I have a pendle wheel support heavy duty rack..had it 3 years. I have carried 3bikes (heavy DH bike & 2 other fairly heavy ones (SXtrail) and hardrock) all the way to Austria, France and Scottish Highlands. Absolutely no issues with it and very strong indeed. IMO any rack that relies on straps to hold it in place for cornering is too weak.

Cheers Thanks for that..im traveling with work this week, but I will post them this Saturday..

SDG Bel air with chromoly rails strong and cheap but SUPER CONFY for me

They are VERY bad and have a rotten call centre that can hardly understand what you are saying. I find mastercard better. At least they have UK call centre..

Hi folks sorry for delay in getting back thanks for replying.

Saccades wins the lowers being first back, and they are just the ones he has on his bike. Dont worry about postage as they are very light.

Please just make a charity donation to a good cause when you get them. I will post them to you this weekend.

Please let me know the address you want on my e-mail radioman"at"uwclub"dot"net Happy Riding! Tim

These bikes look great…I was thinking of a Reign X, but a "the one" or can" can look great as a replacement for my '05 SX Trail..

All seems so much faff compared to just sticking a tube in!!

(I do use UST tubeless tyres on a UST tubless rim on my XC bike as that meets a lot of thorns & I dont want to be changing tubes in mud)

Only you will know how much use the bars have had. If they are a light weight xc type bar and you have been using them hard with crashes and the odd jump then I would definitely change them often.

The fatigue life is related to the stress on the bar. If you run oversize AM/DH bars that are still fairly light and dont crash much they will last a long time.

Thanks for info guys…yes im tempted.
My 2005 SX trail is about 34lbs in light FR guise with TI 5th coil shock so sometimes a little heavy on very long climbs(as always it depends on what the others are riding aswell as my own fitness!!).

The Reign X has good geometry seems strong and looks great. If the air shock is reliable..i would have a 30lb am machine! My current 2005 SX is the most fun bike i've ever had so i'm doing lot of research before switching..

I think the Reign X looks the closest thing to a replacement/upgrade.

Probably not what you initially are thinking of but have you considered a spinning bike.

I have a Schwinn IC Elite spinning bike at home. Very solid, totally quiet unlike Turbos, so you can really get a good workout. It might be worth trawling e-bay for a second hand one. New they are about £750 but you may find a used bargain. They are "industrial quality". All I did to mine was upgrade the pedals.

Sort it out!

My tip is to check they have enough grease in before putting them in. Loads of ball race bearings come almost dry(they are normally used in equipment not subject to the MTB mud jet-wash etc)… I never bother with ceramic. SKFs are very good. I understand stainless bearings are slightly softer…still most important thing is GREASE. The BETD website gives advice on it i think…otherwise call them up as they are very helpful…

http://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk/

I am disgusted with the fact that guy got a suspended sentence. I do not care about the fine points of the law in this case. Violence should be punished immediately.

What I find even more disturbing is that so many people accused of violent crimes get granted bail…no wonder so many witnesses are intimidated and dare not testify. Even in jail criminals seem manage to intimidate their victims(see recent cases of facebook threats).

The legal system in this country seems to favour criminals

I use Bondhus too…nice German made quality

Just bought a pair of Ardent 2.4s today for my "AM" bike. They look great & only weigh about 775g so v.light for the size.

These are to replace the Minion 2.35 XC Kevlar Tyres i bought a week ago. I just prefer higher volume so I can run a bit less pressure in them. I used the Minions once and they grip/roll well but I want to go back to big volume as I used to run Schwalbe fat Albert 2.35 before.

The Ardents have a good medium depth tread that looks like it will roll fast. I think they would make a good trail riding tyre. The Advantage tread looks a bit light to me. I tend to keep one set of tyres on my bikes normally & dont change them so i like an "all rounder" design like the Ardent.

I now drive to bike. Even when its Austria!! I hate the airport stuff… Its gradually got worse over the years..

That graph looks scary to me and shows the bubble that has formed in UK housing. George Soros warned in his speech last week in Davos about the authorities responses to "mini crises " we have seen over recent years. Every time they happened, Central Banks added more funds to the markets and "eased" and just poured more cash into the financial system.

This supplied the absolutely enormous amount of funds that the Banks used to purchase assets …eg grant lots and lots of mortgages at silly rates, and extend credit where it was not wise to do so. Our Regulators and Politicians knew exactly what was happening but failed to act. Politicians have made rising house prices part of their policy, and have been fairly big investors themselves. Unfortunately most people dont recognise bubbles until its too late.

Its interesting now that cooking and "talent programs" seem to be replacing the endless property ones. I think buying a property and adding "a coat of magnolia, new carpets and new curtains" is not going to make many people rich in the next few years!

Good to hear you like the v2s on your 5 Loco. I dont want to think about your **se thank you!!. I bet they flex the forks a fair bit unless you are running big forks too??. I run my V2s on Totems and think they need that sort of fork or a double crown if you use them hard, or you will get annoying flex …each to his own though…

Squin that sounds scary. You still seem to believe house prices always go up. Borrowing lots to buy houses relying on capital appreciation is very risky. That is gearing up! Remember thats just what the Banks did and then found they got killed by falling asset prices. My view is that you may well see the UK housing market stagnate in the next few years. I.e houses fall in actual value or have near zero growth!They are still too expensive vs peoples earnings despite the current record low rates!

Buying something "below market" is a different story. If you do that you immediately make money by definition. If you can do that why not sell it straight away and take no risk.

The X2s seem to be the replacement for the Minis. M4s with 203/180 will be plenty fror the alps. A break bleed on any make of brake berore the holiday is recommended.

V2s are like something that goes on a motorbike! So unless you are a very big guy (20stone) I think M4s will easily do it. Im 82kgs and they are fine for me. By the way the new Hope brakes have a lovely new "XT" shifter direct mounting option which is very neat

Have Fun!

The X2s seem to be the replacement for the Minis. M4s with 203/180 will be plenty fror the alps. A break bleed on any make of brake berore the holiday is recommended.

V2s are like something that goes on a motorbike! So unless you are a very big guy (20stone) I think M4s will easily do it. Im 82kgs and they are fine for me. By the way the new Hope brakes have a lovely new "XT" shifter direct mounting option which is very neat

Have Fun!

Problem with renting is you still need an "endless" cashflow and even if its cheap you have to be very strict with yourelf to save.

My advice is to pay mortgages down if you can afford to but still keep some money for a "rainy day". Offset morgages are a good idea if you are "strict" and dont keep dipping into savings.

People forget mortages are not "cheap" despite the low headline rates. remember you are paying compound interest for 20-25 years so paying back capital early in the mortgage and finishing it early makes a massive difference in what you eventually pay.

The downside with having debt today is that we have low inflation(not many people are getting pay rises!), and I dont see that changing for some time. This means a big mortgage/loan will still seem big in a number of years. Todays value of all those payments you will have to make over the coming years is very high.
There are loads of "if and buts" in the rent/buy equation, but if you live in a house you like and can afford it, I think it is nice to feel that it will be yours at some time. I do not believe house prices will go up any more than inflation for some time and I certainly think the days of "it always goes up are over".

V2s are a massive very powerful brake. I have them on my DH bike and they really work well in the Alps. I didnt bother with the vented version. Unvented they still dont seem to overheat. V2s might be overkill on an Orange 5?

The X2s seem much smaller but I cant comment on them as I dont have them.

I did however recently buy the TechM4s with 180mm rotors for my Dialled Alpine. They are great with superb modulation and good power. I use the old M4s (203 front, 180 rear) on my Spec SX trail (had them since 2003) and they have never let me down even in the Alps..

I think Bobs do a very good job considering the cheap permit cost. Its a bit of a shame though when some riders go mashing up constructed stuff when the ground is very soft. I saw a couple trying to ride down the middle of the jump gulley in the mud straight over all the table tops leaving big grooves in them. I do feel sorry for the builders!

Its fair to all to use common sense and try to avoid excess erosion. The recent snow melt has made a number of bits very soft.

As Horatio said above the trails will dry out and the sun will come out and it will all get better in the spring.

"new style" Hope they are excellent. Call them & they'll sort u out if your old one broke.

Hayter with good old Briggs & Stratton engines. Easy to fix if they do go wrong.(hardly ever) To me Honda is all "plastic" "sealed units" etc. Briggs & stratton engines are like a lawnmower version of a "Harley D" engine.

Ps get one with a "split roller" on the back for proper stripes. If you get a wheel driven one like that in th photo you can easily catch the wheel over the side of a bed and make a big "blade" circle on the grass.

My 2 year old son had it 2 weeks ago. I'm pleased we did it. Of course it's a bit sad watching the poor fella get a jab and a bit of a temperature(it didnt last very long) after but I believe it to be the best decision. Maybe he's already had the virus maybe not? We all had some sort of lurgy last year.

If the virus mutates into a "nastier" version next year at least he may have some protection.

Obviously you have asked the doc and he has suggested it..Nothing wrong with asking opinion on a bike forum IMO!

Not worth the hassle in my opinion. I used to run a USE one years ago. Its better on modern frames to run large volume tyres(but light ones!) if you have enough clearance.

Did a flier over the bars on my Dialled Alpine in Swinley today. All my fault.

Approching the "Tank Trail", there is a small drop in with a lip. My mate ahead of me stopped to check conditions in the gulley but I just carried on riding and did just a small "careful" hop of the lip. BUT after the lip the ground was soft clay and had bean eaten away. Unfortunately my front wheel just squelched & sunk into the mud and over the bars I went. Just bashed my knees hard on the ground. Pain and muddy but luckily not much else wrong. I wish I'd had pads on!

I noticed a helmet peak not far from where I landed! Someone else must have wiped out there too. The drop in is "very easy" but with the ground being soft you need a bigger jump in to avoid all the soft clay after the lip as I found out.

Today's lesson. Check before riding over lips after heavy rain etc!

There was Quite a bit of snow left in Swinley today and some Ice too. the main problem was the snow melt flooding a few trails.

Waterproof shorts & mudguards when necessary. Dont care what it "looks like" …its going to look muddy anyway!

Point of mudguards is that u dont get covered in or eat **ite!

Each to his own…

I use a THE "sportline" front fender that screws into the steerer on my Pikes. Very very strong & doesn't break.Had it for the past 2 years no problem and faster than a crud catcher to take on and off & way better mud protection. Cheap too. I think there is a general steerer plug type adaptor that comes with them too.

The aqua board is made of plastic foam like wedi. That has been coated with waterproof cement which the mosaics have then been fixed to, also with wateproof cement. I think one of the big problems using plywood is that it moves at a different rate to other materials so you get cracks between it and plastered walls shower tray etc. I hope wedi board is ok! my shower tray is made of that! Hopefully this will work…it cost lots!

Had my shower cubicle re-tiled recently. Had it all lined with Wedi board/Aqua board which is synthetic waterproof stuff first.

Unfortunately the builders had originally tiled onto marine ply!! On another bit of the shower they tiled onto plastered render.

This time I hade a proper bathroom specialist in and got him to rip out the old stuff and put the wedi board in under the new tiles. Its all now totally waterproof!

Agree . I use 5 tens for all riding(except on my road bike!). I Like the fact that with flats you can change pedal position too. I gave up SPDs quite a few years ago. I dont think i'd ever go back.

I really like the look of the new Cove "G Spot" bike due out this year. Its 6 in travel. I may consider swapping my old faithful Spec SX Trail for one. I think it will come with either coil or air shock options. http://www.covebike.com/bikes/gspot.html

I think you are correct Chapaking. Cold feet nearly always are due to tight fitting shoes with little isulation. Tight fitting shoes stop blood circulating properly and have no room for small pockets of air to insulate. SPD users tend to strap themselves tightly into shoes for maximum pedal efficiency. If you bought a pair of larger SPD winter boots and used them with Ski socks i'm sure you would have no problem.

I use flat pedals and 5 ten shoes. These are fairly loose fitting and in winter I can wear ski socks to keep warm. the only problem is water! 5 ten shoes are not watertight! If its cold and wet I have to wear sealskinz socks. Then the advantage of the loose fitting shoes' air insulation is lost. When its not wet I never get cold feet though.

Would be a great time to learn how to cross country ski there. That would be great fun!!I would love to try the trails there on XC skis(Not the Labrynth!!)

Thanks for that James..v.good info

Good news Coogan. These are the 60a single ply folding ones. So they should roll well. They are certainly very light.

Im wondering if the volumes are smaller on the single ply folding "XC" ones?
I think the double ply ones are the "DH" ones which are also available in 2.35s.

Cheers. I agree . Even when you look at the tyres in the shop its hard to see the volume unless you have a tape measure!

All the manufacturers need do, is have a simple subjective measure for volume like "S, M, L". That combined with tread width would be fine.

They already use labels like XC/DH but that seems to just cover tyre strength/weight/tread as I guess they dont want to be liable for accidents.

Anyway i'll try the Minions out as I dont want to have to shell out again. The tread looks very good anyway.