Nice one guys, cheers. Having never been through Manchester local stations may add an extra step in the journey i am trying to avoid. And yea its a busy time as in early afternoon hence i thought i should ask around.
We are coming down from deepest darkest Scotland so trying to make this step as easy as possible. The rest of the journey is a doddle.

Yep i am really impressed with the trail boss i have on my big bike. The 2.25 came up stupidly narrow so i ordered a 2.4 for £28 from CRC. So far i am very very impressed. So much better rolling that my older DHR2 and in current conditions grip galore.

Ace tyre! Infact i am ordering a spare at this price.

notmyrealname – Member
I’ve got a GX cassette on my other bike and the shifting is pretty poor compared to the bike with the XX1 cassette, it’s also started creaking after only a couple of hundred miles so I won’t be going for one of those again.

I have had (in order) X01, XX1 and GX. In all honestly i have noticed one bit of difference between them. Shifting has felt the same throughout. No offence intended but it may be down to set up, i doubt its the cassette.

It was the bonkers pricetag that put me on to GX and i am really glad i did. The only downer is not being able to for a 44t big ring but hey ho.

Really?? so you can use XTR shifter and X01 Mech?? I thought the pull ratios were different.

Pretty much, the rudder and The crows nwst start practically next to each other on the east side of the Valley above the mast on Newtyle hill.

Both Rake and ruin and Pink Floyd are on the other side of the valley and start at the top and round the back of Birnam Hill respectively.

They are tricky to find if you have never been there before but i am sure they are on Trailforks and Strava having been used for races.

Im just about to run out the door so short on time but ill try to explain a bit clearer tonight if i can.

POC Trail shorts on Cycle store for £54 quid

Awesome, cheers all.

Had a KS Lev Integra for over 2 years. Had a wee service a few months back but not once has it played silly buggers. Awesome bit of kit.

Guys, i see both sides of every argument with this case but unlike most here i was in Afghan 3 times and i am very aware of the hellhole that Al and his lads were operating under. Not just for a few weeks but for a continual day in day out, month in, month out extended time. What that type of situation does to you cannot be expressed enough. And it is true to say that unless you have experienced it you cannot imagine it. EVER. Firefights every day, being under no illusion that every step you take could be your last as an IED could easily end it. Watching your mates being shot and maimed regularly. And if anyone thinks that is an exaggeration its most definitely not. I think at the end of one of our tours about a third of the lads on the ground had a significant injury.

War is shit on every level. People join the military for a million reasons that are in no way simple and i doubt many could explain why either. We are not all savages who want to blow the shit out of everything.

I Joined the Royal Marines and served for 12 years. I look back on it and i am glad i did even though my poor mam must have been stressed out with worry for most of it.

taco, i too have read all the negative reviews about vivaros. I bought a 2007 plate just over 2 years ago and nearly straight away i found out it had the dreaded injector issues.

Fast forward 2 years. Vauxhall replaced all of them FOC pretty much straight away and i have had not one single issue since then.

Haters are going to say ” yep but you should never have had those problems from the start” and yep thats true but to say they are bad vans is just nonsense. All car / van buying is a lottery. Some good and some bad out there. But i also have 4 mates who own vans. 2 with transporters and 2 with vivaros. The transporters have not stopped being money pits. Its a constant joke but the vivaros have just got on with life.

Thats just my 2p worth on a small group of van owners.

Ah good stuff, a purgatory might be just what i am after.

explosifpete – Member
Personally i disregard all bike radar reviews as I think they are so bias to the companies who give them the most advertising revenue.

This x100

Lots of good advice on here especially from Bikebhoy and jimbobrighton. It makes be grateful i kite and bike in Scotland at times.

When i started i didnt get any lessons but i had 3 friends took me out with them and it was a safe onshore wind where we used to kite so no real dramas but i would never recommend that route, i have had a couple of proper scares and when it does go wrong it happens very quickly and having the right self rescue methods taught from the start can literally be a lifesaver.

Its an awesome sport that can be very frustrating waiting on the wind when you have days off. My rule is now that if there is wind then i will be on the water, if not ill be biking.

Go for it, for those special days when it all clicks together life really does not get any better, warm wind, perfect conditions. BOOM>

Rickon, i have used both the 2.3 and 2.5 Shorty. The 2.5 is a bloody big tyre and both are ace in MaxTerra 3c compound. Not once have i felt that i needed any more grip and in full winter riding from rocky Laggan to Golfy gloop it has just shined.

Saying that i have just thrown a Der Baron on as a mate reckons that are a better intermediate front tyre.
My rubber fetish continues 😯

There are other ways of playing with your money. I am a complete novice but i work in the oil and gas sector and i recognised that Shell shares were at a near ten year low about 18 months ago and that along with having some cash spare i invested in a bunch of their shares. Luckily i was bang on as they rose substantially this year but that wasn;t the main reason for buying them. It was their quarterly dividends that were then reinvested.

I have now sold most and moved them to something else for the time being but for long term investing then have a look at which companies give a good dividend return. Money makes money, i was very slow in either caring or figuring this out.

I also have a stocks and shares ISA with Hargreaves and Lansdown which in the last year has gone bonkers. 15% rise i think BUT as we all know that amount of growth wont last too much longer but the ISA is a very long term thing for me.

Mike you beat me to it. I have a set of those Morvelo RAD shorts and they are fantastic. So many little features and they seem to be that perfect length and fit for me. No **** gap but not overly long. Well with the money.

Go on Pinkbike, i just got a nearly new set of RC pikes for £230 posted recently.

Some amazing bargains to be had on there sometimes.

Ill third the MRP stage here. I have a set on my Turner and they are brilliant.

They blew a seal after about a year and both MRP and ISON were ace to deal with.

They really are great forks.

I don’t buy all this stuff about over-tight muscles and muscle imbalances; your daily life routine will ensure the muscles work harmoniously.

Unfortunately when you partake in any sport or strenuous activity that forces your body to work within a limited range of motion then muscular imbalances will occur. That’s a fact. Cycling as i mentioned before is very quad dominant and although your glutes and hamstrings are used in the pedal stroke its nowhere to the extent that quads are used, there for imbalances in strength occur. Normal everyday life will not sort this but some very easy exercises can help to fix it.

Quote from a site my physio sent to me.

Imbalances Between The Muscles Of The Leg
The last common problem I will mention is an imbalance between the muscles of the leg. This is less common that some of the others but can certainly cause or contribute to knee pain. The basic story is this – the muscles in the front of the leg attach to the front of the shin, the muscles in the back of the leg attach to the back of the shin. Therefore, the muscles on one side are stronger or tighter than the muscles on the other side, they are able to create a pulling force on the knee which can move it out of optimal position. This means, similarly to the last point, that there is more stress on certain areas of the knee that are designed to rub together.

The solution to this is to strengthen the muscles that are weak and/or stretch the muscles that are tight. Again, I prefer to use as ‘functional’ a movement as possible for this so would prefer a front squat or a lunge to strengthen the quads as opposed to a leg extension, but some people could benefit from isolation exercises at certain times.

Hi sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I had pretty weak glutes and hamstrings along with a couple of other issues. A good plan with different combinations of deadlifts, both single leg and normal along with various full body workouts seem to be working well for me. I have been focusing on getting good mobility and strength gains this winter and it’s the first time I have not had any niggles at all. Muscular imbalances are to blame for so many niggles that we as cyclists have.

My knee pain came from overtight muscles puling on my kneecap.

My physio diagnosed foam rolling and stretches. Over the winter i have also been doing a lot of weights which i think have sorted out a lot of muscular imbalances i had as well.

Its a minefield trying to self diagnose to be honest. If it occurs even slightly regularly i would have it checked by a good physio.

Emailed ya back, i think 🙂

Bruneep, when are you needing one for. I have an Evoc i don’t mind lending for a good bottle of Whisky.

You would have to pick up in Dundee tho.

Photies ?? 😯

Hey Wiz, yep i did that exact loop late last year. Its a peach, the first half is along the Glen Affric way has a great feel to it. It has been well maintained although like everywhere there a re lots of waterbars. But these have been built exceptionally well and are mostly rollable / rideable nunlike like the majority of the cairngorms. Once you start the second leg as it were just before Alltbeithe the trail is a lot less distinct and becomes a bit of a hike a bike towards the climb up to Bealach an Sgairne. What a descent though, i found it pretty challenging at the top as it was pretty loose but found my riding legs not long after. It just never seems to end.

A fantastic route that ticks all my mountain route boxes. A long trek to get to but thats never a bad thing with the scenery that the west coast of Scotland dishes up.

Perfect, cheers all 🙂

mogrim – Member
Oh yes, the GMC love Dr M! Actually they hate anyone who thinks outside the box hence her being hauled up so many times.
Personally I’m very happy with them to be hard on practitioners “thinking outside the box”, that’s what properly trained medical researchers are for.

POSTED 29 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Pretty much my thinking as well.

Love it, puts my wee vivaro to shame. My father in law has just finished a sprinter conversion and I really envy the space he has got. But as my van is my only vehicle then I think I have the best compromise. Enjoy all the adventures 🙂

Hob nob has hit the nail on the head for me. I too bought some sixth element wheels. Firstly they are a thing of beauty and the tart in me was happy. But I just couldn’t get on with them. There really is a thing as too stiff and I was getting pins and needles in my right forearm after about an hour of hard riding. I was fiddling with my suspension to compensate for this when I realised I was trying to compensate and make them feel like an alloy set would. So changed them for a set of DTSwiss 30mm rims and I am a happy lad now.

Set will be going up for sale shortly. I kept them incase I was just being a diddy but I can’t see Mr ever wanting carbon wheels again.

Some people swear by then and each to their own. Just not for me.

Hey Doug, living the dream as always. Looking forward to seeing you guys in May.

Yea the only thing I would say expanding on the map reading is that obviously you travel a lot faster on a bike. A bit of practise navigating and judging distances while riding makes a lot of difference.

With Jules I take it. I’m not sure if you know him but he is ace. Very good instructor with tons and tons of knowledge. As for the course itself just make sure you can read a map to a reasonable standard. The rest he will teach you. It’s not that hard really.
Got my level 3 with him soon. Really looking forward to it. Drop me an email if you want any specifics.

I have had mine for over a year now and I can’t see myself getting anything else for a long time. You read the chatter about how bikes climb like a goat and descent like…….. 8) whatever. The RFX does all that for me and more.

Just swapped the shock out for a Fox Float X2 as I hated the wooden feel of the Monarch. So far loving it.

There are 4 people I ride with who have them and they have been faultless. BUT you may want to have a further chat with Onzadog for a different view.

Ace bikes in my opinion. Saying that there is not a chance I would pay 3 grand for a frame.

Yep, I have this exact mech working with a 44 expander ring which replaced the worn out x01 large cog. Easy peasy.

Perth as in. Scotland or Oz, genuinely honest question. I might be able to help.

Ok, thats given me more of an idea of what to do if things go the way i think they will.

Thanks all.

Ace guys. Thanks for that. I’ll keep the build with them I reckon and upgrade if necessary.

Nice one Jay, yep its the cost at the moment swaying me towards Sektors. I could always upgrade the forks in a year if he doesn’t like them Good thing is he doesn’t know what he likes 🙂

Strange you mention that, i have had an epic getting replacement lower pivots for my lads 5 spot so curently its not in use. Tried emailing them more than once but no reply.

My email is in my profile but it would be of interest to hear what issues you having and if its with both bikes.

In all fairness i do love my RFX and so do a couple of people i know that have them as well. Also i have had no issue with the stock shock. I just felt i wanted something more from it that i couldn’t get from the lack of tuning options.

Sounds shit buddy, who is the problem with?