Formula rotors are 200mm not 203

Not the one I have fitted – definitely a 203! Was supplied direct from Formula, along with the 203mm Formula adaptor.

Will have to pop the pads out to check they’re not getting lipped at the top edge. If they are I’ll just mill down the adaptor; if not, guess I’ll leave it and buy Shimano rotors and adaptors when these wear out.

6yr old Boxer Spaniel cross and 2yr old Boxer Staffy cross – get 15 mins leg stretch in the garden in the morning, half an hour of the same at lunch, then they come to the yard with us in the evening, so 2-3hrs of running about off-lead. Occasionally I’ll take them for an actual off-lead walk round the woods, no less than 90mins. Weekends they’re up at the yard all day, so anything from 3-7hrs running about off-lead with the other owners’ dogs. Sometimes take them out with the bike as well, but that’s fast work so not usually more than an hour or so.

Some interesting points raised so far, and definitely a few that I hadn’t thought of, such as locations for coaching – I guess having Swinley, Tunnel Hill, Caesar’s Camp, and the Surrey Hills all within half an hour’s drive means I’m spoiled for variations on trails and areas to train on. I get that a lot of people learn from their riding buddies, and this happens in horse-riding too, but I’m kind of antisocial and don’t really like riding with big groups of people! I do enjoy getting better at things I like doing though, hence my interest in getting some coaching; I just didn’t necessarily want to do it the way it’s currently done.

I’m not criticising the Southern Enduro team at all either – the tracks were quite inventive in the way they cut back and forth across the hill, and in such a compact area. The going really wasn’t bad either; I’m just such a fair-weather rider I literally have no confidence or ability on anything slippery at all – just need to ride more in bad weather and get experience!

Average level riders, riding or competing at the equestrian equivalent of trail centre blue/red level will generally be having lessons every week

At the stables my wife uses this isn’t the case. Most just school the horse themselves and hack out. They are not on expensive horses and are not competing. Seen plenty of other who ride horses like this.

My wife has only had a handful of lessons on her horse in the last few years. I only have lessons as a means to access horses. [/quote]
Ok – that’s a “happy hacker” yard then (more comparable to the bridleway off-road tourers), and fair enough, most happy hackers don’t have lessons as they don’t care about the technicality of their riding, more the general experience. Every yard I’ve been on has been one where people have lessons and compete, even if it’s just small local clear round shows. Most people I bike with like challenging themselves technically and doing a few competitions here and there.

mikewsmith, I think that’s something to do with people wanting to spend their money on a tangible “thing” they can have, rather than something intangible like a lesson.

Again though, what I’m asking here is not the reason for having lessons; rather the reason for the difference in type of lessons that those who do have them, have! Sorry for repeating myself, but we seem to be answering the wrong question here 😉

Forget I even mentioned horses! See the post about tennis coaching above – little and often. Golf lessons are the same – short lessons but regularly. Why isn’t this offered for biking?

One of the biggest mistakes amateurs in any sport make is getting something right once and leavng it at that – the pros will repeat it over and over until it’s second nature.

Not quite sure that I agree with this. Professionals or high level competitors are focused on what they need to practice to succeed in my experience. For example any horse very rarely has 3 good paces. It would be bonkers to spend your time on the pace which you know that your horse is a natural in. You will spend far more time on something you know that you need at the level you are at that your horse is not a natural in. [/quote]
You’re not exactly disagreeing with me there! If a pro identifies an area they need to work on, they don’t stop once they get it right – they repeat it multiple times so that it becomes ingrained and repeatable with consistency. Generally if an amateur gets something right once, they then move onto the next thing. It’s just that what amateurs and pros need to work on will differ greatly.

OP I rode a pony for three years and never had a single lesson aside from advice from the owners (I used to ride their second pony after my mate their son got a younger, larger pony). Lessons where out of the question as my parents couldn’t have afforded it. People have horse lessons as they don’t own a horse. I think mtb-ing is quite different

<bangs head>
I’m not asking why horse riders have lessons and MTBers don’t! I’m asking why the STYLE of lessons is different…

Although, on your point of “People have horse lessons as they don’t own a horse” – incorrect. Average level riders, riding or competing at the equestrian equivalent of trail centre blue/red level will generally be having lessons every week – hence my reason for asking why MTB coaches don’t offer this sort of regular, shorter-period coaching as opposed to the longer but less frequent type.

It’s also about getting your technique right regardless of the scale of the obstacle – plenty of people can ride off a kerb but how many can ride off a 6′ drop? Plenty can pop a 2′ jump on a horse, but how many can jump 4’6″? If you have the right technique then the size is irrelevant.

That’s getting away from the point though; that’s for the “why coaching?” debate, as opposed to the style and type of coaching discussion here.

So, any coaches/instructors care to weigh in?

I’ve brought this up before, but comparing it to tennis coaching. Again it is pretty normal to have tennis coaching and often once a week. Around £10 for an hour and a bit in a larger group or £50 or so for 1:1. As ac282 mentions you’d need some terrain to coach on but there’s plenty near major urban centres and trail centres are often busy. A regular midweek evening session would be quite nice with either just coaching and sessioning or as part of a fun ride.

Yes – this! It’d be great, every fortnight or so, to be able to meet up with an instructor at a specific location, work on a few things for an hour or so, then go away for a couple of weeks to work on them before the next session. It could be something as simple as properly nailing tight switchbacks or something – you only need a tiny section of trail for that.

One of the biggest mistakes amateurs in any sport make is getting something right once and leavng it at that – the pros will repeat it over and over until it’s second nature.

I imagine most people who start riding don’t have a horse/pony, so that’s a big reason to go to a riding school.

I’m not talking about people who are just starting to learn to ride per se – more the people who are at a decent standard but want to improve to compete or whatever.

Again, I’m not talking about why people have coaching! I’m wondering why MTB coaching is of the intensive-but-infrequent style as opposed to the way most other sports are coached.

I’m not talking about the fundamental diference between a bike and a horse, rather the difference in approach to rider coaching. I still don’t see why bike coaching couldn’t follow the little-and-often approach – the fact that horses are alive and bikes aren’t is neither here nor there.

Besides, the way you see some people ride, it does appear as if the bike is doing things they’re not telling it to… 😉

Apple products
Games consoles
New cars
Career progression
Parenthood
Beach holidays

I’ll second Fexofenadine – nothing else even touches my hayfever – officially they can only prescribe 120mg for allergies but I’ve had to up it to 180mg this year it’s that bad. I’m also on the steroid nasal spray as well and still have a few symptoms but it’s holding it at bay (just). Doctors can prescribe a couple of months’ supply in one hit which makes it cheaper than OTC stuff.

I feel your pain..! I’m a bit of a fair-weather rider and just couldn’t get to grips (literally) with the slimy chalk so I DNS’d as well rather than risk the massive off I was likely to have. Need to ride more in wet weather I think, I just lose all confidence otherwise.

I’m sure it’s a great venue but for an Enduro race doing the same transition climb six times and two of the stages twice would have just sucked the fun out of it for me.

Someone once phoned in to Radio 2 asking for traffic news between Stratford-upon-Avon and Munich. Apparently he was already late and didn’t want to go from Bard to würst..

IGMC..

I bought my Voodoo Wanga sliding dropout as a fully-built SS for £150 so it is doable..

Jono – emailed you 🙂

I’m sure they do, but that’s not what what I was asking! When I say centred over the braking surface I mean radially, not laterally.

Emailed you – bit late in the day but hoping this is still available!

Sticking a dropper on my Pitch was one of the best things I did – went from toying with the idea of a new bike to wondering why I’d want to sell it! Still have a hankering for an Enduro 29er but that’s just new-bike-itis..

How long have you had the TransAM? Did it feel “right” to start with?

AM41s and Superstar Nanos here, great combo.

6yr-old Spaniel X Boxer and 2yr-old rescue Staffie X Boxer – both on Natural Instinct and Nutriment raw. Used to feed working dog dry stuff, the usual; having done a lot of reading I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole now. I’m sure plenty of people say their dogs are fine on it but the older one is far better since we switched.

Working away so on #3 of Jennings Cumberland at the hotel..

Is the Pinnacle Ramin One https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ramin-one-2015-mountain-bike-EV207300 cheap enough to be able to bodge guards onto? Don’t think it has eyelets that I can see..

FM4 (based in Austria, mix of English/German/French), interesting getting a European view on current affairs.

Ibiza Global Radio when I want to chill out.

Idobi/Idobi Howl when I don’t..!

Ebay, Retrobike.co.uk, Pinkbike..

To be honest, if your original fork was the carbon Judy then the XC30 is a little.. low rent, shall we say!

Might be worth looking at the older Rockshox SID as that is/was the top of the line XC fork. Plenty for sale that have V-brake mounts.

Regarding a spring conversion on your Judy FSX – ask on Retrobike.co.uk

I’m guessing that you’re in the US, yes? In which case ignore the suggestion of talking to Mojo Suspension Tuning as they’re UK-based.

Reba is a newer model of Rockshox, and models up to about 2007 still sometimes had V-brake bosses on. Retrobike.co.uk is a forum dedicated to old-school bikes, and someone on there will almost certainly have or know where to find what you need.

Certainly something with around 80mm of travel will be correct for the frame. It’s worth having a look on the Pinkbike classifieds as they can occasionally throw up a gem: http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1710054/

Possibly a bit further afield than you’re looking at, but looking at their website or seems like they’d do exactly what you’re looking for: http://www.mtbtours.ro/en/

Pole Evolink 130 is very slack and takes two bottles..

Pole Evolink 130 is 650b+/29.

Don’t really ride road (am I in a minority here!?), so 99% solo for me. Unless you count hacking out on bike alongside the OH or one of our sharers on the horses 😉

I’ve no idea if they’re any good, but I’ve been quite tempted to book a week with these guys: http://www.mtbtours.ro/en/ – Carpathian mountains in Romania.

Both of ours are exclusively on raw diet – would never go back to dry/cheap stuff now.

On the left is our Boxer X Staff cleftie rescue, on the right is our Boxer X Spaniel we got from a friend. Both awesome.

In the great tradition of recommending what you have – based on your requirements I’d say our Boxer X Staff rescue fits the bill. Short-haired, 25kg, great with people, great with other dogs, runs for hours but happy to chill out all day, unbelievably affectionate but not needy or neurotic, smart and trainable. Only thing to get over is the silly negative stereotypes about how they look.

Not exactly like Hunters but my Grubs Frostline 5.0 neoprene boots are doing sterling work this winter. Very trainer-like sole and extremely comfy. The Rainline model comes in some rather feminine colours too.
http://www.charliesdirect.co.uk/grub-s-rainline-wellingtons-pink

We had similar issues to you with the mainstream rescues ruling us out (both of us work and our existing dog was an entire male, but we are home at lunch, have a great walker for emergencies, and the dogs spend 3-4hrs a day off-lead at the yard with our horses) – we found AA Dog Rescue in Essex and they were fantastic; they take every potential adoptee on their merits, and once they met us and our dog, they were happy to rehome to us.

As you can see, the two boys get on fine!

Rescue is a Boxer X Staffie and he was 7 months old when we got him. Funnily enough, he came to the rescue via a Gumtree advert. I know they’re a distance away, but give them a try. http://www.aadogrescue.org.uk/

Stolen from Pinterest.. You may like to change the balloon colour and remove the text 😉

I’d certainly be having a look at what http://www.christopherward.co.uk have got for that budget.

New C60 Trident Pro Titanium looks fantastic and only a smidgeon over budget: