Try these guys. My son and I had Jean-Marie Placais for two days in summer last year. Lovely bloke and really helped both of us. They’re based at the FB Freeride bike shop at the Pleney Telecabine in Morzine.

About us

We have just returned from our very middle class annual week in Cornwall. Among the usual activities, I paid a young man to give my children private surfing lessons while I sat in a cafe overlooking the beach drinking flat white coffees and occasionally peering at them through my monocular. I was disappointed when the car park attendant said he would have to put my T5 in the upper car park, because no one would see it there, would they?

What about one of those big French campsite complexes like this one?. Lots of them are on lakes with heaps of kid-friendly activities. Most have cabins for rent to you shouldnt need a tent if you can find one with vacancies.

My kids have Spesh Ground Controls – the S-Works 2Bliss ones are pretty light and really easy to set up tubeless. They roll well and are fine in anything but deeper mud.

These guys have fit two bars for me – one to our Nissan Xtrail and t’other to my T5. Both jobs done a treat in my driveway. They turn up on time, dont muck about on the job and clean up after themselves. The electrics all work fine and had no issues at all with the hardware either. Was about £300 for each.

http://www.towbarexpress.co.uk/

If you dont want to clamp your frame you can get roof bars that attach to the forks after you remove the front wheel. Dont leave it in a car park like Ive done though.

Last weekend. I pulled up to catch my breath, put my left foot down to what I thought was terra firma to find it was a big old overgrown hole. Started toppling slow motion sideways and noticed a thick stick poking up on a trajectory with my ribs. I twisted a bit but it was all too late and it jammed into my side, tore a hole in my jersey, knocked the wind out of my and left me with some deep scratches and nasty bruises. Oh, how we laughed.

Three I like.

Key rings need a back story. This one is a bit of the chain I used for the 2004 Etape du Tour. Five of us did it and we all finished (me, I was waaaaaay back …) I cut the chain up and made one of these for each of the lads.

[/url]

That ^^ is truly lovely.

As above replace them. You’ll never trust them anyway and always be riding with a nagging doubt that every ripple in the road could be your last.

As above, drive down to lovely picturesque Luton. Cheaper flights are mid week and can anti-social departure times but your little one will likely sleep through the whole thing. And does it have to be Italy? easyJet will do Barcelona for about £200, though infants have to sit on your lap for that price.

You most definitely do need some new wheels because every bike you own should have some “best” wheels, and some “training” wheels. The best wheels are for using all the time whatever the ride/race/conditions, while the training wheels should be stuck against a wall to brood.

Having just gone through this process for my 901 Im a convert to the wide internal diameter for bigger volume and lower pressures without burping air every time you hit a root school of thought. Ive got 30mm internal diameter DT Swiss XM481’s on Hope Pro4’s, which Swinnerton Cycles built up and delivered for £400. Loving them so far.

Attack the Block
Ghost Dog: the Way of the Samurai

Most excellent. Thanks folks

Yep. Had mine for about 18 months. I bought it so I could swap it between bikes quickly (full susser, fatty and rowdy hard tail). Its been faultless and works like new despite being ignored service wise. I just wipe it clean and give it squirt of silicon every now and then.

Wont pretend its as easy as a bar mounted remote, and as a result you dont use it as often as those, but I only hit one tree while I was getting used to it. I think you learn to look for further up/down the trail and pick your opportunity for when you grab the lever.

So highly recommended as far as Im concerned, but if I had the money it would be remote droppers on all three bikes.

I had an Thorn Audax 853 a few years ago that took a Hamax and it had a steel fork that took panniers. Lovely bike. Gave it to my brother when I went all carbon. They come up for sale 2nd hand every now and then. Have a look on Evans Cycles for touring bikes – some nice reasonably light and sporty models on there.

The Total Recall remake’s better than the Arnie original … do like Arnie though.

DT XM481’s here as well. Very tough not too heavy and give your tyres a much wider profile. Set up tubeless Im running them at 18-20psi and the grip is brilliant.

Octopus. Freaking weird alien mothers with all those weird legs and boggle eyes looking at you and some sort of beak in there amongst it all that can crack a brick plus they can change colour so you can’t see them, like, ever, and what the hell they’ve got suction cups. SUCTION CUPS!!!!

Wash your hands before you eat it, eh?

Inbred 29er? About as unfashionable as a 29er can get, not light but not too heavy, happily runs a 120mm fork. Head angle of 71-72 deg. Well under budget

At the other end of spectrum, a Niner Air 9? Just under budget.

Apparently it is really hard working full time with two busy kids to run around afterwards, even if someone has cooked, cleaned and done the laundry

Apparently it’s even harder working full time only to come home to find dinner ready/shopping done/a tidy house/even the sheets ironed/kids fed/homework done/playing nicely or relaxing/getting on well at school/dog walked/garden lovely/holidays organised etc etc etc leaving her nothing to do but simmer in an ever deepening pool of bitterness for three years till her pretentious bitch friends convince her she has never been happy and wants a divorce. IME.

I like my Whyte 901 – same frame as the 905 I think but lesser kit on it. I would probably go for something a bit more individual with a bigger fork and a through axle at the back if I was in the market for another rowdy hardtail. It could also do with a bit more clearance.

They arrive tomorrow. Just got the email from DPD. So excited. I might have to pull a sickie so Im here when they arrive. I bet they I can wheelie and bunny hop on them too. Awesumz.

rorschach … surprised at you. Im rockin’ a long low and slack hard core hardtail. Keepin’ it reeel

I bought a Brand X headset and the bottom of the lower cup actually touched the fork so it wouldnt turn. It was a tapered one though so not the same as yours. Several others had the same experience – reviews at link below

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/brand-x-headset-44iets-sealed/rp-prod130944

I got a nice shirt and some liquorice. Then I went out and bought a new self-propelled petrol lawn mower to replace the cheap electric one I have been swearing at for the past three years. Cut the grass this afternoon – took half the time and I barely raised a sweat.

They will continue to make me very average.

See, now, that’s what happened when I got my Pikes. Nothing. They were definitely more bouncy, but I still couldn’t rail corners. With wide rims, I can apparently get a billion % more volume from my tyres so they will be like Plus tyres and I will be able to rail corners, but without the shredded sidewalls every time you ride over a stick.

OnOne are flogging their 26er Reetards for a penny under £100. I had a set a few years ago – not light at 2kg but they were nice and round and stayed that way.

Or …

=1575]Nigor WickiUp 4

but you have to get one of these too which puts it close enough to £500 it doesnt matter.

Just 2.5kg altogether though.

How lightish – are you going to be carrying it? And how spendy?

Ive never seen a light 2-man tent you can stand up in – there are a few 3-4 man tents like the Megahorn 2 and the Zephyros 3 Living [/url] but they are both 4-5kg or so thereabouts and not exactly cheap.

bke-discount.de have the kit for £113. Tempting.

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/schwalbe-procore-mtb-system-500075?currency=3&delivery_country=190&varid=500079&gclid=COvX_pmDlc0CFcyRGwod87ICPw

As above, if you wont be carrying it on your back, go for a lightweight 2-person tent for some extra room and storage space. Im using a SMD Lunar Duo at the moment, which is very nice thank you but Ive still not got the hang of pitching the bastard just yet.

Always like the look of the Big Agnes Super Scout UL2 because of the big porch area, and if you;re made of money, the Hilleberg Nallo GT2 is said to be brilliant – not the lightest but very, very robust and again has a big porch for cooking when you;re trapped in the rain.

Have a look on here and here for inspiration.

16.8kg … 8O

I use my Inbred 29er for bike packing and touring – Ive had a couple of different racks on it. You need to space out the near side as it fowls the brake calliper but otherwise it’s a nice rough road tourer. It would be ideal if it had more bottle bosses – Ive got some Monkii cages on the seat tube and the underside of the down tube. Does the job.

Cheers Timba. The Spanish review says it all. Will see if I can find something to raise the bearings a few mm.

After mounting the headset not turn me the address, after unmount a couple of times, I realize that the bearings are not working because the conical portion of the fork is abutted on the inside diameter of the lower bowl, so had to reduce the diameter of a few millimeters to get it to work correctly bearing, ultimately if you’re a handyman and want to save a few euros, it is a somewhat drastic but feasible option.

Nice set up on that Cervelo. If its a one off trip and you dont want to drop a big wedge on it, a 13L Alpkit tapered drybag will strap nicely under your seat. And then a 13L or 20L Airlok bag strapped onto the bars. About £30 all up and very light as well.

Quite like the OG bar as the sweep back isnt too severe. Tried Mary’s but I found riding anything that required lots of actual steering had my elbows tucking into my ribs. Bllrrk.

Nothing seems cheap when your looking for both plus size and boost.

Alpkit are doing some cheap 650B+ wheels in different hubs specs. Worth a look.

Jamis Dragonslayer. Fits the bill and rather nice to look at IMO. Not sure it’s available anywhere as a frame. Rave reviews on it from the US too.

Im doing Ride London on my Fatty for Unicef and because Im an attentionwhore. Should be a right larf.