I've got a mmmbop that I'm slowly in the process of building. Have always ridden steel hardtails in the past and love em so won't be without an XC bike at some point. The patriot is a hoot downhill though so I'm trying to ride that as much as possible.

Dinner then tea.

They're dinner ladies not lunch ladies.

wellgo b54s +1

cheap and grippy.

rep341 +1
The NZ bit with Gee and Stevie was good, that giant huck onto a cliff was good too. Apart from that it didn't float my boat.

Vast is worth checking out, really well shot and great tunes.

MrNutt: Nope, still can't find Swindon's answer to MTB Narnia. I did do Cwmcarn XC on the patriot tonight though – legs are shagged now!

That's the most action your bike has seen since I borrowed it for a weekend :)

I've done it for the last 3 years but can't be arsed this year. Short route isn't going over the gap either apparently. Hopefully they've got rid of a lot of the road by changing the route though, we stopped in at a pub in Talybont last year for a cheeky pre-finish pint :)

Tidy, sounds like SLX is the way forward. Thanks all.

Check with the provider whether you can return it if the signal is poor. We bought ours from ASDA and had to try different networks until we got one that worked and had no problems taking it back for an exchange.

FWIW I use 3 and Vodafone quite regularly and both are OK

As a Welshman living in Swindon I feel your pain :)

Check out the infamous woods behind nationwide[/url] for starters, it's not Afan but it's a great trail making the most of what they have there.

The ridgeway is alright too and cwm carn is only about an hour and a bit away.

MBSwindon have regualar rides (Fridays I think?) and RedPlanet cycles also do rides from the shop.

West Woods near Marlborough is sposed to be good if you're after something a bit more "gnarl". Heading down there on Saturday with MrNutt, you're welcome to come along.

On the short route there's a feed station at the bottom of the gap climb and another along the fireroad before you cross the road by Torpantau. You should be fine.

Looks like I'm doing it on a patriot this year, joy :)

FWIW I rode those pedals and did't like em but maybe they take a while to get used to. I like my calves peppered with Wellgo pin holes anyway :)

For the actual gap itself, a full suss is more fun

For the other 90% of the 'gap route' either.

haven't you finished it yet?

Nope, but I do have the gnarliest balance bike in all the land :)

Gotcha, that makes sense. A job for tomorrow night I think..

Should be less with the owner as the policy holder as you have an insurable risk in their eyes, ie its your car so you've got more to lose.

As it's an old banger classic I'd give adrian flux a ring see what they can do, they did me a good deal on the shonky campervan.

Stick on cable things?! That's what I'm talking about, tidy!

As it happens the rear needs a bleed anyway so it could be worse but I'm struggling with my bike building mojo as it.

Any tips? :)

tubeless just works, no punctures etc in well over a year I couldn't see any benefit in going back to tubes, nor would I

Not strictly true, the one time I borrowed your bike (and the only time I've ridden tubeless) it burped and I had to faff around with tyre jizz!

<insert jokes about too many welsh cakes here>

Vortex+1: buy another bike, works for me :)

Wow, it's like them things off donnie darko.

MrNutt: Wouldn't miss your annual ride for the world, bring those shonky cranks and we'll do some bodging in the car park :)

Failing that, I'll just have to demo another Orange 5 from skyline cycles :)

Me… just to watch your epic XC calves pushing a sub zero up whites climb :)

I run full outer on all my bikes, winter in Wales buggers them up otherwise. Don't particuarly care what my bikes look like so I just cable tie them on.

Tonight: Driving back to Cardiff to watch Spam a lot at the millennium centre
Saturday: Hopefully picking up a 2nd hand patriot & maybe go walking in the Brecon Beacons
Sunday: Watching MrNutt push his bike up Whites climb
Monday: Chilling

Everything's open at Brechfa AFAIK (will be there Sunday).

I was at Afan on the weekend and there were some diversions on Skyline if you're riding that, I think it's the handy andy section.

http://www.mbwales.com seems to confirm the above.

Nice mmmbop, shame about the shoes.

Maybe athletes foot was the only thing keeping them together and you killed it all…

Cable ties FTW.

I really wanted a heckler after borrowing one in the alps recently. Took one for a rest ride at Afan on Sunday and really didn't get on with it, climbed like a dog and was really hard worked compared to the Orange 5 I also took out.

Shame cos they're so much cheaper than an Orange 5. Maybe it was just shonky setup in the shop??

I wear my freeriders as normal shoes and they're fine.

Even did a 6k running race in them once, did hurt a bit after though.

I test rode one (well two actually, 16" & 18") at Afan yesterday and it was lush. I had my heart (and wallet!) set on a heckler but tried the 5 and it just seemed a lot more solid and fun to ride. Even felt better on the climbs but I don't know how much of that was due to the shonky build on the heckler.

Hmmm, £1400 for a frame is a LOT though. :(

We set shed loads of them off on the way to and from Morzine recently and on the way to Alp D'Huez in January. Not heard a dicky bird and we were way over the limit in percentage terms ;)

As above, they are well signposted and easy to spot though.

W2 is black only cos of the distance rather than anything technical.

Whites is a good ride, a lot less fireroad and the singletrack climb makes it more interesting. (Was there today demo'ing some bikes)

I can recommened NOT using clarks stuff. It seems to shrink after a while, rubbish.

Straw is stalks of crops like wheat, mainly used for bedding.

Hay is dried grass dried, used as a food stuff. Haylage is the moister stuff.

My missus is charging £4.50 a bale on her farm at the moment, prices have shot up apparently and people are even nicking the stuff:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10985153

Wanted to go but couldn't get tickets :(

+1 Lake Motriond

Also Lac de mines d'or was a nice spot away from town. We drove there but there were plenty of walks signposted up into the mountains and not a bike in sight.

In Morzine a few weeks back we'd got up early and ridden up the climb to Avoriaz. Coming down the otherside, (through the goat village) chatting away with my mate when these two downhillers in matching team tops overtake us. We both looked at each other then followed in hot pursuit down the mountain, us on the road tucked in and them taking every cheeky offroad shortcut over the hairpins… big grins at the bottom especially as it was only my 2nd road ride ever :)

Leonovo Thinkpad +1

Writing this on a Thinkpad Edge and I love it, sturdy build, decent spec for the money and a lot nicer to use than your run of the mill Dell/HP stuff.

My missus has a Staffie, it's been well trained and as above is soft as hell. Loves people and has never started on any other dogs (it lives on the farm with a greyhound, collie and a terrier thing).

Taking it for walks anywhere busy is just a nightmare. She's never caused a problem but loads of other dogs seem to want a pick a fight with her and I'm on edge knowing that if she retalitates the other dog is probably gonna have a bad time. There's also the stigma of having a staffie and people crossing the road etc..

Taking my folks labs for a walk is a much more laid back affair, +1 for labs.