I run RQ 2.4s at 20psi on my 456C and it works very well. Not convinced you can feel the frame given how much give there is in a set of tyres.

I paid 399 for a C456 and 375 for a Transition TransAM, both are equally as lovely, though the 456 is a few lbs lighter. Both look good too. Rather than debating one versus the other I reckon you should just get one each and love both.

Get the raceface bearing press, get BETD to send you some proper bearings, swap them over. Done.

The one in Dark Peak is ok, it’s not a bad descent, but it’s nowhere near as good as the others that lead off Hope Cross.

Love mud. Going out to look for some in half an hour.

If you’re running Windows Mobile on your GPS you could use TrackMe to upload a .kml file in real-time to Google Earth. Works really well, until you lose phone signal and your Wife calls out the mountain rescue.

If it’s one pair of shoes you want I’d go with flats and some sort of running shoes, not fell shoes though. I often carry non-spd shoes if I take bikes up a mountain, but appreciate you’re probably trying to travel light.

Bars and grips don’t need to be touched, probably don’t need to break brake lines. Chain is a 2 minute job if it’s power-linked. 5 minutes if not. No Headset issues and I reckon it would take about an hour, possibly less.

Learn 180 endos on the carpark, then the trail stuff will be fairly easy.

If you’re doing it right you’re pulling from your bars to convert forward momentum into a turning force, so it shouldn’t make much difference which foot you have forward. If you’re doing it wrong and moving the rear with your feet, it might.

With the 705 you can use Open Source Maps to build a contoured map of the UK, which will help.

How long does 600km take. Sounds a bit mental, or do you get off your bike occasionally?

Warming up the LOIC, let me know where to point?

(If you’re from the FBI – that was a joke, piss off.)

Like the look of the Gary Fisher Superfly me, but it’s £5k please.

Peaches Riding God:

http://www.sportsunday.co.uk/photo8599662.html

When I did HtN in the Summer, the CXer in front of me picked up his bike to carry up a hill and promptly dislocated his shoulder. That’ll learn him! :-)

Purely from an interest point of view, it would be good to have CX, Real and SS noted in the results of events though. (And times too, will they be added to the HtN results soon?)

Peachos did get lapped by various CXers on Saturday though!

I don’t think I’m a million miles away from being able to climb Skiddaw. There’s no way I could do Jacobs Ladder though, completely different kettle of fish. The point re Garburn and erosion is a good one to bear in mind, I don’t know if Jacobs has deteriorated since the various claims of clearing it?

One climb that is tough, but easily achievable with a little training is the climb from Hollins Cross to the Top of Mam Tor. It’s a good place to learn about climbing fitness and how what seems impossible at first becomes possible with a bit more training. There’s a section near the top that is significantly steeper and looser than the rest, the first few times I did it I thought it was impossible, but being a bit fitter meant I got up to it in better shape and had enough in reserve to get through it, then a bit of bloodymindedness was all that was required to get to the summit. After doing that I can see how what seems impossible to me, wouldn’t be with a decent set of legs.

fergal, my Bullit climbs really well on techy stuff because it sits in it’s travel and forces the wheel to grip, with U-turn lyriks it’s an awesome climber, geometry is ok and grip gets you through all the loose bits without having to put your foot down. You would want to be very fit to clean a long climb like Skiddaw on it, but I reckon it’s far from impossible if you have the right legs on.

I reckon with Skiddaw that if you can get up the first bit to the gate, you’ll clear the rest ok, there’s just one hard bit after that and plenty of time to recover.

I looked at it a couple of years ago as after they put the motorway up there it’s mostly just a decent technique and a lot of fitness.

Belmont descent? LOL! I went down that on my Tranny last night and would NOT want to do it on a CX Bike!

I’m sure it was fun and that, but do you not think, “Urgh, this would be so much better on a real bike?”

I know it Peaches, we can then ride up through Dodd Wood and across to the top of Ullock again, before taking one of two routes down Carlside that I’ve been promised are the shizzle.

We were going to climb up onto Blencathra when we went round the bakc of Skiddaw, but I misjudged a) how tough going the ground is and b) how manly the group I was riding with were.

“From Skiddaw summit head SW off down the Allerdale Ramble to Carlside.”

Personally I would have added a disclaimer here. Something about scree, loose rocks, steepness and the drop to your left if you get it wrong. but that’s just me ;-)

It will be, there was a thread on here about it ages ago I think, with a petition or a request to email the LDNPA.

I know from riding the Lakes, then moving to Manchester and riding the Peaks that footpath riding is viewed quite differently up there. It wasn’t until I went to the Peaks that I realised that you weren’t supposed to be on footpaths and that some people have a problem with it. I’ve never had anything other than encouragement and interest when in the Lakes, apart from on the low-land paths around Buttermere. I think that is mostly down to the terrain, Peaks Footpaths get made a mess of, Lakes they don’t.

Even riding like a loon doesn’t seem to be condemned in the Lakes, most people seem genuinely interested to see what you can ride, how fast you can go etc. A bit like the low flying jets flying below you, not exactly peaceful, but who doesn’t love to watch?!?

I got a stern look when riding to the Summit of Mamtor a few weeks ago, I thought words would be forthcoming, so I was ready to point out that while it wasn’t a bridleway, at least I was on the Footpath, rather than walking a few meters away from the hard rock path eroding the side of the hill. I don’t know if this sort of stuff gets discussed on walking forums, but there are plenty of walkers that don’t walk considerately, regardless of access rights.

Red Screes?

Have you got an actual death wish?

I walked up in the summer, I think you could ride a fair bit of it, but some bits are pretty much cliff. What you can ride would be no better than OK I reckon. There isnt a good way of making it into a loop either, everything past there is a slog.

Fairly booked up, but once the weather turns I’ll sort something out. I’m riding it in the week after Easter though, will post some rides up but will require time off work.

Yeah, it starts after the scree and yeah, it looks like they walked down that bit you got lucky on.

Why are there two breaks in the video? Did they walk down a couple of bits? There’s at least one mega-tech bit that isn’t in that video.

I’m fairly sure that what it is is a Mojo HD 160 with a different DW link that reduces the travel to 140, either one link or both. Actually, if I was getting it, I’d get it with both sets of links if possible, give yourself a few options.

Oh yeah, what’s Rigg Beck like down to Buttermere?

I landed on my back at the bottom, then the bike landed on my chest, I wasn’t in control at all, I was just going too fast to do anything other than hang on and hope for the best! But yeah, I guess it probably looked good from the bottom.

Let me know about Gamlin End, if I read about it in the Times and Star, I’ll know to give it a miss!

I’ve never ridden off Sail towards Causey, but always thought it would be a bit dull, very straight and very fast. Mind you from my memory of it I can’t see why it would have needed repairing, so perhaps I’ve misremembered it.

I like the run from Coledale Hause into Coledale at the top because the artificial zig zags are great for practising Scandinavian Flicks, so might have a look at Sail as it should be similar now.

Have you done Gamling End down to Scarth Gap, always fancied a run at that, but can’t work out if it’s like that Barrow Scree run but 10 times the length (ie certain death rather than just probable death)

Cheers

WD40 is good at stopping the mud from sticking though, which when you’re riding through thick mud is better for your drive train than having a bit of lube + a ton of mud all over it.

There’s a 140mm HD, which would be my choice. The standard HD is 160mm.

Rowling End is fun in a ‘I can say I’ve done it now!’ kinda way, but it’s not rideable in too many places for it to compete with the other path to the left that ends up at the same place. anc – the route up you describe, I’ve always turned left before the Col and short-cutted having to come over Scar Craggs.

While I have you, what’s going on on Sail? I was on Knott Rigg in October and it looked like they were making that climb rideable for me?

Also, I’m around the week after Easter, so make sure you chaps have some decent rides planned!

Cheers

Stuff like that never sells on ebay. You put up with dealing with anonymous people with no comeback if you think you can pick up their 12 month old £4k bike for £1200, but when you’re paying new money for new stuff you go to a bike shop. Starting bid of £2.5k? Next!

Bad link!

Either don’t use it on mega bright, or angle it down to flood the road. You don’t HAVE to point it straight back at drivers to blind them, you could use it sensibly instead.

Link to the reflective stuff please? Need to smother my road bike in it. Might get one of those DX rear lights too.

I don’t think that spring will do any thing at all where it is, other than rattle about a bit. I can’t see how it can be compessed.

I reckon most people don’t buy a bike that’s perfect for trail centres, they buy a bike for whatever else they ride.

Some people only have one bike for Alps, DH, Mountains, Pootling and Trail Centres. If I went to Coed Y Brenin etc I’d have to pick from my DH Bike, a 160mm hardtail or a 140mm singlespeed. Perhaps the singlespeed wouldn’t get me too many sneery comments on forums, but the others aren’t the right tool for the job.

I’ve ridden the DH bike round CyB last year as it was the only bike working, was hard work, good fun, probably got me a few funny lucks from the people I was overtaking, but that’s just how it is for me and lot’s of other people.

The caliper mount is clever, and I like where it puts the brake, but when you look closely it does look a bit odd because you have the frame, then the dropout inside the frame, then the caliper adaptor inside the dropout.

Cytec qualified, but hoses far too long?

LOL! I did exactly this to some Junior Ts once, so was going to post the same question.