Fair dues…

For sure, we aren’t exactly awash with picture postcard villages. However there are plenty of gems….mostly like our riding I guess – if you want the best you have to put yourself to a wee bit of trouble. FWIW Onich / Inchree is a good bet around the Coe / FW area. Centrally placed but not doorstep riding.

>I’ve always found Aviemore a bit of a dump.<

Up until 10 years ago I doubt you’d find anyone that would disagree with you. Seemed the tourism blurb almost prefaced any mentioned of the place with an apology… I think that’s changed now they’ve torn down the last of the old centre, refurbed the station, titivated the High Street etc etc. FW touts itself as the outdoor capital but in reality it’s got a way to go to rival Aviemore as a destination. Doesn’t help when your first glimpse of the place is the entire arse end of the high street / overtones of the Redneck element. I’ve stayed in Alan Kimbers place but I don’t like the town.

Euain

Yup familiar with Glenlivet but all that funding was secured yonks ago – unless of course they are feeding more in?

>The cafe and facilities are the most unhygienic I’ve ever seen at a trail centre<

Like I said, seemed to me to be no better nor worse than the old Hub – non?

Difficult to comment really without a full understanding of the dynamics. I thought the whole Laggan thing was community driven (which is how it should be in my view.) However, the FC tendered the original cafe opp, which ultimately failed, and now they are advertising another short term let. Before doing what – going X3 over budget on another award chasing building?

>If you want nice then you want to head east<

With respect mate that’s just bollocks.

I know I recommended Kingussie but that’s in no way to suggest that West is bad. Could sit here for hours waxing lyrical about West Coast locations.

OP are you looking to explore (use the car a little) or do you want doorstep stuff?

wl – Flotec in Scotland. Very good service…

>£850 for a fork? Madness.<

Indeed… but isn’t a comparable Fox product in the same ballpark?

Besides, I’m more interested in whole life costs – what does it take to keep a pair of these running reliably over 3 years hard use in comparison to say Fox for example?

I’ve had Lyrik 2 steps and Fox Talas 36 recently and neither impress quite frankly. Far too complicated with service requirements which are too onerous for UK riding. If Marzocchi or the guys that left to set up this new operation can produce something that works reliably and doesn’t need opened up every 15 hrs that’s where I’ll be taking my business.

>You are joking? The place is a dump<

Joking about what – the trails, the location, the cafe?

As The Hub clearly demonstrated you don’t “need” a 21st century building to make a go of it. I’d be very interested to see how this additional funding manifests itself – will it be in the form of another FC architectural statement or can it be used to support a local community initiative where the residents / trust are in the driving seat.

Also in that link of Druidh’s:

>including path improvement work in the Angus Glens, Glenlivet, Aviemore and Glemore.<

So in 6 months time we can look forward to some forum moaning about trail sanitisation, giant Waterbars and the like 😉

Again, it would be interesting to see some actual detail on these so called shovel ready projects.

Miele Cat and Dog again here. Two rugby players, a mtb’r and big hairy German Shepherd in this household. Has a few annoying quirks but it could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch (the Miele that is not the dog)

Been through several Dysons – the extending handle / tube thing is a frustration par excellence. Perversely enjoyed throwing the last one in the skip. Not a fan.

>Kinlochleven is nice though.<

😉

Compared to Fort William a lot of places are “nice”

OP depends on what you are looking for and when you are going – weather can **** things up big time.

If you are prepared to move around ( say 45 mins car journey) Kingussie is a pretty good base.

Nup, but thanks for the warning.

OP makes a perfectly fair point.

I bike a canal towpath very regularly at night and I’m running 600L minimum. That kind of power directly in your face is totally and utterly blinding. So, I see someone I tip my lights forward.

Easy, it costs nothing to be courteous…

>3/4 length shorts, whatever the weather.<

Always one…

That’s just a stupid statement to be quite frank.

Little darlings are easy. Surly Teenagers on the other hand….

Tiree is jaw droppingly beautiful. When I got taken there as a tiny kid there really was nothing. Went back 20 years later, got into Windsurfing in a big way, that led to mtb. Funny how something like that can open a whole world of adventure. Quite a bit more there now but it’s still very unspoilt. Last time we went we biked all the beaches (without phatbikes) and did some land yachting – brilliant fun and so easy to pick up. If you are into water sports in any way it has a lot to offer.

>This isn’t actually a purchasing decision as such. For reasons I wont bore you with I’ve ended up with two FS bikes. I don’t need both but can’t decide which to sell and don’t want to get rid of one based on how I’m riding now only to find that I’d prefer the other in a years time.<

Congratulations! You are the STW identikit rider – keep them both 😉

Seriously, you’re the one riding them – just ditch the one you like the least. Simple.

>Really? If the weather is good, there are plenty walking and coastal options, but other than that, what IS there to do with the kids?<

Oh I don’t know about that – 6 kids, a beautiful beach, a little imagination. I’ve taken my kids all over Europe at one time or another, lashed out £thousands on them @ places like Disney et al but the one place (as kids and now as young adults) they always talk about going back to is Tiree. Which has effectively nothing but stunning beaches and beautiful places to explore. I guess you either get that type of holiday or you don’t…

*chokes on toast at suggestion of Crianlarich*

Fort William aint far behind unfortunately. Best thing they could do with that mess on the waterfront is reclaim some land and screen it with new development.

Arisaig is great for young kids – depends on your definition of “things to do for the kids” Couple of static caravans on the beach – sorted. Do some research – if you like the sound of it I can sort you with mtb routes.

East Neuk is indeed “nice” but it cannot hold a candle to the above – IMHO of course. Depends on what you are looking for. If you are right on the coast the Midge element is usually mitigated by the wind – just go prepared.

>nae faff, nae trouble, and most importantly i have never had a puncture so never carry a tube nor a pump, nor a puncture repair kit.<

Out of interest – do you ever ride solo, literally hours from any kind of assistance?

I wouldn’t incorporate them in any volume – too regular so they’ll move around like ball bearings & you won’t get the required compaction. Take a wee drive locally and see whats being demolished / crushed.

I knew I’d have to check that 😉

2:10 / 0.9 mile. Still bloody quick tho for that gradient…

Yup that’s Kingscavil – there’s an annual TT up that (closed road) I think the record is just over the 2 min mark for the mile.

Yeah, you’l find the roads far quieter than any of the Edinburgh stuff.

Good starting point is the more Westerly of the 2 main roads running South off Lithgae High Street (Preston Road) from there its easy to navigate to “The Knock” which is the highest road point in the Alps (shown just SE of Cairnpapple on the OS map.) From there make your way down to Bathgate, East to Dechmont then back over via Bankhead, Broomieknowes, Riccarton, Cauldhame and down Manse Road over the canal. Platform 3 below the station does a nice pint, there’s also a multitude of cake places on the High Street. If you come in from Queensferry / Blackness head via Old Philipstoun, Kingscavil, Wester Ochiltree. All pretty easy to make up as you go along. More here:

alps

>I’ll second the ‘bathgate alps’…I didn’t know that that’s what they were called but I had several happy training rides around that area when I lived up there.<

+1

Riders round these parts need to do them on their mtb’s 😉

If you start in Lithgae you’ve got 700ft ish vertical to the high point some 8km or so up the hill or do one of the “sea to sky” rides the Clarion boys do from Blackness circa 10km / 1000ft.

Are you deliberately trying to act the daft laddie?

Nobody said anything about folk who “aren’t paying attention.” At least someone who isn’t paying attention can hear what’s going on around them.

If I come up behind someone on a public footpath / cycle path, they have wires hanging out their lugs / muzak blaring away and they cannot even hear a bell – it’s complete selfishness. Deafness is a completely different scenario as you well know.

On a public road it’s even more moronic.

>I have listened to music while cycling for over a decade now, and never once has it affected my ability to use my EYES to see/check what is going on around me, if anything, it has made me more aware of what’s going on around me.<

That’s a neat trick. Your logic would unimpeachable were it not for the fact folk often approach from BEHIND! I cited a specific example of coming up behind people on a canal Towpath (which also happens to be a National Cycle Route) but same applies on any similar path or trail. What you do whilst out on your own is of no concern to me but when folk do this on a busy shared path they are a complete and utter menace.

Just done so after 12 months (Cane Creek) and the bearings were in a mess. Have used CK in the past and I don’t think there is anything to touch them in the Headset Dept

>I use the first version of these as they allow you to still hear the traffic.<

Nup, I still don’t get it. In some respects I find that even more moronic than shutting out all other sound. Why is there such a “need” to take portable electronic devices into the country? I’m out on my bike to escape all that sh1t…. increasingly I’m met with an immovable wall of idiots who think it’s cool to be wired to the moon while out for a bloody walk.

>*resists urge to comment on wisdom of cycling with ear buds in*<

*fails to resist urge*

Have to spend a fair amount of time getting to and from trails on a canal towpath and this drives me absolutely **** nuts. Loads of muppets walking, walking dogs, jogging, riding bikes – all completely and utterly oblivious to anything or anyone coming up behind them.

>Minigaig path, it’s just plain horrible<

Used to be a rite of passage. Kids these days….

😉

John Martyn:

Thread title and user name of 2013?

Not surprised you have issues with that set up / instrument of torture.

Change you bike and see a doctor.

>the only problem is like you said it makes it harder to get the cassette off but working each one with a flat head screw driver and they will come of, they seem to get getting worse and thought it was abit premature with the amount of use the wheels have got for the hub body to get so cut up<

Not this. Tap 4 times around the cassette with a rubber mallet – the sprockets will come off nae bother. Even if Hope send you a new one (likely) you’ll just gouge that one too. Why worry about something that has no effect on anything?

I guess he means the Dropouts. Providing your Dropout slots are >10mm then it will work. Still “just” a QR though, I’m not sure how much stiffer that set up is over a standard QR.

You might well be knackered I’m afraid. The Jumping Flea that I had was a ‘sealed unit.’with a tapered roller bearing at one end and very small captive cartridge unit at the other. Such is the apparent confidence of Sun Ringle that their Freehubs will run and run. Aye, in California maybe…

I went through 2 in 6 months of Scottish riding – albeit warrantied by CRC. On the third occasion I invited them to replace it with something which worked. To their credit I got a Hope unit. The Freehub was also circa £90 to replace iirc.

Needless to say I’m not a fan of SR. I hope you fair better.

Zero. You’ll be fine…

Oh, I have tried the Superstar and another cheapo clone and they both fell apart in 3 months

>The words ISIS and ‘fit and forget ‘ will never appear in the same sentence. On account of ISIS BB’s being fundamentally appallingly designed, badly made crap!!! No matter which one you buy<

Actually, I’d call BS on this assessment. As Brickman indicates the RF Signature was actually rather good. I ran the non Ti version (just 2 bearings) on a Bullit for many years and I got far more mileage out of it than the current Shimano external B/B. Bearings were much smaller of course but they were way better protected / sealed.

The USA don’t do “that RAL thing.” It’s like pounds and kilos…

70 miles on road? If so your GF’s right 😉

Possibly, but only if its an escapee from a private collection.

However, you’d tend not to confuse a Golden Eagle with anything else – Buzzard wingspan circa 1.4m Eagle circa 2.0 and Sea Eagle 2.5m. Saw a pair of Sea Eagles up close in Loch Torridon recently and they are absolutely humungous…

Here’s a Buzzard and Sea Eagle together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esuqyFFyBmE

Singletrackworld indeed 😉

c 450 / 500 hrs riding time (offroad)