Funny, we have similar discussion every winter (where to put better tyres) here in F**land as well… discussions tend to get nasty in page or two.

The safety agencies usually recommended to put better tyres on the rear axle as worse tires on front axle will not be noticed and it is beyond most drivers skills to correct the unexpected rear end slides.
BTW, it is illegal here to have mixed set of winter and summer tyres on.

Supplied midsoles were terrible, the lacing does not stay tight and soles came off the uppers. Other than that, nice shoes, they are not as clunky as many winter boots.

Strange, I was just going to hobble upstairs to search for this very article from print versions.
My left leg is in cast as I broke both tibia and fibule six weeks ago on a stupid bike crash. I can’t wait that the cast will be taken off Monday (if x-rays are OK). My bones were bolted together back with the help of couple of nails, handful of screws and some plates but this seems like a minor injury compared to WCA’s injuries. Good luck with recovery!

Still, my injury really pisses me off as I was just going for easy ride with mates. I did couple of DH sessions in the summer riding fairly close to my limits but somehow managing to break the leg about 2km’s from home is just really bad luck?

martinxyz – Member
I love merino at work.. or just messing about. On the bike it’s rapidly dropped to my least fav bit of kit ever. Icebreakers in different types,lidl’s crevit ss, M&s ls.. I get wet in them with ease no matter which combo of other layers I use.

Couldn’t agree more and I have had couple of other merino brands too. I have never gone for a proper ride and come back happy wearing merino gear except for socks maybe.

Craft Pro series, Loeffler or similar good quality synthetic layers for sports and merino for commuting and general outdoors messing about.

I might wait a bit and try the new Look S-track, anyone in the trade here know when they will appear?

In November, according to some news. The price is interesting, cheapest model is only about £59 (MSRP) so I’m definitely getting a test pair for winter.

I could be jealous of certain friend’s drive to get things done, other has mad skills on bike and one has fantastic job arrangement which allows him to spend a lot of time for travelling and outdoors stuff.
However, none of them are living my life and I’d like to think that my family and happy marriage might be source of jealousy for some.

Bad back preventing road riding at the moment, whereas mincing around on a full suspension does not hurt my back at all. Still, I’d love a good ride on the road every now and then. It is a different sport but if you are not taking it as seriously as proper roadies it can really fun way of getting fit for mountain biking.

On a short rides near home I ride often with Camelbak or similar without bladder as tools are already in it and summer pack is very light. On winter rides the bigger pack is used similarly.

This leads to minimal faffing when required gear is always ready to go.

I have had Velvet RL2 for few weeks now and they have been really excellent.
The damping feels bit more basic than my previous Fox 32 FIT RLC but Velvet’s are much stiffer feeling, are plusher and the price is excellent. Revelations were not really an option for me as I hate DualAirs and other models were not readily available.

Nostalgic, ha! I was just bleeding a set of original HS33’s which are at least 7-8 years old. They are on my son’s bike, having been on my wife’s bike before that.
One piston was sticking on the rear brake, so decided to try bleeding. Oil inside was grey sludge and now they seem to be working bit better.

Nice brakes which rarely need maintenance but I still hate installing them, most complicated mounting hardware ever.

Bloody hell, how deep were they inserting the needles to get into your muscles!

I think the actual needles were 3-4 inches long as I was lying on my stomach. Had I seen their size beforehand I might have refused the treatment but luckily I didn’t :-)

I don’t have much belief for the traditional acupuncture and ideas behind it but I have had help from acupuncture done in physiotherapy.

Reasoning for using the needles weas that allowed manipulation of hard to reach muscle areas (inner part of glutes) and it really helped to relax the muscles which couldn’t be accessed manually. I used to go to this physio/sports massage for several years about every two-three months and the use of needles was required only once.

I’m finally almost pain free after couple of years hurting almost constantly from series of health issues. First appendix removal (wounds inflammated then slipped disc and then knee problems but yesterday I reversed my car on top of my best bike and broke the rear triangle… Other bikes are not in rideable condition due missing parts and I can’t make one complete due fork / wheel / shock incompatibilities. What a feeling it was to hear the sound of crushing aluminium…

UST Fat Albert 2.25″‘s are very fitting for most of the riding in my neighbourhood but HD’s are step above in terms of grip on rocks and roots.

What I like about the HD’s most is that they are very predictable in most conditions (not in mud) – FA’s have flexy multi part knobs which sometimes do strange things.
This year I have kept FA’s on one wheelset and HD’s on other set, I’ll use the latter for more rockier trails.

It is all about tyres. Neighbour has managed couple of winters with an M3 on proper winter tyres here (Scandinavia). Why not get a xDrive or 4Matic if Audi is not up to your liking?

I have a 5.7 (AL) as well and it is really a great bike for my riding. It does not suit all riders as it is more xc-feeling than some want and there are some design choices (bb, fd, shock choices and cable routing) which are hit or miss depending on how you look at things.

Mine has blown shock, fork and Reverb at the moment so this review is not as glowing as it could be. :(
I wouldn’t recommend Fox 32 fork on it in any case, it deserves Deville / RC3 Ti or maybe a 34 Fox.

Superstar has cheaper tool (£19) for extraction but Park tool (BBT-90.3) includes the cups for press. Superstar works ok, the bearings are not destroyed by extraction as is the case with screwdriver & hammer method.

Now if I just could find out if my BB shell is ovalized from the drive side or not…

edit: the Shimano BB’s should have some warranty, some are labeled XTR in the packaging / by bike manufacturer and have three year warranty.

Check the fit before you buy, IME they fit a bit short and the capacity seems really small considering the volume specified by mfgr.

There is no decent Palm replacement available, they are all shiny media consumption toys now… I don’t miss the sync issues though.

Original Nobby Nics on rocky and rooty trails (especially when wet) were the worst tires ever. I still have 2 pairs in the shed but I haven’t found anyone I’d dislike enough to give them to.

Always in the pack:
-Multitool (Topeak Mini20)
-Cleat bolt
-Spare hanger
-Powerlink
-Patch kit
-UST valve
-Zipties
-Tire lever
-Pump (Pro)
-Shock pump (Topeak Microshock)
-Very small first aid kit
-Couple of tissues in plastic bag

+ water and some snacks and extra clothing if needed. I have tried to minimize the contents but still be prepared for most common issues. It is not often about the dangers riding but being able to finish the ride – especially in cases where I’m not riding near home.

Recovery drinks are very handy but it is worth noting how much they add to daily energy intake and seeing how they fit into daily eating schedule (don’t replace proper food with these too often).
Some of them are lactose-free, cup of chocolate isn’t…

It is probably the e-type for two 9 speed rings, FD-M665E. You will need to remove one screw to make it direct mount compatible.
Excellent value and works really really well.

Any normal glasses will do nicely for most of the riding. I have ridden with normal glasses, contacts and prescription riding glasses and still use normal glasses for most of the riding. The only issue is that helmet straps will rub the surface on some fancier frames.
I do have prescription Oakleys but they are bit too dark and not exact match to my current prescription so I’m looking at either contacts and plain Oakleys again or getting new prescription Oakleys.

I’m 184cm (6′ if my conversion is correct) riding large 5.7 with 70mm stem, no doubt this is the correct size.

Haven’t ridden a Hustler but please do not think that all DW suspension bikes are the same… little changes to geometry have made it different feeling to eg. Mojo. It took me a while to get comfortable on this bike but I came from short travel HL suspension bike to to this and my initial setup was way off.

mmannerr
…do not carry the computer from single corner.

Erm…..what does this mean? Do you mean don’t move the laptop around much (as it won’t be particularly durable?)?

Carrying laptop from single corner will bend the chassis and more importantly the motherboard leading into problems later.
I know this sounds like old wives tales but I have had two Thinkpads suffer from this and this is laptop which has fairly advanced magnesium frame in it.
Feel free to carry it but do hold it from bottom when moving it.

Microsoft Security Essentials is good enough security solution for most home uses (semi-professional anatomy students might need more robust solution) especially with Win7 and does not use slow down the computer.

I haven’t tried the linked machine but I’m very suspicious of consumer grade laptops in general (most of the so called professional / enterprise / business models are not that great either).
Try to get something with three year warranty, do regular backups and do not carry the computer from single corner.

They are pretty slow rolling on tarmac but work very well on trails, somehow they feel very predictable all around. I’m told that they will not last long in AM / Park use but guess that is not same as trail centre use.

I second request for info on Finnish bike parks.

There are two on the bigger hills up north:
http://bikepark.fi/?lang=en
http://www.yllas.fi/en/trek-bike-park
(these are located some 60km apart)

and some smaller ones all over the country.

I don’t know if even the biggest ones would warrant visit from UK (those who have been around prefer Åre to Northern Finland if Alps are not an option) but if you are around they would be worth visit for a day or two. The gnarliest DH route on Levi is only about 2min ride for World class riders (Lehikoinen, Barel & Moseley were there few years ago) but it’s a bit longer for us mortals…

Doh, the 5.7 has felt rather playful compared to previous bikes (Superlight and Racer-x) – I’m finallyh getting more comfortable doing wheelies and small drops now that I have been riding MTBs since 90’s.

I’d say even though the DW suspension is e.g. on Ibis Mojo, Pivot bikes and Turner bikes and despite “same” suspension they feel quite different when riding. I haven’t ridden a Iron Horse but have tested Mojo and 5.7 and the Mojo feels much softer.

Tyre clearance is almost good enough, I’m running Hans Dampfs now (fat 2.35″) as it is not muddy at the moment. I usually run Fat Alberts and they do fit fine even in the mud.

I have had my 5.7 bit over a year now, excellent bike except couple of minor issues:
– PressFit BB is bit weak (3 year warranty on them by Shimano though).
– lower linkage area collects mud like crazy.

Other than that it is really good but I’d still recommend test ride. The rear suspension does not feel as plush as some and stem/bar setup can require some tinkering to get it right – it has really low front end even with Float 150mm fork.

OK, I just need to get Bimmer to be complete. We already have Scenic and Audi in the family…. :D

Less than disk brakes, more than lock-on grips…

I just got one yesterday, not much experience with it yet but my hope is that it improves the grip. My cover is the model with “finger strap” on the back.

But cars like A6 Quattros are able to match all the above for the vast majority of the time but with the added benefit of looking like a normal car.

It’s not about the looks, it’s the comfort of these cars, of which more upright seat position is one thing. I like driving wife’s “olympic -edition” sporty VAG but actually prefer my Scenic for most of time due comfort (don’t like sitting the road). I’d love to get something else which include all the good things about the Scenic along with quality, power and proper chassis & steering but something like that would cost 2-3 times as much.

I have had 5.7 since Nov ’10, it is really a do it all bike but still it is more xc(-feeling) than many competitors bikes.
It is almost perfect bike for me, my main gripes are mud collecting suspension linkages and non-continuos RD outer cable. At same time I can admit that it is not bike for all, there are some issues on what shock you can use and some riders will want more plush suspension action.

I hear I’m getting the cheapest Kindle for Christmas. My Mrs. is trying to prevent a mountain of books, magazines and other paper things I’m going to buy for commuting entertainment after my office relocates next spring. No idea if this will mean not buying real books after that but for pocketbooks this seems like a good idea.

Whatever happened to them?

Handful of problems and lack of momentum I’d say. They separated from main corporation (car tyre business), went through couple of name changes, moved some of the production to Taiwan etc.
They still produce some tyres under the name Suomityres but other than studded winter tyres are not very competetive products these days: http://www.suomityres.com/