TandemJeremy – You’re quite right, in my last comment I was thinking in terms of “proper” mountain biking ie involving actual mountains / rocks / roots / steep drop offs and especially at numpties riding black routes at trail centres without a helmet because they think it’s ‘core etc.

I’m happy to say that I’ve indulged in the robust and healthy pleasure of the odd low-velocity bridleway pootle sans lid myself on occasion.

I accept there is a fair bit of healthy debate about wearing a helmet on the road. I don’t think the “you don’t wear a helmet when walking down the stairs” argument stacks up at all though. The stairs in our house don’t bring me in close proximity to cement trucks or London cabbies on a regular basis.

Surely it’s down to individual choice based on the level of perceived risk? Personally I will always wear a helmet on busy roads or when commuting in town but I won’t bother generally for a quick, largely traffic-free ride down to the local shops. Illogical maybe but there it is.

Riding off road is another matter. If you don’t need a helmet mountain biking then you’re obviously not doing it right. You’re riding a pushbike at 30mph over an unstable surface in close proximity to nasty pointy rocks. And that’s not even considering the odd low-hanging branch to contend with. Frankly you’d be an idiot not to wear a helmet offroad.

13thfloormonk – The cat is mentioned in the book! From what I read, the guy who last lived there was an ex riveter from Glasgow who washed up there after wandering aimlessly after his wife passed away and ended up living there on his own for about 30 years. Must have been a tough existence…

I’ve just been reading The Wild Places by Robert McFarlane. There is a chapter about Sandwood Bay / Cape Wrath where he mentions a bothy called Strathchailleach. Sounds like an amazing place to stay.

Seem to have an addiction to depressing existential Swedish crime novels at the moment.

Currently reading the Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo which is pretty dark but weirdly gripping so far.

+1 for the Cotic Roadrat. Within budget for frame and fork package. Some folk will tell you the fork is harsh, can’t say I’ve noticed it myself but I ride rigid 90% of the time anyway.

All the fittings and gubbins you could possibly need. Loads of tyre clearance (will even work with 26″ wheels). Absolute hoot to ride too.

Probably not best suited to heavy touring though.

We’ve just bought a 2007 Octavia Scout TDI 4×4 from a main dealer for 9.5K (picked it up earlier), and believe me they are more difficult to get hold of than rocking horse poo, so I’d say your VRS is overpriced as although they are in demand there are loads more of them about.

One thing to check for is the alloys – the lacquer is prone to delaminating. That was the case with the car we bought, but we split the cost of the refurb with the dealer and they look good as new now.

Like others above I was referred by folk on here to briskoda.net and can’t fault it for advice.

Cotswold Outdoor do them

It was excellent. Really caught the feel of the book – touching and nailbiting at the same time. Fantastic that Geoff Wellum appeared himself and did the narration. Such an unassuming and modest guy considering what he lived through.

I run Tektro RX5 Mini Vs with cartridge pads. Stopping power is great if they are set up properly, but like someone else said, the do need to be set close to the rim, which can lead to some noise, but they do clear fairly quickly.

I love this bike…different saddle and wheels on since this pic taken.

OK thanks. Thought so, but thought it best to check.

i never took mine off!

've never been interested in surfin really, but some of these pics, and talk are/is infectious.
I'm also moving to 10 miles from Croyde in 6 weeks.
Methinks I may have to give it a go…

Careful…. it could change everything…

Had you eaten much before you went out? Sounds like a classic bonk

+1 for 6 music. On pretty much constantly in our house.

I've lived in Cotham, Southville, St Pauls, Montpelier, Easton and Totterdown.

Would also recommend Totterdown for good community feel and a short schlep to work. Windmill Hill area borders Bedme but is not a bad spot.
Southville is also good – as mentioned above good access to waterside / countryside. Avon cycleway in one direction out towards bath. Ashton Court and Leigh Woods in t'other.

Had a great time living in Easton but was a bit edgy, much more so than St Pauls to be honest, which is actually pretty gentrified in places, especially where it edges onto Montpelier around the top end of Ashley Road.

Cotham / Clifton pretty much as described above.. nice areas but full of loads of hoorays and nightmare parking.

Bristol is a great place – you'll have a ball.

Isn't Rhyd Ddu a bridleway too? Anyone ridden it? Not ridden Snowdon but I've walked most of the routes and I reckon Rhyd Ddu would be an absolute hoot on a bike, if only for that first ridge section.

I just finished reading the book after picking it up on a second hand stall the other week. Thought it was brilliant – wonder if the film will do it justice? From what I've heard it's more of a drama -documentary, with Geoffrey Wellum appearing in it personally.

It was rubbish this morning.

That really makes me feel sooo much better.

Bear in mind that I'm at the stage when I'm getting a thousand yard stare at the local duckpond…

Doh – ignore that – just spotted the mech hanger!

Coastkid – is that Alfine above on a Surly 1×1? (recognize the dropouts)

Reason I ask is that I may need to gear mine up next year when I move somewhere (much) hillier. How did you sort the cable routing – is it a zip tie job?

Can you all please stop talking about surfing…. I haven't been in the water since June and ITS DOING MY HEAD IN!!!! :twisted:

Hoping to get down to Croyde weekend after next…bet it's flat by then!

"Folk Song Oblivion" by the Phantom Band would work really well in an MTB film, and I wouldn't consider it as either indie or rock.

Very Scottish. Upbeat. Riff would be good around some jump edits, middle eight would work well around a more flowy section.

Lyrics also apt. That line about "I can't see for the Mountain's Silhouette"…

Lovely… if I can ever bear to be parted from my 1×1, I reckon I'll be going for something similar.

You can't any more? 8O

Thought it was somewhere that way – it was a biking trip up to the Hebrides that convinced us to buy a van, after seeing folk parked up on the machair in a spot just North of there. Always fancied returning with the van.

dunslair – looks like somewhere in the Hebrides. Harris?

I've been running a drop bar roadat for a couple of years now – like Cy said, I wouldn't take it on anything seriously rocky but with the right tyres (I run Smart Sams) it's fantastic on fire roads, smooth singletrack and jeep type tracks. It'll cope fine with a few roots as well and is pretty easy to float it over any nasty bumps.

(Have I just invalidated the frame warranty, Cy? :o

Fantastic bike. I'm running mine as a 42:18 singlespeed but there is a chance I'll be moving somewhere quite hilly next year in which case I'll be considering switching to Alfine and flat bars.

Why are the various iterations of VW Transporters so popular with camper conversions rather than Transits, Renaults, Fiats etc – is it because they're smaller and more car like?

The rear engined ones have a certain cult following, but for the later models they're really good to drive and don't rust much…. Some of the other vans may be more powerful but take a look at how many 10-15 year old VW vans you see compared to 10-15 year old Transits, Vitos etc. If you do see a 15 year old transit, it will probably be pretty manky.

Oooh, go on then…any excuse to show our pride and joy. She's a 95 T4 Westfalia called Rafi and she rocks.

]

Yup – it's in Livingston

They certainly do custom prints as it's mentioned on their website – not sure whether they'd be willing to do some samples for a future competitor though!

Don't Endura make at least some of their stuff at a factory in Scotland? I seem to remember seeing an article in Singletrack mag on it.

I take a Gerber Suspension tool on most long rides and have to say I've used it loads of times. Pliers have come in handy on a number of occasions for dealing with cables, thorns / flints stuck in tyres, dodgy chain rings or for bendin stuff back that got twisted after a smash :oops: etc. Have also used the saw on a few occasions to do a bit of light trail maintenance. Knife has been used to prise off bearing caps etc, and for picnics of course!

Having said that I take only a very minimal multi tool (specialized EMT) and a separate chain tool, so all in all, the weight is probably no more than something like a Topeak Alien, which I personally find really difficult to use.

Hmm. Partial success. Managed to lever up the strip just enough to pop a new spoke nipple in without damaging it…. can't inflate the blasted thing now though and bike shop has just shut so can't get a CO2 cartridge…. is there a trick to getting air in with a track pump?

If all else fails will stick an inner tube in for now.

Read all of the "What Estate Car?" thread…

I almost forgot about Berneray…. we stayed there the night before getting the ferry to Leverburgh. we sat on the beach at 11 at night (still light almost) listening to the seals and looking out to the Sound of Harris. Really beautiful spot. I need to go back, but next time it will have to be with a baby trailer! :D

We also did Hebrides in May (2008) and had the wind against us going North! We rode the west coast of Harris to Tarbert in a full on rain storm and howling northerly wind. Particularly memorable bit was having to pedal our heavily laden bikes downhill into Tarbert against the wind. Never was a pint in the Harris Hotel more richly savoured…

Would agree with what Rik said – absolutely awesome trip. Scenery and wildlife were amazing, and it was also one of our best holidays ever. As well as Harris, I really liked the NW coast of North Uist – really open and wild and not so much traffic as on the main Harris coast road. The east cost of Harris (The Golden Road) is also stunning.

South Uist can appear a little featureless in parts, but some great mountains on the East side (almost completely deserted), and cracking beaches on the other side. We rode a good portion of the trip on the beach or tracks across the machair.

We travelled S to N but then got the bus back down the islands with our bikes and spent the last couple of days chilling on Barra and Vatersay before getting the ferry back.

I really fancy doing a ferry from Oban, a circuit of Mull, over to Morvern / Ardnamurchan on the foot ferry from Tobermory and then on up to Skye sometime – anyone done that route?

Curry em…. fry up some onions and garlic add tomatoes, ginger, chilli and any other curry spices you have around. Cover the fish in the sauce and bake in oven for 20 mins or so. Serve with rice.

Or

Chop up ginger, spring onions and coriander, add some dried chilli, soy sauce and lime. Maybe some Thai fish sauce too. Stuff the fish with the herbs, wrap in foil and pour over the rest of the juice as a marinade. Close up the parcels and leave in the fridge for an hour or so and then bake in oven as above or stick on barbie.

Do you think he suffers from pinch flats?

Call that overbiked? One of the other dad's at my son's nursery turned up the other day to pick his daughter up on an Orange Alpine.