As one or two others have said, heavy weight training with compound movements (squat, dl, press, bench) is the fountain of youth. Go heavy and look up any 5×5 program; Mark Rippetoe Starting Strength is the benchmark program. Guaranteed within 6 months all your niggles will be gone and you will be faster on the bike than you have been for 10 years. It is unbelievable how well this seemingly simple program works.

Hello all, any chance there’s another free one floating around? I could use a 100 or 50 if you do. E-mail in profile.

Cheers,

I have heli tape on my carbon MTB. Does the trick 1 year + on…

Iain,

Thanks for the offer and the routes — well received, and I've responded via e-mail.

Sorry to drag this one up again, but I e-mailed Iain asking for the memory map logs for Midlands routes. That may have gotten lost in a spam inbox (or ignored) but if anyone has these and could take the time to send to the e-mail in my profile, it would be greatly appreciated!

I have a pair of Crossmax ST — they've been excellent for 2 years with no service but now they need a trueing. I'm a big rider and they were fine until they moved over to my hardtail, so I'm inclined to think it's me and my ploughing style. I blame the article I read about titanium HTs and how you're supposed to let them go fast over stuff to get the true benefit.. hey at least I tried to buy into the hype 😀

Doesn't the carpark money go towards the trail system?

Chrome is fast, but it definitely chokes on a lot of pdfs.

No idea here, but I'd appreciate an update if you find any more info. I have a pair of Mavic Crossmax ST that need a service and trueing.

Some great looking bikes.

Mono, interesting hi light stuff. First I've seen of that — where did you buy it and how do you rate it?

Good info here. I want a naviagtion GPS to help with new area offroad routes, and assumed they'd all more or less do that at least. Noting some of the difference and units in the thread, can anyone compare the Garmin Dakota 20 vs the Satmap 10? Not a huge difference in the price, so I'm curious if they are both more or less the same feature and finish wise?

There are variants of it mentioned here, but the simplest and most effective method I've found is to "pay yourself first". That means set up a standing order every month just after pay day to siphon off money that dissapears into the spent ether. Some economists recommend 10-20% of every bit you earn, to ensure you will retire early and with a full coffer (compound interest is most effective the earlier you start, so tweak based on that). The key is that under no circumstances is this money to be touched, regardless of how much of an emergency of the day you have — there will always be things that at the time seem urgent, but you cannot break this one rule. Periodically when the money has built into a reasonable pool, invest it in some vehicle. Keep it diversified, and there are reams of advise on strategies for that like no more than 5% in one entity, no more than 20% in one market/mechanism, etc.

If you want more shiny bike bits then set up "pay yourself first" account #2 which can have slightly relaxed regulations 😉

This has always seemed to work for me because I never get used to having the extra income. It's never "in my posession" long enough to feel it's loss, and I never considered it when taking on necessary debt like a mortgage.

Conti Race King. Surprisingly fast, grippy and slow to wear. I expect a lot of that is from my choice for the super sonic because I have a bit of a thing for the black chili compound coming out of their German factory :o.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=30228

Oh the irony…

Although a current theme breaker, consider throwing in some frames that have one way purging pivots/bearings ie Turner, Santa Cruz.

Ahh sorry, assumed they did the same ridiculous thing with the Blur XCc frame as well. It's a real custom job for the LTc.

What headset did you fit? I'm waiting on a new hope tapered reducer so that I can fit some 1&1/8th forks to my LTc.

Got a CK crown race this weekened at Leisure Lakes LBS for cheaper than CRC, and didn't have to wait. That was a pleasant surprise, albeit a token saving of £1, but nice all the same.

TFG,

If you see this, could you also please e-mail me the map? It would be greatly appreciated.

My experience with an 06 was good. It's hard to interpret your words, but "rattling around on me" doesn't sound like a shock set up issue to me.

Does the shock have any play when you pull on it sideways? ie, is it mounted correctly, or is there play in other pivots/linkages?

Does the shock have any play when you cycle it without any air pressure? ie Cynic-Als comments about the pushed system loose tolerance.

I would recommend you set up the shock as per the manuals. With that frame and your size, you will need the propedal setting (try 3) enabled on climbs or when you're stood hammering, but should not need it when descending or looking for a responsive suspension. I think your quoted air pressure is about right.

Use the o-ring on the shock to see if you really are bottoming out on the downs when you feel the rattle/bottom out.

Name on e-bay account, time and date on photo, face shot on photo. Must have been several strongbows down at the park last night…

Damn missed the SIDI MTB boots after having them in basket. Went for the road ones instead then, as at 30 pounds I couldn’t go wrong. I’ll just have to avoid touching down with them this winter when offroad!

Some come with extra pads that can be cut and fitted to tailor the sizing slightly. Look for those if you can’t find one that feels great as is.

I believe like others that the rear triangles are kept generic to decrease costs by leveraging mass production. Someone made an interesting comment on another forum about the size of the designer/testers playing a notable role: Some frame makers have large designers and others have small, and the frame will be ideally tuned for that tester’s size.

The CAD models have to be first made in one size, and then I imagine the sizeable parts are scaled, ie the front triangle. Anything else done after that probable varies, but I wasn’t aware that some manufactures tweak angles based on frame size as someone claimed. I bet lots don’t.

I’m not sure if my leg to torso lengths are non typical, but at 6’3″ I always seem to have my seat notably higher than my stem/stack, while many other people’s bike shots don’t. I do like full extension on my legs though, so it could be pedalling style as well.

I found the 2.2s good up until I ripped a knob off one, and some of the surrounding carcass. It’s now exposed down to the threaded bits inside, and the tyre is a write off with lots of tread left. Could just be unlucky, but figured I’d throw it out there for consumption.

Thanks for tracking that down for me, BWD. I’m not sure if I’ll be in there enough to justify the price tag, but at least I know what’s required now. Maybe I’ll shoot into the LBS to see if they’ve got one first.

I have both 2.4 and 2.2 UST Rubber Queens on different bikes. Both are great, but the 2.4s come with the fancy Black Chili compound, which is only available on tyres made at their Germany factory. It’s a notable improvement with grip, and seemingly wear, which is a bit of a contradiction. Anyhow, they’re a great tyre for all sorts of conditions.

Just be warned, they’ve very large, much larger than my previous Contis (verts etc) for the marked sizing.

I’ll keep an eye out around West Bridgford.

If you’re going to do it, make the cheap stuff the coloured bits. If you change your mind down the road, it’s always easier to change skewers than wheels.

I’ve re-used mine before with no issue. You have to prise the olive apart a bit, but if done gently it will be fine.

Thanks for the comments and advice. I’ve placed an order for a UN 54, as I’ve had good experience with my other shimano BBs and when you weight the cost vs performance, they’re tough to beat.

I was going to say the same thing as AJ. I have a tendency to put most of my weight on my saddle, but I imagine a more professional cyclist would say you should be loading through the pedals mostly, with the saddle and handlebars as much ligher contact points. That would certainly make sense for maximum power output, and a lower center of gravity and handling. Can anyone confirm how much of your weight should ideally be put on the contact points? Maybe I’m off the wall here, but it’s food for thought from a weekend warrior.

Get him a mobility scooter instead. It did wonders for the father in law, with a total re-invigoration and sense of independance.

Has anyone got experience with the Maxxis super tacky compound and the new Conti Rubber Queen 2.4 UST? I note the 2.4 because it appears to be a different compound than the 2.2, but I can’t find any reference anywhere to the hardness (42, 60, elephants, etc).

These are my first foray into big fat tyres and they do feel pretty draggy, but it’s on a new bike, so I’ve got no baseline.

TFG,

Could I also get the PDF version please. E-mail in my profile.

Cheers!