v666ern – Member

n+1 fatbike

andyflaw – Member

Sell commencal, buy wheels for stirling, buy fat bike.

Fat bike…. possibly. Not completely sold on them and would be extremely reluctant to sell the Meta. :(

mikewsmith – Member

Upgrade yourself with some one to one skills or some epo

That’s already on the cards. :)

leftyboy – Member

Better wheels for the 2016 Whyte T-130 Yari would be my choice

I don’t know much about wheels. Are the standard ones on the T-130 worth upgrading already considering the bike is only 3 weeks old (subjective question obviously)? Any suggestions on what I should be looking at? Bike is used mainly in Surrey Hills, trail centres, BPW and Antur Stiniog.

euain – Member

Do you have a dropper post? Wheels and a dropper could be done nicely for £500 or so.

Dropper will have a big influence on enjoyment of riding – changing other bits that actually work fine but you want something shinier will have a more limited effect (forks, shock etc).

Got a dropper on both bikes, agree fully that they make the ride much more enjoyable.

I won’t be changing fork or shock until they need replacing a I wouldn’t get the benefit. :)

I made it out to Cwmcarn last Sunday. Was a long day driving from Bromley but well worth it. Did the Cafall XC loop which was superb (as usual IME). It was a lot busier than the last time but then Twrch is open and the weather was fantastic.

Got the bottle up to do Pedalhounds. It was ace. Trickier than the blues at BPW, probably more comparable to the reds at AS if you swap the roots for rocks. Fairly sure it was steeper than the than what I’ve experienced at BPW and AS but my memory might be playing tricks on me.

I’ve never ridden the blacks at BPW or AS, I’m fairly certain both of those locations would be a lot harder to ride.

benpinnick – Member

Actually it is just easy. Its fast, which has its own issues, but theres actually nothing on the trail to make it difficult other than the speed.

I wouldn’t quite say it was easy but I wasn’t crapping myself on the way down. By the third run I was going plenty fast enough for me and grinning like a window licker. Can’t wait to go back. :D

Pedalhounds is quite scary on a xc hardtail with no brakes

I think even going through the car park without brakes would be scary! 8O Fair play to ye if you got down without incident. :)

I bought a T-130 Yari a few weeks ago and I love it. I was having a hard time choosing between an On One Codeine, Bird Aeris, Whyte T-130 and Whyte G-160 but followed head instead of heart.

I’ve got a Commencal Meta AM29 as my other bike and despite them both being trail bikes they are different animals.

Firstly, I can’t comment on suspension as I’m not knowledgeable in that way. Both bikes work just fine for me.

The 29″ wheels on the Meta are a great skills compensator and I thought I’d struggle on the slightly smaller rims – not so. You can feel the 27.5 turn in quicker but it’s incredibly stable and keen to deal with any roots or rocks – I guess that’s because of the slacker geometry and lower BB height.

I’ve swapped the standard tryes – WTB Riddler on the rear and WTB Trail Boss on the front to start with, now running WTB Trail Boss on the rear and a WTB Vigilante on the front. Both tyres were a doddle to set up tubeless on the WTB rims.

Their looks to be a bit of clearance on the rear for a larger tyre but I couldn’t honestly tell you how much (I’ll have a look tonight when I get home).

I was at Cwmcarn yesterday, did a loop of Cafall and T-130 climbed way better than the Meta, descended far quicker than the Meta (though the trail was drier than previous outings). I ventured on to Pedalhounds for the first time. A couple of runs later I was getting myself into ‘hold your breath’ moments whilst the bike dealt with everything in its stride.

I started replying to this thread about five hours ago so apologies if I’ve missed off anything specific.

:)

Edit – my first two rides were on the standard tyres in the claggy mud of the Surrey Hills. The tyres clogged quite quickly but only on the treads, mud didn’t clog between the tyre and rim. They were some of the muddiest conditions I’ve ridden in too.

Atters, I’m not great with words on a forum but I’m in London (Bromley, work in Canary Wharf), most weekends I head to Peaslake, always happy to lend an ear here, there or wherever. :)

@Nobeerinthefridge and @STATO – thank you. :)

roverpig – Member

One thing to watch is that BB height will drop by a cm or so. Do you get lots of pedal strikes with 29er wheels? If so, you might find 27.5+ a pain.

Thanks, one thing I hadn’t considered. I don’t get many pedal strikes fortunately. :)

Thanks for the replies folks.

I’ve looked at a few vids of Pedalhounds and as usual, the vids make it look quite easy – nothing like a GoPro to make a trail look less steep than it actually is.

Am happy doing the flowy reds at BPW and at AS and love the final descent on Cafall so thought I’d ask about Pedalhounds. It also seems to be an under-used to trail which appeals immensely because I can mince my way down without worrying about holding people up.

Very tempted for this weekend. :)

How far from destination?

Last week I blew a tyre 3 miles from the office (6 miles from home). Running in Northwave GTX boots is not fun, my feet are still recovering.

gee – Member

Queen’s B and B is excellent and let you go and get a take away and eat it in house as there isn’t a restaurant in Glyncorrwg. We’ve had a few excellent curries from a place about 10 mins drive away.

Seconded, Queens as an excellent place to stay. We were there ten days ago. On the Saturday night we headed up to the working man’s club for a few pints, the publican/owner was more than happy to phone out for curry for us. Even provided plates and cutlery (pretty much table service) and wouldn’t any money from us for his troubles. Highly recommended.

For the poster asking about trail conditions, we only rode White’s Level and it was in good condition despite the constant rain since November.

I’ve been looking at tow bar bike racks recently as I’m getting tired of having to put my bike inside my car every time I go somewhere and the inside of my car is getting filthy despite copious use of sheets to cover the upholstery.

I’m reasonably competent with spanners so would be happy having a go at fitting the tow bar myself but I’m really not good with electrics. FWIW my car is a 2012 (62 plate) Ford Fiesta.

A lot of you make it sound like the electrics are quite straightforward – or have I misunderstood?

Also, how do you deal with theft security? Is there a particular model which lets you lock the bikes to the rack?

Thanks.

Mountain biking is very much a happy place. Having just gone through a breakup of sorts, mountain biking is pretty much the only time I feel at peace. I wake most nights due to a variety of stressful thoughts, imagining that I’m tipping into the first corner on a favourite trail starts to calm me down. :)

samunkim – Member

My happy place.

Guessing she got the shoot cause she had the SPDs ?

She needs high heels, not spuds. ;)

yorkycsl – Member

Ok many don’t agree with them but age or injury they keep people riding having fun enjoying the sport & in my book that’s a win.

;)

I just took delivery of a T-130, had my first ride on it yesterday.

I was a bit puzzled by the lack of rear lockout but it didn’t hamper my pedalling (spin more than grind).

:)

Was down there yesterday but limited my ride to Holmbury and Pitch.

Holmbury was fine in my opinion, a little muddy but way better than it’s been recently. For example, the first section of Telegraph Road had a few puddles, not the 20ft long oceans which hid all the tree roots.

Pitch was slightly muddier but still better than a few weeks back (though I didn’t ride Fork Right which has been a quagmire recently).

Of course, it’s raining now so all of the above could be moot.

On a separate note, HTF do you ride the top section of Thick and Creamy? I *really* struggled to get going after walking the bike through the tight channel cut into the hillside. :(

Thanks for the quick and helpful replies, they’re greatly appreciated. :)

Never ridden Twrch but Cafall is lovely. The final descent from the start of Pedal Hounds is well worth the effort to get there.

daver27 – Member

Winterfold Was pretty knackered when I was up there sunday

I don’t know Winterfold that well, just the popular trails and they seemed to hold up quite well I thought. The only bit that I can remember being a PITA was the really muddy rooty bit where Summer Madness and Charlie Bronson merged. Saying that, I’m comparing it to the slop on Pitch.

Mbnut – Member

Sofabear… Surrey is almost local.

Agreed, I haven’t found anything comparable any closer.

I was at Cwmcarn last weekend, the Cafall trail is bloody good fun IMO. At least you’re doing Bedgebury before the good stuff. ;)

bubs – Member

…… but I think it is just a case of picking the appropriate trails.

Some trails definitely fare better than others. Stuff on Holmbury seems to be rideable pretty much all year round, Pitch slightly less so.

Mbnut – Member

Hello Garey

Where abouts in Kent are you…

I am Maidstone way and ride at Surrey regularly, drop me a line and we will sort a trip over.

I thought I was hard done by travelling to Peaslake from Bromley every couple of weeks.

daver27 – Member

I’d avoid it for a few more weeks, its utterly ruined up there at the moment.

I’ve not been down in a few weeks – have conditions got worse? I was planning on a ride tomorrow.

Having just done my second day at Cwmcarn, I have to suggest that. A lot of climbing done at the start (though the trail is ‘M’ shaped IYSWIM), ends with a fantastic long descent which is both technical and flowy.

Number 2009. In London, not over the pond.

wwaswas – Member

because if you weld aluminium it can’t be heat treated to restore strength.

Carbon can be repaired to be as strong as it was originally:

I didn’t know that, thank you. :)

Out of interest, why would you repair a cracked carbon frame but not a cracked ally frame?

This might not be a consideration but…. the TomTom Multisport Cardio GPS is fully waterproof as mentioned above so it can record your time in the pool but be warned that it over estimates the distance.

For instance, I swam 1,500 metres but the watch recorded 1.19 miles and that’s not isolated. Seems to just be in the pool as cycling and running distances are fairly accurate.

Another drawback, again on swimming, it doesn’t record heart rate but it does estimate calories burned (in total, not just the exercise top up).

For running and cycling it’s brilliant.

Heal quickly ye fecker, I’m desperate to go back! :D

You don’t owe us anything mate. In fact I still on you petrol money (which I shall sort out tonight). :)

saxabar – Member

Tell your mate BPW is a must if you like CyB! Has she/he been to BPW? There’s stuff beyond me there and I like to think of myself as reasonably handy on a bike.

Agreed, I thought BPW was brilliant, loads of fun. I only did the blues as our day was sadly cut short but I was grinning like a window licker.

P-Jay – Member

Cwmcarn is great… but as others have said Twrch isn’t worth the trip the moment – the poster above who mentioned geting lost? Judging by his/her post, they didn’t, thats really as good as it gets at the moment and the only thing near there that’s easy to follow is BPW – why doesn’t your mate fancy it? If you’re riding up, it’s very much like a trail centre, especially the blue graded trails (they’re brillaint fun).

Afan is always a laugh, loads of unoffical trails there, but they’re boggy at the moment.

Brechfa is the best though – I live the Red and the Blue, hate the Black but most people like it.

We’ll definitely be at Cwmcarn but we’ll be doing Cafall trail (never done Twrch so no idea how good it is). We like Cafall, especially as it’s climb then descend.

As far as Afan goes, have done W2/White’s/Y Wal but felt quite underwhelmed by it. No real reason why though, maybe I was just having a crap day. OTOH, I loved Penhydd.

Looking at the maps, Brechfa might be just too far. I was also wondering about FoD and the Quantocks (okay, not Wales, but this is a MTB weekend so we can be flexible).

:)

Thanks for the suggestions so far, they’re greatly appreciated.

To help narrow things, I would comment as follows:

– BPW is a no-go due to one of my mates (the most competent rider not fancying it). I, OTOH, was there on Friday and can’t wait to go again.

– Our navigation skills are untested apart from one trip to Nan Bield last year where we followed a pre-planned Viewranger route on my phone.

– We’re used to CyB and happy with the reds and blacks there so hopefully that gives an idea of skills/competencies.

– I hate climbing but I love descents. I’m happy pushing up if needs be.

– We’re leaving London around 7am so hope to be on the trails by 11am.

– No idea where we’re staying yet, this is a very “cuffing it” trip.

– I have no desire to do W2/White’s Level/The Wall at Afan. Dunno why, it just didn’t feel that worth it to me last time.

:)

cookeaa – Member

Does the offer include the expander rings?

Nope, just tried it and no discount given on expander rings. :(

*runsofftoreadbicyclelightreviews*

@hora – happy to show you around when you’re next in the area. Hopefully by then I’ll have found T+C and Sneaky Fox. :)

weeksy – Member

On the way there or on the way back ?

If none of us are in plaster casts on the way back i’ll look back on the day fondly

Plaster casts, stitches, impaled on a tree branch…. I’ll still be scratching ma nuts. :D

I could potentially be interested in this. I’ve never done night riding but am no stranger to the trails around Peaslake (well, the well known ones anyway).

I’m over in Bromley and work in Canary Wharf so it would take a bit of organising on my part but that’s for me to worry about. :)

Hob Nob – Member

It’s worth looking, there is probably 10/12 different trails down that side of Pitch, you can loop round & ride them one after the other.

T&C + Sneaky Fox probably being the better two, although not many seem to ride the latter any more.

Thanks for the steer, never heard of Sneaky Fox. I’ll probably venture up that way on Sunday. :)

teamhurtmore – Member

Sofa, did you do summer madness while you were that way?

Nope, more because I was looking for Lovely Legs (or Lady Legs, can never remember which one is on that side of the Winterfold). Stumbled upon the “full” Charlie Bronson by accident as I normally join the trail from the road.

I ran out of time to go back and do SM unfortunately.

teamhurtmore – Member

Is it just me, or have the runs like Eric and the like got harder? Last time I was on the top of Pitch, I had some definite mincing moments on runs that I used to be fine with. Seems that whole slope has been developed a lot more.

I’ve never done Eric so can’t comment on that run but I was on the steep Pitch run in July and there didn’t look to be much there, certainly on the run down toward the fire road which leads to Curly Wurly.

Fast forward to Christmas, ventured over to that steep bit of Pitch and there looked to have been a lot of new stuff – sizeable drops and jumps.

I keep meaning to go looking for Thick n Creamy too.

boobs – Member

Define weird

Sitting in a seat scratching your balls whilst muttering “more, more, MORE”!

After all, that’s what I’ll be doing on the drive on Friday. Probably.

jambalaya – Member

Yes I miss it too @hora, it really was wonderful to have had that on the doorstep and the xc riding is excellent too. Nirvana Cycles is correctly named. Barry/Golden Birdies gets a lot of critisim but its always fun and as its quite pedally you get to the bottom tuckered out

Ain’t that the truth, it’s deceptively pedally.

Haven’t spotted the rampage trail that’s been mentioned. Saying that, sounds a bit too hardcore for me. Rode Charlie Bronson full length yesterday for the first time ever – that was fun. :)

First one could be Proper Bo but it only has one proper double, the second double is so small that even I can do it. You can finish Proper Bo bearing left into short a steep-ish descent to a fire road or by bearing right up the hill to another fire road. Don’t remember it being like a quagmire today though (though I’m comparing it to other properly sloppy trails).

Yoghurt Pots was good today, a lot less gloop than a couple of weeks ago. The top section of berms at the start of Barry’s is getting quite bad for braking bumps, in fact it was almost a pot hole when I did it today.

Very brief update. Went into my LBS on Saturday to look at a Whyte T-130s Yari. Looks absolutely stunning in the flesh and, IMO, a quality piece of kit. Everything just feels right.

The only fly in the ointment – the shop also had a G-160 for the same price so I’m going large on this occasion. :)