I got so fed up of Garmin, the poor interface and useless Garmin Connect I bought a TomTom Multi-Sport GPS watch; brilliant. Very simple, seems very accurate even in dense woods, is slim on the wrist and uploads to a very easy-to-use TomTom software that you can link to Strava. Within 30 seconds of connecting to my MacBook all my latest rides have appeared on Strava!!

Bye bye Garmin

Perhaps back to the good old Endura MT500s then!

Cool, thanks folks. Now to try and find some L/XLs..!

Emailed Howies; they are not getting any more for a while. Rubbish. Good reviews, obviously sold well, don’t re-stock! :-/

http://www.dirtschool.co.uk/digital/%5B/url%5D

Cool, thanks folks. Now to try and find some L/XLs..!

Might try a S/M and always send them back but they are meant to be good..

Yes, a game changer! With a bit of chamois cream it makes long days far more comfortable. I recommend Endura MT500s or Primal but want to try the Howies ones too. I get 3/4 ones so that kneepads go over the top and it reduces any rubbing and you don’t get that bare skin bit between the bottom of the shorts and the top of the kneepads! :-)

Been blown away by the quality, robustness, stiffness, hubs and build of the Superstar Carbon AM wheels for such a brilliant price. Survived the Scottish Enduro Series and Tweedlove EWS without a single issue and still straight as a dime.

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/am-carbon-wheelset.htm

Sweet Protection Bearsuit Lights – simply brilliant.
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/19827/sweet-bearsuit-light-knee-pads

I know many folk that did not bother racing the Sunday and went elsewhere so something must have been amiss… I actually enjoyed race day as something a bit different and not just hanging on for grim death down steep stuff – as part of a series I think it fits to have a more ‘endur’ance event BUT, it still needs to reflect value for money. With an average spend of guessing on my costs £140, to ride a lap of a trail centre I was a bit underwhelmed. I also agree with taping as I ended up having to walk back up the hill having followed what was a natural line on the steep but the tape had already been blown through.

It is really difficult to run events – give it a go if you feel you could run an SES – and a lot of work had been put in by the folks. As long as the lessons learnt are carried forward then the series can only continue to grow. Purely negative, and sometimes personal, slating will rapidly kill enthusiasm and we would be left with no SES and that would be rubbish.

Dashed; Leisure Lakes or Stif in the UK should have stock.

I have a set of them rhid and I think they are a ‘normal’ fit – normally a medium and these fit perfectly. I would err on the side of tight. If you can afford to, buy both and send the worst ones back :-)

Best kneepads I have ever had.

Thebikelodge in Innerleithen run by a great guy called Nic

Had POCs, now a complete convert to the Sweet Protection Bearsuit Lites – they are super comfy, no rubbing and have the same ‘harden-on-impact’ technology as the POC. Go for the smaller size, they should be reasonably close fitting.

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/19827/sweet-bearsuit-light-knee-pads

Sweet Protection Bearsuit Lites are brilliant; rode the whole EWS with then and forgot I had them on!

Evo is snakeskin apparently: “Tubeless Easy SnakeSkin technology –
This is the new standard for Schwalbe’s Evo tyres”

Get prepared for arm pump…. LONG stages are potentially in store!
http://enduro-mtb.com/en/exclusive-ews-round-3-tweed-valley-local-knowledge/%5B/url%5D

I know they are shifting sites: OS Maps

Well, John Lewis have impressed – having to use their Specialist Insurance due to value but the customer service has been spot on, the policy seems excellent, covers anywhere in the world and no stupid small print re ‘locks must be this, that & the other’. It all depends on how much you want to pay to protect your pride and joy I guess, you can get house insurance much cheaper but perhaps with not the peace of mind they will ever pay out if needed – it’s a basic form of gambling! :-)

Anything over £5k they put you to their ‘specialist’ insurance dept apparently. Thats good on the lock situation. I always take a photo if leaving my bike locked to anything too.

Bike insurance specific websites seem ridiculous (yes it’s a valuable bike but even so!)…

Cycleguard quote – £421/year
Evans Cycles bike insurance – £538/year
Insure4Sport – £368/year

Snowcard.

Every day is a school day WackoAK – http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/SOAC/Outdoor%20Events%20in%20Scotland.pdf

If you ‘tag on’ you will NOT be insured by the event. Maps are released on the day only as a lot of the route will go over private land for which Andy at Ridelines has worked tirelessly to gain permissions for. Farmers and landowners have been awesome to allow this to happen, as such numbers are limited for safety and trail protection. It will be noticed if you don’t have a number board attached to your bike..!

Tom, Tweed Valley Bike Patrol.

There is millions…, and it’s mint. Get a guide for a day to discover the best without time wasting :-)

Check out Tweed Valley Bike Patrol’s update on Facebook folks, lots of snow but all rideable apparently.

No matter what one thought of the tracks at the weekend, the mountain bike community should be hugely grateful to Rich and Hels (and all at IMTBR) for what they have done for racing in the Tweed Valley.

My first introduction to racing at Inners was an IMBTR day/night enduro several years ago. Since then I have moved to the Valley because of the quality of riding around and the great, relaxed vibe that surrounds riding in the Tweed Valley.

I for one cannot thank them enough, and the help Hels has given me along the way when it came to running the marshalling the EWS last year was invaluable. I hope that their ‘retirement’ allows them to enjoy riding their bikes more :D

Three cheers for Rich, Hels and IMTBR :lol:

I run a narrow/wide with a SRAM Type 2 mech (can’t forget to turn the clutch on with them v shimano!) and a Bionicon CGuide – never dropped the chain yet in 9 months of riding Innerleithen DH/enduro trails, Alps and general trail riding. And it’s SO quiet it’s bliss!

Free app called ‘Stay Safe’ works; set a countdown going, sends an email to the nominated contact, activates an alert if not cancelled before countdown finishes.

I run a Hans Dampf front and High Roller LUST on the rear on Arch EX rims – brilliant.

Cheers, kind of what I thought :D

I have had a KS950i and a Reverb – Reverb all the way!

Without a doubt!

Thanks IA, as I thought. Guess it will be the upgrade……, which should be after a beasting at Tweedlove!

Never, best add on buy ever.