I ran a 2.1 Crossmark exception tubeless for a while. It was fine around Bristol area (although sidewalls looked very threadbare after a couple of ridea) but first ride on the Skyline trail and i slashed it open on the final descent….straight in the bin and went with a normal 2.25.

I think all exception tyres are very fragile and defintitely not a good tubeless choice.

+1 for what Jamie says…i have the M775 wheels on my Zesty. Have mounted 2.35 Ignitor/2.1 Crossmark/2.25 Crossmark (all LUST) with fingers/thumbs and inflated within seconds with just a trackpump.

If you can hear air coming from the tiny holes in the outside of the rim then i suspect you have air leaking into the rim itself. The only place it can do that is around the valve as the rim bed is completely sealed.

Anyone know how they do the timings on the Enduro Avalanche races? They're stupidly popular so obviously they do something right.

I can't believe that the same organisers in charge of Bristol Bikefest etc can make such a cock-up time and time again.

You mean they f%$ked it up again?…who'd have thought it!!

I gave the first two events a go and enjoyed it but at both there were timing issues. I can't believe they still havn't sorted things out!

What lump? I can't see…..

Same problem for me. I have a Berghaus Paclite and Pace Event jacket. Despite following the care labals to the letter, neither are waterproof and 'wet out' almost immediately.

I shan't bother spending good money on a jacket anymore that's for sure.

Should add that i run it on the rear only…no way would it make a good front tyre IMO. I have 2.35 Ignitor for the front.

Running 2.25 LUST on my Zesty….a great tyre IMO. It's been fantastic on the dry local trails although things get abit interesting in the mud but i found it to break away very predictably, making for drifty fun around corners! Braking grip can be an issue on anything steep or loose as it can lock-up easily.

On firm, rocky surfaces or trail centres it accelerates like nothing else i've tried. However, i wouldn't recommend it if using on your only bike. I have a choice of 2 bikes to use and tend to use the other bike if local trails are abit damp. 2.25 is abit draggier than the 2.1 but the extra volume makes it a good deal tougher.

+1 for about £100 for the wheels. Just sold a set of Hope wheels for that much (XC rear/Pro2 front,Sapim spokes and Mavic XC717 rims). Postage was £10 for ParcelForce 48.

Leftyboy….Sorry mate but you're talking absolute balls!

Your disc's might be scratched but mine most certainly do not have scratches worse than 120 grit would cause! A wipe over with alcohol or meths would be a better bet.

It is the same as HT2. Park Tools make good quality tools.

Cockeaa….I hope we never meet 😈

WTF is it with people making the same old lame comments regarding dogs and their owners 🙄

Does 64 refer to your age or year of birth?

If it's your age then that explains alot!

The first two events were plagued by timing issues. The first event had to have all the timings scrapped for the Windy Point sections and the second event had marshalls leaving sections early.

It's a great format but poorly managed and after giving them a second chance i shan't be bothering again. Plus for me at least it's a question of being charged to ride trails i can ride anytime for free, but you're coming from afar to ride them then it's a touch different.

I was worried you might be taking 30 people over a very technical feature near Badgers for a second there Buzz.

Nope…a few too many f-ups on the first two to make it worth while IMO.

On 18th December 2008 i was made redundant from a position i had worked hard to achieve, spent 6 months unemployed with a wedding planned i now couldn't pay for (In-laws came to the rescue!). Got another job in July 2009 doing pretty much exactly the same thing, for a competitor of my previous employer but i quickly came to resent the job as it involved 2.5-3 hrs a day in driving to work and was costing me a bloddy fortune in diesel/running costs etc.

Trying to deal with 3 deaths in the first 3 months of this year was the final straw. After 10 months of the new job i left and am now looking at my options which means lots of bike rides and sitting in the sun!

Other than getting married, the last couple of years are some i would happily erase from my memory!

What you're wearing looks normal to me….makes a change from the bloody awful lycra some prefer!

You're 40 😯

Both loops at Penmachno are also great. A good mixture of well armoured and 'normal' trail surfaces. Forgot to mention Climachx…did that on our way up from Bristol….F-ing fantastic! Loads of flowy singletrack and an absolutely belting final descent that seems never ending. I just wanted to go faster and faster! It felt as if i was in the air more than on the ground!

For the record i hate football. People drink too much, pretend to support England once every 4 years, have crap little flags to display their selective patriotism and the TV listings get re-arranged! Not to worry though because as soon as England are out (very soon i'm sure) then it'll suddenly become "World Cup?…what World Cup?!!!

Never been to Coed Llandegla but we just got back from Dolgellau after a long weekend. We only did the MBR trail at Coed-y-brenin. I really liked it and it was fun riding such a well armoured trail. We have nothing quite like that in the South Wales trail centres we usually frequent. If you're new to riding that sort of thing then i imagine MBR trail would be a good bet. The very final section is also session-able as it starts at the car park entrance and ends below the cafe building.

The rest of our riding was Snowdon and a great natural route around Pont Scethin. Probably not a good idea from what you say above though.

Not as rad as i'd like……

Shimano XT?

I wouldn't have thought it's worth more than £1000-1200 TBH unless it's in immaculate condition.

I sold a very well specced 2007 5 last August for £1250 and a 2009 Pro a couple of months back for £1650.

Don't rate the 661 EVO pads…my wife has the knee pads and other than the areas of D30 there isn't actually much padding. She managed to hit her knee right where there was no padding on last years trip. My Kyle Strait pads have alot more padding in comparison but they don't fit me so well now that i have such fantastically muscular legs 😉

For elbows/forearms we use Race Face (don't really see the point of soft elbow pads) and this year i'll be trying the Race Face knee/shin i think, reckon my wife will as well.

Minion on the front and Advantage on the rear. I've had good results going ghetto with these but i'm now on UST on both bikes.

Now on Rubber Queen UST (havn't ridden these yet though!) on the hardtail and Ignitor/Crossmark LUST on the full-sus.

Just because you always wanted it doesn't mean you have to like it. I find it takes along time to be certain if a bike is right for me or not.

The first few rides on my new(to me) Handjob were a shock compared to the last 4 years spent on a full-sus but i'm slowly getting used to switching between the two and now love the hardtail for whenever the mood takes me.

Check out 'Virtuous' and 'Vast' by Ionate Films. Two great films shot all over the Alps so rather easier to relate/aspire to than some of the massive stunts you see in Follow me.

So unless 'you go big' you're considered a mincer….okay.

GW….WTF!

Citizens Advice is your best bet i think.

Although i have to say that taking a 10 week holiday is abit odd when you have nothing lined up afterwards.

Don't bother signing on unless you absoulutly need that £60 a week (which is all you'll get if you're contributions based). From 6 months of unemployment last year, i can tell you that my local jobcentre were pretty strict in making sure i could prove to have been actively looking for work before they'd sign off my £120 a fortnight. 10 weeks abroad means you'll have to sign off again anyway.

Also, if your joint household income is above £14k (at least in North Somerset!) then you'll get no help with council tax or Housing Benefit either.

A 10 week holiday from mid-September?…..i'd be amazed if you even have another job before the new year!

Starts here, just after the Bridleway on the right.

If you want to do it by starting with Jambos/Sharki's singletrack then just take the gravel track on the left before the gate leading into Great wood. As the track starts to veer to the left, you should see the singletrack going straight on into the trees.

Go with the Superstars…on offer right now, cheap and have lasted well for me. Got some on both bikes, the first pair since August and they've lasted well through the winter.

Kona Wahs-Wahs are identical to Superstar Nano-tech but twice the price!

Which one Bushwacked?

Climachx tomorrow, on the way to Dolgellau for a long weekend of riding to celebrate my 30th on Monday 😀

Pont Scethin route planned and, weather permitting, Snowdon on Sunday or Monday evening…not looking great though! Will be checking out CYB too hopefully.