Really irritated when I got my Skyline to ind no rain cover having read a review saying it had one (thanks mbr) and that’s one of the important features for me. Hey ho, I use an old rain cover cut off a deuter pack and zip lock bags inside when it gets proper wet (like yesterday)

Redhill/Arnold on the N. side of the city, awkward commute to W Bridgford and not the nicest area, sort of slightly run down suburb and close to some dodgy bits. Good side of the city for best local riding, ie Bestwood and the bits of Sherwood Forest. Key worth is out of town, mostly rural, the right side of the city for a viable commute but v little worthwhile local riding for mountain biking. Good quiet lanes for roadies though

Thicker grips and/or thicker padding on gloves may help. How often do you ride? I’ve had this problem periodically over the years, usually when I up the frequency /distances of riding, most recently a couple of years ago when I did the coast to coast so for me it’s an ‘overuse’ issue that settles down. Specialized do some gloves that pad out the sensitive nerves in your palm and I’ve found that helpful

Cos you’re going downhill innit? No chance to warm up. Try warming your layers before you set off? Should stay warm for a short commute

I’ve used black nail varnish to repair a scratch on Pike stanchion but the best repair I ever did was to a deep scratch I picked up on Snowdon Ranger using araldite, was easy to fill-but-not-too – fill-but and smoothed down to a lovely finish. On a non – kashima fork though

I decided a few years ago to go for a dream bike now I’m in the last – chance saloon. Saved up the £5k+ and tootled along to my lbs. Established that cash wouldn’t earn discount or extra upgrades so accepted their 0% offer and keep the money in the bank earning almost no interest.

Ivy doesn’t strangle trees, it has a symbiotic relationship with the tree rather than a parasitic one. Lots of creatures depend on the ivy , so be nice to them and leave it alone

How about taking him into the White Peak? There are some lovely quiet lanes around Bakewell, Hartington etc that you can tailor to suit, climbs are shorter and less steep and the roads are generally quieter.

I’ve replaced a spoke by cutting a small cross in the rim tape then patched it with a bit of electrical tape on several occasions, always works and is less faff that trying to re thread a spoke into a nipples without being able to hold the nipples from inside the rim

Lots of people here have good stories about Hope. Here’s mine; I bought my son a bike with Hope brakes on and took him on holiday to Dolgellau. On arriving we went to Coed y Brenin for a ride and soon his brake was pulling back to the bar. Limped back to site and spent all afternoon trying to fix it in the rain to no avail. After trying everything I knew to sort it, I phoned Hope for suggestions at 5pm. They asked where I was staying, and next morning the postman knocked on my campervan door with a new brake. By then I’d realised the problem was a tiny bolt loosening while the bike was on the rack on the way down

I wake most days and have to go through the “why not suicide” debate with myself to some degree or another, and judging by appearances I have it all,, time,love, money, a dream bike…It feels like I should be happy but I just never feel it, just degrees of sadness or whatever you call it. I’ve been on the verge a few times and I don’t know why I didn’t but it hasn’t happened yet. Afterwards I’m always glad because I would hate to put those I love through the “why couldn’t I see/help?” thing but it’s still true that I keep returning to a place of pain so deep that I don’t want to bear it any more. Been through all the usual “help” and some of it has been useful, notably psychotherapy, but still I never feel real joy so find myself asking “what is the point?” a lot…

+1 bench and vice. Really want a universal bearing puller/press as I’m so cackhanded I can never take out/refit bearings without a sweaty panic moment

Haha, didn’t say it was good, I said it was best! NW Notts has the bridleways around Ilkeston, Moorgreen, Annesley, Bestwood,Bramcote and all the bits of She wood Forest. W Bridgford can be reached fairly easily through Wollaton park then back of QMC and the embankment

West Bridgford is fairly easy to commute to, using the Trent embankment, and is a fairly cycle – friendly area, but expensive/desirable to live. Depends what your priorities are for where is good to live/where avoid. The western/northern side of the city is best for trails/biking and close to an M1 junction will allow you to capitalise on one of the best things about the area, ie it’s central so can reach most of our island’s best mtb spots.

Big lay by opposite pub

A couple of years ago we decided to have a clear out. Shifted loads of stuff but only scratched the surface. Every so often we have another push. Each time we dispose of a crap mountain. An ongoing project that will probably take the rest of our days I’m coming to realise

Yep a shame, but I emptied my legs on Cut Gate today so would only have slowed you down. If you ever fancy a lift/ride, I pop up to the Dark Peak most weekends and some midweeks too – email:grumpytechnophobe@gmail.com

I had this with a zee mech (short cage) a while back, given to me by a mate who bust my xt one. Tried to fit it to a 30t NW/36t cassette, wouldn’t take up slack no matter how I fiddled. Then fitted it to a different bike with the same gear ratios and it worked fine. It’s stayed on that bike since

Sorry mate, got a ‘childcare issue’ which is now going to stop me joining you

Just off j 26 in Kimberley here. From my door I can link up patches of forest to the north, flat bridleways and towpaths around Ilkeston etc and trails around Bestwood and Bramcote, happy to show you around. For real fun stuff I tend to head to the Peaks at least weekly though, again happy to show you around/lift share. Email me if interested:grumpytechnophobe@gmail.com

Done both Ranger path and Rhyd Dhu, much prefer Ranger. Rhyd Dhu is a precipitous push for about 1k from the summit then a mix of techy rocks, some of it a bit stop – start cos it’s hard to keep momentum, then gets a bit grassy/boggy towards the bottom

My wife did a great one a few years ago as a present for a mate. She simply painted some dye on a pair of tyres and wheeled em over a blank t shirt. Looked ace

Wow, tough luck. Take it steady and good luck with the rehab

Good. I’m well slow

There’s plenty on that loop that’s well worth doing, including the switchback off Stanage. I too may be around on Monday if you keep me posted

Rode a variation on that route last week, trails all good and it’s been dry since. For trail info updates, go to ‘@KoftheP’ on twitter.
IMO there’s a lot of road in that route, if you don’t know the Peak you’d get more bang for your bucks by doing some of the classic trails around Ladybower, Hope, Castleton etc

I ran a Slaughter in Grid over the summer, can confirm that it was 99% fun, swopped to the HD when it became lethal a week ago

I’m running a Hans Dampf with a super gravity casing on the rear for my Peaks bike and I’m a clumsy git. Does the job no prob

Seconded

Yeah the Lizard was greener than that…god aren’t we sad?

I’ve been using the nuke proof ones for a couple of years on my bike without any problems, previously had a pair on another bike for a while before I sold it, again without any problems. Recommended

That stem should be in the “aaargh my eye” thread

If you got it at a lbs warranty issues will be sorted by them, but proof of purchase should be all you ned

Got both a Mountain Morph and a Lezyne. Lezyne sits at home waiting till I road ride while the MM comes out in my Camelbak

I’ve got a Spesh slaughter in grid compound that I decided to see how far into winter I could run it. Today I reached it’s limit on slightly greasy rocks in the Peaks, crashed big at the bottom of Potato Alley when it slipped out, and was struggling for traction on any damp bit of climbs. Time for some sticky tready rubber

I too have a Superlight with an external reverb, hose goes along the top tube with a zip tied guide near the seat tube junction and then uses the little clips you get with the dropper to clip them to the other cables/hoses. Works fine

Often thought about it but fear has stopped me. Let us know if you ride it and survive. If you don’t post we’ll assume you’re dead

Descent to Castleton is a bridleway, just make sure you go through the gate on your right and go uphill a few yards, then it loops round to descend off the hill. You won’t want to go straight on, v rubble (illegal) track with v steep bits, then a grassy drop when you get to the top of Lose Hill

Little wifey has a Banshee Rampant full sus while I have a Santa Cruz Superlight for local mtb rides.
Her road bike is a Campag equipped ti frame while I have a 15 yo ally Cannondale, so I guess we’re roughly equal.
I do have a carbon gnarpoon for Peaks/Lakes etc but she’s not interested in that sort of riding and generally hikes the hills while I ride em

7 year olds are the worst