I used to regularly ride a Soul, one of the best bikes I ever had, until I put some suspension forks on my Solaris I had running rigid forks. Foo kin’ fast is what I would say. It takes awhile to get properly dialled in but if you already have a 29 FS then you’ll be reet.

Yeah the resurfacing from the Hayfield side was not enjoyable at all. Think I must have walked about a quarter of a mile up that, the back wheel just wouldn’t stay on a straight line. The loop I did was from VP’s Peak District book, Kinder Circuit in which the author, Jon Barton says “…the very talented rider the chance of staying on their bike throughout”
Well, at least I know I can’t class myself as a very talented rider any more, either that or Jon needs to revisit the loop and check it again…
But I did make it down all the descents, a few hairy moments, mainly on Jacobs, but hey what’s mtbing without those?

I suppose on reflection it makes sense that the trails will erode. I suppose that with all the attention on recent trail repairs (good and bad) I was surprised to see it in the state it is. Is it all really due to increasing traffic in the peaks or just the rain?

Did.

The edge in question is a relatively short section, but bloody horrible to ride over at the mo. You need to maintain speed and momentum and hope you don’t come off as the rocks are pretty big and sharp looking. I’m surprised the DCC have left it in that state for so long, it needs an injury and a jolly good suing to really hammer home their stupidity. However I don’t feel like volunteering for the injury part…

Interesting discussion, lots of facts and understanding. Compare this to previous threads where nurses, ambulance, fire fighters and police officers have been under the cost cutting cosh and the response has been “if you don’t like it get a job in the private sector you lazy public sector waster”. How does it go now, when they came for the nurses I said nothing because it didn’t affect me, when they came for the fire fighters I said nothing because…. You get the gist. Is this in fact the majority vocal STW crowd? along with middle management IT Audi drivers, or is that all just stereotyping as well. Who the hell voted for them then? The conservatives that is.

Raleigh Bomber for me down the local fields with old tip jumps and woods full of jazz mags and glue sniffers. I broke the frame twice, it ended up with so much weld on the head tube it nearly doubled the weight. Found a replacement frame hanging up in a small cluttered dirty bike shop for £15, a loan from my grandad and that was my first foray into building bikes at the age of 15. Such memories of drilling out seized cotter pins, the constant tweaking with sturmey archer toggle chains, always getting bumped and twisted and lots of chrome polish!

I use syntace vector 5 mm rise 12 degree backsweep 780 mm in alloy. They are available in 10mm rise as well, really comfy bars, about £60 from wiggle.

Witness me! Film influences game, game influences film? Borderlands anyone, psycho bandits? 2 hours of awesome blowing up car chasing fighting shooting and stuff. Definitely needs to be seen at the cinema to do it justice.

Okay, so a 29er frame with 650b + tyres, is that a coalition?

What if….he wasn’t telling the truth. It’s certainly what I’d be telling the Inspector of IOM when he comes enquiring. Maybe it’s a garnished tale, you know the kind of tale that guys tell.

Camo16 sounds like a couch session with his psychotherapist than an article to be published. I got the gist of the article and find people trashing it on the basis of too many big words akin to refusing to buy new tech as they don’t know how it works. Reading is supposed to challenge and help to enlighten us through knowledge. Thats why books were once considered to be evil and the ruling class didn’t want the plebs to be educated through books. Knowledge is power.

I’ve called them for advice and recently sent a fork for service/repair. Good service fast turnaround, can’t fault them, so much so I’m seriously considering swapping my dropper for one they service as for the last 3 weeks it’s been at the distributors awaiting a service.

Other than that just posted

Syncros made a carbon fork with a 490 mm a to c, pretty sure it was the tallest available. Other than that it would be a custom job I reckon.

It’s how they are I’m afraid, something to do with the solo air design. When the fork compresses the wobble goes, when it is extended it is lightly loose. You can still find the SRAM tech doc if you google it.

“Nonsense. Thaeir bikes are massively strong, are made form a different alloy to most alu bikes (hence the straight tubes, the alloy doesn’t like forming or bending) and can internally reinforce them (this is a factory option), not to mention the welding and gussets.”

I had one once. Bent it within 6 months. Not covered by warranty even though I had no idea how I did it.

Depends how much you want to spend. Personally I’d be tempted with a cannondale trigger, the idea of being able to flick a switch to reduce the travel on climbs appeals. Expensive though. Oh and I reckon you can forget terms like robust, as fs bikes are by their nature upgrading, updating, bearing hungry and disposable. So if I was you I’d buy an fs but keep a ht for when the fs is broke, worn out of on a warranty claim.

I’ll never forget one early turn opening the station door to a distressed woman who had been raped. She worked at a pole dancing place, only been there for a few weeks when a guy got chatting to her. She seemed like a really nice girl, she liked the guy and agreed to meet him after work at 3 am. He raped her several times in his flat while she wore a balaclava back to front. In the morning he went out and she fled to the station. She wasn’t a prostitute. When I read these threads it makes me wonder if the opinions on women who work these kind of jobs contributed to this act and no doubt others like it. Hate is easy. Understanding is hard.

Other than going tubeless, which if you don’t have tubeless compatible rims will no doubt result in more help threads, even if you do have tubeless rims it may result in help threads…. I used to use panaracer flat away, a Kevlar strip which is very light and tough. It is though a bit of a one use thing, once it’s been stuck in your tyre it’s very difficult to remove and put in another tyre. I think wiggle have them, they really do work, unless your punctures come from the side. Also schwalbe make presta tubes that have a removable core. Buy a little widget to remove core, bottle of sealant and a syringe, all available from most bike shops, and top up your tubes. My 10 yr old had this setup and hadn’t had a puncture in over a year.

Seems they were a local charity’s, to be used for local kids, ironically keeping them out of trouble. The garage was in the grounds of a closed down station, decisions made due to cost cutting due to the financial crisis. But it’s far easier to laugh at fat lazy coppers eating donuts.

Yeah you know when you’ve played too much doom when you align your bikes with the weapons, I suppose a bike equivalent of a plasma rifle would be the best all rounder, but for me it would have to be a modded pump action double shotgun. My PC is now lacking speakers so it has to be an Xbox arcade offering, difficulty is ramped up by having to use a blooming gamepad instead of a keyboard and mouse.

Oh, and while I’m still thinking doom, is it because your FS is basically like going through doom with a BFG? Only its a BFB, personally I preferred the pump action shottie, for everything, even the cyber demon, something like 50 shells to die…

Steve, liking the doom theme, shame you can’t hit F6 at the top of a scary drop and if it goes horribly wrong hit F9. (Quick save and quick load)

Some good suggestions. When I changed the cable I only changed the outer run to the rear mech, not from the shifter to the first stop. I’ll swap it all out and grease er up. Cheers.

I lived that way about 8 years ago, some good local cheeky trails, just had to dodge the whinging Shropshire wildlife trust nobbers! My commute to work was 95% off road down the Silkin Way and diversions round back alleys of estates. Live in an even better place now though, Sheffield, even riding the roads requires off road skills they’re that bad!

Hmmm, my 9spd setup on the other bike is faultless, I noticed the direction for the chain when fitting. Maybe it’s just all worn out, I’ve had to replace the rear mech after less than a year as it stopped dropping into the last small cogs smoothly, even after a gear cable change. The shifters gone really stiff as well, even with a cable change, more noticeable when the clutch is switched on. I don’t think it’s Shimanos best work, does the job s’pose. Just wondered if SRAM was better, lasted longer…

Check seat post height, I recently built up a rigid and found my nuts we’re going numb on long climbs. Checked my other bike and found that I’d set the rigid up about a cm and a half higher. Lowered it to match and that sorted the issue. There are formulas on the web for correct saddle height but at the end of it all you need it comfortable. That and comfy tyres help, let out a few psi.

Years ago when I worked in a bike shop parcel force delivered a load of Marins to us, and one extra parcel from a different supplier. He tried to count the extra parcel in as one of the number of bikes, only discovered after going through the now empty boxes and tallying the despatch notes. Called the despatch manager and they discovered our missing £800 Marin tucked away in a quiet corner of the warehouse. Regular parcel courier trick, if they could be arsed they’d find it. Don’t bother with plod they’ll just refer you to Royal Mail investigations.

Yeah long TT, even in 19″ it’s longer than the large Solaris, in 20.5″ it’s a full inch longer. I can run a 60 mm stem and 780 bars and not feel cramped. Enduro indeed.

Mark, I’m 6’3″ and if I was going to ride the Longitude on more “Gnarcore” trails I would have gotten a 19″, but I have a Solaris in large with 120mm forks for that. The length of the toptube would certainly allow that. As for standover on the 20.5″ its fine, I wanted a higher front end and longer toptube for some distance riding and winter muddy bridleway riding.

Been waiting for an opportunity to post up a pic, it’s a 20.5″ about two weeks of riding now, seems really good for what I wanted it for, commuting and winter riding such as this. Deliberately went for a bigger frame for more reach and consideration for frame bags…

Easy, Gordon the Big Engine, 16 stone kitted up, climb hills at a steady pace but knackered by wet leaves.

Rogan josh, definitely interested in your frame and wheels if you decide to split. e-mail me a price on soulwood555 at gmail.com

First let’s stop with the “public servant” crap, BTP are employed by the rail companies and as such are not working for the crown. Secondly if this was a private car this wouldn’t have been posted, and thirdly, a good measure of whether somebodies driving or cycling was poor is how much disruption it causes to other road users. The cyclist isn’t affected at all by this action. Get over yourselves.

Well there’s a large EDL and friends (NF Combat 18 etc) gathering this Saturday in Rotherham, no doubt to express their concerns in an orderly well presented fashion. Might be messy.

Kids definitely play a part in your sickness, I too had zero sick days until kids came along, the stomach bugs and colds would hit me like a train. Only now they are 7 years old have I survived a year without an incident. I would say that any moderate exercise places you in a better position, especially for making your core strength better, so many people in 40s have back pain related sickness and a lot of it is due to a sedentary lifestyle and bad diet.

Ground up chilli peppers from one of those large foreign food stores, sprinkle over the affected area. Failing that anti freeze as you don’t own a cat as folk on here say so does that make them non pets?

I wore some shimano mtb cleat shoes on my last flight, didn’t even set the metal detector off.