That is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear!

I am looking to do this on my road/commuter bike. The cables go through that funny plastic mount thing under the bottom bracket so get very gunked up and it makes shifting rubbish.

I was just going to run a full length cable down the down tube and zip tie it into place at appropriate points but I wonder if the Gore type system would work better? It would have to fit through the rubbish plastic mount thing though, so probably not.

I have a basic alu one for my everyday get to work, get about in the wet, generally get about bike. It’s fantastic. So fantastic I’m thinking of swapping my carbon defy and diverge for a new carbon diverge.

I run it with cx tyres and have put hydro brakes on it and it gets used on tarmac and crappy paths and I cannot fault it.

Get one, you won’t regret it.

I have the conduct system on 2 bikes. Its pretty good. I would like to swap to full hyrdo at some point but in the meantime I like the conduct stuff. Much better than the cable brakes it replaced on one bike. The only reason I would replace to be honest is because the stem reservoir doesn’t look that great. Functionally good, aesthetically less good.

WHat are conditions like this year? I tried to do it last year but it was a washout and I only did the practice stages! I would love to go back again and give it another go.

Last year you could park where you camped.

The theoretical budget is 700. Ideally a fair bit less less. No 650b options for that….

There would be no scrubbing and whipping…

All the dh bikes I have had have been around the 420mm mark and were all pretty good so I will probably stick with that.

Ben cathro did a quick opinion piece on maes win. It was pretty interesting and is pretty much what’s said above plus he is a fantastic bike rider.

We am staying near Invermoriston. We are only staying for 3 full days so its just a mornings ride I am really after. I think it could be either Fort william or Laggan. I really fancy trying the Top Chief route at FB plus a few runs of the DH. Then standard tourist stuff.

Thanks for the replies. Fort William is something I had not considered. That could be a good option….

I had one for a fair few years. I put a roofrack on it and it was great for getting about in. You can fit quite a lot in it. Bikes in the back are a bit of a pain hence the roofrack. I took mine all over the UK to races with bikes, camping equipment and other people etc and never had any issues at all. I quite liked it! I had an 06 1.2l petrol one. It was never going to win and drag races but it did for me round the hills and lanes of north wales!

I had an 08 Berlingo multispace and loved it. I could sleep in the back (but I am short) with 2 bikes and assorted kit. I think 2 people would be pushing it.

I have been looking at 26″ DH bikes recently too. I set a budget of £800 and there are a lot of options. Pinkbike prices are crazy though. A 2013 Demo for £800 alongside a 2008 giant glory for £1500.

To be honest I would not be looking to spend over £700 on a second hand 26″ DH bike, and unless you are after something very specific you dont have to. The best I came across was a 2012 Session with fox 40s for £575. Its not going to be perfect buts its a used DH bike so you would not expect it to be.

I sold my 2016 Saracen Myst 27.5 a short while ago for a £950 and around the £1000 mark you can get pretty modern stuff.

What did you need? I have A praxis set up on my diverge and I think I will need a new BB soon.

I moved from North Wales to Nottingham last year. Ended up living in west Nottingham which is great. Good access to the Derby dales and the peaks are about 1 hour away. I cannot ride from my door as easily but it makes up for it in other ways. Both Notts and Derby have great access to everywhere really.

I really like the area around Ambergate for riding as its close and a lot of fun. Belper would be a good place to start looking I reckon,

I think it may be time for new seals and pistons to be honest. The rear brake does have discolouration in the fluid so maybe this combined with the sticky pistons may mean it’s a good time for a lot of TLC.

I did see the brake flossing video and it looked pretty good! I’ll try that and see how it goes and possibly order new bits too.

So with regards to removing pistons, do you pump them all out quite far, then split the caliper, then remove them?

I had not seen that issue greavo, I will do a bit of research!

On my road bike maybe. On my MTB no chance.

I have used pinkbike a lot more recently. All the complete bikes and frames I have sold have all gone to Eastern Europe though. That is where the 2nd hand market is apparently!

I have had both and much prefer the feel of the Guide R’s. Plus they can be serviced and not essentially disposable units once they stop working.

what about the giant condcut system? Its a hydro / mechanical system. I have it on my defy and its pretty decent. Its currently being fitted to my Diverge too. Its about £120 ish

Aeris is a good choice. If you are after a medium for half your budget I may be able to help you out…..

I use my Garmin forerunner 25 as it’s waterproof. It does not break down the individual legs but it’s good for seeing how my times are and then allows me to upload to Strava which really is the most important thing!

 

I don’t know it that’s of any help but it works well for me and the forerunner is pretty cheap and cheerful!

Have a look at bird cycles as I think you can get an aeris for about your budget. Or by mine. Well under your budget….

If you are happy with 2nd hand try pinkbike classifieds.

I have a similar issue! I could do with slightly changing the chainline too.

Chilled76 – have you got a link to the spacers please?

Thats all very interesting!

I had not considered a Wahoo bolt. Like I say My 820 did a good job but I will investigate the Wahoo too.

Funnily enough I went through this on the weekend!

I went for a Garmin 820 Explore which doesn’t have loads of training functions but does have navigation. I used it for the first time yesterday and it did a great job of navigating me around the Derbyshire Dales. I would probably be still out there now if I hadn’t used it!

I imported a GPX file onto it, but it will search out routes as a stand alone unit too.

I have seen them for £225 on the Cycle Republic website.

Great film. I do not fancy entering the race mind you.

I have a new one as a company car and its good!

I drive it places and it doesnt break down. I have the hatchback and there is a fair bit of room in the back for bikes etc. I do really like it but I have no real interest in cars beyond using them for transport!

Am I missing something but it tells you the spec (well most of it) in the text on the CRC page?

Yes I was. i was looking at the Tallboy not the Highball.

I just got a wileyfox swift 2 plus for 120 direct from wileyfox.

They had another deal for the same phone for 70 with something called ad x which shows you adverts on your lock screen. Apparently it can be removed for a price. I didn’t fancy the hassle though!

Good deals to be had though.

I looked at the P8 as I can go to a shop and buy one! Its just the storage issue as my old moto g4 is full up. I use amazon music and it only stores downloaded music on the internal memory (I think).

I think the Bird is a bit long form my tastes. The bike is great, don’t get me wrong there is no criticism, its just I think I prefer something a bit shorter.

It’s nearly Christmas of course I want a new bike!

It’s basically bike lust. However if you don’t treat yourself once in a while…

I don’t think its that hard to be environmentally friendly, and it doesn’t always have to be expensive. If you buy 2nd hand, its recycling. If you buy quality over quantity its environmentally much better.

I am not in a position where I can spend a lot of big money on stuff but buying something more expensive which will last a longer time over 3 x cheaper things which will have to be replaced seems very sensible.

With regards to cycling stuff I get it 2nd hand. Its going to get covered in crap anyways so I don’t see the problem!

There are a lot more companies adopting a sustainable approach. Howies and Rapanui are both British and seem to put some thought into where there stuff comes from. It may be made abroad but its usually from somewhere where at least considers workers welfare, or materials are sourced from places which have considerations or the environment.

I work in the waste industry and see the horrific amount of stuff discarded every day / week / year. Any small steps you can take to reduce this is a very positive thing.

I was thinking about how hard winter commuting is while riding in this morning. It was cold, icy and hard hard work. My commute is easy but the winter aspect really makes it so much harder. Does the cold make it that much more demanding?

Anyway I hate driving my car through the city so I have to continue riding. Its the lesser of 2 evils.

How do you get the extra 20% off amazon warehouse deals? I just looked and there was no mention of it? I could be persuaded with that extra discount!

I was looking at the Leyzne Super GPS. It seems to be well priced.

I thought about my phone but its a bag of poop and not waterproof.

I’ll be watching. I do enjoy a bit of rampage. It’s big and stupid but still I love it.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-cx-pro-cyclocross-bike-tyre/rp-prod24614

was thinking of just getting a couple of these and just getting on with it!

I am not an expert on this but would I run a CX set up like my MTB? Nice grippy tyre upfront, then something a bit faster on the back?