I’m sorry to say that if someone finds themselves heading down the Doethie valley this year … they’ve made a terrible navigation error 😀

Nice pics … looks like you had a great time.

Cheers for that mmb … didn’t want to put it all together to only take it apart agai, workshop’s far too cold for that sort of carry on 😉

http://www.forestfreeride.co.uk

Not in the NW but sunny Wales … about 2 hours from Stockport.

SMBLA (MBLA as it is now) requires a 16 hour course. I’ve done a few REC courses over the years and they’re well worth doing. There does seem to be a very real difference in what you learn on a course that’s been designed for outdoor type stuff and one that hasn’t.

On the first course I did the instructor was very fond of telling you … if this happens in an urban situation then they’ll be fine as help will be 15 minutes away, if this happens when they’re out in the mountains with you … they’ll die!

I’m (a little) ashamed to say at present I have 11 and 2 more are been built as we speak … I wonder if I perhaps have a slight problem. I don’t even own a full suspension bike FFS 😉

I come from a family of welders/fabricators/engineers … there’s a real difference between welding and just joining bits of metal together 😉

Good luck though.

Why not come and have a go at the Welsh Ride Thing in May http://welshridething.blogspot.com/ it may seem tame by your description but you might be surprised … it’ll certainly give you a taste.

PS. It’s been done by women too.

I was just going to say have you considered mid Wales. If you value peace and quiet we’ve got loads! 😉

Tiger you might find you’d do ok with a 16″ … On Ones do have a very long TT. Before hitting the buy button I’d compare TT length with your present frame.

As Graham says 1/2 inch total should be fine … remember to check the slack on the chain at different points as you’re bound to have tight and slack spots, you might have to compromise slightly. Slightly too slack will be better than slightly too tight.

Right then … As you know Tiger, I’m 5′ Dwarf and do alright on 29ers as long as they’re the right size … but we’ve decided 26″ so I’ll say no more on that subject.

I’d go carbon rigid forks, the weight saving over cheap sus’ forks is well worth it, you won’t miss the suspension after a while, IanB and myself were both rigid on the S&M bivvy. Also where are you getting mtb BB7s for £60 a pair?

I reckon it’ll be just the ticket 😉

I dislike riding with any sort of backpack due to a knackered shoulder … except my Wingnut Hyper 2.5 I really do rate it, very comfy, keeps any weight off my shoulder and also very well made.

I have been running race kings on another 29er. They’ve been fine and I do quite like them but for some reason it ‘feels’ like I’m not meant to.

I had some Wierwolf LTs too which were great but haven’t managed to find any since.

Cheers Tazzy, reckon I’ll give ’em a miss then. I shall wait and see what Steve at next day tyres turns up … ever such a nice man 😉

Cheers Stu … not as bad as I first thought.

If you don’t mind me asking, what price did Speedway come up with for the alloy frame?

Ta

I’m with everyone else … keep it, think nice summery thoughts, it’ll soon be here.

Have you thought about doing a bit of research with regard to new routes. It’s amazing how much stuff is on your doorstep that you don’t know about (as TJ says). Old / new maps, google earth and the internet in general will all help turn something up you never knew existed … you could even ask on here.

Can’t imagine for a minute who the little tykes might be 😉

*There was a bloke at SSEC riding with a young kid in a trailer … looked like they were loving it.

*I know that doesn’t answer your question but I figured it’d be a start 😉

Peter I can’t quite tell from the picture at crc … do those pedals have screw in pins or are they moulded in?

There’s a few on here that have … some as part of the Tour Divide, others at their own pace/own time. I’m sure someone will be along shortly

If you’re talking about the things that sometimes come as standard with bikes … throw them in the bin. They offer zero grip but will still remove enough skin to hurt. If it’s the aftermarket type flat pedal (some have steel pins) then I can’t really see any benefit over metal pedals … is the thought that plastic won’t hurt so much? just wonder as you mention it’s for a girl.

Just putting together an inbred 29er as my new bikepacking bike. It’s fitted with Salsa Enabler forks so has 2 rear wheels (front is a SS hub) just in case I rip my mech off or freehub packs in. Looking forward to it … get well soon Ton, I was hoping this year might be the year you’d be doing the Welsh Ride Thing.

loddrik … it’s all good, I don’t believe anyone’s really bothered what other folk ride, it’s just banter 😉

You know that’s a fib Stu … you also need some Welsh trail centre specific tyres and a full suspension tune which has been developed for such severe and demanding conditions 😉

Rigid seems to work alright round there, so no reason why a hardtail wouldn’t be great, as I’m sure any other type of bike would be 😉

Enlighten me then please Matt … what is?

You shouldn’t really have any problems with eVent being waterproof … it’s pretty much the industry standard for waterproof / breathable fabric.

I’ll be riding down to Fishguard from sunny mid Wales. It’s around 120 miles so I’ll bivvy on the way. Ferry to Rosslaire (£60 return for me and bike) then riding to the event which is again around 120 miles, so will spend another night under the stars … ooh it’s like a proper holiday 😉

@ Wildcat, yea that’s what I was trying to say 😉

@ Flatfish, what are you on about?

@ Bigface, They’ll be fine but if they die just bury them out in the hills or perhaps eat them!

I’m told no explanations until the WRT … if you’re there then you’ll find out all about Wild Cat stuff. Hope that doesn’t sound arsey, it’s not meant to.

Stuart

Cheers Mark, I’ll go and root out a nice short stem 😉

Keep ’em coming folks. I’m not going to reply to emails as there’s too many … and I’m building a wall, putting up a greenhouse and building a set of new drops so time is a little limited 😉

That’ll explain the hair style then … says he 😉

It’s all in the middle of nowhere John 😉 I did say you can’t always believe what’s on the map.

Anyway, hope your feeling a bit better now after your ‘off’.

Will do … I think you’ve a good excuse too 😉

You’ll get something synthetic which is as warm for less money but it certainly won’t be as light or compact. If you do fancy synthetic have a search for Nanok stuff, it’s good quality at the right price … a few places had offers on around Christmas.

I think it’s a very good excuse 😀

Very underrated ‘Things’ are!