It’s got an extra 20mm in the top tube and 10mm extra length in the stem. You sure the 16″ wasn’t a better fit? The front end is obviously 20mm longer than the 16 but I can’t help picturing you being a shade under 5’6″ as being more suited to the 16. I may be wrong.

Inverness store open 35 mins ago!

Cleared every jump on my FS 29er this morning in our local woods and had great fun in the twisty singletrack mudfest.

Would also have loved it on my 26er. No more no less as I just love riding.

If you can’t do jumps on a 29er then go on a skills course, it’s you that’s lacking not the bike.

I’m the opposite. You can’t beat the control you have of a 20″ wheel in the air. You move onto 24″ and you notice the difference. When I moved back and forth between 20″ and the new found 26″ wheelsize (for me)around 89 it felt awful. It was a different game. I didn’t take the mtb down the bmx track and consider doing what I was doing on the bmx.I would give it a spin around the track with the seat right down in the frame and not much was attempted. Just a waste of time as the bike was in control of YOU. It’s the complete opposite on a 20″ wheel on the track.

Back then I remember looking down at this huge panaracer smoke when I got my mtb and although it was another type of cycling, I enjoyed it. Then you get on a 29er and it’s another step away from the agility of the 20″ wheel yet again. Going back and forth between 26 & 20 was hard going for me. I would take about 4 days to get back into the 20″ wheel. More recently over the past 3 or 4 years I found myself going from the fully rigid 29er onto the 20″ wheeled bmx and it was near impossible but that’s not what we’re on about. It’s the control of a 26″ wheel bike over a 29″ wheel. If anyone says they feel as confident in the air on a 29er as much as they do on a 20″ wheel,or even a 26inch wheel,they’re talking out of their ass. The only reason you might feel they are so similar is because of the level you are taking them to when you leave the ground.

i.e. not throwing or tweaking the bike around much at all.

Therefore a very short and light rider on a big wheeled, long-travel, slack angled, long wheelbase bike will need to move a HUGE amount to make that bike to what its rider wants – ie the bike is too stable and too difficult to manoeuvre. Conversely, a very tall and heavy rider on a small wheeled, short travel, steep angled, short wheelbase bike will have to move tiny amounts to make that bike do what its rider wants – ie the bike is not stable enough and too difficult to keep balanced and controlled in the gnarr as external forces cause the rider to involuntarily move, thus destabilising the bike.

Why describe a small rider on a slack bike,long travel with a long wheelbase that they will have no control over because it’s too big next to a tall rider on a small frame with a short wheelbase,short travel and steep angles that’s too small for him?

You need to be getting a pile of the same kit for each bike build.. custom frames made to suit each rider and THEN compare what we’re talking about here.

26 v 29.

We can’t compare the difference between a short arse on a bike too big for them, next to a lanky git on a bike that’s too small. If the tall rider fall’s over the front of the bike, it’s not showing how crap a smaller wheel is. The same as the short rider overshooting corners on a bike with a monster wheelbase.It’s not showing up how a 29er is less maneuverable.

6

of the letter K.

woohoo!, i can live wi that…I’m off out on the piss to celebrate.

Nah….i’ll have a cup of tea and read my Bradley Wiggins book instead.

Lol.

Lets be honest its going to be quite funny when Sir Wiggo gets stripped of the nighthood.

It’s been stripped earlier.

I reckon you should rely on the bike (motor?) that you have for the wow factor and stick with the diesel. You aren’t buying a wrx for economy.. and its not as a cheap to run motor even if nothing went wrong with it. Is it for the looks it has? The speed it’ll have over the golf?*

You have your heart set on the idea of the subaru (I had once too) but first things first, does it have full FSH with receipts and stamps that match up,also for that recent timing belt change? If it doesn’t and you buy it with all this in the back of your mind that everything’s going to be o.k. and it has a massive problem not long after.. you’ll be sick. I’m guessing brake pads and discs in the subaru could be crazy money too if they are nearly half shot at the time of buying. Can you look into this subaru a bit more to find out if you’ll be running into any of these probs straight after buying it?

Sorry, its the way I think when looking at binning my car and going for something else!

*I came to the conclusion after being a passenger/driving some cars that were classed as pretty nippy, (evo 4, rs4 etc) that as amazed as I was with what they could do, I couldn’t afford to spend the amount of money needed to get that type of car and be able to run it/repair it so for the wow factor, it had to be a motorbike and I kept the diesel for doing what it’s best at.

11th August bivi ride. Waking up to the view of Liathach after the best star gazing night I’ve ever had. [/url]
bike etc bivi spot liathach in background[/url] by martinxyz[/url], on Flickr

Have a look at Levis 505’s (vintage). Cone Mills selvedge and from the thighs down.. plenty roomy. Not £20.. and not £300 either.

PLease don’t tell me stw goes to Facebook,Twitter or anywhere else? Is here not enough? FFS

Something crocodile Dundee something something..

I went to 762’s on both bikes and had problems steering past a certain point. I am about 5’8″ and my arms aren’t that long and my shoulders aren;t too wide either.. so it was a step in the wrong direction for me. Riding the usual stuff felt weird and I was having probs following the the left grip on right hand corners.. and the right grip on left hand corners. I was overstretching or something. Something wasn’t right and it wasn’t until after 4 or 5 rides that I decided that enough was enough.

To begin with I chopped down one bar about 15mm then finished up with 732mm or thereabouts. 15mm off either side. Huge difference. Everything felt normal like it had been for the past 2 freekin decades (in the arms and shoulders) as I was no longer out of my zone.

The stem was shortened too but I decided to go back to (hmmm,funny this) the stem that came with the bike as standard. Riding with the short stem,wider bar and my lack of strength up top meant I was having problems rolling through compressions or hitting rocks/logs that were all a bit on the deep side/big side. I was collapsing over the front of the bike. The longer stem enabled me to take the hit as my arms and hands were still out further away from tight into my body. I know it’s 20mm we’re talking about here but if a stem is too short for me and I compress over the front of the bike.. I just can’t support the body weight anything like I can if the bar was 20mm further out in front of me.

So from 762’s I am now on 732’s on both bikes and although it’s nowhere near what some folk think they can get away with.. it’s still approx 70mm wider than what I was previously using.

As I sit here thinking about it.. it seems that with the fashion of wider bars, kids with really narrow shoulders and short arms ar buying into this and to be quite honest If they can’t steer a bike properly after the likes of 45degrees because they are having to lean 4-6 inches further forward to keep up with the outside grip.. then they may as well buy a frame too big for them!

‘Ritual was a terrible album’

A day early for biggest troll of 2013!

If it was brand new it’d be worth as much as everything else ;O)

and my Flickr thingy is full.

I would be struggling to find decent stuff to take pictures of each day of the year. I’m out!

Post a pic of it.

Works fine. Nice one!

Merino keeps insulating when wet

This is what I was hoping for when I bought the stuff. Descending at the end of a road ride in sub zero conditions isn’t a nice feeling. It’s fine for summer riding but when you are out in really cold weather and beasting about/sweating heavy.. its poor. I got sucked into believing it was good and never realized until recently just how much better the polyester tops are performing. I thought merino was doing well,it’s obviously a lot better than cotton but you lose track of what’s best once you go onto something new that’s described as being the bee’s knee’s.

I now steer clear of using it offroad on longer rides as the thought of being out for longer than expected with this freezing wet wool wrapped around me is a recipe for disaster. They old school polyesters wick far better,they might smell after one ride but at least I’ll survive a little longer!

Great,I’ll keep that in mind. These speakers get worse every week and I think the balance between R&L is a bit wonky.

Open pro.

Ah, I’ve just noticed you replied and went for the best rims! Nice one.

cinders

Eight eyes! I was amazed to find 4 eyes on the spiders above. I never knew! I’m sure I’ve seen spiders like those zebra spiders in the past (unless it’s something similar) but the wolf spider.. never seen those in the flesh before.

I feel the cold badly but don’t like being sweaty either and it just seems to cope with a range of temperatures and work levels better than anything else. How anyone can prefer a Helly Hansen or other artificial product beats me but each to their own. Its a free world but you are missing out!

Try one of those Bonty race ls thermals and get back to me after a frosty one. The cut (hugging very well next to the skin down my entire back) makes quite a difference. None of the snug Icebreakers hug me like this. Even if they did.. it’d be soaking wet :O)

I get on fine with 3 different brands of merino socks but the old icebreaker and the new icebreaker are useless on the bike.

The long sleeve Bontrager ‘race’ thermal 100% polyester mid-weight top I recently bought is the biz. I have an old Endura made of similar material but its a bit heavier (which will be used in sub zero conditions around here) but the number of rides that have been spoilt in summer and winter from soaking wet merino Icebreakers had to end. They are great for next to the skin at work or just faffing about where you know you won’t be breaking a sweat (nice easy ride in sub zero conditions?) but I won’t be putting them on for any brisk rides in the future.

If I had bought them in 2012 I’d have nominated them as the worst purchase of 2012 on that other thread. I feel like I’ve been sold an Ion band having bought merino baselayers for cycling. Well done to those that convinced me! This is something I’ll look back on in many years and think wtf went wrong there.

I have a Freewheel catalogue that has a few bits worth scanning. I might look it out some day.

Ahhh, it’s like stw of 8+ years ago.. where posts intrigue and rarely enrage. :::pops another werther’s original into his gob:::

Thanks for sharing! Are zebra spider’s related to wolf spiders? I’ve never heard of zebra spiders. I remember reading about them out at Abernethy.

45 miles each way.

Yep. No more no less. Or 90 on continuous ride.

How does your speakers sound,sugars? Whit ye got it plugged into? I fancy something like that for this netbook but worried I might be polishing something I shouldn’t be polishing.

I love that bb mounted bell. They do away with cadence sensors etc. You just count the rings throughout those solo road rides and work everything out when you get home.

If the 1.8 struggles overtaking (in such a small car) what kind of figures are we looking at?

I thought they’d be more than capable. Always fancied a mk1.

If the 1.8 struggles overtaking (in such a small car) what kind of figures are we looking at?

I thought they’d be more than capable. Always fancied a mk1.

I hope folk don’t get confused by starting on the 23rd and find it easier than the folk starting on..umm, xmas eve ;O)

They must’ve turned to powder by now. Drink them? ;O)

On both mountain bikes 3×10 and 1×10 I just use 9 speed sram and shimano chains these days.

Rode them as a pair a few years back and thought the same as what you’re thinking. I remember a rocky climb with roots one wet day and the bike was skating all over the place compared to what I was using on my own bike. I remember sliding a bit on one root then a bit further on the back end span around 90 degrees. Amazing in mud but I was having a mare on the rest of it.

I just read that piece in MBR too and thought ‘who the hell considers those good on roots?!’

I wondered where I went wrong after reading that. Not being a great rider I half put it down to my skill and confidence on wet roots but now that you’ve brought it up, it makes me a feel a little better!

You need a Shaw shanked drill bit.

About 18 months ago I got caught speeding. The grey unmarked car was sitting at least 80ft off the main road up a farm track. He asked if I saw where they were on the road, I replied no.

I always wondered if I should have looked into this a bit further..

Is this common practice or do they have to be visible?