.

I think it depends on the layout of the suspension too. I have really only ridden mullets in the form of ebikes, all of my other bikes have been full 29 for probably the last 5/6 years now. The first one I rode (Decoy) was actually really, really good. I think the travel masked it’s ability to hang up on things, yet the Gen3 Levo which slightly less travel, felt noticeably ‘worse’.

I’m basically 6’2″ so tyre buzz is a non issue really, and only noticed the supposed benefits in a very small window of trails, mostly where there was a quick succession of corners where you could actively lean the bike over & have something to push into. It felt like you could get out of one corner & into the other quicker. Otherwise I personally find the 29″ option better, everywhere else.

No issue with it staying though – I think for shorter people it definitely has merit :)

Fair play, for £8k I would say definitely the right thing to do – you’ve had a result there :)

Best of luck with the health side of things, there will always be newer bikes waiting on the other side when you are able to again.