@mtnboarder it’s alright I know who you are. The TV is a small place.

If you’re going to name people, whom it may affect, be big enough to admit when you’re wrong.

For the record, your assumptions are entirely incorrect.
As stated before, all of those riders live in the valley not far from that very spot.

AFAIK there is no law against stopping to say hello to someone in an open public space.

Do you have any friends whom you’d like to say hello to?

@mtnboarder
Could you please explain how 2 riders simply passing by who stopped to say hello to 3 riders who had just packed up their vans AFTER their training session isn’t training?

Perhaps the better response would be to apologise for jumping to the wrong conclusions and publicly slating individuals whom you have identified and pointed fingers with incorrect accusations?

Interesting that you choose to identify other riders when hiding behind an anonymous name yourself.

Perhaps we could inject some facts here…..

All 5 riders riders live locally.
The two who were still on the bikes had simply passed their friends who were clearly packing up after a training session, and stopped to say hello.

You may have noticed that during lockdown, people really enjoy bumping into friends who they don’t get to see much these days.

Had you actually stopped to check rather than riding through shaking your head, you’d have clocked the two on the bikes were on 100mm XC bikes so highly unlikely we were riding with EWS pros.

But let’s not let facts get in the way of someone wanting to have a moan and point fingers….especially when it’s pro riders that you’re slagging off and it could affect their careers or reputations.

Thanks @transporter13 just wanted to check that I wasn’t missing anything.
Back to the drawing board – it’s not worth resizing it.

Thanks Rickon that’s what i thought. Ordered a SRAM GXP groupset now so made the right choice.
Cheers!

Although it’s an extra cost the wee inline Bluetooth thingy is a 2 second job to fit. You’ve then got the advantage of having the Shimano E-tube app on your phone and you can customise the hood buttons to control your Garmin (to shift screens, put the backlight on for x seconds, check maps etc).

It just fits into the battery in the seatpost.

I think one of my mates is selling a pivot. She is 5’0” and a very decent rider. It’s a great condition bike. It’s on pinkbike I think.

I rode to Barcelona on my Fazer 600 3 months after passing my DAS test (around 15 years ago).  Granted I’d been riding on Ls for 1 year previously so had plenty of road sense.

I’d say definitely do it.  I’ve been in Europe on a motorbike many times and never had any problems with servicing, tyres etc.  They are more set up than us as so many more people ride bikes and scooters.

There are a number of biker campsites all over France – some are more party like than others (particularly the Dordogne one), but the one in Crest, near Valence is excellent.  Good mix of people and excellent facilities, plus a great base to tour a lot of places from.

Have an amazing time.

I did the pedal from the Leithen water up to the mast last week. It’s actually running fine and was a lot faster than previous times ridden. There’s a land rover track from about 0.75miles before the mast that leads directly to Hush Hush.  It might have been there a while but I’ve never noticed it before. As horrible as that climb seems, in reality it’s a 30 min climb if you’re able to sit and spin in a low gear (obviously less for the seriously fit amongst us but I’m not one of them).

The new trail at GT is just a small bit at the bottom of Dave’s trail / the fort, along from Jenny G-String.

Trail fairy plan is running extremely well, they might use that for once.

Did it last year.  Learned a lot from the experience:

– Box Hill isn’t a real hill (I’m Scottish, we have real hills)

– Leith Hill is a real hill, but unless you get there early it’s a bit mental with people jumping off bikes right in front of you to walk and everyone shouting at everyone else.

– if you’re not a club riding roadie, its a good idea to learn the signals before hand.  There were a lot of club riding groups chainganging.  Newer, more nervous riders tended to stick to the left, particularly on descents.  Club riders chain ganged everywhere, so if you got stuck in between, it got hard to pull out without getting taken out by them.  They wouldn’t give way.

– many of the participants were not fast descenders, if you are stay to the right

– kill as much of it as you can before stopping

– fuel it properly

Funnily enough I have the same problem although it’s the newer non clamp type (2018 bike). I am using carbon paste but it keeps slipping. It’s going back to LBS tomorrow for something else so will mention to them but it’s a strange one.

I just travelled with my garmin vector 3s still attached to my bike8n the bike box. It wasn’t a problem. It also has an integrated battery for the di2 – no problems with either.

@andykentos drop me a line if you want someone to show you around the golfie/off piste inners in April (email in profile) , I’m off to China then but the OH is always looking for someone to keep him company on mid week rides.

I had a Stages G2 on my last road bike, it was faultless other than needing a new battery now and then. New bike has different cranks on it so I’ve sold the stages and gotten the new Garmin Vector 3 pedals as I don’t want to have to buy a new power meter every time I get a new bike. I read a lot of reviews on them prior to purchase and so far they seem pretty decent and easy to swap between bikes.

There is some snow in the valley just now and the fire roads are pretty icy – not sure the inners uplift will be running tomorrow as the road up is like an ice rink in places.  They may well close the road up to the Buzzards Nest car park at GT too – so @DickBarton ‘she’ might be loving the climb sooner than you’ve planned for!

Yes OH and I been using them for around a month now. Very impressed with them. I’ve got the Rose tint ones, although riding in Scotland at this time of year there’s no choice but to use the clear lens only.

Smith Squad. Don’t fog up cos open vented and dont press on your nose. Feels like you aren’t wearing them.

I’ve had both.

If you want modulation and bite and brakes that don’t need much looking after, although they do go through brake pads quicker than others, go Guide Ultimates. 1 yr in, 2500km and just had their first bleed.

If you want absolute bite and don’t mind having to bleed them all the time because there are so inconsistent (and the fluid boils on really long descents), go XTR 9020.

It’s a personal thing but I will never have Shimano brakes again. I have the newer XTs on my hardtail and can never be sure they are actually going to work.

I win a track experience day with Katie Archibald. Had no interest in track cycling whatsoever before this but really enjoyed the buzz of it so talked the BF into do8ng the full accreditation process. I enjoy it whilst it scares the sh!t out of me at the same time. Takes a lot of time to get my head around the no brakes thing. I’m cool with it on my own just when I get half wheeled, all sorts of profanities exit my mouth rather loudly.

It’s probably lighter than the Giant Avail because Liv make a big deal about ensuring that the bike is the right weight for a woman who are typically lighter than men. I think there might be weights on their website.

I’ve had it on every bike and they all looked like new when sold on – making the investment worthwhile. My current Trek is a year old and has done 2000km – still looks brand new. Often get asked if i’ve only just got it – it gets ridden in manky Scotland every week.

Take your time – degrease each part immediately before putting it on and follow the instructtions that come with the kit. It’s fairly straightforward to fit. Hardest bit is the top tube and especially how it fits around the seat tube and head tube. Lee has recently added more instructions about exactly where to place the key bits. Last kit we got about 6 weeks ago was the easiest yet.

I dont have a rear guard, but got a mudhugger FR on my Slash 29er and OH has the smaller one on his Hightower 29er – both work brilliantly. Only downside seems to be that you can’t get the stickers for the shorter one.

Have a look for Luca bike shuttle who is based in Torbole although I think he posted on FB the other day that it might be the last uplift of the season. There is some snow in places there already.
All sorts of riding there depending on what you like although they’re not always easy to follow. If you go the the tourist info at the port in Riva, they’ll sell you a trail map for 4euros.

Ive got a Slash and generally find it an awesome bike. Its very nimble as people have said.

There are two downsides that you need to be aware of:
1. It seems to have a very low BB even when in the high settings – pedal strikes are common; riding deep rutted sections (e.g. at the Golfie) is a bit unsettling
2. Sometimes, it’s just too much bike. A 29er with 160mm travel is a helluva lot of bike, which sometimes dampens the trail too much, and hence dampens the fun.

I’ve ridden it at Dunkeld, Laggan and all over the Tweed Valley and it’s a fantastic bike. However, I rode it recently at Comrie Croft and found it to be just too tight up there for it – I felt like the bike was seriously hard work rather than the fun, poppy, twisty experience that I had when on previous 650B bikes. Maybe I’m just not skilled enough, but I’ve ridden there plenty of times and never felt this way about the place.

It climbs well for such a big bike but don’t expect it to be a fantastic climber – it’s too slack and big for that. However, the climbing is certainly worth it, stick it on the downhill trails at Inners for example and you’ll be grinning from ear to ear.

I’m just under 5’8” and always been a medium in SC. OH is just under 5’6”and also rides a medium. Deffo a medium I’d say.

No it only went back today, so I’d hope to have it back by the end of the week. I emailed service@use.group and they got right back to me.

We also bought a MaxxD at the same time as the first SixPack and it’s been fauiltless.

Yes sounds like the same issue. I had the first one refunded and had to buy another from a different retailer (cost £40 more!) because Wiggles had run out of stock. This new one did the exact same on the first ride out. I contacted Exposure this time though rather than just sending it back. They said something along the lines of they know what the problem and to send to them – as it’s brand new they’ll turn it around within 2 days and get it straight back to me. Plus £25 compensation to spend on their site to cover the inconvenience and postage costs.

Not the Kovee, but I’d initially ordered the Line XXX which were constantly out of stock, I then changed the order to the Line Pros. They took months to come, however, I’ve been running them for a couple of months now and very impressed with them. They’re not too harsh the way that some carbon wheels can feel, you pick a line and they stay right on it, no deflection at all and the hubs have a lovely quiet click to them. They look awesome too IMHO.

I’ve already sent it back now so can’t check that but good idea anyway.

Ive recently gone to ergon GD1 grips. They’re tapered and a come in two different diameters – slim and standard. I thought it would be marketing hype but they really did make an instant marked difference. I got the slim as I’m a S-M in gloves.

OH and I both have Guide Ultimates on our bikes and not had this problem at all. We were Hope E4 fans before these brakes. Only downside seems to be that they go through brake pads fairly quickly.

Is it a warranty issue perhaps?

@daern any idea if there is an IOS version of that gimporter app? Looks exactly like the gap to fill what is driving me mad about garmin courses (I dont have a laptop so cant upload GPX files to my garmin).

Does anyone know how to stop the course running if you get fed up of it along the way? I cant figure out how to turn off the navigation until Ive reached my destination.

I ride mostly in the Tweed Valley. I only use Five Tens and I’m also a 5/6 in them. They seem to be the best option.

buy the female specific ones though as the small mens ones are just too wide a fit for most.

Free rider pros are great and really comfy and grippy. I’d wear them all year round if the Valley ‘let me’! In winter though I generally wear impact VXI as they’re mostly waterproof and do a decent job of keeping the feet warm.

Im there just now. Weather is generally still very warm (mid twenties most days) BUT we’ve also had some days of rain. there’s a guy called Michael Cycle Shiel who does guiding out here – check with him re the weather in October. I’d imagine it will be ok as long as you’re not depending on wall to wall sunshine.

I’m 5’8″. Ridden the Juliana Roubion in medium several times for half day demos – its a great fit. The Roubion is just the Bronson in a different paint scheme. No difference at all in geometry etc.

However, I’ve also had extensive rides on the 2017 Hightower and a medium feels too short, whereas the large feels spot on. Comes down to personal preference and what feels right for the kind of riding you do. I always prefer a slightly longer bike.

OH has the 2017 9.9. He sold his 2016 Nomad shortly after he got it as he said that the Remedy is just a really awesome bike that can do everything really well. His normal riding is the golfie tweed valley type stuff. He absolutely raves about it and cant fault it at all. He was firmly a Santa Cruz rider before that.

This might be way off but….

I’m riding along last night on my perfectly silent Slash. Managed to get a stick stuck in the jockey wheel, lean down to remove it without getting off the bike, from that moment I have a squeak as if I’ve a parrot on board. it was driving me so nuts I went home early.

As I’m about to start stripping the bike to find it, I realised it was the seatpost that had slipped every so slightly and was rubbing the frame inside the seat tube a tad.

Both Remedy and Slash have the (IMO) stupid kink in the seatpost – maybe just check it’s not in slightly too far??

We’ve a slash RSL and trek RSL in our house. Both have had short instances of creaking. Mostly its been the headset, needs to be massively greased up. Other thing is if the stem is over-tightened that causes a creak too.

Both of ours have had the pivot bearings replaced under warranty but they have each done around 1000 miles and do get jet washed. Currently both are completely silent and have been most of the time.

One of them has had a knock block failure, it was quickly replaced under warranty. Both bikes are really awesome.

Not a top fuel but I ride both a 29er Slash and 2017 Remedy. I’m 5’8″ with a 32cm inside leg. The Slash is a 17.5″ (next size up is 19.5″ which would be too big) and the Remedy is 18.5″. The Remedy fits best. The Slash is a good fit but the Remedy just feels like I can move about it a bit more.

Not sure if that helps at all. I’d have had a 18.5″ Slash if it was available.

The Easton posts do return very quickly. IIRC there is a way to adjust it internally.