GrahamS

Inzane: also before trotting out the old “my mate set up a better forum than this in a hour” do try to bear in mind that this is (apparently) the most popular mountain bike forum in the UK and may be under a little more load than your mates forum!

I was not trying to be glib or anything mentioning the other site. It was just an example of the forum code that is out there which can be very quickly adapted.

As to load, that is a factor of how much money STW are willing to spend on hardware/bandwidth supporting the forum. I am guessing that having a low key forum enables them to run it at a level of advertising that is not intrusive on the forum… and so keeps members happy and STW happy.

Win win is all good.

3. Being able to go straight to the last unread post in a thread would be great. Having to click once to get to the thread and then again on the page of the thread you want to go to is a bit of a hassle.
You can…just click on freshness on the main page

2. Have avatars on the posts. It makes identifying posters much easier when reading a forum.
PLease God, no

1. Quote what another poster has said with the click of a button. This makes it much easier to follow what someone is saying in response to another.
Only about 5 or 6 clicks currently?

ah… freshness indeed!

The quoting thing would be the nicest upgrade.

Avatars. Ok, hosting off site does save bandwidth and some people dislike them. I will just have to learn to read the username! Signatures and bollocks I can do without too. Being able to PM a user is sometimes a nice feature tho.

So i see there was an upgrade done in the not too distant past of this forum. I have not been around on here for a while… but have recently come back.

Now when I used to post on here 5 years ago or so it was a pretty basic forum… and so I come along and see that I have to log in again because it is a pretty basic forum… and when I get in here I find that it is still very much like it used to be.

Now I am sure there are reasons for this, but the amount of code out there to make a very functional forum for not too much work is pretty amazing these days. For instance this forum http://www.derailled.co.nz was put together by a mate of mine in about 1 hour… and it has a lot more functionality. It however does not have the number of users to make it entertaining very often.

I enjoy STW because of the witty banter that goes on. So many other sites take themselves waaaaay too seriously or are flooded with idiots. However it would be nice to be able to:
1. Quote what another poster has said with the click of a button. This makes it much easier to follow what someone is saying in response to another.
2. Have avatars on the posts. It makes identifying posters much easier when reading a forum.
3. Being able to go straight to the last unread post in a thread would be great. Having to click once to get to the thread and then again on the page of the thread you want to go to is a bit of a hassle.

Not being able to upload photos to posts (and having to link them from an external site) is ok, but it does mean that very old threads will often lose photos as people change what photos are posted where.

Not having a go at anyone… just letting you know my thoughts…

Even in the Lakes Inzane? Wheres that?

That would be New Zealand 😉

Down near Fiordland at Lake Narine. Nothing really bikable within a couple of days walk of here!!

I do a bit of walking myself…

Ramblers Walkers should be off walking somewhere decent like this… then they would not be such grumpy old sods

Mmmmm end of summer riding here in NZ

There are other posts of this nature on mtbr. Seems sometimes there is some play. Being in the UK you should just talk to Hope.

I got in trouble at work for excessive net usage.

Pesky net meters 😡

I always like meeting mountain bikers… Not that likely to meet many of you unless you are heading to NZ tho…

Riding

more riding

casual at work pic (photo take by a client)

more riding

Back in the day retro riding. Circa 1993??

After smacking my knee on the remote a couple of times and not really using it I took mine off.

203 front, 180 back. Ride a bit of everything including some big mountain stuff. Love the big rotors. Change pads about every 9 months or so… which was about the same when i was running 160s on this bike. I dont think the size of the rotor has any effect on how quickly I wear through pads.

What compound pads you use does have a huge effect!!

second the 5-spot. Great bike!

What ever you do, make sure you take a bike that likes sand 😉

Full suss are more fun. I own fully rigid retro bikes, hardtails and full sussers. I ride all of them sometimes, but spend 95% of my time on the full susser (5 spot).

I spent 5 years working as a mountain bike guide around the world, and I only had a hardtail. I was often guiding people on full suss and yet the Hardtail certainly was not holding me back. I was often working a bit harder to ride the same stuff smoothly or as fast though.

Full Suss is more fun. I love epic singletrack riding. 7 hours of technical beech forest single track is my favourite sort of day. After 7 hours of technical trails on the full suss I am in better shape than I would be after 7 hours of working the hardtail… and I had more fun!

You certainly dont need a full suss to enjoy riding or learn how to ride stuff, but it can make technical riding more fun and more forgiving.

People who think they need a different bike before they will be able to ride an obstacle need to HTFU!!

I love them for all conditions. Here in Christchurch we have many square edge and sharp rocks to ride through and I have no problem with the sidewalls. I am the sort of person who puts a tyre on my bike and then rides it until it wears out, and so like an “all rounder” sort of a tyre. The Eskar has to be the best all rounder I have found for my riding style. It hooks up in any conditions and it corners very predictably.

If they have metal inserts in the end you might be able to run bar ends. Generally bar end on riser bars look pretty crap, but these days you can get pretty short things that look more like a bulge at the end of the bar… maybe you could try these things??

Like these Cane Creek things

Wouldn’t it have been easier to get a new wife that accepts you need a new bike?? 😛

There was one other guest, who didn’t actually seem to like bikes – he was really miserable and no-one could quite work out why he was there…weird.

Yeh, the guy who arrived with his bike wrapped in shrink wrap…

Dave, if you do head on out definitely drop me a line. I can help with recommendations etc. Easiest way to find me is to jump onto Vorb http://www.vorb.org.nz/ and find a post by Inzane. There are options to email or send me a private message from there.

Vorb is also a good place to start a thread asking for which rides etc to do where and other general NZ questions. People are generally very helpful over there.

Jacksta. Sorry, I dont know who has the best bike hire in Rotorua. Trails are well marked and signposted, and there are maps available. It is much easier to go for a ride with someone who knows their way around but you can figure it out easy enough with the map and signage. Again post these questions on Vorb and people will help you out. Someone might even offer to show you around.

Right! Happy days indeed! That wheel-jig lasted the season and got a fair bit more use with other wheels 😆 although people gave me strange looks when I pulled out some cobbled together bits of old bed to true their wheel 😆

That first week of riding was hard out… had to ride all the climbs as the lifts were not running for summer! Was it a San Andreas you were riding??

As you might be able to tell I still ride my bike. I dont guide anymore, but I do teach mtb skills for this crowd http://www.mtbskillsclinics.co.nz/

Inzane – were you a guide for MBMB back in 2002?

Yes. Do I know you? 😀

Mtbike guided in Bolivia for a couple of years, then guided here in nz for a while… now have a real job and a house here in Chch

ah, Conti Vert Pros used to be my preferred tyre…. but I have moved onto Specialized Eskars and find them better in almost all conditions!!

Contis 2.3’s are narrow in comparison to the Spec. 2.35 Eskar. I would run a Maxxis Advantage before running a high roller!! (Advantage and Eskar have a very similar tread pattern)

Yep. I find stans juice to be good. Just chuck some in…

Inzane – you have to learn to embrace the slide. It doesn’t matter if your front wheel skids – as long as the back one is skidding more.

Oh I know how to 2 wheel drift around corners… but there are much more fun surfaces to ride on!!

The amount of fantastic single track i have access to from here in Christchurch is amazing compared to what was available in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.

though I do have a bit of free riding in Rotorua!

Hah, if that is the best freeriding you can find in Rotorua you need help my friend 😆

Hey Giddyrob. Nah, never been out biking with Greg, but have done a lot of the riding that he guides. There is some good riding in the area, but it depends what you are into. I like forest single track, and find there is better riding in Canterbury, West Coast and Nelson/Blenheim if you are into epic beech forest single track.

I did do the Brake Burner event that Greg organises. Damn fun 6 hours of chair lift up and downhill trail racing!!

My biggest problem with Australia was

too much sand…

After a while biking there you just long for some hard packed or loamy dirt to carve a corner on!!

Oh, and I like somewhere that has real mountains too.

Up Craigieburn way. On the way to Arthurs Pass from Christchurch.

Specialized Eskars.

Grip as well as Nevegals, but roll faster and let go predictably when pushed rather than suddenly going as Nevegals do.

Nzo do good stuff. http://www.nzoactive.co.nz/menu/01-PM/title/MTB%20Pants

Pounds to the NZ $$ might give you something for the price you are after. I have tried many brands of baggies, but prefer my Nzo shorts over all others.

Hmmm Chamonix is pretty hard to beat. I would say this is different to Cham rather than better.

Definitely more outback and remote. You have to make sure you have everything you need to get you home again. When you are halfway through a ride you are still 4 hours from the road end… and there are no short cuts or phone reception to get you out quick!!

Bit more hard work to get to the riding too. Chamonix there is often a lift to take out some of the climbing. Here we often have to hike-a-bike for an hour or two to get into where these photos were taken.

Oh, and because it was overcast I was able to get a few shots in the forest to come out well 😉

Grumm. There was plenty of single track in the forest as well, but the dappled light makes it hard to get good photos… and the riding is too much fun to bother stopping to take photos…

Here go a few photos from a ride I did before Xmas. 8 and a half hours of biking goodness (with a couple of hours of bike carrying)! Absolutely knackered at the end of the ride, but it was oooooh sooooo gooooood!!

Doh!

Yeh, I was in the UK for a bit, but I must admit I do rather like the biking around here better 😀

The 2 guys I am riding with are both ex-brits. Neither are thinking they should be off home any time soon 😉

Spud, no I have not. I have an older horst link 5-spot, and a friend with a Motolite.

I was seriously looking at both bikes a few years back and chose the 5-Spot for a few reasons including:
1. Bushes instead of bearings. My frame has been ridden hard out for over 4 years now, and the rear end still has the original bushes and still feels great (no play at all).
2. Angles. Motolite has steeper angles, where as the 5 spot is a little more relaxed and makes the rider really feel at home on tech single track

meh, get a 5-spot. Better all rounder, less maintenance with the bushes over bearings. Better pedaling with the new DW-link.