Either Schwalbe Magic Mary or Maxxis Shorty, not fastest rolling but grip is next level in sloppy conditions

Edge 530 here, trailforks app installed which shows anything within a set radius of current location( anything on trailforks obvs) and pretty happy with it so far, even found a couple of trails ive ridden past for years without realising they were there. It does seem to suffer with the Bluetooth issues the op mentioned though and I’ve had to reset it twice after uploading through the phone instead of WiFi when I got home as it wouldn’t switch on the nxt time I tried to use it. Afaik the 830 has the same features but has touchscreen, 530 doesn’t but is a fair bit cheaper, both have a MTB setting which some will like ( counts jumps, jump distances etc), personally I’m not fussed but no regrets buying it

Got an earlybird entry last week, fingers crossed for weather like this year’s, actually a little bit cooler would be a bonus as it was near 30°. Stages this year were some of the best I’ve ridden in a long time and I personally thought it was the best one so far, can’t wait

A carbon frame won’t have welds on it

Scotty Mears owns Cyclefix in Birtley, Gateshead (also on spanners for Danny Hart /Madison Saracen Factory Racing )

+1 for sugar and fairy liquid

I did try the bars at 800mm but ended up cutting down to 780, doesn’t sound much but has made a difference. The bike has handled everything I’ve ridden with ease so far from short local xc loops to some of the steepest trails I’ve ever ridden at the Naughty Northumbrian last month

I’ve recently gone from a medium Mondraker dune carbon to a large Jeffsy29 cf prorace, reach and wheelbase is within a few mm on each bike. The YT feels like it fits me better and a medium would’ve been way too short ( around 5’9″) although YT size chart said either would fit depending on riding style, I actually considered an xl Jeffsy but having ridden it for around 6 weeks glad I went for the large. Putting a shorter stem on a lge frame if needed instead of trying a longer stem on a med frame is a no brainer 2 me if you are still undecided. It took a few rides to get used to the bigger wheel and I’ve changed the Guide RSC brakes for the Hope’s I had on the mondraker but that’s purely because I prefer the feel of the Hope’s and I already had them, and 2 punctures in 1st 3 rides saw the e13 tyres replaced, other than that I’ve no issues so far

As someone said above put the money towards an airshot or similar device and tubeless setup will be a doddle. As far as gorilla tape goes I’ve used it myself without issues but I wouldn’t expect a shop to use it without telling me beforehand. If they’ve removed tape, cleaned rim and fitted new tape, valves and sealant I’d say the cost isn’t over the top

Managed to get the nephew (4 at the time) to try no stabilisers by holding the saddle and running along behind him, he could pedal by this point and had been on a balance bike since he was about 18 months tho. I let go of the saddle after about 10 yds but kept running so he didn’t realise then told him I wasn’t actually holding him and that he’d done it by himself, he didn’t belive me. 2nd attempt I held him upright then gave a little push and he was away. Try 2 find somewhere with short grass to start on, nephew wouldn’t try on the road or pavement

Caddy maxi, drives more like a car than a van but will easily fit 4 bikes, possibly 5 with front wheels off & long enough to sleep in the back. I’ve heard the pre 2013 1.6tdi had injector issues , mines a 63 plate and no problems so far with 50000 on the clock. 5 seaters seem harder to find but the rear seats are split 2/1 and can be removed in minutes or folded forward when not needed

Fatcreations. No idea of cost, I’d guess it’s gonna b pricey and not sure I’d want to ride any of the frames I’ve seen as they are more like works of art than resprayed bike frames. Afaik they did all of the custom frames Steve Peat rode in his final world cup season

This was a few years ago but I tried several other brands in an enduro frame, none except specializeds own would allow the top cap to sit flush without a gap. Try Bikescene in Guisborough, knew exactly what I was after without having to explain the problem I’d had, and were happy supplying upper bearing only

Afaik the BBC are showing it live

Last Saturday afternoon while practicing stage 6 of the Naughty Northumbrian. Thumbnail sized hole in rear tyre near the top of the hill, thought it had sealed but was completely flat in about 2 seconds. It wasn’t even worth trying 2 put a tube in but managed to roll down without damaging the rim and the marshals arranged for a 4×4 to get me back to the campsite (around 3 miles away)

Crashed or went off track on 4 stages, twice on s2 and s5, and caught the rider in front on the other 2. Thought every stage was top notch and the only negative was the lack of water on practice day, personally I didn’t run out but every station was empty by the time we got there and a lot of people were on the verge of passing out, seemed much more organised on Sunday tho. It was much steeper/ more technical than last year and I hear loads of people didn’t start the race, personally thought it was a big improvement, roll on 2020

Worx hydroshot and 10l water tank, not exactly cheap but good for way more than washing bikes. 10l of water and quick spray of muc off will take most of the mud off 2 bikes or properly clean 1, much easier straight after a ride when the mud is still wet than leaving it to dry on the way home

Always changed pads with new rotors, never had a problem

Had an email around a week ago. Hopefully more steep woods and less grassy pedalling this year but can’t wait, hard weekend if you’ve not done it before

1st whole weekend off work in months and forecast is 3 days of heavy rain and wind. Currently nowhere near as bad as forecast says so I’ll probably chance it at some point

Mike Ashley is without doubt the worst thing to happen to NUFC, profits come before progress and the talk of a takeover is lies. Benitez has said he told the club in May he was leaving and within a few days the Sun reported the takeover news. Ashley has no intention of selling a profitable business ( its not a football club in his eyes ) and will continue to asset strip until it starts costing him money. One thing I have noticed is a distinct lack of new home shirts around the north east this year, usually they would be everywhere but six weeks or so since they went on sale I honestly can’t remember seeing a single person wearing one. Steve Bruce has got some balls to take the job on but personally I couldn’t care who got the job, build the team up until you have a few ambitious clubs wanting to buy your best players then sell the lot and start all over. I would have been gutted a year ago but sad to say I just don’t care any more

Not quite the same but saw a YouTube vid of a lad riding a 15000w ebike around the local woods and telling anyone who watched to do the same, as it’s a designated e-bike area. Must’ve been doing 40mph up a fire road climb with no pedalling involved in a wood thats used by dog walkers, kids, horses as well as mtbers. Dual crown fork, full face lid and body armour but couldn’t catch his mate on a mtb (the type of thing sports direct sell for £150) when they went down a tame red mtb trail. Unfortunately I can see it happening more and more in future and it won’t end well for mtb access when people start getting hurt

Not sure but I don’t think there’s a blue trail at Laggan, as said above it’s pretty rocky and it isn’t that big compared to some of the 7 stanes trail centres. It is definitely worth a look and the lower red trail and orange free ride shouldn’t be too much for kids if they are used to riding, there’s an upper and lower red trail ( lower has newer section with wide berms and small jumps, upper more natural ). The black is probably the best/ most technical trail centre stuff I’ve ridden apart from the top chief black at Nevis Range, which isn’t far away either and has more child friendly ( blue and green ) trails than Laggan

Re go outdoors, if there was an alternative locally I’d choose them every time, I’d actually spend a bit more if there was an independent competitor (tried LD Mountain Centre after go outdoors but they didn’t stock the sealskins) as I do regularly with bike parts. I live in a small village with no high street, and the nearest towns as mentioned already have a choice of takeaways, pound shops and betting shops with very little else. If I’m honest I can’t ever remember shopping for anything on a local high st, I’ll always choose an independent over a chain but its getting harder to find an alternative to the online option these days

I point blank refuse to use Amazon and always have tho

Go outdoors advertised sealskin mtb socks for less than half of usual price last year, ordered a pair after checking store stock online. Drove around 10 miles to collect only to be told they had none in stock, to be fair the young girl at the counter was very apologetic and explained their website is only updated once a week. I left the store and drove into Newcastle city centre, around an hour later I received an email and txt from go outdoors saying the order was ready to collect so made a detour back to the store on the way home. Showed a different staff member the email and txt only to be told again that they had none in stock and couldn’t say when they would get some

I’ve not been back to go outdoors since and doubt I will

Been using burgtec direct mount without issue since the original were out, think it was around same price as raceface tho, only bought as the shop had 32t in stock but no raceface

This is probably not much help but I have several friends who are seriously into fpv quadcopters, they don’t race them but are using the same type of drones. They build and program them from scratch and from their descriptions it is not an easy thing to do for a beginner, and they frequently need to be rebuilt after crashes which happen a lot ( from flying thru trees and abandoned buildings at 60mph). I know the batteries last around 5 mins and they all take quite a few when they fly as it takes a while to charge them, afaik they are not cheap to build and not easy to fly, ie nothing like the things they sell in the gadget shop etc

Not tried at road pressures but +1 for 25mm gorilla tape, all I’ve used for years on the mtb with no issues, mainly because it was £2.99 instead of around £15 for Stans and is easier to fit

VW caddy maxi life here, mines a 1.6d which is fine but I’d look for a 2.0d if I was buying again. Can be found with 7 seats but mine has the back row removed and the middle row can be easily removed or folded away if needed. Fits 4 bikes with both wheels on easily and is long enough to sleep in although I haven’t so far. Original plan was to get a transporter but decided to save around £ 10k and get a nice new bike in a year or so instead (not for 10k), no complaints so far although if op is a ‘driving enthusiast’ I’d probably look at a sporty estate instead

+1 for Montane sabretooth, little bit short at the back but other than that I can’t fault mine. I’ve had it a few years and the newer version seems to be thicker material so possibly not as breathable, although it looks more durable than the older version I have, not a waterproof but I’ve been caught in some pretty bad weather and it does keep me dry up to a point

Not really a cheeky trail as its defo a footpath and out of bounds but the descent from skiddaw and onto ullock pike is probably the best descent I’ve ridden in the UK, passed about 20 or so elderly ramblers on the way down last summer who without exception were amazed to see 2 bikes coming down and all moved aside to let us have a clear run, smiling as we passed. Encountered a younger couple further down the ridge, the bloke saw us coming and made a great effort to make sure we had to stop before muttering something about dickhead mountain bikers before going on his way. Scotland has the right idea with access laws, looks like Wales is following suit in the near future and good old England………

Magic Mary/ Rock Razor for the last 6 weeks and all good, will stay that way unless I’m racing in really wet conditions then I usually go Magic Mary both ends

Used a brace/support from decathlon a couple of years ago whilst recovering from a broken radius, removed the metal splint and it was easily the best I could find without spending silly money

Orange crush

Used uberbike kevlar pads without issue on slx brakes, a lad I know bought some race matrix and threw them away after 2 rides because of the noise but not sure what brakes he was using

Had a worx hydroshot for about 6 months now, can’t fault it so far but it cost way more than op was looking to spend, think around £120 but doubt there’s anything better for cleaning bikes 2 b honest. Battery lasts around 20 mins and 10l drum usually enough to properly clean 1 really dirty bike

+1 for crank brothers mallet dh

Probably not much help but a lad I know rode his CBR1000 from Newcastle to Mugello to watch it a few years ago, no idea where he stayed but said it was great fun on the way, not so much coming back and they had a lad following in a car with luggage

As above, it’s not real, although I had a ‘dream’ I rode there on new years day, dry dusty trails and didn’t have to wash the bike afterwards. Defo a dream tho😉

Tenacious tape on the outside, gorilla tape inside of a Montane softshell, fleece lined and still holding together after about a year and quite a few washes. I’ll replace the tape when edges start to come away but so far so good