Love the new look and this month’s content. I have been considering whether to cancel my subscription as I haven’t read the magazine cover to cover for quite a while. But this is a good one and so I am glad I didn’t!

And that’s when you know you’re reading the words of a zealot

Possibly! I shouldn’t have singled out Hoka, there are lots of other terrible trainers/boots with overly supportive or cushioned soles. It seems to be the trend at the moment. I don’t believe the “it’s all personal bit though”. Compare it to yoga. There isn’t anyone, anywhere that wouldn’t find some benefit from it….probably. I’m not sure I’m helping!

If anyone did want to try barefoot shoes I would start by looking at xero shoes and freet. Xero do some nice trainers that look quite normal and last well. Freet are a company based in Yorkshire that make some very comfy and functional shoes, though their higher performance stickier soles wear quite quickly and are probably at the thinner end of the barefoot spectrum. Tadevo are brutally thin and not great for a first barefoot shoe. I’m still trying to decide if Vivobarefoot are form over function, though their soles seem to balance feel with protection quite well.

I have been wearing barefoot shoes for about 7 years. The worst thing about them is that once you get used to them you won’t want to wear anything else! I have Vivobarefoot, zero shoes, tadevo and freet. Having walked and run in narrow, overly supportive or stiff trainers and boots I can’t think of anything worse now. I honestly think almost anyone would be better off wearing thin soled, wide and flexible shoes rather than what most people wear. I started wearing them when I was having back and foot problems. I think that helped as at the time I was looking for ways to be more aware of my body whilst walking and/or running. I imagine that most people would get injured if they bought a first pair of barefoot shoes and just mindlessly carried on doing the same things.

So in summary, they are great. But only if you acknowledge that the reason they are great is that they remove a barrier that can stop (some) people from learning how to move more efficiently. You have to do the learning bit but it is easier than it sounds.

Zero drop cushioned shoes (i.e Hoka) are not the same and miss most of the main points of barefoot. They are a terrible idea. Avoid!

We recently came back from a holiday in Scotland where our dog picked up loads. The trossachs seemed to be the worst. He would have them after a 5 minute walk around a campsite and generally had upwards of 20 per day for the first few days. They all die quickly as he has Bravecto but we didn’t fancy 100s of dead ticks in our small campervan so we went to a Pet Shop in Crieff. They suggested Tickless, which is a small ultra sonic device. For the remaining 1 1/2 weeks of our holiday he had one or two. Not sure if this is solely due to Tickless or that there are many more ticks in the trossachs compared to Perthshire and the Cairngorms.

They also make a Tickless for people so this might be worth a try if you live or regularly ride somewhere with loads of them.

As no body else has mentioned COI I will mention it again. If you believe biologists the WCS is destined to become extinct. Average COI is really quite high and are in/subject to something called an “extinction vortex”. We decided to try and find some puppies that were bred by people aware of this problem and so selecting mating partners to improve the COI of the breed. Although you could argue that a sprocker or similar would be better!

Our WCS is genuinely much calmer in the house than we thought he would be and quick to settle when we want him to. This is partly down to training but also his breeding I think.

Maesydderwen Stevey is his sire and his Mum is a bitch from Rollafields Redbud. Apparently they make great gundogs and family pets. We found a few breeders that seemed shout about one or the other but rarely both.

We have a 10 month old WCS. We did lots of research and found some puppies from two dogs that generally result in easy to train gundogs with an off switch. They also have a lower than average (but still high) COI (coefficient of inbreeding). Our WCS has a very high prey drive and for the last 8 months we have put an enormous about of time and energy into training him on every single walk every day. He gets lots of off lead time, has a great recall to a whistle and walks to heel off the lead. He also largely ignores birds and squirrels now. He is a superstar. Walks are getting a bit more enjoyable now as we aren’t constantly interacting with him but we still have much work to do to and I’m sure all the work would quickly unravel if we stopped. He’s great and it’s been a lot of fun (most of the time) but it’s been way harder than we thought it would be!

He is also great in the house – the off switch bit is important I think. We have been lucky in that he relaxes quite quickly and easily though we have encouraged and rewarded this from when he was 8 weeks old. I think some WCS puppies need much more help to learn how to relax.

Pippa Mattinson has written lots of stuff on spaniels that is worth reading. We also used her books and online courses to train him. The best thing we did was buy one of her books before we got him.

Changing the size of your chainring will change how your orange five pedals. I would guess that if you go smaller then you’ll stiffen up the suspension when pedalling. You might see this as a good or bad thing. If you’re happy with how your bike rides maybe change the cassette first. Even an 11-42 would be quite a bit easier.

in reply to docrobster – If you’re not getting a helpful response from your local council I would write to the developer. Companies (the good ones anyway) generally don’t won’t their operations or developments to have a negative impact on local residents and the better ones will probably be proactive in looking into any complaints. If they ignore you find the environmental statement (ES) and or hydrogeological and hydrological impact assessments (HIA) with the planning documents and write carefully worded emails to the companies that produced them. Ask for help and be polite. At the very least I hope you’d get a polite reply and your email forwarded to the right person at the developer.

Lecomte has been head and shoulders above the rest but this Tokyo track looks to have less big climbs than the tracks where she has dominated. She has struggled* on the short track courses with less up. Lots of short punchy climbs which might suit some of the others more. I don’t think it will be a repeat of previous world cup rounds. I’m looking forward to it.

* Relative to her absolute domination in the main races anyway!

I’m surprised no one has mentioned a Mazda bongo yet!

We got ours in 2017. It was a fresh import, very tidy and with very low miles and was quite cheap compared to an over priced VW. It’s small but has a wide pull out bed, fridge, sink/twin hob, spinning front passenger seat and now solar panel. It also has an enormous side opening roof that makes it feel bigger – I can stand on the bed with plenty of space above me. It’s light a airy with lots of windows – It’s a car not a converted van. It’s very nice to drive. We (2) use it for weekend trips, week long holidays in UK and have taken it round Europe for two weeks including a Czech wedding. With careful packing we can take walking gear, wetsuits/PFDs, iSUPs (2), walking gear, gas BBQ and proper sized blocks. The best bit is probably the bongo wave!

The only real downside is that it’s a petrol and not great on fuel. But as we only really drive it when we’re going on holiday or for a nice day out we’re never in a hurry so don’t really care :)

It was bought on a whim and we’ve loved every minute of it.

I’m sure there are some bongo hire companies and it’s also likely that the cost of hire would be less than a VW.

Not sure if they float but RNLI were giving them away for free (by post! You don’t have to visit a shop just register online) Not sure if they still are but we have two and they have a lanyard so dropping shouldn’t be a problem. Mine goes round my neck and gets zipped in the front pocket of my PFD.

We have an Mazda Bongo imported and converted by JAL. It was (and still is) a very low mileage and very clean for its age (2003). It’s a 2l petrol and has been generally faultless. We’ve had it for about 4 years. It was expensive but definitely worth it. The quality/ease of ownership is partly down to JAL who find the good ones to import but mostly down to the garage that looks after it/services it. I think having a garage that knows Japanese vans inside out helps with stopping any problems before they appear and with sourcing parts. We’ve been reversed into several times and replacing front and rear bumpers hasn’t been too difficult. The garage we use is Worcester mobile mechanics. If I imported a Japanese van and lived within a 2hr drive of Worcester I wouldn’t hesitate to get them to service it.

Quite a few years ago now I used araldite and rubbed smooth with some wet and dry. It took quite a while to get smooth but seemed to work well. Nail varnish might be easier to smooth/remove excess though!

Just had a look and without air they have 115mm of travel before the bump stop is compressed.

And to be clear I’d definitely rather have a fork that is smooth, supportive and well controlled even if it means not all the travel is used. They do feel pretty good. I love how stiff and light (even my select forks) they are and the support and control is there.

But I’m not sure why forks can’t use nearly all travel and still be supportive and well controlled. I’ve had fox 36 forks, RS rev, lyrik and boxxers and several X-fusion forks. The SIDs are really very good but none of the other air forks I’ve used have ramped up as much. Of course that’s partly due to the travel, most of the above have been 140mm or above but I think I probably get about 50-60% of travel before they start ramping up very quickly. It’s virtually impossible to get more than 100mm with 75 psi and about 20-25% sag.

I’m not mincing around on an over-forked bike wondering why I can’t get more travel on every descent. The ramp up is such that I can’t get close to full travel at any time in any situation with appropriate sag.

I don’t really mind I was just wondering if other people have had the same experience as me. For the weight of a couple of small plastic tokens it seems strange that Rockshox have chosen to make the air volume so low. But maybe the machining around the hollow lowers has reduced weight and improved stiffness compared with a larger air volume.

I’ve not tried to see if they compress fully without air so will see if they do.

Yes, mine don’t fully lockout but they are very firm. I think I just meant that it was designed as a lockout rather than being a compression adjuster with multiple positions of adjustment. It could do the latter I just think it would be rubbish.

I’m sure you’re right in that I just need to set them up for feel and forget about full travel.

My first build of my solaris MK2 had some flexy X fusion splice 32mm forks and Stan’s Arch/hope wheels. It was ok on easier trails and could cope with the moderate peak District descents (not where I live just the rockiest/roughest place I rode it) but it was much less capable than my MK1 slackline or my dialled PA. Recently I’ve built the same frame up with new SID 35mm forks and some nice JRA monitor wheels and it absolutely flies! I wouldn’t choose to ride it (quickly) down proper DH tracks but for normal ‘mountain biking’ with lots of everything apart from very rough very steep stuff it’s ace!

It has certainly been worth trying different builds which isn’t something I’ve done very much for other frames.

How do you think your Swarf Contour would ride with 120mm SID forks? I ask because I would quite like a Contour and would be tempted to try it with SIDs first to keep weight down :)

How do you think your Swarf Contour would ride with 120mm RS SID forks? I ask because I’d quite like one and would be quite tempted to go for SIDs over Pike forks to keep weight down :)

I’ve got one of the eXotic carbon ones on a hardtail and haven’t lost a bottle yet. I think my small camelback bottle probably helps.

https://www.carboncycles.cc/index.php?s=0&c=87&p=953&tb=001#top

I cut four 200mm X 100mm sleepers in half with a handsaw last week. I was worried it would take ages but bought a new cheap Irwin panel saw from screwfix for £6. Each cut took seconds not minutes and was surprisingly easy. The saw did all the work. They were soft wood sleepers.

The fastest bike I’ve owned was a Trek Session 88. I think it was a 2010. It was a medium and had a reach of 390mm I think. It’s a long time ago now but it felt perfect and was very fast, fun and confidence inspiring for me when riding down hill tracks in the Alps, Spain and in the UK. I’ve just checked and the current session has a reach that is 18mm longer. I’ve no idea if Trek are an anomaly here and if most downhill bikes have grown in length with trail and enduro bikes, or if downhill bike geometry hasn’t really changed generally in the last 10 years. Possibly a bit of both as I think Trek do stick to the conservative side of geometry changes/trends.

I also owned a Strange Alpine five. I can’t remember the geometry numbers but it was a prototype orange frame that singletrack once reviewed. It was probably built around 2008. It also had a reach of 390mm but was also very slack with a longer wheel base than some of my mates DH bikes at the time. It was also an amazing bike to ride in the alps down very steep, very rough trails. Both bikes were very capable descenders that I struggle to imagine would be quicker or ‘better’ bikes with longer reach. It’s tempting to say that they were amazing because they both had slack head angles but that’s probably not true – it was probably also that everything else was just right (for a very specific use!) eg. CS length, BB height etc.

I’m not sure what my point is. Probably that slack and short (by modern standards) bikes were and are still very quick and that (some) downhill bikes don’t appear to have been effected by the slacker and longer trend.

But perhaps modern slack AND long bikes take what was great about my previous bikes and makes them better everywhere else…I’ve no idea as I’ve yet to ride one :) It’s good to keep a open mind though and it’s interesting to read about RAD as an alternative to the longer and slacker trend. In the past I’ve very rarely test ridden bikes but I think that now with the rapid changes in geometry it’s getting a bit riskier to buy new without a proper test ride – not helped of course by the fact that bikes are more expensive than they used to be.

https://enduro-mtb.com/en/enduro-race-bike-mtb-review/

This is worth a read. It is a timmed group test with team bikes that lead to some interesting observations about reach, chain stay length, the proportion of the two and also handle bar width.

Another vote for Maxxis Pace. Not sure on the wear rate but they roll well on tarmac and are surprisingly grippy off road. I’ve had them front and back on a rigid HT (in the summer) and with ardent race up front (in the winter) when I put some suspension forks back on. The rear has coped very well with wet muddy climbs on the chase and the fast double track downs and red trails. I would happily run them front and back for the riding you describe. I also have them set up tubeless.

As others have said really. A good physio is worth the expense. But not all physio’s are equal. I’ve seen and benefited greatly from UK leading physio’s, great osteopaths and sports therapists. All are different. My osteopath is brilliant for hands on treatment (i.e near instant relief), a sport therapist (located in a good gym) was best for the mixture of hands on and guided/instructed strength work (at a lower cost) and the best physio’s you can find are sometimes better for diagnosis of a complex problem (I’ve been to see both knee and shoulder specialists for this reason).

I think most people (nearly everyone) are rubbish at listening/feeling what are bodies are doing. It’s really quite difficult. This is the key point for me and why yoga (not stretching in front of a TV or whilst listening to music) helps lots. Barefoot shoes also help with awareness and posture. I’m starting to learn to feel when bits of my body start to tighten and inhibit movement before they get to the point of needing professional attention. It costs less and is useful when I’m on holiday.

My Gen 2 solaris started with 2×10 gearing, x fusion slide forks and stans arch ex wheels. I liked it but it never really made me go wow. I’ve since changed to 1x 10, fitted a dropper post and taken in off again and built it up as a 27.5+. The 27.5 plus wheels were a lot of fun but a bit too heavy and slow on roads for the from the door riding I now do. Since COVID happened I’ve built it as a rigid and have just recently bought some new Rockshox SID forks. This current iteration with the same wheels, dropper post, 1 x 10 and the new forks is easily the best build yet. I think the X fusion forks were too flexy and generally struggled a bit in the rough stuff.

The biggest change for me was probably changing to 1 x 10. I’d dismissed it for ages but couldn’t believe how much better it rode. I haven’t ridden an original solaris but I can’t see me ever wanting a new longshot solarisMAX. It might be better downhill than my gen2 but it’s also nearly a pound heavier and is stiffer. I think its a very different bike. For normal xc rides here in the midlands (near the chase) my gen2 in it’s current build is spot on. I don’t think I would be saying that if it was still the same original build.

I have some X fusion McQueen HLR roughcut forks in classifieds. They’re 27.5+ boost forks but they can be run with 27.5+ or 29″ wheels with plenty of clearance. I’ve run them with both on my cotic solaris.

All forks are boost now aren’t they? I think 27.5+/29er forks are probably generally interchangable but I wouldn’t have thought that many regular 27.5 or 29er forks would take 27.5+ wheels.

I carry out basic oil and seal changes on my forks (X-fusion and Rockshox). It’s amazing the difference new seals and oil makes so is worth doing regularly. If I was always paying £££ for a service I think it would mean servicing less frequently and so more rides with poorly performing forks and shocks. If something is clearly wrong with compression or rebound I’ll send to an expert.

I’ve always battled with getting new seals in but have recently discovered that a Bart Harissa paste jar is the perfect size to push in (by hand) 34mm X fusion fork seals :)

I’ve washed both mine and my partners down jackets several times using nikwax down wash. We don’t have a tumble dryer. You don’t need one but I do tend to wash in the summer when drying is easier. I have successfully dried a down jacket in the winter indoors before but it took ages to dry. Last summer/spring they were washed and dry in a day. As with lots of outdoor gear I try to keep away from strong direct sunlight if drying outside.

I have two Rab Boreas pull on’s. They don’t make them anymore but I think the borealis is the replacement. They used to be cheap (£35-£40) but the newer version looks more expensive now. I’ve warn mine for hiking, running, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, SUPing and rowing for many years. They’re thin, not fully windproof but very breathable. They feel like and breathe like a stretchy long sleeved t-shirt. I wear mine in the summer over a wicking t-shirt and in the winter over a merino base layer. If I’m working hard I rarely want anything else unless it’s raining lots. They are easily one of my most used bits of outdoor kit, have lasted very well – my oldest must be +10years old. I wouldn’t be without at least one.

I think Xero shoes might be working on some safety work boots. No idea if or when they will appear but worth keeping an eye on their Facebook page or subscribing to there emails. I only wear barefoot shoes (apart from on a bike or site work) and have tried freet, vivobarefoot, tadevo and Xero shoes. I have several Xero models and they’re all brilliant for their intended use and easily my favourite brand of those listed above. If they do make some safety boots I’m sure they’ll be excellent. I will certainly buy some.

I tend to wear safety wellies as the cheap ones I buy seem to have zero drop (at least I don’t notice much) and quite flexible soles. Not barefoot by any measure but much, much more preferable to rubbish heavy boots. I am generally working in muddy fields though!

We are cycling UK have been posting some helpful updates on how to interpret/follow the rules. The BMC have been doing something similar for walkers and climbers. Following their advice is more straightforward than trying to interpret the rules yourself or asking random people or friends for advice.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I’ll try some of them this weekend. I’d tried Freecycle without success. I’ll search for the Lichfield Facebook group.

Try tftuned for replacement seals and foam rings for X fusion forks. I think that’s where I got mine from.

We have have a 2003 2.0 eco petrol which we got from JAL 2 years ago. We love it and can’t imagine not owning one. We’ve taken it on trips all over the UK and into Europe (Cech and Austria). It hasn’t missed a beat once and happily sits on the drive for months without moving during the winter months. We get around 26mpg which we are happy with as it’s a third vehicle.

We have a side conversion with a wide bed and aftermarket mushroom (side opening) style pop-top roof. It feels very spacious with the roof up for the two of us and is plenty big enough for us and all our gear. It looks less cramped than some converted VWs I’ve seen.

We bought a fresh import from a very well regarded seller which was more expensive but did ensure that we got a good one. If I was buying a ‘used in UK import’ I’d want to know more about the company that imported it. Some are much less thorough than others.

MVS sounds like a strange grade to me! I always like a good HS. They’re often well protected, they’re easy but still feel like proper climbing. I’ve been on plenty of S climbs that have felt harder/scarier! If climbing VS, pay attention to the English technical grade. The higher the better, as it means it should be well protected.

Also, make sure you have a big rack. An easy S/HS will obviously feel much harder if you don’t have the right gear! Lots of nuts and a full set of cams.

Are you still climbing with a single sport rope? Consider buying some half ropes and learn how to use them. They make meandering/long climbs much easier to protect for you and your second.

I’d recommend everyone who sets the damper by using the numbers 1 – 10 to stop doing that and use the drag factor reading available on the performance monitor. It’s the only way to get consistency. 125 is is meant to be similar to rowing on water.

This.

A poorly maintained and dirty rower in one gym can be <120 drag factor when set at 10, whilst a well maintained rower would probably be 4-5 at 120. Most rowers train at 120-135.

Rowing is quite technical (even on a machine) make sure you have good/ok technique before pushing too hard.You’ll be faster, enjoy it more and are less likely to get hurt.

I had an orange alpine five for several years it was great (coil front and rear) I now have a morewood sukuma, its a better bike in most situations but I’d have the orange back if I was going to the alps.

Both bikes ride differently with different sized chain rings. The five was hopeless with a double and a 32T middle ring. Pedalling downhill stiffened up the rear. I switched to a 36T the chain ring which intersected the middle of the pivot and the bike rode very differently. I’ve only run a 38T ring on my sukuma, picked partly because it intersects the main pivot. Bike magic slated the bike when they ran a triple. They said that pedalling effected the suspension in granny/middle.

I’m not an engineer but it seems it’s really difficult to design a bike that works with a variety of set-ups (single ring, double or triple), though with the move to 1 x 10 and 1 x 11 I guess this is getting easier.

IMO a good Physio is worth every penny every time. I also rate a osteopath I see fairly often. Slightly different approach to my physio but she’s really very good.

Having said that my elbows used to hurt when climbing hard. A few press-ups between sessions would quickly stop the pain.

Where are you? I’m sure someone can recommend someone.

I’ve just removed a aluminium seatpost from a steel road frame using caustic soda. I tried all manor of lubricants, left it with the LBS for a week and tried cutting it out first. I wish I’d saved time and gone straight for the ‘dissolve it out’ method. It took 24hrs with very little effort and no damage to the paint work :) I used 100g to 500ml of water.