I’ve cut squares of innertube and put them over the tongue, under the laces.

Isn’t the same as waterproofing, but at least the first puddle runs off the tongue rather than soaking straight in.

A year ago I would have said ‘almost any Nukeproof’. I think the designs are much nicer this year though. They’re finally moving away from that yellow!

Ace – thanks for the tips everyone. :)

Will do some pick+mixing and see what it comes to.

As long as you clamp on the part that goes into a frame – I can’t see a problem with it. Clamping on the smooth surface will no doubt scratch it eventually.

As for whether it can handle it, I’d have thought the force going through the post will be significantly less than that from riding it.

Ok, thanks for the help everyone. Sounds like the 1.5’s will be fine, but I can reasonably increase the screw gauge to 10.

Is odd… lower leg services, pressing my own headset or BB bearings I can cope with. But crumbly walls scare the bejesus out of me!

I cracked an Icetech rotor, presumably it was heat related. Not serious, but it was carving a line in one pad surface. I noticed it after an alpine holiday.

I’ve also seen another Icetech melt in the last year. I suspect that was partly caused by some pretty heavy wear.

It’s been enough to put me off them and I’ll only use standard rotors now. I’ve never had a problem with boiling brakes, so didn’t seem like a big deal to switch back (on the rear at least).

I use the finned pads in the Alps which seem sufficient.

Can’t go wrong with either to be honest. I really like the Trek suspension design personally. It looks like they’ve ditched the DRCV forks which is a good thing in my opinion.

Good shout on Colorado, or the US generally… either that or Kerala. Time to do some research!!

Thanks all, suitably inspired ;)

I’d get it checked out, preferably at a Santa Cruz dealer. Quick search on Google Images found this Nomad.

http://forums.mtbr.com/santa-cruz/another-cracked-nomad-286287.html

I’d look at the Kona Process range. The 134 (27.5) or 111 (29) are shorter travel ‘chuckable’ trail bikes.

150 – 160mm ‘enduro’ bikes are going to be significantly less fun to ride uphill than your Soul. Not saying it’s not impossible (I do it!) but I think if your requirement is ‘more comfortable than my Soul, but otherwise the same..’ then they’re not what you’re looking for.

Yeah, I like mine too. I know there are cheaper helmets out there that probably do as good a job of protecting me but it fits my headsize perfectly. I wasn’t aware how uncomfortable my old Met helmet was until this one.

As for the price, it’s only £30 over what I’d normally pay. It should last three years, in that time I’ll get through £120 of chains, £200 of tyres, £300 of fork / shock servicing. Biking is expensive.

Ah, great news – thanks again everyone! :)

Looking forward to giving it a thrashing in the Alps now.

Thanks Marko, that’s a relief.

Have sent TF Tuned a link to the video too, just in case but feeling happier now.

Cheers,
Tom

“This would be much more fun on a 650b bike, instead of 26 inch.”

Nah, that’s not true.

On either bike my mind goes blank or I’m thinking thoughts about the trail, bike or my fitness. I’m sometimes conscious before a ride that I can use the ride to have a good think about xyz problem. But never do.

That said, if I’m pissed off I ride faster. Will try the Tony Gallopin girlfriend thing to see if feeling horny makes me faster too.

Thanks for getting back to me – heading out to do it right now! :) Weather looks better today, did Gypsies Glen yesterday and roasted in the sun.

Thanks for the offer of assistance, I should be ok – have family locally and carry a Satellite Pager for emergencies.

Cheers,

Tom

Charge Cooker 3 is in your budget

http://www.chargebikes.com/cooker/cooker-3

Also, you should be able to find the Cooker 4 online within your budget.

I’m confused toby1, I thought those were enduro specific colours…

Having to listen to other people take a dump when I’m in the toilet…

I reckon I have the shits once every other year on average, share a toilet with about 100 people. That should mean once a week the toilet gets destroyed. But almost every time I go in there, there’s some guy breaching the peace like a whale clearing prunes from it’s blowhole.

What do these guys eat? Canteen is pretty good!

If it’s for long running monitoring purposes, take a look at Splunk (http://www.splunk.com/). Beautiful dashboards and free for 500MB of data a day.

I use the Splunk client on my raspberry pi.

If you skip down the page to the list adjusted for inflation it paints a different picture:

1 Gone with the Wind $3,301,400,000 1939
2 Avatar $2,782,300,000 2009
3 Star Wars $2,710,800,000 1977
4 Titanic $2,413,800,000T 1997
5 The Sound of Music $2,269,800,000 1965
6 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial $2,216,800,000 1982
7 The Ten Commandments $2,098,600,000 1956
8 Doctor Zhivago $1,988,600,000 1965
9 Jaws $1,945,100,000 1975
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs $1,746,100,000 1937

If you have a modern Android or Apple phone you can share you 3G connection from that over wifi. That’s what I do on the very rare occasion I want to buy a book when there’s no wifi.

As for whether it’s worth yet. Yes, definitely! :) I read more books since I got my Kindle, which is only a good thing. The backlit Paperwhite screen is great for low light too.

I find road pedals more comfortable for long rides. The pedal / shoe combination offers more support and I didn’t get hot-spots.

Never had that problem on the mountain bike, but you’re changing position / cadence so frequently.

Yeah, get the tool – it’s cheaper than any of the alternatives. I have this one:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/x-tools-star-nut-installer/rp-prod10224

Super easy to use.

‘STW a headline sponsor of STW’ should, of course read ‘STW a headline sponsor of Tweedlove’. Tiredness!

Yeah, I found the float in Egg Beaters gave my knees problems. Pedals are a pretty personal choice, a little like saddles.

Shimano are a good starting point though for a first timer. They’ve been around long enough that the design is pretty much spot-on. Bearings last forever, you can smack ’em off curbs with impunity.

Beware of loosening off the tension too much. Counter-intuitively, a firm disengagement can help remind you that you need to unclip – forgetting is usually the problem when you’re starting out!

Stupid crash today at BPW on the last section of Wibbly Wobbly, tired and wasn’t concentrating properly! Shame as I had ‘unfinished business’ on that trail after a painful off on the drop-off between the trees on my previous visit.

Not impressed with the way those Alpinestars pads slide down your legs though.

If I’m going out for longer than half and hour I’ll always take my Camelbak. For a trip to the shops, yup probably overkill!

The app isn’t great for live viewing – the lag is pretty bad. I’ve used the remote a couple of times, but to be honest once you get used to the beeps on the camera it’s not that hard to control blind.

Agree with the comments about a fast PC. My Intel Core 2 Duo / 4GB RAM desktop really struggles.

As a word of encouragement – I switched to flats recently after 15 years of riding clips.

Does take a bit of learning and concentration before it becomes muscle memory. The following tips helped me:
– lower your saddle, even for XC as you need to drop your heels for rough climbs
– pump the trail with your heels dropped when it gets rough
– don’t worry too much about dropping the rear heel (unless you’re really hanging off the back on a drop or rough stuff).. most of the time when you’re standing up your feet should form a V
– practise scooping up the rear of the bike before you progress to bunny hops
– it’s possibly best to avoid jumping / bunny hopping during your event… i found it was when i wasn’t concentrating that I hopped without scooping. Such. Pain.

Hope that helps!

Trabec helmet is great, but no crash replacement policy as far as I’m aware.

More that it’s rough as ar*eholes to turn the bushing by hand when you’ve taken it out. The aluminium mounts were all gouged and the nylon (?) bush had worn through. There wasn’t any noticeable play when it was in the frame.

A shock service couldn’t hurt either if you’re planning on that and they can replace the bushing / mounts for you if you send it away. I’d try that before going with any of the jerry-rigged replacement shock set-ups a few people have.

In my experience though, the Pike and the DRCV rear shock are pretty well matched – both are smooth and ‘poppy’ on the trail. (oh god, what have I become?). Probably the biggest weakness of the DRCV shock compared to the Pike front is its tendency to blow through the travel on big hits. That doesn’t sound like your problem though.

I’ve upgraded to Pikes and feel like the front end matches the rear well now.

I was getting really nasty performance out of the rear with a worn shock bushing. Is pretty quick to whip the shock off and check that.

The blue and orange looks fantastic in the sun. Nice shot bazingaeuan.

Well, I had my first day there today. Cracking day :) As close to driving my own roller-coaster as it gets I think.

Definitely agree with everyone about the DH bike – I’m only really good for the blues and reds fast-ish and blacks slowly (going around the gaps!). Didn’t feel underbiked at any point, so while I’m DH-bike-curious, I think I’ll save it for the Alps.

May still be renting a bike for the second visit, as I came off and need to do a few ‘little’ repairs. ;)

650b is more enduro. You should feel like you’re getting your shred on some sick gnar more often.

Not going over the top at all :) I put CCTV in my garage after my bikes got nicked.

Can’t recommend these highly enough. Simple and very very tasty!

http://www.thetinytakeaway.com/%5B/url%5D

If you get a SKS Rennkompressor, get the one with the modern quick-release valve. The screw on presta adaptor / push fit combo is a pain in the arse.

You can get replacement hoses, but it was cheaper to get a plastic Weldtite one!

First Pass the Post system probably stops a lot of people voting for the smaller parties. Wasted vote and all that.

What shoes are you wearing?

I have the same pedals and can’t feel the bump through my (admittedly very padded) Five10 Impacts.