Doesn’t it depend what sprocket you are in at the back as well though? I (try to) read some of these graphs and hear people saying that the bike will be better with a 28T than a 32T chainring, but in practice you may be riding with a different rear sprocket (to get the same gear).

Its the chainline relative to the main pivot point that’s important, not the gearing. Look a some older single pivot DH bikes and see how the pivot position has moved as people started using smaller chain rings.

I have some sprayway all day rainpants and paramo cascada trousers. The sprayways are relatively cheap, reasonably waterproof (they claim fully waterproof but they not) and very comfortable. The paramo cascada trousers are great for proper winter mountain weather but far too warm for me most of the time, in fact I haven’t worn them in years.

I’ve just bought some Dainese trail skins. No idea how comfortable they are yet but they look like they offer the right amount of protection for normal riding. Plus they seemed reasonably priced at £45. Pinkbike like them too.

I’ve been riding mountain bikes on bridleways for years and have never had a problem with horses or their riders. But I have starting viewing such issues from a horse riders perspective (my girlfriend rides and has even got me out once or twice!). I never knew, for instance that people on bikes scare more horses than people or even cars…something about them not understanding that it’s a person. Some horses also struggle with kids on parents shoulders as apparently they see a person with two heads :). A spooked horse gallops! A little common sense and awareness is all that’s required. We’re all probably guilty of giving walkers ‘just enough’ space on bridleways (I know I certainly am) when we know that they can see us. It would be easy to approach passing horses in the same way. Mountain bikers and roadies just need to show a lttle more caution when they see a horse.

My vote would be Long Mynd. I know its not a man-made blue but assuming you’re both reasonably fit it’ll be way more fun. There’s even this extremely helpful map, or just pop into plush hills cycles, I’m sure they’d help.

You can start and finish in Church Stretton where there’s lots of nice places to eat, grab a tea & coffee. Just make sure you finish in time for a wander around the Stretton Antiques Market…

The new bike after it’s first ride :). It replaced a strange alpine five which would have been much less fun round cannock. Fingers crossed it’ll still be better when I ride it somewhere with more hills.

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On my five the chain intersects the pivot with a 36t ring it doesn’t with a 32t. I’ve run both and wouldn’t go back to a 32. It tightened up the suspension when pedalling with the 32T, as does using the granny, though that’s acceptable (if not desirable when climbing).

There was an article in dirt several years ago that went into pivot positioning relative to chain rings, I was quite informative and is worth a read.

I’m a geologist in the oil and gas industry. I graduated from Southampton with an MGeol 8 years ago. There’s plenty of work in the oil and gas sector though competition for jobs is high. I cant comment on the environmental sector but I’d imagine graduates of environmental science degrees are numerous.

Environmental science and geology encompass a lot of different fields. Any ideas what you’re most interested in?

+1 for higher level courses.

For example. We employ one guy who was a chemist (lab manager) and then re-trained as a geologist through the course of a phD. I know several people who have done similar. Admittedly chemistry to geology is less of a jump than architecture to geology but if your interests lie in engineering/environmental geology it may be possible to enroll on a master course or similar with your current degree particularly if you can demonstrate a solid understanding of maths/physics.

Whilst I’m glad I studied geology at uni and wouldn’t be where I am now without it, it’s not the most transferable of subjects. I think the fact that it’s a little bit of chemistry, physics, biology, maths and geography all rolled into one actually makes it weaker (apart from biology and geography obviously ;)). I think having a maths, physics or chemistry degree would have provided more options. This echoes my previous comments geology and environmental science are very broad subjects so it would be worth attempting to focus your efforts on a specific area that interests you. Find out who the companies in that field employ and go from there.

It’s interesting to read what places some people consider rubbish for riding and some others ok. I grew up in Norfolk, then spent 4 years in Southampton. For the past 8 years I’ve lived up north (Chester and more recently Stafford). While I’ve never been able to ride from my door I’d consider both pretty good. I still feel smug when I’m mountain biking or climbing on a summers (or even winters!) evening after work. I guess if you’ve spent any time living somewhere where mountains/big hills are a full weekend only destination then anywhere with decent riding within an hour of home is a good place to be.

Of course it would be very different if I couldn’t drive or afford a car/fuel…

I should have done this before I built him the bike.

Thanks for the additional votes. Yes I think it was Mountain Mania, the less said about them the better!

I don’t usually bother with threads about Llandegla. Some like it, some don’t. Judging by the fact I’ve just bought a season parking ticket I’m clearly in the first camp!

bwaarp, I don’t think I mentioned the alps or Fort William but I appologise for the over generalisation. I should have put man made xc trails in the uk.

DBW, You’re right it definitely does what it sets out to do. That is, entertain people who like to ride fast over jumps and drops. I guess what I could have said was, it’s reputation as a ‘soft’ trail centre is potentially dangerous. Though that’s clearly not Landgela’s fault, nor is it their fault that they attract a lot of people that are new to the sport. Or put another way, other man made trails do a better job of controlling speed based on riders varied abilities… :-)

I ride there a bit (and usually enjoy myself) but only because it’s close. I actually think the black is quite dangerous, it encourages very high speeds and can easily catch people out who aren’t able jumpers. In that respect I think it’s poorly designed. The best man made trails are difficult to ride quickly and easy to ride slowly. Llandegla is easy to ride quickly, just difficult to ride quickly without crashing!

Thanks for the recommendations I’ll pass on to my friend.

Giottos. I bought one from there travel series. They seemed good value at the time and despite being quite light it’s quite stable (if it’s not windy!). Very well made too.

I’ve been to see a very good sports physio in Manchester. He used to be a surgeon, specialises in knees and works with the GB climbing team.

Let me know if you want his details. If nothing else I’m sure he could point you in the direction of other knee specialists.

I have a spike on the front of the DH bike. The rear was very quickly replaced with a now discontinued syncros rim. Don’t do it, they’re made of cheese! I used to count multiple new dents after each ride. I’m not big (75kg) and have ridden the same trails (Wharncliffe, albeit on a smaller bike) with stans flows and had no problems.

GW – you do if you’re never happy unless you’re riding trails as fast as your abilities allow. Some people are racers, some aren’t.

I really don’t understand how people can comment they’ve noticed no increase in stiffness when changing to bolt through forks from QR. The 20mm revelations I’m using now are loads stiffer than the sets of QR revelations I used to own. I’m convinced one of the only reasons people started riding with 6″ travel forks was because the (20mm) fox 36s and the like felt so amazing. I used to have 36’s on a hartail. They’ve since been shelved, there really is no need for 160mm of travel on a hartail when 140mm can be (almost) as good.

I would agree that it’s not worth waiting though. Buy some second hand forks and sell them without making a loss in a few months time when you can afford to change your hub.

If you can find one DH trail you can find them all. They all start and finish at the same two fire roads. If you get lost heading down from the top car park try parking at the old factory – you’ll only be a 5 min away from the bottom of the DB run. It also means you haven’t got a nasty climb back to the car.

I’ve been on a weekend with Ed (and Nige Page) and also spent a day with Jedi…

I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending either of them to someone wishing to improve their trail skills.

Comparisons? Well it’s a little difficult to compare them directly, for a start my day with Jedi was all about me, whilst I was part of a larger group with Ed. The day with Jedi was also focused on drops/jumps, whereas the weekend with Ed covered a whole range of things.

However, if someone offered me another day with either Ed or Jedi, I’d probably choose Jedi.

I’ve had some flows on an alpine five for several years. Admittedly the rear hasn’t been round for ages, but it still holds air and easily handles even more abuse! They’ve done four weeks in the alps, plus a year or so of regular uk DHing. Tbh they’re probably stronger than some spank DH rims I bought for the DH bike, they were ludicrously soft with the rear only lasting a month or so from new! I’m not heavy (75kg), but not known for my smooth lines!

I want something which can suck up the mega avalanche and mini DH in Spain or the alps. As well as let me get around 50k rides in the peak or Wales.

If by mini DH in Spain you mean the trails that switchback DH ride, take a DH bike! A five will explode if ridden quickly down some of the tracks!

I have a strange alpine five which I’ve used for the mega a couple of times. It was ace! I wouldn’t want to take in on 50km loops in the peak though! Having said that it’s not much fun on the ups, unlike a regular five.

Blimey! 140mm all the way! My PA climbs so well I can’t imagine why anyone would want to run anything less. There really isn’t any need to compromise.

My P7 after an evening pootle round Llandegla black. :roll:

Xc – some of the stuff in Morocco that I rode with flowmtb. Loose, rocky, off-camber, silly tight switch backs and exposure!

DH – Probably some random cheeky trails in Morzine. Or, Wharncliffe in the wet with Highrollers!

I’m with bullheart. Definitely consider trying a PA. Mine is ridiculously good! It’s easily tough enough for any xc riding in the uk. The steering is lively enough to keep things interesting on normal trails, but feels very solid when flying down big peak district descents. Oh and it’s one of the easiest bikes to bunny-hop that I’ve ever ridden.

…and best of all they’re cheap!

Just let the air out and put in back starting with the negative. You’ll be able to reduce them down to 140mm quite easily.

Again, I’d disagree. I found the PA okay but would choose the P7 over it anytime. Up, down, round and round, the P7 is a better frame for me.

I stand corrected. The P7 which I snapped was an 06, the first year they had the sliding dropouts and had orange as a colour option. It really did have rubbish geometry though :) heathenwoods, just out of interest why is your P7 better than your PA?

I broke a 07? P7. Also used to have an 05. I loved the 05, it was my first ‘proper’ HT that I built myself. The newer 07 was at best average. Didn’t climb very well, but was still very difficult to manual/hop. No doubt other years would handle differently though. Orange seem to change the geometry of some of there frames on a yearly basis!

Believe it or not I am an orange fan (I still have a orange FS), but I can’t see myself ever buying a P7 again. The Dialled PA that replaced the 07 is a much better frame.

What is your 150mm trail bike? I wouldn’t rush to buy anything new until you work out what you want from it. I rode my strange alpine five as a DH/uplift bike for a year or so before I bought a session. It was (and still is) a great bike for a DH, but if you only ever push or get a lift up it makes sense to have more travel. It was an uplift day at inners that finely convinced me to invest in a DH bike – I could feel the frame/forks flexing for the first time and didn’t have the stamina/strength to enjoy the full length of the runs/day.

Now I have the session I’m not sure that I enjoy riding it more than the alpine for normal DH riding (which for me is Wharncliffe), but then i’ve always liked riding bikes that feel ‘stretched’. It’s why I ride a hardtail for nearly all my xc riding. I haven’t yet pushed the session to anywhere near it’s (rider restricted) limits, but then when I first bought the alpine it felt like too much bike.

I’ve been wearing monthly disposable contacts for the last 7 or so years (1 toric, 1 normal). My eyes are fairly rubbish (-7 or 8) but I still never carry spares and have never had any problems. I do always wear clear/tinted glasses but I’d do that anyway! I don’t understand people that don’t. As far as price goes I’d second the ” go to an optometrist vote” at least to begin with, it’s surprising how often I go in for a check-up which is all free as I pay by direct debit. I pay around £14 per month at specsavers.

I’ve worn glasses since I was 9 (now 27) and my only regret is that I didn’t try them sooner.

I had orange broadband for a couple of years (back when it was free if you had a mobile contract) and can’t fault it. I never had to deal with customer services but it was always quick and never failed to connect. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again though I’ve only ever used tiscali and bt to compare them with.

I need one too if that helps. I had the same issue with a US supplier. They didn’t have a minimum order but did say that it wouldn’t be economical to courier one bulb to the UK.

Franklin in sheffield. IIRC it’s around £35 and well worth it.

Asked for reach and stack for a small BFe the other day

With a 160mm fork at ride height (120mm – sagged 40mm) reach and stack is 386/560. Static it was 367/573, so a small soul MIGHT have 381/563ish!(static at 130mm). Sagged (at 100mm), and I really am guessing now, it might be something like 394/551.

I very much doubt it's that simple though, ask cotic.

Windwavve will fit new steerers into 'zochhi forks for around £40. They are a press fit. I have had it done twice.

some folk have diy bodged changing steerers but I would be very cautious about doing so

So would I :D , but that's because I wouldn't really know how to go about removing one and press fitting another.

What's the difference between press fitting a steerer into marzocchi forks and rockshox forks? I wonder why Sram and Fox don't consider this to be a useful service.

Edit: Well I know why Fox don't. By the time you fancy moving those nice fox forks onto another frame, you'll need new stantions anyway!

I'm not sure why it's not common knowledge, but it's possible to fit a new steerer if you have the correct tools/knowhow (I don't!). I believe marzocchi sell steerers that fit some rockshox forks. I have one friend that's done this to some Recons or Toras (can't remember which). He also had the steerer moved onto some of my Revelations that he was going to buy off me.

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Has anyone popped a gobi saddle off the rails and been able to get it back on? It feels wrong to throw away a perfectly good saddle!

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