Handlebar…

Cynic-al, that sounds wrong on so many levels.

okay I’m going to STFU and hack it away tonight with scissors and my Gilette Fusion razor. And of course do it in such a way I can have a handle bar moustache at one point.

Should I add I have two singlespeed bikes, is just more fuel to the fire of ridcule? I should state the the previous beard was a six month untreated growth that resulted in the aforementioned 3 hour marathon.

But nealglover, please let me know the next thim you go to shave a bear, I would very much like to see that!!

haha man fail indeed. However last time I grew a beard I shaved it off myself using a razor and sissors. That was a 3hr session I never want to go through again. So yes I don’t have the tools to do the job and I don’t want my tender face to suffer as a result. Hence a visit to the professionals!

Much like my bike skills I suppose. Crap tools and usually end up in the LBS when it gets complicated.

Cheers guys, new chainring ordered.

Here, I bought one of these recently, very impressed, especially for the price. It is a medium but fits me at 5ft 10 and regular build.

http://www.bikesyoulike.co.uk/product/7612/Altura_Attack_Waterproof_Jacket_2013

We stayed at Gorsebank week before last, great place. We we in the Dee wigwam. Bike storage as well which was a plus.

The owners of Gorsebank recommended going to Kippford instead of Dalbeattie to eat. We ended up in the Anchor Inn, nice wee pub with great food and good atmosphere.

Next day after Dalbeattie we stopped in the cafe just as you come out of Dalbeattie trail centre and turn right . Basic but cracking paninis.

Broke my collar bone two and a half years ago, high velocity break is what it was called. I wasn’t offered an op, it was left to heal naturally. Which it did, ugly bump now on my shoulder, I use it as a reminder not to get too cocky on a bike.

If you do let it heal by itself my advice would be to do nought with it for six weeks, don’t get ahead of yourself thinking it is healing nicely. It was eight weeks until I got back on my commuter, 12 before I started back on a mtb. It will seem like a long time off the bike but I haven’t had any issues with the collar bone and I have had a few offs that the shoulder has taken the full brunt of.

Hope you heal well, it isn’t a nice injury to nurse.

Cheers for the advice guys. Ended up buying the dual flywheel and clutch parts made by Sachs. It was the Eurocarparts website, 20% off so save £100 in total. Still pricey though.

Stopped drinking alcohol at the start of 2011 to help lose a bit of weight and haven’t had any since. Was only supposed to be for a couple of months but I realised I didn’t miss it and I definitely didn’t need the hangovers or feeling rough the next day.

Cheers for the advice. Popped the pads in tonight, so easy to fit compared to the old Juicy’s I had on a previous bike.

Aye, all the descents are unaffected by the diversions. The first section of the diversion is a nice wee climb :twisted:

I sprained my ankle 5th Aug whilst out on the mountain bike. Once I got home followed the ICE method, did so for a couple of days.

I was back commuting on the 13th Aug. I commute on SPDs, for which I use my left leg as my standing leg. I had sprained my right ankle so thankfully I only had to clip in/out at the start and finish as my ankle didn’t have the strength initially to do that at speed.

Resumed mountain biking on the 22nd August, again on SPDs. However it was October before I could really run on the ankle without any pain.

Hope this helps, obviously recover is different for everyone. Just don’t rush back. Also if a lot of bruising then perhaps worth getting it checked out to see if there is any ligament damage. years ago I did my ankle ligaments in playing 5s and both times I had to get physio to get the ankle back into shape.

Used to ride solo all the time but past couple of years it’s now 50% out by myself and the other 50% made up of out with two or three friends, or out with Prohpet Jnr as he gets older and wants to bike more.

Night riding, Mrs Prophet2 likes me to head out with at least one other person at all times.

Was at GT today. Fantastic snowy conditions, the trails have been ridden lots so the snow is compact and easy to ride over. Few slippy patches on the descents but all adds to the fun.

Probably the best snow riding trails I been on yet. And that human shape on the snow just after the entrance to SuperG, that’ll be me hitting the entrance too hard and WIPE OUT……. :D

Get yourself down before the ice sets in.

No bike ride for me today but did get out for a trail run this morning, got to see the sun rise, very pretty it was too.

We were at the top of Spooky round 2.30ish, was all dry. It’s been raining since so should be bau wet Scottish day tomorrow. Enjoy!

Out with Prophet2 Jr for a mixture of GT Red/Blue/Black, finishing in almost total darkness. Nice relaxed paced, thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the last Sunday afternoon of 2012. First ride of 2013 will be Inners.

Out at GT with Prophet2 Jnr, couple of shots. Bit too grey today for my camera phone to take a good photo.

And one quick shot of the ASR5 (pedals, tyres etc not lined up, shabby I know :P)

I use Dropbox. Download onto laptop from STW. Then copy into Dropbox and open into iBook on iPad via Dropbox. Looks stunning in HD.

Just back from GT, perfect conditions for a fun bike ride, enjoy.

Thanks for all the replies, it’s encouraging to read when people start using rigid forks they don’t regret it. My SS isn’t my main mountain bike, so I won’t be riding it all the time.

Going rigid is to enable me to have a different sort of biking experience that I currently have, hopefully it will improve my riding by having to pick better lines and think more about what I need to do as a rider rather than letting the suspension do all the work.

So when I muster up the cash looks like the Exoctics are the way to go.

Sorry, it’s for 26inch wheels

CyanogenMod v9 here. I did initially try v10 but I missed the camera functionality so I installed v9 instead. GPS doesn’t work, I have flashed the ROM with a recommended fix but it only worked for a couple of days. However not too bothered.

Rooting and upgrading the phone was a great move, turned an alright phone into a good phone. Saved me from buying a new handset basically.

Prophet Jr and I did Gt today as well, nice and sunny, we didn’t do Spooky as we heard it was icy so just did blue climb to SuperG and came down the rest of the Red, no issues with ice, fin with Falle Brae. Great fun.

It’s been a mild 4 degrees and raining down here in Cardrona Village, we didn’t get the snow that Inners seemed to get. Went for a run round Cardrona Forest lots of sheet ice in the open stretches.

You buy these at Tiso

http://www.tiso.com/shop/seac/goretex_repair_kit/

Nice dumping at snow here in Cardrona, couple cms so further up the trails at GT and Inners there should be deeper snow. Nice and sunny too.

SPDs all the way on my MTB SS and commuter SS.

I’m 5’10, ride a medium ASR5, 65mm stem, fits perfectly. Also run 130mm forks. Originally bought with 120mm forks with which the ASR5 was very quick. Bit slower now on the 130mm but feels much more capable over the rough stuff. Still climbs like a goat.

Live in Scottish Borders, work in Edinburgh. Drive (no other way) 20miles to park and ride at Straiton, then hop on the bike and cycle remaining six miles. In lighter mornings/evenings usually extend the cycle part of the commute.

Nope, the Glentress – Inners link isn’t open, that will be around March(ish) 2013. The cycle path between Peebles and GT however is open, it’s a good smooth surface to cycle on.

If you want to cycle to inners use the route Mark mentioned above. Cross directly over the road at the Glentress Hotel, cycle down the path that runs alongside the field, at the end turn left down the old railway line (now a fireroad track) to Cardrona Village. Turn right at the roundabout and then left and go along the back road to Inners (3 miles approx). You can short cut a wee bit through Traquiar House, saves a few mins.

Tyre rip sewed (though not as neat as dropoff’s example). Tested last night, seemed to hold together nicely. Going over the rocky stuff was a bit of a commitment initially, visions of exploding tyre didn’t inspire confidence.

Cheers for the help.

Cheers guys. Tommo999 should we be worried if you are stealing glue from work 8O

Mmm, GT is my local and I would say when I say hello to other bikers I tend more often than not to get a hello back. I don’t ride during peak times (Sat/Sun morning) so I miss generally miss the crowds. However I would still say mtbers are a social bunch and happy to murmur a few words of conversation.

Agree with the comment about groups of riders crowding the entrance to a trail, you tend to get “how dare you looks” when you cycle past them whilst they decide the pecking order.

Haha Dave, I feel your love for the Yeti :lol:

These will be my forks for the next few years so I just wondering if the Rebas will cope with some of the “rougher” stuff that I will play about with from time to time eg Golspie, Laggan Black (Jnr is talking about doing that later this year). And possibly some of the DH at Inners.

Druidh, it probably would only be used to charge the smartphones!

Glen Nevis looks good thanks for that.

Lacking of camping experience here, so here’s my dumb question. Is it worth getting a pitch with an electrical hook-up?

Kenny as much as I love the Paddywagon it comes up a bit short component wise. The Bandwagon is a better all round bike, I think CRC are doing the 2011 relatively cheap. But then again the Paddywagon is a far better looking bike, cooler colour scheme.

I also like the looks of a Cotic roadrat, I think TBC might do them? The Genesis SS model looks very nice as well however I thought it was a lot of money.

For info my Paddywagon cost me £350 new in 2010, good deal on EBay at the time.

Gary