i pop and grease mine ! i also clean / regrease = they last ages

paul

its out of warranty! hence the repair – its an old merlin

paul

image is everything….

right wing nazi types gets my vote

A mate gave me his part worn one to try – as he hated it…

– in a nutshell its not a tyre I would pay money for. Fragile – I use it as a canal path tyre now = it is fast though

ho hum

I have used old xtrs and normal cables = fine – currently using avid fr5 levers and normal cables = again fine!

have seen people use fancy cables – dont see the need really!

they are great brakes and dont fade when hot…

paul

i have biked / hiked it aplenty – email me if you want any info

in a nutshell – the bridleway ascent is doable 85 % up and almost the same on the decent – its a great day

think i prefer to hike up and do an easy scramble from the lake but its still great on a bike

paul

is it something carbon???

amen brother

hmmm

I have had this conversation with friends – cost vs performance lead them to say – dont bother…

I have decided I would rather run my 8/9 spd kit into the ground / save my cash and actually use the money to stay in a nice YHA somewhere with proper riding…

paul

I have a thudbuster on one of my HTs = its superb – am saving up for one to put on my other HT – I do long day / multi day rides in the lakes / mid wales etc = its superb for ‘ trekking XC ‘ routes as I am much less tired / sore butted by the end of the day – also been thrown down Helvellyn / Ingleborough / Skiddaw / Cadair Idris / Snowdon = so yep I love mine.

try it

paul

great film and over looked – i liked it – more cerebral than a lot of war films….

I use hope XCs and DT 240s – both are capable and long lasting – DT spoilt by speacial ring tool BUT very very good – better than my xcs i reckon – I hear about lot of bearing fails in pro2s….

paul

just up to the point the cracker, err, cracks under the weight???

paul

Hello,

I have had the same issue on 3 sets of RS forks = its the poor spring thats at fault – cleaning and retensioning the poplock is mostly a waste of time – either live with it – or get a manual lockout fitted – ( this means unhooking the spring in the cartridge or buying a newer non poplock cartridge ).

Known fault according to my still mates in the bike trade.

Shame as rebas/ sids are great forks and in my experience slightly more durable than my older fox forks

It is frustrating I know !!

I get super wound up by this – I own 2 dogs and the mrs has one too – we go mad when we see these turd bags in the woods – it gives us a bad name when walking our dogs…its kinda like red light jumping cyclists giving normal cyclists a bad name….

i have yet to see someone doing this for real though… could be an interesting chat…

note – ring rash not 100 pc reliable – if you feel crap / flu like next few weeks go docs and tell them and get antibiotics – if its not too late keep the tick in a plastic bag in a freezer IF you get sick they can test it to see what it was carrying as its not just lyme they can vector.

just my 2ps worth.

good luck fella

been there myself and had a 6mth bout of chronic fatigue – oh no sir – its not lyme…

look after yourself

paul

As a dog owner I really feel for your friends – to the negative posters – just dont post – it just isnt helpful – and yes to some people a dog IS their child

I honestly like my dogs a lot better than some of my friends…. even some of my relatives !!

Hope they find him

paul

hello,
I use a thudbuster with a cover – looks way better with it – my mrs also uses a thudbuster – both of us use hardtails and ride a fair bit = they work really well. When I put mt thomson back on I really notice it…

They are simple to maintain and really take the worst of the trail out – still quick when sprinting etc – come into their own on long day rides…

not had the ‘ knee problems ‘ people mention.

I rate them – unimpressed with use ones…

paul

seen some spd compatible clown shoes t’other day for the circus bike…

my mistake – didnt realise grouse arent bred but rely on local populations – seems that there are other factors affecting their mortality – esp other predators and ticks ( another of my interests – hate ticks ) from sheep etc.

perhaps grouse estates should allow their grouse to repopulate to a more healthy population then start shooting again…

still not convinced that its worth killing birds of prey alone when other factors play a part. Perhaps another canon fodder bird could be used or even clays?

hey ho

paul

As an avid raptor watcher / photog’er I am appalled by the illegal killing of raptors esp harriers – it seems to me a middle ground needs to be reached. They are stunning birds to watch – something I want to keep seeing as long as I live.

Maybe an open discussion re this may lead to a compromise – I would rather see a managed cull of raprors in certain areas than the poisoning of them. I am not sure I know the answer.

I do know I feel overwhelmingly sad when I hear that harriers / ospreys have been shot for merely existing by taking grouse / fish which man has artificially put there… for money / via a blood sport….

Grouse shooting is a very, very expensive ‘sport’ – not what I would want to do – I like shooting clays etc but I wouldnt personally want to do grouse shooting but I do accept some people do and are willing to pay a lot to do so. Shooting estates are managed land and this can bring benefits to a few local people etc – however I think tourism / watching birds can also be important. Most of the money will stay with the estate owner anyways…

I would rather see a live / let live approach – breed MORE grouse to allow for raptor ‘wastage’ – feed them by alternate means / maybe scare the birds away ( if possible ) like they do wolves in yosemite or capture and relocate them to other areas. Arent the grouse kept under nets anyways? I do see a lot of escapees on the roads etc and I wonder arent more killed by motor vehicles / cat predation than raptors? Just doesnt add up in my mind.

A question needs to be asked – if theres less supply of grouse due to wastage – surely that makes the shoots ‘ more desirable ‘ and therefore they can charge ever more to shooters????

A difficult question.

Give me a shout if you want company / route guiding – am down there most weekends re mrs living near there – 5 hrs would see a great mynd / stiperstones /eastridge and back ride – horseshoes pub still closed….

paul

i have cycled toured there for 2 summers = awesome country

go visit – its not that expensive and pretty girls!

paul

Pace frames ( old ones and crap aftersales ) / onza rip n rail tyres / newer conti tyres / x7/9 sram drivetrain / shimano middle chainrings / a few king headsets scoring my steerers ( shame as bearings amazing – hope newer ones ok )…Fox forks stanchions wearing out…. Rock shox MOCO cartridges failing…. Egg beater pedals / non square taper bbs…. oh and the hideous onza HO pedals…. older style USE seatposts and Xlite handlebars bending !

hey ho…

paul

hmmm,

in 2 minds about this… part of me agrees with the OP however I would be a total hypocrit as I have done some heli snowboarding in NZ when much younger and it was ‘really’ fun. I saw heli biking in queenstown and thought that looks great… I do agree with the enviro aspect but I think theres worse things happening in the world BUT OP does have a point.

I kinda think mountain biking is a sport that means different things to different people. I personally love the hills and the nature side of things – but to some heli biking would rate as a great day out – no doubt at huge expense as helis dont come cheap….

however most weekend warriors think its acceptable to drive many hours to ride a scalextric track so biking isnt enviro friendly in that respect or the whole rampant consumerism of the sport – as is A LOT of western / modern life. Thing is we are living a lifestyle on the back of millions of years worth of stored solar energy in the form of coal / oil etc and one day that will end and things will be ‘challenging’….

hmmm – sum up its not my idea of mountain biking but I would like to do it just for a ride in a heli again…

perhaps the event organisers can buy some trees as a carbon offset???

ho hum

paul

hi all,

best to use wax ( ski / snowboard wax )as a lube – as its less likely to hold on to crap or as above use full outers – you dont have to drill out stops – just zip tie the outer OR a better solution – use transfill sealed ferrules n straw that makes a superb weatherproof system at minimal cost ( 4 quid plus normal outer )- only the rear loop at the rear mech gets fouled eventually – I do a lot of long all dayers and my cables are spot on.

I rode across canada / iceland ( twice ) with the above set up – not a prob. In fact the only time I rarely have cable issues is if a cable gets kinked by a crash or poor car transportation…

I think people stress way too much re cables – just fit them properly with no bad bends etc and jobs a good one. Or give up and ride fixed. Or not….

pentax user here – cheap legacy lenses available – OS in the body and rugged and nice to use and decent – I like sony too – canikons are great too – just a question of taste and what feels better in the hand – agree on the above comments re lugging a DSLR + lenses gets old quickly…

whatever you get invest time and learn the manul functions!

have fun

paul

d’arcs fine here or bolle safetys….

paul

ok,

My mrs lives in shrewsbury and I ride Haughmond a lot – we call it the ‘ rollercoaster ‘ – watch for deer in there….

There are good trails on the other side too. We have a dog and are equally appalled by the poo bags in trees too….

great woods

TROLL HUNTER TO THE FORUM – BRING YOUR CROSBOW

i have cracked a lovely ’boutique’ ti frame too – twice – they arent indestructable – but a joy to ride!

paul

I have 2 sets – awesome wheels for xc all dayers – I have the tool – 30-40 quid off ebay… yes its a ballache paying out and its stupid but they are great hubs – light and responsive. Have replaced the inner bearing a few times and one set of star ratchets – BUT i do starship mileage….

would buy again

paul

I have a raptor 11 / talon 33 / stratos 26 / switch – i love osprey packs – I am bit of a rucksack whore – use for biking / hiking . snowsports etc – I have lots of different branded ones etc and osprey is on top of my list…

– light / well made / comfy – only prob is on the raptor it has silly elastic pockets vs a decent zip… minor niggle…

my friend has a manta and an escapist mtb one – they seem superb too

would recomend
paul

Ok,

light bikes are better in my opinion – I am faster / better climbing and able to ride for longer on my light bike than my heavier built bike – but both are fun to ride in different circumstances – but IF its going to be a long, long all day epic xc in the hills ride with a few hike a bike sections I will always take the light one and make a compromise on the descents – WHICH is a built in safety factor – if i mince the descents I am less likely to hurt myself and put me / buddies in a pickle…

Anyways – to those who say weight doesnt matter should take a big ride with a lot of carrying and pushing and see how they feel after that !

bb7s rock. use them on my epic bike – be perfect for africa – just learm how to strip them and lube them up

paul

maybe get some friendly bearded type to show you how to properly navigate? go do a course… map reading gets a lot faster the more you do it – I would never rely on electronic means – have had 2 x gps fail on me in the past and was quite glad off a compass and a map…

paul

I too feel fed up with price hikes out of proportion to energy / currency increases = bike industy takes the piss – look at lubes / shock oils / bearings for example – put a ‘bike’ label on it and its suddenly a lot dearer.

I need a new damper for my forks cos the old one was crap/failed – 100 plus for mostly plastic parts = ‘brilliant value’. What would 100 quid buy you say in electronics…

If people are stupid to buy into the whole new tech scene then let them – makes 2nd hand parts seem almost good value.

I am burning through a lot of parts and it costs me a lot if not all my disposable cash. I am a rare beast in as much I do a lot of xc trail miles week after week.

oh well. gripe over

yes – all fitted – just concerned that the bolt is much too long – maybe a shorter bolt?

IMO a 160mm should fit minus an adaptor?

cheers

paul