improvements in technology has opened up far more technical and steeper trails to enjoy.

ha ha…
no it hasn’t.
You can ride them a bit faster that’s all. plenty folk, me included, ride “Enduro” approved trails on hardtails.

Just seems to me like the riding is seen as a chore and music is used as a distraction. Not saying that is in your case, but just my personal opinion as to why some might want to listen to music out there. I wouldn’t want to ride if that’s the case.

Myself I’m not focused on the riding if I listen to music, and I ride out of enjoyment.

Though I should stress (being aware of how much here is road talk) I’m talking about off road. On the road I can understand using something to relieve the boredom

As said, just my opinion.I happen to find it quite bizarre when folk form such opinionated views of other peoples reasons for doing stuff they don’t based on absolutely no evidence. :?

If music played at a volume where you can still hear your tyres ruins your concentration I’d suggest you take up golf before the distraction from a random noise puts you in hospital.
I enjoy music. I enjoy riding. so when I ride alone I combine the two, it really is that simple.

For someone who expresses they “ride for enjoyment” you seem to allowed naive prejudice to cause you to miss the point entirely with regards to others. Out of interest have you ever ridden a road bike?

5min fitness doesn’t necessarily mean smash out several runs over 50km fitness

ha ha.. STFU
are you really suggesting there’s an expert/elite DHer in the UK who couldn’t pedal up a few fire roads and blast out 5 descents (albeit ones with stupid flat/uphill/bog sections) over a weekend?

PMSL @ using kms to try and make 31 miles sound as if it’s some sort of achievement BTW

That’s not even one Tunnocks territory.

You start the thread Jimmy and I’ll organise a route in East Lothian to ride. Sunday soon enough?
how long a route do you want? (anywhere between 10 and 40 miles is easy enough to arrange?)

:cry:

[hug] for Mr P

All decent DH racers have very good fitness these days anyway

Spot on. it’s a massive money making thing Ton. As was the image of freeride and AM etc. when they were conceived.

Similar story with the Road Sportive phenomenon.

no guards = a wet arse and no mates.
kind of how I imagine a lot of folk on here’s childhoods ;)

Wind speed and leg freshness is the deciding factor between Road and mtb for me.
I like mud and rain doesn’t bother me on or off road tho.
if strapped for time, BMX as it needs zero preparation before and no change of clothes or cleaning afterwards.

Iain. it’s a dumb question unless you intend asking each and every rider who’s raced at an organised Enduro event.

You’ll also find there are folk who have been riding and building the very trails Enduros are raced on years before mtb gravity Enduro was even thought up

Enduro Racers raced DH or XC or both

Enduro riders minced around trail centres and rode XC badly on full sus bikes calling it AM

Aye, fairly accurate description of what to expect out here. burt Reynolds had way less grief from admiring MILFs tho 8)

Cheers Jamie.

;)

Not really my thing at all but I must say it’s refreshing to see bikes with big tyres destined to never be ridden further than 3 miles from an ice cream shop being built up fairly light and not covered in frame bags, Go-Pro mounts, racks and water bottles.

what does it weigh?

mtbEL facebook group[/url]

We’ve been quite quiet on the ride arranging front for a wee while as a lot of folk have been doing other things over the winter. We also occasionally hook up with the Midlothian guys for rides on and off-road. I’ve been busy/getting over injuries/riding road/setting up a mtb kids club and more but will be riding a lot more mtb again shortly. join the group, introduce yourself and keep an eye out for midweek night rides etc. We have miles and miles of decent off-road trails in East Lothian and I’m happy to show anyone* around and grab a quick pint after. I’m an ex GMBC member myself (early-late ’90s)

* ;)

some of us actually live, work and spend every day in nice countryside but also enjoy music while we ride our bikes.

it’s not exactly difficult to “get”

HOW MUCH ???? 8O ^^

any in ear headphones that don’t have rubber buds that squish into your ear will do exactly as you require.
just have the volume adjusted low enough that you can hear your tyres on the ground and you’ll be sweet to hear any traffic etc.
been doing this for decades.

ie. anything shaped like these
will be cool.

anything shaped like these
NOT COOL!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/help-does-such-a-frame-exist-without-going-custom

What is fresh goods?

ha ha…. :D

take money and lunch out. Road cycling isn’t for povos you know

There is NOTHING cool about an ugly rucksack full of water, tools and 3 changes of clothing incase the weather becomes a little… well.. weather like.

WTF do you need a camelback for?

Thoughts? Can anyone translate the quoted text? or perhaps move this to a sub forum for Londoners?

Ask the guys in your club

Alu TCRs do come up S/H on Ebay and they are available as frame sets there new from Hong Kong. dunno if legit. the TCR Carbonz prices from HK seem too good to be true.

Col du tourmalet on the road is the only one I can think of. 11miles of pristine condition roads with awesome turns and flat out fast sections.

Can’t think of a Mountain in the UK worth riding to the actual summit of in order to make the descent worth it.. Just to say you’ve been to the Summit, yes fair enough, but because the descent from there is awesome, no.

Yeah, my fatbike got a lot of those these past couple of months.

Wow! on it’s own? 8O

they truly are wonderful these fatbikes aren’t they?

Did wonder why so many owners seem to spend so much more time blogging, talking and taking pics and videos of ’em than actually riding.

short chainstays and higher than norm bb = more nimble and imo fun.. but also more difficult at speed

Depends what you find most fun.
lower BB = better cornering and more stable at speed
short chainstays = stiffer and better for manualling.
high BB = slightly easier to initiate a manual.
more nimble = less weight, samller size and good bike weight distribution.

I’d always want a low BB over the miniscule benefit from initiating a manual.

Dude. You’re not listening.

A small Solaris would fill your criteria pefectly. it’s an inch shorter than your current Medium and has a front centre (or Top tube if you prefer) in the correct ballpark for a dirt jump frame for someone of your height. I’m also 5’11” BTW.

For trail riding you’ll need a 410mm seatpost though.

<EDIT> what rise are your bars?
I’d want at least 20mm of spacers, at least a 50mm rise bar and probably a 40mm stem. (and that’s talking about the Small, Solaris)

Christian Bale sounded like a dick as Batman

Def this era for me

loved mine

had this wee set too:

maybe I’m imagining it, but I seem to remember playing with the shark from the old Adam West movie too.

Also, the whole ‘buying a slightly smaller frame for more “flickability”‘ thing that gets put down regularly on here is actually in some ways very true. The problem here is that some of the most vocal advocates of such a ploy don’t really have a clue what they are talking about and end up bullied into ridicule by the forum sheep.. you’ll probably recognise who I’m referring to even if they don’t. ;)

your Solaris in a smaller size with a short stem and high(ish) bars may well have been all you’ve needed all along. (far too difficult to say without knowing you or your bike set-up)

What exactly is your definition of “poppy”? From your list of requirements it doesn’t really sound like you have a grasp of what actually makes a rigid bike poppy.
it certainly isn’t down to having a 69deg head angle.

Personally I’d split “poppy” into two distinct characteristics

1) ease of front wheel lift
2) ease of rear wheel lift
but also ability to pump

smaller wheels are better for all of the above.
smaller/shorter frames are better at 1 (& to some extent 2)
shorter stays are better at 1&2 and are more manual friendly
lower BBs are more stable.
higher BBs are more manual friendly and offer better clearance for obsticles.. and BB height can also relate to “pop”

Sounds like you want a frame that is easier to manipulate (hop, manual, pump) which are all manouvers that are down to weight shift/weight distribution and timing. Cockpit set-up is kinda more important than any one other frame characteristic in giving these attributes.

ha ha… 100mm on my TCR too. :roll:
it’s just what I..er… spent ages measuring, re-measuring, eventually working out I needed 105mm then mulling over committing to going 5mm shorter or longer before fitting. ;)
I also prefer the sharper handling a 100mm stem gives over the 120mm mine came with, plus it wheelies betterer.

Make a roadtrip of it wysiwyg.
Fife has moar riding than just Falkland..
Pitmedden, Falkland, Cambu, Braefoot etc.
plenty other places worth riding outside of the Kingdom but still not too far away no matter where you’re travelling from.

Not sure who runs things up at Falkland these days but Mike and the locals used to be cool with folk coming up to ride once or twice before committing to joining the club.. not sure what the situation is these days as haven’t been up in years. but if it’s anything like it used to be there will still be information telling you how to join and to keep the place litter free etc in a clearing you’ll push your bikes past. It didn’t used to be expensive to join so if you do decide to go just the once or twice you could always offer a wee donation towards the hard work they’ve put in?

no. but the EL is. you may even be able to work out what coming from Muss Ed

it’s fine on an STP son

DO NOT GET A TURBO!

got more kids than most, have always ridden bikes more than most. hope that helps.

no advice for a noob other than try to enjoy the whole experience.. it is for the rest of your life afterall.

plenty drops and chutes on lesser known DH tracks in the tweed valley.

what do you mean by natural though? most have been dug/built