Great stuff! Here goes:

Whyte 46
Blackspire 36t "outer"
Deore 22t inner
XT hollowtech cranks
I think the cassette is XT too. Not sure what range – I'd have to check
Mech – SLX shadow

The main problems I have are:

1. Chainsuck, 95% of the time shifting from big ring to little ring e.g. approaching an uphill switchback in the big ring and wanting a quick gear drop (I'm generally about 1/3 up the cassette so not in lowest gear). 8/10 times I can rescue it but those other 2 times really irritate me (especially when mates overtake me)

2. Chain dropping off the little ring. This happens again when wanting to "drop" gears quickly for an uphill or techy section and the chain goes a bit too far. The stop is set as far as it can go

3. Indexing – I had this nailed for ages (Gore Ride-On cables) but up in Fort William a couple of weekends ago it started playing up. To be honest I just need to spend some time fettling 'cos I'm usually OK at sorting indexing.

I notice your comments on chain devices. I do get a lot of chain slap on the swing arm and had thought of a Blackspire stinger, but sounds like you might have some better ideas.

it's down to your own clumsiness and lack of skill!

Maybe I am a numpty rider. A lot of people are, and my point is that as a numpty rider riding "XC" "in the Peaks" (what's so funny?) I have broken teeth off chainrings. I – and many others – can justify it. Why is that so hard to understand? As it happens I don't think I am a numpty rider nor do I think my riding pals are, but we nearly all have bash guards and all have the bash guard scars to show they are worthwhile.

I'm having problems with my drivetrain at the moment so for a beer or two I'd be more than happy for you to come and set it up for me. Come and show me how to be a better rider whilst you're at it. I've been angling after some skills training.

I didn't think I needed a bash guard for the riding I do – that I call XC – but in time I realised I did. Some people think you don't. Just wanted to give the OP some balance

I have a Samsung combined VCR and DVD recorder. Very smart looking, cost about £220 2 years ago from Argos. It has a built in Freeview tuner too, but we don't get Freeview yet.

Unfortunate;y whether it is engineered to break down, whether it is the DVD-RWs that have a finite life or whether it is too many sticky fingered toddlers playing with it, it is starting to be a pain. Using it is pretty easy but then you watch the recorded program and find it skips/stalls half way through. It also takes ages just to open the drawer.

In summary? If I were to replace it I'd get a cheap and cheerful DVD player that the kids can wreck and if there was something worth watching again and again I'd buy it…

…or I'd get a PS3 😀

sweat…and suncream

Up in Fort Bill the little critters just drowned in sweat, sun cream and Skin So Soft before they could dig their teeth in, and I DO get bitten usually

You WERE rubbish against USA

{insert country who should have done better} were rubbish against {insert country they should have beaten}

Story of the World Cup?

…ooh, no, I did lose teeth once from grounding. But that was falling/riding off a concrete block so technically I was going down to meet the ground rather than the ground meeting me

if you ground out a 36T bashring

…and this is the bit that makes me giggle. I have NEVER lost teeth from grounding. It is always from rocks pinging up and hitting the chainring. I could show you several "XC" trails in the Peak District that are loose and rocky enough to ping rocks up regularly. Eventually they hit and sometimes they hit hard. I don't believe for one minute that line choice or skill will help

Maybe I should just get a thicker skin?

+1

Why not not give an enthusiast, rather than a semi-famous person the oppertunity to do some of the things they'd never get the chance to do?

One letter is only the start of it…

(quick, call Jimmy)

It used to run true, or at least the original disc was warped in the opposite direction to the hub flange to make it appear true.

The dropouts are Whyte "Big Grippers" so it's pretty difficult – if not impossible – to not get the wheel sat properly.

My thoughts were on worn bearings on badly assembled hub, but having stripped and reassembled so many times now (with new bearings) I can't see how doing it again will help (what did Einstein say about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results??)

The only other "new" thing that seems to correspond with the problem getting worse was that I had a new wheel built last year on the same hub. The timing could be coincidental, but maybe taking it back to the wheel builders is an idea.

Thanks for the suggestions. It sounds like any fix is beyond my capabilities now…apart from perhaps some shims

Someone will be along in a shortly to say it's not the best route.

I've ridden most of that more than once and – provided it is dry – is quite a good fun blast

you shouldn't need a bash for XC

😆

this always makes me laugh and comes up time and time again. When mountain biking was just riding around off road – before XC, freeride, all mountain, DH etc – teeth got knocked off outer chain rings. If it never happens to you when riding "XC" then count yourself lucky, slow, careful or nowhere near any rocks (or all of the above).

Someone will be along soon to disagree 😀

Mmm, like the look of the Stonger myself but put off by this from the installation instructions:

"Make sure the BB has a flanged and offset (E-type style) drive side cup that is chainguide compatible"

What does this mean? I have XT hollowtech cranks with external cups that I had assumed would be fine. Help please.

Have you never seen 24? Hard drives at the centre of bomb blasts seem recoverable 😯

I have a Thule "cheapie" from Halfords. It cost £140 ish and holds 3 bikes. I've had it for a couple of years now and it is ACE. Easy to fit and stashes easily in the boot when I'm riding. On my wife's Suzuki SX4 I didn't notice a change in fuel consumption but on my Honda Civic there is a big difference. Car shape must be a factor as to how much the economy is affected. As for security, I just use normal bike locks to secure the bikes to the rack. My tow ball does have an anchor if I wanted to lock the rack to the car, but not done so far.

Riding up in Fort Bill the other weekend I got 3 bikes on the rack, one bike inside and 4 people in the car – a Honda Civic!

Highly recommended. I think it is the Ride On 9503

But did he object to the odd cyclist using the FPs?

I must ask him. My guess is that few mountain bikers would have wanted to cross the field – it doesn't really link anything worth riding. He knows how much I love biking so I guess if he was still there he'd be fairly open-minded about it. Again I refer to sensitivity. 1 or 2 polite riders is one thing. A big gang of riders being "cheeky" is very different

OK, so what are THE footpaths we should all ride then? I've always fancied the path along the top of the Roaches

The Islabike is a touch too big at the moment but give it another few weeks and should be OK. With a 28cm inside leg I wouldn't want anything with a saddle height bigger than 30cm at its minimum, otherwise the little fella won't see any use this side of Xmas.

I'm talking about "other people's land", be it gardens, farmland or fields. I don't think it's down to us to decide what is what. For instance what you call a "farmer's field" could be the paddock that my daughter rides her pony in. Would I want half a dozen MTBers hairing through that field? Probably not (and no I don't have a paddock, pony or daughter).

I've ridden my fair share of cheeky trails too BTW. I think most of us are sensitive enough about it and I'm unconvinced we need a mass trespass to get more access. Convince me.

Can you really not see the obvious difference?

My comments were meant to spark discussion and they have, but since you ask…

My father-in-law had a farm in the Peak District. It had a footpath running down the drive and across the bottom of his garden to get to a field that dropped into the Manifold valley. Many a time he had to (politely) redirect walkers who could not read a map and strayed into other parts of the farm or his land they should not be in. He never begrudged having a ROW across his land and in fact his young daughter – my now wife – used to sell drinks and home made cakes to passing walkers. However, he did expect people to observe the ROWs.

Far from talking extremes as CheekyMonkey suggested, I think I'm giving a good example of exactly where the lines are blurred.

but I just ride where I like anyway

I'd be pretty unhappy if you – or anyone else for that matter – came riding through my back garden without my permission. Why is a farmer's field any different?

(stevemakin, is this the kind of discussion you're after??)

I can't find the Diamondback Scoot on their website. Any more clues Bigdawg?

I do like the look of the First Bikes.

ET

he's got a 28cm inside leg, so some of these might still be too big

Ellsworth Epiphany – the biking equivalent of Kylie sporting a beard. Nearly so beautiful but ruined by that gawping great big linkage

OK, so next question is, where do I find a bike small enough for a 20 month old who isn't exactly enormous?

It started to go wrong when that American woman spilt her hot cup of Maccy D coffee on her lap and was told she should sue.

As nbt points out, NOTHING to do with why H & S was created

I thought this was some freeride skillz poll

midges!

I'll be the twonk with the head-net on then 😥

Are you confused or is Mugdock similar?

Yes, I was confused, hence…

Sorry, I'm getting confused with somewhere else (Carron Valley Kelpie trail).

🙂

Sorry, I'm getting confused with somewhere else (Carron Valley Kelpie trail).

My recollection of Mugdock is that you need a local to get the best out of them. There'll be along in a minute 😳

There is a big car park at the trail head, near the reservoir as I recall. The best section of trail is undoubtedly the last section called Runway. Fast and swoopy and then a dozen or so tabletops and doubles all in a row and all easy enough to give you a big grin without inducing rabbit's nose. The trail's pretty short so just do it all and then session the bits you liked most – unless there's been more added since this time last year

is it the Brazil angle or the not-seeing-kids angle you're worried about? Brazil's a big place and not all of it is nice. If you're somewhere nice it will be easier to deal with being away from the little 'uns.

human-being-doesn't-say-exactly-the-same-thing-every-time-shocker

There's a belter of a route that starts from Drumlanrig castle before heading into the Lowther hills, along the Southern Upland way, down into Wanlockhead, then a big (mostly road) climb nearly up to the radar station on Lowther Hill. There is then an ACE singletrack descent down Enterkin burn where in places the track gets extremely narrow.

Check it out in the VG Guidebook to Scotland. Ideal weather for it now. It could be a slog if it is wet and gloopy.

Easy, buy a bike with a longer or shorter wheel base

beat me to it

Ooops, I forgot to account for the smiley wink of sarcasm 😆

Norfolk?? Yet you mentioned going downhill twice 😆

Off to Fort Bill tomorrow. Yay!

oooh! Where?