Ordered a set of Deore brakes from bike-discount last week, no problems and only 85€ the set (plus 6€ postage). They came front/left back/right (euro style) but that’s how I run’em anyway.

As well as volume, shouldn’t you also be thinking about intensity? There’s a big difference between pootling along for 15 miles, and going as hard as possible.

I’ve found Joe Friels stuff to be good for both general (overall) principles and day-to-day stuff. like this http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2012/12/five-fundamentals-of-training.html

Alex Honnold

Dean Potter

French nutters

I’m starting to wonder how many of these he’s got…

Brilliant.

I’m not surprised that the brakes don’t work on the Kona – there isn’t a disc on the front that I can see.

Actually I’d be surprised if those bikes were actually rideable… I can’t see a rear cog on the Kona, and I’m not sure that the cranks will clear the extra rods on the Orange.

I never had Hanwags and I’ve never been on a magazine cover (unless the MUMC Journal counts).

I still can’t quite believe all the muttering about how it’s not trad whenever Ondra does another big route or problem, especially over on ukc. Ondra is so talented it is really scary. He’s probably comparable to Usain Bolt and Marianne Vos for being so far ahead of pretty much everyone else.

It’s quite telling that it’s almost bigger news when he doesn’t make something look piss.

Right, I’m off to ukb to see if ian has started a thread entitled “Now this is what biking is all about” and make curmugeonly comments if he has.

Reba RLs for 260€ from one of my favourite shops
http://www.alltricks.fr/vtt/fourches/fourches-26-/rockshox-2012-fourche-vtt-reba-rl-26-poploc-100mm-9mm-1-18-noir-131-127778.html

They also have SIDs for 299, but I don’t know what shipping would be.

Are you sure it’s on this year? It’s in various calenders, but I remeber seeing some stuff about the event being “in danger”, and the website isn’t up to date for 2013 yet.

If it is on then it looks good. Although I haven’t done it, if it’s like other French mountain cyclos it’s likely to be a bit lonely on the grande parcours unless you’re fast enough to hang with the first group. Last year’s results show loads more people on the smaller distances than the proper one.

I thought you just needed tape (stans yellow tape or similar) to seal the spoke holes in the rim bed rather than rim strips?

Factory wheels:
Shimano are progressively lighter and more expensive in more or less the order you’ve put (with some having deeper, more aero rims which makes them seem out of order for price/weight). If you can find Ultegra wheels in budget then they’re good wheels.

Fulcrum are much the same, but have a noisier freewheel.

Mavic are also much the same at the cheaper end – their models change a bot each year, so be careful about what you’re actually looking at – Aksiums seem to have dropped around 50g per year, so a 2013 set of Aksiums could be about the same as a 3 year old pair of low-end Krysiums

All of the above use non-standard components, so it may be hard to find spokes in a hurry.

Alternatives built with J-bend spokes are PlanetX AL30s, Superstar Elites (although these are pretty new so not many opinions around) http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=77&osCsid=rfmt0jtt45jts5kgjds7djp6t1 and Swissside St Bernards http://www.swissside.com/shop/st-bernard-wheelset (I believe the wood-effect stickers can be peeled off).

I know nothing about handbuilts or road Hope Hoops.

Audacity is pretty easy to use for simple cut and resave jobs like that – I’ve used it to cut down MP3s to make phone ringtones.

It’s free too : http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

But you’ll have to do editing track by track.

MTB world champion in 1999.

He’s just fessed up to doping from 1998-2010.

Rose are doing Shimano MTB gear cable sets for 15€. Black outers, but they have lengths of other colours for about 5€ too.

A friend of mine did the Eiger Bike event at least once (we were camping with them before I’d started MTBing). Seems like a good event, a fair bit of fire-road stuff but I remember him being impressed with the footpath that runs under the north face of the Eiger.

That doesn’t help much does it.

A red Woodman from alltricks?

http://www.alltricks.fr/vtt/tiges-de-selles/tiges-de-selles/woodman-tige-de-selle-sl-plus-272-x-400-mm-rouge-188-137945.html

198g and 35€ (dunno what postage to UK would be though)

by coincidence they also have a red Hope 25.4mm stem in 110mm length

http://www.alltricks.fr/vtt/potences/hope-potence-xc-rouge-standard-254-mm-10-110-mm-172-133039.html

Do you like red?

Ah, looks like I got it wrong! I got mixed up with the UV treatment that Kittel had.

The WADA 2013 FAQs have this to say:

What is the status of platelet derived preparations (PRP)?

Despite the presence of some growth factors, platelet-derived preparations were removed from the List as current studies on PRP do not demonstrate any potential for performance enhancement beyond a potential therapeutic effect.

So there is no performance benefit, so it’s OK – despite the stuff about reintroduction I quoted above.

I still think it’s icky though.

The WADA prohibited list expressly forbids that kind of thing. The 2012 list contained in section M2:

The following are prohibited:
…
3: Sequential withdrawal, manipulation and reintroduction of any quantity of whole blood into the circulatory system

The 2013 edition is a bit different. The passage above is not in M2, but Section M1 now includes

1. The administration or reintroduction of any quantity of autologous,
homologous or heterologous blood or red blood cell products of any origin
into the circulatory system.

It should not be done – reintroduction of any quantity of blood is illegal and icky.

Edit : should have also mentioned that M1 has changed title to apply to all and any blood manipulation rather than just “blood doping”

A quick google suggests 60g weight saving per rim – not much. (80g saving if going for the Flow Ex).

Might be worth it if you are looking to go tubeless?

Nice to hear that the Ground Controls and Renegades work well tubeless.

Incidentally, I see from the Spesh website that the Captain has now disappeared, replaced by the Ground Control. Also good to hear that the replacment is better!

My first go was also with 2Bliss Fast Traks (the LK version), on a split BMX tube. Went up easily and stayed up.

I suspect that using tyres that aren’t brand new makes it easier as the bead is already a good shape.

Martin – I found the Fast Traks excellent for dry, dusty conditions. Similar to racing Ralphs. Running them tubeless made them even better, and solved all the thorn punctures I used to get. Not quite as grippy as my current LarsenTT on the back, but faster.

Currently running a 2bliss Captain on the front and it holds air as well as the “proper” UST Larsen on the back (on UST rims now).

175€ ?? (plus 14€ delivery)

http://www.alltricks.fr/vtt/tiges-de-selles/tiges-de-selles/rockshox-2012-tige-reverb-ii-316380-mm-125-mm-lt-mmx-collier-gauche-matchmaker-sans-kit-de-purge-188-130377.html

They have other sizes, but a bit more expensive.

Won’t any computer with an altimeter function show the temperature?

I’ve a VDO MC1.0 that I got about 3 years ago (bought a wired one to equip two difeerent bikes without having to buy an expensive extra wireless sensor).

Still works. Temperature seems accurate (more so than altitude!)

Neil, I’m going to change from 32 to 36 middle ring on the front, and keep 11-34 at the back (type in the first post – should read 11-34 cassette!)

Playing with the tension and H limit screw seems to allow me to use all of the cassette in the middle ring (with the 32t middle and the 42t big ring still in place). It’s pretty close though – the cable tension needs to be just right to allow 32-11 and 32-34 without the chain touching the front mech cage. There’s also a problem if I backpedal whilst in the biggest cogs at the back, although this might be because it’s all pretty worn.

But it’s encouraging enough for me to press on with a 2×9 conversion. Not sure if I can be bothered with a bashguard. I don’t hit the big ring that often, and if I stack it going downhill then the chain will be on the big ring anyway. I might just cut the tabs off the old big ring and use them as spacers to keep the bolt length the same.

Ta.

Will have a play at lunchtime and see if I can get 32-11 to work ok.

This one? Bright colour, not sure how reflecto-tastic it is though:

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=58876&categoryID=205

or a thicker one:

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=56806&categoryID=205

Not sure you can do it like that Rickos – drug testing is done for at least the first 3, and then on randomly selected riders, even if they didn’t finish. So you need the full START lists, eliminate all FRA/REU riders who did the 2012 edition, then work out who didn’t ride/isn’t riding in the ban period.

Or just wait for the riders name to leak.

Dunno who this is, but the positive test is for the same diuretic that Kolobnev was done for during the 2011 TdF – he was eventually cleared of intentional doping due to traces of the drug being found in an over-the-counter medecine that he’s been recommended by his doctor.

Hopefully the FFC have seen evidence to suggest that the positive test is from this type of contamination and that’s why they’ve handed down a minimum ban.

However, without anything to support this it’s just as easy to start getting outraged and fire up the pitchforks.

Regarding race organisers, I think that if races are sanctioned by the national federations then they have to abide by the WADA code, so they can’t impose extra punishments on riders who have served their ban (similar to what overturned the team GB/BC ban on former dopers).

It’s a different story for non-sanctioned races, they can do what they want. To be honest I thought that the Megavalanches were unsanctioned!

I got a pair of the previous MT65s to replace the OEM AlexRims things on a Rockhopper, because they were the cheapest proper tubeless wheelset I could find.

I don’t think I’m hard on wheels (the OEM ones lasted for ages), very rarely drop off stuff and am fairly light, but I do ride through a lot of rocks. They’re still round.

I believe that the MT66s use pretty much the same rim – if so then it’s the same as on the XT versions (only the hubs are lighter) and they have a reputation for being pretty tough. I could be wrong and your mate might break them first ride though. If he’s a big lad, or has a history of breaking spokes/wheels/bikes/bones then I’m sure something handbuilt would be better (and easier to fix).

Looks like the description is the same for this one : http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=85601

But at twice the price, I’d hope that the weight is correct. Guess that “Eco” means heavier metal rails.

Girona isn’t far from a couple of places on the coast with some nice riding nearby: St Feliu de Guixols (where I’ve been) and Roses (that I’ve heard about). It’s all XC-style trails in the hills, but good enough for a couple of days. Try googling town names with “BTT” (Spanish for MTB) to get info, like this:
http://fr.wikiloc.com/itineraires/vtt/espagne/catalogne/roses
or
http://paraisabel.eresmas.net/btt.htm

I think it looks OK; Looks like most other carbon fs 29ers (Camber, Anthem and so on). Prettier than the Trance.

I think I like the look of the alloy version better though!

Hang on, they’ve put up the same weight (1510g) for the 24mm and 30mm rimmed versions of these – one of those must be wrong surely?

Power > RPE > HR

Wow, really? I would have thought that training in HR zones with a well calculated LT would be much better than going on perceived exertion (which is what I do all the time as I don’t have a HR monitor)

Unless I’m being a numpty and RPE is sonething else.

Map of FFC VTT sites here: http://ffc.fr/a_VTT/a_SitesVTT/index.asp

Generally these sites have a few marked trails, mostly very XC, but can be quite variable in the grading (and signposting – take a map!). Best regarded as an introduction to where you can go on a bike, rather than an exhaustive list.

You’ve got a 130mm trail bike and a road bike. If you’re looking for something in the middle how about a singlespeed hardtail 29er?

Mmmm?

Saying “get fitter” is a bit chicken and egg isn’t it? If the op gets cramp on longer rides, then how is he supposed to ride more to get fitter without getting cramp?

Fwiw, I’ve found that for me I can do up to an hour on just water. If I’m out for more than an hour then I use energy drink, and bananas to help avoid cramp. More than 3 hours and I need to be drinking energy drink, eating bananas and maybe gels if I fade AND have been hydrating properly beforehand.

How much you drink is also quite personal – I ride with some people who drink about a litre an hour, and some who don’t seem to drink at all, but I tend to get through about a bottle an hour (500 or 750ml in winter or summer depending on temperature).

I started road riding relatively recently, and I also found that I had to train myself to keep drinking – if I didn’t deliberately have a sip every few minutes then I’d ride for ages before suddenly realising I was thirsty and glugging loads down. Little and often works better for me now that I’ve developed the habit.

I haven’t followed the plans myself, but I spent some time writing plans based on the Friel book for someone else.

Although there is a lot in the book, when you start writing out plans then it all falls into place so isn’t that hard to get to grips with. The one thing that really stood out for me was that you need to be both motivated AND honest – initially in identifing personal limiters, then during the plan making realistic assessments about how it’s working in order to modify it if necessary.

Joe Friels blog is also quite good for snippets of advice that stand alone, but back up what’s in the book, like this:
http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2012/12/five-fundamentals-of-training.html

I’ve never ridden around there, but there look to be some decent hills to the NW (is that the Vosges?); http://www.utagawavtt.com/gmap/carte-generale-topos-vtt for gps traces (follow with caution, as they may be out of date or through private land)

Looks like there are also a couple of FFC VTT centres (marked trails, can be a bit fireroad heavy) : http://ffc.fr/a_VTT/a_SitesVTT/index.asp

Edit: googling for “vtt mulhouse” throws up this:

Just had a quick look at the 24-inch Aspen on their website. Looks OK, but they don’t specify crank length or handlebar width, the gearing isn’t as low at the back, the wheels look heavy and there don’t seem to be bottle cages mounts.

£50 more for an Islabike seems better, but it’s really good to see manufacturers trying to make better bikes for kids that don’t weigh a ton – the Pinnacle bikes must be better than supermarket rubbish.