Mine is the high step platform ladder. The great thing is that it works even on very uneven and soft ground. Important as the lawn is soft in November when I’m pruning

I use a Henchman aluminium ladder with 15ft extender platform. Safe and very good for the front face of my 15ft high conifer hedge.
To top it though i climb up and go from tree to tree using a long wooden batten as “safety” help and trim the trees with my Stihl pole chainsaw attachment.
The hedge is about 9ft deep and no platform would allow me to cut far enough back .
Henchman gear is good quality and works . You can call them up and they will give advice. I bought all my gear as cutting my hedges commercially is about 1k a go. I have been using the henchman for about 8 years now. You need to look after it like all tools but its good gear.

Please see
https://www.henchman.co.uk/index.jsf

Thanks for posting that up here too. I will attend the meeting and a few other Mountain Bikers have also promised to come along. I will try to report it to the CTC which I’m a member of (cyclists touring club) as they have an access officer too I believe).

Thanks Banger I will try to get along for that meeting too.

Matts ccm terms of getting “arsey” no body here is suggesting breaking the law. Some of us have been using these woods and trails for access for over 20 or 30 years and some rights of way should have been legally built up. That is why the horse riders are concerned too. If we allow someone to fence it off and do not protest in a proper legal manner the rights will be lost

Hi that’s right . That’s the woods we are talking about. It’s just that Broxbourne woods is the collective probably incorrect name we use. I saw that off road buggy. He had it parked next to his car . He seems to be on a mission of clearing out bikers.

Yeah it’s a shame! all these developments just spoil it. They seem to be quick with funds to knock down trees and build car parks and man made level foot paths but have no interest and I guess reason to welcome cyclists. We are silent users of the space . Yesterday I was on Wormley wood next to it. Trails are lovely there and thanks again pixies! Last week there was the manager of the Celtic camp there who had driven into the woods parked at the end of the main bridle way running through. He stopped us to tel us about his private property restricted access. Not good. Should be made common land!

I have used a Pendle 3 bike heavy duty ball mount wheel support rack for more than 10 years. Pendle are like the “hope” of bike racks. All metal no gimmicky plastick. Stainless screws and spare parts and adapters always available if you change cars or bikes. My rack fits everything I have needed to carry from 7yr olds bikes to full on DH rigs . Have regularly driven to the Alps and highlands with it. No need for foam or pads between bikes as there are adjustable vertical poles that rigidly hold the bike and sop it rubbing against others. Pendle racks are infinitely adjustable so you can customise to whatever you want to carry.

Yes it seems to be Bourne Wood area, and the main gravel highway that runs through the middle.

Cheers. There is a footpath and bridle way going across but the majority of trail there is “cheeky” I’m afraid. It’s always been quite a passively managed wood apart from some occasional barbed wire barriers that have cropped up now and then. Hopefully we wot see them putting barbed wire up. Anyway just wondered if anyone knows what their plan is…

Agreed Yes I think that will save me much more cash. The RTW seems way complicated and I would save very little overall as it would be full price anyway.

I am trying to buy a complete bike. I just mentioned the frame bit as a matter of fact . I want a complete bike but they don’t have my size . Yes it’s above 1k and RTW scheme allows this . I just pay myself.

RTW part is 1k and you can personally top that up. I think I’m going to ditch the RTW and use trusty LBS instead

Thanks Dez it’s obviously over that

Even if I want another complete bike they don’t have it would be same story

It will be a complete bike

Its a Santa Cruz and they offer 3 build options . Very simple so not lots of bits. Not a proper bespoke build at all.

When I have wanted a bike in the past I just go to LBS . Then say can you order me xx in size yy and pay then and they get it for me.

They don’t have it in stock, but it is readily available from one of their suppliers. Their stock is all shown on their website.

Back pain. Like many older MTBers my glutes seems to have got way stronger than lower stomach muscles and that has twisted my spine. I keep working on it but it hurts!

I have an edge 800. I have found it pretty useless for “navigating” apart from the odd way home direction. All I do with it is record my routes and HR monitor etc which I do enjoy keeping as a “ride diary”. The design is awful and software poor, Friends with edge 200s seem to have the best value option. If I buy anything to actually navigate in future it will have to be larger with a much better sized screen. The edge 800 also seems to take quite a while to lock onto satellites.

No no and no,!!! I use “leg warmers” . These are just lycra stretchy things used by roadies. I wear these under Knee pads. They stop chafing and also help ti wick sweat away, just like a base layer. Your knee won’t get too hot and it works well. I don’t advise cutting up expensive pads. Endura make decent knee warmers that i use under knee pads.

Just rode the Moray trails for the first time today. I was mighty impressed. I did the red and Orange routes and the black gulley trail. The leaflet says “you won’t have ridden anything like this before”. I agree it was superb and really brilliant for a trail centre ride, one of my favourites now! The orange route wasn’t very severe, and the woodwork is all rollable, but it had just the right level of difficulty in that the rider could make what they want of it by using speed which could add or subtract to the technical difficulty. Its nice to have woodwork and jumps that are ok for the non rad dudes ;) A really great day out, plus a really nice lunch at the local Fochaber garden centre :) The extra Money with trail building this summer should produce a top grade venue.

By the way I’m 5ft 7in and mine was a small

I had one for a few years, bought it in 2007.It’s a big heavy free ride bike that gets going like a train. Very burly and tough. I had totems /Saint group on mine and big hope disks. It goes down anything but I found it needs about 15 miles per hour plus then it’s weight disappears and it just eats everything in its path. I’m not an aggressive or very rad rider and am a bit old but that bike was great going down fort bill DH etc. the trouble on more local runs was just pushing it up, and it’s heavy to lift out of cars and chairlifts etc. I sold mine on the classifieds in STW last summer for a bargain 500. It was a mint bike and just wasnt getting used, but amazingly took some time to sell!!! Some cheeky guy even tried to knock the price down from £500. Anyway I sold it to a deserving lad who wasn’t going to haggle over a few quid on a bike that cost quite a few grand. He was delighted .

Cheers guys i think i will have to do some test rides when i get back to home. i won’t write the 29 off either just on my lack of height. like Esher Shore and others have above i would certainly have considered a 29 for a hardtail, but I’m a bit reluctant for a full suss 29. i already have a lovely on-one ti 26in hardtail that i do most of my riding on.

Sam seemed a really good guy and we had a long chat..(where did i get my nickname :) ?.. He said he has run for Scotland in the past, and seems as fit as a fiddle!

Hi James thanks for all the info above, I agree on Golspie being most fun UK Trail. ,Sorry didn’t mean Moray Monster trails I was referring to Learnie Redrock on the Black Isle…thats the one I often ride.

Hi Mike. Might be fine for them but simple arithmetic for me.
With an inside leg of 29inches a wheel of 29ins doesn’t make sense.
It might for stuck in the saddle riders who don’t need to move round the bike much, but I’m afraid i move around quite a bit and like the extra clearance.

Hi Mike. Might be fine for them but simple arithmetic for me.
With an inside leg of 29inches a wheel of 29ins doesn’t make sense.
It might for stuck in the saddle riders who don’t need to move round the bike much, but I’m afraid i move around quite a bit and like the extra clearance.

Thanks for feedback . I think it might be the Enduro as the Pike fork is swaying me. I don’t want a 29er as I’m too short for the big wheels..

hmm don’t like the idea of that. Im going for the alloy version. Hopefully press fit.

Thanks that might be an option too. I noticed the Enduro seems quite similar to the Stumpjumper and a bit cheaper too. If it climbs ok I will take a look. Would be nice to have the pikes on the front..

Some of the best jackets for me have the windproof front and sleeves but regular fabric non windproof on the back. I find the breathable back helps, plus I normally have a camel back on for riding. I only wear a full waterproof if its really piddling down and I might have to hang about. Once waterproofs are covered in water on the outside they don’t breathe anyway. I much prefer windproofs as above, and most will take light showers.

The Polar Strap is perfectly compatible … IF you Just put the garmin central sensor bit in with the two studs..

These are way better and I use this strap for my Garmin Edge 800.

Mini Garmin rant!! :)

The Garmin Edge 800 is another bit of awful Garmin equipment. It has a few decent functions that why i continue to use it, aswell as the fact it cost a lot!! however the design has so so many flaws. a classic one is the keyboard lock. just briefly press the on/off button!!!!! Then touch the screen to lock it. I bet countless other riders have had their rides split and spoilt by that awfully designed function that often lets you accidentally turn it off…

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/polar-spare-elastic-soft-strap/

Use the Polar one if it is the type with removable sensor… The spacing for contacts is same distance apart

… The garmin ones break after about 6months regular use !!!

The expensive Park one has a replaceable pin and is a proper pro tool.

This is the best, new pins for it are £4.99 ( i haven’t broken any yet)

The expensive Park one has a replaceable pin and is a proper pro tool.

This is the best, new pins for it are £4.99 ( i haven’t broken any yet)

Had it round my ankle a few years ago. Took the antiviral drugs and that seemed to stop it tracking round my foot. The doc then asked me to stop taking them and see a specialist as a week or so was “too long” for the shingles to have gone on That was a mistake as the specialist then mixed up my medical notes with someone else’s and took me off the antiviral so which had previously definitely reduced the symptoms. I ended up having it for a month and gave up with the specialist. If u can get the antiviral a I would take them. Rest is a good idea, I don’t think I did that enough.

Getting work and home telephone numbers and addresses of purchaser( not just mobile ones)have been what I have done in the past. You can verify them before progressing. It’s definitely also well worth having a good chat with them about biking too as to ascertain whether they are a genuine buyer or a scammer. If they are genuine they will want to know lots about the bike etc. It’s important not to Rush the process and not move on with a sale even if it risks the person dropping out. Doing things properly is in both buyers and sellers interest.