I’ll be watching this thread with interest as I’m interested in the Codeine too.

I took a drive up to Planet X/On One, very helpful people. The Codeine looks stunning IMO and the photos on the website don’t do it justice.

sandwicheater – Member

You read the warranty thread about Commercial?

I hadn’t noticed that either. I’ll have a hunt for it when I get a sec but I’m guessing not a positive thread?

Folks, running late for the office so will reply more fully in a bit but for now I’d just like to say thanks for messages of support, they are very much appreciated. :)

Is there any way I can use this to justify buying a new bike?

bearnecessities – Member

It’s not though really is it, you’ve just let your stupid, stupid, stupid brain delay things.

You already know the situation, nothing that really can be added to that.

You’ll get though it – if it was really meant to be then you would have fought tooth ‘n’ nail for it. It wasn’t, although it is bound to screw you up a bit knowing she’s with someone else now. (he’s probably got a tiny winkie)

Be a good bloke, punch some pillows and drink some malt. However, just be a decent chap throughout, she’ll probably feel as weird about it as you. Don’t pretend you’re completely ‘cool’ with it, but that also means you may have to excuse yourself from certain engagements for a while. She will totally get that.

One of those ‘life’s a bitch’ moments; you’ll get through it fella.

Yep, it’s the knowing there’s someone else and all the negative thoughts the go with that.

Thank you for the other good advice too, I’ve opened a bottle of Jura so hopefully that will help settle me tonight. :)

robdob – Member

I would go out for the meal and consider it a “last meal” before you sever the tie. Keep it to yourself and remember the good times you’ve had, use it as a farewell to that friendship.

The kicker – it’s my birthday meal. :(

jekkyl – Member

& don’t shag her!

Haven’t done that in a while so there’s no danger there. Hell, we were pished last night when she told me and still shared a bed without anything happening (Christmas party/hotel so not quite usual course of events).

iolo – Member

She’s your mate right op?
Be happy for her then.
You can find someone and still be her friend.

I am happy for her and she does deserve to be happy. I just kinda liked being the guy on the top pedestal.

CountZero – Member

Difficult to make a ‘clean break’ when you weren’t actually a couple to break up from. Might be best to get some space for a bit, but as you’ve been friends for such a long time, then it does seem that it’s a friendship that deserves to be kept going, if at all possible.

Depending on my mood, I tend to agree. I’m the one who she confides in, calls when she needs an ear – at least I used to be. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve picked her up and put her back together again.

scaredypants – Member

Yeh, go – see how you feel after you’ve given it a fair shot and then decide where your relationship stands

I mean, nothing’s actually changed has it; you weren’t going out with her and you’re still not. Sorry and all

Yep, you’re right, nothing has actually changed. I guess I’m worried that it will.

captainsasquatch – Member

She’s a friend and as her friend you should be happy for her, as happy as you’d be if the friend was a bloke. Or would you be in bits if this were a bloke?

She’s a friend I’m in love with. If I felt this way about a male friend then yes, I’d be in bits.

A psychologist might make something out of this but she was my first (and only) relationship since my divorce. Getting back on that horse is, quite frankly, terrifying.

That’s one way to slow riders down – let some Longhorns roam around!

tom199 – Member

Planning on heading back before Xmas if time and commitments allow to do a bit more exploring.

So what sort of pace are the Nirvana shop rides? It’s always hard to judge when riding with a group for the first time.

I’ve been wondering about the shop rides too. I’m fine on the trails but slow on the uphills.

Pedal & Spoke will soon be starting up their weekend shop rides again but no dates as yet AFAIK.

I’ll probably be heading to Peaslake a week on Sunday (20th Dec) if you’re around then.

tom199 – Member

… but had a blast riding some really fun little trails and doing some exploring.

There are some cracking trails around there. I was amazed at the quality. Just takes a bit of patience to find them.

Alex – Member

We had a pretty good day back in August

Antur Stiniog – Birthday Ride by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Brilliant write up, very entertaining. :)

We made it to AS this weekend. Was supposed to be riding on both Saturday and Sunday but the weather on Saturday, Storm Desmond apparently, put paid to that. The trail centre very generously said we could re-book for another day in 2016. The weather brightened up a lot for Sunday so it was game on.

I can see what people mean about the gradings. A Stinky blue is way harder than a ‘normal’ blue (obvious really, innit). As we only had one day of riding and I’d never ridden downhill before we stuck to the Jymper trail and mixed in Drafft when we felt more comfortable.

I spent the day wearing soft pads and did feel a little exposed. Thankfully I stayed upright but I’ll be getting proper protection for my return visit.

I must admit to be very nervous early on. It’s quite daunting when you see the downhill rigs that most folk are riding and the car park didn’t seem the place for banter as riders were usually flitting between car and minibus, keen to make the next uplift. On the minibus was very different with a relaxed atmosphere and a ‘get stuck in’ attitude. Reminded me of my first bike track day.

Can’t wait to go back again. Must learn to jump instead of mincing.

I stopped into the On One showroom on my way there as I’m seriously tempted by a Codeine 27.5 but having ridden at AS, I don’t need a new bike with 160mm – I wasn’t using the 130mm I currently have and that was with letting some air out of the fork.

A busy but productive weekend. Thank you for all the advice too, it’s greatly appreciated. :)

milky1980 – Member

kimbers and gearfreak – you’re spot on, used to see a few Londoners there regularly and at FOD. Now they make a beeline for Afan and BPW.

Haven’t ridden at BPW yet but I’ve done Cwmcarn and Afan. Cwmcarn is awesome IMO.

Only ever ridden the Cafall trail, whilst I can only remember bits of the trail, I can remember enjoying every second of the descent (I hate uphills regardless of where they are). I loved getting all the climbing done and then being ‘allowed’ to enjoy the fruits of that labour, similar to Innerleithen.

Afan was, well, Afan. I remember enjoying Penhydd. W2 however seemed like a lot of effort when I should have be smiling. Not in a rush to go back to.

Lummox – Member

I heard stories of some of the unofficial stuff being closed due to harvesting, I couldn’t of told you where they were as it’s been a couple of years since my last visit.

Most of the trails to the north of Greensand Lane are blocked off – Evian, Bear Necessities, Area 51, Three Amigos.

Trails to the south of Greensand Lane are still okay (or at least were 9 days ago) – Northern Monkey, Lady Legs, Summer Madness, Charlie Bronson.

If you like jumping, Fly Tipper is still open.

The other trails – Barry’s, Yog Pots, Supernova etc. – are still open, so loads to fill a day..

Haven’t been up there since last weekend. Holmbury Hill, Pitch and Winterfold were all rideable though quite muddy in some places (Telegraphs and on Pitch mainly).

You do know that some trails on Winterfold have been blocked off?

honourablegeorge – Member

Ultimate Outdoors have the Spark Jacket and the Vapour Rise Lite Alpine Jacket from Rab at half price right now – £70 for the Spark, 65 for the Vapour rise.

Not really bike specific, but I wanted the VT Lite for ages.

I use a Rab Vapour Rise for commuting and trail duties, brilliant bit of kit. Even when soaked it still retains warmth and is always comfortable.

rickon – Member

Continental Tyres have a mould release agent in them, which makes the latex hard to stick to the tyre.

Washing up liquid and a stiff brush on the inside of the tyre will get rid of it.

Conto Tyres that arent made this year are a PITA to tubeless in general. Some work, some are a pain.

Never knew that, thanks. :)

If you don’t have time to do what Olly says (which should work), you might be better off building up the rim bed with some insulating tape. This will make the tyre a bit harder to get off/on but will reduce any air gaps in between the bead and the rim.

vincienup, HTS et al, thanks for the helpful posts and my apologies to the OP for the slight thread derail. :)

What trail rat says, 12.3v sounds very low. Caveat, my experience is limited to small cars and motorbikes but they’ve all needed at least 12.7v to start, even 12.6v makes the starter motor sluggish and anything less than that is *usually* just a solenoid click.

CaptainFlashheart – Member

Cheap shit in being shit shocker!

Are On One generally poor quality bikes? Genuine question, I was toying with the idea of a Codeine as my next bike. :(

Ouch, sounds nasty but could have been a lot worse I suppose given the fact you were able to drive yourself to A&E. Saying that, your missus might make up for what the drop didn’t do. ;)

mattjg – Member

haha, whack it on one of the obstacle racing community sites, next week there’ll be a 1000 runners going up it!

We were beaten to it, there were a load of orienteering runners out today, some kind of official event with full support. Think they started at the steel gates just east of Evian but they progressed across to Pitch. I was making good time on the short climb out of Proper Bo to be met with one of them blocking my path. He looked to be suffering more than me so I was happy to give way. :D

teamhurtmore – Member

Glad you had a good ride. I was thinking about you guys today but just ran out of time to ride myself.

Shame you didn’t get out. The trails were busy but the Peaslake car parks all had space. I can’t help but wonder if some riders stayed away because of the weather/temps or because of recent ‘Evian’ events.

Think I need to explore the area over by Summer Madness a bit more.

Wouldn’t mind tagging along to Devil’s Punchbowl when you head out that way. :)

mattjg – Member

> On the subject of Evian et al. – all blocked up at what looked to be several points.

Intentionally blocked, or as a side effect of logging/clearance? [/quote]

Intentionally blocked using logs/heavy branches at several stages along the trail (only viewed it from the road). No logging/clearance along the trail though I think there have been logging ops on that side of the hill as evidenced by the log stacks in the car park at Area 51.

myti – Member
Don’t get how you could come out of it in a nose landing…you must be absolutely flying into it to come up into the air with nose pointing down!

I think that was the main problem, too much speed and not reading the trail.

Did the BH today for the first time since my off. Little speed on the entry, no air on the exit. All quite uneventful.

Watched quite a few riders doing the big Red Bull (the hidden jump on Summer Madness). Will see if I can upload it a bit later.

On the subject of Evian et al. – all blocked up at what looked to be several points. Even the car park at the south of Dogsh*t Alley (close to Area 51) is blocked up with logs.

There looked to be a couple of trail builders on the side of the hill where Northern Monkey is. Didn’t get a chance to talk to them which I kind of regret now. :(

Text sent. :)

I would think all they’d need is some Nikwak TX Direct sprayed on to them after washing (using natural soap obviously).

What time are you planning on going to Peaslake? I’ll be heading down there tomorrow and would happily show you around as long as you don’t mind waiting for me to drag my arse up the hills.

gaidong – Member

@Sofabear. Ha ha, would you believe me if I said it was red, faded in the sun?

Lol, is that what happened to the lower box too? :lol:

As you’ve built such a cool bike, I think we can let the pink garden accessories slide. :D

mrblobby – Member

Double butted… thick at the ends, thin in the middle.

If it’s just for an XC build then DT Competition for all rounder wheels, Revolutions for lighter builds. I got mine recently from CRC.

Thanks for clearing that up. :)

My wheels will mainly be used on Surrey Hill trails so lots of roots, a few jumps and drops.

I think that looks cool and classy as ****. No lairy graphics and very uncluttered. Top dad. :D

Edit – I think your lawn and tile arrangement are fine. The pink sun lounger however….

Can anyone suggest what spokes to use please (or even where I should shop for them)? I need 16x288mm and 16x292mm, ideally in black. The only ones I’ve found so far are:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/dt-swiss-aero-speed-black-wheel-spokes-18-pack/rp-prod141727

I can use these but am not keen on the fact that they are really for road racing and/XC. I’m a bit of a unit at 100kg and I’m quite hamfisted on the trails so I’d like strong spokes if poss.

Oh, what does double-butted mean? :oops:

Ta. :)

teamhurtmore – Member

Dan and sofa, thanks for posting both videos. Great to see the big jumpy being tackled successfully. I can only imagine how high that feels when you do it! Way beyond me.

Interesting that on both, you take quiet a lot of air in the standard BH. That’s the bit that is worrying me. I have only ridden SM twice and both times bottled it because of the exit not the drop. I need to watch someone do it I think.

Thanks again.

I hadn’t done the SM BH for about 5 months before that vid I posted and when I got to the BH I didn’t realise I was already at that part of the trail.

Just as my rear wheel went over the lip was when I sussed that I was going too quick and on the wrong line, I then target fixated on a tree just to the left of the default exit line. Had I been on the right line I’d still have had a nose landing but I think the bike would have seen me through. As it was, I bottled it, first instinct was to put a foot down (my RH foot, you can see it leave the pedal on the vid) and, well, the rest is history.

I haven’t attempted the BH since and I must admit it’s messed my head up a bit on the others (not the Evian one though as the exit is not that severe).

teamhurtmore – Member

Yes, the Devils punchbowl (Hindhead)

Any link to the video – world love to see a ideo of anyone doing the hidden jump too!

I’ll have to give Devils Punchbowl a try one day – thanks.

My crash SM crash:

danbo – Member

Teamhurtmore – Video of my first time on the step up

Fair play mate, how you walk with balls that big is beyond me. 8O

tom200 – Member

Generally people get married abroad so not many people go to the wedding. Don’t feel bad for not going, you are helping really!

This /\.

I got married in Vegas and one of the main reasons was to avoid the traditional big ceremony with family members that I didn’t really want to share in my big day.

teamhurtmore – Member

Either that or play on the hidden stuff 10 miles to the west!

At the risk of being indiscreet, which town would one head to as a starting point for those hidden trails?

teamhurtmore – Member

Yes, loved Evian once I realised bomb hole was not a big deal and used to enjoy the bottom section even on the old HT. Only found SM recently and on my own late in the afternoon. And was worried about making a mess of the exit on the bomb home. Didn’t help that on first run there was an ambulance siren in the distance. I would like to see how much air (If any) you get on the exit

I am just being a pussy really !!

Felt like I got about 6ft of airtime (lucky if it was more than 18″!) before crashing nose and going OTB. Even captured the stupidity on video. :roll:

Have you tried Charlie Bronson? It’s on the same patch as SM.

ourmaninthenorth – Member

Don’t worry about it.

They’ll play outside next time and kick the ball against your car….

They already did that during the summer only it wasn’t my car it was my motorbike. They damaged it too, broke the wing mirror off.

jambalaya – Member

A novice rider probably didn’t even know what a gap jump is. You could definitely hurt yourself on Evian eg at the bomb hole, I nearly concussed myself on the original summer lightening when I head butted a tree after failing to make a corner.

Agreed, I’ve had a few spills myself down there. Clipped a rock on Evian and sprained my wrist, took one of the kickers on BKB but ran out of talent before the chicane corner, stacked it into a tree after the bomb hole on Summer Madness (that one was particularly sobering as I was by myself and it was late on a Sunday evening).

My SLX freehub cracked a few months back. Have to admit it was most likely down to me and my lack of maintaining the poxy cup-and-cone set up. The hub was 10 months old and Evans replaced it under warranty (though I had to pay for a wheel build).

Hob Nob

Does anyone know if Secret Santa is still in use? Had some friends ride it a few weeks ago & they bumped into a certain Mr McAllister half way down it, asking them to leave…

I did Secret Santa last Thursday and it was rideable for its full length. It’s a lovely trail too, only found it 6 weeks ago after months of looking. :(

mattjg – Member

Judging by his bike & clothing, I suspect the issue was inexperience/ignorance, rather than an informed bad choice as such. I’m guessing he followed a ‘bike trail’ from the road on the assumption the straight (i.e. default) line was OK to ride. If I had a landowner hat on, that would be a concern certainly.

As would I to be honest. I think there have been a few accidents on Evian over the years. Apparently early this year someone broke their collarbone at the bomb hole on Evian which led to the entry lip being smoothed out/rounded. Of course that could just be bollocks but if I’ve heard it then others have too.

Gotama – Member
That said I can’t think where would that would feasibly happen on the current trails as there are very few blind areas.

Yog Pots has a couple of blind corners/entry points, Summer Madness where it connects to Charlie Bronson, not forgetting the 90 degree left hander about a third of the way down SM. Even the start of BKB and Evian can be a bit blind in the height of spring/summer when the scenery is colourful.

The more I think about it, I can think of quite a few blind areas, most trails seem to have them at some point. :(

mattjg – Member

Did you see that video a few weeks ago when a novice rider rode into a gap jump, OTB’d and was unconscious for a few minutes? Luckily I don’t think he was seriously injured .. but he was lucky. That was on Evian, one of the trails that has been trashed.

I’m still confused as to how he ended up on that line as it’s easier to take the chicken line (as I do). I can only assume he thought the jump was simply a single lip and not a gap and then changed his mind hence his ‘angle of attack’.

Anyways, sad news, I really enjoy Bear Necessities and Area 51, more so than the other trails on Winterfold. :(

Thanks for the replies so far. :)

deanfbm – Member

Nirvana ride is pretty social, though they tend to ride leith and redlands where you do IMO have to work a lot harderto get an ok number of descent trails. In terms of group rides it does err on the side of jumping and progression.

Jumps really aren’t my thing, more because I mainly ride by myself and figure when wheels leave the ground is when it can really go Pete Tong. Saying that, going out with a group is a safer environment for experimenting. :)

jambalaya – Member

Do a Nirvana one

I’ve done quite a few rides with Nirvana. I like the people and the shop very much. They do a range of rides, I’ve done midweek “Old Blokes”, “free ride practice” and the social rides. I’m pretty slow and always at the back on any ride with friends or the shop (e.g. I average 10km up/down per hour). I have got lost once, i.e. dropped but they tried to come back and find me and it was my fault as I thought I knew where they where going so didn’t exactly kill myself trying to keep up and they didn’t have my phone number. These are not rides where they are baby sitting you, they are free shop rides to get people together (almost certain you’ll go to places you didn’t know). You have responsibility for yourself, I’ve had some decent crashes with them and been on rides where people concussed themselves (inc the shop owner) and one guy broke a bone on the old blokes ride. It’s a mountain bike ride, stuff happens The great part for me is seeing people do stuff which you may not attempt on your own and then having a go.

Your speed sounds similar to mine which is giving me a bit more reassurance. :)

Will check out Join a Ride and London Calling.

Thanks again. :)

yunki – Member

People travel from all over the country to ride our trails, and the only reference is the OS map..

Out of interest, where are these trails? From what you’ve said I’d assume Lakes/Peaks/Highlands? :)