"Slip and trip" compensation lawyers would lap the lot of em !

Got one, love it. Most responsive touchscreen I have used. The tocco ultra seems to have more on it, of how much use though I dont know ! And the touch screen is nothing like as responsive as the original

Joe Banana's in Wanchai, Nuff said :)

I am usually pretty diligent on these things to be honest, and it rarely if ever happens. Its just a one of loss of concentration things. But having bent a hanger on a road bike before in a minor tumble, I bent it back using a proper alignment tool, I was pretty amazed at how easy it was to bend, so clearly made from a very soft and pliable material. So was concerned that even the side pull on the rear mech when cross-chaining in the big big combo, would be enough to bend it.

Ah ok, I just wondered because the path the chain has to take to get back to the big ring must be trying to pull the mech outwards, I understand that its under no tension, but I guess those replaceable mech hangers are pretty soft

OK, A pair of big girls pants then :)

CLearly I am a big girls blouse :)

I saw a lad riding fast on the cannock chase DH tracks with Rebas. I thought he was mad.

More importantly did his Rebas survive.

Maybe I am being a big girl, my mate bounced them quite hard in my garage when I first had them a few weeks back he didnt actually bottom them out but got quite close, All I kept saying was "Woooah your gonna bust them sucka's doing that, they are XC forks not DH forks !" Since then I have been paranoid that the could have got damaged ! Perhaps it just me

Yep, I am going, got my tickets as soon as the lines opened, taking the Mrs for her first experience of track cyxling too. Looking forward to it

I have always found that 4nm is enough if you use Ritchey liquid torque. Otherwise I have had slippage at 5+nm (therefore bottom line is that the Liquid torque gel is invaluable)

Yes there is! I line in North Wales and ride both the Marin and the Penmachno very regularly. Those two places are horrendous for bidges a the moment, They literally chase you into your car at Penmachno carpark. I flatted on the dragons back at the marin the other work, and was stationary for a good 10 mins whilst I reapired it, I do not exagerate when I say I must have been bitten 30 or 40 times. SO take some bug spray

Yes I can see no reason why for very small family type business like mine why you would need to use an agent who skim what little profit that bike shops are making. I think my only issue would be how to put the bike through the VAT reclaim system

I did it, blimey 7hrs is a hell of a time, I consider myself half way decent on the road, and at 64 kgs ok with hills too, I took 9hrs and was pretty pleased, 7hrs is stunning, well done, maybe I should re-assess who good I really am :-)

Tacx Flow, Job done

Its about perfect for 6 year olds to be honest. I took my two girls last year (4 and 6 years old) and they loved it. As soon as you walk through the turnstiles you get handed a bag of differnet cadburys goodies that can be scoffed on the way round the tour, whats not to like :)

Just traded my 08 stumpjumper FSR for a Zesty, as you said downhilling is chalk and cheese with the Zesty giving me way more confidence and control (although the stumpy was still a good bike).
Uphills and effort stuff, I would rate the stumpy as marginally more sprightly but its certainly not a big difference, its well worth the trade off.

I jsut bought a giro hex from Chain reaction, down from £60 – £38. Rode with it today and it was ace

Shoes- Anything by Sidi, no question.
Pedals- Speedplay Zeros, a little faffy to begin with, but no brainers to clip in etc when sorted. Plus the cleats last for ages, as opposed to the looks and SPD-SL's

Oh, whilst everyone goes on about the fear of the banking and fear of riding close, fear of sliding down the banking etc etc, never lose sight of what should really matter……..That its flippin hard work. Its like one of the hardest interval sessions you will ever do.
But its good fun, so enjoy

Yep been loads, was thinking about getting an accreditation so I can race there,
The banking is only intimidating for 10 mins then you forget. You will get used to the not stopping pedalling thing quite quickly and it will become second nature, then if like I did, you will become so cocky you will drop your guard. I was doing a flying 200, and was breathing out of my ears and digging really deep for a good time. cue immediately stopping pedaling as you would naturally do as you cross the line after a huge effort. Major short filling time !!!! I didnt come off, but I will never know how, the bike flung itself left and right like an angry rodeo bull, being stung by a bee !!

I know they arent the exact models you are asking about but :- I had an Exposure Enduro maxx, and changed for a hope vision 4, my verdict is that you will be well sorted with both. I swapped because I wanted the helmet mount ability, which the exposure cannot do because of the weight of it being an all enclosing unit.
But they are both brilliantly engineered units. Both with advantages and disadvantages, the all in one unit is what makes the Exposure unit so great, but on the flip side it is also its downfall as it cant be helmet mounted, (oh and I forgot, the mounting system on the exposure is fantastic and superior to the Hope)
The hope looks nicer (not like a soup can on your handlebars) its enginnering is just as high in quality and I think that the beam spread is brighter and better (but its not by much). Either way if you decide what features are most important to you, both are fab, and you wont go wrong

Hi Nick, I'd definately go with numbnuts, he's a great instructor/guide for all levels. He probably doesnt recognise me from my screen name, but I will him keep guessing :lol:
I have ridden with him plenty and he knows the area like the back of his hand ! very recommended

No, no please dont misread or get me wrong, I travel a lot and meet most of the people from the nationalities I mentioned above personally and not via Email or on the phone, I am very fond and respectful of all my American friends, but there is no doubt (from both sides, not just from my British perspective, that whilst we get on famously, we really are very different) thats what makes for a bloody good night out !

Yes personally :-
Kuwaiti,
Saudi,
UAE,
Indian,
Turkmenistani,
Azerbaijani,
Israeli,
Qatari,
Greek (theme of the week)
French,
Dutch,
Kazakhs,
Norweigans,
Indonesians,
Chinese,
Irish,
Jordanian
Egyptians

etc etc etc

And do you know the most bemusing of my customers are, you know the ones that you feel most culturally different from, indeed the ones that you'll never truly get or understand……………………….

Americans

I Kid you not !

Hi Nick Speak to the chaps at Beics Betws. The shop is pretty much the centre of whats happening in the area MTB wise and they are really friendly and helpful.

Biecs Betws
Betws-y-Coed

t: 01690 710 766

e: info@bikewales.co.uk

As I mentioned in my earlier post, try and get that ride around the flanks of Moel Siabod done. Its in the main part non technical, there is one rocky section down the old river bed, but its pretty as heck and just a nice ride around a lovely mountain (Siabod) The guys from Beics Betws will give you a route I guess.

I live close to the area, so most of my riding is around these places. The Marin is less technical, whilst still keeping plenty of interest for those who want to squeeze a bit more out of it, and its so close to BYC. Penmachno is my personal fave, but as an earlier post suggests its a bit tighter and more technical and its certainly more rugged feeling. Coed Y brenin is a good hour away in the car. There is so much natural wilderness riding in the area it may be more suitable to have a crack at that, there is a bridleway arounf Moel Siabod (just out of Betws) and you can go round Llyn (lake) Crafnant (easy bridleway) and drop down to Capel Curig on a fantastic bit of singletrack of about 2 miles which you should be able to see clearly on an OS map of the area. There is a bridleway that also skirts the lake edge of Llyn Cowlyd which is a quite technical but the views on a good day are stunning. Even if its too technical and you have to walk the bikes a bit, then its just a pleasure to be there on a nice day. The off trail centre riding is just too good to miss. But if its trail centre riding you want for simplicity then you cant go wrong with the Marin.

Dont worry its not just you. I am 5'7" 10 stone nothing, with a 28-29" ish waist. Obviously I usually small sizing in pretty much everything. I bought some Endura Hummvees last year and even the medium, cuts off my circulation !!! Who the heck are they marketing the small size at !! 8O

I changed recently from a Stupy FSR to a Lapierre zesty 314. The zesty is a beautifully made piece of engineering, it looks stunning even in the entry level model. The stumpy is marginally better on the climbs (and I mean marginal) but for me the Zesty is 1000 times better on the downhills, its imporved my downhilling immeasurably. If you want a bike for fun, get the Lapierre, if its for racing and nailing all the climbs then….well…get a 22lb hardtail :) Good luck finding stock of the Lapierre though, they have proven to be so popular that they are like rocking horse plop.

Sorry for vague info BTW, riding a 140mm trail bike, 50/50 trail centre and non trail centre wild rides around wales.

Changed from juicy 5's to Formula ORO K18's recently on a new bike, no discernable differnece in performance etc, which is a good thing because I thought the Juicy's were ace.

+1 for a Vango Tigris 600. Piece of p**s to pitch and bags of space

I live in North Wales and the trail centres etc are my back garden :)
opinions as follows:-

Coed Y Brenin- excellent trail centre, lovely area, for a weekend MTB jolly, cant see much better.

Llandelga- fun, but very manufactured and non technical (even the black sections) but real fun, whether its worth travelling 3 hours for and whether you’d want to spend 2 or 3 days riding there is questionable.

Penmachno- My personal favourite, rugged, challenging, ace, Its no better than Coed Y brenin without question probably not as good, but its a bit quieter and nearer (for me)

Marin trail (Llanrwst, Betws Y Coed)- Really good fun, not a whole days ride and not as technical as Penmachno and Coed Y Brenin, but a fun way to pass a couple of hours. Its so near to Penmachno that if you combined the two you could have a great weekends riding

That just leaves all the natural trails around the area, which to be honest put the trail centres in their place :)

I love riding my road bike, but this whole crap here is what puts me off roadie clubs and races…

I appreciate what you are saying in one way, i.e too structured, unwritted etiquette etc But the whole chain gang through and off etiquette, is 90% a safety issue. To get any fun or benefit from a chaingang as oppossed to a general group ride it is neccessery to ride at 30 mph or so with your front wheel between 3-12 inches away from the back wheel of the guy in front, when people do anything erratic or dont understand the flow and leave the person in front or behing guessing what they are going to do the it could potentially bring everyone down in a chain reaction crash, not pretty. SO its not in any way road elitism or snobbish rules its there almost solely to keep everyone out of A & E !

I can also see why some might see it as a pointless pastime, but being a part of a chaingang when its working really well with guys who trust each others riding and rotating the work perfectly and not surging or doing erratic is actually a really great feeling

TF Tuned in a heartbeat. If only everyone in business had the same level of customer communication and service as they do, then there’d be nothing to whinge about on Internet forums :D !

Most of the time we ride chaingangs (through and off) with the quicker line on the outside, however if there is some factor(usually wind) dictating then we can change it to passing line to the left.
You shouldnt really think of it as two lines but more of an elongated rotating circle in a sort of perpetual motion.
Basic rule of thumb is that
when moving onto the front a slight relaxing of the pace rather than a sharp slowing should allow those coming onto the front reach there without having to accelerate.
Never surge through from the back you wont impress anyone and you will be the one that blows first as you will be on the front longer and dont continue hammering when you hit the front you will get bollocked :) Its more of a minute relaxing of the pace from the inside line that allows the outer line to move through as opposed to any hard accelerating from the passing group. Which in theory never really speeds up.
Always make it verbally obvious if you are going to miss a turn, and having missed any turns never rejoin the group going forward without letting them know, it makes everyone nervous.
The quickest chaingangs are the ones where everyone trusts each other totally and no-one surges. Its quite a feeling when its going right.
Oh and dont be afraid to let an erratic rider know, I have had a few bollockings early in my chaingang “career” its not personal and the better you get taught the more people start trusting you, and everyone benefits.

You’ve made me feel guilty now. My kids are both perfect weighted little active whippets and I am 64 kgs myself due to all the exercise the Mrs is also active and of normal weight. I was gonna buy the kids fish and chips for their tea tonight as a treat, and now I feel guilty as hell :)

Having done it, I echo some of above thoughts, it starts steep, the first 4 bends are killers. Its not that uniform, in the fact that the distance between bends is vastly different, so dont rely on that to pace yourself up.
Its not terribly difficult on fresh legs and most would get up on 39/53, but after 100 miles of the Marmotte having done the Glandon, The Telegraphe and the Galibier, its hell !! Despite its legendary status and fame its not what I would deem a pretty or great climb, it seems to exist solely as a modern manufactured wide zig zag sterile road to get punters up to a relatively ugly, charmless, modern manufactured ski resort.
I guess its become famous due to its significance to most tour results, i.e usually comes toward the end of a TDF, and it of course always ends as a mountain top finish due to it basically being a Cul-de-sac (with the exception of a couple of tiny unsuitable roads leading out of town.
If you want awe inspiring, hostile, and downright bonkers I suggest you climb the Galibier (from the telegraphe side) its harder, more spectacular by far more impressive and it feels more like you are climbing a mountain, one of natures beasts.
Its just as historic if not more and a truly impressive achievement. And its not too far

I spoke to Mojo, apparently its fine, all to do with the low / high speed compression on the new generation shocks. Particularly on the float R with the in built propedal. I may not have noticed before on my other shocks with manual switchable propedal as I always set the sag with the shock on full open so I guess that very high anti-bob compression tune wasnt that prevelant.

Meaning when a high speed load is acting on the shock it will move quickly as you’d expect (i.e a bump) but on a slow speed load (i.e a pedalling force or a slight shifting of weight is applied it has a high rate of compression damping slowing it down, so its not bobbing under pedalling, he said that this transition between high speed forces and low speed forces has increased a lot in the 2009 shocks onward. He said that the older generation shocks didnt do this so well.

I described to him in detail on the phone (twice !) the exact thing that is happening when I sit on the bike, and he basically said “yep, thats exactly what I would want to see happening, as it means its working perfectly”

So I am one happy camper now :D

Hopefully it may improve after its been ridden a couple of times, bearing in mind its brand new. I suppose it could be just tightness in the seals and bushings as new

Nope its a Float R, so no option to fiddle with it