Its a shame that a company can produce such amazing forks and then fail completely to back them up.

Jura is the Famous Grouse of single malts IMO, on the other hand Old Pulteney is a work of art. You now know which one i would choose :-).

And to prove i am not a complete whisky nobber i recently bought a bottle of Glen Moray and it was excellent 🙂

Steve, what oil do the 350’s take? I am looking at a new set of forks and i want a set i can strip down and do the seals and re-lube easily.

Thanks 🙂

Some Gary Clark Jr.

Bloody hell he can play

Guys, just looking online at the Shimano 1 x 11. What cage length rear mech are you running and have you kept the same chain length as with the SRAM set up.

Ta

Heading out with Doug again this year Basque MTB. The biking and the banter is epic.

Then a week on Tiree later in the Summer. The most peaceful place i have ever been. Kitesurfing mecca.

Good to hear the positives, not so good to hear about the clutch. Does it feel flimsy? Also what’s the warranty on shimano kit?

mattjg, very true although i am the first to admit i am not the most mechanically minded but new bikes are very simple bits of kit generally. But my problem is when you have you uber expensive pride and joy sitting in front of you it can be a bit daunting taking the mallet and spanner off the shelf and going to work on it when the only knowledge you have is off youtube and some online articles.

In this day and age we are blessed with the resources on the net. If i cant figure something out then a couple of minutes on the phone gets the answer generally 🙂

I can probably do about half my bike, When i had a 5 spot i just bought the rear bushing kit, watched as many videos and read as much as i could before taking the step of actually stripping it down. It was a very nerve wracking experience. But it worked and i learned a lot. I have a banshee now which has bearings so that will be a new learning process. But i do feel better for knowing how to do some things myself.

Same with my forks. They are pikes so very simple but i made sure i had everything i needed and had a bash. Again it worked fine but thats not the full service just the seal clean and relube. Shocks and wheels i wouldn’t touch and don’t intend to. For now 🙂

Rick Draper – Member
Really looking forward to hear how this goes, as I’d be inclined to go for this setup on my new build rather than all out SRAM. Do you need a rad cage or similar to help the mech get up to 42 or does it supposedly work fine as standard?
No you don’t need anything other than a XTR mech and shifter. I’ve had it fitted for over a month now and it’s been spot on. Far nicer shift than Sram, I’ve just bought another mech and shifter for my other bike.

Rick, how is the chain retention with the XTR setup. With SRAM i have never lost a chain even on the very rough stuff. I have always preferred Shimano shifting over SRAM and i am tempted by this set up.

Jules Lines – Tears of the dawn

Great book by a great guy.

Worked with Jules a few times and he is the most humble,nice guy i have ever met.

Oh and the book is ace too 🙂

IHN – Member
The vivaro is sitting at 115 BHP so i don’t really need any more power but thats not what its about. Economy and low end torque are what i am after.

A 115bhp diesel van is not going to lack low end torqu, and you’ll need a pretty impressive increase in economy to offset the £500-ish the remap will cost.

Yep, thats the conclusion i am coming to.

scotroutes – Member
jairaj » Is there any downsides to getting it remapped?
Insurance premiums.
mactheknife » The vivaro is sitting at 115 BHP so i don’t really need any more power but thats not what its about. Economy and low end torque are what i am after.
I get between 40 and 45 mpg out of my 115bhp Trafic (i.e. same engine). How much more are you expecting

So far i have not got into the forties MPG but but thats going off the dashboard not actual figures. If i could get close to that i would be very happy. TBH it was just a thought really and thought i would ask and see if there was some real world advice on here as i do not know anybody that has done it.

Good info, my google ninja skills tell me that it is a reprogramming of the cars / vans ECU. No other hardware apart from a chip needed.

The vivaro is sitting at 115 BHP so i don’t really need any more power but thats not what its about. Economy and low end torque are what i am after.

A few years back when i was in the marines i bought a Vango 5 season down filled sleeping bag for Arctic training in Norway. It was a thing of beauty. So so so comfy and warm down to about -25. Also it was a very reasonable price. Think it was just over a hundred.

Im going to be on the hunt for a 3 season one for the back of the van trips and again Vango will be top of my list.

Dear god…photos?????? where are they?

wobbliscott – Member
Its dire according to my brother and my dad. My dad’s had to take a pay cut – the first and only in 20yrs working on the rigs, and my brother’s company, a global company that provides services to the oil companies (wire line testing), is decimating its workforce. He also tells me Shell are getting rid of 2000 people and other oil companies are getting rid of similar numbers of people.

What do your brother and dad do? Plenty of trades are booming at the moment. As the platforms get older the maintenance of them becomes a full time business. Getting a bed space at the moment is not likely.

Shell do not actually employ that many people offshore, they contract out the majority of the roles they previously had shellies do. But with the decommissioning of the Brents then a lot of people will eventually will need to find pastures new. But that is taking so long to do that panic shouldn’t set in yet.

Yep, just watched it.

I have never been a fan of the Athertons but this changes my mind a fair bit. Great passion to get all that built 🙂

I was a bit sceptical at first, i thought that too much tunability would lead to confusion and a fair degree of f##king it up. But i took my time following the instructions that came with the shock and in the process learned a fair bit about what i like and how to achieve it.

Fantastic shock and absolutely brilliant service from TFTuned when the first one developed an oil leak 2 days before a race. They sent me out another next day delivery and i sent the faulty one back a few days later.

Bed those pads in, don’t just go for a ride with new pads. Find a nice steep hill and be them in properly. It makes a massive difference to both braking performance and pad life.

Scotroutes, thats a lovely van. Did you do all the work yourself internally?

Thanks for that info, much appreciated.

chiefgrooveguru, have you chamged the bearings out on your spitfire yet?

Its not a job i will have to do anytime soon but just curious to how easy it is.

I have only ever done the bushings on my 5 spot and that was a doddle.

I cut an innertube and cable-tied it in place to protect the linkage. Seems to be doing a reasonable job in this god awful weather 🙂

Righog, the batons were tongue and groove, the corners are interlocking which made for reasonably easy building and it seemed from my very amateur point of view to be well built. Weirdly the damp patches on the inside of the corners are not coming from the top. The are in patches around halfway up. thats why i thought it was not enough waterproofing on the outside.

This is the slighly smaller version. Cabin

Thanks tinybits, advice all appreciated. I had a look at sikaflex and will get some ordered 😀

No it’s this stuff

we were told when we bought it that it would completely waterproof and protect the wood. It is working fine on the main sides just these 2 corners. Ill keep the tarpaulin in place i think as keeping the wood rot free and dry is the most important thing at the moment.

It was a kit, 32mm thick batons. The 2 corners that are getting the damp problems have had a couple of coats of paint but i don’t think it managed to dry properly before the rain got to it.

The wood is untreated pine and is about 95% watertight and coated by us, its just a few problem areas on the corners.

gaz, my apologies. Meant to give you better suggestions. I am away with work so am not around to show you about but if you go onto Trailscotland forum there are group rides and more knowledgeable people about the area than myself. I think you will get some good info from the guys on there TBH 🙂

When are you going to be up here Gary?

I usually blast around the Sidlaws but at the moment everything is completely waterlogged as there has been biblical rains.

Templeton woods / tangle are fine for short spins.

I used to rate yr.no very highly but in the last year their forecasts have been very flakey.

Metoffice do a brilliant job for 3 days ahead. MWIS for anywhere mountainous.

Yep, i have always liked Mark Webber. His honesty and true character is extremely refreshing in a world of smoke and mirrors.

Ok, all info much appreciated. Original plan has been set in motion. Old school 26″ is the future 🙂

Ok cool, thanks. I thought it would be a bit tight.

Nice one guys, had spotify on this morning listening to some really good stuff. Stevie Ray Vaughan at his best 🙂
Its very easy to get in a rut with everything in life and finding some music gold has cheered me up no end.

I have an inline on mine, very very good bit of kit.

Caspian, the spitfire is awesome in the Alps if you are not doing mad bikepark stuff.

I did the Trans -Savoie on it in old school 26″ this year and it was an absolute beast.

Just got home after a last hurrah up Ben Lomond today and there is nothing this bike does badly in my mind.

Trans Provence, I’m in 😀

I wont be there next year, initially i was a little bit disappointed but the reply email said that Ali wanted to keep the entries as open as possible and just being in one year should not guarantee a place for the next. I totally agree and i think ill be heading to Spain for the EWS if i can snag a place. I have ridden a little bit round that area and it is absolutely phenomenal 🙂

Good effort to all those riding next year, have a blast 🙂

Cheers tor5, just noticed this. Think ill get one ordered now 🙂

Got an entry in for both, should find out sometime tonight for Trans-Savoie and tomorrow for Trans-Provence. Fingers and toes crossed 🙂

Did the Trans Savoie last year and it was superb. 😀