Top cranks in my experience

Paul

Thanks all great info. I truely loathe ticks so will def look into that hotel. Not sure we will have time to visit Jura… I do fancy it.

Cheers

Dont see myself buying one. I like my sport human powered. I have had a go on one and it was fun. It felt like cheating to my mind though… I must try a segway next for my fell running…

Hi all,

I am semi local to that trail re my mrs living nearby. Local people are not happy with it. Last I heard it cost 75k to do. Met a kankku driver up there walking it and he was in favor of it re clients. There is a lot of anti 4×4 feeling too. See westmoreland gazette website.

New farmer has replaced the old one. He drives his quad all over the fells not just the track…. it was perfectly accessible pre work by quad. It did not need such repair work everywhere to allow him access. Old farmer left re 4×4 disturbance.

The bedrock slabs were a delight to ride n run up or down. Its now very fast and far less interesting. Bedrock was smashed up too in places. I watched unfold the last couple of months with sadness. Been on local tv and in the papers.

Its happening to a lot of great tracks in the lakes and it is really taking any challenge away. Seems to be a lot of bridleways thats getting the work to make stuff more family friendly or to appease unnesco. I know some riders like it as it loads easier to ride now – whats wrong with hike a bike if its too hard?. Homogenous gravel is not what I like to ride myself. Problem is its happening a lot with no sign of stopping. Faster speeds are going to cause conflict with other users. I also think a few hard winters will trash it and more money will be spent on a pointless repair/restructure when the local main roads are potholed to hell…

Paul

Hi,

Agree with postierich – Elterwater hostel – plus I can be around to offer advice / day ride suggestions !

All good !

Paul

Hey,

Semi lakes local here. Tilberthwaite is not worth a ride on anthing other than a 90s xc race bike now…. if hike a bike appeals try Rosset pike / Helvellyn… Parkamoor has been worked on too.

Rode Walna scar yest and it has had a lot of water damage that has helped make it loose n a bit more techy…tis busy with walkers. Good in the evening !

Paul

Hi,

Riden it twice this year – its a much better fell run I reckon !! Some parts are rideable / some are walking – depends on how wet and slippery sections are / how brave I am feeling. I would not rush back to ride it and I am based fairly local… I think the trail work done on the Langstrath bw is pretty awful – those tight switchbacks atop of the rivetments are for me pretty unrideable. You have to be a very good rider to do it / Stake Pass clean. Greenup Edge can be a nav nightmare in the wrong weather and any fall up there could be quite serious. I would advise going up there unless you have great weather and decent mountain craft and like a hike a bike.

Paul

Makes me so angry. Trail work here was unneccessary. Anyone seen how bad Stake pass switchbacks are into Langstrath. Huge work done a few years ago n very rubbish to ride by bike or horse…

Makes me so angry. Trail work here was unneccessary. Anyone seen how bad Stake pass switchbacks are into Langstrath. Huge work done a few years ago n very rubbish to ride by bike or horse…5

Lots of cheeky on the above  routes…. suggest dont do it when busy !

Have riden it a few times. Prefer the descent from saddle to staveley myself…

Hi,

Looked up post viral fatigue / chronic fatigue stuff? Ever been bitten by a tick? I had a bout of pvfs a number of years ago. It resolved itself after a long time. Listen to your body n rest when you need to.

Regards,

Paul

I have had good service from them. No issues yet…

2nd the Banshee spity. Mines epic. Liked the Rune too I rode on some challenging stuff in Portugal !

Hi,

I went with WERIDE.PT when i was on Sintra. They are all over Portugal. I had an epic time enduro style. Would go again.

Paul

Hi,

I managed a stunning 2 hr fatbike ride up from my door in the dales this pm. The fells were rock solid with some huge drifts in places that had me walking at times. So much fun apart from a savage wind. JUST warm enough with overtrousers and ski gloves…

I didnt feel like doing much more re windchill…. I told people were I was going as I wouldnt want to wait for days for help to arrive re a fall… was way colder than yesterdays outing !

Happy trails,

Paul

Hi,

I do a fair bit of trail and fell running here in the lakes n dales. I find it really helps fitness wise. Much less faff than biking.

Try n start slowly to avoid overuse injuries. Stretch a lot n find a good physio !

Shoewise I use Walsh PBs and some Inov8s. Personally I didnt get on with Salomon shoes as I felt they did not offer much grip on anything wet. Very comfortable though. Plenty of shoe reviews on line. Find a local club for advice.

Enjoy. It will be a pain / pleasure thing…

Paul

Hi,

Def against fox hunting for sport. Have met good and bad hunt supporters whilst fell running and biking when working in the lakes. Some were friendly some were not. Same goes for farmer and other outdoor users ( and fellow bikers !).

Worst was when I was nearly driven over on a bridleway by a blood crazed chap in a 4×4 dashing to get to a vital bit of spectating…. very scary.

I get the social side but I dont get the perverse lets all dress in tweed / camo and stand by a 4×4 with other overwhelmingly overweight white country folk shouting into a radio excitedly about the hunts progress…

Also the girls I knew in the local pub really didnt like the boorish and sometimes creepy behaviour of some of the hunt members after they had consumed alcohol on a hunt day. Worse than normal…

I am certainly a hypocrite as I do eat meat / dairy and have done some falconry in the past. I am really, really anti grouse shooting on a variety of levels. Suggest people read Mark Avery and George Monbiot for an idea.

Paul

Hi,

I swore never to buy a pace product ever again after warranty issues years ago and similar treatment to a colleague.

Maybe things have changed now.

Paul

Hi,

Jacks rake is quite scary for me in places and people have died on it. I have no problem fell running atop striding edge but Jacks and Sharp Edge get to me….

Paul

hello,

I feel your pain re your hope bb creaking… mine recently did this I tried everything – even replaced those crap plastic spacers with nice alloy ones before I replaced the drive side bearing – clicking went. Once the bearing was out of its housing/cup I could feel a slight roughness in one spot…

Still it lasted along time for an external bb !

good luck

paul

Thank you !

Hi,

I use Maxxis Aspens – surprisingly good off road !

paul

Hi,

I still ride in the lakes weekly -I used to live there n ride daily on bridleways vs trail centres ! I use both hardtail/full suss depending on the route, but I always seem to use a Minion dhf on front n either the same on the rear or something faster rolling. I usually run higher tyre pressures than is fashionable but I rarely flat however I am quite light n smooth n know the trails i ride very well.

Enjoy !

Paul

Well that doesnt surprise me in the least… seen some interesting returns when i worked selling spec bikes… But I am sure other big brands suffer the same and have seen some boutique stuff also poorly made…

paul

Hi all

Thanks for the responses. Stox n psling n khani are right. Was her n not me…. apparantly ‘its nothing to worry about’ n i shouldnt be jealous n forget it…

She did say if i had done it she wouldnt have liked it at all. Nowt like some double standards eh?

Cheers

yes

doable – i have one rear seat and we have done trips like that albeit not in bike bags…

paul

hi mate,

totally feel for you – I lost a springer a few years ago – killed me. I got 2 new ones a few years later – wished I had got them sooner.

Dogs are superb, especially ones that you do stuff with. Your dog sounds like she had an epic life and you will be spared the heartache of seeing them grow old and frail like my springer did. Remember the good times and ride in memory of her.

Take care and get another dog when you are ready.

Paul

agree with peterpoddy – keep using them and just service them more frequently – rebas are a superb solid fork – better than my fox floats for useage but they still need lower servicing – commuting still causes the oil to migrate and a dry bush ( snigger ) is what causes the wear – I use heavier weight oil to lube my lowers or even grease at the top…. my bushes are better that way….

I ride light but I do a lot of hours and so I service my lowers frequently

paul

Hi

I use 160mms mostly and they work well for me ( I am sub 11 stone )- even for the likes of snowdon / cadair idris / lakes stuff and as I like v techy trails I think they gibe me more clearance as and in the past i have bent my bigger rotors more often than my smaller ones – however the bigger ones do grab more and ‘feel’ more powerful but they add more weight…

a 180/160 combo is great as is a 160/160 for normal trails

hope that helps

paul

hi al,

i thought it was the limits but i checked it on the trail by manualy pushing the mech up and and it was fine – plus it hasnt been touched since i last cabled it 2 mths ago and its been up and around snowdon twice and done 12+ days in the lakes since with no bother…

seems a coincidence that it was skipping in that gear only and it caused an issue – reckon it must have been a twisted link from a bad shift earlier in the day and it caused a jam…

cheers

paul

I agree – I think its foolish and actually very selfish – riding without a helmet however ‘good you are’ can lead to life changing injurues. Even a relatively minor injury can cause a lot of collateral damage to the injured persons family (and stresses the nhs to boot) – I have been there and had to cope with someone with a ‘minor head injury ‘ – trust me it wasnt fun for all concerned.

I would love the mag to do an article on the effect such an injury has on the individual / family etc. Biking / climbing / skiing are risky – in my eyes wearing a helmet alleviates that risk and keeps my head warm in the cold – so why not ? I saw 2 riders recently in a snowy snowdonia riding nice bikes / nice biking clothes and no lids – it just looked silly wearing a wooly hat..

I am sure this thread will descend into the usual polarised camps etc but to those who dont see the need – think what your nearest and dearest would feel if you took a head injury because you choose not to wear a lid. I know its not 100% but if I was clipped by a car and sent sliding along the road I would want my helmet or similarly if riding a lakeland tech rockfest and I went OTB….

Anyways my 2ps worth. I wouldnt want to ride with a non helmet wearer – it just isnt clever.

paul

I wouldnt to be honest – I have had pvfs/cfs in the past prob from doing too much when ill with a virus – it wasnt fun being off the bike for like 6mths feeling wasted…

go watch a film or something….

paul

hi guys,

this is pretty much my kind of riding long hours over multiple days – i regularly do 3-5 dayers etc – have used steel / ti hardtails – both with LT thudbusters and 100 and 140mm sus frames… the thudbuster is great and a real good bit of kit….

I reckon the lighter the better esp if its hike a bike / bog dragging but the C2C i would take a comfortable hardtail with low rolling resistance tyres / or say the lakes c2c i would take a 100mm full sus….

I did do a 4 dayer in the brecon beacons on a turner 5 spot with pikes and that was hard work and over biked but at the time it was my only non broken bike…

enjoy

paul

To the o/p – respect the restrictions – as stated above – climbers do for birds etc – if there is a real reason for the restriction then obey it – you can ride your bike elsewhere – I am an RSPB volunteer and birds / wildlife have enough of a hard time – it isnt life or death for you riding a bike – for these birds it could well be…

Use it as a catalyst to go elsewhere for a change…

Thanks guys – Northwind – thats the same combo I use – come back to a blue groove / nev combi after a few years and I actually like them a lot….

cheers

paul

2nd the above – guess 300 ish…

paul

sorry to hear about your stack – mend soon !

glad you were wearing a lid – i do and have had similar impacts – both on a bike and a snowboard – hope the shoulder heals quick

paul

I have one fitted to a square stayed frame – hard but not impossible

they are great – could do with being wider and they dont work as well on my mates 29er he reckons

it does look ugly as do all mudguards but it was invaluable on my recent 4 day trans lakes trip which was mostly wet / storm force wind / sleet / snow – its been up and down via the snowdon ranger too without a problem – I really rate it – you donbt norice it when riding and its silent in use.

If you ride over 5 hrs in manky conditions, mudguards really help – we did an 8hr ride in north wales and I was ripped for taking guards – now the others are getting them – despite all of us rocking goretex shorts… I was def cleaner and less chafed by the end of it !

paul

Yes

back in the day with down tube routed cables I took a rock strike that dam well nearly severed the cable – was very odd !

More recently have had cables get kinked from being badly transported in mates cars and once some kinked outer and inner in a stack – so yes I would take some esp if abroad – spokes and a tyre a good idea and a tyre boot.

have a fun trip

I am surprised no ones mentioned Avid BB7s….

Just ace brakes – even if they are heavier and cable.. but they dont suffer heat issues in the same way as hydraulic… trail fixable and easy to live with – other than that my retro xt 4pots….

paul