Seems like Whiteroom comes very highly recommended.
I like the idea of riding lots of different areas in a single trip.

I suppose only one thing for it. Get booking…!

Thanks for all the recommendations. Contacted most of the suggestions and whittled it down to either Bike-Alp in Briancon or Whiteroommtb in Bourg Saint Maurice.

Both have availability when I’m looking to go and price including flights is virtually identical. (whiteroom is £80 more but includes lunch and evening drinks).

Anybody been to either/ both and have any recommendations or tips which may help me decide?

Thanks I’ll give them a try

Think I’ll give that d12 battery adapter a go, took quite low profile. Bit of a tart question but is the thin metal bit inside silver or black?

Thanks guys, exactly what I wanted to hear.
Was just concerned it may be crimped on seeing as the remote always comes with the hose as a complete set

Thanks for the info. Is the red trail at Brechfa worth trying or does the black offer more fun per mile?

I suppose with any tyre debate it’s a lot down to personal preference but would you say the trade off of reduced grip is made up by a noticeable increase in faster rolling?
I’ve been running a butcher grid/ purg grid combo for a while with no real complaints other than you can feel the drag at the back on really long fireroads slogs. Just crossed my mind that a ss might help this but I’m reluctant to dramatically reduce grip and fun on the downs

Sounds like I’m not the only one for this to happen to.
There’s no visible damage to the tyre and no bulge its as if the whole tyre is out of shape, enough to feel the wobble when your going fast down a smooth bit of tarmac.
Looks like I’ll have to bite the bullet and replace it. 4 rides out of a £40 tyre isn’t great value for money!

That’s interesting to hear, when I got back and looked at the map I could see a little diversion along a fire road which missed out some of the not so interesting loop that heads you along the valet away from the trail centre and then back but kept most of the good parts. The gf found a few bit on the last descent a bit tough and had to walk a few bits so she might appreciate an alternative less technical option next time

We rode Blue Scar which was fun and good for a warm up and then we rode Penhydd which took a while to get going but had some nice sections towards the end.
We then drove over to the Glyncorrwg centre for lunch and a lap of the Blade trail. The first climb is pretty tough but so much fun and way preferable to a long boring fireroad climb. The trail had some really good sections of techy flowy trails along the way but we did think there were sections that just seemed a bit of a slog and you weren’t really gaining or losing much height so not massively rewarding. The final descent was epic though, so fast and so many brilliantly placed rock features and gulleys to keep it really interesting and definitely has a really alpine feel. So good in fact that we pushed up for another go despite being knackered.
The most surprising this was how quiet it was, only saw one guy on the trails the whole day!
Definitely will be going back. How do the other trails there compare?

So can all trails be ridden from either centre?

Brilliant thanks. Would W2 be a better option or would it be better to mix it up and try a couple of different trails to offer more thrills/mile

Ygm

I’m 5’9 and the medium fits perfectly. I tested the large and although it was ok the medium felt easier to manoeuvre much more fun on the downs

Those are the ones I am looking for. Ideally 4 if you have them?

I removed a token, did the ‘pike burp’ trick and went with James’ settings to start with and I can report a huge difference after a quick ride around my local trails last night. Off to somewhere a bit more testing this weekend so I’m sure some small tweaks might be needed but thanks for the help guys

How many tokens do you have installed James?

Mine are the 27.5 variety. I’ve not heard of the trapped air pressure but I’ll have a look, thanks

I may try removing a token and accept that the forks will bottom out occasionally on bigger hits but at least then I’ll be making the most of the full travel more regularly. Would increasing the sag to nearer 30% be more beneficial?
Out of interest Jef how many clicks of rebound/ compression are you running? Are you similar weight?

One for the afternoon lot maybe?

I read this post with interest/ confusion as my current bike is the first FS I’ve ever owned so have no reference point with which to judge if my suspension ‘feels right’. I’ve set up the sag as per recommendations given by manufacturer and set compression and rebound to mid way as a ‘happy medium’. If doesn’t seem to bottom out regularly and neither does it buck me off on landings but I’m fairly sure I’m not getting the best out of it. Ideally what characteristics am I looking for to know if I’m along the right lines?

Ok if that is the norm then I’ll put it all back together and hope that it was the contamination to the discs and pads that caused the lack of braking power and noise. Thanks

Seems as though the saga continues… So I’ve fully degreased and cleaned my discs and calipers. New pads ready to install.
With no pads installed when I pull the lever should all Pistons push out equally at the same time? On mine only one single piston moves at all to the point where it nearly pushes all the way out. If I hold that one in it forces one other out, if I hold 2 in it pushes a third out and I have to hold all 3 back for the forth one to move at all.
This to me suggests that no piston is physically stuck in to the calipers but there is not enough force generated to push all 4 out simultaneously. The brakes were bled by a shop 2 weeks ago so no air should be in the system and the lever didn’t feel spongey. The rear brake is the worst offender but the front is similar. Any ideas?

I’ve tried numerous pads with much the same result.
How do I stand taking the bike back to the shop and saying I think they must be faulty either the Pistons are sticking or the seals leak and contaminate my pads? Usually I just moan and put up with it but on Saturday they caused me a pretty nasty crash so feel like I need to get them sorted somehow?

Ive had problems with the Pistons getting stuck and had to push them back in manually so perhaps this happens during a ride. No matter how many times I’ve taken them apart and scrubbed around the piston to try and free it up they never all seem to push out at the same time/ same amount. Which probably explains the poor stopping power and noise if the pad pressure isn’t even on the disc. Any tips on a way to free them up?
I’m always really careful to remove pads when I work on them so very unlikely contaminated and the fact I’ve changed pads and discs I’d say it’s unlikely to be that

Planning on heading back before Xmas if time and commitments allow to do a bit more exploring.

So what sort of pace are the Nirvana shop rides? It’s always hard to judge when riding with a group for the first time.

Yeah headed up pretty early yesterday and after a few tips from a group of really nice guys in the car park we headed out for 20 damp miles of exploring. There was quite a few dead ends and turning back and repeating the same fire roads but had a blast riding some really fun little trails and doing some exploring. We probably hardly scratched the surface of what is there but I’ll be heading back for some more asap. Might even give an organised ride a go next time

Thanks for the advice guys. So you recon Peaslake is the best place to park up and explore from?
I’m just looking for a 20 ish mile loop with some nice trails thrown in. I’m not worried about doing a bit of trial and error type explore to find some fun bits. Seems like general consensus is to strava the areas with most segments and then head there on the fire roads looking for interesting tyre tracks heading off. Easy right…!? If anyone spots a guy on a Whyte looking confused at his iPhone then feel free to say hi/ shout obscenities

Apparently they are not available separately as spares but a customer service guy at Sram had some personally and is going to post some. Top marks for Sram there. Big thumbs up!

Ben i have just read that on the sram website so it would appear that there should have been 4. The springs are in place in the vacant spaces so it would suggest that they were once present. i have emailed sram but i cant see these for sale separately anywhere online

That’s interesting as the 2 that i have are 180 degrees apart so potentially that is all that were ever there and i didn’t lose any?

I believe the cottage we are staying at is in Umberleigh

Wow so many options, cheers for the advice. I’ll do a bit of research into some of them. Sounds like i need to pack my climbing legs whichever i choose

Having done quite a few seasons and lived with top level basi instructors that have passed on bits of wisdom it has really opened up my eyes to how much tiny tweaks in technique can have huge effects on your riding. I’d say 70% of your problem is technique so go get lessons. Most people have beginner lessons to learn the very basics enough for them to just about get around and then fumble the rest of the way through their learning process picking up poor technique and bad habits as they go. Ultimately lessons will make you better, riding better will be more comfortable and more fun.

The other 30% is basic setup of your gear. As a rule i’d start with the bindings in the reference stance width that your board recommends (assuming that you have the correct board size and type for your weight and ability).

Binding angles are a very personal thing. i ride duck -15/+15 but know pros that ride very odd angles so maybe start duck and then adjust in small increments to your comfort level.

Binding highbacks should be set to the least forward lean they go to start with. Generally rotated so that they are parallel with the heal edge of your board. Binding ankle strap should be adjusted so that they pull the boot back and down rather than just down as this way they will hold your boots in position and help stop heel lift without the need to overtighten and create pressure points in your foot.

Boots are important to correctly fit. I tend to get 4 or 5 weeks riding a season plus snowdomes so I size down 1-1.5 sizes in the anticipation that they will get ridden a lot and therefore pack out to the correct size. I’d rather that than buy the correct size in the shop and then find they are too big after a week. boots that are too big and dont hold your heal in place will cause heal lift and that is a huge cause of arch pain. (imagine standing on tip toes for a whole day!)

Hope some of that may be of some use

First ever bike i had with discs, decided to drive to some trails to test it out. Stopped, got the bike out of the car boot and put the wheels on. Sprinted down the steep gravel carpark to test my shiny new brakes. Pull on both levels, front one pulled back to the bar and nothing happened so i had to use the rear to perform the biggest high speed skid and crashed my brand new bike into some wooden fencing and a gate.

I’d put the front wheel on the wrong way and the rotor was on the wrong side 😳

Perfect. thank you. Out of interest do you run 2.25 front and rear or larger on the front?

I’ve had my eye on the 7IDP m2 for a while but struggling to find anywhere that i can try one on. Any of the big chains sell them or anywhere down South?

I’ve had mine for about 5 weeks now and ridden all day xc routes, single track, trail centers and natural trails in that time. Really pleased with it.
Seems not to struggle on xc rides compared to mates on 120mm more xc specific bikes especially with the shock in the pedal setting. Equally I wouldn’t say its a ‘point and hold on’ sort of bike like a longer travel bike but its so precise and rides light that picking lines down techy steep trails is so easy and fun so seems a perfect compromise, for me anyway.

I’m 5’8 on a medium with a shorter stem, volume spacer in the pike and better brake pads and it rides amazingly. Good few Strava PR’s smashed on it both uphill and down and we all know that Strava never lies 😉

chakaping thanks for that, good review. Am i right in saying that they undertake the coaching on more natural trails rather than purpose built skills areas?

UK Bike Skills are a 2 hour drive from me but seem to come highly recommended. I’ll give them a call and see what availability they have.

There’s a company called pro ride mtb near me. Anyone have any experience of them? Guy’s called Ben Deakin i think