I really rate them, loads of grip, decent carcass size and I’ve never had them burp. This is running them on some bontrager tubeless ready rims ( I use the tlr tyres)
Only thing I would say is they’re definitely NOT a mud tyre, they look like they should clear mud well.. But they don’t !

I like that they use the Collect plus fast return service, if you have a problem with something or its the wrong size etc just peal off the label that comes in the packet, re-package whatever you’re taking back and slap the label on. Then you can take it to a bunch of places that ship it back. For example the closest place to me is a corner shop which is open late. Drop it in after work and they give you a recipt. When it gets back to CRC they simply refund you.

Last thing I had from Wiggle also had it so perhaps more people are catching on to it.

just whack this one over the jacket of your choice..

What, so people run you down because they think they’re doing the human race a favour?

Jacket hasnt arrived yet, although I did also order the Alp-X Thermo jersey from somewhere else and thats just turned up.

Large fits perfectly woop! Hopefully the fit on the jacket will be similar. Seems like a quality piece of kit, time will tell but it should be getting plenty of use 🙂

OK. I really liked the Everest base camp hike – you share the Khumbu highway with loads of Nepalis and Tibetans moving up and down the valley as well as other trekkers. I drank chang, played carnac badly, admired lovely young sherpa ladies washing their hair in the cold morning air, muttered prayers, ate apple pies, drank tea and beer, turned prayer wheels, bought a yak jumper to keep out the terrible cold, raced our guides up and down the trails (and always lost) – I never felt the urge to climb anything – the mountains are too blinking tall!

I have half a mind to retire to Namche Bazaar and set up a brewery I liked it so much. I wouldn’t miss the chance to walk under Ama Dablam and Nupste and take a look at Chomolungma and into the eyes of a truly stout and deeply devout people.

Fond memories of a trip there in 2005, I did the Renjo Pass trek from Lukla. Takes you up to 5800m. Amazing, amazing place- would love to go back one day. Kathmandu is a bustling, crazy place that just has to be experienced to be believed. Stayed in the Hotel Shangrila which was an oasis of calm.. especially after weeks in the mountains!

Plenty of pictures here;

http://www.photoboxgallery.com/MatthewAustin/collection?album_id=94161463

Hurmm, ok- sounds like the medium might be better. I’ve ordered the large though 😳

I’ll see what it’s like when it turns up, I guess I can always exchange it.

Does look like a good jacket, initially I was on the look out for a fully waterproof jacket for cycling but this looked great and i’ve had bad experiences before with ‘breathable’ jackets that left me swimming in sweat.

I used to live in the New Forest and my parents still do.

I keep hearing from them about the ‘anti’ bike attitudes that seem to be going about there at the moment, articles in the paper, people jumping on the bandwagon..

I really don’t understand it- it’s very sad really. The forest should be enjoyed by everyone, not reserved specifically for one group of people i.e. those wishing to graze animals on it.

Agreed! I love the look of those indoor bike parks!

It’s a 10/10 from me, great movie.

Can’t understand why it’s not widely known about, never seen it on tv before- if it hasn’t been for a mate giving me a copy i would still never have heard about it.

OH NO! Avid brakes! She’ll NEVER make it!!

I was there yesterday and had an absolute blast on verderers, I think we did the decent at the end about 5 times! Had a look at one of the downhill tracks but what with it being rather wet and neither of us being particularly experienced with those sort of trails didn’t do too much.

What’s the best downhill track for a non-downhiller with a 120mm travel bike to have a go at?

And yes, it was rammed then too! Got there early and throughout the day it just got busier and busier

Whats wrong with the 4gb for battlefield? (I have one on the way). Everything I read before buying it suggested the 250gb wasn’t needed unless you wanted to DL loads of extra content or store movies/music??

The thing with Afan is there are some stonking decents, I really really enjoyed them- but there is a lot of ‘filler’ too. I appreciate when I went a few sections of singletrack on W2 were closed due to logging which meant we did more fireroad stuff, but even so I think it needs a LOT more singletrack.

I also really like the ‘freeride’ section of Afan; I like the concept of being able to go back and session a section on a otherwise longish ride. There wasn’t an easy way to session the good downhills at Afan (That I saw)

Wow, could have been much worse by the sound of it- glad you got away with minor injuries.

As for the car driver, what an idiot- hope they throw the book at them, sounds like he could easily have killed someone.

Rather than spunking however many billion on this high speed rail link between london and bham that no one seems to want, cant they buy some more rolling stock and improve existing services?

I use the latest 2.25 tyre on bonty tubeless ready wheels.

Really like the balance of grip, casing size, rolling resistance and low weight.

The sidewalls are a little porous and i’ve got a scrape on one after a trip to W2 at Afan- although its not leaking.

The inspire a lot more confidence than the Bontrager XR2 tyres I had before and are only slightly more draggy.

As others have said, the bead on the newest tyres is nice and tight which means they go up easily. I received an older tyre from CRC and the bead on that was so loose I couldnt get it to go up at all.

Not everyone eats a 500g bag in one go you know……

Is that Buckland Rings in Lymington? Kinda looks like it but i’ve not been up there for years

Did it the other weekend, started at 10am and got back at 4pm.. Including a reasonably leisurely lunch at the half way point. Decent into glencwyrg was a highlight for me.. Helped that the weather was perfect!
All the fire road out of Afan was a bit of a downer, possibly worse due to the diversions than normal?

It’ll only display a list of available networks if their SSIDs are visible- any with hidden SSIDs will not appear in the list.

A friend recently picked up a Giant Anthem.. seems really happy with it and he’s certainly fast on it!

No knowledge of FIT vs Blackbox but I can certainly agree with the point about getting your fork set up correctly.

I’ve finally settled on a rebound setting for my forks that works for me- its much slower than I expected but the result on fast, rocky downhilly-singletracky bits is night and day different. Feels so much smoother now, I love it 🙂

We’re starting at Afan forest park and will no doubt be stopping at Glyncorrwg for lunch 🙂

Thats good to hear- I know its wrong as a mountain biker to say you dont like mud but it can be a right pain in the arse! 2 local rides recently i’ve had to stop because the wheels were jammed solid.

Nobby nics /= mud tyres

Where do you have the rebound set?

Reason I ask is when I got my FOX forks I ran them with a really quick rebound for ages because that was what i’d been advised/read. Over the summer of riding i’ve gradually slowed them down more and more.. now running either 1 or 2 clicks from full slow and I find the small bump response much better- i’ve not noticed the forks packing down on repeated hits.. obviously YMMV but worth having a play with, its made me much happier with mine.

Let us know how it is, looks pretty good from the pictures.

12AMPS?! YOU CANT RUN A VACUUM CLEANER ON 12AMPS, JOHN

We’re going at the start of November and my friend has booked a
Room at Afan lodge which supposedly has bike storage.. Not been yet of course so this isnt exactly a recommendation…!

What’s wrong with the ones that clamp onto the ball? The Thurle one is ace, built in lights and a space for a number plate. Take 2 or 3 bikes. Really stable.

Really?

😀

Off to Afan in a few weeks, glad to hear there won’t be any chance of getting chipped by accident.

I’ve just picked up some Fox Launch pro’s.. I like them because they’ve got a hard shell covering the knee and the rear of the pad (Behind you knee) is cut out which makes them a little cooler. I’ll be giving them a proper shakedown at Afan in a few weeks, but so far an hour pootle about suggests they’re cool enough for longish rides. They were a tad sweaty after though!

Decided to get them after hearing a few too many horror stories from people who were ‘just riding along’. I’ll likely use them if i’m riding more rocky places or if i’m attempting anything a little out of my comfort zone.

I found the bontrager rim strip as well as sealing the rim really helped the (very tight) tyre slide up to seat against the edge of the rim.

Not XTRs but I have a set of DX platform SPDs which i’ve been using for ~3months and on one side there is about 5-10mm play.. my old red DX pedals (As above) are still going strong after at least 5years hard use!

Must take them back….

Second the ‘porus sidewall Nobby Nic’ point, one of mine was worse than the other- but it was pissing out all over the place!

Not the DT wheels but I have gone tubeless on my Bonty wheels.

I needed the bonty valves and rim strips plus sealant. For tyres i’m using the 2011 Nobby Nics, I tried to use a 2010 Nobby Nics and totally failed to get it inflated. The 2011 are listed as tubeless ready and go up super easy.

Thanks theroadwarrior I still haven’t found a site it appears with yet – can you give me a url?

I was reading stories on http://www.pistonheads.com yesterday and the reader button appeared.

Am I being thick? Can someone tell me how to access Safari’s new ‘Reader’ on iphone.
I want to test my websites on it

You click the ‘Reader’ button that appears in the address bar.. thing is it doesnt always appear, so I assume safari makes some sort of decision based on the content if it should show the button or not, dont know what this is though.

Give that man a flcuk’ing medal 🙂

Ordering now…

Yeah I saw that on CRC, but only in small.. i’ve a 40″ ish chest so I figure I need the medium.. off to check TheBikeChain and BikeTart now.

Otherwise I guess I’ll just keep my eyes open on cyclesurgery.. do they have weekly offers on a certain day?

Plot thickens.. spoke to Freeborn. Apparently they only have a few old jerseys in the sale, 2009 and 2010 stuff. The chap I spoke to thought the UK importer had lost the business.. Might be a bit difficult to get hold of in light of that fact if it proves true.