shimano bite much stronger for less lever effort historically, are tech 4 any different?

personally i love my brakes to be ‘on/off’ and i really dont get on with hope.  Shimano 4 pots all the way!

Ps my mate who I ride with had a spectral 125 as his first proper Surrey hills mtb, riding with me and other locals. After a year he has swapped in for a coil nukeproof mega as he was sick of the back end not keeping up as his riding has progressed

Surrey hills regular here,

One thing I would suggest is don’t sweat being ‘overbiked’ or it being too easy. I have moved over the years from hardtails, to 100mm full sus to 140mm full sus and now 160/150mm full sus with a coil. It has given me so much speed and confidence since getting the 160/150 bike. My riding has progressed significantly, taken up a bit of local racing and a lot more jumping.

Basically, demo stuff and ride what u enjoy but there is plenty to enjoy on a 160/150 bike in the Surrey hills if you know where to look, and if you get the right one it’s not a chore on the smoother stuff. And plus one on a shorter travel forks lesser stiffness and damping quality will be noticeable

That’s the new sram too right?

Currently on 4

– road

– Mtb full sus 150mm

– gravel

– Brompton

would quite like to also have

– hardtail

-e-bike

-dh bike (maybe just for a year or two)

currently funding doesn’t allow, but one day it will and I’ll be ready 😂

It’s horrible don’t come, I’ve heard Swindon is good this time of year

I’m another plus 1 on theragun. Feels like a well made thing, and works wonders on tight muscles in legs and shoulders. Good reminder to stretch and warm up too

Deffo don’t avoid going there just because of a silly preconceived notion. I went and loved my time there and met my beautiful wife. Van mildert was the ‘comp on the hill’ by reputation but I had a great time and managed good grades (eventually!)

Experience sort of depends on the college but less so than oxbridge as teaching is all central. Even so I think after a week at even the poshest colleges everyone bonds and gets on. She will have a great time

I was gonna write that answer above too ☝️.

For god sake send it off to a specialist and be reminded of what it’s supposed to feel like when you get it back!

Stayer handbuilt on dt Swiss hubs will last you a lifetime and are a lovey stiff, strong and puncture free wheel

I’ve never had a puncture on any wheel, tyres however are a different story 😉

ok ok, i know ! but the rim profile is quite curved at the top so grounding out a tyre (as i do way too often on a gravel bike) hasnt yet pinch punctured the tyre, my old wheelset was a pain for this.

If you can stretch to them, Stayer handbuilt on dt Swiss hubs will last you a lifetime and are a lovey stiff, strong and puncture free wheel. Plus supporting a lovey small business.
My gravel ones were so good I ordered a road pair, and don’t get hunt, bearings an are made of cheese, tyres are a nightmare to get on and my road pair were flexy as hell.

Gravel Adventure

Golf GTI mk7 performance pack with the seats permanently down and front wheel out to put the bike inside. Have a great time getting to the trails and no issues with security or drawing attention to being a mtber

Wheres the like button?

https://stonekingrally.org/touringclub/

I don’t have the time or inclination to organise a Touring Club-based adventure. Do you run any all-inclusive tours on the Stone King itinerary?
YES! The annual Stone King Club Week. Sign up to our mailing list and be the first to hear about the dates and details.

Yes, although it sold out v quicky last year i think. i took from the video that they were encouraging other operators to offer the route too

Heya,

Plenty to do for sure, although all takes a bit of finding. Ideal is to get yourself on some form of guided ride, or a volunteer from here!

https://www.mountainbikeclub.co.uk/ is doing paid for but cheap guided rides most weekends
And bardolf might guide you privately if you ask

If you really are wanting chilled out tame trails then swinley is fine, but peaslake is much better!

I would volunteer but I’m busy that weekend!

Demo something similar with different suspension kinematics, I would be surprised if lots of brands don’t run more anti sag than cotic.

Ps I’m doing Stoneking on my 31lbs coil trek remedy 27.5 next summer. Round the Surrey hills it’s a great all day bike, I’m just hoping I feel the same when I get back! 😬

Yeah it’s not waterproof to gore standards but it’s damn good as a single jacket to cover a lot of bases. Been out in mine in some real filth and it has stayed dry. See the mbr group test win review for a bit more detail!

Mtb review

Really fascinating interview with the guy who made the Senna film and recent Bernie Ecclestone biopic. Gave the view that Bernie for all his faults was incredibly sharp and intelligent

Wasn’t someone I would have thought of!

Ohlins ttx has been amazing on the back of my remedy. But not compared the ccdb only air shocks on this.

I’d agree with the smothering feel of the ohlins though, really planted and high traction. Rougher it gets the more it’s spectacular. Other point of note is because it doesn’t have so many clicks of adjustment I had to get the rebound sped up at the first service. Tf tuned we’re great to buy through and have spot on advice on spring rate and fittings etc

Booked myself something scary next summer so motivation is high! Get some plans in that will push you and get a routine going. (Yes it’s not actually that easy, and giving yourself a break is also allowed!)

After 8 days of rain, storms and gales as part of a two week tour of the western isles my wife was getting a more than a little fed up. Climbing up the last hill on Lewis before the ferry to sky and a massive gust came along and blew her front wheel out from under her, dumping her on the floor. MASSIVE sense of humour failure, fair enough, it really wasn’t fun anymore, just about pursuaded her to get up and ride to the ferry. After which we hired a car and did the rest of The tour round Skye and to fort William in a hire car 😁

Plus one on overthinking it, I’m not heavy but never even got close to overheating my 160mm flat mount grx on 5 days Pennine rally. Just get hydro grx on your current bike and go enjoy brakes that work and have fun!

I’m lucky enough to have got into the Stone King rally, multi day enduro mtb in the alps in June.

I shall be spending every spare moment up to that point riding and training as best I can, including some southern enduro rounds.

Mtb, start with a few spacers, lower them until I stop understeering out of corners.

Typically results in them being relatively low compared to most people but then I’m only little. Had a go at riding them 5 mm higher a couple of years ago and just couldn’t corner at all, not enough weight on the front

IMO – i buy the michelin that best suits my needs, Usually a pilot sport or PS4S for me but that’s sporty cars. no better company for car tyres

Interesting, maybe I should give it a go. Used to do shock air can services myself.

I send away to tf or similar religiously every 125 hours (annually) as per fox spec but no lowers servicing in the interim.

Fox 36 grip2 and I notice after about 100 hours a real drop off in small bump response and comfort. Does anyone have experience on if that would be sorted by a home lowers service rather than a full 125 specialist damper job?

Gravel here is a bit chunky so I’m thinking 650b with 50mm tyres

My experience of gravel bikes is that anything actually chunky just becomes a fraught journey of wincing every time the tyre bottoms out as you wait for the next puncture to happen, Surrey hills is great for them, most stuff in real rocks I’ve found stressful 😬

Plus one for don’t bother based on my experience. I ran tubeless for a couple of years, 25mm, wide rims run around 65/70psi.

It was fine, gave a good ride quality and let me not worry about pinch punctures. However… it was v poor at sealing properly, especially small glass/flint type punctures. When it did seal it would be at 30psi or so by which time its barely rideable. And the maintenance is more, sealant needs topping up more regularly as you use less, and it all needs pealing off the tyres and rims every couple of times or your wheels just get heavier and heavier!

I’ve gone back to tubes and I’m not regretting it yet!

I mean I have pretty much precisely the same needs, commuting, bikes, secure inside etc. I run a golf GTI mk7 with back seats permanently down and some sheets to cover everything. I have a lot nicer time driving than if I was in a van!

Van life is overrated in mtb world!

Stayer cycles handbuilts are absolutely excellent although slightly over budget. My set have been light, fast, strong, wide, and resistant to pinching tyres when run tubeless. I’ve deffo come to the conclusion investing in a reliable and rebuildable hub is a good thing in the long run. Only minor nitpick would be drain holes would be nice.

Nice to support a small business too

Ps they do an alloy build well in budget too!

Looking for London based Data analyst/developer with existing power bi experience, in the cycling industry too. Dm me

Did lands end to John o groats in this style and deffo needed the t-shirt/flip flops/linen trousers for eating/relaxing time. Meant you could go to restaurants properly and getting out of Lycra sooner reduced saddle sores. As above you should get it all in a small frame or saddle bag (bar bags are just an aero nightmare on a road bike imo)

One of the reviews on the link in your post says he needed a spacer to stop the headset binding so deffo check that.

The reach on the bars (how much the drops extend forwards) looks long to me but hard to tell!

Interesting to hear about narrow range of adjustment, not been a problem for me. I always kind of thought the opposite, I have a setting I love ( the trek recommended not the fox one) and the moment I go even one click away from that on anything I think it’s worse!

I’m 70kgs kitted up and love mine, I would say it’s sensitive to service schedule though. I start to get more hand/arm pump really noticeably after about 11 months to remind me to service it! So deffo only do it if you are happy to keep on top of that.

its the outside, they live there…. leave them alone!

Mine have done it too, reminded me I should warranty them, been meaning to!

Got a good deal on them but still disappointed

We just did this to one :)

New Wheels: How do Hunt stack up?

Plus one on disappointing, my experience was road but awful bearings and sealing, corroded spoke nipples and a rim profile that was an absolute b*st*rd to get tyres off

Can’t recommend bontrager carbons, snapped 3, Just bought a set of reserves will see how they go!

I’ve got some, bought 3 months or so ago (I didn’t pay anything like full price)

Some further points:
– agree a lot on the colour, stained bum and I don’t want to run them through the washing machine every ride as that will reduce the waterproofing.
– one of the zip pullers snapped on me, the phone leg pocket one that you want to use all the time!
– my seat fabric is already looking stretched out of shape/worn as Hannah feared might happen

They are great fun though, really good temperature regulation and cozy dry feeling most of the time. Agree with the general summation of the review, nice but some issues and not worth nearly as much as they cost!

My reactive on my 2019 remedy 9.9 destroyed itself. Sent it in for a service and they said it was a write off due to internal scoring in the body. Got a warranty replacement but it was ages coming so ordered an ohlins coil to put on instead. Now just keep the reactive as a spare/xc days option. Can you find a coil in budget? I’ve been amazed by the transformation!