Or am I just being too soft.
Do you guys enjoy going out riding in this shit?
To put things into perspective I’m an Aussie and this kind of weather does my head in!

how bad is it?

It’s more the endless unrideable bog that you should worry about tbh.

That sort of riding scares me more than anything.
Ticks can be plucked and midges can be scratched.
My idea of hell is dragging my bike across endless fields of unridable moorland bog.

I’m Aussie and over here for a little while. The mtb scene is much better here.
The best Australian mountain bike site is called Rotorburn.
Rotorburn
Could be worth joining and putting up a post there.
I would love to help but I come from Perth which is only 3500kms away!

I’ve been using it from that spot for about 30 rides now and the middle link finally failed the other day due to fatigue.
It would be better to have a shorter lever but the cables hit the case and cause too much noise.
The cable ties are those thick bastards you get from Halfords – took a lot of faff but there’s very little play between the bracket and the bike. There’s a more play in the joins and brackets.
You probably could mount it onto the forks but I think the vibration would be a problem.
Backwards on the seatpost is a good option that I’ve seen but I’ve not tried it myself yet.

Any photos of this on the bike?

imo most of the time you want a feeling of speed with a chest/bike mount, so you’re probably not going to use the half-speed option of shooting at 60fps very often.

I’m no expert on this but surely 60 fps will give you better video quality than 30 fps particularly if your recording fast footage.
Is this correct?
I would imagine most of us playing with this gadget are recording the downhill singletrack sections of trail centres.
The forest road climbs are pretty dull to look at at any resolution.

I don’t use Live Movie, but in Premiere when you start the project you have to set the right format

Thanks for that I’ll check it out.
I did try premier but got lost right from the outset. It seems a way more than I want. Do you have any other suggestions for user friendly software?

Any photos of this on the bike?

There are pics above of the setup on the bike. Do they not appear for you?

Cheers mate.
No fancy software. I use Windows Live Movie maker for editing.
I recorded this in the R4 setting. I have started playing with the R3 setting recently.

My fav tire combo right now is:
Bontrager 29-4 up front
Bontrager 29-3 TLR rear
I have used a lot of tyres over the years but this combo is probably my favourite.

Cheers for the heads up Rick.
I regularly ride Glynncorryg and occasionally do the Wall when I do the W2.
The descent is fast, narrow and often on the edge of a deep ravine. Any rider (novice or otherwise) could easily come to trouble if they ride there regularly and come across an unexpected large boulder on the trail.
I certainly bomb down that descent as I know it well and wouldn’t expect to see something like that.

Nice bike but those bars need a trim or the grips moved out.
I dig the funky colour scheme.

Does anyone know roughly how long a drive it is to Brechfa from Cwm Rhaeadr?

15 miles takes about 30 minutes due to it mainly being on single carriage way blind winding roads.

Sounds to me like this guy didn’t give a CyB Black trail the respect it deserves.
To go flying over a blind crest on a black run for the first time is foolish.
He’ll have plenty of time to think about it over the next 3 months.
I’m sure most of us have been there at some point. I certainly have.
Good luck to him for a speedy and uncomplicated recovery.
The trail should be left alone.

Cwm Rhaeadr is a cracker of a short loop though. Worth a few laps for sure.

Gorlech had a few diversions in place last weekend when I rode it due to forestry work. Some nice parts of singletrack were closed.
Watch the final descent too as there’s a great big tree at about handlebar height across the trail. Its a very fast descent and I only just stopped in time.

I’ve had my Niner RIP9 for 2 years now.
I would still buy it today if I had to get another.
It is perfect for the south Wales UK trail centres that I ride.

Thanks guys. I had nothing but problems with the Joplin and was just about to buy one of these thinking that Rockshox have had a bit of experience in seals and would make a reliable product.
I have a GD and agree with the comments above that they are very easy to fix yourself. They are also quite easy to customise by creating custom drop heights with extra drill holes in the stem.
I have read lots of good things about the KS posts and no real stories of failures. I have however lost my faith in hydrolic posts.
The other I like the look of is this one.
http://www.rasebike.com/cart/

Agree with the above comments.
I ride Afan regularly but I think its a bit dodgy taking a bunch of mtb beginners there.
All the descents there require some degree of mtb skill.
Its fairly rocky too.
The blue at Brechfa is a cracking route even for experienced riders who just do it quicker.
There is a bit of climbing but I doubt it will be a problem for a group of fit roadies.

Checkput the Coed y Brenin Facebook group there’s done details on there about the accident…. Sounds nasty

got a link?

No. But i’ve bent a few shifters after banging them with my knees.

I use it on my chest mount but it has to go upside down.
I have it on full HD setting for this. I think it looks fine.
The camera needs to point upwards at around 45 degrees from the chest plate.
In the settings you have to set it to upside down mode. (UPd)
My favourite mount is on the head tube though using the roll bar mount.
It makes a cracking angle but retains good detail of the trail which you miss out on with the chest mount.

I’ve only posted one vid and its a bit lame cause I’m following my GF but to get an idea of what thee viewing angle looks like from the head tube try this:

Can post a gpx file for anyone wanting to ride this area

Looks like a cracking ride.
I’d love to see the gpx please.

It was very brave to keep recording after the injury.
He held it together better than I would have.
Get well soon mate.

Do you guys carry around the details of the local mountain rescue team on your phones?
How do you find and contact them in situations like this?

Pros

Roll smoother and faster over holes and bumps – didn’t notice any difference.
Perhaps if you’d ridden with a group on 26ers you would have appreciated how quickly their bikes decellerate in very bumpy terrain whilst the 29er holds speed through this stuff.

More traction from more tyre on the ground – didn’t notice any difference but willing to accept that this is very subjective based on tyres and ground conditions.
Try taking on a technical loose climb and watch the 26ers lose traction and stall whilst the 29er spins past.

More rolling momentum at speed – Gave it a good thrashing whenever possible especially on wide, flattish terrain but didn’t notice anything in particular but willing to accept that this aspect may only show itself under controlled situations like timed racing.
Speed is less apparent on a 29er due to the dulling of trail chatter. It may not feel so but you are actually travelling quicker. This is akin to the lack of speed awareness that one gets when they drive a luxury car.

More stability due to longer wheelbase and lower CoG – didn’t notice this effect either but again willing to accept that some might find it so.
As above.

Proportionate wheel size to body height helps taller riders get better bike fit – The fit felt fine to me but then again so do all my 26ers.
I agree with you on this one. Fit for me was never an issue on my 26ers.

Cons

Larger wheels create more drag and less lively ride – It certainly felt very lethargic and wooden.
They do in muddy conditions as more mud sticks to the tyre. In dry conditions this is not a real issue. I’m an Aussie and in dry conditions the 29er is a definite advantage and races are being won on them.

Harder to accelerate – Very noticeable, every time I tried to accelerate it felt very reluctant.
They are a little slower on burst acceleration but this is often outweighed by the improved traction and speed through the bend. Specific to the trail I think.

Harder to manual wheelie because of higher axles – Very noticeable again but willing to accept that with a bit more practice this would be a minor fault that could be easily overcome.
Need more practice – it is different

Slightly slower turning ability – VERY noticeable and I would say major contribution to overall sluggish feel of the bike under most conditions.
You adjust to that and learn to pick better lines. I keep up with my 26er buddies in the tight and twisty stuff where 29ers apparently struggle. I’ve never stalled on a switchback that my 26er mates made.

Heavier than comparable 26er – Didn’t especially notice this over my Orange 5 under static conditions but it did feel much heavier in terms of performance.
Not really relevant for most trail riders including me – its about the fun after all. Weight is moot.

Some of those trails onto roads have A lines that aren’t well signposted.

No don’t get me wrong I wasn’t implying that you got hurt because the trail was too hard for you. I was replying to BH post above about most girls walking that section under pressure from their BF’s only to find that they’re struggling later.
Hell I’ve had 3 major ops on the same arm all from mtb.
I’m just over 12 months from my last and hopefully it is my last cause it sucks.
I wish you well mate.
Freak accidents like yours are hard to avoid.
For what its worth all mine were caused by riding beyond my skills.
I think I’ve found my limit now.
I’m too old for this injury bollocks.

I gather CyB makes a point of putting this stuff at the beginning so you’ll think twice about whether you’re up to the trail.
A few of the trails there start that way.

Bad luck. I’ve been there.
I’d still go to the Alps if I were you.
There’s good wine there which will dull the pain.
I went to CyB with my GF and she had about 5 crashes in the first 100m on those Dragon Teeth.
She didn’t go further and drank tea while I did the loop.
One of the guys in our group rode like a demon all day.
He was doing 6 foot drops onto road flawlessly and carried amazing speed trough all the dodgy sections..
When we got back to the carpark he was so chuffed with his ride that he attempted a little fishtail skid.
He came off and we were all admiring his collarbone as it came through his shirt.

I saw those views. There are much worse things to look at for 5 minutes.
But the long stretches of road through tree stumps and boggy mud pits churned up by dirt bikes was what did my head in.
Each to their own but I would suggest that the reason you don’t see anybody on it is because it is shit.
Otherwise it would be as popular as the Gap route particularly being on the doorstep of Cardiff.

^^^^
Yeh got my 456 summer season with 6 inches up front.
Its nice but my 29er is much quicker despite not being able to steer.
By the sounds of things you haven’t ridden one so I’ll stop here.
You know what they say about argueing with an idiot.

MBUK did an article on Skyline last month stating it would be closed in the next few months.
I’ve read that there is a plan for a new trail but who knows how long that will take to complete.
Penhydd has been closed for ages.

To build another wind farm.
There are so many bald hills nearby I don’t know why they’ve chosen a forest to build one in though.

Time for a service to get your seals replaced.

If you want to get away from it then why do skyline.
The views are shit.
I like rides like that too but I’d rather do an epic in the Beacons like Gap road, Black mountains etc.
If I go to a trail centre I want entertainment.

I did skyline about a month ago and hated it.
As others have said there’s heaps of fireroad.
Detours at the end remove the last 3 sections of singletrack.
The last descen is still there but you can do that from the W2.
Most of the fireroad goes through felled forest so its pretty shit to look at.

The UK needs to wake up about 29ers.
They have been in the US and Aus for many years and are the most popular bikes being sold at the moment. Get with the times guys.
If you can’t afford one then its your problem but don’t diss them because of that.
I’ve been riding them for more than 2 years and will never go back.
I have a new Pivot Firebird that does not get ridden because my 29er is so good.

Cadair View Lodge. Stayed there a few times.
3 miles from the trail centre. You can ride to the trails.

I’m guessing that the error you received was because they were not gpx files. Its not just a matter of renaming the file – you have to convert them.
There are loads of free programs which do this.
I use a program called TCX Converter. Google it, install it and you can convert popular route file formats.