peteimpreza sums it up pretty well. You stay away, y’hear?!

nooooooooooooooo…. this confirms that I definitely need an ARC frame. @barnsleymitch, I think the USA retailers are not allowed to ship outside of the country, otherwise I would look at getting one from Jenson. I really would like a decent second hand example, as I’m not only skint, but these days I kind of like buying used, I find it strangely gratifying lol. Will sell the 575 to fund it I guess.

Thanks budgierider, I am near Malvern so not far to Cannock Chase. Might find out how much they are doing them for… I would get new if there was a great deal going somewhere…

That’s good info, cheers. Now to find a used one…

Uh-Oh, sounds just like what I am after 🙁 I have heard that the curved stays give a reasonably soft ride. Would you agree with that?

I’m in! Solo male. Dreading it a bit as my legs don’t seem to want to work this year…

@mboy, unfortunately I am attending a 2 year old’s birthday party on Sunday (my nephew), so unfortunately I won’t be able to get out and will be working Saturday. Free for the following few though.

Fair play to those that work on and repair the trails, can’t wait to get back up to the Lawnmower.

@mboy, the trees on the hillside were harvested last year. The last time I attempted to do it the huge ruts from the machinery and disruption of the soil from the felled trees made it impassable or had eliminated the trail 🙁 I think “The Skip” was the steep bombhole-y bit that had a very tight and steep approach through some trees that I used to mainly chicken out of?

Thanks Rickos. Will have a sniff for Henry’s when I next head out that way, but have a feeling I might already do it, or at least I do a reasonably interesting bit very close to where you point to on the map. I think you might be right about y2k, mrmo.

Anyone fancy a spin one Sunday and maybe share some cool sections with me that I don’t already know then I would be well up for it. Pretty much an XC boy though, definitely not a jumper!

By the way, does anyone know if the lawnmower trail has ever recovered from the tree felling? If I wasn’t so lazy I suppose I could check for myself lol! I only ever rode that on one occasion but thought it was pretty cool.

p.s. Still would like to know where Dungeons and Dragons is, cos I ain’t the foggiest idea.

I usually head out to Dowies after doing the aforementioned downhill bit. I cross the road then usually end up doing a longish climb up to a quarry then across towards Elwood via fireroads and edge of Nags Head from there. Is Henry’s in this vicinity, or am I off the mark? I find this part of my loop a bit dull, so would be cool to add some variation in there.

Don’t think this bit of trail has been there long, but may be mistaken? It is probably as long in length as Y2k, but lacks the rooty corners etc. Not sure which bit Henry’s/Rollercoaster is! Would be interested to know in case I haven’t ridden it actually.

Just to clarify, this is the bit which joins the old Y2K at the bottom. It runs down the same bit of hill, just a bit further along.

If you can imagins stood at the top of the old section, if you ride along the fire road to the left there is a new trail which is the end of the enduro track. It’s still worth doing, although completely different to the Y2K. It’s steep and swoopy, and you can get nice speed through the top section. I pretty much always add it into my rides.

The top half is toast, as far as I can tell. The enduro course sort of joins onto the last bit towards the bottom where you have those steep run offs. It’s a cool section but not as it was 🙁

At least it doesn’t have useless and heavy forks or rear suspension. Could be far worse really.

I also like the Chrome.

I love mine, it is a hoot on the twisty rooty trails I tend to ride. I’ve had it about 4 years now, and it’s looking a bit tatty, and sometimes I start thinking about other bikes. But when I ride it I remember why I love it so much. It isn’t that light though, but climbs and handles great. I had the RP23 PUSH tuned after 18 months or so,mainly out of curiosity, and that was a great investment. Made it seem much smoother over fast repeated hits.

lol

As you age your body changes. You may find that you are more competitive in endurance events rather than shorter races where outright speed is key. If you were competitive in your youth (and you ain’t that old) and haven’t totally larded up (doesn’t sound like this is the case!), then I bet you still can be competitive; but perhaps you need to look at the events you are entering and play to your new strengths. To be honest it sounds to me like you are just having a dull patch of form which will almost certainly return.

My advice would be: hope it’s going to be dry, pump up your shock, forks and tyres a little firmer than normal and fit some narrow-ish fast rolling tyres. Worked okay for me as a solo in 2010, although I didn’t exactly hit the podium, but I was very lucky that it was dry that year. Mayhem is all about being able to hack the climbing imo, so gear yourself up for that and you’ll be fine. Also +1 for not bothering with sleep. I tried and just lay there for a few hours pointlessly when I could have fit another couple of laps in.

edit: just re-read your post and now feel like a tit for posting my crumby advice.

Wicked ride across the Malverns, which I usually avoid on Sundays but was practically deserted today. Experienced high side winds and sleet, rain and snow. Someone had built a decent sized snowman on slopes of the Worcester Beacon! I encountered a few walkers on my return leg, but only saw 2 other bikers, and most of the time felt like I was alone in the wilderness. Absolutely gopping dirty, but brilliant ride.

edit: Oddly it is now bright, clear and sunny here at home. Weird weather today!

Sounds like your pads may have worn down quite a bit on that mucky ride. For what it’s worth my Oro Biancos were doing much the same thing, but I read a comment on here about removing the wheels and pumping the levers a couple of times to bring the bite point back in. All I can say is that it has worked a treat for me, but I can’t promise you that it’ll sort yours out. The lack of power you’re experiencing is possibly coming from the bite point being too far into the levers travel, so might make sense if your pads are well worn.

Bear in mind that you need to be careful not to overdo the above as you don’t want the pistons coming out too far. If you aren’t confident fiddling with your brakes then why not see if you can drop it into your lbs?

Win. Love the cable routing, of all things.

Am I the only one that is starting to feel vaguely annoyed that we are being tempted with “2013” product when 2012 has barely gotten started? Looks good though, although I also prefer the aesthetics of the current cranks.

Have you signed up then? I did it in 2010 solo as my first ever mtb event. If you are the kind who likes a personal challenge and to only have themself to answer to, then I highly recommend it. The crowd support for solo was fantastic too.

I wouldn’t give up, there are probably solo spots left. Why not give it another go this evening.

@gravitysucks, have only done it once so far, in 2010. Got crippling cramps in my lower back on lap 5, the likes of which I had never experienced before. Managed to drag myself around 6 more laps with the aid of ibuprofen, but this time I hope to improve on that if I can, and more than anything want to eliminate the back pain which still troubles me occasionally. I might just grind round on the sofa/trail bike as it is so comfortable…

Think I got a place. Why oh why am I doing solo again!?

Yes, it is pretty predictable.

Arrrrggh! lol

please post the link

Extreme frustration and 3 year old pulling the house apart as I sit at the computer!

Anyone tried the hotline? I’m tempted but don’t want to bother if hundreds are ringing with the same query!

Ditto, I feared this might go wrong 🙁

Done 🙂

Most recent and highly effective commuting tool is a Berghaus Freeflow Rucksack. Looks slightly weird but works amazingly well at stopping the terrible sweaty back, and I can get just enough stuff in it if I plan properly and leave stuff like shoes at work. 11 miles each way on my Scott carbon roadbike, so no fittings for panniers or guards unfortunately. Poor thing needs a total rebuild after this last winter of salty, appallingly pot-holed roads.

Slight hijack here, but need to replace the rear bearings on the hub of my slightly ageing Bontrager Race Lite Tubeless wheels. I “think” that they are DT 370 hubs and that they need 1x 6000 bearing and 1 x 6900 bearing. I am trying to source some high quality bearings and looked at the links above but quickly became confused! Can anyone clarify what I need, links would be amazing! Cheers

Ah thanks!

I know I’m stupid, but struggling to see how these work?! Where do they connect to the outer? Is it at the stops?

Contrary to the above, I found their sintered pads to be very decent. I have also found their triple compound road pads to be significantly better than the stock shimano ones. Make of this what you will!

Are you sure it’s not something else, like the rear qr or bottom bracket?

My experience with the Superstar angleset gxp bb was very poor. Very badly sealed and became gritty after a couple of (admittedly) very wet rides. IMO the original sram one is a lot better, and that’s saying something!