yep, it’s a total heap. And i have the same ITV4 lack of reception problems.
And you cant watch the TDF highlights on the ITVPlayer using an iPhone or PS3 due to rights restrictions. Hopeless.

“Also, for those wondering where Destination-X is”
well, if i had known it was there i’d have probably booked a trip.

admittedly not exactly answering your question but the pragmasis shed shackle is worth considering.

on one had some good priced ones a couple of weeks ago. worth a look

just had a quick look at your website: if you’re still looking for a suitable bike, I always thought that a Rohloff hub was ideally suited to this much sand and dust.

BTW, have you considered starting a “What tyres for Tour D’Afrique?” thread yet?

good luck!
I was looking at that event a few years ago and thought it would be an amazing thing to do. Needless to say that i never got anywahere near entering it!

British Mountaineering Council – I think that you have to be a member for this one.
Snowcard cover seemed comprehensive, although not had to claim on it.
SnowCard and DogTag are often recommended.

I know the area well and recognise quite a few of those trail names, which include a number of bridleways, footpaths and at least one trail on private land. Nice.

I should start charging!

I’ve got a small CamelBak designed for jogging (like a glorified bumbag with a small bladder) that I used for matathon training. This works ok on a bike. Feels a little wield on steep drops as it can ride up a bit but overall its fine.

thanks for the replies

theotherjonv – sorry if i over reacted there. Take a read through this whole thread. I’m sure that there is a link or two to the boundary maps for Hurtwood/Winterfold. Given you’re knowledge of the area, it should be pretty easy to work out which trails are on which land.

theotherjonv – c’mon, this isn’t difficult. You clearly know which trails are on the private/logging land owners area. So officially, you shouldn’t be riding them. And you shouldn’t be overly surprised if these trails get blocked off, which they regulary do. BTW, they’ve been actively logging in the area you’re talking about, so prob more keen than normal to make sure that people dont turn up there unexpectedly.

how do you interpret this part of the Hurtwood code of conduct

Sensibly. Ride legacy trails, esp with groups. Ride unofficial, established trails by myself or with smaller groups. Take care not to rag any of the trails. Investigate interesting looking trails that are sustainable and not obviously going to p1ss people off. As a general rule – never leave any evidence that i’ve ridden there (inc skids, braking bumps, cutting new lines etc)
Dont build anything new as there is already plenty there.

Publishing a map is only ever going to compound the problem as it’ll increase traffic to unofficial trails and make them seem more official. And I think that you’d be surprised by the number of people asking for a trail centre style map of the area.

Just go exploring, find stuff and ride it. Not hard, esp if you live in the area.

I’m genuinely struggling to understand why this is causing so much confusion. I’m getting the feeling that you’re already a considerate rider, who isn’t really causing any problems. Except for posting up directions to tails 🙂

def a mech hanger – you’ll really struggle to buy one out there.

At least you can actually get ITV4. Some brainiac did some jiggery-pokery on the Corydon (crystal palace?) transmitter to ahem, improve the freeview channels which resulted in ITV4 being switched off 😯

And the thoroughly useless ITV Player on the PS3 refuses to list the TDF!

The 2011 Spots have different chain stays now, they are bowed in slightly to avoid heel clip.

That would’ve helped!

By withholding information about trails it forces the many newbies there are to go out blind trying to find these allusive trails, and will undoubtedly stumble upon land that shouldn’t be cycled on unknowingly and cause unnecessary aggro with other land users/owners

What dorkingtrailpixie said + 1

And it’s not exactly hard to read a map and work out what is permitted. As a rule, what isn’t permitted will either be fenced off or have some logs blocking the start of the trail.

The more that gets posted on line, the more that the area is perceived as a trail centre, which will cause even more problems.

own as HL. borrowed a DW for a weekend.
DW seems heavier, stiffer, bobs less. Very smooth but feels less responsive/fun on singletrack.
HL feels more spritely on singletrack.
DW is more confident landing jumps. Just feels more stable.
The DW rear triangle is wider at the front than the HL. I kept clipping my right ankle on it!

Overall, I found the DW subtley different as opposed to considerably better/worse than the HL.
If I was buying a new bike, I would not buy the DW because
1) while it is very good, it just isn’t as fun as I’d hoped/as i find the HL
2) I kept clipping my right ankle on rear triangle

I appreciate that the above is highly subjective.

Was just about to post the same!
Just got a some 150mm dual air revs and am getting around the same travel as you.

Morzine/PDS would be fine for you.

Les arcs – mostly fine although some trails that have exposed bits (you do get used to it/tend not to notice it after a bit and I suppose that you could just walk the odd bit). There are a couple of properly exposed trails but you’d have to go looking for them. If choosing a guide company be sure that they can cater for you and not just say “ok” and then bundle you along with whatever the larger group wants to ride.

teamhurtmore – and part of the problem is that unofficial trails are often only tolerated while their usage is low and not many people know about them. You might want to consider that before posting directions 😉

all of the above.
And Fox (ahem)News

there was a very long thread on this ages ago. The two that came through were a Leyzne one and the Topeak Mountain Morph.

After reading, I ended up buying a Mountain Morph and think that it’s excellent.

AFAIK the Leyzne one costs more and looks prettier but doesn’t seem to offer anything over ther Mountain Morph.

out of curiosity, why have you ruled out the 456?

+1 what udder and heihei said

Thing is you don’t need to run them soft anyway.

Admittedly, you can run them at higher pressures for alpine riding but the bike will feel a little skittery and you’ll have to back off a bit.

what elfin said +1
No need to book a package, just turn up very early on the day.
NB: they do so many laps that a lot of people will start to lose some interest after the first few, so if your French is any good you can prob get away with asking to go nearer the front for one lap.

i like them in the summer.
roll and grip well.
Total rubbish in mud.
the soft compound one is great on rocks in the summer.
They’re ok in the wet (surface water and dampness), its just mud that kills them as they dont shed it at all well.

joolsburger – not sure about using them for the alps if you’re going lift assisted. Rampages are guite light/flimsy, so you’ll need to run them at reasonably high pressures to stop them pinching. I’d def go for DH tyres (with DH tube, of course) if you can.

Bladerunner
And while not a film, the Twin Peaks soundtrack is def worth a mention.

Another Synology DJ110 here. Will do all that you need (everything in the whole above thread) and more. Easy to configure, very quiet (depending on the drives you install), very impressive transfer speeds.

xmas pad/clawhammer are the same trail.

Since Friends of Hurtwood is a charity, and the committee is, at least in part, electable – then the best way for riders to protect and enhance their right to ride is to get together, join, put forward some candidates, attend the AGM and vote them onto the committee.

While I lack the time/effort to attend meetings, I would show up to an AGM to make the above happen. Pretty sure that I could persuade others to do the same.

Just read this and worried as I’m looking to get a set for my HL 5 spot

personally wouldn’t go above 150 on my HL 5spot.

I quite liked Van Hoo

“all weather trail based on the best of Scottish blue trails” <yawn>
still, better than nothing.

oh and the amount of logging on winterfold is thoroughly depressing.

Some of the trails have gotten so wide (e.g. BKB) that they could do with being closd for a bit.
As long as there is a decent attitude towards building/resurrecting trails after logging, then I’ll remain a member.

I’ve been a friend for a couple of years now. Am not too sure what I get from my contribution – but the way I see it is that £25 is a small price to pay for the great mtbing in that area. If there were more mtb members then they would then have more funds for trail repairs etc.

+1
Joining and giving them the chance maintain/improve the area has to be better than doing nothing except whining about it. And £25 is nothing compared to the amount of entertainment regular users of the area get.

one trail – gorlech
but if you a little time left over, I’d strongly recommend a quick blast around the green/blue. Nothing particualy challenging but really good fun when ridden at speed. A very well designed trail.

even done the Laggan Freeride trail

that would be great. I’ve done a small freeride/dirt jump trail before and the trailer was suprisingly good around the berms.
(And before anyone starts going Daily Mail on me: the trailer stayed firmly on the ground and my daughter slept through the first half of the trail!)

The trailer is a Cougar Chariot 2. So it’s pretty wide.

Well, if the bench mark for a classic track is Sash <head hits desk>, I give you Poing by the Rotterdam Termination Source.