encountered a chap on a MX bike and heard a few trial bikes in and around the hill.

I am a local and have ridden bennachie, millstone on my home built fatty. Just back from Scotly last night, which is stupidly fast just now. And yes its hard work!

camera phone effort…

my local, Sunday morning 2 weeks ago.

I can confirm that Yeti drop outs are made of cheese…

To all those at ST towers, a thanks from Messiah’s wife and boys for the … and dedicated to Brian Goldsworthy

She and the boys were ‘Totally blown away’

Also a thanks to the big showing from the bike community, Brian would have hated the fussed but be secretly chuffed. Leaving the crem listening to Ace of Spades with tears rolling down my face was a beautiful and sad day all at the same time.

However watch this space two mini messiahs who were up late at night afterwards asked if they could go to the skatepark on the BMX’s the next day… like father…

it was a tad windy in the open i believe. Still got a lovely day to go for a big jolly. Now you have a big list for next time…

if it helps, here is a summary of my recent experiences;
i have just gone from 711mm havoc carbons to 780mm answer pro taper carbons. But i am 6ft3 and i just found the havoc a bit narrow.

bar/angle/control setup i have faffed with a lot and gave quiet different characteristics.

Mechanically there is a valid argument that a longer bar has a longer lever arm, we understand the reasons for this on stability but what it will also produce is greater vibration over a longer a length, the wider you go the more the vibrations. As pointed out above, carbon is inherently stiff, granted a 15mm difference shouldn’t make a dramatic increase, however that assumes the construction is identical. To rule out the width argument try running the controls the same as the old bar position.

I did have narrow grips with my bike last year, which i quickly changed out to my old tried and tested favourite, and that made a big difference. Terrian i ride is 50% rocky as hell.

Certainly sounds an odd one

For those who can make the funeral on Thursday. A note from Brians wife, this is a celebration of his life. Brian was rather informal at the best of times. So Bike Jerseys, hawaiian shirts, hideous brown jumpers are all good!

Our riding group will all be sporting out new strips, shame he never got to wear or see them, but we have his name on our backs. I have the novelty of carrying him up all the hills this time.

And Sunday past was an informal gathering in the forest, 24 riders turned up. More than i think i have ever seen. The occasion was on everyone’s mind, the weather was frankly stunning, there will be many many more rides doing what we all love where he will always be remembered.

and never take yourself too seriously…

Big thanks to Ali and Serena, love what you have done on your facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/TransSavoie
That picture is Brian, superb 🙂

Lastly, and i hate naming names, can I use this to pass word to mr. Deas.

excellent 🙂

Red Nicolais are the best, this one trekked around the scotland, with Messiah & Yetiman and the malaysian jungle 🙂

agreed, needs to have the christened look 🙂

kcal,

depending on your ability/type of riding preference its very easy to come undone on Bennachie/Millstone/clachnabenn (and Scolty depending which trail you pick). That said some of the best flowing natural trails around. but thats my personal bias. Decisions are usual weather based, if its been particularly wet i avoid Kirkhill. But trail fairies have been rather active…

Glenlivet, personally i love, not technically challenging but just flows on and on and on. Breathe of fresh air imho.

hairyscary, sorry thought you were mister Betts, he is like Bennachies very own gruffalo 🙂 However, to more serious matters… you stole a KOM from me i was informed on Sunday, on a climb though, so thats OK 🙂

i would suggest fyrish as well, have a look for gordymac on here, i am surprised he hasnt piped up yet…

Lady Cairn, not ridden that for a long time, but its not far either. then the usual black isle stuff as well.

I am a Thecus fan, Have 2x 5500pros (5 bay) and 1 N2800pro.
Picked them both for speed, These run to support the main file server which has a stupid 10GB for RAID5 on SAS drives. And the Thecus units are not that slow. The 5500s run duplex as well. so transfer speeds are good.

The N2800 supports a monitor via HMDI, keyboard and mouse and is great for SOHO use, videos music etc. ours is used for backing up as its got a snazzy dropbox feature for syncing everynight.

All good suggestions. Kirkie is a short sharp one and 3 hours isnt representative of somethign to remember. If the weather is good I would always suggest heading to the hills. Enter stage left, clachnabenn. Its about a 45 minute drive out, 2-2.5 hr loop, cracking descent.

http://www.mtbtrails.info/Trail_Venue.aspx?VenueNumber=4

Bennachie/Millstone is my doorstep also and i have a huge bias for it naturally! If the weather is like it was today… i envy you 🙂 plenty of route choices, if your going of Donview side of Millstone a lot of trees down still, suggest the old walkers route 50m to the west.

hairyscary you betts?

its waking up on mornings like today, spring, temperature in the teens beautiful view of the mountains i wait for the first SMS message or email of the day from any of the maniacs. 99% of the time would be Brian. saying ‘nice day’… then you know what would follow. ‘Fancy taking a meeting?” Which meant, my bikes in the car/van lets got play on clachers/millstone/bennachie/macdui/nagar.. ‘ take your pick.

Its a common love and appreciation we all have, days like this make me apprecaite everything more.

folks the replies are overwhelming and very welcomed.
We passed this link to his family, I am sure they will be humbled by the warmth that is being extended by everyone he influenced.

I need to tell Ali at TransSavoie as well. Brian, myself and another of our number all entered the Trans Savoie last year, i made the reserve list but not the race. Brian spent ages talking me into me into it this year again, i came up with excuses which feel so false on hindsight, i cant express how much i want to do this… oh man, wiping tears again.

We were half way through having new strips for the riding group, had these accelerated and final designs came out last night. He will be immortalised on jerseys and come riding with us and be in our memories even more.

Planning some big hil rides, all the big hill rides he loved so dearly over the course of this year, no excuses! He would ride in any weather, infact i dont think he ever noticed the weather!

Once again, thanks folks

portydave
yep, recognise that name well. will drop you an email, think you stay close to me now, bennachie rider?

Emotional day for me so far, I have known Brian PIMP (Proper Internanation Maniac Publication, think it was) Messiah, since the the first Scottish race at Rhynie in erk, ’92? Been friends and riding pals ever since, so passionate about all things biking, the more obscure, and expensive, the better! Then spent a lot of my uni time in Alpine bikes where Brian worked as well in the early/mid 90’s. He went off to NZ for a year, i got married then we met again in ’99 when my sone was a few days old, and introduced me to the maniacs, from there i have a group of very close friends and some amazing memories in that time, many thanks to Brian. My last email from him is less than a day ago about new jerseys… get a bit emotional with it sitting there.

Yetiman has known him longer than me and i am sure many hundreds of others. Epeciallay anyone who has been up a hill over 2000ft in Grampian…

Some solice that Brian was doing what he loved dearly, makes me think about not making the trnas savoie with him last year, i never made the cut, he did. I bottled out of entering this year as i never thoiught it possible, but now i feeel the need to do something in his honour.
Will miss you enormously Brian, thank you for the memories.

Anyhoo, to cheery things, Messiah just can not ever be normal in a photo… guess which one…

Remember life is short, Brian lived, i would be happy if i did half what he did.

Just caught this thread.. taken 5 weeks ago with a Nokia N95 and just stitched in Adobe Bridge. With Ciclo Montana at 8880ft on the Mirador.

May start another thread as the bridge camera i have now is gettign NO use at all. Want something more usable to replace the Fuji S8000 i have at the moment.

Some great shots in here btw.

Had mine for 6 months replacing my ASX-R of 5 years. Belting bike all round and perfect for my needs. Climbs really well for a big bike although i have a slightly lardy 40lb build. cough. The detail is beautiful.

There are deals to be had on them. Also got to note the old £ is a lot weaker these days.

both my lads have canterbury’s COLD base layers they are superb, stretchy fit and very warm, one uses for rugby the other for riding. Actually used for snowboarding, skiing in the winter months and they are good imho. They were on offer on shore.co.uk/ or mandmdirect recently as well. be quick!

Kateski,
Top marks for taking the time to reply and in an honest fashion. If you need some rider input to help improve these, then I am confident there is now enough interest 🙂

Ducks flying low over Moscow…

konabunny – Member

heh – http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/08/video-what-happens-in-an-internet-car-forum/

excellent and entirely the point! We all need a surf-Mat for this very reason 🙂

shock horror everyone has different opinions!

Obviously the surf dude couldnt afford a pwoper RWD car!

to the OP I suggest posting this on pistonheads or some other car specific forum where you might get a measured response, or check out the vehicles at a busy sunday morning trail centre!

apologies oh hairychested one one it was targetted at Surf-Mat, although for someone with an apparent brilliance for all things suggested a focused RWD car opted for a desiel?! now that is a cruel twist

make it so…

clam down dear… this is a forum so try accepting you arent always right 😉

Skimmed through some of the thread, but what do you not like about the VRS?

Suggested already but the new Superb is excellent value for money, plus the top end one is a covert R36. I would bet you get the bike in the back without taking the wheels off. Slightly different but same brand is the Yeti, i really like it, like the current Skoda lineup for the most part quirky VAGs.

The merc estates are fairly vast as well, The 5 series isnt as big as you think, the Audi A6 (boots never varied between FWD and quattros) Subaru Legacy and Volvo V70. Although the octavia boots are much deeper than the other VAG bretherin.

Any reason to rule out the more upright storage as well so the MPVesques enter in here too. Skoda Yeti or the trendy vans, particularly the VW sportline i like a lot but its bananas money for a van.

You tend to see the same sort of cars at the trail centres, the VRS is less ostentatious but certainly a good all rounder imho. How about a Mondeo ST220 estate? Similar-ish space/performance/running costs.

Biggish question is do you put the bike on the roof or does it actually go in the back? Does it matter?

I am no twitcher but i can see
A hornbill, Blue Macau, pink cocatoo, pink flamingo, pigeon, peacock, vulture, pelican, bald eagle.. looks like an old book, is it Babar has a french art deco look about it?

Obree's book would be hard to beat for a more personal insight into person. A very compelling, humbling read of a gifted human being. If the Cavendish book maintains the same level of honesty then its worth a read. The press never seemed to like Wiggins despite all his prior achievements, he always came across quite bitter in any interviews at the last Olympics, but i can understand why.

The forecast is looking good today i get few opportunities to take a day off and go riding but i feel one coming. I do head to the hills come summer months but this year has been limited somewhat. Will i drive down to Glenshee bypassing the dozen absolutely stunning awesome natural trails enroute? I am going to find it very difficult to pass these then pay to do a blue run. I have a fair idea what is more rewarding. I really want to head to Glenshee to check it out but fear it will be underwhelming compared to its local counterparts. A test of will power will ensue.

I have done just that grum. The horses mouth really needs to read this and most important listen to how their investment is percieved to the MTB community. Both postive AND negative.

My feedback isnt postive granted. But please note i am not the only one to form an opinion without riding it, you have to acknowledge that will happen, but I have extended the courtesy of my reasoning. I have been riding for a long time and involved with trails for a long time which has some bearing on my inital response. Hey I have ridden, walked and snowboarded in and around Glenshee. I did suggest earlier, IMBA were setup to deal with just these sorts of circumstances, and there have been others who have worked in senstivie areas already, there are lots of good reference points to aid the cause. Help and experience is out there. I want to give this a chance, actually I am by going to ride it, so please take on board my feedback as I am yours.

Is there a point of contact for the Glenshee Trail Team?

I would love to see the Glenshee team participate directly in this or any other forum or at a grassroots level, perhaps they are already? We all want to see the same thing in the end 😉

You need to accept what is wrong with something before you can make it better. It does get fustrate me that this is retrospective, but its done now. However if some posters (who appear to have an involvement) are not willing to accept the issues, then this will never ever go forward. 🙄

We would all like to see something that represents MTBing in the area, been here before and would be disappointed if lessons were not learned. Take heed from what is already there that works ❗

For piece of mind i will head up for a jolly anyway as no point in commenting further on something i havent ridden. 🙂

namastebuzz – Member

I posted a REPORT after I went up a few weeks ago.

As I said, if you treat it as a day riding in the hills with most of the uphill work done by the chairlift then it's good fun.

Hello Buzz, honest write up and probably a fairer assement of what it is, or is trying to be. This is where the question lies, is it a future trail centre? Or is it assisted mountain biking in the hills? Which does put a very different slant on it.

The builders of the track are not bikers, I am not slamming into them but surely there was some research carried out on the matter? Why are the other centres sucessful? Terrian it has yes, but it needs to be developed by trailbuilders/bikers to make it suitable for bikes…

What did you expect? Rather nihilistic response for something your trying to promote! Or have you assumed what my riding preference is, its plain old mountain biking for me. Looking at the footage this seems devoid of any features or interest other than its on Glenshee which is a lovely place. As far as blue runs goes I am sorry it IS mundane with the scenery offering some respite. I am comparing this to many of the manmade centres which have both blue runs and are free, thus why on earth is it good value!!!!

My suggestion for the Glenshee team; speak with the either/and/or Glentress, Innerliethen, Laggan, Golspie, Fort William, Ae… Scotland has some of the best riding in the world, heck even been voted one of the best places to ride in the world. Do you not think the effort should be put in the effort to give it the reputation it deserves! IMBA offer help on these matters as well, and will act as intermediatory bodies between the relevant parties. Glen Shee is not FC land thus dont have that body backing it i understand that. There are lots of groups and clubs in the the area, ask them for feedback, but do note not all clubs/groups actually build trails, this i feel will be crucial in the progress. We already have a rather exhaustive list of good manmade centres, please please address what it is they are doing right and take the good experience. It has been a fantastic winter season for Glen Shee in that guise its a great venue once again and i understand there need for investment but it IS worth spending money to get the right people involved in the trail building process. Adjustments maybe a lot more major than expected as retrospective design always covers for failing to do a proactive design initally, so bear this in mind. There are plenty of examples in Scotland to draw from. If it is good trust me people will come, NE Scotland really needs a good showcase of what we have.

Well I am fairly confident that Aonoch Mor wont be worrying about this. This falls in the same category as the Lecht, looking for new business streams, great idea. But take a trail thats never been ridden and make it DH track, no effort just the reluctance to involve either the MTB community and/or spend money on it. But this looks to be retrospective action again.

Moreso, the comments.. wow that has potential, are you funking nuts?! Its a scottish grampians hill, thus it is high and therefore has potential, so does any of the 100's of similarly large hills! Aonoch are making tons from this downhilling, lets make a track as well, potentially loads of money to be made. Is that what you mean by potential! In the same way, my small back garden has grass therefore it has potential to be an expensive golf course!

What is it with the NE of Scotland and its inability to make a good trail centre? The rest of Scotland has some world leading examples and once again we have another damp squib. Although in the NE favour Drumotchy does seem to have finally come up with something, not ridden it or seen it yet so cant comment. I would love to go if it was worth my while, I strongly believe in use it or lose it.

Glentress and innerleithen were both alright back in the day as well, i rode there in the 90's a fair bit, so yes it was OK and that is the point, there WAS potential there, people WERE using it, people WERE building there, thus it naturally grew.

Not trying to be overly negative but its another half arsed effort looking for maximum returns.

The biggest saving grace is that Scotland has some of the best natural trails in the world, I hope we get some manmade centres which rival those in the North East in my lifetime.

cairngorm has always been the epicentre for not on my land! It been like that with the snowboard in winter as well

Taken with a Nokai N95 and stiched in PS, no touchup at all. A spring morning in North East Scotland

not long to wait messiah, most of the recent stuff i have unearthed comes from walks with kids/dogs, you need a dog…

I agree I am going back to roots the jumpy things was good while it was there to score it off the list so to speak but flowy singletrack that links together is excellent. The linking up short sections for loops or prolonged sections of smileness are what makes it special!

Wait until you go out with the kids and see how much enjoyment they get from it, thats the grit in the eye moment 🙂

my non IT mate tested a goPro and a contour back to back. the Contour produced far better footage for our riding, and was appreciaiably better on night rides. Although the goPro i think was a standard one as the footage is not as good as the above link. Although the contour is quite small and simple.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=46812
caught this on another thread and accidentally bought one too.

paul4stones – Member

Those Brand-X frames are on offer at £45 . . . I've just bought 2!

damm you just hopped on to see what i might get my 11 year old next.. and accidentally bought one too.. oh well! Took both boys to their first trail centre trip and wanted to try a black so sessioned this corner on gulley monster at fochabers. proud dad picture coming…

Both lads on sepcialist hot rocks, a 20 and a 24… The hotrock 20 gearing is rubbish so i rebuilt the rear wheel on an old XT hub and put a 9 speed mega range cassette on it so at least its climbable.

Can i ask, my next concern is this frame will be built up with bits from my hardtail, but its his only bike. dont want it to get knicked/abused! Do your kids have cheapy run arounds and a proper bike, or just one proper bike?