I’ve had my rigid SS round Glentress red, Innerleithen and part way round the black at GT, as well as doing a few loops in the Pentlands etc. It’s also had a trip to Lee Quarry in the past, which was fine apart from grinding up the hill with one gear. To be honest, it is not as much fun as the full sus, but it is handy for when the other bike is in need of repair, or I want to save on the cleaning and maintenance.

Riding rigid at trail centres is fine, as we generally stop for a chat after most sections, which gives my hands a chance to recover from the death grip.

It works particularly well on trail centres, which tend to be a bit smoother and the climbs are more manageable on the SS than more natural trails.

Interesting. CRC says they are 10 spd Campag. Are they usable with 10spd SRAM, Shimano and KMC chains (the KMC and SRAM links I have are not re-usable).

I’m doing it to a ten speed chain. Can’t see why nine or ten speed would be different.

What split link are you using in your chain? I thought most of them weren’t reusable, and I can’t be bothered using a chain tool every week to clean the chain.

If they are usable but not worth anything, there are lots of Bike Station type places around that will take them off your hands to patch up as part of old bike rebuilds. I’ve handed some tatty old wheels etc in before now.

no better than a shake with white spirt in a jar .

This doesn’t work so well with 10 speed chains unfortunately. :(

I think I’ll be investing in a chain cleaner soon for a clean and hassle free way to clean chains.

Mk V Golf GTI 30th Anniversary edition?

Impreza?

In no particular order:

Glentress 7 (thanks Northwind!)
Drumlanrig
Kirroughtree

Just goes to show that trail centres can make for good races (IMHO) when you through in some off piste sections.

I almost added Comrie Croft (it is a great course) but the climb up through the grass lost marks for me). Badaguish was/is a great course too, although I’ve missed it from my 3 as my memory is a little hazy. No experience down south so can’t comment outside Scotland (although Lee Quarry looks fun and I might give it a bash next year).

I’m running Maxxis Raze tubeless on Hope Hoops 29er (Crest rims) with no issues. Inflated easily (after squeezing the tyre on). I did ruin a rim yesterday, but that was my poor riding rather than anything else (hit a water bar hard with the back wheel). About to replace the rim, and will happily get the same again (but making sure that my bunny hopping improves) :oops:

We stayed in the Affinia Dumont. Nothing particularly fancy, but we chose it as we had a small kitchen in our room, so thought it would be handy if we didn’t want to head out for every single meal. Gym was handy when you are at a loose end at 5am too. Comfy enough 4*, and I asked if we could get a good view for a honeymoon, so we got a bottle of bubbly and this view (which lots of rooms will have):

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100415[/url] by pixelmix[/url], on Flickr

I’m in the full sus camp at the moment. My Giant Anthem is perfect for the reasonably technical Scottish XC races, and is great for longer 7 hour stints etc too. It is a bit heavier than a nice carbon hardtail, but for me, the help on the descents compensates for an extra 1lb on the climbs.

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Giant Anthem X[/url] by pixelmix[/url], on Flickr

It is slowly being upgraded as bits wear out, but here is a pic from a few months back.

If I didn’t think I’d miss the full sus, I’d probably be building up a Kinesis Maxlight XC Pro 3 instead.

Didn’t know you could turn uot to an Cross race on an MTB, I might be tempted to give it a bash

Depends on the series, but you are generally okay on anything as long as it isn’t an elite level race.

2″ MTB tyres looked like tough work in the mud in the race in that video.

isn’t that just a scirocco with a different nose on it?

You might be on to something – I do own a Scirocco. :)

Rocco is a good bit bigger than that old TT concept though.

Went round some of the course on Monday night, man it was a bog fest! Glad I did not go in for it this year – did it last your and it was certainly a lot less muddy.

Not as bad as Plean though. Didn’t see so many broken mechs/hangers last week, and no wheels jammed up with mud. It was riding much faster with less running required in the early races apparently.

Nice wee video there. Saw it doing the rounds on twitter the other day. I even got a fleeting cameo role. My mum would be so proud.

I’d be much more likely to buy a TT if they had made it like this.

Some of these new Mercedes ‘shooting brake’ photos in the car press recently are pretty hideous to my eyes.

I’ve got some 29er Hope Hoops for my disc equippted CX bike – happy with the Hope Pro2 Evo hubs so far.

Sh1t, more pics of your Speedvagen please deanO

+1

Looks like an interesting bike.

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Kinesis Crosslight Pro6[/url] by pixelmix[/url], on Flickr

Recently built Kinesis Crosslight Pro6. It’s been tweaked a bit since building, so I should really take some new photo soon. It’s now got a 41t chainring instead of the 44t shown (11-32 at the back gives a good range), and I’ve just replaced the rear mech hanger and rear mech too (disastrous end to the first race). Hoping for more success at another muddy race this weekend. I’m enjoying it round town.

If we overeat by 10% the solution is obvious. Put 10% VAT on food

How is that fair to those of us who don’t overeat by 10%? Those of us who stay fit and healthy with a balanced diet and lots of exercise need to eat to replace burnt calories. Taxation doesn’t solve the root cause of the problem, although successive governments seem to think that just tinkering with tax here and there will magically cure the country of its ills.

I ride with one Co2 canister in my back pocket. Not had a puncture that I’ve noticed, although my front tyre was rather flat after a race at the weekend (only noticed back at home the next day), so I presumed I got a puncture at some point, and it sealed itself.

I take the view that for most of my races, if I get anything that takes more than a co2 canister to fix, I’ll have wasted so much time that my result will be rubbish anyway, so I may as well abandon or walk back (not that I have ever had to).

26.8mm is a standard seatpost size. Have you tried one of those?

Me me me. New CX bike here. Need to get some proper photos now that it has been ridden and tweaked. Lovely and light, but I have a niggling feeling that the next size up might be better (the seat post is now a few cm higher than in that photo). Time will tell.

Anyone tried Shimano rotors with Avids?

Need to be careful with that though. My XT rotors won’t spin in my Elixir 5 calipers as the spider is too chunky.

Thanks. Thought something like that might be a sensible idea. I could be there all day trying to tweak the cable tension with a pair of pliers at the mech end otherwise. :?

Thanks. Pretty sure the tab is right – maybe it just seemed especially loose without a chain on to tension it. I’ve built it up (albeit it doesn’t have a gear cable yet) and it doesn’t seem to bad, so I’ll see how I get on.

I must have been near thesurfbus on the A9 yesterday – saw them pecking up through the roadworks holding up the traffic near Drumochter. Seemed to be about 4 support vehicles scattered across the road and in the layby on the wrong side of the road too. Quite a support team. One car behind to give them some protection from passing motorists.

The pessimist in me does wonder if they sacked it in because they knew they couldn’t make it. Seems a shame to go to all of that effort and not do the last few hours if that is the reason, even if you were only going to be second fastest.

5ft7″ here and ride a medium Anthem X with lots of seatpost and the stock 90mm (I think) stem. Sizing is spot on, but I like quite a stretched out ride.

I think you’ll be fine on the small, but since every man and his dog sells Giant, you really have no excuse for not riding one round the shop car park. Enjoy.

Awfully pessimistic on here tonight about the weather. I had a nice extended commute home taking in a few cheeky bits of trail around Edinburgh. Sun was out and trails were lovely and dry. Good times.

Thanks for all the quick responses – good ol’ STW.

Still slightly torn, but based on the above, I think I can probably get either to work. Admittedly, having a ride would be best, but a bit tricky with Kinesis round here.

Based on my hour on the Saxon Cross, the 54cm might be okay. My mountain bikes are longish (in particular my Anthem is a Medium with a 90mm stem).

Seems that I could maybe get away with a 54cm with my Thomson In-line and a 90mm stem (and shorten to 80mm stem if need be) or a 51cm which will probably need a longish stem.

Thanks. As I thought- best to check though!

I have a 350D which I’ve had for years and has always worked on my macs (now on 10.7). No drivers needed. Just fire up iPhoto and make sure the camera is then switched on (i.e. switch on after connecting it to your mac).

There is also the ability to change USB mode on the camera, so have a look in the camera settings if you are still struggling.

Boardman looks like a good spec and weight for the money. Cotic X is worth a look as it can be had for around £1,000 (though I’m not sure if the disc model sneaks under £1,000)

Would be interested to hear the reply to this too. I have a small golf ball sized dent on our car. It’s not very obvious but I can see it in certain lights so it annoys me. Something to ‘pop’ it out might be useful.

People that dent cars in car park are really annyoing. I’ve also got a mark on the drivers door from some idiot who cleraly has those reflectors on their doors, and opened their door onto our car. Grrr. :evil:

A front facing seatpost slot make it handle better in the mud does it ?

Does it? Who said that?

Yeah, they do look a bit funky, but very practical.

Does look tasty doesn’t it? I’m hoping to test one this weekend, although at the moment it is 2nd on my shortlist of 2 CX bikes.

Acres of mud clearance and the front facing seatpost slot mean it should be good in British winters.

I got Crossrides from Merlin 1.5 years ago. The look smart but are a bit heavy (although probably compariable to anything else at that price). Still reasonably true after 1.5 year of riding on my rigid bike. I am quite light but I’ve had them round some bumpy stuff without problem. The other thing to consider is that they are non standard spokes, so whilst they look good, getting spokes replaced could be a PITA in the long run.

I had a 2010 frame which was just replaced with a 2011 frame under warranty. In terms of frame, the 2011 has:
– a slightly different tapered top tube (I only noticed it when shouldering the bike),
– a bigger (supposedly stiffer) steerer tube (comes with tapered forks on complete bikes, but I am using 1 1/8 forks with a larger crown race)
– integrated instead of integral/semi-integrated headset (I think!)
– post mount rear brake (saves needing an adaptor, provided you stick with 160mm rotors)
– new Maestro links (curvier and the cables now zip tie to the bottom, so they don’t rub on the links and bushings they way they did on the 2010 frame)
– BB30 bottom bracket (supposedly stiffer, although I’m not convinced of the benefits over HTII)

The forks wouldn’t bother me either way, but the 2011 bikes have 3×10 rather than 3×9, so if you want a 10 speed setup going forward, you already have the right mechs and shifters.

I’m not sure the above adds up to £300 worth of difference, particularly if you prefer the look of the 2010 frame. £300 is a good chunk of cash to spend on upgrades if you want to.

I agree with Nobeerinthefridge. When I walked there a year or two ago, the bridge had been washed away, so best to ride along the east side, although the river can be quite low in summer, and we had no problem wading across.

I’m sure this has been said but could they not check the video footage against the registered keeper!? How much evidence is required for the police to make any enquires!

Having read the thread of road.cc, my understanding is that the video confirms that the registered keeper isn’t the driver. Clearly the registered keeper knows who the driver is though, thus he is also clearly a total ****.

Crikey – that looks a bit expensive. My bike is currently outside at sub-basement level behind our New Town office. Hope it hasn’t floated away. 8O