Whereabouts in the Vosges is it? up near Lac Blanc?

http://www.mx1.co.uk/category/neck_braces some cheaper ones here

The ixs one was in fact evs

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/protection/neck-braces/product/review-evs-sports-rc-evolution-neck-brace-09-35233/

I think the guy who developed the leatt brace was a spinal injuries doctor in South Africa and designed it in response to the injuries he saw over there from mx and bike crashes. I am sure they are effective BUT they are way expensive and the chances of ever needing one are probably pretty small. Having said that, I will probably end up buying one for my son as I dont fancy pushing him around in a wheelchair if that small chance ever arose.

There is an IXS one that is a lot cheaper £135 i think

Definitely need the landlords agreement. The landlord has the right to refuse to allow the assignment of the lease if they feel that the quality of the lease is worsened.

The lease states that sub-letting is OK if landlord informed which is fine. But can it be done as an informal agreement between the 2 people without involving the landlord?

In most cases I would say no.

Also would any agreement be legally binding should there be an issue, i.e. a roof repair or similar, so would it remove the liability for the second person?

A scenario, you make an informal agreement. The roof falls in and is going to cost a lot. The other party decides to forget about the handshake and refers to the original legal agreement. You would still be liable.

Also, if you are still on the lease and the guy who agreed to take it over informally went bust, the landlord will be coming to you for the rent.

I would say that for piece of mind, limiting the chance of any surprises in the future, the goodwill of the landlord etc, it is worth the cost of sorting things out legally.

You need the permission of the landlord and there will almost certainly be some legal expenses involved.

We’re talking about 4yr olds bikes here, personally I’ve never met any 4yr old bikers that “do it all”

4yr olds don’t ride 20/24 inch bikes and personally I have seen plenty of kids on 20/24 inch bikes that would have benefited from having a better one.

I think all bikes are sold with two brakes, my sons bmx came with a crappy disposable front one that was there only to meet that requirement. You will probably find that the fork has a hole in the crown to fit one to.

Cant see a race bmx as being great as a do it all bike though tbh. Wrong gearing, skinny tyres, reasonably harsh ride.

Its an interesting question: would people be prepared to pay a premium for a light, strong kids mountain bike (20/24in wheels) with decent geometry and something like a 75mm air fork. Or even a lightish full suspension bike? It seem like good kids have to make do with some major compromises at the moment.

Isla bikes were pretty good about offering a new frame. It sort of highlights the isla bikes short coming though, they are light but not up for much abuse. Wheras the scott:

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Can’t beat Islabike for weight, quality or resale value.

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Didn’t get much for this second hand.

From experience the best kids “mountain bikes” are the spesh and the scott voltage. The frames are tough and the suspension works better than some of the other brands, kona for example.

Halton gill, horse head moor,langstrothdale,up valley to meet pennine way, down to Horton in ribblesdale, bridleway around edge of pen y gent back to littondale. The pen y gent section will be a bit boggy at the moment .

http://abo34.free.fr/index.php?post/2010/11/23/Calendrier-2011-des-enduros-et-DH-Marathon

Found this, its got a pretty french focus and the dates are for 2011 but hopefully it will get updated for next year

Heamatoma almost certainly. Its the blood underneath the skin and it will go away (eventually) . I had pretty much exactly the same thing last year.

tribe sports group do a series of enduro (les gets, Val d’allos, and another one I cant remember, maybe Orcieres) and all mountain races. Their web site has no dates for next year yet.

There is also a race in montgenevre again no dates yet.

That figure quoted earlier of 125,000 visitors a year does not seem over optimistic. Llandegla was getting 120,000 in 2008 and is probably easily over 200,000 now. I am sure quite a few of the llandegla market (and quite a few others) would be happy to travel a bit further now and again for a bit of uplift action.

Assuming that it would only be downhillers using the facilities is misguided IMO. Loads of riders spend thousands of pounds to go to the alps every year and don’t own downhill bikes. At lac blanc there were kids on hardtails, people on XC bikes and obvious beginners on rental bikes. There was riders from Belgium, Luxenbourg and Northern France (5 /6 hour drive away), Germany and Switzerland as well as locals and at that time of the year the park was only open weekends. A 5/6 hour drive opens up a big catchment for a chairlift in the tweed valley. The queues for the lifts probably had a couple of hundred people in them at any time but it ran pretty quickly as each lift carried 3 bikes.

Not sure Fort William is a good indicator of what could happen in the tweed valley. It is miles away from any decent population densities, is a ballache to get to and has only two runs.

Back of envelope calculation: Doing a bit of googling it seems that average prices for a 4/5 seater lift in the alps is 6m Euros (£5m) a lift that is not designed for the alpine elements might come in cheaper maybe? so @ 5% interest that would need £250,000 to service borrowing.

Lets say there is an average of 300 riders paying £20 a time and the lift is open 150 days a year. Turnover would be £900,000.

Should leave more than enough to pay the overheads I would have thought and that is with pretty conservative user figures. Other profit streams would then also open up, bike school, bike hire, cafe etc and there would be increased spending along the tweed valley which would help all the locals.

I was at Lac Blanc in the vosge this summer. Small bike park, 6 trails, probably less vertical than Inners YET it sells more summer pass tickets than any where other than Deuz Alpes and the whole Portes du Soleil area. It was absolutely rammed due to its relative easy access and it was renting out over 100 bikes each weekend and all these had to be reserved at least a week in advance.
I think Lac Blanc is a good case study as to what could happen at Inners if done properly and that you would be amazed at the numbers that would use a chairlift if the trail network was democratised a bit. Not only hard core downhillers but their kids and partners, XC riders looking for a change, kids/adults trying riding without the hassle of of getting sweaty. I think 500 a day on a summer weekend (maybe half that mid week) could be easily achieved and even winter weekend would still see a fair amount of action.
If the lift and trails could be done for reasonable money then I am pretty sure it would be sustainable and good for the local economy.

What about a magpie?

Explaining death to a kid is easy. This summer I had to explain what rob warner meant by “he’s sweating like a whore in a church”

2009/2010 stinkys were about 64 degrees so not that steep. As coyote said, they are a bit more of an all rounder BUT they are great value, fun and pretty bombproof.

If you are looking for a good value second hand, proper downhill bike then the Operator, Kona Stab, Glory or the Commencal seem to be available at pretty good prices. Forget about Intense, Morewood or Transition as they will still be expensive second hand.

Alternatively, look at the YT industries Tuesday at just over 2000 Euros brand new, saw some this summer and they looked really good VFM:
http://www.yt-industries.com/shop/index.php?page=product&info=153&x33ec5=ih04hb44nggpiio779bsgd94vj45k3r9

Avoid beeston dewsbury and batley. I would struggle to recommend morley. Can’t really comment on the others.

Booking a ferry to the continent for nov/ early December. South of France should be reasonably temperate. 😀

Anyone?

To be fair to Jungle and the bike shop, it is not an issue of the sales of goods act. The bike was not defective and still would’nt be if the instructions on the SC website had been followed.

Loosen the grease gun nozzle so the grease gun can be easily removed, and wipe off any excess grease.

It is an issue of what is the shop/distributor prepared to do as a gesture of goodwill. I cant see its great for the brand to have taken the initial decision they did. But ultimately they are not doing anything (legally) wrong in the approach they took.

Maybe try switcbacks downhill or freeride portugal if you are looking for mostly descending. Both uplifted and loads of really good riding: no roots but plenty of rock and dust.

Was in portugal last easter and it was a revelation. Rocky, techy downhills, excellent accommodation (self catered though) and great guides.

I really liked it, especially the two silos, the clever roof and the mix of old and industrial. Heating bills would be a nightmare though.

I don’t think it can be called unimaginative as they have created a home that is a long way from the norm, has some inspired features and has loads of character.

I personally would not recommend a scott spark to anyone. Rubbbish DT swiss rear shock, a very fragile rear end (I am light and it snapped in no time at all) and a not very pleasant riding experience. Buying one was a big, expensive mistake.

I actually meant seat tube angle.
In terms of weight distribution is the seat tube angle only concerned with getting a stable sitting position or is there more to it?

Take a kona operator, its steep but a commencal supreme is about 7 degrees slacker. Is that a function of the suspension design or are the designers trying to achieve something else.

Apparently Julien Absalon only rides off road. I think he probably meets the fit and fast criteria.

As above, Deuz alpes is a lot quieter than Les Gets/Morzine. No queues for the lifts and potentially much longer runs. Plenty to do but it is all downhill pistes.

The other side of the valley has more enduro style riding and the resorts of Alp d’huez/Oz en Oisans/Vaujany are all linked together by lifts.

This year I did a big road trip and rode all over the alps and pyranees. Deuz alpes/Alp d’huez was my favourite area in terms of the quantity and quality of easily accessed riding. Dont go when the tour passes through though, the whole area is a road block, its mental.

If you do decide to go, dont stay in deuz alpes as access to the resorts becomes a pain. Venosc (good campsites) or Bourg d’oisans would be give more flexibility.

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My son bought a Swiss army knife with money from his sixth birthday. He still has all his fingers and hasn’t stabbed anyone.

kids on bikes are always good!

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Save yourself some money and go to deux alpes/alp d’huez there is easily a couple of weeks riding there on great trails that do not need a guide to show you around.

Another good area is around Montgenevre and the italian alpi bike resorts of Sestriere, bardonecchia and Sauze d’oulx all close enough to commute to from one base.

The Austrian resorts are open till the end of September I think

It’s ok and you do probably need to go with a guide to find the best stuff as the waymarked trails are mostly fireroad. A better option might be Deux alpes with loads of good trails and some really fun easy ones.

If you do go to les arcs don’t miss out on tignes up the road. Excellent place, top trails and free lifts.

Talk o John at freeride Portugal. He has some really nice apartments in olhao in the algarve. Riding optional but ace.

Keep going to the pyranees. It’s beautiful here in Andorra.

http://www.bigbike-magazine.com/station-vtt/pyrenees.html

Andorra is ace, La Molina is good for reds and harder, Les Angles is good but has only 4 real downhills.