What is needed is XC for the 5″ mountain bike brigade, a race where the 5″ bike is the ideal machine and I think Ive found the format.

If you look at motorbike enduro events like the “Tough One” its the skilled riders with fitness that win not the skilled rider or simply the fit rider, you need a race where a balance of skill and fitness and where some balls count too.

So a race where an XC racer on his hardtail wont make up ten minutes as the race goes up a fire road and then loses ten seconds on an easy descent, you need fast lines downhill with jumps that require a lot of skill and committment v an xc descent that will cost you a couple of minutes. thus keeping things tight in the racing and interesting for people to watch. etc.

I think Ive got a venue in mind and a format too.

Untrue, have you asked BC for any help recently?

Yes
I asked them help build an outdoor velodrome in Leeds.

I got funding committments from council, sports college etc and was 100k short for an 800k velodrome, I had land set aside and approval from council for it, British cycling responded with:
“we wont race there”
“We have a track in Manchester and none of our athletes will race at your Leeds track”

On the back of that statement to the committee it was dropped.

I could have got the 100k through sponsorship and local business, but like I said BC = total shite for grass roots racing.

Im going to put an event on for an XC race, and Ive just been inspired by this thread to do it.

It will be in Leeds/Bradford and I have the perfect venue, it will be the best XC race youve ever known.
the venue is amazing, fire roads, tech woods, rock, perfect.

Im working on a three day road race at the moment, but Ill get this XC race sorted sharpish.

Bottom line:
there’s no money in British XC. Or british mountain biking full stop.

Also British cycling stick to selecting their (groomed) riders for worlds etc and these are not necessarily the best riders in form for the events, but selecting them justifies their coaching staff a job.

We seem to be obsessed with putting money and riders in to track because that is where the money is being spent. We are incredibly successful at track racing, but is there a regular track league in the UK. Are there many track racers?

Its all shite, British cycling are destroying disciplines within cycling through underfunding to support track.

Almost forgot walking poles are a real help

Especially on the way down, if you like scree running you can get from the summit ridge back to base camp in no time. (straight down)
that made the guides laugh – they thought i was nuts

ive been up it.
its very hard as you get near the summit as you feel sick and get headaches with the altitude.
The guides will make you go very slowly.
Also i did it in five days from the Kenya side (I think) and that is so much more interesting than going up the “coca-cola” route favoured by japanese tourists.
Id recommend you get silver nitrate tablets ( I think thats what they are called) for water purification.
Also a very good down jacket and thick sleeping mat and very good sleeping bag.
One of the best things I took was some bags with crystals you can piss in (the crystals turn to gel) as it gets really cold on a night, you wont want to get out your tent and the toilets are gopping.

Oh and bolton by bowland coming up in a few weeks best hare and hounds in the north of england.

nice choice on the WR, but Id get the 290 kit it makes the bike far better for green laning, it gives a belting improvement in power across the rev range.
ive got one and put the 290 (athena) kit on in 2005 and its been perfect, I now race on a CRF 250X but keep the yam for some events and green laning.

Just done a Salsa Fargo for a customer and Its ace! he has ordered it for touring and I would expect it will be an awesome tourer

Id say (as a shop owner) that you should have gone to the shop when you first discovered the problems.
They have a duty of care to customers (if they want to keep you as a customer) If the individual failures are a result of component failure as opposed to maintenance, etc then Id expect a good shop to replace them FOC and then the shop to take up a claim with the manufacturer.
At least strike a deal on replacement parts/upgrades at trade or something.
But speak to the shop and see what they say, you have no recourse to the manufacturers at this point, your warranty is with the shop.
Though having dealt with customers botched repair attempts two years down the line from purchase and having had trading standards shoved in my face, and threats of being sued, to ranting about fit for purpose, etc then Id suggest a polite conversation with the manager will get best results.

Totally agree on Palestine, I abhore the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Our history there is shameful.

I must admit Ive been following this quite a lot but been watching Al-Jazeera, Russia Today etc not just the beeb and the Sun.

I think the no-fly zone was always an excuse to get rid of Gadaffi, and Personally I think that it was a good thing that we supported the uprising to get rid of him.
I dont think we will get carried away with our abilities to wage another war against Syria etc, but I hope the Libyan people will get their country back and we will leave them to it (obviously with our and the rest of the worlds vested interests still intact.)

ha oh yeah

cool dan, ill be bringing my bike up soon, hope to get a flat shortly

sounds good, im at ed.battye@hotmail.co.uk

Single pivot v four bar etc, if you honestly believe it hampers your riding then you must be the best rider in the world and if you are riding at such a limit that a single pivot is causing you problems then maybe you should give Steve Peat some advice, as he didnt have any problems riding for Orange for all those years.
He probably wasnt at the limit of what a single pivot bike can do. lol

what part are you looking for?

not seen a “Wumba”

This might sound silly but if Chumba changed their name, then Id be a lot more tempted by them, Im sure they ride well and are made well, its just the name that puts me off.
However if they came out with a downhill bike called Wumba then Id be interested again.

Well you can try mine, I keep it at the shop (Crosstrax) Its a medium, i think its great. It does what you expect, its a 160mm travel bike I dont know what youd expect it to do other than be able to take a hammering and then ride back up the hill pretty well, weigh in at about 30-32lbs and thats about it,
Ive been riding the new stuff in Esholt that Ive never had the Kahoonies to ride before and have to put some of this down to the bike, i feel very confident riding it.
By the way, yes Im biased, but biased as the owner of a Covert as opposed to the owner of a bike shop.

im not interested in Kona
We used to be a dealer for about six years, but they pulled the distribution from Paligap who have worked hard to keep the profle in the UK despite them making some crap over the past few years,
but I can put up with them removing the UK distributor and putting up prices.
Considering Paligap will have been making about 30% (I Guess) the prices should now be at least 25% cheaper than 2011.

just a rip off and now only intersted in big stores. (Might as well let Halfords sell them again)
So just a bunch of money grabbing rip off merchants living off a name from 20 years ago.

MRanger156
Im ed from Crosstrax
Im really sorry that you have had poor service from us.
Can I ask if you would email me with a bit of detail of what happened.
If I can do anything to make up for it then I will, if not, I’d really appreciate your comments to make sure it dosent happen to someone else

Ed
ed.battye@hotmail.co.uk

Can’t do with Onones myself, ridden them and dont like them.

for a hardtail do it all bike, Id get either a Pace Rc325 or a Kinesis Maxlight XC130

way way better in my opinion

This is from the Bradford Council

“Ilkley Moor Mountain Bike Protocol

1. Bradford Council Countryside and Rights of Way Service and the Mountain Bike Users who use Ilkley Moor share the following interests with regard to Ilkley Moor:
a. Minimise conflict between users.
b. Protect habitats and species – in particular ground nesting birds and wet heath vegetation communities.
c. Minimise trail erosion.
d. Protect the safety of all users.
e. Maintain ongoing communication between statutory and regulatory agencies and user groups.
f. Monitor the moorland environment and intervene when conflict or damage becomes unsustainable.
g. Recognise mountain biking as one of a range of activities (all of which have some impact on the moorland environment) currently conducted on the moor.

2. The Ilkley Moor Management Plan – which was written by Bradford Council and approved by Natural England – states:

As a registered urban common, Ilkley Moor falls under the Law of Property Act 1925, which states that vehicles are not permitted – bicycles are classed as vehicles. It is therefore, forbidden to ride mountain bikes or any other bicycle on the moor other than across Keighley Road. The Act does, however, state that this is prohibited “without lawful authority” from the landowner. The use of Ilkley Moor by mountain bikes is being monitored and consideration will be given to allowing it where routes can sustain such use and where conflict with other users is minimised. Where there is evidence that bicycles are causing unreasonable damage, they will be prohibited.

3. Bradford Council – as the landowner of Ilkley Moor – grants lawful authority for Mountain Bike Users to ride on the trails on Ilkley Moor, except for those trails that are identified by Bradford Council as unsuitable for passage by any user. Such trails will be clearly marked.

4. When riding on Ilkley Moor, Mountain Bike Users agree to abide by the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) UK Rules of the Trail.

5. Mountain Bike Users agree to give way to other moorland users to avoid conflict. See point 4of IMBA UK Rules of the Trail.

6. The follow locations are considered particularly vulnerable . Bradford Council intends to undertake remedial work to reinforce these trails by autumn 2010. In the meantime, Mountain Bike Users agree to treat these trails in a way that avoids or minimises damage (e.g. avoid riding on the trails in significantly wet conditions, avoid deviating from the trail).

a. The boardwalk on the Dick Hudson’s path
b. The trail from Trig Point to Thimble Stones
c. The trail on Crawshaw Moss (aka Red Bog)

7. Mountain Bike Users use the Moor at their own risk and no liability for injury to themselves or third parties will fall to the Council.

8. Creating obstacles or new trails on Ilkley Moor is prohibited.

9. Mountain Bike Users agree to actively promote this agreement.

10. Bradford Council, Natural England and Mountain Bike Users will continue ongoing communication through the Rombalds Moor Forum and Rombalds Moor Forum Steering Group.

In granting lawful authority, Bradford Council expects that
Mountain Bike Users will comply with this protocol.”

Head down to Susice its awesome for biking and the people are totally cool, love the brits and hate the germans and russians.

Its just endless trails well worth the trip.

Beer and food and accommodation are cheap and its just ace

I wonder if the smart arse d1ck would have been so clever if the cop was giving him assistance having been hit by a lorry and had suffered broken legs crushed ribs and was dying in the street.
What a complete and utter c*nt

The thing that still dosent add up for me is the abdominal blow the coroner refers to.
If that caused the death then this copper didnt appear from what I can see to have caused the death.
on the BBC website witnesses state that Tomlinson had been hit by officers, so are there are a number of police officers who need to be on trial,
Did Tomlinson get hit again either before or after this push to cause the injury?

Ernie
as I see it the tax burden is rising to pay off a massive government debt.
Just as in 1979.
see the similarity.
now I dont disagree with you that taxes are rising.
however I do disagree with you on the tories being a high tax party.
I think that their goal is to reduce tax and thus reduce the role of the state (less tax needed to pay for a smaller government)
Thats the ideology anyway.
however, we as a country are going to be totally f@*ked, if we dont stop borrowing money, both on an individual level and govt level.

I personaly cant see that happening as we as a nation want everything we see and we are too stupid to stop. Govts want to stay in power so they pander to the people and give money away.
big myths, I think you will find that both parties are the party of big myths.
As for a stick to beat Gordon Brown, I think Labour borrowed it to beat him themselves.

just reading from the ASI a piece called On Borrowed Time.

Its interesting reading, probably far too right wing for most people, but some ideas that seem very plausible.

Ernie
you are skipping by all that the adam smith institute is publishing
yes 82 was the high point of TFD, but it was coming down, and then started rising again under Labour.

The current levels are unsustainable and the new vat increase isnt helping, etc etc, but dont just post odd figures up without showing the bigger picture, it dosent help the discussion

bottom line back on topic is that we arent in a double dip recession, the tax burden wont help us get out of recession and spending cuts wont help either, but the bottom line is that if the government had not started to make savage cuts to govt spending then we would be facing a run on the pound and the country going for a bail out just like Ireland has just done and that has destroyed their economy for a decade or so.
but it all comes down to this obsession with material wealth that we all have so labour or tory are not going to solve the problem.

Ernie
maybe you should add a bit more to your comment on taxation.;

“Gordon Brown’s first Budget, in 1997, introduced a windfall tax on privatised utilities, changed advance corporation tax, raised fuel duties, and phased out mortgage interest relief. The net effect was to raise taxes by £5.96 billion in 1997-98 and by another £6.67 billion in 1998-99 — the equivalent of adding two days to Tax Freedom Day in 1997 and another two days in 1998.

Stealth taxes. Stealth taxes are a hallmark feature of the Brown years. One such example from the 2002 and 2003 Budgets was the increase in employee National Insurance contributions. In 2002, Mr Brown announced that as of a year later, these would rise from 10% to 11%, which sounded modest enough. But his plan was to levy the extra 1% on all pay, not just that between the upper and lower earnings limits. The matter was glossed over in the 2003, leaving many people puzzled as to why they suddenly seemed to have less take-home pay.

But eventually the penny dropped both with the public and the press, and from 2003 onwards, Mr Brown attempted fewer stealth taxes. Yet in late 2006 he returned to form, announcing a doubling of Air Passenger Duty, which would raise another £1 billion for the Treasury – in Tax Freedom Day terms, one-third of a day’s extra work for all of us. Future budgets will reveal whether this is just a one-off attempt to capitalise on ‘green’ sentiments, or a return to stealth taxes.”

just read this,
yes we Crosstrax have a demo asr5 being built this week.

Hey Kinger, have you forgotten – you are the yeti rep ;)

Jim
send me a mail
crosstrax@hotmail.co.uk

ill let you know what I can do.

Its a total rip off.

I compete in the national (motorbike) enduro championships and northern enduros and these have far more marshall requirements, timing, lap scoring etc etc and they are coming in at £35.

So it looks like a piss take, just like all mountain bike events in the UK
for £40 you can do the Cristalp and that is an event where there are helicopter ambulance cover, road closures, absolutely masses of organistaion etc.

Jim
I confess I am a dealer, but that isnt why I rave about the bike.
we also sell Yeti, Lapierre and a bunch of others, Id do you a deal if you liked.

Ive found it climbs remarkably well 16 minutes to the top of Keighley gate.
and I prefer it to the Spicy which people rave about how it climbs, its mint in the tight rocky woods around Bingley and uper fast on the rocky descents of the peaks.

Well
since I got my covert in the summer, ive now been laughing every time I ride.
Cant recommend it enough.
now three of my mates have them and all are loving the covert, though youll want 36 floats to go with them

Jungle wont touch a US frame, its not their responsibility, if you buy a bike from america then that american dealer is your port of call for a warranty issue and that goes for the shock too, mojo wont want to know if that fails.

the reason fox forks wear out is because the coating on the forks is so thin its just not durable.

Well you can look at this from another point of view, in that was anything done by Thatcher desperate to be reversed, or was it that in essence, she wasnt too far off the mark and the new labour government just carried on where she left off,
i know not everyone is getting what they want from the government, but the country is not too bad, and we are somewhere in the right direction to recover from the econimic recession, so a more positive view might work wonders for people,
also as for the NHS, if they got some balls in the procurment side and realised they have the biggest spending budget they could halve their drugs bill, and stop employing translators, and specialist nurses who are paid more than doctors to just fanny about, then the nhs might have a chance.