So really what we’re all saying is, it doesn’t really make much difference what you ride … so long as you’re out there doing it 😉

“Freehub Failure” … me me me 😀

I think the question of SS or gears is difficult to answer. Obviously someone who’s used to SS will be able to ride at a faster pace than someone who isn’t and is looking to just save weight/complication. If you look at the times for the TD, some of the SS riders aren’t that far behind the geared riders.

Tiger … I assume that 1000 miles was over the course of a week then 😉

@Steve … yes, I now class that big tarp as a 5 and 1/3 man 😉

I’ve used various Carradice seat packs and they’ve all been great, they’ve done exactly what they’ve meant to without issue. Also, sometimes use a waterproof Ortlieb saddle pack which is smaller than the Carradice ones but again works without fault.

Only time I’ve ever used a seatpost mounted rack I destroyed it in one trip, it came back bent, with knackered threads and it also managed to rub some holes into a dry bag … never bothered since.

I use a few different bikes. First one is 26″ rigid, geared Inbred, It’s built to take some abuse, heavy wheels, tyres, etc. The weight does slow you down but the fact it’s rigid doesn’t.

I also run a rigid SS 29er with 2 cogs on the back just in case it all gets too much. It’s far lighter so feels much quicker. The fact it’s SS doesn’t seem to slow progress too much until you get well into a big day … 8+ hours riding.

At the moment I’m putting together a rigid 29er running 2×9. The forks are Salse Enabler with a 135mm spacing, the front wheel is a SS rear so if I have gear troubles I can switch to SS and keep going. It’ll be a fair bit lighter than the Inbred with the ‘benefit’ of gears … I’m kinda hoping for the best of both worlds. I’ve never tried an Alfine but I’d be interested to.

I started typing a reply but it made me sound like some kind of Peter Pan so deleted it … All I’ll say Tony is before you do anything give it some serious thought/time. I’d also try and talk to the OH about how you’re feeling, in my experience you might be surprised how much understanding you’ll get.

I’ll see your down sweater Tiger … and raise you this

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/craghoppers-icefield-body-warmer-mens-449193

It’s even the correct colour for stealthy operations!

Just a quickie … the entry forms for this years WRT have been emailed this afternoon. If you haven’t had yours then check your spam folder.

There’s still time to get involved if you haven’t already, just email stuart@forestfreeride.co.uk and ask for a form.

Cheers

I’m all for it … But what’s to stop anyone getting a map out and linking them together now?

Ta and Vortex if I were buying a mat from AlpKit I’d be buying this

http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16557&category_id=253

I’d find it very hard to go back to self inflating mat after discovering the new breed of insulated air beds.

Ian, have you got a link for those dry bags? Ta

There’s a video over on the forum at bikepacking.net

I use aluminium pots rather than Ti … as flatfish says there’s not much in it weight wise. I think the 2 pan set I use most often might be a Gelert one, I recall it was less than £15 for 900ml pan/mug, 450ml mug and a lid. It’s had plenty of hammer 😉 and shows no signs of giving up.

Here you go just found a link

http://www.gelert.com/products/cooking_dining/cooking/ascent_i_cookset

Yes … but that won’t tell you the pitch. STD M8 is 1.25mm but on certain applications a pitch of 1mm is quite common.

Just be careful what you pack and how you pack it and you shouldn’t really notice the thing when you’re riding … you’ll suddenly notice it’s there when you come to pick your bike up.

Oh, I find a 13l just fits between the drops (WTB mountain drops) on my 29er … nice and snug and out of the way.

13l here most of the time. Fits winter bag, mat and bivvy bag inside. In France last year (100 degrees) I carried stuff that was much more compact so got away with a much smaller dry bag.

I find that Alpkit dry bags are about the best shape for bar use. I tried a POD bag at weekend, same capacity but fatter/shorter which made it more difficult to get in my harness.

@Vortexracing keep your eyes open for ‘Wildcat bags’ in the next few months if you’re after a UK made version of the stuff from the US. I’ll be putting a dead simple, making meths stoves step by step up on the Welsh Ride Thing blog next week too, you might find it handy.

@Slugwash, dry bags with loops like in the pic are from AlpKit.

If you split bivvy bags into 2 types then it simplifies things:

Type 1 – Often no zips, hood with drawcord. Pretty much a waterproof sleeping bag cover.

Type 2 – Often has a zip closure, may have midge netting over the opening too. Often much bigger and boxier than type 1. Many will have thicker/more durable bottoms.

So, with type 1 a small part of your face is going to be showing (as fourbanger says you can kip on your front) so if it’s raining there’s a chance some water is going to get in with you. You’re also going to have to store kit ‘outside’ in drybags or bin liners. If I thought there was a chance of rain and I had a type 1 bag, I’d also take a tarp. You’ve also no protection from midges, etc unless you take a seperate net.

With a type 2 bag you can fully enclose yourself within it if it rains. Many also have enough space to fit a pack in there with you too and your sleeping mat will no doubt be in there with you also … something not all type 1 bags have space for. You could pretty much sleep out any amount of rain in a type 2 bag, even without a tarp.

Type 2’s tend to be more expensive as they’re often made from highly breathable materials (eVent, Goretex, etc) to help stop condensation forming when you’re sealed in side. Cheap bags from £20, good type 2 – skys the limit.

Gutted I can’t play out … have fun.

It’s already the year of the bivvy. I was out Sat night and it was great, *we’ve got various bivvy trips running throughout the year http://www.forestfreeride.co.uk and of course this years WRT http://welshridething.blogspot.com/ is already attracting big numbers of interested folk … a bivvy year most certainly.

*Shameless plug

Nice pics pedalhead … after spending last night swinging from the trees in a hammock, I can vouch for how cold it was 😉

Depends what I’m doing/what time of year it is.

Spring/Autumn – Golite 4 degree down bag.

Winter – Deuter Atmosphere down bag.

If I think I’m going to get wet then I’ll sustitute for Nanok syntehetic bags and suffer the weight. The Deueter is pretty roomy (not that I’m a giant) but the Golites are quite snug.

I emailed the nice man who makes the buckets … Troy, I think he’s called. Seems on the ball, quick to reply and more than happy to ship to the UK, 1 or 2 bags was $15 shipping I recall.

Horses for courses really … I was out last night, temps were down to around -4, all the water I was carrying had turned to solid ice by 6.30pm.

I was cooking on a titanium Vargo meths stove, no trouble at all. It was certainly cold enough this morning to have hindered any of my gas canister stoves to some degree. If I’m trying to cook / brew up for more than just me then I’ll often take gas … just so much quicker.

Thought you were doing it on the cheap 😉

Did it go well?

Very sad. RIP

No Nano’s till April 🙁

Al, I don’t see why they’d rub, surely that comes down to where you set the pads/pistons in relation to the disc?

So what would happen if you fitted road BB5/BB7 but used V brake levers? I understand that your brakes wouldn’t be very good if you did it the other way round as the road lever won’t pull enough cable.

I’ve got one of those saddlebags (as IanB said) … I know what you mean about the bracket Dyffers but I’ve carried all kinds in it and it’s held up fine. The biggest problem I had was when I fitted the bracket back to front once … bag still fits on but then won’t come off!

Ta very much … I’ll go take a look.

Ian I think you’re being slightly generous when you say minus 5 😀

Very nice, I shall look forward to seeing it in the flesh and giving it a stroke 😉

Don’t worry Tiger, I’ll make sure there isn’t the slightest chance you’ll get your own bed 😀

Dyffers, think you’ll find it was IanB who was SS … I’m sure he’ll be along himself at some point but I do recall him saying he’d dropped his gearing and was surprised what a difference the added weight made.

I rode down to SSUK last year. It was around 80 miles (bivvied in the Doethie valley on the way) I was running 32:18, seemed ok, as I don’t recall much pushing 😉

Bigface …2009 grid refs are here http://welshridething.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-03-04T12%3A25%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

It’ll give you an idea.

Morning folks … now, just so no one panics, if you’ve sent me an email then you’re on the list. Don’t expect the hear anything for a few weeks though. If you’re concerned that I haven’t had your email, free free to send another and request a reply.

I never really thought about it before but I suppose ‘it’ is a little underground … it’s not really meant to be but as IanB says, perhaps it adds a little something. The WRT certainly isn’t a mainstream MTB event, I imagine it only appeals to a very small percentage of riders (even on here, with our larger than usual niche quota). The easiest way to keep in touch with what’s going on and the rubbish in my head is to visit the WRT blog from time to time http://welshridething.blogspot.com/

For anyone who hasn’t done it before then I think all the descriptions above are a fair view of how it works / what goes on. Just remember, it isn’t a race but it should be a challange.

Oh and this year I’ll be making plenty of flapjack to go with Dee’s Welsh cakes 😉

Not much in the way of bothies this year … people were spoilt last year, I mean 3 bothies all within reach. Who’s stupid idea was that? 😉

http://welshridething.blogspot.com/ Plenty of drivel there Sue 😉

Sounds like you’ve got some pretty epic adventures planned for the year … good luck with them.