We did the Atlantic to Mediterranean coast to coast a few years ago. About 320 miles if I remember correctly. The route follows the canal du midi and starts west of Bordeaux, to Toulouse and continues to Carcassonne. The route after that was mainly road for the last day. (although other options might be available)

It was relatively easy to be honest. We did 50-60 miles a day over 6 days, very little height gain and 95% off road (until Carcassonne). So you could probably do it in 3/4 days if you pushed hard.

It was good fun, it’s a beautiful part of the world to explore by bike.

Vaults are good but I’ve got sick of the bushing rattle, it’s a change bushing every 6 months relube every 3 for me and I’m a bit sick of it! The sealing arrangement is rubbish so im not surprised the grease gets washed out.

The superstar nano-x Evo pedals I have are ok, the nut uses standard thread to screw onto the axle so I’ve had the driveside pedal fall off a couple of times.

I’m thinking either stamp 1 (composite) or oneup composite will be my next pedals. I like the sealing on the stamps (especially since every pedal had the same spares and it’s available in every bike shop!) I have been impressed with the design of oneup stuff recently

My first AliExpress order arrived yesterday, 4 pads for about £4.50. tried them today and just as good as superstar / uberbike. They seem better finished and actually fit in the caliper unlike some superstar pads I’ve had!

Just have to see how they last and see if there are any build quality issues

I think it was the TPA3116 Bluetooth board I have, about £5 from China. I’ll probably reuse some old car speakers.

Most of the Bluetooth kits will work off 24v, so a laptop PSU works perfectly.

I have a couple of the kits to play with, when I get my garage sorted I’ll put them to use.

Any thoughts on the julbo photochromatic glasses?

I’ve been impressed to manitou forks. The Mattoc to be specific. Cheap, easy to maintain and they work really well. Better than pikes (stock and with upgraded damper and coil conversion)

Looking forward to the 180mm fork they’ve got coming out.

I went to see the sunrise, but the cloud lifted a little too late for me. I only saw one other person and it was ace!

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An early morning solo adventure. No sunrise unfortunately, the cloud was too low. . . . . . . . #huntingthesunrise #failingmiserably #lakesmtb #west_is_best_mtb #ukmtb #lakedistrict #cumbria #keswick #adventuremtb #solo #mtb #mtblife #unsustainablyhighstoke

A post shared by Peter Albion (@pete_albion) on Feb 10, 2019 at 3:05am PST

I like the simplicity of this

Eye of the tiger by the rural Alberta advantage

What is the penalties of breaking the good Friday agreement under a hard Brexit?

I know the consequence of breaking it – a potential rise up of the Irish troubles, but I’m struggling to get my head around the breaking of an international treaty bit.

Would it just be a subtle hardening of resolve against the UK (ideal when you’re trying to negotiate trade deals) Or would it be a bit firmer than that? ie political or economic sanctions?

I got the Pocophone from eglobal, the prices have gone up a little, the 6gb/64gb model is £260 now.

I had the xiaomi redmi 3s previously which was brilliant value for £100, it lasted me 2 years. Not sure why anyone would ever buy a Samsung or a sony with Xiaomi selling a better phone at 1/4 the price.

I’m a convert to Xiaomi, just picked up a Pocophone F1 which apart from the daft name is amazing for the price. I wanted a 3.5mm headphone socket and a microsd card. It has a good camera and is in the top 10 fastest phones you can currently buy. 6gb of ram and 128gb disk space for £250. It’s a little bigger than I would have liked, but they all seem to be nowadays and I’ve got used to it already.

Mine does it, it’s really intermittent and really annoying. The shock still works awesome in open mode even with it.

I spoke to TF tuned about it and it is covered under warranty. I’ve just not got around to sending to them yet.

It’s the same across all RS forks with solo/dual air springs

https://rockshox.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/205649528-Can-I-change-my-Solo-Air-fork-to-a-Dual-Position-fork-or-vice-versa-

Not that simple unfortunately. the equalising (between + and – springs) notch inside the stantion isn’t there in the dual position so you can’t convert without swapping the uppers. That’s expensive and not really worth it.

I switched from a dual position pike to a tf tuned coil conversion which has improved things a little, in hindsight I think I should have sold the forks and bought another set.

I’ve just spoken to both tf tuned and cotic, both really helpful and keen to resolve the issue

The noise with climb switch on is kinda normal, some of the shocks do it from new some don’t. It can be resolved under warranty if required.

It isn’t terminal, just annoying.

That’s put my mind at rest, I’ll use the shock as is and send it for warranty when I get back.

Thanks for your comments + advice.

@marksnook

I get a slight clunk (very minor) when I start to compress the shock in open mode. Its small and might be how it’s supposed to work and I can’t remember if it has always been there.

The big clunk with the climb switch on is after it is compressed and the shock moves into rebound. It’s really obvious and can be heard by other people around me riding different bikes!

I’ll call tf tuned tomorrow and see what they say, if it’s likely to be a problem I’ll give cotic a call and see what they can do. If itlliwait until after my trip I’ll warranty it when I get back.

I’ve had more problems with the SRAM clutch wearing out and being next to useless. The type 2.1 clutch on the 11 speed GX can not easily be adjusted (bloody Shimano patents!). I’ve got a type 3 clutch on an NX mech on now, so we’ll see how long it lasts.

Thanks for that, that puts my mind at rest a little. It feels like a really knackered shock bushing with the climb switch on. Almost unrideable, but ok in open mode. As long as it stays alive through the alps week (with 24000m descending!) I’ll be happy.

Cheers

It’s been a cracker of a summer up here, some of the best riding and evenings out on the bikes I’ve ever had.

Same again next year??

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After work play out #lakesmtb #west_is_best_mtb #ukmtb #lakedistrict #cumbria #mtb #rosebikes #fellstomyself

A post shared by Peter Albion (@pete_albion) on May 16, 2018 at 1:25pm PDT

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Another awesome evening out to play! #overthebars #looseygoosey #steeep #lakesmtb #west_is_best_mtb #ukmtb #lakedistrict #cumbria #mtb #rosebikes

A post shared by Peter Albion (@pete_albion) on May 23, 2018 at 2:15pm PDT

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Cracking evening in the lakes (again!) @jazsnap @seancarlucci #lakesmtb #west_is_best_mtb #ukmtb #mtb #lakedistrict #cumbria #bikelife

A post shared by Peter Albion (@pete_albion) on Jun 6, 2018 at 2:21pm PDT

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Another cracking evening ride! @jazsnap #lakesmtb #ukmtb #bikeparklakes #lakedistrict #cumbria #mtb #bike #mountainbike

A post shared by Peter Albion (@pete_albion) on Jun 27, 2018 at 2:23pm PDT

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Riding into the sunset… . . . . . . #luckytolivehere #thelakesareace #afterwork #lakesmtb #lakedistrict #mtb #bike #bikes #sunset #mtbadventure #mtblife #lifebehindbars

A post shared by Peter Albion (@pete_albion) on Jul 18, 2018 at 2:41pm PDT

I’m the same, it’s not showing on my dashboard. Not sure whether it’s just because it’s the 1st of the month?

Thanks munkster, at least it’s not just me.

Cheers!

I meant the 10% discount code for chain reaction cycles. I’m sure it was previously on the dashboard!

I enjoyed it, the stages were fun and the grassy one were much better than last year. Stages 1,2 and 4 were ideal DH-lite type stages that Enduro thrives on. I didn’t think much of the other stages, wet grass isn’t my favourite type of terrain.

I’d prefer stages 1+2+4 from this year and stages 3+4 from last year in a big loop. Just like the old kidland Enduro used to be like.

I was a bit annoyed the food trailer buggered off after the race, I was starving!

I’m in. Looking forward to it as last years was a cracking weekend.

Fingers crossed for good weather..!

Definitely Dent as suggested above. easy for a quick blast after work, although theres probably enough for a day there. A good extension is up out the back of dent and up crag fell (above ennerdale) and down to ennerdale bridge.

If your feeling fit, the 4 passes is a good option.

black combe is worth a look, although its a push up blast down type affair and not very long.

I’m pretty sure it’s 300-310mm.

If you’re interested, the marzocchi 55 rc3 titanium springs fit, as do the fox 36 springs.

The fox 36 spring in mine just needed 1 less spacer and it was fine

I’ve only had a very quick play on it so far, but the climb mode on the dB coil works well. It works much better than on my previous frame, where I used to bash my pedals quite a bit. The climb mode affects the rebound as well, so you get sucked down into the travel a bit. The rocket has a high(ish) bottom bracket so it helps rather than hinders.

I ended up buying the Rocket and building it into this!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlqqAS0hQuh/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=ftielv6ykfxq

First proper ride on it today (we’re doing the tour of great gable) which should be fun!

I was underwhelmed by the coil conversion in my pikes. The damping was really harsh even on fully open compression and although the mid stroke was well supported, it spiked over fast hits. It’s now getting the fast suspension damper in the hope I can turn the damping down a little….

The spring conversion itself was grand, I just think the pikes air curve was so poor they had to put lots of damping on to stop you blowing through the travel. Hopefully new damper will sort that.

I’m definitely on board with coil front and rear, it’s the way forward!

I broke my old frame on a Wednesday night ride, ordered a new one at midnight on wed night and this landed today. Bloody good service from Cotic!

In comparison between the rocket and the Aeris, the numbers don’t quite add up for me. Not that it matters that much, just curious!

I have been running a 45mm stem on my current 440mm reach bike, so a ML Aeris at 480mm reach would feel about 30mm longer with a 35mm stem (seat angles are the same). The L would be 50mm, which does seem big. The chainstay are longer and the head angle slacker too. The wheel base is 70mm longer!

I like steep, very technical descents often with tight switchbacks, so I’m a bit worried I’d regret buying a bike so big. Any thoughts or experience to suggest I’m wrong?!

I’m thinking the ML size would be better, with a 170mm dropper…!

Any thoughts about sizing? The large Aeris is 502mm reach, which seems massive to me! I’m 5’11” and currently riding a 440mm reach bike and it is a touch too small. An extra 60mm reach seems a big increase.

Any idea why the large rocket is the same wheelbase as the large Aeris, despite 20mm shorter reach? Head angle, chainstay length and stack height are almost identical…

I’m pondering the exact same decision! I was thinking of an orange  alpine 6, but it seems a bit short compared to the rocket and the aeris 145lt.

Does anyone have any frame weights? I can only find full build weights.

Opinions on the CC coil inline vs the fox X2?

The spank vibrocore bars are supposed to be extra stiff, but with dampingore akin to carbon bars. Maybe worth a look. They aren’t light or cheap tho.

It’s a shame they didn’t bank the corners a little, then it might be more fun to ride!

Cheers northwind, I’ve got my DH bike prepped and ready to go, but thinking that my trail bike might be the better option to explore some of the newer stuff….

Bugger, just noticed the ‘As forest’ in the title, obviously I meant Ae Forest. Stupid predictive text!

Any suggestions for a fairly experienced rider? I fancy having a lesson to see what I need to improve on and where my technique is poor. I was given a group lesson about 5 years ago and didn’t learn much as the instructors focused on the beginners in the group.

By fairly experienced I mean I can ride most things, but could probably ride them better / faster. I’ve done a few races (pmba, ndh, megavalanche, etc) and did ok in some (just outside top 10% at ardrock a few years ago for example)

Most of the coaching programs I see are aimed at beginners/intermediate riders, it’s hard to know who I would learn the most from

Any suggestions?

Cheers

Bryton 310 has 35 hour battery and costs £80, it uploads directly to the web your phone, or the Bryton 330 does it instantly via WiFi for £100.

I much prefer the 330 to the edge 25 I had