Can’t believe what I’m reading here!! trainer socks ffs! Crack on if you’re into love island & spending your Saturdays clothes shopping with the mrs.

T-shirt: Not tucked in (that really shouldn’t need to be said in 2019) old, well worn, pref with old school cycling brand.

Shorts: cargo, a fraction below the knee (not 3/4), no off the peg rips, frays, badges, prints or unnecessary tat.

Socks: cotton, traditional chunky weave, to lower calves. Pref woven in a UK factory by a foul mouthed women in a tabard who’s never taken a holiday abroad.

Footwear: Birks if it’s above 25c.. otherwise well worn trail trainers in unique colour way.

👍🏻

I had the same. Decided to fit 28c to the wheels that came with the bike. Got Dave @ DCR to build me a light 2nd set of wheels (about £420 with rotors I think) which I run 40c WTB Nanos on. I’ve got ultra compact up front & 11:36 rear. It’s great on the road (even with the 40c) & superb off road. Never had a single puncture in the 40c tubeless. Been on almost 2 years & ridden over all manner of terrain! Hope that helps. I’ve got a few pair of DCR wheels.. superb 👍🏻

[So really your original post should read something like:

Watched a roadie dressed in UCI yellow jersey for XL gut, hogged the road
and can’t be bothered to use the adjacent cycle path.
Looks back at the que of cars and carries on riding on a 60 mph country A road. Cars flying towards us.

Use the cycle lane if there is one?

I’m thinking he has every right to use the road but at nearly a metre out? and even I have let cars get by on hills.

Dam T de France TV wannabes!

(Gave him loads of space while overtaking the fat Banana

(Runs for cover)

?

]
Well put Graham S.
If the TDF inspires anyone to get out on a bike then job done.

Well Frankenstein I tell you what gets on my tits… the Mallorca Mamil’s. These cliquey tossers think they have god given right to be the only cyclists on the road. I ride & live in the Dales & the tour has also brought these out in force. Fresh from their ‘tanning’ camp in Mallorca, if they aren’t strutting around the cafes in Rafa & factor smell like the wife, talking power stats & name dropping.They are busy chamois creaming their ego’s by slagging off or trying to race every newbie on the road. Good on Mr UCI Yellow Belly for getting our on his bike.

Rollering. I used a bit of old plastic pipe about 5″ in diameter. Rolled from just below the hip bone towards the knee. The fist half dozen sessions it hurt like hell and was very knotty. It got easier and my ITB pain went. I only use the roller once in a while now.

Congrats GregMay.. welcome to the world of trials 🙂

First up check the bike over, the usual stuff, cranks, headset, wheel bearings etc etc.

Make sure the chain is in good nick. You will be preloading it a lot and it’s painful when they snap.

Your going to need good brakes, without them your not going to be able to do much on a mod (20″). What does it have on, V’s, Maguras or disks?

All good advise above. Especially trials forum, tyke trials and Tarty Bikes. If you can’t decide between 20″ and 26″ (mod & stock) have a look at the 24″ bikes on Tarty. These are popular with those riding street trials, but 24″ have started to make their mark on the natural/comp circuit.

What ever you decide don’t make the beginners mistake of trying to hop on the spot, on the back wheel. You will to begin with but thats not the aim. You will spend quite a bit of time on your back wheel, especially if you decide to ride natural, but it is more about balancing on the rear wheel, in-between moves, with as little hopping as possible. Having said that, get your balance on two wheels dialled first. You should be aiming to balance without turning the front wheel too much.

There is loads of stuff online. Trashzen[/url] is good. The chap behind it also has a book which is also good. I have a copy stuffed into my rucksack when I take the trials bike out.

Scotroutes… are you hiding a bald head and goatee? and where are your glasses?

Because you look suspiciously like Walter White !!

I wrote to them just before Christmas after visiting three of their shops in the North. All had staff that were completely useless and new fekall about bikes. I asked for a spoke key (mavic fit) and was handed a crank extractor.!!!! I walked out. They obviously use the same idiots guide to recruitment as B&Q.

There are a few makers in the uk. Weather you will get them make for you will depend on how many you need, most have MOQ’s. Quality items produced by the likes of Ashdow workshop, Barrett Alley, Makr & Tanner Goods to name a few, have pushed the RRP of such items up to an acceptable level for handmade leather goods. But margins for these companies are still tight. Bags are a a different kettle of fish, if you want something making to your design, you may have to tweak it to make it cost effective for them to run it through their available machinery. PM me if your need any more info.

Yeh it’s a sad day… made even sadder by the half hour i’ve just wasted, looking for my name in the list of subscribers at the front. Jesus I’m so ashamed now, don’t know what came over me. I’ve not scrutinised a piece of print in such detail, since I found half a page of a ragmag on the way home from school.. circa 1980!

I’m going to have a stab in the dark here. Not married? No kids?

20 minutes spent fannying around before you head out on the bike, is 20 minutes in which to be accosted by one of your off-spring for help with homework, a lift to football practice, or hospital as one of them has just fallen off the sofa and sprained her knee*. Or to hear the apparently innocuous “could you just…..?”

If you bothered with any of that nonsense, you’d never make it out at all!

Anyone married with kids knows: as soon as you’ve got clearance, seize the moment, grab your bike and get the **** out of Dodge. FAST!

And 20 minutes ‘warming down’ afterwards, is 20 minutes less in the pub. Which is a crime against nature

You poor bugger, that sounds a nightmare. Yeh I wouldn’t bother with any of it if I was in that situation. But thank fek i’m not. ‘Make yer bed…’ and all that! I’ll take a stab in the dark at…
a once in a blue moon trip to the same old trail centre’ when (and if) you can escape’ followed by three times as many miles and way more skills round the bar and when the wife is asleep more secret purchases on CRC and a quick flog over the latest Miley Cyrus vid. 😛

[/quote]Ah, no. All the research has shown that stretching before endurance exercise will decrease you performance during the event, and does not help with reducing injury.

If you read ‘all’ the research you will see that findings differ and timing, duration and intensity of stretching all play key roles. From the OP’s original question/statement he. I would argue it safer for him to warm up and stretch before riding.

A lot of macho crap above. But everyone is different. Some people never warm up and get away with it. Some people never warm up until they get injured. It’s safer to stretch warm up and stretch again before you ride and warm down afterwards (with some stretching). It needn’t be a big deal (takes me about 20 mins at the most). You will get more out of your riding and stand less chance of getting injured.

Hi Rich

Sorry to hear about your situation. I have a condition that basically results in loss of lung capacity as I get older. I’ve ridden bikes all my life, everything from BMX, MX, MTB, Trials, Road. These days I don’t compete, I just enjoy riding my bike, with friends or out on my own. I don’t get too hung up on my situation. FWIW i would advise.. apart from taking good care of yourself and eating well, practice yoga. Find a good Iyengar yoga teacher to show you how to have good posture and maximise the lung capacity you will have. I practice every morning for about 20 mins and it’s changed my life. It’s also given me a better understanding of my body, helping me avoid injury. Don’t bother with all the yoga fads that are around just find yourself a good Iyengar teacher, they are by far the most scientific and aware in their approach. This may help LINK All the best.

YoKaiser your kidding yourself if you think a stock carbon Tallboy with xtr is ridden at pro level. Yes it ‘could’ be, but most deffinately wouldn’t without considerable tweaks & upgrades. Pushing the price higher than £6799. At the end of the day we (myself included) are paying over the odds because we are daft enough to do so & the bike companies know it.

mikewsmith, my point is.. what you get for your money. If you had £3000 in your pocket & blew it on an mtb, you would get a lot less than if you spent the same amount on an mx bike. Looking at mx bikes over the last few weeks has me questioning the price tags put against a lot of mountain bikes.

what are you comparing top end vs top end, budget vs budget or 2nd hand entry level vs top end???

For example..
Santa Cruz Tallboy LT Carbon XTR AM 29er Mountain Bike 2014 = £6799.00
New 2013 Honda CRF250R EXTREME with custom graphics kit = £6,649.00

oh.. & cynic-al = don’t be a dick

If you want metal, get yourself an old s/h car – be at least a tonne there. .. ❓

Ok this is probably not exactly what your after, but my mate lives in the Bajo Maestrazgo national park a mountains, he’s spent the last 8 years restoring his house (he’s a builder/joiner by trade) and is now looking to rent it to cyclist road or MTB. I’ve been out there numerous times and i’ve not found anywhere in Europe like it. It’s amazing!! Last time I was there was in May on the road bike, we rode all day and saw only three cars, the roads are smooth as. Mountain biking is endless with a few local clubs out regular and miles upon miles of un-tapped trails. The local villages have all you need, but are not tourist spots so are a bit behind the times! But that’s their charm. Coast is 20 mins by car. Here’s a link to his web page or just PM me if your interested or would like more info.
http://www.sunnyrentals.com/en/europe/spain/valencian-community/castell%C3%B3n/canet-lo-roig/p209830

Cheers.. will do.

Its not really a rant. I’ve come very close to getting mashed by black Navaras on numerous occasions, recently (even on a trail centre carpark, by some tit acting all gin & tonic supersonic, infront of his office buddies) At first I thought I was the target of some midlife crisis hit man, but then I realised these were different blokes who all looked alarmingly the same. So i figured it was my civic duty to warn others that we have a new chav craze on our hands.

Ha ha what a crackin post. Jesus.. Stop being so bloody wet!!! Messin about on Facebook, with the fat new baby crew. Hanging around on there with that many hormones is a sure fire way to get a bitch slapping! Go ride your bike.

Fek all. Stick with the free weights and make good form and overall posture your priority.

‘iamsporticus’… i hope that is a typo and you really do know the difference between ‘trials’ bikes and ‘trail’ bikes. Because if you don’t a title like ‘iamsporticus’ is a bit much 😀

I’d recommend a Canyon Nerve for value and handling. I’ve had mine for a few years now. It happily clocks up the miles in the Dales and is fantastic fun at the trail centres. Customer service was spot on when I bought mine.

But also as said above you could get a lot for your money buying SH. But if you are newish to fullsuss I would be carful buying SH unless you know what problems to check for.

When looking at bike reviews on forums I would look at what the general consensus is. It’s not unknown for rivals to post the odd crap review and manufacturers to post good!! Oh and take any BikeRadar review with a pinch of salt.

Far to many people can’t stand to be alone these days and as a result will shack up and settle down with anyone. I found a girl like your describing and consider myself the luckiest man alive. But I would bet a lot of the “MTFU” or “grow up” advisers on here are the same guys that have to get permission to ride their £3k bikes once in a blue moon, between ferrying the kids around, being generally bitch whipped and eyeing up younger women in the supermarket. I bet if you sat with these same guys while they where drawing there last breaths, they would tell you different. It’s your life pal, not the wifes, not the kids.. yours. Sounds selfish but its a fact. If you feel this way about this woman go for it. But also be prepared to ride the shit storm that WILL follow.