Take your money and retire.Time is the most valuable thing you have. Don’t waste it. As above your certainly not going to have lots of income and time off from it so why invest in it? Take the rose tinted speck”s off

Instead of selling my old FS I kept it and run it on as my winter bike. Second hand values are pretty poor. I use a karcher pressure hose. Cleans the bike in a couple minutes. Only use any detergent like muck off once every couple months. MTB is made for mud.

Cost in £ for me is balanced against the cost of not MTB’ ing. Whatever keeps me enjoying my sport and fit is money well spent.

Nice black glove from Tescos works ideal same as above

Demo cost, money well spent

I’m also struggling to think of any legitimate reason why somebody can’t use PayPal

me also

think im safe with my 6 year old astra on the drive dont attaract much (any) attention

Cut the hands of a pair of rubber gloves and use the cuffs to seal the tops of your boots where most water gets in as you peddal. Tescos have black ones that are ideal.

As always all this is just opinion. Try before you buy is the best advice to decide if a bike is for you

Reliable, fun and enjoying mine. I still have my 2010 Zesty but tbh I prefer riding the Bonson.

The answer is to select the right front ring ratio. Try dropping down a size on the front say to 32 and you should see a better chain line and less use of the large ring and less wear in my experience. About to go to third chain this year.

If youve set it too srams instructions then it will be fine. Mine runs fine and Im on the second chain this year. Make sure it has I think 12 – 16mm gap via tension screw. Yes on 10 it doubles back on its self no issues.

I assume you didnt compress shock when you measured the first time from your comments? They recommend you do that to get the correct length

Great course and amazing weather

Same experience as njee20 on new chain. Now running quiet. Also best thing I did was to drop down from 34 to 32 chain ring. Lot better wear in the mid range at the back and also better chain line which also helps to reduce wear overal.

Two links visible? That’s not what sram says. You take the chain off rear each, compress suspension and then shorten on biggest rings

when you fitted the chain did you shorten it as per the sram instructions? Could be chain is too long.

Spent four hours riding the super dry trails ah it’s been a great September

Shall be riding my only bike a FS. It’s non competitive so I’m not really bothered about what bike or even the route.

sounds like your training sessions are all similar length and intensity. Try mixing it up a little, longer sessions – shorter. I’d drop one of the one hour rides and do a 2 the next day. You get a rest plus a different length of exercise. Your body has adapted to the regular exercise its receiving and has just levelled out. Not reaching your max HR normally means your a bit tired rather than lacking exercise

Brilliant video 🙂

Well said astr.

dont think anyone cares TBH round my way we just ride

Im a bafoon m8, cant get the GPX zip to downloaded keeps sending me to wordpress?

Brilliant route about time

Garmin Dakota 650 gives you the same as 800 but with lot more useable screen. Use both, 800 fine for road but I like the 650 screen for off road and walking. OS maps for UK are the best.

Should eat drink as soon as you come on from ride as body absorbs energy quicker to aid recovery in the 30 to 40 mins after exercise. You may be suffering from ‘weekend warrior syndrome’ only rides/fitness once a week. Regular exercise, more miles on road. Plus one for road during winter I try to get 200km a week in depending on weather. You’d be surprised at the change in fitness level. Gym, road swim, spin for interval training. There are no magic potions

It’s milk that has magnesium and it’s a great post ride drink. Remember protein not carbs repairs the body so plenty of white meat etc helps repair your muscles

Gym is recover rest days

Tuscany – Secret Apennine Trails skedadle

https://www.skedaddle.co.uk/biking

Garmin 1000 or 800. 4 years with mine and garmin Dakota 650. They are the best, mines even survived submerging on winter MTB over Exmoor 🙂 and through Trans Portugal. Buy OS map UK and you will have all you need for turn by turn routing for LEJOG. It comes on micro sd card so you can swap it to new other devices in the future. Same if you go abroad, just buy the relevant country SD card. Download basecamp their free mapping tool software its best Ive used as a long term abuser on off road.

No mapping software or device can give you turn by turn off road.

You will need to recharge the Garmin 1000 or 800 every 10 – 12 hours. If you want longer batter life then go for Dakota 650 types as the use AA batteries which can be more useful if your on a long unsupported adventure. Alternatively buy a power monkey that will recharge the garmin for at least 10 days of use.

Demo to avoid disappointment 😉 lot money to shell on someone else’s opinion and some advertising

Your asking the wrong people. Get a very good lawyer your playing with a lot of money at risk. It’s worth the money. I have been there

Not had a HR 2 burp on me. If they did it would mean something’s wrong.

When I fit new tyres I make sure everything’s clean. Old dried latex on rim removed etc
Slap on tyre and leave small bit open
Put in two generous cups latex and fully fit tyre
Spin tyre around to coat the inside
Pump to 40 psi, you will hear loud crack as it seats fully
Leave over night
Deflate to ride pressure @ 20 psi front 25 psi rear is a good start
Top up latex every six months
Ride and never puncture or burp

Should t have any latex coming out. I’d say they weren’t seated. I assume this isn’t a ghetto setup? Did you pump the tyre up to 40psi and hear it crack into position, then leave it over night before deflating? Somethings not right. I run HR II 2.3 never had that happen. I run the at 20 psi front 22 psi rear.

Move main bank account to Lloyds their doing 4% on balances up to 4k. No risk investment

sorry cant help just to say mines running silent. Have you checked for stiff link, check the connectors especially the inside one may not be fully home. Mine was a bit noisy when I changed the chain but it soon went and the chain was well oiled.

Check wheel is sat correctly in the frame and the mech hanger isnt bent?

brilliant, thanks

I’d have a long hard look at where the money goes as well. Removing TV package, take always, booze, buying your lunch instead of home made, cut up credit card, never have an overdraft. Made a big difference to my cash flow. Not suggesting being a hermit but efficient money manager can help.

These have proven to be robust, fast and very very light

https://www.sram.com/news-articles/new-sram-roam-and-rail-mtb-wheels

Just gone from Hex to Bell, better fit all round

W2 and Blade

Contact these guys superb advice and service

Just Riding Along wheels – front page