Now and again I ride my 5.5" bike to work. The feeling must be the same as those in Chelsea tractors, lording it over the plebs. 😉
Kerbs and pot holes don't bother me.
I often see a guy on a big Santa Cruz Driver 8 with Boxxers on. He looks comfortable.

Well done to all those who can 'just ride it' but the OP evidently still has issues with that approach. If he wants to build it up and its not altering someone else's work then surely it's ok to change it.

Another approach is just ride over it slowly then get faster and more confident until the OP is naturally jumping it and certainly the bike looks very capable of just riding it.

IMHO, If I was a bit nervous on drops and jumps then on the second jump/tree stump I'd spend 5 mins filling in and packing the kicker with a bit of dirt to give a nicer take off.

Have you looked at doing a figure-of-eight from Fort William along the west highland way to KLL then up the side of the A82 to Kings House and over the devils stair case back to KLL. Either back the WHW or take the road back to FW. A fair bit of road involved unfortunately which could be mostly avoided using two cars. On google its 100k+.

wwaswas +1.

I really like that. Gorgeous! Reminds me of a classic racing motorbike. Well done!

That's a good run wee run that.
We managed to spend 2 hours in Mugdock yesterday and didn't really do the same trail twice. Well okay one or two bits we went down as well as up.

Single pivot?

From what I've seen they look like a hybrid of a Horst link and DW link – there is a short link between the frame and the chain stay/swingarm. Also looks like the link actuates the shock.
Sorry, No idea how it rides.

HL FS Boardman purely for the spec – 120/20mmBT Rebas and elixirs sell it for me. Its not a heavy bike either.
If you dont like the frame you can change it. Obviously you'd wait for the year to be up if is C2W. 😉

Nice. Looks quite fast as well. I don't remember SS1 being as easy as the music suggests. 😆 were you being held up?
Looking forward to the next 3.

That boy on the Trax was astonishing in his perseverance. He descended the natural bit in the qualifier faster than some of the boys on 6" bikes. All credit to him. He came off SS6 with some nasty blood coming from under his helmet but he look OK.

Additionaly, I saw that someone in the top 100 on Sunday had a Go Pro camera on his chest. Just wondering if he is on STW as I'd love to see some footage of the day.

We stayed at the Southpark B&B at the weekend and can highly recommend it. Downside is that it's just out side Dumfries and not walkable if you are planning a few drinks in town in the evening.

Thats mighty nice!

Just put a KMC X9 93 on and ridden it twice: Once doing some high power, fast changes, sprint type work and the other on a normal relaxed type ride with easy changes. Seems to works fine, changes down nicely on the cassette, Possibly due to the profile of the link plate. No info on longevity.

Only got the limited original ones. They were quite baggy at the time and are a bit too much so now that fashion is tending towards more fitted cuts. Not sure how the newer slimmer cuts are. They don't breath or slide over your skin (due to slightly rubberised inner) as well as normal jeans but at least they are slightly stretchy.

5'7" here and ride a 54" flyer. It would be fine for Proper geared road riding but as a commute bike I'd prefer it shorter. 100mm stem may get reduced.
What are you buying it for? Commuting or CX?

I'd be amazed if there is not a campsite/area designated. Give the shop a call and ask if they have any info. Saying that I cant see any info on the website.

A mate has the Boardman. Not sure how it rides but it can't beat for VFM. 120mm Reba with bolt through and elixir R brakes are real stand-out components and as PP says nice Horst link like the spesh. Not a heavy bike either.

I have an older 8 years + HH top that can smell to high heaven. For washing I take the top off ASAP when finishing the ride and allow it to dry as much as possible before putting it in a bag. Wash with non Bio and that is all. It doesn't smell until I put it back on and within 20mins its as bad as ever so I never put it on while travelling only as I'm heading out on the bike.
Poly tops are really the only option in warm weather, merino just holds to much moisture. I've got an Endura tranmission poly top and its much better than the HH for minimising smell but its not anywhere near Merino or Bamboo tops.

Too late. A 3rd[/url] one has already been made about 2 years ago.

My 2p worth.
I believe in giving way to cars but only when appropriate and safe to do so. I will take my proper – car like – position in the road lane if I am changing direction.

I believe that cycling a little slower is far better for everyone. It allows you to sit up more making you more visible and more aware what's going on. You can make short sprints if you need to merge with traffic.
Also if you are more relaxed your adrenaline is not as high so you don't get as angry as quickly.

IMHO its much better to ride 'with' traffic on busy but slower roads than it is to ride beside traffic on quieter faster roads.

That's not a room its the inside of a container.
Now there's an idea for super easy cruise just furnish a container ship.

Should maybe see some interesting sunsets if its clear enough.

Northwave are very under-estimated but still quite costly at full price.

Northwave Urban.
Less than half price about 6 months ago form Alpine Bikes. I wear it too much TBH.

I'm running it on a 5 years old 1.7Ghz fujitsu seimens Laptop with 512RAM. single crappy speaker but run it through AV card to my HIFI and get surprisingly good sound.
Runs fine and fast – I've got an account and run it with the higher stream rate. Also have it on my Android Hero and sounds good but not as good as Laptop but it'll run for hours without being plugged in, the laptop battery is crap.

They are equivalent to specialized or new generation maxxis. I have them on my bike. Really good in corners and fast rolling in the centre but as a result not the vast grip on wet edges like steps.

Horns are great if you ask your friend to look into your grill then blow the horn at them. 🙂

I considered doing this to '08 revs using Pike or Argyle lowers but ended up just buying some SH Pikes.
The pikes stantions seem to be further apart than the revs. It may just be an optical illusion as the pikes are beefier but it would not allow the two to be interchangeable. Best cheque SRAM site for dimensions.

8 years old £20 Joe Blow stills shows a reliable 120 psi every time I, eh, blow.
Tested with digital gauge couple of years ago and was only ~3psi over. I cant comment on the reliability of more modern pumps.

Flaperon – I read reviews stating the at the desire doesn't run noticeably faster with its better processor. Is this true? Still, worth having if it doesn't cost any more. Hero is 'apperently' being updated to 2.1 in april.

I have a Flyer. Its brilliant for what I use it for. Commuting on tarmac.
There is minimal clearance for anything bigger than 700Cx28.
The Day One is slightly heavier and burier for its intended purpose, and wheels are appropriate. Also it has a 135mm rear hub. The drop bat version is a really lovely bike. If your even going to ride down muddy lanes or footpaths then get the Day One.

Agree. I've not bought too much from them but great, quick service for the few things I have, Including a whole bike.

Are you judging the sag with full riding weight? clothes, water, tools (if you carry any) 11 stone should be fine for the medium spring. A lot of people rate the medium spring as too soft.

Monkey Shoulder is a crackin' blend. 3 single speysides blended well. Easily finish a bottle with a friend in one sitting.

Listened to her new album a couple of times but cant really get into it. Not nearly as catchy. First album was much better but even that took a couple of months before I thought I really liked it.

HTC Hero Here. Its a bit laggy at times but its great. has GPS, route tracking and loads of other apps. its not as user friendly as the Iphone but its half the price to own. I believe the newer more powerful android phones will be even closer to the iphone in terms of speed.
N.B. The new windows mobile 7 OS looks interesting.

The Balvenie seems to be the favourite today. I indeed have a signature at the moment, however, I think I prefer the double wood.
Oban is a worthy tipple.

Enduro = special timed stages
Endurance = riding as far or as many course laps in a single time frame.
I think the confusion is coming from people being lazy and shortening the word endurance along with the fact that endurance is better established in the UK.

I have an additional question. Is the mega avalanche an Enduro or an endurance event? 🙂

I might be a bit late to this.
we regularly travel in my friends last model Mondeo. Three bikes and three persons with only the larger side rear seat dropped. bikes on their sides, front wheels off and all necessary bags. Loads of room!
BTW focus hatch managed the same thing with a bit more careful arranging.