$1599 a pair if you want to be uber niche.

I have ridden in Portugal and Malaga.

Portugal was with a company called Freeride Portugal based in Olaho east of Faro (not sure they still operate) The riding round Faro was pretty rocky and tech with quite a lot of air. It felt harder than the trails around Malaga. Ride Portugal is based further west they probably do a lot round Monchique, trails here are good, longer but less techy. Not sure how many there are though.

Malaga is pretty good with lots of trails. I went with Switchbacks but if I went back again I would use the bike shuttle. I met the owner Salvo in Andorra and he is a really nice guy, he is also responsible for a lot of the trail building. He is probably a bit cheaper than Switchbacks as well.

I would go back to ride round Faro but would probably choose Malaga over Lagos.

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Interesting little exercise. How many of these bikes would you actually consider parting with cash for?

just email them in english, most germans will understand you.

http://www.ciclib.de/Rahmen/Schaltaugen.htm?shop=ciclib&SessionId=&a=catalog&t=46&c=2234&p=2234

Possibly??

Schaltauge = mech hanger

26″ wheels, got a vice & a workshop, galaxy s3 phone (points off), and drink local scrumpy

What about an expensive watch, a good salary and a 40″ waistline??

Working in the same building as a men’s health cover model, as well as sharing a gym, I can safely say the last 2 are not sport.

There is a difference between being buff and being massive. I would say competitive body building is as much a sport as any other judged activity.

but Monkeys on dogs wins:

:D

The International C3PO lookalike championships

Wimp!

Pelvic powerlifting might not be SFW

I saw a guy this summer riding a DH bike with 4 or 5 snapped, it didnt look like it had just happened either.

1:49, ooooft!!!!

1.30 got me, you can hear the guy’s nose break :o

Well I thought that part went without saying! I’m not sure he’d burn, though.

Driving a stake through his heart and shooting him with silver bullets might just work.

Thatcher Day, FFS :roll: Someone definitely has their finger on the pulse of the Nation.

Mind you I bet they pay tax.

I cant find it now but there was an article about this in the Irish Times, apparently their Southern Irish subsidiary is doing very well. Bit like Google really.

Mutton Busting: saw some of this at a rodeo in Colorado, it was hilarious!

I think you need to be a bit assertive. Tell her to stop being ungrateful, that you are working hard to sort things, to keep her ‘butt out’ unless she wants to do it and ask her when she’s going to paint the windows ffs.

Too right 8)

Tax havens are good like that

Yes I know but, they could have gone down the captive pricing route but chose not to, probably doing a lot better in the long run.

It does seem to be counter productive. The year before last I needed new brakes in Deux Alpes, the shop had the ones I wanted but at an inflated price and he would not do a deal. In the end, I drove down to Grenoble to get them.

In Andorra the prices are pretty reasonable and there is loads of people spending money in the shops, some even buying bikes.

Half the cabinet would appear to be on crack, and they are doing a wonderful job.

Most memorable was on my first day in Andorra this summer with my son (just turned 10). We decided to try and film route 66 (andorran equivalent of the Venosc descent) .

He absolutely pinned it top to bottom, over jumped all the tables to flat and passed loads people. I was actually pushing to keep up with him and rode the whole thing thinking WTF!

V5/V6 bouldering

You could probably benefit from some decent shoes at that grade, Jokers are comfy beginner shoes. The fact that others are getting up the problems in them might be because they have a better Power/Weight ratio rather than because the boots are fine.

You should also try going to City Bloc and the Depot (both Leeds) as the bouldering is way better than any of your usual walls. I thought Rokt was awful, possibly the worst wall I have ever been to.

The sticky rubber will have got coated/impregnated with chalk, give them a scrub and they should return to before. Spit works as well.

Son, although he would probably stick them all on Pinkbike and buy a carbon demo 8 with the cash :-)

Pop out to Tesco and it all kicks off :-)

whatever happened to him?

Shagged shoulders. I started climbing again a few years ago but ironically every time I start going OK, I nail myself on the bike :(

(there isn’t much in the way of fancy body movement/technique required get up a Severe)

I dare you to post that on UKClimbing :D

She makes it look very easy.

Its easy to make stuff look easy if you are strong and climbing well within your limits though.

In a lot of cases focusing on precise foot and finger placements actually use strength, waste time and can be counter productive. No style is best for everyone.

Useful techniques to think about are flagging, drop knees/egyptians, heel/toe hooks and body position (notice how ondra tries to ensure the hold is at 90 degrees to his arm).

And, do not discount strength as being less important than technique. You can only get to a certain (relatively low) level on technique alone, especially on indoor walls.

Watch this guy (Adam Ondra), he has all the techniques totally dialled!

Cheers for the replies.

£40 is a bit steep though for what I am looking for. Basically something simple for my jump bike that is no frills and solid.

What are the cheaper superstars (AM or DH ones @ £25)like?

i have some spank rims which seem bullet proof. not the lightest. i might be persuaded to part with them

Which ones and how much?

I don’t think konas were ever that bad, just out of fashion for a while. Between me and my son, we have a shred 24, an operator and a stinky and they are all great bikes.

Sun Envy (race bmx 36 spoke)are under 400g.

As a teacher I completely agree that at times an educational holiday is a benefit but I dare bet that most aren’t. It will be Disney land or some some beach with mum and dad getting pissed.

:-)

What pisses me off is when Mummy and Daddy then come to a parents evening to discuss what “WE” can do about junior’s under-performance in the exam that occurred just weeks after the unauthorised absence and for which zero preparation happened while he/she was away.

Yes it was a hire car. Already had a €35 ‘admin charge’ from the nice people at Avis for what amounted to them handing my address to the french police

You will pay it one way or the other, it is probably going to be cheaper to do it direct rather than letting the hire company do it and charge another admin fee.

Wrong. They were testing 650b three years ago.

So they tested them 3 yrs ago and decided to stay with 26″ on their bigger bikes. This must say something about the “massive” increase in performance they found 27.7″ to give, pretty much F all for the average rider.

I have seen it done and it seemed to work fine. Small frame, standard forks, 24″ wheels. I will probably do the same for my son as he moves off his 24″ bikes but will probably use short BMX race cranks to reduce the issue of a low BB.

it’s completely logical for them to say/suggest/think that people who want longer travel aren’t the same people who want “versatility, light weight, and maneuverability”.

If the session isn’t a long travel bike, I don’t know what is.

You’re basically saying that the kind of riding people tend/want to do on longer travel bikes suits 650b more than 26, yes?

Obiously not everyone at trek got that memo. From their Session page:

The original 26″ mountain bike wheel size is now the smallest of three available diameters. It’s the most flickable, most playful wheel size.

The MTB standard for versatility, light weight, and maneuverability.

I can see them getting a lot of fun out of that thing putting it back on ebay pretty quickly once they realise how impractical it is.