Cheers guys. Looks like the 18T is going on then. I’m moving down permanently next year so this is a bit of a trial by fire to see whether I’m still going to hang on to my two singlespeeds or flog at least one of them and buy something more sensible for the terrain!

You want narrow tyres for snow.

Not for really thick snow! Found that to my cost lately.

*sniggers* exmoor on a dinglybob, good luck with that.

As per my original post I’ve ridden Exmoor on a “dinglybob” previously – just wanted advice on what locals were running in terms of gear ratio. No need to get snide.

Canaries, as above. Lanzarote is pretty interesting once you get away from the main resort areas. Some good riding too!

I use 32:18 on 29eron Quantocks. If you’re noy used to it may be worth putting you 18 on, especially in ice/snow.

I ride singlespeed about 90% of the time anyway but good point regarding the snow – I’ll probably stick some bigger tyres on too.

god the brain cells i lost listening to that ‘back in the day’….

:-) me too!

I bought Screamadelica the day it came out and it was my favourite album for years, I saw Primal Scream live loads over that period… including one particularly memorable (?) appearance at the Faile festival in Ireland. They were truly awesome and that particular album will always be in my top ten….. saw them at the Hop Farm a couple of years back though, and they were really disappointing – seemed to have lost a lot of their spark and were very “dad rock”. It put me off them a bit, but the stuff I heard of the 6 music session seemed to indicate they were back on form.

Has anyone ever heard that original extended mix of I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have which pre-dated Loaded?

Thanks all. Thinking about it, I’ve got some old 2.5 Tioga Factory DH tyres knocking around the shed. They weigh a ton but I’ll give them a go as a budget option and see how I get on.

Thanks all. Thinking about it, I’ve got some old 2.5 Tioga Factory DH tyres knocking around the shed. They weigh a ton but I’ll give them a go as a budget option and see how I get on.

Bump

Are these frames still available? – I was going to buy one last year and am kicking myself for not doing so as All Terrain don’t seem to have any on sale now.

To avoid early DPF death, the received wisdon is to rev the bollix off it every now and then and get the whole thing nice and hot. The days of tootling around in top gear like a mini cab driver are over. You need to get it hot and rev it to keep the DPF alive. Might knacker the rest of the engine mind….

Steady revs in a lower gear is actually the advice now… we’ve had some problems with the DPF in our recently bought Octavia Scout. Actually needed a replacement which was thankfully covered under warranty.

Most manufacturers and roadside assistance outfits are now advising that the optimum is to run the car at 50mph in 4th or 5th for 10 minutes or so (steady revs) to regenerate the DPF – completely ragging it in between short journeys is apparently not a good thing for DPF life.

Oh and the DPF warning can come on on longer motorway journeys too if the regen cycle is interrupted (eg if you hit a bad patch of traffic). There is also a theory that extended running in 6th gear doesn’t get the engine into the optimum temperature range to regen.

I knew none of this before buying a DPF equipped car, so buyer beware and all that… none of it’s a particular problem, but you may need to adapt your driving style as mentioned above.

I realyy don’t think you’ll find a bad ride on Exmoor.

I’d second that. All things being well we’re moving down next year, so is going to be my local patch…

Have done that too, but only in summer when it was a few inches deep – great fun!

Would like to see someone try to ride across the Barle at Tarr steps when its in flood

I’ve done it with the water level about 6 inches below the tops of the stones – bit hairy but doable. The gaps are a bit tricky mind. Got nice round of applause from a group of ramblers coming out of the pub!

That said, you need a clear run at it – I dabbed and almost fell in at my last attempt to do it as someone thought it was a good idea to start walking across from the opposite bank when I was halfway across.

There’s an even trickier set of steps a bit further upriver from Tarr Farm where the bridleway splits which is quite entertaining in the wet.

More info here:

http://www.mbr.co.uk/route_maps/western/exmoor/

Would second the above recommendation. Some fab downhills into Porlock. Also some excellent semi-coastal trails around North Hill / Selworthy Beacon on the opposite side of the valley- epic views too.

Not ridden the bridleway down from Selworthy Beacon down to Lynch Combe yet (N of Bossington), but walked it a few months back and I reckon it would be a hoot on a bike.

Some great, proper old school, all day XC rides to be had by following the network of bridleways around the Exe Valley NW of Dulverton – river crossings, hike a bike and some great singletrack – Riding your bike across Tarr Steps is an unmissable experience, especially with the river in full flood! You can ride onto Withypool along the river then up over the top of Winsford Hill to the Punchbowl. Quite a few trails radiating out from Winsford itself too.

Just get an OS map and enjoy… great area for the adventurous, and you’ll see very few folk.

ahh… how much.

’tis true…. part is £1400 alone (contains a lot of exotic metal apparently) and took the tech 9 hours to get the old one off and new one fitted.

456 frame & bits

Great car but watch the DPF…. ours just went on our 2007 Scout. Would have cost 1.8K to replace, but thankfully covered under warranty.

yes a face beard, not anything exotic or pant related!

I wasn’t actually alluding to anything pant related, but this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beard_(companion)

And just to confirm, we are talking “beard” in the facial hair sense aren’t we?

Context is everything.

+1 for Mountain Buggy.

We looked at loads. Phil and Teds are good if you are looking to have another baby, but I found the old style one a bit flimsy – the new alu one may be better.

We looked at the full on Terrain model, but it was overkill for what we wanted (good if you live on a farm or something!) and was too big folded for our boot at the time.

We eventually bought a Mountain Buggy Urban – totally excellent bit of kit which I can’t recommend enough. Has enabled us to do loads more and go more places with the little one than we ever imagined. Despite the name it’s more than able to go anywhere you’d want to take your baby. It’s done beaches, coast path, fells and local muddly bridleways and been really robust and comfy for the little one – he love it. Also a lot lighter than some buggies half the size. Has a swivel front wheel for use in town which “locks out” for use off road. Filling the tubes with slime will sort out puncture issues.

Like Markle we started off with the carry cot top until our son was about 4 or 5 months and then he moved into the buggy. Buggy has a waterproof canopy which has dealt with the worst downpours you can imagine and still left the little one snug and dry. Would recommend getting the matching sleeping bag, which is a proper bit of outdoor kit.

Yes, it is big, but we managed to get it into the boot of our Golf without too much problem (taking the carry cot off first for the first few months), but it didn’t leave room for much else. It now fits in the boot of our Octavia estate with loads of room to spare. The wheels also pop off really easily to give you a bit more room when you’ve got extra luggage.

All that said we did end up getting a Maclaren as well for use around town and travelling on trains etc, mainly because it’s a really small fold and easy to stash away when you’re in cafes and restaurants. The Mountain Buggy still get’s about 80% of the use though.

As he’s got older we’ve started to use a Little Life backpack as well for more adventurous trips -again another great bit of kit.

Link here: http://www.littlelife.co.uk/html/child_carriers/freedom.html

and if you doubt how comfortable it is, here’s the proof:

Certainly keeps you on your toes… well what’s left of them.

Personally, I awoke to a very full nappy.

Not mine by the way.

Those Five Ten Exums look like just the job. Thanks all..

Do you mean North Face Hedgehogs – my wife has a pair of these. I did consider something like that, but thought the sole looked a bit flimsy for use with pins.

i gave cheryl cole malaria

Are you a mosquito?

On my way to a work meeting I met George Best in the buffet at Doncaster station a couple of years before he passed away. It was 10am in the morning and he was already on the sauce. Sad.

Oh, and got booted off stage by Nicky Wire whilst attempting a stage dive in a rough bar near Swansea docks on the Manic’s first ever tour

I’ve been running a Salsa ring for about 4 winters now. Never let me down.

For the chain, I swear by SRAM PC-1s – got one on my 1×1 and on the Roadrat and seem to be pretty indestructible even in heavy mud.

My better half who knows about such things says supermarket chicken definitely a no no even after a few hours at room temperature.

Whilst the bottom is not necessarily going to fall out of your world, it will feel like the world is falling out of your bottom.

Coffeking, I’d be interested to know where you kite surf. I’ve always thought conditions for the two sports are pretty incompatible (inshore / offshore winds etc), so have found friction between kite surfers and surfers is pretty rare.

As a surfer, I have to say I’d be pretty wary of kiters buzzing through the lineup – it would make me pretty uncomfortable. Surely you’d have a better time further offshore? I can understand some bad feeling.

Are you sure you’re not going out of your way to wind up surfers??

… but on a lighter note, proof that all types of surfer can get along in harmony on the one UK wave where the drop in rule doesn’t apply:

A very small day, but this is the start of a 1.5 mile ride, within sight of Gloucester cathedral. I’m third man in from the front. What you can’t see is the guy on a bodyboard getting a battering from the roots on the inside bank!

To be fair, I’ve never really experienced bad localism in this country other than the odd bit of stink eye – mainly from young groms who think they’ve got something to prove to the older guys. Even the spots which are pretty notorious (eg Langland) are OK if you respect the locals and don’t act like a complete ****>

the serious ones in surf boats are just fine and get accepted pretty quick.

I’d agree with that – some of the more experienced surf kayakers really rip and are great to watch. I think the issue is that although the whitewater tends to filter out beginner surfers in bigger surf, even a relatively inexperienced kayaker can get out back and cause mayhem if they don’t know what they’re doing.

Coffee I am with you an the boardies attitude problems, one of the advantages of a kayak is you can sit further out and catch the wave sooner. For some reason that often seems to send some boardies in to apoplectic fits of rage…..

To be fair longboarders get grief from shortboarders for much the same reason.

I think in terms of the relationship between kayakers and surfers there is a bit of a history here…. although the situation is a lot better now, whether through wilful ignorance or lack of experience a surprising number of kayakers still routinely ignore the drop in rule and paddle into waves that surfers are already up and riding. Apart from being annoying, this is also really dangerous.

Added to that is the tendency of some university canoe clubs to turn up mob-handed at spots which can only handle a small pack and pretty much take over completely.

This sort of stuff does generate some animosity, no matter what craft you’re surfing and there are clearly some dumb-ass, macho aggressive idiots out there who think they’re in Point Break and take things a step further. They’re d***heads, plain and simple and shouldn’t be seen to be representative of the sport.

If someone drops in on me then irrespective of what they’re riding I generally make a point of politely telling them about the drop in rule, and its generally well received.

Bit of respect and understanding on all sides goes a long way.

that last wave looked pretty impressive… but, in all honesty, doesn’t it all look a bit… boring?

Out of interest, have you ever surfed?

As others have noted, taking a 3ft wave on the head can make you feel like you’ve been through the spin cycle (I’ve got the scars to prove it!) . You can’t really fail to have respect for the guys who do this.

As far as it being safer with jetski support – what about the jetski riders themselves?

Not sure whether this is the same spot, but see link here for some more footage from a couple of years back in slightly cleaner conditions:

breaks are for when you need to stop at the bottom of the hill arnt they?

Not if you’ve got another hill coming up :-)

Welcome to the fold <Evil cackle>.

2:1 is the classic offroad ratio, although most folk do 32:16.

You will spin out on the downs until you learn that brakes are over-rated. It’s all about maintaining momentum.

Oh and you definitely want to get rid of those big bouncy things on the front.

…. a dictionary.

Back on topic. Have a look at Finisterre. Not cheap, but great kit, fantastic service, and as far as I know, independent. They also have their own flock of sheep. I’m a recent convert.*

* To the brand, not the sheep.

We ended up with two. Mountain Buggy Urban which has been fantastic. Really comfy for the little one (we bought the matching sleeping bag) and able to go pretty much anywhere you’d reasonably want to take a buggy – beach, Quantocks yomping, Lake District bridleways etc. Poor mud clearance on the front wheel though :D

Other one is the Mclaren Sport – also good, but in a completely different way – light, compact fold, not quite as comfy for the little one. Useless offroad.

I’d haggle and see if the dealer will sort the tyres for you.