Be handy if you said where you lived…

Oops, SW London – that’s why i ride the Surrey Hills primarily. The more i look into this train malarkey, the more i learn – didn’t know that i can take a fullsize bike on selected Tube lines for example. So Paddington/Euston/KingsCross is accessible theoretically… 😀

What did you get banned for?

A couple of “funny turns”, so 6-8 wks for investigation/tests etc. Not good considering i drive for a living…

Hope there’s footage of the Lancia S4 i haven’t yet seen… to my mind the most magnificent machine to ever grace a Stage. 100% madness distilled!

Whilst riding around Hawkley last summer, a Vulcan came in low over the tree canopy and on towards Dunsfold area – a staggering shape certainly! Yet i find the Victor is an even more impressive machine – straight out of Thunderbirds… any still flying?

Check out this excellent manual which although aimed at newbies certainly gave me new insight…

“The Complete Do it Yourself Mountain Bike Maintenance Book” by Mel Allwood.

Had my Mobiwasher for about 1-1/2yrs now. It quickly burnt the pump out but was efficiently fixed under warranty. It sporadically throws a fit when a connection works loose so now i carry a long screwdriver with it and that normally does the trick – not as reliable a bit of kit as i would’ve liked…but it’s really useful!

I tend to alternate between the N/Downs and Chilterns – started off using the RoughRideGuides but now i use the OS maps and try combinations of the bits i liked best. Anywhere between Pangbourne and Wendover is good, generally a bit less intense than the Downs but great Broadleaf wooded singletrack…

MBR ’12 had the Oregon article.
Info they give is to try…
[/url] Ashland, Or
Bend, Or
Black Rock bike park

Spent a week there with my Kona Dawg running 130 Rev’s until they popped on the last day. I quickly learned to stay away from the Pleney runs (not wanting to get in the speedsters’ way, etc), and got out into the rest of the area. Certainly felt underbiked when in town but fine everywhere else (even during a quiet run down the Swiss National – even though i didn’t find out till later what “that hairy run” was… :?).
I mean, can’t imagine the climb to do the Col Du Coux ridgeline on a HD beast would be pleasant. Still, when i go back i reckon same Dawg with some 150’s would be fine (140 Vans on now and they’re neat, too).

Probably on the bus, i’d imagine (Bourg is the travel hub for the area). you could get an Ign map of the area from Stanfords to give you more of a feel for the area. I got the impression that the area is huge and you could easily end up in the wrong valley hence get some local knowledge. I ended up in Champagny-en-Vanoise on a long ride and was lucky to catch the last cablecar back over to La Plagne.
I used the campsite on the Route des Arcs and across the road is an ace supermarket, with free internet stations in the cafe/bakery :D. there’s a Decathlon too.

I used that book as a general guide but found it to be of limited use, to be honest. You could ask TrailAddiction if you lot could use their guiding services but stay down in the valley – you camping?

Pulled mine out with no problems/special technique – they’re a simple design. Mind you i was putting new pistons in so didn’t need to be delicate with the old pistons (all the individual parts easily sourced from LBS/CRC).

Had a week camping down in the valley at Bourg-St-Maurice and shuttling up the funicular to access the Paradiski area – not much extra dosh than for the Les Arc area but heaps more scope for exploring. I found the free maps do show a couple of ace runs down to Bourg (Black route 8 will give your forks a right workout…), but found some sweet trails in the trees above Nancy-Nancroix and Vallandry – kept coming across the Trail Addiction group so was in the right area! But i agree that you need a guide as i spent a lot of time getting nowhere at times up skiruns looking for tracks.

Cheers for the vid – that’s the stuff i aspire to do when in the Alps (not much of this stuff in the SE :cry:. Interesting about the locked-up rear sus on a single-pivot design… brake jack, anyone?

Spent a year at an Army Chalet in the mid-90’s, up a side valley near to Sonthofen in the Allgau – pretty much the best year i ever had. I didn’t realise the 2m-rule didn’t apply there 🙂

Good call! But the availabilities don’t match my fixed holiday dates – nuts… 🙁
More like this please 😀

I find that 130/140 is fine for general trail stuff and only found my 140Vans bottomed out at speed sessioning a particular mtb-only-trail, once i’d gotten used to where the compressions/waterbars etc were. If you keep the speed down and you don’t look for jumps then i reckon 140 is adequate.

My 5 10 Impacts are the best part of 2 yrs old now and are just starting to wear on the outside uppers – no wear at all on the sole even using Nano’s and V8’s (impressive…). Pricey but you get the quality.

the Bolle Tracker is my staple these days as i seem to get through a few pairs in a year, less than a tenner from Screwfix.

1st post on this illustrious forum… Hi folks!
Planning a long week doing the Snowdonia thang early April, and it’d be rude not to give Snowdon a bash (weather permitting, of course…). Just wondering what’d be the preferred tool, a 140mm FS (a heavy’ish Kona Dawg) or a long-forked Whyte HT? I suspect the Former but the HT is my back-up bike. Cheers.