Thanks to Nick for organsising such a fantastic event !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He deserves yet another pint :L

But he really should have some recovery time from the previous 50 first.

Wish I'd been able to stay for the 'devil takes the hindmost' but family commitments put paid to that.
Fantastic atmosphere all the time I was able to be there and big thanks to Exposure for the light I won in the night race. Also the beer tent for not being expensive to start with and emptying any open barrels for free after midnight. I know the organisers gave up a huge amount of time in the week before the event for setting up duties.

I'm not going to take Hora seriously……….
I'm not going to take Hora seriously……….
I'm not going to take Hora seriously……….
I'm not going to take Hora seriously……….
I'm not going to take Hora seriously……….

Invoices usually can be paid up to 60 days but most suppliers give incentives for prompt settlement and living or working on ever increasing ammounts of credit has been proven to to be unsustainable, remember Woolworths?
This year I've been flat out with repairs but new bike sales have been flat. I've never been able to sell clothing here.

Consumables make the most profit in percentge terms but selling a bike or a larger item is a 'quick hit' even at reduced margins.
To those who want trade prices on their consumables, all you have to do is place an initial order for £500 or so and commit to spend £5k plus per year and most major suppliers will deal with you. Checkable references that you are a genuine business may also be required.

I went to Brechfa a couple of times this year and thought it made Afan seem very tame. In my opinion Brechfa's well worth the extra 45 minutes drive over Afan, but you do need your climbing legs there. After the recent weather I'd expect it to be wringing wet there so fit a crud catcher and rear guard.

Morning bump……………

Remember that the rear bike will cut in on sharp corners. When you trap the little one's fingers against a railing in front of onlookers you will feel like a VERY BAD parent. Otherwise I found it great for a couple of years when the boy was younger.

If I chopped wifey's Micra in for the BMW she'd be over the moon.

Cinnamon Girl

448 358 and head towards Winchester in the woods alongside the Roman Road until you get to the army camp. The path's regularly tramped down by squaddies on training runs.

Three Maids Hill near Winchester weaves it's way for a couple of miles in the woods. It's only on a very gentle downslope so there's some pedalling involved but us southerners can cope with that.

Ourmaninthenorth

You say you need at least 2 hours on the bike for a good session.

Try riding more like runners do their training sessions. Mix in sprints, intervals and shorter harder rides. I've always been pretty fit but when I started doing sessions such as 10x half mile flat out sprints in too low a gear (singlespeed Mayhem preparation) I soon found I could reduce my legs to jelly in well under an hour.

I was really disappointed with Grizedale, the loose stony surfacing made everything harder than it should be. Glad I was only riding it because I happened to be in the Lakes anyway on a family trip.

Bump………..for a new day

I change mine when it gets too smelly

I've been recommending my customers to the DMR 9 Speed Cassette hubs at £59.99.
They are well sealed, use 2 easily sourced cartridge bearings and the freehub assembly is only £12.99. They're shinier than Deores and also available in red if you like.

Deores are OK but once the bearing cups get pitted they're scrap.

I've got one on the back. Good in dry to damp but not so good on loose gravel climbs as the knobbles are too small.

Don't be a wuss 32:15 is the way to go………………

Cheapish build to see what all the fuss is about and provide a bit of eye candy for the shop.

I suspect that like a lot of people he didn't fancy the confrontation or the slog back into town.

A quick pre-ride solution is to gently pull back the top of the seal and dribble a little oil into the gap.

They're just jealous of us southerners having a greater density of pubs in the good riding areas.

I run a 2.25 on the rear for added comfort and a 2.1 on the front for lighter and more precice steering (on a hardtail)

I always thought it was OK and accepted by roadies amongst each other, at least out of town.
Many years ago I was feeling a little lazy whilst commuting on an MTB with slicks and tucked in behind a roadie going the same way. Within seconds the four letter abuse started so I turned up the wick, flicked him the vees and left him well and truly behind. I swear he was shouting "come back" as I disappeared in a trail of adrenalin.

I've had my Parks for over 6 years now and they've been used in the shop every day. Still good as new even after being used to trim mudguard stays!

Personally I liked the bit through the woods (although the surface deteriorated when damp) and would suggest that the 'flow' some folks have mentioned is what trail centres are all about not race courses.

Very nice, but having the bars that low would wreck my back. I seem to be less flexible these days after a couple of years of SS off roading.

I hope you embarrass a good few roadies on more serious kit with it because they're bound to give you the cold shoulder for turning up on a 'strange' bike.

How's the chain tensioned or have you just hit upon the 'magic ratio'?

Ditto the sunset.

Cracking course but the rain of previous years really would have made it hell.
I'm not sure about the comments regarding the lack of "flow", I thought many of the descents were a great test of braking skills and bottle.
I did think that having a constricting section of singletrack (just after the Kenda climb) so early in the event was a bad call givenm that they have 12 years experience in organising it. I heard grumbles that that section was bypassed for the first lap but only after a huge queue had built up.
Also, wifey commented that there seemed to be less trade and exhibitor stands this year. Could that be a sign of harder times or have the pitch prices been put up?
Having the kids races in the main arena in the morning was good.

Wifey's mum mae her dress. The reception was the most expensive part at about £2k for a pleasure boat cruise out of Southampton to the Isle of Wight and back with catering for 50.
Honeymoon was a Sun £10 holiday in a caravan park outside Newquay.
It took a few years of making up before she stopped suggesting that maybe I shouldn't have gone skiing with my mates earlier in the year………..

Check the condition of the front sprocket too, if that's worn it could be the cause of your problems.

MilitantGraham — I tried kinking the spoke holes but gave up after the first hole when the screwdriver I was using bent without seeing any movement in the hole.
At least I can conclude that Salsa rims are well tough!

Combination of the shop I run (Pefect Balance Cycles) and trying to be modest about my riding skills and state of mind.

Runnin down a Dream – Tom Petty
Police Truck – Dead Kennedys

Yep, I'd laugh too.
Please tell me this is really a true story.

I went 3 cross to a Salsa Delgado Disc rim with 257mm spokes. A Mavic 717 would need 259s.
I have had problems with spokes breaking at the thread but I don't know if that's due to the angle of the spokes or because I used Sapim spokes which I have now heard a few rumours about suggesting they aren't as good a DT Swiss.

From a governmental point of view any money they give out in benefits is better off given to the 'corsa, Xbox, big earring' brigade who'll spend as much as they can ge hold of. As soon as the money's spent the govt will get a significant portion back in VAT, national insurance and income tax from the retail establishments that provide these things. If the money's saved it's gone as far as the govt is concerned.

All benefits should be means tested. Disabled people, parents, oldies etc all get benefits however much they're earning or sitting on. A lot of that money could be put to far better use.

Non biking, I walked the Isle of Wight end to end for charity in the company of 10000 others.

Green although I did see their local candidate with a loudhailer in a large 4×4 last night.

Just lean back and let go of the brakes.

Are they still stopping you as well as they should?
I,ve had Shimano brakes that have leaked fluid onto the pads. Not enough to be obvious but enough to dull the braking performance and make them howl.

Alternatively, are you running a 180mm disc at the rear? There could be just enough flex in the frame and leverage at the mount to set up a resonance under braking. I had a 180mm Magura on a full susser which howled everywhere from new until I changed to a 160mm rotor and adaptor. It's been silent ever since.

Will there be any night riding to be done there? Preferably alcohol fuelled.