I think it looks very good indeed and I would certainly like a go. I agree with the above that some events are complicated for the uninitiated. The main problem though is that you have to get to the velodrome and there are not that many around, plus the bikes seem to be quite specific(no brakes, gears). Unlike road biking you cant easily start from the front door.

Tks again for advice… folks!

Cheers for quick reply guys… @Toby1…was thinking that and maybe just going to use 5.1…as the 8 in speakers seem quite expensive… I would guess 4 should be ok… the room is a bit long though at 9m but i suppose with ceiling speakers you aren’t losing sound into the furnishings so much. Its also good for us as the speakers will be out of the kids’ way too!

The book came through my door this morning.

Great book !

Thanks for the recommendation guys!

Very good , grippy and light for their size. a worthy successor to my Fat Alberts.

Great photo Nick…can’t wait to get there!

Cheers Tomw n . Thanks for the info. Happy to support your book and its great you took the time to write it. That is just the sort of riding I like. a few years ago in Hinterglem I decided to go the “off piste” route too and I love the alpine/downhill single track. I appreciate very much the fact that we are nearly always sharing our trails so I make sure I don’t upset walkers etc as its easy for a few mad bikers to get us all banned… I can’t wait to get to Grand Montets… my nomad will love it!

Cheers Jambalaya. I’l order a copy tonight. Maybe I’d better sort a guide out for a day or two when I get there too.

I’m going out to Argentiere for a family 10 day vacation from mid August. Does the book have any Mtb trails round there? I should get a few days for riding in so am thinking of trying to book a guide too. Sounds interesting :)

I just hope the forces guys get some sort of compensation for being used there. Feel v.sorry that some are being drafted back from war zones and loosing holidays and missing seeing families.
Not interested in the blinkered political point scoring we see on here and in Parliament. Ex politicians seem to be useless at running companies. Trouble is that many of them seem to get top jobs in them or hand out jobs and contracts to other political has beens and their “mates”.

Thomson gear is great. I am a big fan of their stems and posts too. Good choice!
Sensible weight and the best quality.

Got 2 sets of m4s one set of v2s and have run Hopes since they started making disc brakes. Nothing has ever worn out bar the pads. Important thing is to set up properly in the beginning as per their instructions. Make sure the calipers are centred exactly on the discs. Doing this with bike upside down is best. Just bleed once a year. If ever the pistons get sticky…only happens with serious brake dust and no cleaning etc. Take pads out and clean round brake piston with paint brush dipped in brake fluid. This cleans and re lubes pistons. Always use the exact ( dot 7 i think )brake fluid hope specify or you will swell the seals (ruin them!)and have sticky brakes. I have had Hayes brakes too but find hope much better quality.

Farmer John that’s just the point. Long term interest rates have got so stupidly low that to give someone a decent pension it requires mind boggling amounts of cash. That has closed down many private sector companies and also threatens government pension schemes. Yet the wise economic policy committee men still talk about more quantitative easing designed to bring down long term interest rates. They say this will help the economy, but it makes no sense.

If u r thinking of that might b worth calling hope and sending the brakes back to them for an”upgrade” service . I am sure they would sort you out. Won’t cost too much and you’ll end up with brakes like brand new.

Ps I’m not trying to say docs get too much just saying we are in a big mess pension wise. I wish the “powers that be ” would stop distorting interest rates with quantitative easing. Pension costs are also killing companies in the private sector. The money involved in QE doesn’t even flow round the real economy but stays in the banking sector…aaaargh!

Not surprised government are trying to push retirement dates out. If as stated in media, the
pension for docs is as big as 67k a year that would cost the government about 1.2million each person in today’s money. One of the consequences of that silly quantitative easing that produces ridiculously low long term rates that don’t really help anyone

For security it’s a good idea to put a trellis above the gate. Helps stop thieves climbing over.

Wow! Great post. Top 10 is quick enough for me. I have ridden that course quite a bit “my way” even if he stopped for a cuppa he’d still be faster than me!

I think he’s a great sport for doing that especially as he often gets such a hard time in the media for standing up for his beliefs. As said above good on him and it proves he has a great sense of humour. It’s nice to see in a high ranked person like that that they don’t always need to take themselves seriously.

Have ridden in Saalbach Hinterglemm quite a bit. Superb. A lovely ride over down into Leogang too. Some true great trails round there with some wonderful “downhill single track” to be had. When I ride there I tend to enjoy the “off piste” trails quite a bit. I started just looking for routes up to mountain peaks having to sometimes carry the bike quite a bit…i nearly always find a fun route down….
There are the more classic wide DH routes and trails in Saalbach, Hinterglemm and Leogang..there is even some small but interesting “n.shore” runs not far from Saalbach(ask locals), swell as all the big Leogang runs

There Was also Gary Ford who rode I think for Scott at the time. He and a David Baker came down to ride with our old club at Epping Forest Years ago….we had a great day ..great guys. I always remember Barry Clarke being a really friendly guy too..

Hi Kryton. Room for reversing in depends which particular space and how big your car or van is. While you did that the nose of your car wld be in the road. As mentioned there is no place for post ride chats, plus no real need to have such a wide road right through a social hub in the middle of the forest. I think it will cause accidents. It also looks nasty. I’m surprised the horse riders haven’t complained too as they will fid it very unsuitable . Bring back the bumpy mud! Please

Forgot to mention…food (and wine!)were superb! Lots of good restaurants with high standards.

sounds just the sort of planning these guys did…looks just like they had a few dozers and lorries of tarmac spare from the olympic stadium and needed to get rid of it!

Did family hol a few years ago in Les Gets next to Morzine. Weak Euro will make France cheaper this year.

My Family don’t really bike much but my wife & 12 year old daughter loved the lake near Les Gets where they also had a kids tree climbing /parcours centre, and there are a number of relatively easy family rides.

Weather can definitely be an issue depending on time/luck. August does see a few afternoon thunder storms making trails muddy. We definitely enjoyed it though!

I use an Alpine for all my trail riding including Surrey hills Swinley, Epping, Woburn. It’s perfect. I have 150 mm air Revelation forks which keep the front end very light , but it’s perfectly planted on climbs and does not lift up. My forks are not adjustable travel. I don’t think you need it on the Alpine. It climbs very well.
Before I hade 140mm coil Pikes. These made the bike a bit of a tank in terms of handling, the 150mm Revelations make it so much quicker.

The BIG selling point for me is the Alpine’s dropped top tube. That extra crotch clearence makes a big difference on tech bits , plus I admit looks good.(I have short legs too!)

Good luck mate. Just read your thread for first time. Healing vibes! I had a bad eye socket fracture in 2004 from a bike crash.. My fault! My teeth are still a bit numb!
The mental shock is as bad as the crash. I think I understand what you went through . After a bad stack the shock makes us desperate to get back to “normal” that I think is why you weren’t thinking straight and wanted clothes back etc. it’s a massive shock with injuries like yours. Mine certainly took me a few years to get over and rationalise. The worse bit I remember was having the nose packing in.. Good luck and don’t rush getting back.

Just edited the above post to say tks for that session last yr. really helped my cornering and balance on the road bike too. My kids today turned my finely cut grass. Lawn into a mud slide! They decided that the weather wasn’t going to stop their fun too! They were running along and sliding down our sloped lawn…I’m going to have to get some sand and try to sort it out!

Hi Tony Was that Broxbourne Woods? I did an indoor spinning session. First one I can ever remember doing on a Sunday in April…sad. I shld have got dirty, really. I admit i wimped out. When it’s very wet it’s ok as mud washes off…I really hate the sticky stuff, or grinding sand. The things u Showed me in the lesson last year have increased my biking fun by loads btw!

Student politicians are bad, but not quite as ugly as the “real politicians” they become when their lust for power gets satisfied.

I’ve been through 2seats on my the same thompson post …..they were Ti railed Bel Air ones. Now I’m using chromoly bel air. So far so good! I do think Thompson very strong versus their weight. I use the straight base model Thompson not the curvy ones.

I have a very good solution to this(which you already mentioned in your post)

I always use a pair of Endura knee warmers under my pads. They do not get hot,and actually help to wick sweat well. Stops all chafing and easily washable. The wicking effect is like a base layer so they definitely don’t feel any hotter than just pads alone, and as the skin surface is dryer doesn’t get chaffed.

I have a roubaix comp 2009. Superb bike. What’s wrong with enjoying comfort? It goes fast especipally on long rides. A great bike. The only thing I changed was the tyres. The smooth damping on the frame helps it glide along.. The angles and position are excellent for me.

The most maddening leak we had was not even on a road. Near Carbone Hill in Herts a few years back a main burst which caused a massive furrow and ditch . It’s was a serious gush! A number of people reported it but it was left running for about 2 weeks.

Re the ownership of the companies. Most are foreign owned now the yields were very attractive for them. The directors of water companies over here will also be significant shareholders unless they have already been bought out on takeover.

The whole problem with this utility is that it should have not been privatised in the beginning as there is not sufficient competition. We need a national plan not local surfdoms.

Just my observations not the Daily mash! luckily don’t read that. I think we pay a lot for water considering the restricted service we have.. if they are not profiteering how is it they pay bigger dividends than most oil companies?

brilliant …amazing rider

My vote would be Hope . Have used and owned shimano and Hayes in my time too. I have run hope brakes since they first made them …even their original cable ones! The spares and service is the big winner…although I have found them reliable. If you are really bad at servicing Hope will even do that for you sending back an “as new” set of brakes.

Rigid forks are great if you always land perfectly on the transition. This post is starting to echo old ones where we have some “perfect” riders here lecturing us how they ride real gnarly stuff on rigid bikes and everyone else are wimps. Im sure the rigid jumpers will tell us they never wear pads too.
For mere mortals some suspension, either front, rear, or both is actually quite useful and comfy. Your bones will appreciate it! Bike choice is normally want not need! Live and let live, if someone likes to have longer forks than you don’t worry…it’s what you do with the travel…not the length :)

You have my sympathy! I would be p@@@ed off with that. Expensive bike no matter who or what is to blame. At least you weren’t badly hurt!

Can’t see the point of 29ers for shorter riders either as all the frame stuff has to be squashed in and can limit clearance. I like to be able to drop the seat post too. I’m happy to use bigger tyres to create my 27er!