Yep, I like them. They look nice, weigh little, stop you well. That’s the essentials covered. They also have a good feel, easy to control the braking power. Only downside is I find they can be a bit tricky to set up 100% drag free.

Get the SAS to come over and stick a load of explosives underneath it. Or is that frowned upon nowadays?

That was a fun day.

New Pikes with the black stanchions. That is how the production version looks too, not just a Nico proto.

Agreed. I run the UST versions of the RQs and had very few problems. UST MK on the rear could be ideal for the summer.

I’ve run RQ F&R and RQ F with MK R before now. All 2.2 flavour. The MKs do roll faster, quite noticeably. I think this could have something to do with being considerably narrower than the RQ, despite having the same width printed on them.

I do like the grip and rollyness of the MK on the rear but I always seem to flat them (protection version too), even when pumped up to fairly high pressures. I had 4 punctures in one MK on last years Coed-Y enduro. I should give them a try tubeless tho, might make all the difference.

dry in warm sun.

If you’ve got any of that left over, I’ll have it.

1st go, no google – 9145
(http://bit.ly/10x07B0)

2nd go, with google (makes it far too easy) – 15832
(http://bit.ly/179r70K)

Good way to waste an afternoon at work!

All very helpful, cheers all.

I will be taking just my trail bike (160mm) and I don’t mind pedalling. The loop around Kinlochleven sounds very appealing, cheers StillTotoise.

A day will definitely be spent riding Nevis range via the gondola, and I would like to do the black DH, so need to find out when it is open for business again. Good point on the variations, Geoffj. Not in a rush, so could leave that until tuesday if it doesn’t reopen monday.

Cheers for the advice Buzz-Lightyear, I will look into both places. Yes definitely taking bikes, be a shame to go all that way and not ride the DH tracks.

On that note, does it open to the public again on the monday after race day? And this might be a stupid question, but how blown out is it after the abuse of holding a WC race? (I’m guessing it depends on weather conditions?)

Trying to do the whole trip on a shoestring, so cheaper the better really. But would quite like campsite with a shower etc.

Would rather have the convenience of being close to town for beer/food too, I think. Not fussed about buses to/from the actual track.

Just caught up on the last few pages of this thread, I absolutely love it. Respect to you Footflaps. For all the naysayers, isn’t, “Because I want to/Because I can” justification enough for this kind of project?

Not seen it yet but they’re seriously making it into 3 films? I’m not sure how, it’s a very short book!

The renewal for my Vito from Gladiator (Admiral group) would have been £830. Direct line wanted about £1350. Aviva were the cheapest I found online at £530. Rang Adrian Flux and told them best quote, they said they would do it for £500. Job done.

Get a good range of quotes then ring them and haggle. I think they would have gone lower if I hadn’t been so honest with them about my other quotes. :)

I’m generally not at all confrontational and it takes a helluva lot to get me to react to any kind of provocation. The last time that I got pretty mad was actually as myself. Day before flying to the alps this summer, left work and drove the 100miles to oxford to my mate’s where we were going from to heathrow the next morning. I’d been there less time than it takes for the kettle to boil and I realised i’d forgotten my passport. Had rather a massive rage at myself for being such an idiot. Got straight back in the van and drove home. Few hours kip and then drove back again, still annoyed at myself. Thankfully a week in morzine made me forget all about it. I don’t think i’ve been angry since.

Meta SX everytime. Looks nicer! :)

Awesome! I love the spoon saddle and this just makes them even cooler. Thanks for the heads up :)

I fully agree with you both and I know full well the bone wont have healed itself fully yet. But I also know the risks and have been riding trails I know well and are within my capability and taking it really very steady.

On the flip side both times I have actually been out for a ride (as opposed to turbo) the next day my shoulder has felt far stronger and more comfortable. So while there is risk it definitely feels like there is benefit to exercising it too.

In my wholly untrained opinion it looks good. Clean, and no bleeding or weeping etc.

I had a follow up with the surgeon about 2 weeks ago, he said it looked good (i had already had the strips removed and it redressed by a nurse at this point). It was that appointment where he told me to stop using the sling and get it moving again. But he did put a new dressing on it before I left, and I didn’t really think to ask how long I should keep it on for. I have another follow up appointment on 10th December. Sounds like I should likely keep it dressed until at least then.

Cheers for all the input :)

Thanks, benjamins11. That is kind of what I was thinking. I will carry on with keeping it dressed then.

I’m not really doing excessive exercise either really, just a couple of turbo sessions a week and like I said an MTB ride last weekend (taking it easy) Just to keep the legs reasonably fit. :)

Surgical team said very little about dressing or anything. They told me to keep the sling on for 2 weeks and that’s about it.

For the first 2 weeks after the op I had the dressing changed every few days by the nurse at my GP (the nurse i saw post-op told me to do this). The nurses at the GP said the scar looked good, and after about 2 weeks took the strips off as it was no longer bleeding/had healed enough not to need them. But they put another dressing on over the scar which I have kept on (albeit changed to fresh after exercise).

wwaswas – I agree the bone probably hasn’t fully knitted, but it feels fine to use again, i’m just taking it very steady on the mtb. :)

I know a guy who lives over there. Check out Rhythm Cycles in Niseko (nisekocycles.com). They do rentals and the area is meant to have sweet trails including proper DH track etc.

From what I can tell there are a lot of ski resorts in the winter, but very few turn into bike resorts for the summer season, but there are trails there if you know where to look.

Mate of mine has one. Loves it. He managed to crack the frame on the chain/seatstays (i forget which) but it was replaced under warranty, no problem at all and swift turnaround too.

Friend of mine was having a new PC monitor/tv thing delivered. Card was left by city link simply stating “in garden”. All well and good except they had thrown it over a 10 foot wall to get it into the garden…. Unbelievable.

Garth Marenghi’s DARKPLACE.

Hilarious.

I love Christmas, as in the actual day. Time spent with rarely seen extended family, good food and too much beer. All fun and games.

However, I utterly hate the build-up to it and the marketing and general go-out-and-buy-everything attitude surrounding it. Seems to me that most people think of Christmas more in terms of gifts than anything else.

No one on here looking to offload then?

eightyeight – My Supreme DH V3 is for sale, see page 2 of this thread for a pic. My email is in my profile if you are interested. :-)

I love my sealskins. Calf-length, mid-thickness, pretty tatty now. Still my favourite bit of winter riding kit. They are super warm when it’s cold and even though they aren’t really waterproof because of the top opening, the water that gets in gets warmed up by you anyway so you get a wetsuit effect going on.

Horses for courses though. I run pretty hot, never wear any more layers than just shorts on my legs and a baselayer and waterproof jacket on top.

+1

The vibe at the few enduro race weekends i’ve been to this year has been amazing. The riding has been awesome too!

I do like a bit of Aston Hill. Tend to go there when I visit my mates down Oxford way. What’s the new track like?? Looks smooth, but fun.

Anyone else in north Herefordshire? My usual DH riding is Bringewood, Hopton or Bucknell. Though not the last few weeks as I’ve broken me collar bone.

Yeah, helluva days racing in all 3 classes. I loved it. Really wish Cal Crutchlow would keep it rubber side down though! Think he will definitely be up there next season!

Really am looking forward to seeing Dovi on a Ducati (great rider, hugely underrated imo). And Marquez in GP, today was an absolute masterclass. Love him or hate him I think there should be more riders like him, incredible to watch. Heard him summed up as, having ‘the courage of Simoncelli and the skill of Stoner’, really is going to be interesting to see how he does.

Rosss – Wheels are good. Not quite as bombproof as mavics as i’ve had a couple of dings in them, but they stand up to being bent back into shape/repaired pretty well.

nukeproofriding – cheers, it is a lovely colour. even moreso when clean!

Northwind – Last herb DH, yes? I am a fan. Something a bit different! So close to ordering a Herb 160 as my enduro bike.

I ride anything and everything really. My BFe hardtail gets the most use, but I’m all about the downhills and try and get out on my DH bike whenever I can. Here it is after a wet as hell day in Les Gets this summer:

She’s actually for sale though, as I want an enduro bike, and I don’t actually race DH so it’s a little unnecessary (but sooo much fun).

I got an ’08 BFe and i utterly love it. Definitely a safe bet.

If i was going to change it though, this would be my choice:

Production Privee – Shan. Meets all your requirements and, well, look at it.

Really not interested in reviews, all about performance and reliability/ease of servicing for me (as I do it all myself), and in that respect Marz are great. The rc3 ti models are the nicest feeling forks I’ve ever ridden, 888s and 44s.

Very interested in what DVO come out with too.

8O

That is all.

Lovely bike! I would be seriously tempted by one if it wasn’t for the proprietary shock mount hardware. :/

Quite an interesting article on the “Sorry, I didn’t see you” excuse, here: http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/

my new favourite thread. :D

personally i prefer Hopton to FoD, and definitely far far better than cannock.

“very much an xc place”?? there are some amazing dh tracks there, used for the pearce dh series. and they can be linked into the xc loop (which in itself is a lot of fun). have a day there exploring and you will love it.

edit: fair enough, easy mistake :)

I have some old Michelin DH16s that had been stockpiled in the shed from years back. Ran them on my dh bike over the summer and they were excellent. They appear to have been re-launched as these: CRC

Not their cheapest tyre though, so i guess you do get what you pay for. I’ve not tried any of their others either, but wouldn’t be against it based on experience.