Already done Whinlatter and Llandegla. Loved them both (Whinlatter more so) but looking to try somewhere new, although I’ve not been to Llandegla since they added the newer stuff so it might be worth a revisit.

Cheers for all the info so far.

I agree John, and normally that’s what I’d do. However, like I said, I fancy something a little different and there’s certain man-made features that you just don’t find au natural. Also, I fancy riding somewhere new but where I don’t have to worry about navigation.

Hmm, I find contouring annoying as I don’t yet have a dropper post and hate descending with post up/climbing out of the saddle.

What’s Dalby like? A bit of internet searching suggests it’s a bit of a mile muncher without too many interesting bits.

Just moved from 745mm bars and a 70mm stem on my Orange 5 to 785mm and 50mm – absolutely loving it. Not only is it great for descending, but I find it just as comfortable for climbing and the increase in bar width means the front is still weighted enough to prevent the wheel lifting on steep climbs.

Thanks all, I know where to find it now. It was the one that JRM described that I was after, I know the track down from the A640 into Marsden.

Any other suggestions for decent tracks in the area, cheeky or otherwise?

Cheers Jonny, not been up by Deer Hill res. but know the Wessenden track so I’ll try to find it from that end.

Cheers ton, but isn’t that packhorse? I get the impression it’s somewhere up near Wessendon reservoir.

Cheers! Bethesda is top of our honeymoon list!!!

Just to update everyone who helped me out with suggestions: she said yes!!!

The weather didn’t want to play ball for our picnic at Llyn Arenig Fawr. The forecast suggested a dull start but brightening later in the day – unfortunately it seemed to brighten everywhere except for the big black cloud over us. So instead of a romantic picnic on the shores of the lake, we ended up sheltering from the wind by a fence next to the bothy, surrounded by sheep shit. Funnily enough I decided that this wasn’t the ideal moment for the proposal. If the sun had been out then it would have been the perfect spot, but we still enjoyed the walk and picnic.

I ended up proposing after a meal in the garden of the hotel that we stayed in (Tir-Y-Coed Country House – can’t recommend it enough for anyone looking for somewhere nice to stay in Snowdonia).

So thanks again to everyone for their suggestions, especially camo16 who came up with Llyn Arenig Fawr.

Just used Goldcar in Mallorca. They were the cheapest by far, as evidenced by the massive cue at the Goldcar desk while all the surrounding desks were empty. BUT…..

They rape you senseless with the additional charges. With charges for an fuel, additional driver, insurance, and GPS hire (admittedly unnecessary), we ended up paying an additional 200 euros on picking up the car. The biggest rip-off was the fuel charge – 80 euros and you return the car empty. Except, of course, the fuel tank is never going to be completely empty when you return in (although I was tempted to do laps of the carpark until it was – followed by plowing into concrete pillar to make the most of the excess waiver that we paid for), and the Corsa that we rented could only fit about 50 euros worth of fuel in the tank.

Still probably marginally cheaper than other rental firms, but I’d much rather deal with people that are more upfront about the costs. Judging by the number of angry people at the rental desk, I wasn’t alone.

I’ve put 2.35″ High Rollers on my 717s and didn’t like the resulting profile. I found that the tyres rolled on the rim too much when cornering. It was fairly borderline though and it might have been okay with slightly higher pressure. Since you’ve already got everything your need you might as well give it a go.

Deleted post as I didn’t understand the problem, but now I think I do. Caliper half sounds like the best solution if you can get one that fits.

Vauxhall Chevette
Ford Escort Mk 3
Austin Montego
Fiat Tipo
Rover 416
Rover 620
Ford Focus Mk 1
VW Golf GTD Mk 6 (girlfriend’s company car)

I’ve always used Snowcard too

@stumpy01 – she does love a castell neidio!

Hahaha, dick! ;)

I agree completely muppetWrangler, I’m not going to get fixated in proposing at an exact point or an exactly those reasons. On the other hand, I’d like to plan a day that has the maximum probability of the perfect moment arising! If I’ve got a few pre-selected possibilities in mind then I won’t be worrying about when to do it (at least not as much), but it definitely has to feel right. That right moment may well be at the end of a romantic day/weekend in Snowdonia rather than at a picture-postcard spot, we’ll just have to see. It may well be pissing with rain all weekend!

Cheers, I’ll keep you posted!

I think we might have a winner! Llyn Arenig Fawr looks ideal, and the location is pretty much perfect in terms of getting there. Nice one camo16 – much appreciated.

I’m thinking that we could head straight there on the Saturday morning, have a picnic on the shore and a little swim, then either pop the question there or head on to the hotel and propose in the grounds if there are other people around at the lake. That way she shouldn’t have time to get too suspicious about what I’m up to (waiting until Sunday might lose the element of surprise, even if I do tell her it’s just an early surprise weekend away for her birthday). It also has the benefit of me not stressing about it all Saturday!

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions guys, none of these places had come up in my searches so far. Any further suggestions welcome, still need ideas for things to do during the rest of the weekend (although that can be more touristy options).

Don’t worry teamhurtmore, it didn’t come across badly. It made me chuckle though as I’ve not got a great head for heights and trying to propose while not shitting myself might prove tricky!

Cheers for all the suggestions guys – keep them coming, lots of food for thought here. Llanddwyn Island would be perfect but unfortunately we’ve already been there many times – she’s from Angelsea so I’m wanting to stick to the mainland in the hope of finding somewhere that’s new to her.

Aber Falls looks nice, but potentially mega-touristy on a bank holiday. Blue Lake looks like it has potential – what do you reckon the chances are of it being quiet on a bank holiday Sunday?

I’d thought about the top of a mountain but she has an old injury that sometimes causes her serious discomfort during long walks, especially over technical terrain. It’s intermittent so she might be fine, but don’t really want to take the risk of ruining the mood. A walk of under 5 miles could work though.

The hotel is near Rowen.

I’ve not heard of Gospel Pass – will take a look.

Fork choice is already pretty limited for 1 1/8″ steerers, especially in the 140-150mm trail fork market. I’ve been having this exact problem with finding a fork for my 2010 Orange 5. Combined with the 27.2mm seat tube, 26″ wheels, and I35 x 12 mm axle, I’m already finding that a lot of new products just will not fit my bike.

Hmm, maybe I’m getting confused between the Dual Position air and the 2-step. Starting to come round to the idea of the Lyriks. I like the idea of being able to keep a 20mm axle too, 15mm is a stupid standard.

As for the 32s being noodly at my weight – this was a concern. I get on fine with a set of 2005 32 Vanillas with a QR axle on my hardtail but that’s just for XC duties and not really pushed that hard. I’d rather go for Lyriks than 36s due to service intervals (I was thinking of 32s due to the lack of new Revelations with 1 1/8″ steerers), and I’m a big fan of Rock Shox forks – my Pikes have served me well and I love my Totems.

Not heard good things about the reliability of the Rock Shox DPA forks though. Also, I think 140/150 is the sweet spot for travel on the 5.

Interesting option. If I get new forks I’d be getting them on finance though, so reluctant to have to buy them and then pay more to send them off for modification.

You can use the Superstar ones on ODI grips.

I use Rema Tip Top patches (for normal tubes) on my Maxxis UST tyres and they work extremely well – have even managed to fix cuts near the bead using them. Just make sure the inside of the tyre is clean and roughen the surface slightly.

I’m using superstar lock rings on my ODI grips (the ones that cover up the end of the bar as well as clamping the grip – I would assume this is the same fitting as the standard ones).

My Straitline stem has a pretty low stack height, certainly quite a bit lower than the Hope I used to have on there.

I’m trying to figure out if I’ll die if I install a 10sp XT mech on an old 8sp XT setup, the gradual intention being to slowly migrate it to a full 10sp set up as bits finally give up the ghost.

You might not die but your gears won’t work. Crankrider is right, the pull ratio is different.

Nothing except for the cost of the parts and a couple of beers. If they’re really friends then you should be happy to do it. I’m sure that this would make them more inclined to help you out in the future too.

I’ve got a 5, but not an AM. I absolutely love it but I wouldn’t buy the AM, especially not without forks that you can drop the travel on (e.g. TALAS / U-Turn ), as it would be too hard to keep the front wheel planted on climbs.

I’d either get a standard 5 or go for the Alpine. I’ve found it to be perfectly capable on downhills with the 140mm forks.

Contact Oakley to see if they’ll fit your lenses to a new frame. I did this years ago on a pair of Oakleys that were well out of warranty and they replaced the frame for free – even changed the colour at my request.

If you lighten your bike then it will still be lighter if you lose weight. There are benefits to losing weight from your bike no matter whether you can lose weight from yourself or not. Some that spring to mind:

– lighter bike is easier to manoeuvre
– suspension performs better if unsuspended weight is reduced
– reduction in rotating weight is more noticeable

If, like me, you are a lardy bastard then the biggest performance gains will come from losing body weight. I still enjoy riding a lighter bike more than a heavy one for the above reasons though.

I think Rob’s route sounds about spot on for incorporating the best bits of that part of the Peak District. Good pub at the Ladybower too to stop at before the short pootle back to Hope.

Mine was pretty splendid this morning too. 12 miles off-road (mostly) on dry trails. A large portion of it is canal tow-path but it does include a nice, fast, rocky section of the Pennine Bridleway. The view this morning from the top of the moors was gorgeous. The best thing was not having to battle against massive headwinds on the big climb from the front door (evil enough without wind). Looking forward to the ride home.

Could be, I’m running out of alternative explanations. I’ve no idea how old the brakes are, they were an ebay purchase. I may well be interested in that caliper if you can dig it out. How much would you want for it?

Anyone?