Looks nice there in Cannock. …goes off to check ryanair and easyjet

The KS Lev looks like it might be better. I´ll stick with the reverb though, bleeding´s annoying and the cable is annoying too, but it works.

Haven´t ridden one so I couldn´t tell you how it behaves.
What I have noticed is that they look a bit s*it after a year or two of proper use.

The carbon/paint finish, especially around the bb, doesn´t hold up well but I guess it´s just cosmetic. Think I´d take a Zesty over an Ibis but probably prefer a new Meta am over both of those.

OK, they held up fine today for a 7 hour ride through dust/rock/sand/stone and mud. I stuck in a half bottle of Slime in both.

The front tire has lost a small amount of pressure but barely noticeable.

Performance wise I´m well impressed, they´re a lot grippier than the UST High Rollers I had before. So much so that I´ve had to back off on the braking since they´ll lock down fast whereas I found the HR´s would slide before biting in.

(No reply email from Conti yet.)

Definitely the UST ones. Has “Tubeless” in white letters on both tires.
Going to stick a bottle of goop in them now and see if they hold up.

I was thinking the same. These should be able to run without any sealant (at least til the first thorn hits em).

I think I´ll fire off an email to Continental and see what they think.

you’re doing it wrong

I think I´ll have that etched on my tombstone.

you only get shot if your an idiot ….

That´s not true. A 28 yr old died from a rubber bullet shot straight at him after a football match here in Spain. His crime – being a fan of his local team.
I personally know another guy here who lost an eye after a rubber bullet (correctly) aimed at the ground, hit him. This was during the passing of a political demonstration in which he was not involved.

Since 1990, 23 people (in the Basque Country) have lost an eye due to these “non lethal” weapons.
Granted, some were disturbing the peace or illegally demonstrating but the risk of bystanders being hit and lack of control by the police is too high.

Only the police in France and Spain use these bullets, welcome to the club.

This little section of corners/switchbacks took me 40 minutes of pushing back up and re-trying before I managed it without a dab (or a crash).

Technique is easy to read about or watch but harder to put it to use whilst trying to avoid pointy stuff and trees.

CANON EOS 5D MARK II:1599€ in a (particular) shop in Bilbao. Use the saved cash to pay for a biking holiday in the same area ;)

Cheers sunnrider. Where did you find that info?

Found it on the spanish site I use for buying tires.
Etrto

Conti Mountain King II – 26 x 2.20 ERTO – 55-559
Conti Mountain King II – 26 x 2.4 ERTO – 60-559

Maxxis High Roller – 26 x 2.35 ERTO – 52-559

The 559 is the mm diameter of a 26in wheel. The number before that is the actual tire diameter.

In short, yes.

Shame, I´ve always wanted to bring the big bike back home for a blast round dub mtns and glendalough.

Glendalough is a beautiful place, lots of history and almost big enough to get lost in.
It´s been a while since I was last home (grew up about 45mins from there) but can you actually take a bike round the trails?

Nice review. I was out there last month and had a ball.
Darran at Lavatrax is a very natural guide, he makes you feel right at home and explains the trail really well before you hit it.

I rode one of his Wolf Ridge bikes and it was smooth as butter. Suprisingly lighter than it looks but thats probably cos my bike´s a tank and I´m used to the weight.

I´m hoping to go back again maybe in November, if not, then for a warm winter break in jan/feb next year.

If you find you´re missing the rocky, unpredictable trails then maybe consider a trip to the basque country. Plenty of that round here and I might even lend you my tank to pedal round on ;)

No law saying you have to bring a big bike up the alps. Get a bike that suits where you´ll ride the most.

Watched a documentary a couple of weeks back about weight loss and exercise.
The upshot was to combine healthy eating with short bursts (less than 5mins) of intensive pedalling on rollers each day. You need to really go flat out.

It kick starts the body into burning fat reserves apparently.

My problem´s the opposite, I can´t keep the weight on. Probably need more pasta/rice, is there a reverse iDave diet thats not just cake and beer?

Tried them both and got a trabec race. The urge would boil yer head like an egg where I live.

OP well done for realising when to bring him to the vet.
Its a horrible situation and one that I went through a few years ago aswell.

The great memories are what makes it all worthwhile.

Heres a puppy pic from more that 12 years ago of my little rottie:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=27690
£24.58 seems pretty good.

The majority of bike lids are basically just polystyrene with a bit of paint/plastic on the outside.

The trabec (race version) is no different except for one thing: they added a layer of Aramid fibers over the polystyrene. That´s the same stuff used to make bullet-proof armour. Makes the lid stronger and is supposed to stand up to more impacts. It´s probaby not cheap stuff.

Marketing guff? Dunno, I fell for it and bought one after trying it in the lbs.
Fits great, makes me look like a mushroom and i could care less.

time to bring out the Bombers

Been riding the spanks for a while now and (being generally a crap rider) have smashed them off drops,steps and pointy stuff quite a bit.
Best pedals I´ve had and I´d buy them again.

Heston Blumenthal did a good one, but I´d leave out the marmite and add a few jalapeños for a little extra heat:
http://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/recipe_directory/h/heston_s_rich_chilli_con_carne_with_spiced_butter.html

You were lucky to get away with just bruises.
I´ve had a couple of rottweilers and I´ve seen them easily bite through bone.
They´re powerful dogs and untrained it´s like walking round with a loaded gun.

Your neighbour obviously shouldn´t be permitted to have one if he isn´t bothered to put the time needed into training and control.

mine makes me a sandwich every night before i get home from work

its the little things.

A nice one I came across today.

What proof does the nutter have, If it´s just his word against yours then ignore it. He probably rings up to complain about dumb shit several times a day.

I was just talking about this to a mate the other day. Why do some people, after about their mid-thirties get bitter about everything they see? I realise that at that age you´re starting to find out that you´ve maybe missed out on a few things and won´t be the next david beckham ;) or danny mcaskill.
But, why so angry…about everything?

I´ve been smashing my Spank Spikes off off rocky terrain for a few months now, they´ve held up really well.
I killed a set of Wellgos in one summer and some crankbros (second-hand) lasted 2 weeks. I´m not heavy though.

What´s that for?

6:30 is the winner closely followed by any of the various ´mericans with guns.

Don´t buy meat, bread or fish in a supermarket if you want them taste like real food.

Just bought some here in Spain, bit pricey.
Found this in the UK while searching, seems to be the lowest:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/Continental-Rubber-Queen-Black-Chili-Tubeless-UST-Folding-MTB-Tyre/CONTTYMF200

You´ve probably got an addon that auto-checks your email every X minutes. As soon as you do that you´re logged in in the browser too.

So my first computer´s AI wasn´t even as smart as a Nematode Worm.

I was advised recently to try and keep focused on my exit through a switchback and also lay off the brakes. It helped quite a bit, that and not hanging too far back past the saddle (you lose steering control).

Oh, and push back up and do it again til you get it right might be the best advice.

Another one from the Basque coast, end of ride was here:

White wine: Belondrade & Lurton
If you can find it, it´s about £20 a bottle and is the nicest white wine I´ve ever tasted. (working in restaurants means I get to try lots of expensive ones but I prefer this)

Red Wine: Rioja Bordon Crianza
Costs about 6euros here in Spain but tastes better than a lot of the 50euro+ bottles. Nice smooth, easy drinking wine.

If you have the wallet, then go for some of the Ribera del Duero wines.
The Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5° is incredible (in both taste and price).

Spent all morning working on the bike. The car is parked somewhere on the street outside, not 100% sure where. It needs new wing mirror, oil change, new set tyres and a good clean…
It can wait though, the bike needs new tires too ;)

I have the same brakes and eventually got them bled properly using the instructions but I´m switching to goodridge since I need a longer hose anyway.

It does all seem a bit fussy though.