On the litter issue I like the idea of picking up litter when I’m out and about but not as a mountain biker just because it irritates me whether it’s on a bridelway, footpath, by the side of the road, in town, etc – so maybe I should be proactive even though it’s not my litter. Certainly if I see any MTB/biking specific litter I’ll pick it up from now on (I’m not aware it’s a problem but maybe I’ve not been paying attention).

In England, where I normally ride, we only have access to a small percentage of paths (i.e. bridleways) anyway so I can understand why the OP sees more bike tracks than he was comfortable with on Peaty trails in this country. Having said that responsible riders will try to steer clear of these paths in wet weather and, as others have said, pursuading iresponsible riders to do the same is an uphill struggle. I know the original post was about Scotland where there is more access so I guess more restraint is needed.

In terms of other groups – they have the same responsibilities but this is a MTB forum so…

(but you realise that save the children is a business right?)

I thought it was a charity?

The same way that most people make money to donate, by working hard and doing without so they can give some of what they’ve made to those less fortunate.

Agree with the above. I would imagine reality lies somewhere in between the guy being a living saint and him being a cynical shop owner trying to boost sales and get free publicity off a massive disaster – doesn’t it?

I’ve had a front fender style guard for years – never had any problems with it in use, it clips in and out in seconds and keeps mud out of face. Simple but effective bit of kit if you want to drastically reduce the amount of mud and water hitting your face – no great debate from my perspective. Never got on with rear mudguards for some reason.

You need to be reviewing your pay with your boss every year at your annual review. I’m not saying a pay rise is apropriate every year but you need to know how you can move up the salary structure based on performance, extra duties, etc. Also start looking at other job options to establish market rates and to get an idea of exit options.

proper technique

is an emotive phrase. There are a set of techniques that can be used to increase a riders speed, on a particular bike, round a particular type of corner, over a particular trail feature, etc. I can’t really see why they wouldn’t work for everyone.

I think saying ‘excuse me please’ or ‘hello’ is politer than pinging a bell.

Two bikes 140mm FS and 100mm HT. Use the hardtail for shorter rides and the FS for longer rides or if I’m off on a biking trip. I survived for a few months quite happily with the hardtail when the FS frame cracked. I’d probably go for a 120mm ish single pivot FS if I only had one.

The £4,400 price tag is irrelevant to me as I’ll not be speccing a bike with XTR, etc in the forseeable future. £1,400 for the frame is of interest as I’ll likely be getting a new frame in the next couple of years. Seems a lot when, for example, a Heckler is £900 but horses for courses and it is UK built which is a definate bonus.

Don’t know if anyones said this already as I couldn’t be arsed to read through all the science and pseudo science but how much the rider weighs must make a difference – bigger heavier rider it’ll make less of a diference. 7 stone rider it’ll make a huge difference, 14 stone rider much less of a difference.

Is it some sort of **** Mavic obsessive belief that Le Tour is the pinnacle of cycling and that MTBers should try to get as close to that ideal as possible?

To be fair, my Mavic rims came with large enough holes for schrader plus a little plastic insert to reduce the size for presta so a smooth fit for either type with no drilling required.

How much did it cost?

There was a 3 loop route in MBR earlier this year that I thought was a good starting point for exploring Hayfield.

Cycle helmets test worse than other types of sports helmets when tested in oblique impacts

I wonder if any specific bike helmets are better than any others.

I always wear a helmet on and off road. I hadn’t heard the rotational injury information before – I’ll do some research on this. The car drivers take more care when cyclists don’t wear helmets bit I’ve heard before but I’ve not stopped wearing the helmet on the road because I choose not to be influenced by the shite behaviour of some car drivers – I think there are ways of ‘defensive cycling’ that reduce the opportunities for drivers to pass too close.

Never understood what the problem with wearing a helmet is – I never notice I’ve got mine on when I’m riding. I always wear one because in the unlikely event I bang my head on something hard I want a helmet in between my skull and the hard thing if at all possible (I realise a helmet won’t always be effective). I view traveling at 10+ mph with my head 5’+ off the ground as a sufficient risk to warrant wearing it on the bike regardless of any other factors.

I tend to wear knee+shin and forearm pads for steep rocky/rooty downhills. I've been over the bars three or four times in the last few years and I've never been able to do anything about it in terms of falling correctly – it's all been over before I know what's happening. The worst one was the last one (2 weeks ago) and it was the only one when I had pads on. I severely twisted my leg and could bearly walk for about a week. I also strained my shoulder. The pads didn't benefit me in terms of these injuries! I suspect I would have got off and pushed over the rooty section in question if I'd been pad free so make of that what you will. I'll probably be off the bike for at least a month in total, more likely 2. I'll probably continue taking my pads with me in the future; whether I'll be more cautious remains to be seen.

Easily one of my favourite trail centres and I'd imagine a newish rider would find it intimidating.

If I'm doing 70 in the left hand lane and I come across someone doing 55 in the middle lane then passing them on the left is not an undertaking manouvre on my part as far as I'm concerned (assuming the left hand lane is clear a safe distance ahead of us both). They're contravening the highway code so they're doing it wrong not me. Simple as that isn't it?

+1

I find it more irritating at trail centres than on bridleways, etc.
It simply doesn't occur to some people that it would be better not to block the trail, even when you reach them and clearly can't get past or are struggling to get round them. All part of lifes rich tapestry.

I thought the deal was they've got it for three years – to justify the cost of getting it ready. A lot of nice looking trail seems to have been added for it which has to be a good thing.

I use a SKS Shockboard – does the job superbly, easy to take on and off and I'm not bothered if it looks MX.

Thanks for the replies. I'll head out to the garage later for a careful fettle!

I got some Sombrio Forensic gloves last year – suit me.

Personally I always have to have my own room – can't do with sharing even with mates (obviously I have to share with the wife if she's there). I think it gives you a bolt hole if there's people getting on your tits, etc.

Dalby's not far from Harrogate – worth a visit if you've got time.

Sadly it seems to be an all too often encountered situation where FE can't or won't engage and would rather stick their head in the sand and not respond than come out with some straigh-talking honesty. Better to know clearly where you stand and why IMO.

Agreed – I think everyone now understands only too well where the FC stands regarding trail development at Wharncliffe – they're not interested!

It seems to me that they cynically tried to get volunteers to solve some of their issues with MTB'ing interacting with other forest users under the mantle of trail development.

The FC develop the major trail centres like the Stanes, the Welsh ones, Dalby, etc and you get decent singletrack, trail features, etc. Generally they focus spending on these and derive revenue from MTB activities at these – ity makes economic sense for them. The rest of the forests/woodland is pot luck – I live near Wharncliffe and you find your own trails there and they change according to felling, weather conditions, etc. The FC has never spent any money on Wharncliffe for bikers beyond some signposting and they probably never will. I still love biking there though and you're free to go pretty much where you like (so far).

6'5" – XL 2008 Commencal Meta 5.5
– 22" Giant Xtc

& how would you find out what the OEM spec was?

Sure, you might not know or be able to find that out but it alerts you to the fact you're not necesarily getting the same spec as the aftermarket product. I think it's useful to know.

The spec of OEM kit can be different (I got some OEM Fox Vanillas and they don't have the extra springs in with them) so the site should definately state they're OEM. If the descriptiopn was innacurate then obviously you need to tackle CRC and get a discount or refund and return postage back.

Just wondering if anyone of around 6'5" has any positive or negative experience of riding a Soul – the website states the Large goes up to 6'3" and there aint an XL. I know it depends on how you ride, etc. but I thought I'd ask anyway. Cheers.

Penistone station's not bad – you can go along the TPT which is fairly flat and joins the bottom fireroad. It's pretty snowy in their at the moment.

Amazing how a brand's reputation can plumet over a couple of years. When I bought my Meta 5 a couple of years ago they were raved about by all and sundry but nowadays I'd be nervous of getting one. My LBS has dropped Commencal also due to the Merlin effect ironically (could be the same shop as previous posters I suppose) Still rate mine though.

I'm 6'5" with 37" inside leg and ride a Meta 5.5 Xl – seems fine but as others have mentioned maybe I'm convincing myself of that as there's not much beyond the XL size. I demoed a Blur LT Xl in the summer and it was a fantastic ride. Not sure about 29ers personally – aren't you raising your centre of gravity even higher than on a 26er which surely isn't very good for the feel of the bike?

Well done. Lex's in Penistone always seem to be competitive with an lbs service, http://www.lexs.co.uk.

Lycra, particularly bib shorts and longs are the most comfortable and practical on a bike assuming you don't crash – that's just a fact. I generally wear baggie shorts over a pair of bib shorts in summer because I think they look better. I never wear baggy shorts over lycra longs because I think it looks really weird so in winter it's bib longs either on their own or with a base layer or with waterproof trousers over the top in really wet/muddy conditions.

I ran a set of 2007 Louises for 18 months – seemed well made (a lot more robust than Formula K24 for example) and always stopped me as requested. One thing I would say is that I tried twice to bleed them but couldn't do it so had to take them to a dealer to sort out. I've never had any problems bleeding Shimanos or Formulas.