“Off road roadie” I like that. Actually, after 6 months of riding off road (following far more years than I care to mention of road riding) I still can’t work out whether I am (or want to be) a mountain biker or whether I’ll always be an off road roadie. I don’t like man made trails, dont much like falling off and really hate the relentless use of MTFU in response to any question. Why is everybody so keen to turn my leisure activity into a test of manhood?

On the other hand I do get a kick out of getting down (or up) a section of the trail that I couldn’t manage the week before and my motivation is actually pretty similar to that of the guys who first started the sport ie I just want to ride my bike up and down some proper mountains.

At the end of the day, while there may not be many Internet forums or magazines catering for the type of riding that the OP is after, I’d wager that it’s actually a lot closer to the sort of riding done by the majority of people who own a “mountain bike”.

Cheers

Andy

Not sure if this is what Northwind was referring to, but there are miles of tracks through the forests of Scotland that fit the bill and the access rules mean that you are pretty much free to ride any of them. The first place that springs to my mind when you mention train stations is Aviemore as there are loads of trails (or various levels of difficulty) within riding distance of the station there. But that’s just because I know that area. I’d bet that you can get a decent ride near loads of stations in the Highlands (and plenty of other places besides).

Cheers,

Andy

Lots of good advice here on how to improve skills and confidence, but it’s also worth remembering that (presumably) you ride for fun. I’m always surprised at how we (and I’m as prone to it as anybody) beat ourselves up over something that we chose to do. Do we get some strange kick from the self loathing? So what if you walked down a bit of trail that somebody else would fly down with barely a thought? You’ll live to ride another day.

Cheers,

Andy

One of these. A Raleigh Dune Dance (although the one in the picture is not mine). Twenty years ago I’d just moved to Utah, so this was getting ridden up mountains and across deserts. Still got the frame in the shed, although it’s now orange and is just a frame and forks being neglected at the back of the shed, which is poor return for all the fun it gave me.

I was fooled by the warnings as well. Even put on pads, then felt like an idiot all the way round as (apart from a few very short steep sections in The Beast) it’s just a bimble through the woods really. Fun, but not really that technical (and I’m a total wuss).

Cheers

Andy

Email sent.

Cheers

Andy

Tracey,

I think you listed the measurements in a previous thread:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dropper-post-questions

If I understand that correctly I’d need 195mm from top of seat collar to the saddle rails in order to fit the 125mm version (and 170mm for the 100mm version). I’ll measure my bike tonight.

Cheers,

Andy

Andy

Will get some measurements tonight

Thanks. I guess what I need to know is the minimum distance that you need to have between saddle rails and the top of the seat tube clamp to fit this in. Not sure how easy that is to measure and can’t seem to find a link to any site that gives you the info though.

Cheers,

Andy

Whereas my Trance has a 30.9 seatpost. Not sure I’ve got room for 125mm drop, but if it would fit and the price is right I could be interested.

Cheers,

Andy

Giant Contact switch has layback and currently 15% off at cycle store

Only 100mm drop though and I’m not sure if it’s any good as there are very few report from the wild.

Cheers,

Andy

Most rides involve me laying on the ground at some point, but these are really just slow clumsy dismounts. I’m afraid I hardly ever attack things fast enough to cause spectacular offs. Actually I’m still not convinced that it’s necessary to fall off all the time in order to improve. I know that there is an argument that ‘if you are not falling then you are not trying hard enough” and there are certainly some obstacles that are easier if takn at speed. But the people that really impress me are those that can pick their way down highly technical trails at walking pace rather than those who can switch of the part of the brain that deals with consequences and just go for it.

Cheers

Andy

Am I right in thinking that you want to take bits from different rides, combine them in a course and still have the virtual training partner working “properly” (rather than just using average speed)?

I suspect that’s going to be tricky and you’d need some software that would edit the timestamps for each track point to make them consistent. Something like GPSUtility (http://www.gpsu.co.uk/features.html) might do it. There is mention of editing tracks on that page, but I’m not sure about splicing bits of multiple tracks together. If you can get a track in gpx format then TCXconverter (http://www.teambikeolympo.it/TCXConverter/TeamBikeOlympo_-_TCX_Converter/TCX_Converter_ENG.html) does quite a nice job of converting it to a course that the Garmin will understand.

Anyway, good luck and let us know if you crack it.

Cheers,

Andy

ps. Looking at the page for TCXconverter I see that it also mentions that you can “Join multiple GPX files into one big course”. So maybe that’s all you need.

I see that the Orange Five, which appeared so regularly in the list of bikes used by the Munro riders also pairs a 67 degree head angle with a 73 degree seat angle. My Trance on the other hand is 69.5 degree HA and 73.3 degree SA (which I guess would be 69/73 if I went up to a 140mm form).

But, as always, I guess it just depends on what kind of rider you are. I get the feeling that, for many people, mountain biking is pretty much all about the descents. Going up is a means to an end, the thrill is in the descent and the steeper and more technical the better. Then there are folk, like me, for whom the climbing is just as important and enjoyable in its own way as the descending. Actually if I’m honest I find climbing more enjoyable than descending. Going down is mostly about fear and the thrill mainly just comes from getting to the bottom in one piece. I rarely get to the bottom of a run and think that I want to do that again and it is the climbs that keep drawing me back.

I also like to ride on my own, on quiet trails (the quieter the better) so tend to walk down anything that may result in serious injury. Whether that’s being sensible or just using that lack of company as an excuse to get out of riding something I don’t want to ride anyway is left as an exercise for the reader. But at least there is nobody around to see my shame.

So, one the one hand, I think I’d probably find a long travel bike took some of the fun out of the climbs. But on the other hand I’m such a wuss on the descents that I need all the help I can get.

Cheers,

Andy

Thanks again. Respect to anybody who is happy to ride a HT all day over rough ground. That’s too much for my old bones I’m afraid.

I see there are a fair few fives amongst the Munro baggers, but I could probably get by with my Trance (maybe with some 140mm forks).

Cheers

Andy

Thanks folks. I’m beginning to see the flaw in my own logic. Natural trails are naturally highly variable, so no bike will be ideal for all parts and any general purpose bike will probably do the job. Some interesting suggestions though and I notice that nobody suggested an Orange Five, which is interesting as I though that was supposed to be the definitive “made in Britain for British trails” bike.

Cheers,

Andy

Damn, must work out how to quote here. That reply now looks like it was responding to the wrong post.

Sanny, you are quite right. The Giant will do me fine and the important thing is to get out there. But no harm in a bit if idle daydreaming.

Interesting that you want bottle cages. I’ve switched to carrying water on my back after seeing the state my bottles got into when I put them on the frame :-) I’m with you on the rest though. Triple all the way for me, even if the outer ring is just a jagged bash ring most of the time.

Cheers,

Andy

Short and to the point :) The first review I found of the mega said it is “aimed squarely at the new breed of gravity based enduro events” and with 150mm of travel would you really want to spend hours riding it up a big hill?

Cheers,

Andy

Thanks for the feedback folks.

I’m leaning towards the Garmin 800. Partly because I liked my old edge 205 and am used to how it works (so those menus that people seem to find frustrating will probably be quite familiar); partly because it is the only one of the three with a barometer, so would give more accurate data on amount of climbing and partly because it probably represents the best compromise between a small cycling computer and a large navigation device. The others are no doubt better when you are lost in the middle of nowhere, but are probably too big to stick on the bike for every ride. The Garmin (with its cycling specific featured, e.g. virtual partner) can be used as a regular cycling computer on routes that you know well, but the maps would help to get you back home in strange terrain.

The others also seem to switch themselves off after a while (to save battery power) which would drive me mad.

The only things that are holding me back are the ability to use satellite images and custom maps on the 800.

There may be a Scottish angle here. I get the feeling that, in England, you mostly ride on the paths that are marked on the OS maps. Bridleways if you are being strictly legal and footpaths for some cheeky sections. But up here in Scotland we have an access code that can be summarised as “ride where you like, just don’t be a dick” and loads of paths (built for logging, stalking etc) that aren’t on any OS map. So satellite images are often more useful for discovering new paths than maps. The Garmin Birdseye tool seems to offer this feature (for a price), but all the demonstrations I can find are for the USA and I can’t see whether you can actually get high resolution satellite images of Scotland onto the device.

The Open Streetmap project looks as though it could provide a way to map all the trails that I use (for myself and for others), but I’m not sure how easy it is to add trails to these maps and then load them back onto the device.

Cheers,

Andy

How about the Giant Contact post? It seems to be showing up on a few sites around the £150 mark. Not many reviews but no big design flaws being reported either as far as I can see. I’m tempted to put on on my Trance, but will wait for a few more real world reviews first I think.

Cheers

Andy

We’ve been using an Altera Strada for the past couple of weeks to transport 3 bikes from Aberdeenshire, down to Devon and back via Norwich and it never missed a beat. Light and simple enough to mount on your own in a few minutes to pretty much any tow ball. Holds the bikes securely without any risk of them bashing into each other or the rack (although I did rotate the bars on one bike). The sliding system for moving the rack out of the way to access the rear door works well. No complaints really. Two adults, two children, a dog, large roof box and 3 bikes on a Subaru Forrester, no problems.

They do an attachment for adding a fourth bike, which we bought, but haven’t taken out of the box yet.

Cheers

Andy

I made the switch a few weeks ago.

I’ve ridden clipless on the road for the past 15 years, so when I started riding more off-road SPDs seemed the obvious choice. Especially as I had a pair of MTB style pedals and soft touring shoes from back in 2000, when I rode John O’Groats down to Lands End on a recumbent (well it was the millennium and you had to do something). But, while un-clipping is second nature, getting the feet back in after dabbing on more technical sections was a pain, so I decided to try flats.

It was quite an expensive experiment though. By most reports the difference between cheap copies + trainers and higher spec options was big enough that I couldn’t see the point in trying the cheap option as it still wouldn’t tell me whether I’d prefer it with better shoes/pedals and if I did like it I’d probably upgrade quite soon, which would be more expensive in the long run. So I went for Five-Ten Impacts with DMR Vault pedals.

Initial impressions are that it’s OK, but I’m still getting used to the difference.

Efficiency doesn’t seem to be an issue (for me). My times around local loops are pretty much the same (sometimes faster, sometimes slower) and any difference is less than the differences due to different weather or trail conditions and how I’m feeling. Since I don’t race it just isn’t an issue.

Getting the feet knocked off the pedals has happened but then it happened with the SPDs as well (since I run them pretty loose anyway). The difference with the flats is that I can just put my foot back on the pedal and carry on without having to fumble around to clip in, which is quite useful when you are on the verge of stalling anyway.

The main downsides are that my feet are not automatically in the right position and it’s not that easy to re-adjust the position of your foot. With clipless systems, once I’m in it feels right (after 15 years of riding with my feet in the same position it’s bound to really). With the Five-Ten/DMR combination the grip is amazing. Wherever you happen to stick your foot (within reason) it will just stay there. That’s great when you want to get through a tricky section, but moving your foot requires lifting and placing it back on. I frequently find that I start off, think “that’s doesn’t feel quite right”, move my foot a bit, “no that’s still not right” etc etc. But maybe that will improve with practice.

Anyway, hope that’s some help.

Cheers,

Andy

Did you just draw a course from scratch then try to upload it? I remember being driven nuts trying to do ths with my Edge 205. It turned out that the problem was that it couldn’t cope with a course with no time/speed information. Somewhere on the course edit screens (can’t remember where I’m afraid) you can set the duration or average speed, which should fix it.

Cheers

Andy

The Bike(s) get cleaned after most rides. The cars might get a trip through a car wash once or twice a year if they are lucky. It’s all a matter of priorities :-)

Cheers,

Andy

Riding up a climb (whether road, fireroad or trail) that I couldn’t get up before gives a great sense of achievement. Riding down a descent (or over an obstacle) that I couldn’t do before gives a great sense of achievement.

It’s all good. One is more of a physical challenge, the other (often) more mental, but I’m not sure I could choose between them.

Cheers

Andy

Around 1991 I think. A Raleigh Dune Dancer from Halfords in Croydon. Still got the frame and forks in the shed somewhere.

Cheers

Andy

Ps Well done to DezB for breaking a Principia. I’ve got 3 of their road frames and I reckon they’ll outlive me.

While some of the arguments in favour of credit above seem (and may indeed be) sensible they do tend to assume that you are paying the same price on credit as you would have done with cash. In my experience that’s very rarely the case. As somebody said “you need to understand how credit works” and that means understanding that, one way or another, somebody has to pay for it and that somebody is usually you. Even if it’s as simple as the shop having to pay a percentage to the credit card company, that’s still a percentage that they can’t pass on to you, which is effectively an interest charge that you are paying for using your card.

Cheers,

Andy

The world is divided into introverts and extroverts, but the extroverts make more noise so the introverts end up questioning whether what they do is normal. Reading mags etc you’d think that mountain biking could only be done “with your mates”. But, as this thread has shown, there are lots of us who prefer to ride alone.

Cheers,

Andy

FunkyDunk, we’re you able to negotiate a discount on the bike. I’ve always assumed that, if you want to use a 0% credit deal you are going to have to pay full price, but I’ve never checked as I’m old fashioned too :-)

I bought a new bike (Trance X2) a few weeks ago from my LBS and was surprised at how easy it was to get a 15% discount on the RRP. If you have to pay full price then that 0% deal starts to look like a pretty horrible interest rate.

But as I say, I am old fashioned. I’ll make a concession for the house as, so far at least, it has increased in value faster than the interest on the mortgage. But using credit to purchase a depreciating asset (car, bike etc) always seems daft to me.

Cheers

Andy