Nightmare – TF should be able to write a report or highlight the issues which may support a warranty claim. The Trutune may void it though.

As for replacement, I’ve just gone from a Lyrik to an RXF38 and even though I’ve not yet finalised the settings the level of support from the Ohlins is night and day.

Feel the OP’s pain. Its utterly grim, especially on my lunchtime road route (A77, south of Glasgow)…also driving along the M74 last week near Larkhall I couldn’t believe the amount of litter on the verge for a good mile or 2, never seen anything like it. Everything feels relentlessly negative at the moment…

On a positive note though I actually caught a female fly tipping last year (just off the A77) – photographed her, shouted some obscenities at her and reported her to the LA – hoping they fined the absolute horror, there’s a tip literally 5mins up the road from where I caught her!

I think what ought to dictate the amount of travel on your bike is what the rider decides they want.

Aye true but the OP wants advice on what type of bike and set-up for a specific type of riding. If you want to ride flat trails on a 180mm bike then cool, it just wont be very enjoyable. Similar if you’re riding steep techy trails on a 100mm travel XC bike.

You make good points, its pretty much impossible to quantify isn’t it – I’m sure part of the feeling I had was part the bigger fork but also the additional damping from the fork (Ohlins is definitely heavier damped than the Lyrik). I really noticed the fore/aft stiffness on 1 section of track which was a steep shoot with humps at the bottom which you’re having to brake within before hitting a turn. Generally though it felt more direct, similar to when I went from a 35mm Boxxer to a 40. I dropped the stem/bar to compensate for the additional travel to make sure it wasn’t completely skewing my previous set up.

Stiffness isn’t always the best either, I like the G1 as it’s got quite a flexy rear end – the spherical bushing do work which is one of the reasons the bike creates so much grip.

I’ve just moved from a 160mm Lyric (which is for sale!) to a 170mm RXF 38 and I find them stiffer fore and aft.

The ‘skills compensator’ thing potentially opens a can of worms – it’s definitely the case that riders of a certain skill level wont be pushing a 180mm bike anywhere near its capabilities and are basically ‘getting away with it’ on tricky terrain but there are riders who are quite skilled who will be getting more out of the bike – to the point where a shorter travel bike will hold them back. Also, its very easy to set up a lot of longer travel bikes to get more feedback/sensation from the trail, hence making it more fun and if you’re skilful, faster too.

I think the type of terrain you ride 95% of the time really ought to dictate the amount of travel required.

As others have said it really depends where your priorities lie. For me it’s descending as fast as I can go. I came from a 130/160mm trail bike onto the G1 after trying my friends and realising I could ride quite a bit quicker without the risk. The G1 is heavy yes but at the same time way more comfortable to pedal than any other MTB I’ve tried.

DT 350 hubs on 471’s on my G1 have been perfect for me, so have the Pro2’s on 471’s on my Sirius. The G1 has been raced DH and took a week in the alps no problem. It’s a good compromise between strength and weight and like others have said the rim profile at 25mm just works.

I liked it as well, was keen to see it as I was in first year when he joined – can see various classmates in some of the footage and one of the girls interviewed throughout lived at the bottom of my street. He did look quite a bit older than the other 5th/6th years…carried himself in a completely different way as well.

Student loan comment is a moot point, being in scotland means your fee’s are covered. The vast majority of people I know still took out student loans.

How does the Scottish Government pay for further education, prescriptions etc? Genuine question. Also, how do they fund the constant run for independence? Is it all funded by supporters contributions?

Personally have no qualms about paying the extra 1% but I’d like to know that its going to education and not the relentless drive for independence, which a large percentage of the country doesn’t want.

We have the Ninja 9 in 1 and use it pretty much every day – our oven went on the blink last week and we didn’t really miss it. Cleaning is straight fwd but you can get silicone pots for it which make cleaning even easier.

TJ, how much money do you reckon gets wasted on free prescriptions? I’m all for free prescriptions for seriously poorly folk but a load of people take the mick, paracetamol on prescription for example…its 50p for a pack! Need moisturiser for your newborn? Get it on prescription. Would be curious to find out how much it costs the NHS.

Budgets are fixed, no additional money for public sector pay rises, I get that. Couldn’t the SNP just shift some funds from their independence war chest over to the public sector? 🙂

As for striking, I fully support it. The teaching profession isn’t what it once was, the things teachers have to deal with these days blows my mind, partly due to failing social services – at least make it financially beneficial for them to stay in the profession.

I did it a couple of years ago over 2-days. If you’re getting the train make sure your bike is booked on, we had to deal with an angry conductor who had to be sweet talked into not booting us off (we had only booked 1 bike on, not 2. Ironically the space for bikes is no bigger than a shower cubicle so barely space for anything more than 1 bike). The route itself was amazing albeit pretty rough at parts on a gravel bike – Glen Lyon being a highlight. I think overall going N-S is probably easier physically than S-N. If I did it again I’d still go N-S but maybe do it over 3-days to take in the scenery etc more. We had numerous mechancicals so were quite up against it.

Sat times! I used to have a MK2 XR2i for track use, very fast wee car especially with twin Dellorto 40’s, lightened flywheel etc. Handled really well but very thirsty! Really wish I’d never moved it on…

Currently drive a MK3.5 ST estate and it’s great – very practical and quick when you need it to be.

Brilliant, thanks.

What have you used to fix the One-Up pump/tool? Looks neat….

I frequently have to adjust my feet, I tend to start with my feet completely parallel to the crank but they slowly rotate outwards to my natural duck like stance, does my head in and has been the cause of a fair few crashes where I’ve clipped stumps or whatnot – won’t ever go to clips though. From my Rootsandrain pics you can see numerous comical foot positions.

Yes! I’ve had my G1 for just over a year and loving it. Was running it mullet until a month ago and holy moly does it carry speed with the big wheel on the back. Make sure you play about with the mutators – really easy to swap out the seat stay mutators and I was surprised at the difference in ride characteristics.

Think I’m going to go for the YT Thirstmaster – currently running a Fidlock on the top tube which just looks odd. Hard to stomach £50 for a water bottle though.

Mogwai in December (first time seeing them for me, can’t wait!), Brian Jonestone Massacre and Weyes Blood early next year then Roger Waters in June – all in Glasgow.

A little longer travel and a little heavier than you’re perhaps looking for but the Geometron G1 allows you to try all set ups – 650b, mullet or full 29er. I’ve been running mine as a mullet but changed to full 29er just because I want to try it out. Very adaptable bike. Also depending on set-up its a playful machine and not just a plougher. Geometron are apparently releasing a kit which will allow you to shorten the travel as well, don’t have any details yet though.

Some nice set-ups here! I’ve just bought a Kickr Core and am about to start getting my set-up sorted. I was thinking of running Zwift on an old-ish Huawai P20 and linking to my TV via an HDMI cable. Will this work or will it be painfully slow? Trying to get it set-up on a bit of a budget!

I’ve replaced a 105 caliper – replacement has been on the bike for a couple of years with no issues though. Total lottery!

I changed up from a Banshee Prime to a G1 back in September after having a shot of a couple of mates G1’s. It’s definitely the most capable bike I’ve ridden, especially on the steeper, rougher trails. It takes some body English to get around tight switchbacks but it’s doable. I ride Aberfoyle, Dunkeld, Inners etc on it and it’s phenomenal on those types of trails.
For those asking about bottle mounts, I’ve gone for a Fidlock mounted on the top-tube like this and whilst it looks a little unconventional it works just fine Sicklines

I run a mullet set-up with 160mm Lyrics and 162mm on the rear, will try a 29″ on the back at some point. As mentioned numerous times before the assistance from the Geometron guys is second to none, always there to assist with any queries you may have.

Besides the usual comments like ride more, get a coach etc the biggest difference in terms of speed for me is comfort, geometry has made the biggest difference in terms of outright speed for me – I tend to be able to attack a trail after a couple of attempts and being on a bike that really fits you will give you the confidence to do so (I’m on a G1 and the radical geometry made a massive difference). Tyres make a big difference as well.

Lego, scale models, RC car are the standouts for me. Who remember Super Cup football and Torpedo Run? Thought they were amazing at the time, probably pants nowadays though!

I’ve been quite fortunate. I won a Kona ManoMano back in 1996 as well as a holiday to France to race an Avalanche cup through an MBUK DH special – couldn’t actually go on the holiday as I needed to spend a fortune on kit to be allowed to race. Was already right into mountain biking at that time (I was 15) but having a good bike like that properly solidified my love of the sport.

About 2 or 3 years later I then won a Spooky Metalhead frame through a competition in Grip magazine, perfect timing as I ripped the front end off the Kona not long after! Still have the Spooky hanging up in the garage.

@bloodsexmagik
Wasn’t saying the current KOM had taken any cheat lines or anything. Last time I was up (a few months ago) I noticed a straight line in the first section which is definitely quicker and also the rooty section at the start of the second section is now completely avoidable, few secs in there! I reckon it can be beaten as well, maybe not my me as I’m on flats and it’s tough to pedal on the end of the first and start of the second sections.

I’m definitely a bit of a KOM hunter but its for nothing other than gauging my speed – I race and I’m a competitive b*gger and Strava is good for that (minus the inaccuracies that you’d expect from GPS in a dense forest), I don’t see anything wrong with it as long as you’re responsible.

Have had a fair few battles with Sillyoldman on a number of the trails in Mugdock and in particular Mangina where there is 1sec between us – we know the trail very well and ride the proper line and I know if I’m close to him on any trail up there I’m riding well. It’s frustrating though when some riders just smash the fireroad that runs parallel, or straight-line a trail to take your time by quite a fair bit…it happens loads in Mugdock for the reasons others have mentioned, not much you can do though.

I have a Prime V3 and can’t sing its praises enough. Great geometry and superb build quality as mentioned above. Have ridden BPW, Dyfi and the usual mix of trails up Dunkeld etc and its super capable – never felt under-biked that’s for sure. Mine is around 32-33lbs but it rides lighter, it’s all in the geometry.

Spooky Metalhead – still got mine albeit not built up – still got the Z1’s that were on it as well. Loved that bike and it took an absolute kicking, raced DH on it, dirt jumps etc etc.

Crazy how short all these DJ bikes were, knees hurt just looking at them!

Haven’t used the Der Kaiser but have used the Barons and they’re great tyres. Have done numerous races on the HT and haven’t punctured either, the casing is great and considering the protection on offer they don’t weigh too much. The longevity of the tyre is amazing though – still running a Baron on my HT that I raced for a whole season on 2016!

“Aye southside constantly since 2004”

Same, haha! Will need to meet for a blast.

It is isn’t it – have probably seen you out and about on the trails! You still in Glasgow?

Cant seem to quote posts for some reason – that Surgeon mix is great Disco Stu.

“Bob, I’ve been searching for that link since it was posted on the Slamevents forum about 15years ago – superb!!

Haha. No way! RIP Slam Forum. What a place that was😂”

Loved that forum – and totally recognized your name. I was Disco Volante!

Bob, I’ve been searching for that link since it was posted on the Slamevents forum about 15years ago – superb!!

For some brutally hard techno also look at Surgeon and Ancient Methods, especially mixes from about 15years ago.

My mate and I did it last year in one go – we said in the run up to starting that we would can it if the weather was bad – we set off at 4am with drizzle (forecast was to improve) and it got consistently worse as we approached Conic Hill, decided to crack on though and nearly wrapped it at Tyndrum as it was absolutely chucking it down, plus I’d ripped the arse out my shorts on the hike a bike. Weather cleared as we hit the military rd and it was great from there on – first 50-60 miles were so grim though, soaked through, major chafage due to ripped shorts etc. We were carrying all our kit for the ride and overnight stay which tbh was the thing I struggled with most, my back was ruined, riding a HT didn’t help! Ended up completing it in 17hours with a fair few stops.
Hoping to do it again but only if the weather is perfect! It’s a cracking route and fair play to Rab for nailing it in that time.

Awesome post Fudd!!

With regards to your Speedmaster, ever had any issues with it? Mine stopped working yesterday…its fully wound but nothing works – odd as I haven’t hit it or had it under water and its generally considered to be bombproof.

I have a V3 Prime and it’s great – I’m running it mullet at the moment and its very very capable for a 130mm travel bike, it’s playful yet stable. Geometry is spot on. Only thing I may consider changing is the shock but thats because my previous bike had one and it made a substantial difference.

Totally agree re. Keith, super helpful.

I got my Prime V3 at the end of last month, been on it a few times and its a cracking bike. Took a while to get the back end how I liked as it was very lively (even with the rebound fully closed) but its great now. Feel like it has more travel than it does, corners like a mini Sunday and climbs very well. Oh, I’m running mine as a mullet!