Aren’t forged ones supposed to be stronger than machined due to the grain structure alignment during the forging process and the lack of stress risers from machining..?

I came to the conclusion a while ago that whilst I think racing is brilliant, I’d also rather be out on my lonesome or with a couple of friends. Biking is supposed to be stress relief for me, not the most stressful bit of the week!

Yup, this is me as well.  Attempted a local enduro race a couple of years ago, freaked out in pratice at a small rock garden that on any other day I wouldn’t have even blinked at, handed my entry back and haven’t bothered since!  Biking is what I do to get away from stress, not create it…

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/900-urban-cycling-poncho-yellow-black-id_8354731.html

£25?

I suppose I’m lucky being located near Farnham – within half an hour/45mins I’ve got Tunnel Hill, Surrey Hills, Rogate, QECP, Hindhead; all of which have decently built stuff of all levels. Mind you, if I didn’t there’s nothing to stop me spending a couple of weekend afternoons with a shovel and rake and build some stuff.

Because we have horses I don’t tend to ride much through the winter, so my wet weather skills are non-existent! Something I definitely plan to work on this year.

The teeth are supposed to look like that..

Having said that, that chainline looks a bit off – the outer of a double is a bit too far out so I’d be moving a spacer over.

If people are chipping in bits I’ve got some Tektro cable disc calipers I’m happy to send your way. Drop me a pm if you’d like them :)

I think the big thing I’ve learned has actually been that to get better at stuff, you actually have to make it a priority – at the moment, if I’ve got 2hrs available to ride I’d rather spend 30mins each way in the car and get an hour’s session in at Rogate working on specific things than blast round a loop where you only ride any particular section once.

I suppose it’s come from being involved in equestrian world (OH has regular lessons with top riders) where there’s a real focus on being a good rider (as to ride badly means you can actively harm the horse) and in continuous improvement through working on specific exercises, pushing your comfort zone gradually, setting yourself up for success, and so on. Something I’ve definitely tried to apply to improving my bike riding.

Yup, Bell Super (I have a Specialized-shaped head) was always loose at the sides for me.  Bought one of the cheap Carnac/On-One enduro helmets recently and they’re exactly the same.

For a virtually identical spec to the Boardman but for £440, I’d have the Voodoo Hoodoo..

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-hoodoo-mens-mountain-bike-16-18-20-22-frames

EDIT: actually, I’d go to £680 (down from £850) and get the Bokor https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bokor-mens-29er-mountain-bike-18-20-22-frames

29er, Rockshox Judy forks, SRAM NX, SRAM Level brakes, decent looking geometry.  Can’t think of much better for less tbh.

Disconnect your brakes first, and make an attempt on JoeFM’s stack of KoM’s. Film it so we can see how you get round the labyrinth rooty hairpins ‘flat out’.

Hey, I never claimed to be fast.. ;) Anyone who I’ve ridden with would testify to that..

Maybe I’m being overly harsh then, or viewing it with whatever the opposite of rose-tinted spectacles is!

Might find a quiet couple of hours and give it another chance..

How can riding a bike near your limit both physically and technically, with a bunch of mates for several hours and the associated banter that comes with friends, be boring?

I personally generally prefer trails with an un-artificial surface where the technicality comes from the trail itself, not having to go flat out to make it interesting. Plus I don’t ride with friends, am not really into “banter” and typically ride places and times that give me a good chance of avoiding people, not being amongst crowds of them.

I actually really liked “old” Swinley, before all the surfaced waymarked trails got put in as you could pretty much make up your own loop, and it wasn’t all that busy. The original Whole Nine Yards trail was great..

It’s not even worth a half-hour round trip, let alone four.. So many people seem to love the place, but I just don’t get it. There’s far, far better riding – Tunnel Hill (the bits that are still open), Hindhead/Devil’s Punchbowl, Surrey Hills, etc. If your idea of a good ride is following 20k of polished yellow stones with minimal natural features, crack on..

My Topeak digital gauge does Presta/Schrader tyre/fork/shock.. No idea if it’s accurate but it seems to be repeatable which is the main thing.

Actually, I did use it on car tyres straight after using a garage’s tyre machine and it read exactly the same so it’s not far off.

Fair enough! :D

Can’t beat a good bit of mates rates..

granny_ring – 142mm rear hub is non-Boost, so you want 6mm offset for direct mount.

PolisherMan – genuine question; I’m assuming that you bought a direct mount, non-oval ring, correct?  If so, given that the SRAM steel rings linked to above are only £17 for a better-engineered, longer lasting part – what was you reasoning behind ignoring the advice you asked for and paying more (I assume – rrp on Burgtec rings is £49.99) for a technically inferior part?  I’m genuinely not trolling, just interested behind the thought process.

Point of note – the 4-bolt SRAM steel rings are 94BCD, not 104BCD.

I bought a direct mount 30T SRAM steel X-SYNC last week from Evans expecting it to be the 11 speed original tooth profile, but it’s actually the new 12sp Eagle tooth profile. Works fine with an 11sp chain, so I’m very happy for £17!

I’ll second the SRAM X-SYNC steel rings. Sub-£20, best tooth profile, and last forever. Weight difference over ally is about a bag of crisps. What’s not to love?

Zee on my Aeris 145 – if you’ve got the Super Deluxe shock you’ll need the Di2 adaptor to drop it down in the frame as well.

TranzX JD-YSP29 is external and 150/170mm but I can’t find anywhere selling it, only the 125mm JD-YSP19.

Yeah, I’d forgotten about Mondraker’s Forward Geometry as well…  You can go back a fair few years and still meet your requirements actually: https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2423330/ 2016 Foxy R – HA only 67.5deg, but you can fit a slackset.  Even the new alloy ones aren’t too expensive tbh.

If it’s properly plugged you’ll be there for days with olive oil, drops, etc – it’s not worth the hassle.

Find a local microsuction place and just get that done; it takes about 10-15mins and they’re guaranteed to get rid of everything .

After particularly troublesome blockages earlier this year that drops, etc wouldn’t touch I decided to bypass syringing as the blockages were completely hardened and plugged, and paid for private microsuction.

Yes, it was about £45, but after two weeks of not being able to hear, wooly thinking, balance issues and so on it was well worth it.

I like the Park Inn by Radisson – 5min walk to Deane’s, The Crown for drinks, or (my personal favourite) the Ginger Bistro.

https://www.resolver.co.uk/consumer-rights/product-manufacturing-manufacturers-guarantees-warranties-complaints

“Manufacturer’s warranty

The retailer may ask you to contact the manufacturer directly. However, your contract is with the retailer and not the manufacturer and it is therefore the retailer’s responsibility to resolve and rectify the issue.”

If you bought a brand new car from Ford that had Michelin tyres fitted and one was faulty, would you accept being told that you had to go and deal with Michelin..!?

That’s shocking tbh – almost worthy of a name&shame – if you bought the complete bike from them, any failure of any of the parts on it is their responsibility to rectify as your contract is with them.

Ball of your foot over the innermost front pin on the pedal.

Heavy feet, light hands.

Drop heels, don’t force them down. It should be as though a weight attached to your heel is pulling it down, as opposed to pushing down from above.

Always sit unless out in the woods or the hygiene of the toilet prevents it – studies have shown that the bladder doesn’t empty fully when standing which can lead to prostate issues, plus it’s just cleaner..

Again, wrong manufacturer, but I can just get my large Aeris 145 (1250mm wheelbase) in our Alfa MiTo with both wheels off and dropper down – reckon the UP is a bit bigger tbh.

My OH had exactly this situation (on the same frame, no less!) – she used a KS i950r in 300mm length with a 75mm drop. Not sure how easy they’ll be to find, mind..

Coheed And Cambria – when it came out, the first album was so awesome (and it still is), but they got progressively more and more epic with each subsequent album, so in places the first now sounds a bit demo-ish. Third album seems to be the most highly regarded but I love them all..

Linkage type is only one part of the kinematics really, so you can’t look at it in isolation; two Horst link bikes might have totally different leverage curves, running different tunes of shock – rendering any direct comparison irrelevant. Even changing between the standard and LT linkage on the Aeris 145 changes the leverage curve enough to make it feel very different apparently.

Tl:Dr – go test ride them!

Haha, I know – I just meant if one preferred not to be seen entering an actual Halfords establishment.. ;)

It’s already been linked to, but I think the 18″ Voodoo Bokor from Halfords could be spot on.  Good looking spec and geometry, and for the (sale) price of £680 it’s tough to beat.  Give it a year of riding to figure out what sort of stuff you like doing and whether it’s something you want to get into seriously, look after it and you’ll make a decent amount back if you decide to upgrade.  As a returning beginner it’ll be more than up to the job.

EDIT: You can go to a Cycle Republic store for the Voodoo if you don’t like the idea of going into a Halfords..

If you want to up the budget a bit then the Sonder Frontier is worth a look: https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/sonder-frontier

You’re going to struggle with the ETT measurement as anything with “new school” geometry that meets your ST/Reach requirements will likely have a steep seat angle, shortening the ETT.

It’s already been mentioned but I think the small Aeris 145 from Bird will probably get the closest.  Definitely close enough that it’s be worth a test ride.  You could always fit a dropper with a setback head and that would actually give you the ETT you want.

Otherwise, have you heard of MDE Bikes?  They have the option to customise the geo so you could get exactly what you want: http://www.mdebikes.com/rider-tuned-geometry/

The LT linkage for the 145 doesn’t just change the amount of travel, it alters the suspension curve as well.

Brilliant, thanks :)

If you get an Allroad, don’t get an auto as the gearboxes are weak (ask me how I know..) and you need a very lightweight trailer as the diesels only have a 2100kg braked towing weight.

For £4-5k I’d be getting either a Freelander 2 (again, need a lightweight trailer) or my preference, a WK-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0CRD. Merc engine, and the Americans like to fix everything themselves so the online resources are huge. 3500kg braked towing weight too, so it’ll tow anything. Used to have a previous generation WJ Grand and never should have sold it tbh.

Mine’s an inline post, don’t know if you prefer that or the Ritchey setback above..