Been using XM819 rims for a few weeks now and XT UST wheels on my other bike since March.

I can recall two burps in that time and thats it. Been running 2.2 Rubber Queens at 30 psi (on the 819's) with no problems whatsoever except one slight dent (but no lose of air) achieved during a clumsy moment at Coed-y-Brenin.

Bicycles are exempt from excess baggage charges. Says so right at the bottom of the T&C's baggage section.

They are indeed a good bunch, i'm certainly enjoying my new job there…Who do/did you work for then?

Mister P: Bike Bristol.

It may be worth getting a 'Swiss Pass' for the railway. It'll give you inclusive travel on the number of days you pay for as well as 50% on pretty much all mountain railways and cablecars etc.

Very nice indeed. Looking forward to stocking the 2011 Genesis range in our shop, first shipment arrives tomorrow including my Vapour 10…..can't wait. It'll be my first 'Drop bar' bike too.

Wait until the 2011 frame is released, Orange will have hopefully sorted out the breakages the existing design has suffered from!

New version is a slimmer tubed version of the Blood, basically.

I sold a 2007 Wolf Ridge and swapped the parts to a 2007 Orange 5 frame and the difference was night and day! The 5 was sooooo much quicker on the flats and just as good on the descents.

Depends how big the shop is really. We make money by selling lots of everything not just accesories! City centre location means we have a strong demand for everything we sell.

Nailsea, Backwell, Clevedon and surrounding areas are well worth a look. We've been living in this area for 5 years now and love it. Loads of good riding locally as well being close to the Mendips.

I cycle 10 miles each way into Clifton (from Lulsgate to Bike UK) and love my commute.

Agree with you there Hora. I had a 2007 frame (same as 2008) and wished i'd just kept it as i felt the new slacker gemometry really slowed the bike down on flatter, twisty singletrack. I grow to hate the 2009 i bought as a replacement and eventually sold it after 6 months!

The 2007/8 geometry was a far better all round bike than the more descent orientated geometry they have now. The only time the 2009 bike i had felt right was for my week in Les Arc!

Pastcaring: That was going to be our next promotion actually 😆

MidlandTrailquestsGraham: I can tell you that a shop fast approaching a £2 million turnover hasn't achieved that by just selling MTB's! The likes of Giant, Specialized and Trek are not the worlds biggest bike brands from selling mostly MTB's either.

What kind of shops? Size? Location?

EDIT: In the time i've been frequenting trail centres i've seen them getting busier and busier. Cwmcarn, Brechfa and Afan/Glyncorryg.

The retail bike industry has been very quiet?!!!…..err no it hasn't, well not for us it hasn't. My employer has seen their biggest growth to date during the last 18 months! Alot of those sales can attributed to cycle schemes but we sell a fair few mountain bikes that way too.

MTB has and always will be a small part of the cycle industry IMO.

2010 Lapierre Zesty 514
2007 Cove Handjob
2008 GT Legato 3.0 hybrid
2011 Genesis Vapour 20 (not arrived yet!)

Most trails ridden frequently by groups are given names…..i reckon most trails in Leigh Woods have name given to them by someone. Maybe your group just lack imagination Edric.

6 out of the top ten where Brits today!

Plus Beaumont had a 1st in Vigo 2007……

All i can say is; to anyone who has never worked in a bike shop i suggest you do (it would be nice if that were actually possible) as it's been my most enlightening experience to date. The steepest learning curve i have ever had but the most enjoyable too.

We all make mistakes and i'm always honest to customers when i reach the limit of the advice i can offer. We all have to start somewhere and i'm not ashamed to call on more experienced colleagues to help me out.

Working in a bike shop is great fun and the day flies by, but that depends on where you are i guess.

Atherton now leads by just 7 points!!!!!

Wyndham's going to be good!

No offense but that is hideous….

…sorry, i meant offense intended 😉

Edit: Satisfied? 🙄

Yes it would appear so 😐

I thought the same! As long as they don't start doing horrible 'fashion' spreads we'll be alright….oh wait, they did that already!!!!

I was expecting more skill from the worlds best riders TBH. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic….and no i didn't show them how to do it, that would have been very embrassing for the riders 😀

I was sat next to the Merida team at dinner last night and the drops on the course were certainly a talking point, which must be a good thing surely. If they have to ride technical climbs, why not put in technical descents?

Evening all,

Just got back from Champerythis afternoon! That drop was 3ft MAX and frankly it was pathetic how many riders choose to walk it!!! The riders might be fit but many clearly aren't all that skilled!

The new Zesty isn't being revealed properly until Eurobike i believe.

Being pregnant was a vital piece of infomation you missed out there!

Do the right thing.

I am because i stopped working just as the long dry spell started down here in Bristol. I've been riding done dry trails for pretty much 3 months solid. Start a new job tomorrow and the trails are muddy again so i'm not bothered.

What you need is one of these:

The rare 'MTBing Wife', i was one of the lucky ones to catch such a rarity 😀

The fact an internet forum is so important in someones life that they feel the need, once banned, to log on again is frankly pathetic.

Are Mud Dock that bad really? I applied for a job there but didn't get it, BIKE gave me a job instead 8)

Hope the jumps aren't the ones i stumbled across late last year that are now looking amazing….i want a Jump bike!!!

You'd like to think he might have done that hey?!

Unacceptable rudeness from OP i suspect.

Did you specify next day? If not, what did you expect?

Bad Ass Bikes had a set of 32 Float RLC on the wall a fortnight ago. Looked pretty nice, no price on them though!!!!

Tyn-Y-Groes is alright but beware of road noise. I couldn't really sleep much after 6:00am due to lorries thundering by! and i live next to an international airport so know what noise is.

I stayed there Tuesday night so weekends may not be such a problem. Food was bloody good though.

Thats not him! Ned is featured in a Specialized magazine ad recently and looks every bit his age, healthly looking though.

£6.5k on a hobby? After all, thats what MTB to most of us is. You do it in the evenings, weekend, holidays etc etc in much the same way people pay golf club membership fees or own track day cars/motorbikes.

It truly baffles me that there are those amoungst us who, despite spending what most of the population regard as an obscene amount of money on a bicycle, are then questioning who would spend that much on a bike! Abit like those that complain about the price of a latte at a trail centre or the cost of parking before riding off on several grands worth of bike.