Defo a lack of female ‘potential’. They seem to come out on fri/sat nights but other than that bars tended to be a bit of a mast fest.

Buddah bar is OK but if you follow the stairs down you will find another bar on your left (loads of pool tables) and another bar to the right. You enter and have to go down more stairs….this one was the best. Younger crowd and more’potential’.

I survived on the available maps/google research for the XC stuff, I’d say enough for a 2-3 days but was doing the downhill stuff inbetween exploring. Came back feeling like a guide would have been worth a bit extra.

Other random things about Morzine…..

It’s nickname is Manzine for a reason

Beer = lots of money

Not much else to do but ride, unless the rally hits town!

They have the best looking Spar shop I have ever seen

I’m sure you will love it, have fun!!

James check out this place

http://www.actionsports.de

If you are planning a trip that late in the season check what lifts are running before you book. I went last year in the last week of Aug, super morzine was closed but others were open until the 5th Sept.

Plenty of XC stuff to be had if you don’t want the downhill runs but you will be better off going when the lifts are running as they can get you to the start of some good XC trails.

I would say spend some time getting out and getting your fitness up before you go, you will enjoy it much more…going unfit seems like a waste to me.

Only been once so others here may have better advice.

+1 for Junkyard

It looks cool but it isn’t real……

Fail

I think it’s a very personal thing, I have always had 175’s and found that any knee pain or dodgy feeling had to do with the height of my saddle, if I was doing long XC rides.

170’s will give you marginally better ground clearence, maybe they would make sence on a smaller frame?

Like mrmo said the only way is to do it and see. If you don’t feel that £80 quid is worth seeing then stick to 175.

Maybe these links will help you decide?

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=4138148

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cranks-170mm-or-175mm

http://www.cyclingforums.com/forum/thread/98669/pros-and-cons-of-crank-length-170-vs-175

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=15442281&sid=1897e982cd2fc19abb0e674295049466

Hope this helps

Looks like a good price to me….If you have no idea how to, or the desire to learn how to service a bike, I would say it is a good way to go.

I would also say that everything on that list isn’t that hard to do yourself. But I think it depends on how into maintaining bikes you are. Personally I got fed up with taking it to the LBS everytime something went wrong so i gradually learnt how to do these things with the help of Google,STW, Mates and Youtube vids etc. You have to buy the odd tool or bleed kit but I think it’s worth it in the long run.

Having said that your dad might not have the time etc so in that case £75 quid for the service is good.

Sorry for the rambling answer!

Good head.

This guy is a total idiot.

Everyone knows the world ends in 2012.

Cheers grum! 🙂

Cheers for the reply alexxx, but being a noob you might have to explain that as you would to a child 😕

Edit: speed + weight over the front wheel?

what do you mean by “push baby push” Jedi????

Google?

This?

http://www.woollyhatshop.com/Rear-Derailleurs/Derailleurs-/-Mechs-Parts-amp-Spares/Shimano-Shim-/-Band-Adaptor-for-Front-Mechs-to-reduce-from-34-9mm-to-28-6mm/prod_2406.html

Having Kayaked for a few years I would say learn how to use one at a club first. Some local pools run a course over 6 or 10 weeks. The other advantage of this is going out with people with more experiance. Plus they will take you out and show you some good routes etc.

It’s great fun but if you can’t read the river you can easily get into trouble in a fast flowing water. You might drop into nice calm water but it might not stay that way. You need to be mind full of where you get in and out too, some land owners along the river may object.

Depending on where you intend to paddle you may need a license so you will have to do that research yourself.

Cheers Akira,

Yes like you say maybe not perfect but I really like the sound of it. Lots of pro’s. If I go for the Canyon will defo have the Hammerschmidt option.

They are so expensive that I can’t afford to get one to have a go with but I’m thinking if we don’t get on it can just go on ebay in favour of something more traditional.

Thanks again

Yeah, sell what you can and give the frame a nice send off, sad that it’s died but sometimes it worse when you just get just a few £’s for something you have loved. Embrace the new frame and have fun!

I had a verruca on my foot when I was a kid, cut it out with a stanley….way too young for beer but it worked a treat. Maybe switch to spirits and get the belt sander?

Well it’s always worth a go…If you are 100% honest in the listing you never know who might want it. Not sure how much you would get for it though.

Thing is Ebay is rubbish for sellers, your listing and selling fee’s may leave you wishing you hadn’t bothered.

How about a viking funeral?

Akira, thanks for your input.

Yes I have realised i’m in the wrong gear going up and end up crunching my gears to get in the right one. Rider fail I suppose, does the Hammerschmidt help in this respect? Having never used one I’m trying to get my head round it.

Not worried about the weight but the drag is an interesting point, does it really bother you? And in what situations?

Those two are great, so funny to watch as they chomp their way around Italy checking out 21 year old hotties.

Love it that Gennaro Contaldo had the nick name of ‘Hook” due to being able to get any girl he wanted.

Brilliant

I used white spirit and a toothbrush the other week after reading a thread on here. Worked a treat on the cassette and the chain. Did a rinse then a bit of lube action and all was well.

Using the dishwasher ‘seems’ like an inspired idea, minimum effort and maximum results but I’m not sure you should get your other half to clean your parts. Or your cassette.

Maxxis ADvantage, 15 sheets for the 2.1 but they come up big. Not much more for 2.25’s.

Found them to be pretty good all round tyres so far.

http://www.birkenheadcycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b62s120p1094&rs=gb

Ok I’ll bite….total camera geek,

It all depends on what you want to achieve and I’m not sure what that is.

Do you want to document the ride with your mates with minimum fuss? Or something more? Are you after a particular effect or style of images?

Do you want really high quality images that you intend to sell?

I’m a photographer and an avid mountain biker and I have found the two hard to mix. I risked taking a DSLR out in the Alps and came back with some great stuff but if I had taken a fall I’m not sure it would have survived. Plus I didn’t like the constant worry in the back of my head.

Freaky

Brilliant

They are cheap but I wouldn’t say they are total garbage. If you can’t afford anything else they will do you well enough.

Had Juicy 5’s, Elixir R’s and on new bike Elixir 5’s. Not one problem with the R’s…the Juicy’s were OK but fiddly to get right, replace pads etc.

I’m starting to not like my Elixir 5’s, seem to take a bit of fiddling to keep them right. Easy to bleed though.

They are noisy, it rained when we were out today and they sounded awful. Could be the superstar pads…. Having said that my mates formulars we just as noisy.

They seem to have good modulation once set up.

On the side?

301st post WHOOOOOOOOOO

Ah…I would say a trip to the LBS then. Wish I could help more but it was my first time bleeding today.

I don’t think you will get anywhere fast with out that o ring. If you know the guys at the shop maybe they can give you some pointers for bleeding next time?

All I can say is it seems to be a trial and error thing, it is a bit of a faff too but once you have got your head round it, it’s not that bad.

Hope you get it sorted soon 🙂

I was bleeding my avid elixir’s today, total nightmare!! Had to do it 3 times and ended up doing it with the pads still in, instead of the bleed block. I followed the SRAM video guide which was good but in the end had to problem solve and sort it myself.

I know that doesn’t help with formulas as such but…..

Don’t know what model your brakes are…..I have had a look online and only found this:

http://formulabrakeusa.com/formula/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/bleed_instructions_final.pdf

http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=bleed+my+Formula+Ones&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=5-DGTeXcB5G3hAfU16zsAw#hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=bleed+Formula+brakes&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=vw&fp=e0905c596ca28ba3

Any good?

note to self…..poo before ride, not while riding.

Just out of interest, is there a weight penalty for a QR15 or 20mm?

Thanks Junkyard, Northwind and Herman Shake…..

Really good info on the GD, I was a bit worried about the play but sounds like it’s not a real problem.

haven’t seen the 5 inch one yet but that sounds sweet. Looks like the remote is the way to go too….not too good at touching my nuts when things get hairy!

Thanks guys.

Pads been fine with me- sintered-noisy in my elixir 5’s tho when wet. That is all.

Hi Morgs,

I’m defo no bike expert, still learning after a few years.

With a budget of £300 you are not going to get anything amazing, certainly no XTR kit. You could risk ebay and look out for a little used hardtail.

Few years ago I was in almost the same position as you, didn’t want to spend much but wanted to get into biking again. I bought an Evans brand bike, Pinnacle Evolution. Although it was over your budget at 600, I sold it less than a year later for £350. My mate also sold a year old rockhopper for about £350….so if you know what to look for ebay might be better than a new one.

If you want to go new I would say look out for the best components, not sure what disk brakes are like at that level, they might not even be hydraulic so you could be better going for good V brakes.

Just to give you a couple of ideas…..

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/3500-2010-mountain-bike-ec020717

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/lanai-deluxe-2011-mountain-bike-ec026529

Just do loads of research and find out all you can about what you are buying.

Hope that helps and enjoy getting back into it!

Thanks for the replies everyone, yes cranberry went for it! Long waiting time though 1-2 weeks!! Sure it will be worth it 🙂

Thanks again for all the replies.

Thanks for the link HP!

Thanks cranberry 🙂

Wow, good work!

You were on borrowed time buddy! Make it into a coffee table or something.

I have no idea how you didn’t see the cable rub sooner.