I’d second the Luchon suggestion. I stayed in numerous spots in the pyrenees before buying an apartment there. Argeles Gazost is the only other town I’d recommend, but it doesn’t have the amenities of Luchon, but does have close access to the Tourmalet, Hautacam and Aubisque, which are certainly 3 of the best climbs in the Pyrenees.
The town itself is a good base with numerous bars and restaurants. The natural Thermes is brilliant for cyclists recovery. I’ve never stayed with AQR but I have done a guided ride with Ian, who runs it with his wife Kate, and he does know the area very well.

This is unlikely to help you much, but I’ve got an SB100 and a Orbea Rallon (same HTA and fork as the SB130). I ride the Yeti about 90% of the time (conservative estimate). It’s just more suited to my local trails, has a bit more pep (it’s 4 or 5 lbs lighter). Both bikes climb well, but prefer the shorter travel and geo for longer (30+miles) rides. If I could only have one bike it would be the Yeti for sure. There are, of course, instances where the longer travel is nice, so I guess it comes down to whether you can afford both!

No. If I did I’d feel obliged to keep it going, or feel guilty for taking a day off. Not how I want to live. Besides, there’s too many other things to do other than ride bikes.

I’ve run them for 9 years on the road bike, but only just put them on the mtb. I found I had less muscle soreness after really long road rides, so stuck with them. Recently tried the pedalling analysis software from Rotor and found my pedal stroke is pretty smooth (you’re supposed to get as close to a perfect circle as possible).

I had Saints for 3 years. Reliable, but found the body wore quite heavily. I had a demo bike with HT components ANS10 which just felt so much grippier so switched to them a year ago and find them much better. The chambered body seems to give fewer pedal strikes too

I guess it depends on where you ride. Around here (Woburn), it’s very sandy and the trails are transformed once the drier weather arrives, so it makes sense to change tyres. It’s a 30 minute ride to get there for me, mostly bridleway. so I really notice the benefit of a lighter tyre.

Have you considered the Blur?

An update on the shorts – still comfortable after a few rides, but I’ve realised that the short liner is not on a par with your normal bib shorts. In particular, they are not a compression type fit. The cold weather we’ve had this week has meant I’ve been wearing Roubaix thermal legwarmers which havnt stayed in place. A bit annoying, but I think they’ll still be good summer shorts.

Yeah it’s pretty seamless. Seems to sync a lot quicker than my Garmin too.

So what bike did you choose over the Santa Cruz?

Yeti SB100. Was going to get the Blur but they were on backorder until at least end of April

My rides sync automatically to Trainingpeaks through the Wahoo phone app (I’ve got a premium account this year, but the free version works the same) when I open wko4 it syncs with trainingpeaks and pulls in the rides.

Yes, I do. Works fine, anything in particular you want to know?

I came so close to buying the Santa Cruz highball recently. I had it for two, week-long demos, and found it very comfortable on 3 hour rides. Obviously it’s very light and stiff, but it’s no bone rattler. Ultimately I went for another full suss as I’m not going to race more than a handful of times, so general xc/trail fun won out.

Shimano S-phyre for me. Very comfy, super stiff sole and no sign of any wear after a season of cx.

So shop elsewhere and see if you can get it cheaper.

I don’t want it cheaper, just the same price as the one they’ve already built.

Yes, I raised it with them. The guy I normally deal with is on holiday,so guess I will wait until he is back. Just thought it was odd. On the contrary, I’ve just bought a custom build mtb from Brink and they could not have been more helpful (including ordering parts in from distributors they don’t normally deal with) and there was never a mention of a build cost.

No, but if I was selling a £5k build I’d be prepared to swallow the Labour charge. I mean, they’ve already built one up and not included the Labour cost in the shop price. To build another specifically for me (to order remember, they don’t have to invest in stock) it is more expensive. I don’t see the logic

I got the shorts in the sale. First time out in them today and pretty impressed. Good quality materials and a slim cut. I generally need medium, which these are, and fit is spot on.

Try Bikeactive in Stanstead Abotts. They always seem to have a few Orbeas in stock.

I think it looks pretty interesting if it rides close to a ‘regular’ bike as promised. The small battery would be a worthwhile trade off for a better ride. If you took it shuttling to somewhere like FOD, you could always have a second battery stashed in the car to keep you riding longer. I heard the batteries were like £350, so a lot more affordable than the likes of Specialized, etc. They will sell loads of them.

Don’t underestimate what a shock service can do. However, if you’re set on a new bike, I wouldn’t expect anything ncessarily ground-breaking from the modern geo trail bikes. I have a Tallboy 2 as my trail bike, but have recently ridden the 5010, highball and Blur and whilst different, are no ‘better’

What can you get a demo on? In my case it was Santa Cruz and Orbea. I chose the Rallon as it was much better value and didn’t have any components I wanted to change. No regrets, it’s an awesome bike (still love Santa Cruz though anf have a Blur on order)

My L/R balance averages around 46/54, but varies much more than that on short efforts, or when tired. If you’re looking more at tracking fitness trends over time though, I wouldn’t think it matters so much. A single sided meter will certainly be more accurate than HrTSS.

I had an SRM which didn’t quite live up to it’s “gold standard” status. Now using a Rotor 2Inpower which has been brilliant, although over budget. I think the single sided Rotors would be within range if you shop around.

I like my Rallon. I demoed a Bronson and a 5010 beforehand to have a point of reference. It’s great value, I’ve not changed anything from the standard build, and it climbs as well as my Tallboy 2 (although admittedly it’s got a 50T on the rear vs 46T on the TB). Fantastic on the descents though.