Out for a tasty meal at the pub. Never eaten here before but I stopped in for a pint after a wet and cold ride and the food looked mighty fine Rose and Crown Inn

^thanks. Where are you and what’s the most convenient way to get them to me.

Ta

Why not just use sealskins socks with the damp shoes?

Never been that impressed by Sealskins. Also, call me a wimp, but I prefer to put on dry shoes at the start of a ride 🙂

Are the AM41s as grippy?

😆

Thanks. To be frank that’s a considerably more practical suggestion than I dare to admit 🙁

Can someone explain to me what Enduro is? from that it looked like really long Downhill

Downhill with a lot more pedalling? I’m sure the shift to more technical and steeper DH courses is a direct result of the rise in popularity of enduro, and possible the main reason pedally-Pietermaritzburg no longer features on the World Cup DH circuit.

I suspect even Aaron Gwin couldn’t win an enduro stage with no chain 🙂

If I’d demo’d my Yeti I’d never have bought it, as it felt like a pig. Changed a fair few things on it, best bike I’ve had.

I think this is a common experience for people. I had a crap hardtail that became a fantastic mile-muncher with some judicious component changes. In contrast to Nobeerinthefridge I think this is a very good reason to pay money to demo a bike. In my mind it makes more sense to pay £100 to demo 3 or 4 bikes than buy a bike “blind” then spend invariably more than £100 to get it right for you.

OP, as always on STW you’ll get conflicting opinions of what’s best to do. The best advice on this thread has been

just be honest about your riding

Buy the bike for the riding you do, not the riding you dream of doing. I dream of riding rocky Alpine singletrack and big mountain descents, but if I bought the best bike for that it would likely be a bit crap for the Peak District riding I actually do.

^ 😆 @jekkyl

Me?

1. Pay off mortgage
2. Either do some home improvements to accommodate growing family or move to a bigger house
3. Buy a Porsche, model depends on how much £££ left after 1 and 2, but I suspect I won’t be able to afford the one I want 😆

I’m not proud of the fact that giving some away to those more needy didn’t even enter my mind 🙁

My advice would be to demo a few different bikes and see what you like or don’t like. Each suspension design has different characteristics so every bike is different and some may or may not suit you.

+1

I remember my first full susser. It was a revelation and I loved it for years. It wouldn’t be right for me now though.

Full sussers are ace. They make going uphill* and downhill easier. Get one.

*seriously. When I when back to a hardtail after a few years on a FS, I missed the ability of a good full susser to climb up technical climbs more effectively than a HT.

Here’s my Bandit just to demonstrate how important a bright colour is 😉

Bandit first ride – 11 by stilltortoise[/url], on Flickr

“will it make me smile on”

. Completely agree…

…hence the advice to get a demo ride.

To repeat an anecdote I’ve put on here (probably more than once) before, I had my eye on a Yeti ASR5. On paper it was perfect for me and “made me smile” thinking about riding it. When I eventually swung a leg over it, it wasn’t right for me at all. I can completely understand why it would appeal to some, but it didn’t give me that warm fuzzy feeling.

I used to be a non-believer in demo rides, assuming all modern bikes are good bikes, but bikes have personalities that may not suit you. If you splash £3k + on a bike make sure you choose it for the right reasons.

If Jekkyl offers to show you around, I’ll come too 😉

Some really good stuff in those woods, but he’s right much of it will be a quagmire at the moment.

Can I be the first to say “try it and see if you like it”?

Seriously OP, scratch that new bike itch but make sure you demo it first. Loads of us on here go on and on about demoing bikes. Great reviews, the right spec and lots of virtual nods of approval from STWers mean nothing when you get that bike on the dirt and think it’s crap (and then spend the next umpteen rides convincing yourself it’s brill).

FWIW I have a de riguer 140mm trail bike and I love it since it is an ideal compromise for the riding I do. It’s not too sluggish and heavy for those boring bits of connecting trail but it lets me play on the DH stuff from time to time. That said, if all I rode was billiard smooth manicured blue runs and easy XC stuff I’d be crying out for something that has a bit more oomph when putting the gas down. There’s nothing more frustrating than spinning out on smooth, flat terrain cos your zeitgeist 1x drivetrain hasn’t got a big enough gear.

Green. The seat post is too long on the black 😉

Seriously, green will look better on photos, which is the most important aspect of buying a new bike 😆

See…

My old Ragley, now gone by stilltortoise[/url], on Flickr

There are loads of these type of lists: Top X happiest, top X friendliest, top X healthiest or simply top X full stop. Leek (my home) came 3rd in one of these recently but the (relatively) affordable housing was a huge factor in this. The fact it is surrounded by beautiful countryside probably helped too 🙂

It’s be interesting to see which locations feature again and again in these differing polls.

This story is being shared on Facebook now, which will get the anti-cyclist dog-lovers frothing at the mouth

Distance: 1,983km
Time: 102h 53m
Elev gain: 33,144m
Rides: 49

Avg rides/week is currently 0 😳 😆

I’m actually gob-smacked I’ve managed that many rides. It’s been a fallow year for me, but I’m looking forward to a play this Saturday.

Starting this thread will give that article more hits and promote the anti-cyclist agenda. It’s a one-side story with little detail and the fact he was on a bike appears irrelevant.

Nothing to see here.

On Facebook Cameron posted: “Put away the pitchforks and torches, USA Cycling is not always right but they are trying. They are not the enemy.”

The key appeal to this video (and the Ridge for that matter) is that they are stunning to watch even without the riding. That’s a big reason why Danny’s videos usually stand out (and why Drop and Roll didn’t).

Awesome

Thanks for all the suggestions folks 🙂

I’ll preface my response by saying I’m not huge gamer because I get bored very easily. As such any game that captures and keeps my attention to the point of completing it is, in my opinion, something special. Here are my recommendations, both essentially platform puzzlers but with some unique gameplay.

About Love, Hate and the Other Ones – totally captivated me
Monument Valley – visually very striking if not that challenging

Thanks all.

I have since upgraded to a set of pikes, some hope enduro wheels, a better stealth routed dropped with 150 drop, xt 11 speed. I have also changed the headset to a hop flavour one as the standard loose ball thing has no place nowadays! I added a set of offset bushes to the front shock mount to help slacken it a little more

😯

I am now really happy with the bike

I should hope so too 😆

@Jekkyl it’s not the quantity it’s the quality 😉

^hmm, probably a good idea. The added problem is that I had to replace the rear mech too. Will the new jockey wheels cause an issue with a worn chain or do you recommend I switch the old and very worn jockey wheels off the old mech too?

How do I measure “past 1”? The chain checker easily sits between the links on the 1.0 measure

It was on 1.0 i.e. “please replace me” 🙂

…so free of insecurity

Hmm, not how I read it. I read a man not confident enough in his ability to co-host the biggest TV show in the World. Everything else he wrote is simply justifying that decision.

I like Guy Martin and I really enjoyed the Speed series, but I do think he would have been a bit too colloquial to be a hit on a Worldwide show like Top Gear, much as I would have loved to see him on it.

What problem are you trying to solve? It may sound like a daft question, but I just noticed you asked for a showerproof rather than a waterproof. I have a winter soft-shell that is windproof, breathable and keeps me dry in all but the worst downpours. It’s brilliant for riding at this time of year. Very occasionally I’ll stuff a waterproof in the back pocket as well, but it has to be really raining to put that on.

^I was going to say something smart-arse like that 😆

…then I remembered the many times I’ve sat on a chairlift in ski season. I’d rather be wrapped up in warm and dry ski clothing on a chairlift in an alpine winter than in wet and muddy MTB clothes on a chairlift in Welsh wind and rain. Brrr

The trails are pretty empty now even with fully booked uplifts and a full car park.

Interesting observation. I went there 18 months ago and the uplift was fully booked but – you’re right – I certainly didn’t find the trails busy at all.

Keep the uplift for the DH

Isn’t that why people go to BPW? To go downhill but not ride back up again? “Downhill” should not be seen as a level of technicality (and the bike that goes with it); it should be seen as a preferred type of riding. More and more people want to ride downhill without riding back up again and it’d be a shame if BPW start improving the means to ride back to the top at the expense of investing in more uplift. There’s plenty of trail centres out there already that have climbs.

I write this as someone who enjoys XC riding and climbs, but loves a day of riding down down down without any up up up.

It’s a bit out of date. Avoid

A quick Google suggests this model is 2009/2010. Things have moved on. Yosemite is not the latest OS for Mac and I’d be gobsmacked if this model supports the current El Capitan OS. I didn’t click through but even if this is the south side of £500 it’s still not a good deal. To be honest it may work fine but IMHO opinion you’re wasting your money buying 5/6 year old IT.

it seems to soak rather than bounce the rain off

I have had it a couple of years

Have you ever reproofed the outer face fabric?

^well, it’s not a bad shout. That’s where I’ll be heading from Leek on Saturday morning provided my hangover isn’t too bad.

TNF has always been slightly suspect in my experience. Back in my youth I worked in an outdoor shop and saw a lot of returned TNF jackets. My very own TNF waterproof leaked badly where the badge was embroided on. I got a bit bored of packing them up and sending them back to the distributor.

This was a long time ago, possibly a bad period for quality control, and your experience may be better, but I mention it because they do seem to be more prevalent in the consumer end of the market now rather than the performance end, so I’d expect things to be worse not better.

I second what Collie says. There’s some great terrain around there and most of it has a hard, rocky or sandy surface. You’ll have puddles and possible streams down some of trails after heavy rain but only isolated patches should be muddy (the bit across the field before dropping down to 3 Shires Head at point 8 WILL be boggy).

A word of warning. I’ve ridden round there plenty of times and it’s quite hard to get a good average speed, despite feeling like I’m riding well up and down. I always end up being out longer than expected.

@Collie you were my one of my first respondents on STW when asking for some local riding knowledge when I first moved to Leek 8 years ago. <waves> 🙂

DJ Shadow, Entroducing

I was starting to get concerned that it took until page 2 for someone to mention this

I think BoardinBob and others have it about right. So much of what people have listed above is actually quite old. Is it simply reminiscence from the days when we actually sat and listened to albums, rather than music now being more of a background activity? That’s certainly the case for me. I probably listen to more music now than I ever did, but i don’t Listen to it.

Here are some more recent ones that spring to mind that I have thoroughly enjoyed – and listened to – as complete albums:

Venetian Snares – Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett
Patrick Watson – Adventures in your Own Backyard
The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt

Played Logo with my kids and nieces a month ago. Never played it before. Will definitely play it again. Very good game that can be played with different levels of complexity depending on the kids’ ages.