Just to add that both the Pike and the Yari are significantly altered/improved by the addition of the bottomless tokens.

I run 3 in my 160mm Yari and without them the fork was very prone to diving. I had an OEM Pike on a 2014 (RC) and a 2015 (RCT3) bike and bought a Yari earlier this year. I have to say that I prefer the Yari, but think it has slightly different seals on it to older Pikes to make it more supple off the top.

I debated whether to fork out the extra (!!) for a Lyric but decided to go with the Yari, and have no complaints. It’s on a Santa Cruz Bronson and has coped fine with everything from trail to uplift duties.

Winstanleys were the best priced place I found to purchase from.

Glassesdirect do Oakley frames and you can get their own lenses fitted in various configurations. Pretty sure there is a 15% off code you can use also.

Don’t know what their lenses are like though but a darn sight cheaper than going full-spec Oakleys!

Completely unscientific but testament to the versatility of a rear semi-slick tyre; I raced Eastridge yesterday with a Rock Razor (pacestar) on the rear in what was the muddiest I’ve ridden there. I didn’t die.

As they have such small centre tread blocks, they don’t tend to fare any worse than something bigger but with poor mud clearance as the low tread doesn’t let too much mud gather anyway. Yes, they slide but you do get used to them (I’ve done about 200 miles on mine).

I think a Supergravity version with super low pressures would be a step up in terms of grip. The (initial) learning curve in terms of how they perform if vastly offset by the benefit of how fast they roll.

Not ridden there since last summer, but racing this Sunday. Combination of de-foresting and mixed weather the next couple of days and I’m going belt and braces Maxxis Shorty front and back!

Although only having ridden one on a short demo loop, it’s a massively capable bike and, in the right hands, would be able to take on most stuff. I certainly didn’t think it would struggle too much doing the kind of stuff I ride.

As an all-round bike though I’d probably opt for 140-150mm forks and sure you could even put a piggyback shock on it, but suppose it then creeps into Bronson territory.

If you’ve not ridden a Bronson, definitely try one. With their more generous sizing on the 2016 frames, you can go with your “normal” size and, on a medium, I found it to be an absolute riot.

If 10% of your riding is DH and bike park stuff and the other 90% general trail riding and AM stuff, a 5010 would fit the bill. There is a degree of cross over with the Bronson so depends on whether you want the extra stability in the rough stuff the Bronson brings or whether you’d prefer the greater pedal efficiency of the 5010.

Either way, I think they are genuinely both excellent bikes.

Brosnan did some off season runs in Cairns, apparently.

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2016/01/20/troy-brosnan-sessions-cairns-world-cup-downhill-course

I didn’t realise this thread was a pre-cursor for a GCSE Geography exam. Still, should be a good race regardless of its longitude/latitude coordinates.

Brosnan and Hannah using some local knowledge to their advantage it would seem!

Role reversal this time with Bruni heading out before Gwin; can’t wait to see what Bruni does.

If the weather is looking iffy then it could be anyone’s. Good to see Stevie Smith up there again, and Danny Hart. If the rain doeth cometh, Danny could be a good bet. He seems to be on it this year, so far anyway.

Don’t worry too much about the conditions with the Rock Razor; it’s stunningly capable. I wouldn’t suggest running it in full on mud conditions but for mixed use it really is very good. With the right pressures it’ll clamber up most stuff and the rolling speed is a massive boost.

It does take some getting used to if you are coming from a grippier tyre on the rear, but once you realise you can let it slide before it grips (and it will grip) it is great.

Not sure what having a blue badge on my bike means, but my bike is blue and does have an orange badge on it. If that counts.

I rode it on Tuesday on my Alpine. It’s a tough loop with a lot of uphill and some techie climbs, so very physical.

Nowt wrong with taking a 160mm bike there, at all. All the sections are open too. The loop I do is the one from the Welsh Enduro Series, 10 miles or so, 600m climb and takes in the best downhill sections. Triple traverse ~ 3mins down. Craig Wen & Hafod Ffraith ~ 8mins and final descent ~ 5mins.

So yes, a lot of climbing but also a lot of flat out downhill natural singletrack.

It’s ace.

No doubt it will sell well, but it doesn’t really offer anything new, just another addition to the growing selection of aggressive 29ers.

I do know it makes me miss my Enduro 29er though. Well, actually, the Yeti doesn’t. It’s more the sheer speed of the bloody thing I miss and its ability to thunder along rocky stuff without any bother.

Anybody know if there is stock of medium or large Scout frames anywhere?

Betws Y Coed or Llangollen. Neither is a hardship to get to Revo or Stiniog from. Bit more of a drive than somewhere closer, but both are a little more lively/civilised in the evening.

I’ll reserve complete judgement until I’ve ridden one, but not sold on the whole 27.5+ thing. However, as a 27.5 bike, this bike looks a riot.

The HD3 is a benchmark bike for me, and I still kick myself I didn’t go for one. But this new Mojo 3, with pretty much the same geo as the HD3 should be superb.

They need not cost £5k either; I priced up a self-build at about £3.5k or so (of the HD3).

Never done it, but could you use a credit card and transfer the balance as cash / withdraw as cash and pay for bike that way, if using a credit card for foreign currency is an issue?

Nothing wrong with using finance to buy anything as long as you can afford it. When borrowing is at 0% it makes it more straightforward, too.

Life is too short to spend all your life saving!

At this time of year, any of the trail centre based trails are your best bet, and none of them are exactly dull, just all very different!

Coed Y Brenin is the most diverse and weatherproof. It doesn’t pretend to NOT be a trail centre and I’ll be honest the first time I went I thought it was a bit … meh. Once you get to know it, and cut out some of the big dull climbs though it makes a lot more sense. As a winter ride venue, it would be hard to beat.

Penmachno is pure singletrack and very exposed in parts. It holds water so if it rains the trails become mini-streams. It is a hard, long, tough slog to do the full loop so I’d pick your day accordingly. That said, the Welsh Enduro loop picks out the best bits and is do-able twice. Even the triple traverse can be re-ridden without too much effort climbing back up the fire road.

Marin is somewhere in the middle. The full loop can get a bit soul destroying as you constantly wait for a downhill to appear … and it doesn’t. It does have some highlights but they aren’t perhaps as stand out as others. As above though, the final descent is bloody good and I’d happily spend a whole ride just doing that again and again.

For a mixed group winter ride though, Coed Y Brenin.

Northwind makes a good point. More tyres are the best solution, but I also HATE changing them over, especially tubeless. It’s just a massive PITA.

It actually just occurred to me that my hardtail has Minion DHFs fitted. 26″ and probably 2 years old now. Not 3c or anything fancy and only one of them is exo. Didn’t use them for 18 months as I had a 29er and then 650b, and they were on wife’s bike for a bit. Anyway .. point is, they’re ace., and I’ve only just realised it. Rode them at Moelfre in gopping mud and they were fine. Round Llandegla they’re bloody great, especially in the damp. They roll OK too.

So, yeah, as an absolute all-round tyre, maybe Minions. That said, Shorty in anything remotely muddy is just cheating.

Same location as you.

Magic Mary are a good choice, in the right casing/compound. You could go super gravity for added protection but the normal reinforced casing ones are fine. I wouldn’t run them front and back though as they aren’t the most pedal friendly. Definitely a good front tyre though and at Antur they are superb (ran them front and rear on my old bike for DH stuff).

Rear is a tough one but something like an exo DHR maybe? I personally have an exo Shorty but that isn’t the best in terms of rolling resistance, and a Rock Razor. They’re heavy but Conti Trail King in black chilli are good too and roll ok. Rode those round the Panorama and Antur and they were fine.

I have an Alpine 160, and I’ve ridden the Five, albeit not for an extended time, just a demo loop.

There are so many pros and cons to either option but essentially, the Alpine gives you the option of having one bike that absolutely will do anything and everything. I’m not suggesting the Five won’t do that but the Alpine is subtly different.

I don’t think it is massively more difficult to use an Alpine round a trail centre. Setup right, it’s pretty efficient and although heavy, I’d say (guessing) build for build on each model there would be 1kg or so in it weight wise. Mine is 14kg bang on with Hope Enduro tubeless, dropper and pedals.

What the Alpine does do is go downhill very fast. Again, I am sure the Five would do similar but the Alpine is pretty much as capable as a DH bike.

Both bikes are very good and very capable. If you like downhill and would appreciate a bike that can cope with pretty much any UK DH track with performance to spare but is also usable day to day, go with the Alpine. If you’d prefer to sacrifice that last 10-20% of DH performance for slightly lower weight and marginally better usability, get the Five.

It’s win-win either way, and a demo on both would be the best option. Why not speak to One Planet Adventure, Llandegla and demo them both; they have both in stock.

It’s hard to say whether you would miss a FS if you got a hardtail. I’m lucky enough to have both; I built up a £40 frame (on one inbred) last spring and for general trail use it’s a blast. I’ve actually done an uplift on it too.

There are loads of great HT frames that you could opt for and possibly save a bit of cash in the process. If your riding style / location suits one then I doubt you’d miss a FS too much.

If your back end feels wallowy, I’d also check your frame bearings. Mine were dead after 6 months or so and some are properly small which is great for small bump sensitivity but not great for longevity.

If money is tight then I’d suggest sticking with your current frame, play about with the pressure and rebound and maybe look at a cheap-ish shock tune. In the meantime, see if you can rent a hardtail (where do you live? I know a place near Llandegla that rent Bird Zeros). I’d also try and get to some demo days if you can and try different suspension setups.

I think its already been said, but something I did do on my Spesh that helped a bit was to re-set the shock pressure / sag in fully open mode. Obvious I know but running it firmer in this setting gave a little bit better result in terms of all-terrain setup.

Oh yes, also just read above about the AutoSag. Completely pointless for anyone other than a beginner. It gets you there / thereabouts but you really need to fine-fettle for yourself.

I’d try pressure in the shock and get 15-20% sag in descent mode. I’d then stick the rebound all the way round to fastest and get rid of maybe 3 clicks from there. Have a play from there in 5psi increments and a couple of clicks rebound. You should get it to a point where its poppy rather than skittish and just about firm enough to sprint without wallowing.

I know what you mean. I had a Spesh Enduro and never really gelled with the back end, for the same reasons as you really. It was plush, but a bit too plush for out of the seat sprints etc and I could never seem to find the right balance between it being too firm or too soft and blowing through its travel. Using the CTD lever helped, and was a necessity really, but the “last straw” really was racing it at the Marin and having it wallowing on me mid-stage where reaching down to lock it out isn’t really a viable option.

That said, it did respond better to having the rebound run very fast and with quite a low amount of sag. I never tried any volume spacers or an air sleeve but they may help.

I ended up changing to an Alpine 160 and it is night and day better. Granted, the standard shock tune is shocking :) but some volume reducers helped with that. Even without the reducers though I didn’t (and still don’t) ever need to lock it out unless I’m on the road. OK, you lose some plushness over the FSR linkage but not much.

Advice?

I’m not a fan of the FSR linkage, I don’t think I’d get another, but you could, relatively and comparatively cheaply, try some rear can tuning.

I like the single pivot design but it needs careful fettling also. I’d try one to see what you think.

I have a hardtail. It’s great. As an only bike? Not sure.

DW Link and VPP designs are definitely worth trying. DW Link on an Ibis HD3 is the benchmark of any bike I’ve ridden.

I’ve just recommended some deore to someone. For the money I think they are superb and have much better modulation than XTs. Actually wish I’d taken them off my old bike and kept them instead of the XTs.

Higher up the price range I really liked the SRAM Guide too when I tried them on a Nomad. Again, lovely modulation and good power.

Yet to try Zee, Saint or Hope but I really think I’d struggle to justify spending more than ~£70 for Deore if I needed a new set.

thisisnotaspoon says it all. Abestos containing products need to be disturbed in some way for the dangerous fibres (fibres, not fumes) to be exposed. There are also different types of asbestos, used in different types of building materials from pipe lagging to insulation to concrete. All have differing health effects but none are particularly pleasant. At all.

Generally speaking, unless you are going around punching big holes in your garage then it is unlikely you have anything to worry about. You could of course get a certified person to check whether the garage is indeed asbestos but that will obviously cost money to do.

I’m thinking of putting the Rock Razor back on the rear. Might as well try and get some kind of sh@*ts and giggles from the constant God-awful weather/riding conditions.

Maxxis Shorty front and back seem like cheating in anything remotely soggy.

I’ve got some 3 year old Minion DHRs on my hardtail and they are spot on at wet trail centre stuff. Not bad in mud but don’t clear very well.

Oh and don’t bother with a Hans Dampf. In the dry it was pants. In the damp it was skidmark pants. I daren’t even contemplate what it would be like in the mud. Brown pants most likely.

Managed to utilise a torrential downpour to clean the bike last week. Granted, being out on the bike at the time, soaked to the bone and with the temperature about 3 degrees above freezing, I did almost get hypothermia but at least I have a clean bike.

Seeing all the videos online of the pros messing about in the mud/woods/mud etc makes me laugh; it would be very easy to spend hours getting caked in mud and doing belly slides to finish the day if you were able to just throw your kit in the bin afterwards. The joys of being sponsored, eh.

Alpine 160 is definitely a good shout. Tough as old boots and easy maintenance means you can hammer it and not worry too much.

GT Sanction could also be another option; I know there were some very cheap deals on frames a little while back, but not sure if they are still around.

Banshee Rune maybe?

Knolly? http://shore-lines.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=79

First off, you need a demo, a well setup bike and a good route representative of the type of stuff you ride.

Second, I agree with Gelert. In fact, having rode his single pivot bike before buying my Alpine that got rid of any preconceptions about suspension bob or inefficiency; it blew my then Specialized Enduro into the weeds in that department.

The Enduro was super plush but really needed to be locked out to get a good damping platform for pedalling; I got frustrated more than once racing on it that I just couldn’t get it setup to ride plush on the DH but firm enough wide open for the inevitable mid-stage sprints. I don’t want to be reaching down to lock out my shock on a stage, thanks.

Conversely, the Alpine is excellent. The only time I lock it out is when on the road and only occasionally on a fireroad, if at all. The Enduro needed to be locked out on anything non-technical.

The climbing traction in fully open mode on the Alpine is superb and even during hard pedal sprints it doesn’t feel like I’m losing anything significant.

The downsides are that the shock DOES need more careful tuning. At least the monarch on mine does. Before fitting some volume spacers I found the ride harsh and it would bottom out too easily. It’s better now after some fine tuning, or maybe just gotten use to it. You also need to get the rebound tuned just-so. Faster is better for my tastes.

Despite the criticism from some, I don’t see (m)any downsides, at least not in the 2014/15+ models. I can’t comment on the earlier versions.

For a more objective take on it, I found that I bettered many of my Strava PBs on uphill segments on the Alpine which, for a 160mm 15kg bike must mean it is at least a little bit efficient!

You really should try one first though as I can see how they can be a bit marmite for some.

Penmachno is an acquired taste.

First time I rode there I wasn’t blown away but now having been quite a few times, and raced there, it’s pretty good! Think I’ve only ever done the full loop once or twice and I’d much rather do just the first loop a couple of times. There is actually a way of getting all the best bits in and its only a short-ish loop. Basically the loop used at the Welsh Enduro Series.

There isn’t anything not roll-able on the black. The B-Line has several jumps and stepdowns but again, all are roll-able.

The B-Line is a diversion from the red so it’s easily skipped if you are short for time.

EDIT: RoW in some parts, yes. But not everywhere. I know of one particular route accessible from Llandegla that is most definitely not restricted but is most definitely one of the best descents in the area…

If you are going to ride anywhere in that neck of the woods at the moment, Llandegla is the place to go. Penmachno, whilst great, will be a sodden mess at the moment and certainly is not a nice place to be if the weather turns mid-ride.

Llandegla is pretty 1-dimensional in absolute terms but it doesn’t need to pretend to be what it isn’t; it’s a trail centre. With a great mix of trails. A great cafe. A superb skills area.

There is plenty of natural riding nearby for us locals that prefer that kind of thing. And it’s even possible to link up a ride taking in the best of the natural stuff AND Llandegla.

Spend some time in the skills area and on the freeride, they are both fun. And do the full loop inc. B-Line. It isn’t much longer and definitely contains the best parts.

Conditions there at the moment are ok. Its been very wet so expect puddles and mud. Don’t think they have any fallen tree issues right now but FB/Twitter are your friend for updates.

Weather looking OK for Friday too.

What a ridiculous price for what sounds like a pretty battered bike. Buckled wheel?! For £3k?!

Their recent Atherton signing must have gone to their head.

There was another thread on these a few days ago. For the money, they are top drawer. Light(ish), strong and they go up tubeless (Gorilla tape!) really really easily.

They look damn good, too.

Superb.

Light (enough), strong, tubeless (easy), good looking, great hubs, cheap (comparatively).

There really isn’t much – if anything – not to like. I rate mine very, very highly.

Yes. The d3o stuff is great – its malleable enough to feel comfortable and not slip around and also seems to mould to you once it gets some body heat into it. My only minor criticism is that the shoulder pads don’t quite sit on top of my shoulders but the elbow and back pads sit fine, so I assume the position of the shoulder ones is correct / as they should be.

The only other time I’ve worn armour was in the alps and it was (rented) rigid plastic stuff, so I don’t have much of a basis for comparison but, I have to say, so far so good.

The other option I was considering was a core saver / TLD vest + elbow pads but there wasn’t a massive amount in it, cost wise, plus I was able to try on the Scott.

Another option (that I didn’t try, but looks good) is Knox Trooper stuff.

Scott Recruit Pro? It doesn’t have chest protection but has D3o back, elbow and shoulder protection. Wore mine for first time at the weekend for an uplift and its comfy, relatively light and worked well. Thankfully didn’t have to test the spine protection but the elbow pads worked well!

Dirt 100 2014 – Scott Recruit Pro Compression Gear Body Armour

Such a bad decision to take it back; for all you know he could have drained all the oil out the shock/fork just to be an arse. You ride it / sell it / whatever. It breaks. Then what?!

I know that is elaborate but the point I’m making is Caveat Emptor exists for a reason and, with all due respect, you are both daft for buying/selling/accepting back goods that have been exchanged.

I know there is the argument of doing the right thing, but you did that before you took his money; you gave them ample chance to view and inspect the bike. Not only do you have the backing of everyone on here to keep the money and let the issue go, but you also have the backing of the courts.

It isn’t like the bike doesn’t work or ‘owt; it’s only a scratch!

In slight contrast to what others have advised, I’d offer a different suggestion – don’t bother replying at all.

You are not legally bound to, so don’t even bother.

Just bought one of these http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/berghaus-mens-stormcloud-jacket-p324964.

Not worn yet but for the price, if it does what it says it does it should be good.

I don’t know whether these guys still do it, but when I was looking they were open to sensible offers – worth a try, surely.

http://www.jmtb.co.uk/frames/orange-five-frame-inc-shock-2016/

The Five geometry is bang on.

Haven’t really noticed any braking issues to be honest – I’d say you do need to invest some time in the suspension setup though but part of that might be down to the shock – the standard monarch isn’t that great without tokens added, but acceptable with a handful. The Fox gets a much better rep.