Alfine hub is heavy, you can feel the weight when you ride – payoff is limited maintenance – I wouldn’t use one in the summer and wouldn’t use one on a full suss bike

mmmmmm….45 miles on fire roads, where do I sign 8O 8O

Don’t do it – head may be better, god knows what’s going on internally though……

What a load of to55er comments on YT though – road tax or no road tax the van driver was acting irresponsibly and got at least a bit of what he deserved

Rubber Queens – 2.2 or 2.4 waaaaaayyy big

Try Zero RH+ if you can find them – Italian sports glasses brand – a lot of the Outlet shopping centres have a sunglasses store and this is where I tend to look, although a bit hit and miss.

Oakley half jackets with a clear lens might also do it, although I personally find them a bit on the small side

What gets me is those dog walkers who pick up their dog’s muck, and then think it’s funny to hang the full bag in off a tree somewhere…..ignorant f*****s

Less than you think, get or need to fund the next purchase

<5 psi can effect how a tyre runs – worth playing with pressures what ever tyres you run. I’m running tubeless on most set ups and at a push might run with 35psi in the rear during the summer on a fast xc trail – come Winter time and it’s well below that 28psi rear, 25psi front

Leave them at home?

Did the Tour of Flanders one year, it rained and chain dried out – no mechanical support that we could find so bought a small bottle of olive oil for the chain – smelt like cooking chips all the way to the finish and was grim to remove from the wheels/brake blocks/tyres/stays/saddle/shorts as it just doesn’t stick to the chain – served a purpose as the noise was driving me nuts – next time I’d take a small bottle of lube.

Can’t vouch for veg oil tho…..mmmm…..

Mostly Balanced – Ashurst Woods was where I was photographed by the camp site people……….

Others, try places like Busketts Lawn and Brockishill Inclosures for good ST riding as well as Ocknell Plain & Ocknell Inclosure as that's about the highest point you can get in the NF at 100 mtrs, plus the other side of the road a Fritham Cross and Withbed Bottom – finally a nice run from Acres Down to the Portuguese Fireplace if you know it.

Well as gnarly as it gets for the NF at least and that trail has a lot of potential…

If you don't know where, as you enter Deerleap CP just before the cattle grid turn right, follow trail to a gate, go through said gate and turn immediately right – takes you pretty much to the Happy Cheese. A good bit of stuff exisits in the NF, you just have to look for it

I didn't see them stopping any walkers, no horses in sight – sometimes I think we are so under-represented….. :twisted:

sm500 – no service yet, bit clunky in places and it doesn't like shifting down under load – you have to ease off a bit which is difficult if you are breathing our your a**e going up a steep singletrack!

I've got an 8 speed with a 32 front and 20 rear – been riding it for a few weeks having had it built up.

It's not like a geared bike that I can say – the gap between the gears is pretty big and so I can be spinning away, change gear and then suddenly grinding away! The other disappointment is the weight of the wheel / bike – it's not what I'm used to.

Having said all of that it's intended use is as a winter HT, to munch miles on and keep the legs spinning away with no maintenance and low bills :D 8O

Had an EA70 crack in the same way – no warranty as was 2 years old. Not bought one again and never will

Nice, got a 456 with an Alfine hub for the winter

Dont buy them – they don't fit!!! Take it from me and my bitter, biter experience. Chewed through a set of XTR rings on M970 crankset, went to get some replacements and can only get Shimano ones to fit, so cranks in the garage due to the price – silly stupid amounts of cash.

I've had a falling out with CRC over this, having bought some Middleburn ones that didn't fit and sent them back, also some TA one's that didn't fit – the BCD is fine (as indicated) it's that on the XTR ones the shape of the bolt hole is rounded slightly so that aftermarket chainrings don't fit

Glad I didn't pay my £15 to Freecaster.tv now

Got a mate who sent his back (for a different reason) and 2Pure did him a crackin' deal on an upgrade to a Joplin 4 at a huge discounted price

Chased by a pack of pigs in the NF one night – don't know who was more scared – them or me, either way I pedalled for England that night.

Incredibly annoying, but not slow!!

Uhhhhhh…….no one!

You can buy tyres and tubes or tubeless tyres for 26" MTB wheels.

Tubeless tyres have no inner tube, and run just sealant, a tyre and a specific rim strip.

Winter hardtail is back up and running and i'm off to ride in 5 mins, don't care now……..just need to ride

Bigger stones are good for creating a chicane – look at the trail centres for clues – they do pretty well with trail construction

XT Hubs require a bit more servicing / tightening up on a regular basis but run better and longer than Deore. Depends what woul will use the wheels for and when – ie hardtail over the winter i'd go for stronger and Deore.

If you don't repair them, when they get soggy/muddy rather then solve the problem it will make it much worse. It's riding (sometimes poorly) that causes braking bumps – when you soften the trail it simply makes them more pronounced and much worse, assuming the same riders, with the same bad habits go over the same trails. Chop the bumps off and use the excess to fill the dip – that's where it came from! It seems as though it might be a regular repair job though…..

And it needs a secret cupboard for your "stash" 8O :lol:

Blokie at Glyncorrwg wouldn't let us keep bikes chained to the camper van last time I was there – was MOST insistent we used their lock up and tbf with the bike locks plus the building lock you would needed to have been a professional theif to get in. No problems on security then…..plus the Dropoff Cafe is way, way better than the Afan Visitors Centre, by miles

It shows that the sealant is doing it's job – it only goes like that when it's mixed with air under pressure ie you have had some kind of puncture or burp