I finished 324th in 4hrs 59mins. Quite how anyone could do it in half that is beyond me. Hats off too ya.

Ton, I got a bit of cramp so couldn't keep up with you. Bumped into another Manchester Mountainbiker who was suffering with it too and so we nursed each other home.

4hrs 20 is my target for next year then…

Nice one,

George

Thanks, will do. Yeti in the shop at the moment but will see what I can find online too

I'm there. Like Ton I've ditched the full sus (Yeti 575) as was overbiked last year; and gone with a fully rigid Scandal 29er. I too missed the final cut off last year. The only race I didn't finish all year. It was very tough…

Hi Onzadog, for stroke length I guess you just measure the barrel of the shock before compression????

ps I am also considering just getting a DH Frame but I guess the same point would apply.

You're not…surely not…you're not going to get a new bike Rocky? Not a new one, a Trek even, when there's so many 10 year old boutique bikes available on ebay. How will you incorporate your little touches, you know the 600mm seatpost and the piece of wood that acts as a front derailleur????

Gut feeling mate – get the larger one. You ride like a roadie… seat high and you look taller than 5' 10" when you're on a bike if you know what I mean… you stretch out.

Didn't like routing along the chainstay, made the loop really tight. Quite like it there!

Those pics were taken last year. I wish it still looked as new now…

We did SITS as a pair last year. To let my partner get some kip I did 3 laps through the night. The third lap was really tough, ran out of water and food and luckily bumped into another rider from our club who gave me some food.

As for bike choice, I would say a short travel full sus is the most common weapon of choice, that or superlight hardtails. Specialized's everywhere last year, Stumpjumpers I think.

I'll be Solo this year and riding this http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/my-new-bike-%e2%80%93-29er-niche-content
Will take my 575 as well for a bit of variety and a selection of spares.

MrTall, thanks for the info. Bought the Singleator out of the display cabinet at LBS and didn't pick anything else up.

Thanks for the tip Shandy, will look into those…

Thanks for the positive comments :-)

Ti29er – that's the first thing one of the girls who rides with us said…

Ah, I see what you mean now about the tensioner. I will mess later.

Re: Bars – Not sure about the Fleegle / Jones bars. The top tube length isn't huge and I don't want to feel cramped. I was actually thinking about getting some flat ones, however the only flat and wide ones I've seen are the Salsa ones and I haven't got a spare ton sitting around.

Sorry MrTall, what do you mean re: pushing up spring?

It weighs 27lbs. Quite how I'm not sure as I thought it would be less. It feels very light to me though as I'm used to riding a couple of full sus bikes ranging from 32lbs to 38lbs depending how I build them up.

If you pick the back end up you would say it feels heavier than a standard set up, but I haven't noticed it once whilst out riding. Concentrate on holding on whilst not adapting to any suspension up front!

Yes I could. Is the chain tensioner meant to be pulled very tight? Didn't drop the chain whilst riding.

Wasn't sure about the gearing – 22t sprocket on the back and 30t on the front so was expecting to have to mess around with it and then subsequently the chain length. At the moment the gearing seems perfect though.

It's a 21" and I'm 6' 6".

Paint is pretty bright, not sure how it's gonna last though as I've been off once and taken a load off one of the stays :-(

"His killers although 10 years old knew they were perpetrating the most heinous of acts."

Mikertroid – How do you know that? Any evidence to support?

I am doing it solo and have 2 bikes:

Full rigid (though may get some forks before Mayhem) On One Scandal 29er with an Alfine hub. Must be around 24lbs. Reckon this will be great if the weather turns…

Yeti 575 – will set it up as light as I can – Bontrager wheels, full XT, maybe the 1.5" xc tyre I used at Hit The North (worked a treat)

Hopefully this will give me a couple of different riding positions and I can use the 575 when my body starts to ache!

I hate this case, it causes me aggro everytime it's on the news.

Me, I don't think they should have been sent to prison forever and a day. I actually believe that actions you take aged 10 shouldn't be held against you for the rest of your life. Aged 10 I seriously tried to derail a train. Just wanted to see what would happen, didn't realise all the pain my actions would cause.

The missus on the other hand thinks they should be sent to prison for life and life should mean life. Can't see my viewpoint at all and it comes up everytime they're in the news…

Groove Armada "Blacklight" is truly awesome – unlike anything else they've ever done!

New Hot Chip album is pretty good too

Agreed. XL Evil Revolt is looking like the biggest thing I can find at the moment – 630mm top tube. That or a Tomac Primer. But sadly both closer to £2k

No worries, if you don't ask…

When you say unlucky, do you mean unlucky you can't confirm sizing or unlucky it won't fit

It looks the business…

Can you confirm if it will be under £1k?

Can you also confirm sizing? I'm 6' 6" and struggling to find a DH bike to fit.

Oh, might be a problem then barca. It's on the east side, just after Mossley. Probably do it in 20 mins in a car from the J23 of the M60 but not sure where the nearest station is. Sorry.

Yep, they're huge. My XL is the biggest bike I could find, but I am 6' 6"

Sorry to hijack the thread, but out of curiosity, do you have a rough price for the Nukeproof DH frame yet?

Try the Cyclery in Uppermill. At least one of Steve's (owner) sons rides track at the velodrome. They would be a good bet

Oh, BTW I'm 18st+ and I ride an XL with a carbon back end. Snapped one set of stays but that was due to the dogbone not being tightened up, was definitely not a carbon failure :-)

I can't praise mine highly enough. In the last 2 weekends it has carried me round:

1. Hit The North – 2 hour race around north Manchester. Would have used the Scandal if it had been finished but it wasn't so I stuck the Bontrager wheels on, XT kit and a 1.5" tyre on the back and rode it on the Yeti. Managed a very respectable 5 laps.

2. Caersws Uplift Day – 6 hours of DH in the mud of mid Wales. Everyone else was on DH bikes, I stuck some Hope Tech M4's on, DT2350 wheels, Minions and had a go. OK I didn't do the road gap and I could have done with a much slacker head angle for the uber steep switchbacks but I had a great day.

3. 6 hour club ride round Staylebridge – Uphill and down dale. Left the DH kit on it as it was the next day and still managed to keep up with everyone. This type of ride is where it shines. It's a sit down and pedal bike that eats the miles. As the other poster has mentioned – stick propedal on for the climbs and off for the descents and it's awesome.

Prefer Blond myself :-)

Charlize Theron does it for me

You on a 20" Loco?

Thanks for the advice. Just toying with the idea at the moment and if I was to do anything it would be dependant on a few other factors but thanks for the offer Van Halen.

Will look into Alpine, next time I'm at Inners

Get your point Valleydaddy but if they made it online it would be just like every other event. I appreciate not everyone can get there, but it all depends how much you want a place doesn't it?

We really wanted solo places, so for the second year in a row we drove there. There was one bloke who drove from Surrey with his laptop and printer in the car and sat outside waiting for it to go online, then drove back home…

I'm doing it. Desperately want a solo place, started training in January!

Thanks :-)

fbk – I was in section 201, seats L1 & L2, so second tier back and about half way down that section. Viewing was great from where I was sat

Completely agree with Rob (you'd be stupid to disagree with someone who has won one of these things!) however, I recommended running as it's easy to fit in.

I live in a flat so getting the bike dirty means I have to hose it down etc which is a pain in th ass of a night and I work a lot of hours and don't own a road bike. If I get home at 7 I can be running be 7:10. If I do a 10k I'll be back and stretched out by 8:15, showered and on the couch/cooking for half 8.

I know it's not ideal but it's better than doing nothing!

Like you Bunny Girl I am doing MM solo. I also have a busy life and have a few solutions:

1. Running – Now regularly (at least once a week) running 10km's. Doing it in about an hour and my fitness is increasing dramatically. Should be OK to go out running on your own once the clocks go forward.

2. Turbo Trainer – Every bit of time riding helps

3. Join a club – I ride with the Manchester Mountainbikers – min 3/4 rides to choose from every week. This week I'm on the Caersws Uplift tomorrow then a 5 hour XC round Staylebridge on Sunday.

4. Try and get some really long rides in in May – 100km's + if possible

Sorry, thought it was out now.

Paper Romance is great, as is I Won't Kneel, and the rest just drag you in.

WOW!!!! THAT WAS AMAZING!

Missus had to work late, so we missed the first half but the second hour was brilliant (wish we'd seen the first now). The bit at the end with the people jumping from swings, think my mouth was wide open.

It was minor celeb heaven too with it being the opening, so extra kudos for the missus. Half the corrie cast (including Roy Cropper), Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, footballers galore (I think we might have been sat next to Roque Santa Cruz). This may not be impressive to the STW massive, but I'm building a bike tonight, on an uplift day at Caersws tomorrow, driving to Pat's house in the middle of Sat night to hand in my Mayhem Solo entry and then doing a ride around Staylebridge on Sunday, and the missus hasn't said a dicky bird :-)