Dalbeattie has a lot of felling started last week to take out diseased trees on East Side of forest from tinkers loaning down towards cloak loch Diversions in place on the 7 stanes routes to take you round the work but means you end up with a climb back up the Moyle and a bit more forest road.

This company seem pretty well regarded and seem to always be growing and looking for people

https://www.naturalpower.com/uk/careers

Have no connection or experience, they just have their office near me.

Similar to you I left an engineer role when realised had lost the feeling of purpose in sector to outweigh the stress and travel. So understand the motivation, however left engineering entirely

For anyone looking for a less racing gravel event nearby there is ‘big onion’ gravel in a few weeks:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/solway-coast-big-onion-gravel-100km70km-tickets-875874252467

uses different trails but still a big day out, a bit cheaper than the gralloch too

Am entered to ride it but not organising or anything

I’ll be marshalling there tomorrow, somewhere at the start and then on the final road descent down from Gatehouse station. watch out for a change from last year as is now be turning off pretty sharpish partway down the hill to go past carstramon

Should be cool to see, they reckon there is 2000 people riding it this time. Saw that some of the riders joined in with the bike bus to school this morning which is nice to see.

For anyone interested I got the wrong link in the post above, the map and survey for Dalbeattie are here: https://www.research.net/r/dalbeattieforest

There is still the option for anyone in the town to come along this Friday and Saturday at the Initiative office.

https://forestryandland.gov.scot/news-releases/dalbeattie-forest-visitor-concept-plan-open-for-public-consultation

The office is now back down at 71 high street (where the food bank had been for the last few years).

As said before we have an interest in getting as many views as we can on improvements to Dalbeattie forest to support the town and the Rocks and Wheels project

This will be the 20th and final year of the Dalbeattie Hardrock running in its current format with the organising committee deciding to retire afterwards.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dalbeattiehardrockchallenge/permalink/25351755984422908/

Will be the weekend of 5th and 6th October with entries open on SI entries at the end of March.

A bit sooner than that there is an option of a gravel route for the first time on the Rocks and Wheels cycle challenge this year. Sunday 21st April and entries are open now:

https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=13060

FLS now have a Dalbeattie masterplan available to comment too:

https://www.research.net/r/2LWBMS8

There will be a chance to come and meet FLS and discuss the plans in person on the 22nd and 23rd March hosted at the Dalbeattie Initiative office (down at 71 high street, not the pantry or the shop)

For openness I work at the Initiative and we have an interest in the plans for the forest due to the link in to our Rocks and Wheels project at the old high school. https://www.rocksandwheels.org/

For some context on the pricing of gravel events I am helping organise a community event in Scotland and have been getting into the pricing and the costs so can get it listed on SI entries.

Working up from the elements needed for the event we got to needing to charge about £45 which when we compared to operations like glorious gravel seemed about going rate. Introducing offroad adds more admin in advance e.g. securing landowner permission and also on the day e.g. having to pay a fee per rider to FLS for access, insurance, mechanical cover and cover for event first aid for teams to be positioned to access someone quickly if there is an accident on an offroad section.

We are aiming for participation and a giving a sample of route options in the area than trying to make lots of money so doing all we can to make affordable. To make sense for us we are adding it as a course option to an existing road sportive event so can share the costs of the same base for sign on, showers, parking etc and we are providing food at the end so better to do as one larger event then do two separate.

On setting the route has been really interesting working out a compromise of views on what should be the level of technical challenge for gravel and tolerance for including linking road sections. We have erred on the side of less technical more forest road type stuff because as an organiser trying to find a middle ground between existing local road sportive and xc event to get new participants.

Not really aiming to defend any of the prices or route comments but more trying to give a feel of the considerations coming from trying to organise one.

@kramer

I am meaning the spacers which are used on the bearing cups to set further out from the frame, there are 3 which come with the bottom bracket. For a 73mm bottom bracket you should only need one on the drive side as shown in this diagram (which comes with the bottom bracket):

With the raceface and hope bottom brackets the turbine cranks fitted great as described in the diagram, but with the nukeproof bottom bracket I found that the preload ring could not take up all the slack so had to put on another spacer on the non drive side.

Maybe the axle length on the turbine cranks must be a bit longer than other 30mm axles or maybe the nukeproof bearings are slimmer?

Have done the conversion with turbine cranks fitting to a 73mm threaded frame. I think you need a different bottom bracket rather than a different axle.

This is the raceface bottom bracket to fit turbine cranks to a 73mm threaded bottom bracket:

https://www.wiggle.com/p/race-face-cinch-bsa30-bottom-bracket?utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=base&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1OmoBhDXARIsAAAYGSGANfJvWErBHgkMfwtlGZECwf9001rIJ0C0yNcJFD8x_9HLa67Y6HkaAiwzEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Other threaded bottom brackets for 30mm axle will work too. Hope is fine, nukeproof I had to use an extra spacer to get it to fit.

Only medium and large sizes remaining but this seems pretty good deal and would fit the 120mm category. Upgrade fork and wheels and still within budget?

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/bikes/mountain-bikes/rocky-mountain-element-a10-full-suspension-mountain-bike-2022-black__9113?currency=GBP&chosenAttribute=B0213LG91GB&gclid=CjwKCAjwyNSoBhA9EiwA5aYlb5N4ZHTz5bD0T_HQCH2siHLq3_Cc7eFd_xs0gYJWf0g6L5YJaWfyZxoC4vMQAvD_BwE

Heading north to New Galloway is also maybe an option from Laurieston for an out and back using bits of forest road to get off the loch side road.

There are ways through from Laurieston round woodhall then a bit on the road before back in at Mossdale. Can then get most of the way there using forest and walking tracks. On way back could go through the Hensol estate and RSPB reserve for a bit of a change. Probably not as ride out as the route to Gatehouse though.

Maybe have a look at the route for the Gralloch event which came here earlier in the year.

https://www.grallochgravel.com/route

The full loop is a big day out but from Laurieston it is easy to pick up the route from where it crosses the Gatehouse route near Kennick burn and ride into Gatehouse for a cafe stop.

Would maybe suggest doing it the opposite way to the gralloch i.e. go offroad Laurieston to Gatehouse and then return on the road. Is a really nice quiet road with good views.

Glengap is OK if passing and riding out that way, haven’t ridden there for over a year so no idea if clear of overgrowth which can make the higher blue routes really slow. Wouldn’t say is worth the climb back up for more than one runs on the red, sorry if the people who build it are reading!

For a similar purpose I use a soto ST320 and would recommend. For me fills the gap between a meths stove for solo trips and proper car camping big stove.

Packs really neatly in a similar size to a folding windshield but can handle pots and kettles big enough to cook for several people. Is much lower to the ground than a normal canister stove so is stable and a lot less stressful have around camping. If line up right the does not need extra windshields either.

Just had a quick look for a link and can’t find a UK shop selling one now but are available abroad if have the time to order. Think I got mine from ultralight outdoor gear but they only have the petrol stoves now.

It uses the long thin push on canisters so easy to find canisters though.

I help on a similar project and have been working out how to get best value from parts. Ours are all cube electric hybrids and mountain bikes and used by people starting out riding or getting exercise with things like joint replacement, arthritis.

We have gone for just replacing with basic drivetrain parts to minimise costs and accepting will need to keep on top of condition, e.g. regular checking chain condition and checking after heavy shifting riders.

We also do taster rides and confidence boosting lessons so can try to pass on tips for gear shifting if needed.

We have down graded all (as higher end parts wore out) to 9 speed shimano trekking type derailleur and gears.

It means sacrficing things like weight saving, range and features like clutches that come on higher end groupsets but costs less and also seem to lasts longer than the more expensive parts which were originally fitted.

As a bonus the 9 speed is very forgiving of rough shifts and so is more confidence inspiring to beginners as doesn’t click or sounds as fragile. 11-36 cassettes are all steel and lifespan ends up about 1500-2000 miles.

Would say better to save on drivetrain but not on brake discs and pads. The basic shimano discs seem to wear very quickly and the pads can really overheat with heavy riders.

Would be interested to know how you find hub gears any better. We are reaching 3 years of use and the freehubs are starting to go a bit wobbly and wheels losing tension more frequently now so looking at new rear wheels anyway. Having said that we had an ebike donated with 3 speed hub gear and decided to switch to derailleur for ease of puncture repair and commonality across the fleet.

Also check your stands if fitted, lots of our bikes are used for things like shopping so when add the weight of the ebike they seem to be a weak point. We had one fail totally and by the point of first needing to replace the whole drivetrain due to wear we found a couple more with cracks forming around the attachment bolt holes.

Came across this interesting one recently:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295753354888

6 months of research and prototyping to go 70mph on a bmx with Tesla batteries!!!

Sorry I don’t have much experience of gravel tyres other than helping at the event. Have had the terra trail tyres and they were fine, currently have Michelin power gravel and they are also no bother but not got much to compare to.
Whatever choice you make our plan of sidewall and and casing toughness over saving weight sounds sensible.
It was noticeable that most of the people who seemed to be taking it seriously were on tyres in the 30-40mm range.
Just looked at the maps and they had more on road climbing to get to the forest than you will have on the gralloch route. The road section you do have from kennick burn to the first feed stop is a bit of a drag but not to the point where would suggest choosing tyres for it. The majority is off road
As a final observation vittoria tyres seemed popular on the bikes I was working on but they were also sponsoring it I think which may skew what people were using.

Was helping out in the pits at wheels of fleet for the raiders gravel last year and we were there till about 10pm replacing tyres for people who had underestimated the surface compared to where they usually rode.
Not just people with tubes. We had a few sidewall cuts on tubeless tyres where had to just replace because could not plug. A few snakebite type damage too from running pressures too low.
I think it is the type of rock used in the roads that caught people out rather than any particular feature or section.
The route of the gralloch looks to include a lot of the same sections as the raiders gravel.

kinesis have a new version of the FF29 which sounds like meets most of the criteria e.g. alu, singlespeed dropouts and kinesis do their own rigid forks too:
https://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/Catalogue/Models/Maxlight/FF29

Not too expensive and the sparkly black/brown looks nice. Saw some photos which I think were for the launch on instagram but then not much other information out there yet.

@vmgscot that is encouraging to know, sounds like the same quad track I was coming down but just didn’t go far enough. Will try again coming from the north side, with a fresh perspective and changing vegetation will hopefully find the way through.
That whole area linking galloway forest to tracks in windfarms, mines, SUW etc has so much potential for proper big gravel rides or multiday trips but just small missing sections limit what is rideable. Gradually working out the linking sections but is a lot of trial and error and hiking through bogs so grateful for the tips.

There used to be a faint quad bike track linking the two through the firebreak but was boggy and unrideable on a bike in places. Went to try it again last summer coming from the south and couldn’t find the start with all the felling totally changing the look of the place. There are a couple of deep burns as you get nearer the Loch Doon side which did have the remains of wooden bridges in places but otherwise need to clamber across.

When gets a bit drier had been planning to see if there is anything better and less boggy from the higher forest road (which turns off towards carlins cairn).

The other frustrating gap where would be interested to know if there is any tips on is on the east side of loch Doon. On the forestry side there is a rough track which is just about rideable from the end of the forest road up to the boundary dyke. Haven’t been able to find a good crossing point but is then only maybe 50m to a turning circle on the forest road on the far side. Would make linking up with the old mines and windfarm routes around Carsphairn a possibility.

Maybe also useful for anyone to know that the town wood carpark in Dalbeattie is going to pay and display too from next week to be same as trail head car park. The signs were going in this week.

There is a lot of forestry work in the south end of Dalbeattie forest around Ironhash. Fallen trees are being cleared from storms a couple of years ago

This means the diversions cut out a lot of the singletrack at this end and keep you on forest roads.

There are short diversion on sections of the 7 stanes route around the Moyle too.
The unnofical stuff is really boggy and heavy at the minute due to wet ground.

Watch out for timber lorries too, the diversion puts you on some of the same routes they are using to get timber out, activity seems to come in waves but we’re quite a few this week.

Would probably suggest just going to Mabie

For info if considering the trek fork I just bought an 1120 fork and rack off ebay but struggling a bit with the length due to rack mounts. Trek describe it as suitable for replacing a 100mm fork but at 510mm a-c is about the length of unsagged fork. On my el mariachi it adds about 3cm to height and feels odd to ride. Think it actually might be best on a frame designed around a 130mm fork, still experimenting but might be an expensive buy!

@shedbrewed thank you, will play it safe and not get the xt chain and stick with current chainrings.
Is dead easy to get sucked in by a bargain so glad I checked.

Does anyone know if this works the other way and 12 speed shimano chains are ok on 3/32 cogs?

Have been looking for a cheap chain for my singlespeed and found this potential bargain:
https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-xt-m8100-12-speed-chain-with-quick-link-171576.html

I guess is so cheap because is only 108 links but this is fine for single speed and at £14 is about as cheap as you can find for a chain and being xt would hope is decent quality.
However I use a raceface crank and steel chainring and am a bit worried if will work with the xt chain as have seen raceface sell specific shimano 12 speed chainrings as an option.
1x Chainring, Cinch Direct Mount – SHI 12
Is this just marketing or are standard raceface rings too wide for a shimano 12 speed chain?

For OSmaps on a Samsung phone I find if I turn off mobile data just before opening app then loads instantly, if not it takes ages like you describe. I think temporarily turning off data forces the app to go straight to loading the downloaded maps (where I own the paper map) rather than run a live copy over data. Once up can turn data back on no bother.
Discovered this by mistake when trying to save battery one day, guess some logic in the app tries to prioritise live data over existing downloads no matter what, maybe to get latest version? Could also be because I don’t have a subscription, just downloads of paper maps, so is deliberately slowed down?
On a tablet on WiFi it runs fast no matter what so is something different in how the app runs on a phone.

Just measured and the internal width of the coho is 40cm
The length is base is 70cm long but because of cut out for suspension the longest length square shape that would fit is 55cm
There are several sets of bottle cage mounts around the top rail which have seen pictures of being used with mini roof bars to create a space for longer loads to lie on top of the load area when combined with the rear mudguard.
I use some Blackburn outpost cages on these for securely carrying glass bottles which might help with the worry above.
Have also tested some cage strapmounts along one side for carrying a sup paddle but haven’t used for real to get to a loch yet.
The axle replaces the normal one for your bike so do have to factor in another £40 for that but as said before find it a lot more reasuring and stable than the single sided mount on our old trailer.

Also maybe worth saying that if you are cycling with a child trailer type (even if just carrying tools or shopping) then get used to much more considerate driving and overtaking and people stopping to wave. Is nice to start with but be prepared to feel a bit guilty if just carrying shopping and bringing town to a standstill.

It also works the other way, had many drivers shouting or pulling up after overtaking to stop me to tell me how reckless I was cycling with children on an A road (it is the only option from our house to town). Also had an old lady get very angry when I bounced a kerb to park up outside a shop and had to explain the trailer was empty!

Don’t get anywhere near the same level of careful driving or attention with the coho.

We have had a couple of burley trailers over the years and are pretty good although maybe worth thinking about what you are really wanting with stability.
We started with one like the Thule Chariot which had one arm and two wheels. Did the job and was stable just standing but always felt a bit awkward cycling and turning, ended up giving away to a friend as got a bit of a faff so used less and less.
Last year got a single wheel coho xc model as a bargain off of ebay with the aim of using for shopping and trips to town to cut out car use. Is easy to pack but lacks the waterproof cover of the chariot type one, however it is a lot nicer to ride with and I like how the kickstand on the trailer also holds the bike up because of the yoke fitting. Really quick to clip on and off too and just overall a nicer experience but more limited as cannot carry children or use for running.

This thread was a bit more serious than expected but the title brought back memories of fast and light JOGLE which ended up on with some roadie friends years ago. Their idea was long days, chaingang riding, no bags or change of riding clothes and as many climbs as could fit into the route. All type 2 fun but a proper adventure and plenty of daft decisions and scrapes along the way but the last day in particular sticks in my mind.

Was constant rain and one of the group got fed up of damp kit so decided to use the microwave in the hostel for some speed drying for the final day through Exmoor and down to Lands End so could finish the tour in comfort. He overestimated the timer and ended up turning his bib shorts into a holey mess and even worse the chammy into a lump of crusty plastic. To his credit he stuck with the riding but we made him keep to the back of the line! needless to say got plenty of funny looks and required some careful photos at Lands End to be able to share with family.

Thank you for the insights, has been so long since deliberately rode in mud had forgotten the trick of spraying down everything with WD40 in advance.
In the heat of the moment wasn’t sure if was something to do with a bigger chainring giving more space for mud to clear from round the bottom bracket whereas in reality is just me blaming my bike for skill shortage. Watching the earlier race categories was definitely impressed by the commitment and skills of the riders in the mud on the off camber corners and ramps.
The top guys did all seem to have two bikes too and were changing to a cleaned bike twice each lap.

Have already seen some comments about the mud in the park after which I guess is inevitable in a small place but hopefully will not put off doing again in future.

Would also be interested in any experience and other options.
We have a community project helping people with maintenance and were asked recently about environmentally friendly options. We didn’t know so our work experience student has been looking for options and is doing a comparison test. So far he only has green oil and one called green machine from polymath products.
Has been surprisingly hard to find suggestions and reviews and also understand the balance of being biodegradable and being effective at keeping a chain lubricated in a wet scottish winter.
Plan is to do tests this winter and report at the end of his placement.

I had a go at the cyclocross race in Castle Douglas today and just took a mountain bike not really knowing what to expect and was a real eye opener, kind of wish had read some of the earlier comments on here about tyre recommendations in advance but now curious how much bike style matters in mud?
Was only a couple of people on mountain bikes and noticeable that was a lot harder going, a combo of mud jamming the wheel and sliding a lot more than everyone else on proper cross bikes. I get that skinnier tyres will cut through the mud better and slide less but is there something about cross bikes that means they don’t collect as much mud compared to a mountain bike? or are less affected?
It got so bad the rear wheel would not turn unless stopped regularly to clean it out but no one else seemed to be as bad. If I was to do another event and put skinny tyres on the mountain bike would be better or is there just something am missing out on not riding a cyclocross bike?
Everyone was nice about it and glad I tried it even if was a real slog!

Also just thought to say that is definitely male body shape for the endura design. My partner found that just did not have room on the hips and tops of legs for cycling despite rest being an OK fit.

I am a little taller than you and same waist.
I tried medium and large in the endura
Medium is about right leg length and sleeve length. Back length is right when standing but does feel tight when riding and bent forward.
Waist is a bit baggy on the medium for me which is OK as don’t fall down due to having top attached. There is just elastic though. No adjusters like on the seperate trousers.
Shoulders are only just wide enough on medium for single base layer, not enough for thick layers.
Overall medium was OK but just not really designed for my body shape I guess.
Large was better on the shoulders but huge around body and waist.
Overall really like it as a concept though, is cosy and snugger than seperates to me. Plus can just take off as one thing to hose down. I use most of the Year and has help up well. Reproof the bum and back once already and needs to be done again now after about 1 year use. The yellow around neck and shoulder looks really stained and tired now though, particularly where hood roll rubs on helmet. Maybe get the black one or the commute one without the hood?
Hope this helps.

In Dalbeattie the section at spooky Wood and Jacobs ladder is still totally covered by fallen trees and has diversions round on the fire roads.
The forestry seem to have been really busy this week on repairs to the rest of the trails, I guess because the hardrock is this weekend.
Interestingly there was a big pile of broken boardwalk they were piling up near the trailhead, looked to be the stuff that used to be just after the qualifier section right at the start of the trails which has been closed for years due to damage. Decided to keep out of way rather than investigate but hopefully means some new stuff is going in.
Also a pile of sub base which they seemed to be putting around the trails filling in some of the worst holes in the fire roads.
As a warning if planning to use the core path to colvend there is still a big section which has been resurfaced with big lumpy rocks for the logging trucks which yet to bed in properly. Ok for adults but is a real slog with family.

The marathon almotion have been great so far for me as no nonsense commuting tyres set up tubeless and up to 3.5k with no bother so far
Previously had g one slicks and then 50mm gravelkings which were OK as tubeless on road but both suffered tyre wall damage on rocky forest roads which sealant couldn’t fix at about half that mileage.
Those both provide grip by nobbles sticking off a lightweight tyre but the almotion are grooves in a thick tyre if that makes sense. Not quite as grippy on mud but much more robust and just as good on other surfaces.

Fitted a towbar and electrics to our car last week. To answer question on the reverse beepers the kit for me had the wiring options for both OE and aftermarket sensors so that when the towing electrics socket is plugged in it turns off the sensors so no need for a switch to turn off.

have done previous vehicles just using generic electrical kits and always felt a bit of a bodge with needing to attach to harnesses for rear lights and needing to cross reference to car manual that getting correct wires.

Paid a bit more for the vehicle specific electrics this time and would recommend it. Came with everything right length and with correct plugs and sockets to fit to lights and fuse panel so totally foolproof. Hardest bit was routing cables through tight spots in vehicle body, thought would be canny and use bike cable routing magnet but forgot there is a load of steel in a car!

cost of generic bypass relay kits was about £30, vehicle specific was £130 but in my view worth it for ease of fitting.

We have a 30.9 pnw loam and a 27.2 PNW pine dropper and a 31.6 brand x external across our bikes. The 27.2 had slight rotational play when new but hasn’t got noticeably worse. The 30.9 and 31.6 have developed rotational play but not as bad as 27.2 yet. Neither wobble for or aft or are noisy when riding. Neither have had any servicing either in a couple of years use!

I used to have the old 27.2 ks dropper which also developed play over time, on that could replace and grease the pins inside which key the orientation of the shaft to reduce play which might also be an option to tune up the brand x or pnw droppers.

My guess is that fitting everything into a 27.2 diameter post means there are compromises on the wall thickness compared to wider diameter posts and it shows up as extra wear on the key pins so need replacing more often.