What about the jumps on Secret Santa?

legend – Member

So you just lift more of the reverb out of the frame then clamp it. feed some more cable through if needed

D’oh, yeah, that should work. :oops:

DickBarton – Member

What size frame? I clamp mine on seat tube – not seat post – it fits in the triangle at top seat tube.

It’s a medium. The jaws of my clamp are too big for that triangle at the top of the seat post.

It’s a Stealth Reverb too so I can’t just swap that out for a regular seat post.

Think I might have to modify the width of the jaws on the clamp.

wiggles – Member

Clamp the reverb just put a rag around it

Really? I only have about an inch of the Reverb outer tube showing from my seat tube. Isn’t there a chance of bending/deforming the Reverb inner if I clamp there because of the weight of the bike?

Hora – why is undertaking one of the two worst things to do to a driver? Surely tailgating is worse?

I quite like Van Gogh’s Missing Ear and Jimmy’s Kung Fu Special.

Nobeerinthefridge – Member

Only lasted 2 days thankfully,slept like a baby last night, 8 solid hours.

Bastard. I got three hours kip. :(

I used to drink 4/5 cans of Coke or Irn-Bru a day. Gave it up last Christmas and it took about three weeks for the caffeine headaches to stop properly.

The one negative side effect I did not plan for was somehow my sleep is worse than ever and it’s been like this for the last seven months.

alextemper – Member

Evian and Area51 are up and running again although not quite as before.

I stand corrected. :)

Evian, Area 51 and Bear Necessities are no more, blocked off by felled branches.

Was last down there 10 days ago, Holmbury and Pitch were dry and running well. My usual ‘litmus tests’ are Fork Right and Telegraph Row – if they’re dry then everything else will be too and both were dry when I was last there.

I haven’t done Winterfold in a couple of months so can’t comment on Northern Monkey etc but I’d guess they’ll all be fine for the most part.

I found Bedgebury to be a total anti-climax. I can only remember one ‘descent’ and it was on a fire road. £9 for parking was also a bit salty.

Swinley wasn’t much better IIRC.

Surrey Hills is way better IMO, more variety of trails that are better quality. Of course it helps to know your way around.

Falling asleep on the sofa to your favourite, repeatedly watched TV show.

Getting that text from that someone saying “hey, how’s your day going :)?”

When you friends start up with the banter.

CaptainFlashheart – Member

Blade is dull.

Surprised you think that. The final descent is awesome IMO and feels like a genuine reward whereas I was underwhelmed by W2. Each to their own and all that I guess. :)

weeksy – Member

Just in case it’s dehydration I’ve just bought 2 large cobra beers to go with my Indian take away for tea.

Now there’s a thought that’s going to fester.

That’s what you get for going on a road ride. ;) Would never have happened if you were on the Spearfish. :D

Brilliant! I’m going to send that to the women in my office.

TBH, possible write off and personal injury x2 – I can’t understand why you wouldn’t want to have your insurer acting on your behalf.

orena45 – Member

Golden State went 73-9 (WTF?!) and Kobe drops 60 in his final game! What a night for basketball fans!

I used to be a big Warriors fan (from early 90s when I got into basketball – the Run TMC years) but stopped following it when I stopped playing. Now they’re doing so well I feel like a fraud.

benpinnick – Member

The obvious thing is a ruval maxes out at 32T while the X7 goes to 36. Im guessing subtle differences you’re not spotting make the one work versus the other.

Ah, I didn’t know that the Rival maxes out at 32t. I, rather simply, thought that as the X7 and Rival were the same dimensions that they’d function the same.

Thanks for the steer. :)

What’s a reasonable price to pay for hand built MTB wheels?

perchypanther – Member

Jeremy and the audience should have been a big hint that all was not well.

I’m not exactly the quickest bunny in the bush. It was still a few weeks after the test that we finally admitted it was time to move on from each other.

gobuchul – Member

Sofabear – did you go on Jeremy Kyle?

Nope, found a polygrapher who didn’t do any of the talk shows. Four polygraphers in the UK, only one didn’t do the talk shows and he lived three streets away from me.

I know of a few people that had affairs.

I’m ashamed to admit that I cheated on my fiance which then led to us splitting up and me marrying the girl I cheated on her with. Ironically, that marriage ended 7 years later when my wife thought I had cheated on her. I hadn’t and I took a lie detector test to prove to her that I’d been faithful but by then we realised that the relationship was over. Even though I hadn’t cheated on her, the shock waves were the same, the arguments just as bad, the pain just as great. Whilst it was traumatic at the time, she is now one of my best friends – silver linings and all that.

When I cheated on my fiance I was wracked with guilt for years, which also impacted my relationship with my wife. I last saw her at my brother’s wedding, probably 9 years after we’d split. She’s moved on, married with kids and got the life she wanted that I was reluctant to provide. Even after 9 years all I could do was apologise.

I’ve also been on the receiving end and I still don’t know what’s worse.

deadkenny – Member

Pedal & Spoke is based in Peaslake and shop rides vary and take all, but a lot I see on the pics and videos of the rides are up for big stuff. Big jumps and drops etc. Though as sofabear posted they appear to have done a longer loop today. I’d have been up for that had I not done similar yesterday and busy today anyway.

From P&S’s Facebook page they’re going to be doing one XC thrash a month with the other shop rides being closer, less mileage and therefore more gnarr.

oldtalent – Member

Sounds excellent! Despite living fairly close I havent been to surrey hills for years as I dont know my way around.
I have just joined the london calling facebook page.
I would prefer a gnar session rather than an xc thrash.
Hopefully will be able to join a suitable ride in the near future.

The Pedal & Spoke Facebook page (search for Pedal & Spoke Santa Cruz) is updated regularly, usually on a Wednesday/Thursday and gives details of the what the upcoming ride will be. Starts at 10.30am from their shop in Peaslake.

I’ve been cycling along Holmbury, Pitch and Winterfold for a while and know most of the regular trails but there are new ones sprinign up all the time and that’s without considering Leith Hill, Box Hill or Ranmore Common – the organized rides are a great way to keep up to date and learn your way around.

:)

Finally got round to going on a shop ride today, chose Pedal & Spoke, Top day out, well organised with about 20 riders.

The ride was a long 25 mile loop over Holmbury, Leith and Ranmore Common. The pace of the ride was a little quicker than I’m used to but nobody was dropped and there were plenty of stops.

A very relaxed atmosphere, learned some new trails and had a good laugh as well, highly recommended.

:)

Out of interest, why silicone grease and not red rubber grease? My brakes are Avids which use Dot 4 and I’ve always been taught that you should only use red rubber grease on piston seals.

Happy to be corrected as always.

Thanks folks. I’ve got some silicone grease so I’ll give that a try. I suppose, logically thinking, the pistons must be gripping the seals as I push them back into the caliper body.

Looks mental fun. I really should try to get involved in one. :)

Coincidentally, I was in Ludlow this weekend visiting friends and had the chance to go for a ride with a few locals.

I thought we’d be heading to Long Mynd but the locals reckon it’s over-rated so we spent a few hours in Mortimer Forest. Still had a good day mind. :)

@wrecker – thanks. Looks a cracking trail, now on the to-do list. :)

wrecker – Member

Why not go to blaengarw?
short little black trail, but as much fun as a bucket of puppies.

Never heard of the place but as I’m from south London that’s not surprising. Am heading back to south Wales next month. Is it easy to find the trails at Blaengarw?

:)

Cafall is awesome IMO, doable in a couple of hours (and I’m a chunky beer monkey). The ascent of the ride is an ‘M’ shape so most of the climbing is at the start with an equally long descent.

If time permits then you can do a couple of pay-as-you-go runs on Pedalhounds. Everything is rollable but it’s bloody good fun, similar to the blues at BPW.

FWIW, I’d choose Cwmcarn over Afan every time.

No riding injuries for me, I was nursing a two day hangover at the weekend.

A mate did however break his collar bone on the Big Dipper at Afan. I almost hurt myself from laughing.

Rimmer: “Urine should only be green if you’re Mr Spock.”

——————————-

Lister: What about the time you tied my hair to the bed-post and then sounded the fire alarm?

Rimmer: Lister, I did that because I was sick of you annoying me. I don’t have to explain it.

Lister: I nearly needed brain surgery.

Rimmer: What brains?

—————————————-

Rimmer: Everything you ever did, you did to pull me back and annoy me.

Lister: Like what?

Rimmer: Like using my Mother’s photograph as an ashtray.

Lister: I didn’t know. I thought it was a souvenir from Titan Zoo.

Rimmer: Exchanging the symbols on my revision timetable so instead of taking my engineering finals I went swimming.

Lister: The symbols fell off. I thought I put them back in the right place.

Rimmer: Swapping my toothpaste for a tube of contraceptive jelly.

Lister: That was a joke.

Rimmer: Yes, Lister. The same kind of joke as putting my name down on the waiting list for experimental Pile Surgery.

Pedalhounds is great fun. Think it’s a two dot grading but if I’m honest, there are more difficult trails on Pitch Hill. Pedalhounds is much more fun though and everything is rollable. :)

Euro – Member

If you are struggling to find ways to spend £500 on your bikes, don’t. Rather than waste if on something you don’t need, send your parents away somewhere nice for the weekend instead.

That is a good idea actually. :)

crashtestmonkey – Member

Point is, shiny bling will give you 5 minutes of satisfaction and motivation to ride, then you’ll forget about it. You’ve covered the skills coaching and holiday which have been widely suggested. Something like a fat bike will be a new riding experience, and it’s sufficiently different to ride that you’ll basically have to learn to ride it which will be more interesting and involving for longer than subtle changes to your current bike. Mine was cheap, is rigid and staying that way, and beyond the novelty value I find that riding it makes me work on my technique (ie. all the things I got taught in skills coaching sessions) and the fact that some of your efforts have to be exaggerated re-enforces those skills. So it’s more a skills developer than a skills compensator. As well as a right laugh, which ultimately is the point of riding bikes off road!

I’m liking the idea of a fat bike but my riding is mainly the muddy trails of the Surrey Hills, never on sand or snow. Still worth getting one? Very keen to try one. :)

bombjack – Member

Anyone know how the Twyrch is running now its back open? Planning a trip weekend after next and its a toss up between Cwmcarn and BPW. I’ve always preferred Cwmacarn, buts its a big old drive just for Cafell.
Any help appreciated!
BJ

I can’t help personally as I didn’t ride Twrch but I think I read on a different thread that Twrch is running pretty much the same as before with only a minor deviation.

Edit, here’s the other thread:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-ridden-the-new-twrch-yet

I bought a pair of Levi’s at the weekend and baulked at the £70 price tag – I remember when they were £35 from Fosters Menswear.

I mean, really – £200 for a pair of jeans?!!? 8O

crashtestmonkey – Member

5 quid on a tub of grease so you can service some perfectly good pedals, and not waste 90 quid on some pimp replacements that will only get bounced off rocks?

Fair point. The Meta doesn’t have pedals just now ‘cos they’ve been moved to the T-130 but attempting another service of the Saints is sensible. :)

crashtestmonkey – Member

And as there’s obviously nothing fundamentally ‘wrong’ with your bikes which is why you haven’t got anything specific you want to change, then another vote for n+1 fat bike. Not ridden my Alpine160 since spending £405 on a Voodoo Wazoo, and Northwind and others are V impressed with their Calibre Dunes from Go Outdoors.

Yep, another good point. Must look into these fat bikes a bit more.

jekkyl – Member

New carbon bar
new lightweight stem
new riding shoes
new fancy pedals
upgrade the shifters?
You could do a lot with £500 incl some luxurious accomodation for your next cycling trip, hotel with a spa??

Wheels are already tubeless, first thing I did when I got the bike home. :)

Do carbon bars and lighter stems add anything other than bling? Genuine question as I’ve never really considered them.

New flat pedals is a good call. My current Saints are getting a bit sticky on the axle.

nickjb – Member

A week riding in Spain.

That’s what the rest of the bonus is for. Having said that, happy to listen to any recommendations you might have as we’ve not been before. Uplift/guided preferred. :)