Nope, not that one either.

No photo credits on that holgablog page, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same photographer. Not sure whether it’s the same riders though.

i think i look like someone who wears a helmet for medical reasons rather than for recreational sports

What he said. People do a double take to see where my carer is…

Blimey that was quick. Cheers

Definitely on the right track (and great shot too) but not the one I’m thinking of.

Same period, possibly same location / photographer but it’s more of a close up, and more of a dense crowd in the background.

Who is the photographer of that one?

My Surly 1×1
Mostly in knee deep mud. :cry:

Should do. I’ve got a Gary Fisher frame from about the same period and that looks the same as the one on mine.

i use elixirs they work fine hayes strokers also very good too

Do you mean on drops?

Some great bikes on here. Keep em coming!

Can you stick your lx’s on the top of you current drops?

Unfortunately not. Bar diameter is too wide, and I’d need a two piece clamp to get them around the bend

Roadrat is what I’m thinking of for myself too, winter trainer / tourer that’s not afraid of a towpath or two.

It will do that and much more. Build it up with skinny cross tyres and they’re surprisingly good in the mud too. Great bikes – very versatile.

Bump

Marc, I like your Pace. Nicely retro but not too much so. Don’t let my Surly know or she’ll get jealous.

Why are singlespeeds so ace? They just look so right.

Cotic Roadrat. Not purpose built tourer obviously, and probably not suited for too heavy loads. Would need to switch fork if you want pannier mounts.

Or Salsa Fargo?

In the event of a shed fire, this would be first out the door. Best bike I’ve ever owned.

Also got Cotic Roadrat in singlspeed crosser mode. 1×1 has a different build now. Would post updated photos of them but both are absolutely caked in mud!

Trail centres are generally in sections, why not have a bin at the end of every couple of sections?

Again, missing the point I think. You shouldn’t need to have bins.

Why should you have to put bins in the woods? What next? A jetwash after muddy sections?

They took the stuff in, why can’t they take it out again?

The number of gel wrappers and CO2 canisters you see about do seem to suggest that the jeyboy racer fraternity may have a lot to answer for. Do they think they”re some sort of multi stage race rockets and therefore exempt?

Of course you’re right, but you can still be a **** and not chuck litter about. I guess the point I was making was that I’d expect someone who is into outdoor sports to have a bit more respect and not crap in their own backyard. Sad.

Oh and I agree don’t carpet the floor. We’ve got removable mats in ours with vinyl underneath. If a fixed carpet gets damp, it will be a nightmare to clean and if its not dried properly will absolutely stink.

My son threw up in the van when we were down in Cornwall the other week, and it was just a case of popping out the mat and giving it a scrub.

That doesn’t sound too bad. I was looking at a used new generation T5 California at the VW van place in Taunton the other week and it was only about 2K less than the new price!

Out of interest, what are costs like for a custom camper conversion on a T5 base?

I love our T4, but have to admit to a touch of van envy on occasions.

Now flytipping deserves its own circle of hell. Massive problem on trails here in Kent and the people who do it seem to go out of their way to dump their crap in the prettiest spots.

Personally I’d nail their b******* to a tree…. ensuring I tidied up any resulting mess afterwards, naturally.

I’d probably go for both personally. Particularly if you’re going to be cooking in the van.

It also depends what your insulation is like in the van. We’ve got a T4 Westfalia which is lagged better than our house and even in late autumn we’ve had to open the vents in the pop-top and a window “downstairs” to get enough ventilation.

That does seem pricy though – have you checked out scrapyards etc for a window from a written off Caravelle?

I find it particularly galling that MTBers are doing it. Shows that there at least some people in the sport who have zero respect for the countryside.

‘ve been thinking of getting a chainring mark on my leg like the top picture above.

The first time I read this, I thought you were taking the pi$$. Now I’m not sure. Please tell me it’s so.

Like Stoner said, UN54s are fine. Got them on two of my bikes, both of which get hammered and both still running smooth. £12 from CRC so what have you got to lose?

Remember, external bearings are the work of the devil and you WILL go to hell.

We don’t really spend it on gin and fags. Straight into a building society account for the little ‘un.

I meant for the kids

Isn’t it part of night-riding to undress outside in a remote freezing cold car park!!

I think that’s actually dogging you’re thinking of.

Gin and fags mostly. Doesn’t everyone?

Getting nippy though – Winter suit time soon.

MTFU :wink:

Come up and try the North Sea in February. That really is nippy!

Glad you had a good session.

Awesome. Was anyone out?

Hope you enjoy it – I’m really jealous.

I had some cracking sessions when we were down in Cornwall/Devon the week before last. Spent 4 days camped on the cliffs at Polzeath before heading up to Croyde for a further 3 days. Pretty good surf most days and managed to get in most mornings for a dawnie to beat the crowds.

Only downer was that I managed to get a 2 inch rip on my palm of my hand hand from my fin at Polzeath after getting sucked over the falls on a particularly big set. Had to paddle in with blood gushing out of it before binding it with my leash. My wife reckons I was white as a sheet by the time I got back to the van.

At the time I thought I might need stitches but didn’t want to go to casualty in case they told me to stop surfing for the week. Spent the rest of the week wearing one glove in a Michael Jackson stylee! Seems to be healing pretty well now though.

My first decent run of surf since May – made me realise how much I miss it. Plans coming together for a move to Devon next year though!!!

I reckon that could end up in a steep bill

<gets coat>

Has anyone else seen those billboards next to the motorway for a site called sugardaddy.com (spelling?)….

The tagline is “For beautiful women and sophisticated men”, presumably because they couldn’t fit ” For shameless, botox enhanced gold-diggers and tasteless sleazoid oligarchs” on the poster.

OK, any ideas for clothing to enhance your riding ability…?

I’ll go first… what about freeride nappies?

Oooooh Bodymax, shaped for confidence, shaped for yoooouuuu….

That’s hilarious.

I don’t see the benefit of the “frontal enhancement” though. If it gets to the point when that particular “feature” becomes evident then disappointment is surely bound to follow shortly afterwards.

Big foamy ones.

Preferably with stabilisers.

“Bit of weight on the fork” Jesus, anyone riding with their hands on the bars will have a bit weight on the fork! If you have a stigma to an obstacle your body language will put your balance and bike off. A more committed stance will see you through. Hence me also describing the unweighting of the bike.

Nope… sorry, still don’t understand that.

If you’re going to get the front of the bike over or unweight you want to be taking the weight off the front wheel. Unless you’re proposing a pogo-stick approach to negotiate trail hazards? :D

For what it’s worth, I sometimes see people in the supermarket wearing bike helmets.

Was that in Lidl? if so I’d say that’s a sensible precaution.

andy_hamgreen – as per post above, check out the Martin Beck series and see where Mankell got his inspiration.

Anyone else into Don Winslow?

“The Winter of Frankie Machine” is a great surf-noir crime caper – bit like Carl Hiassen, “Power of the Dog” is completely different – quite a heavyweight saga about the Mexican drug trade partly based on real life events. Brilliant book.

Oh yes – and any crime fiction fan has GOT to read David Peace’s Red Riding series. Fantastically dark and murky.

My local riding is root city, I can only offer the following advice:

Try to look past the root – if you focus on any obstacle you WILL hit it.
Don’t be too hesitant – speed is your friend
Stay off the brakes.
DON’T weight the fork – that’s crazy talk!!
Relax – try to unweight and “float” the bike over the root if possible (practise this in dry conditions if you’re not that confident)
Always try to cross them at right angles – if you cross them at an angle, your tyres are more likely to bounce off them.
Switch to flats in the winter to give you a bit more confidence