Thanks Spooky. I may drop them a line about a 3 days stay as it is not detailed on their website.

Ah. Very good info esp. Bearback! I am heading that way from here in NZ in early August and have a few days to kill in Whistler before meeting up with a crew to ride Squamish, then Pemberton, then Chilcotins and then either down via Merritt or back home via Squamish. Hoping to fix up a chopper ride too.

Bearback – without wanting to tread on your guiding toes is there a loop or loops you would suggest on Westside? Happy as with gnarly tech on a 6 inch AM bike.

I am likely to be in Whistler about Mon 12th to Wed 14th Aug (which happens to be the middle of Crankworx). Is it easy or possible to meet other people in Whistler to do day missions out on the trails?

Anybody got recommendations for the better biker friendly accommodation in Whistler? Probably at the more affordable end of the scale. Is there some accommodation that is likely to be better for meeting people to ride with?

**** me it looks cold over there at the moment! I am enjoying our sunshine!!

More photos on the blog http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/a-week-in-the-sun-okiwi-nydia-waikakaho-whites-bay/

That or tool up. I suspect I’d get a lot more room at traffic lights if the car drivers knew I was carrying a piece.

Do you think a mock AK47 strapped across ya back would work?? Perhaps missile launchers facing forward and backwards off the bike, 007 styles??

The cycle lanes that split off and go on footpaths and then pop you out onto the road suddenly at intersections and other random places are some of the worst.

The painted cycle lanes on the roads seem to be a better option. At least you are out where the traffic can see you and know you are there!!

Specific cycle lanes separated completely from roads are ok too, but in many towns there is no space for this to happen.

There was early off road racing going on in NZ as well. From the comments I think this is from 1957 or so. Looks like quite fun terrain for the old bikes!

Dont come to NZ… the weather is crap here too… the riding is pretty decent in places tho

http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/

mmm summer is on its way over here

If you ever are having real problems getting a toight as a toight thing tyre onto a rim then apparently the trick is to slop a bunch of KY (or other similar personal lube probably) along the bead of the tyre/rim. Slips straight on into the groove after that 😉

anyone know when the hope hoops with flows are likely to be back in stock. I really have my mind set on a pair of these.

I looked at buying the bits separately, and the hubs + rims already added up to more than the complete wheels… which means by the time I bought spokes and built them I would be well out of pocket!!

The width of the rim does give a different profile to the tyre and feels more stable with bigger volume tyres. I do not want an 819, and an 823 is pretty heavy…

Yes Andy needs to attack and put some time into contador as 30 seconds is not enough time based on past time trials.

I think that Andy and Berto are actually quite well matched this year and both are finding it hard to get away from the other. Having said that Bert probably has the advantage on the steeper climbs. Andy will not win GC by sitting on Contadors wheel.

I think he is scared that if he was to try and gap Contador that Contador would then hold his wheel and counter attacked to drop him.

Something has to give!

As for Arsestrong, he is making a mockery of the tour by sitting in for a ride. People are saying that he is deliberately loosing time so that he can attack on a breakaway and win a stage… but I think the old man just does not have it anymore and is simply enjoying the Tour as a rider who does not have to hurt so bad! As for riding for the team tho… he has not been acting as a super domestique for Levi??

and to get even more out of your push, preload the front end and then push with hands and feet. The harder you preload the higher the wheel will go.

Dropping the seat definitely makes it easier to manual as well.

Lake MX165's. I do a lot of hike a bike (often carry for a couple of hours to get to the good tracks). Good amount of rubber on the sole for grip. They wear really well (I have had 4 years out of the current pair) and they are comfy both on and off the bike. I did have a pair of Pearl Izumi Alp-x shoes recently, but wrecked them in under 6 months…

Tis winter here

yeh, GE have been selling a decent amount of their stuff into the UK. As long as you have a quality product on a believable website with the right sort of marketing I cant see why people would not buy your stuff as well?? I am viewing this from your side of the ditch tho.

?? So it looks like it has to be all or nothing. You must own at least 5 bikes and have all of them set up with IGH's!!

got a thing for geared hubs there bigdug??

I am looking forward to the new 11 speed alfine, and will mount one on my TransAM!! I am even thinking one would be good on my 5 Spot!

The problem with sports where there is fear involved (like mountain biking) is that when there is a scary obstacle coming up, many people fall into a defensive position. They will back away from the scary stuff, and bring their elbows and knees in. This makes it really hard to handle a bike down technical stuff.

If you instead learn to get yourself into an "attack" position, where you force yourself to go in staying centered on the bike, with your elbows up and knees out, you will be far stronger and have much more control over the bike.

Attack is simply a word that invokes the feeling of what you are doing on the bike.

Ride it like you stole it!!!

I agree. Stiffness is a big factor too. A well damped stiff 100mm fork will work a lot better than a 120mm flexy noodle with bad damping…

I went coil and oil 130mm travel Z1 dropoffs back in about 2000. Everyone else was on there psylos or other. A ride or two on my bike and they were ready to get rid of their forks even tho the marzocchis were a fair bit heavier!

Fork performance can make a huge difference to the handling of the bike.

yeh, full suss are good especially after a long time on a hardtail… but I find it does depend a bit on the trails. There are some trails I love my 5 Spot for, and others where the 5 spot is overkill and my TransAM SS hardtail is perfect for.

I dont think you can ever have too many bikes 😉

Yeh if I am heading over I will be in touch for sure. Always good to get some advice on where to find the best bits of singletrack 😉

Tis Zane here.

High five!

Yes I think I had my wrist in plaster when you boys were there.

I am back in NZ, working a real job so I can afford shiny bikes and bits. I also do skills coaching for this crowd http://www.mtbskillsclinics.co.nz/ and I somehow manage to get out and ride my bike a bit too. There is some fantastic riding here in the South Island of NZ, as long as you are willing to do a bit of walking to get to the top.

Rides like:
http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/croesus-blackball-to-bazvegas/
http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/awesome-autumn-hike-a-bike/
http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/last-of-the-summer-mountain-biking/

The riding is good here, but i am keen as anything to get some riding in the Alps again. Especially seeing as there is snow on most of the good riding here in the south at the moment.

mmm i remember Cham riding, and I remember loving it a lot back in 2002 when I was guiding at MBMB for a season. I think I even remember Jedi and crew 😉

Must get back over that way. Damn keen to ride at Verbier. Hmmm I wonder if i could swing that for next year. Would July be the best time to hit it up?

NZCol
Inzane – Wakamarina ?

Nah, top couple are Croesus, bottom couple are from the Richmond ranges, not too far around the corner from the Wakamarina.

oh and this one too

couple from recently

Gravity Bolivia http://www.gravitybolivia.com/index.php?mod=homeb. Can set you up with awesome trails, awesome scenery, great bikes and a cultural experience that will be very different to Europe.

Dont go for the bog standard rides, ask them to put together a week of single track riding for you.

Costa Rica looks awesome too. 3000m mountains that come right down to Caribbean ocean beaches!!

or maybe I would just put it on the 5 Spot with a tensioner, coz that is what I use for most of the outback missions!!

Want 11 speed alfine!!! I am so often biking out back and dont ride stuff because of projecting derailleur grabbers. Having an alfine and no derailleur would be fantastic!! I even bought me a transition TransAM frame a couple of weeks back in anticipation!!

Yeh, hard. There is some fantastic single track through terrific terrain etc there tho. I was working for Gravity Bolivia.

If you want some fantastic single track and are heading that way definitely look them up http://www.gravitybolivia.com/index.php?mod=homeb

Yup. As the others have said you will start to feel it at about 1800m. We have some rides that get to about that altitude here in NZ, like this one

Last of the summer mountain biking

I used to work as a mtb guide in bolivia. Biking around at 3000 to 4000 meters is damn hard work. We used to shuttle a lot because riding up the hills took too long!!

I knocked a front tooth out years ago, and finally got around to getting an implant + crown a year or two back. Was a couple of operations as the bone had receded a bit and so first op was to take some bone from the jaw to add onto the hole, then second op (6 months later) was to implant the titanium screw. All went fine, was sore for about 4 days after each operation, but now it is all wizz bang and I am really glad I had it done.

Being able to smile without worrying about your smile looking bad is worth a lot!!

NZCol – Member
I see your nettles and I raise you the great australian stinging tree. **** me, 4 weeks on and I am still hurting. Thats after 2 rounds of being doused in acid and then waxed. The most evilest of things I have ever had the misfortune to spend 9 hours bashing through

Jeepers that sounds worse than the Ongaonga that grows in abundance around here. Fell into a patch of that a year or two back and could still feel it over a week later!!

So are you not present at your coaching days then Jedi??

i have never attended a mtb skills course either

is it just that photo, or does her left boob hang a lot lower than her right?? I knew a girl who broke a collarbone, and complained that afterwards the boob on the broken side hung a lot lower 😯

5'10" with about a 32 on a med DW spot, but I have long legs/short torso and like small bikes. I would think you would be good on a Large. As others have said, masses of standover and they are quite short frames.

Good for comfort, bad for handling on tech or aggressive stuff.

Yeh, was up in Tauranga last week. Seems like a nice place to live. Auckland however would do my head in, although wifey is originally from there and wants to move back 🙁