I’m definitely more interested in the budget end of the holiday market! Camping and driving there with mates for sure, with minimal eating out and plenty of cheap stubbies bought from a hypermarket down the mountain!

Thanks for the replies guys. Something to chew on. Can I forgo the annual ski holiday and replace it with a biking holiday?! Difficult one to call….

I’ve done Cannock on a dry day like that once this year. Forgot how quick it can be. Nice vid, gave me the motivation I need to go out for a ride.

I have very little muesli, lots of lidl’s finest 0.1% fat yogurt and a dash of skimmed milk for a quick breaky. Does the trick for me.

You are cheating.

You must post pictures,
Promise to cut down the steerer first thing tomorrow.
Give an endless conclusive rave review about how comfy/springy/lively/zingy it is after your first 10 mile road ride.
Obviously you’ll then receive a mixed bag of complements/suggestions/abuse regarding your build and garden/shed/garage.
The thread may be nearing a close by the time cy chimes in with thanks for all the praise bestowed upon his wonderful frame by all the lovely STW folk after which a tangential discussion about your chain device/benefit to cost ratio of ti bolts/proper fork travel then signals imminent end to thread, never to be read again by anyone but you (once or twice a week for the remainder of bike ownership) or a few other sad folk like me once in a while.

Enjoy your new ride.

I’d like one of those. Nice. Not sure I’d describe that as a stealth build, I for one would spot that coming a mile off! Enjoy.

hit a few small mid trail jumps and rock sections

These are my favourite things to do on mine and it is great for it.

Unclip your foot and jam it against the rear tyre on the seatstays

Second nature after years riding a bmx with pathetic cantilever brakes.

Ended up Kayaking that Sunday. Later in the week we did a slog up to and along high street. The weather came down and I got so cold I was wearing carrier bags on my hands on the way down!

Best ride was along the side of the lake on the ‘low’ bridleway, around place fell, a carry up to boredale hause the a ride over to and down place fell. Some really great technical bits.

Also did Whinlatter on my tod on thursday. Good fun and got round in double quick time after all the “proper” riding I’d done last week!

The Boredale bash was all it’s cracked up to be then?

Glad you guys had fun, sorry I didn’t get in touch. Broke my phone on the 1st day there and couldn’t contact you. Still had a great time in the lakes though :)

Thanks Kelvin and anklebiter. Very pleased with it.

Very easy to get the decals and head badge from cotic, just give them a ring.

Applied the decals myself. Not difficult, just take your time.

Bournes had no problem with ordering in any colour. I think he said it would be around £30 on top of the £25 you pay for a standard colour. Still cheaper than most places I’d imagine.

I don’t work for or know anyone who works for them by the way!

Had my soul frame done in (BS 18E53) by Bournes in Birmingham. They did a great job and it was dirt cheap to boot. Couple of closer pics…

After dropping my bike onto another steel frame with quite a bang, I can attest that the powdercoat is pretty tough.

Very please with my blackspire stinger. Don’t let the price put you off.

Mine did to start with. I have now put a little bit of locktight on the drive side BB before assembly. Been fine since.

Scapegoat – You’ll not be dissapointed.

Went for my first proper night ride around Cannock last night. Awesome.

Definitely didn’t stop and take photos at any point :|

I have the answer.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/geax-mtb-ultralite-inner-tube/

135 grams (I weighed them) so not ridiculously light or heavy. Had a pair in my 2.4 conti’s for 300 miles now and no punctures. I’m 90 kgs, ride a hardtail and am not that easy on kit.

£2.50, can’t go wrong.

*EDIT* C**p, sorry, non in stock in the larger size.

I’m definitely going to be taking in the low ‘technical’ track along ulswater and probably take up some of those suggestions from the other thread. I’ll see what my riding buddy thinks. I reckon we’ll probably tag along for this ride on sunday, I’ll speak to him on Friday and let you know.

Just got in from my first nighttime blast around the monkey trail at Cannock. Great fun. Off to go and collapse now!

What should I expect from “the bash”? Excuse my ignorance, not an area I’m too familiar with. Got your mail thanks BoardStupid. Looks like my other mates are pulling out so if you and Trekster are doing the bash on Sunday, perhaps I can persuade the guy I’m riding with that we should tag along.

Well glad it’s not proved to be a problem in the long run, I love the tyres and would hate to have to change them.

Took it with the cam on the computer which flips the image for video calls.
Tyres are the protection versions, original post edited to say.

The more I ride the more it looks like the tyres are on inside out.

On the upside just did 220 miles of off road in Scotland, riding over all sorts including a lot of pointy looking rocks and not one single puncture. (Mate had a quite a few in that time).

I’ll be in pooley bridge area for a week from the 8th. I was considering Whinlatter on the 9th but not finalised any plans yet as I have some mates that are hard to pin down. I did start a thread a couple of days ago which you might be interested in looking at:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lakes-riding-ullswater-and-surrounding-area

I have found the T in my RLT’s to be useful as I am a bit heavy, so it helps to increase the threshold so the forks don’t blow through their lockout too easily when really stamping on the pedals whilst climbing. I have uber-torque obviously :|

Mac air, cheapest, smallest model is all she’ll need for uni. It also happens to be absolutely amazing. Any potential draw backs pale in to insignificance after only minutes of ownership. Plus she will love you forever.

As above, clent but you’d need to be with someone to get the best out of it. I’d get in the car and go and ride cannock if I were on my own for sure.

Beaten to helpful by 13 seconds.

http://live.redbull.tv/events/119/uci-dhi-world-championship/

At least give the fox a try to see how you like it first. I suspect you will like it.

I’ve done it but the other way around. The Queen comes up huge, the MK still huge but not quite so ridiculous. So I’d go with the queen on the front.

Loved it, running 2.4 MK front and rear now, only swapped the front out to save the weight. Queens are heavy!

Went for a ride earlier and could not stop smiling.

Rev’s dropped to 130 on mine, 2.4 conti MKII front and rear, 711 bars, built in a similar vein to chiefgrooveguru’s by the sounds of it. Guessing a similar weight too. Absolutely can’t get enough of it, don’t feel that it stops me riding anything short of a full on gnar downhill course. Just so zippy and responsive yet comfortable and forgiving. Now I’m gushing…

Generally accepted that they ride good with between 100 and 130 of travel, though the new ones are rated up to 140. Mine stays at 130. Medium frame is 4.4lbs.

stupidly big rocky descents with 2.5″ rubber

For me, big tyres with a high profile are the key to making it ride the way I want. They take out a fair bit of extra sting from the rear. Love mine.

Alright, not that chopper. But one like it. With stick shift (not literally)

2nd hand Cotic Soul frame

Sitting at home in Birmingham wishing I’d not spent every last penny I have on my bike so that I had a tenner to put in the car to get me to Cannock.

Morning all! Thanks very much to everyone who’s chimed in with a suggestion.

Take plenty of water

I’ve got a 3l pack, hopefully that’ll be enough as I wouldn’t much like carrying more. However…

even after a period of decent weather half of the top is a quagmire

Not sure whether we’ll do high street this time around then.

Trekster – Member
Swingbing. I will also be there from the Fri-Mon. Might be allowed out on Sunday
Where are you staying.?

Sunday’s the day I was considering doing Whinlatter <tut-tut>, may have some other friends coming up for the day. Drop me an email though if you want to discuss plans.

Beginning to get excited :)

Ta very much Wozza, Just took a look at it. Did you ride it clockwise or anti?

Actually the guy I’ll be riding with most the time is very much a map person so I’m sure the majority of our riding will not be sign posted, a refreshing change for me as I don’t normally ride anywhere unless a black or red arrow tells me to do so.

Thanks jr_bandito, that’s cleared it up nicely. I’ll be sure to give it a go.

I know this’ll cause a stir, but I think I’ll also check out Whinlatter whilst I’m up there :)

Path along the southshore of Ullswater is truly classic tech fest. Good for low-level bad weather days, but it can get busy with walkers.

Will give this a go for sure.

Boredale Hause to Martindale is great

Not sure where you mean? How can I find it? Sorry, bit of a numpty with maps.