You will be absolutely fine as long as everything is well maintained. Far better to ride a bike that you are familiar with and comfortable on.

Just because you are in the Alps, doesn’t mean that you have to ride a downhill bike. There are all sorts of trails there, including ones like those in your local woods but just longer, bigger and hopefully better.

ir12Daveor

Nice video. What trail centre is that?

It looks like a nice section but not very technical -I can’t even see any breaking bumps. Are they carbon bars? Some of those rocks look sharp!

STWism #3452

“Alps trip” = DH in Morzine or similar

This is a bit like going for a spin in your new Ferrari through some roadworks on the M25 during rush hour…

Whatever you do, don’t forget about the Basset de Lona after the Col de Lona. There’s nothing more soul destroying than thinking you’ve finished the climbing only to be confronted by one more….

Sometimes it’s worth the 3 hour train ride to Ticino. Several times I entered the tunnel on the north side of the Alps in rain, sleet and cold conditions and came out on the south side in warm sunshine.

Get a KSi950r and a second remote kit. You can unhook the cable connection at the back of the post and swap it between the bikes pretty easily.

I did indeed!

It turned out that it’s a Colner, not a Colnago. Colner was a sub-brand of Colnago which they created to allow them to enter a second team in races. It doesn’t quite have the prestige (or probably quality) of the real deal but it’s still a lovely thing with plenty of pantographs and nice details. The original Nuovo Record groupset (1981!) is in pristine condition. The wheels run smooth and true.

It even has a name engraved on the stem (was covered with black tape in the pictures) which I have taken over. She’s called Bärbel.

I paid CHF400 (£275) which I think was a good deal. I’m going to clean it up, probably repaint some of the details (ie the pantographs, enjoy a few retro rides over the summer and then probably sell it on to some crazy Germans next Spring.

Cheers
Schweiz

Can anyone identify the frame or date the bike from the groupset? It turns out it belonged to his Dad and he doesn’t know much about it. Hoping to tie him down today before he has time to trawl ebay.de at home tonight!

He says he wants 600 Swiss Francs (£400)

I’ve just offered 400 Francs (£275). He’s thinking about it but I think I might have to up the offer a bit…

It is a bit of a looker. Need to replace the red pedals though.

Ben, OK mail on the way. I guess you are over the Röstigraben in Vevey so I don’t know how much I can help but I’m sure I can point you in the right direction.

For me the paradox is that it still climbs well with such a slack seat and head angle. I think I’m lucky that the XL frame fits me like a glove. (191cm, 6’3″ shortish legs!)

I’m struggling to find much wrong with this frame at the moment. On the positive side, it’s hard to fault downhill, feels nimble and rolls fast on rooty trails and is a comfortable (if not lightening fast) climber. I did 1400m, 4000ft of climbing on it last Sunday and it was a pleasure. The looks and finishing of the frame are great. You won’t see another one on the trails and your buying experience will be perfect thanks to the 2souls team.

On the downside, if you’ve got big feet then your heels will rub the chainstays. I never noticed it while riding but I’ve worn a spot of powder coat away.

Other current mtbs (gathering dust in the garage): Ragley Blue Pig(150mm HT), Canyon Spectral AX9 (carbon 120mm FS), Canyon Torque Alpinist (180mm FS)

Arrived in Switzerland as well. International copies must have been posted early which is a nice touch.

Why would you use XTR? Shimano do a commuter specific range of components called Yumeya which will bring you substantial performance benefits on your daily grind.

Cheers
Schweiz

Escape

There’s no hard distinction between a habit and an addiction. They are different stations on the same line.

If you’ve tried will power to cut down or stop and failed then most likely, you need to hit a personal rock-bottom in order to break it. Rock bottom means different things to different people. In the best case, admitting to yourself that you have a problem might be sufficient. An intervention from a friend or family member can provide you sufficient reason. A liver function test with your doctor is another. For some people it takes much more – waking up in prison cell or being told by a doctor that your next drink may kill you. If you fail to break the cycle after hitting a low then you will need to hit a lower low to break it next time. Important is that you have the drive to make a change and believe that you can do it.

I would really recommend reading Allan Carr’s Easy Way to Control Alcohol. You can get it from Amazon as an E-book so you can have it discretely and instantly. There’s a certain amount of snake oil involved but some of the concepts are really infectious.

You have to change your mindset. See all the things that your drinking is stopping you doing and enjoying. Ask yourself what drinking really does for you.

6 votes from me so far. Waiting for the payload to drop with much anticipation.

Quick update on the Slim Jim:

13.2kg on the bathroom scales which is just over 29lbs (XL frame)

Build is:

Fox 34 Talas 140 RLC
2 x 10 XT
XT brakes
XT trail pedals
Reverb post
Selle carbonio saddle
Easton Haven Carbon bar
Easton Haven 80mm stem
Sun Black Flag Pro wheelset (probably to be swapped for a set of Charger Pros before I take it to the mountains)
Maxxis Ardent tyres (2.2 rear, 2.4 front, tubeless with Stans milk)
ODI lockons
Free MBUK chainstay protector!

When pointed down, it’s extremely stable and confidence inspiring. I have cleared two local sections of trail that I never mangaged on a 180mm FS bike.

Very nice climbing position and great traction. I’m ver pleased with it and I think that 2soulscycles will be a brand to watch for the future.

Done

You’re in the lead!

The first point to be aware of with the Black Forest is that officially, you’re not allowed to ride on trails less than 2 meters wide. Despite that, I never had any issues with walkers or officials. Riding with consideration for all trail users and a friendly attitude seems to work very well.

There are some incredible long distance singletrails there but you need to do some map and internet research to find them. I know the Southern part quite well and some of the trails are really nice. Around Titisee. Freiburg, Schauinsel are good.

Turbo trainer will get you fit but you’ll hate it and give up very quickly unless you are extremely motivated.

Get outside. Ride as fast or slow as you feel comfortable and just enjoy it.

Stay away from their “winter cycle waterproof glove” even if it is half price.

Built up this morning!

It’s tomorrow… There’s not going to be much action there tonight.

How much does the frame weigh?

The M is 2.7kg, L 2.8kg and I guess the XL is 2.9kg with powder coat and sliders mounted.

Not light but if you want a lightweight XC racer then this isn’t the bike for you.

Not sure about the delivery – you’ll have to ask them.

I have a 2.4 on the front and currently a 2.2 on the rear. To be honest, with an XL frame, I think I’d get away with a 2.4 on the rear as well, at least with the sliders in the mid position.

They will revise the chainstay design for the next version to ensure that you can use 2.4s if you were able to wait until the summer.

They’re listed on the website with 27.2mm seat tubes but they can ream them out to 30.6mm if you want to run a reverb.

Send them a mail if you are interested. They’re a really nice bunch of guys who have set up this business as a hobby, designing the type of bikes that they want to ride.

Big psychological advantage if you do the half marathon distance in training before the race.

Also took delivery of an 853 wagon wheeler frame yesterday. All the fun building completed last night. Cable shortening and gear indexing to follow tonight 🙁

Cheers TJ – will do.

Using XT hollowtech cranks. The crank “shaft” was a tight fit through the inner cover of BB and required a few decent taps but everything is aligned properly.

Unfortunately I don’t have the removal tool for the cups. They’re Shimano BB91. Perhaps I’ll try and knock them out with a 10mm allen key which was recommended elsewhere.

I think he’s already got a zoom lolly in his shorts….

There’s room for a mini milk on your ankle and you could top it off with a great big white chocolate magnum on the thigh.

She’s British. If I was her I wouldn’t be thrilled to be referred to as “that Chinese woman”

But she does have Chinese ancestry. I bet those teletubby suits are sweaty.

HTH

+1

If you want something done properly then get the Germans to do it.

(some exceptions apply…)

Degreaser test was a nice idea but the end result was so inconclusive/non-committal that it deserved to be compressed.

Iceland/Scotland articles were lovely but this issue was quite “thin”. I was finished in one session. I find the tone overall a little mellow. Would be nice to balance the feel-good articles with some more provocative and though provoking content.

i once notified the staff at a gym about a chap using the communal sauna and steam room naked, despite clear signs stating that was not allowed as they’re shared facilities.

My gym has exactly the opposite policy…

(outside the UK obviously)

http://www.facebook.com is blocked where I am but https://www.facebook.com is not. Might be worth at try

EDIT are we in the same place cp????

Extend the post, unscrew the collar, clean the shaft and seal. Put a few drops of fork oil (I use 10Wt) around the base of the shaft. Replace the collar and cycle the post a few times. Additionally give the cable/lever actuation a good clean and lube. Should be good as new.

Best to do this regularly, especially after riding in dirty conditions.

100% scratch (probably). I’m an engineer. HTH

They say they’re getting more stock on the 16th but time will tell if that really happens… Hopefully there’s a similar offer elsewhere.