torihada hope this ends well and your mate gets his bike back. you mentioned the advert being in orpington, is this near where your mate lives or has it been stolen and moved on?

we’re local

As mentioned further up the thread, its in all likelihood my mates bike. He has the details and is going to contact his insurance company and the police. If there’s any further outcome I’ll post here, otherwise I’d leave it there.

The guy in the yellow helmet ran off the trail due to steamed up goggles. I made the classic mistake of watching his rear wheel & followed him straight off the trail.

thanks to all. Details passed onto mate (who thinks its his). We shall see what happens…..

robhughes – Member
There’s also a phone number for it on gumtree.Hope he gets nicked.
POSTED 20 HOURS AGO #

What’s the number: can’t find it on gumtree. Want to pass the number on as it looks like it’s my friends bike.

thegreatape – Member
I take them with me into the shower and scrub it all off with the nail brush. Depending on your circumstances, spousal disapproval may follow.

Followed by a call to dyna-rod.

What ever you do, don’t stick em on a direct heat source to dry. Mates winter cycle boots delaminated after cooking on the radiator.

Braised Red Cabbage

redmeat – Member

Interesting about the frame size though. I know small and medium would both ‘work’, but which one is best I don’t know.

I’m 174/175cm tall (5,9) and 76kgs. I was thinking a small.

I’m 5’9″ 80 kg riding a small Bfe with Lyrick u-turn coils. Run them around 140mm most of the time. Got a 50mm stem, 720 bars and a reverb dropper post. I’m converting some 140mm Talas 32 forks to Floats and I’m going to try running it at 140mm. I expect it will feel flexy up front but happy for the trade off.

Riding a small Bfe is great in the tight & twisty stuff & pointing it DH but on techy climbs and more XC riding it will suck the life out of you.

grum – Member
I wasn’t really advocating another debate – just thought it was an interesting article.

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

Sorry, came off a bit harsh: I remembered all the old arguments and rants and…..blah blah blah

Blah blah blah. Save yourself some time and read the old helmet threads.

DezB – Member

Yeah, that’s just what we need – more USA culture making it’s way over here.Next we’ll be having a bloody Thanksgiving day. SOD OFF!

Its this sort of attitude that makes me proud to be British. Cynical, suspicious of good cheer and miserable. Long live us! (this is not an ironic comment, I mean it 100% wholeheartedly!)

LOGIC/COPPER does not compute and his response is to ask if I ‘really want that £50 fine’.

Yes be careful: going round Waterloo Bridge roundabout a police 4 x 4 pulled out in front of me (summer & daylight). I braked & veered round the front of the vehicle. Indicated to the driver he should watch where he’s going. Off go the blues & twos & I get pulled over: they argue they were fully aware of my presence on the roundabout . I argue if I hadn’t braked I’d have t-boned the 4 x 4. I then realise I’m arguing with 2 coppers, saying they were driving without due care and attention. I apologise, say it wasn’t their fault etc etc.

Drivers parting shot: ” get some better brakes!”

I’m 5’7 and after buying a small 16inch Bfe frame I’m now selling it as I much prefer my longer 16inch 456 ss, even if it is heresy in STW, world.

I’m 5’9″ & riding a small BFE. Thought I’d try something small compared to my trail & DH bikes. It’s a pig to climb & I’ve snapped a reverb lever with my baggys (lever under the bars). I was thinking why I had the bike this Sunday, but on some really tight & twisty ST I found myself really chucking the bike around and getting round some stuff quicker & tighter than I thought I’d be able to. I think with the Bfe you’ve really got to work it hard to feel the benefits.

TA in Eagles nest 2 yrs on trot , 15 & 17 riders over the 2 yrs. eagles nest was great, food excellent ( but dependent on your chalet hosts). 1st year we had Ash leading our group. Excellent trails, & some punishing descents. 2nd yr guides not quite as good: best ones had been used for destination X.

Yr after we went Whistler & then Chatel this summer. Whistler ruined us; the bike parks in PDS come a very poor 2nd and our guide didn’t cut the mustard compared to TA. Also natural trails in Les Arcs/La Plagne much better. Next time we go to Alps it won’t be PDS, more likely destination X, Les Arc, 2Alpes.

freeagent – Member

I’m in Farnborough Village, which is just outside Bromley. Loads of good riding round here and further out toward Sevenoaks.

I know a couple of mtbers in & around Farnborough village; we all met through Big Foot.

There’s some great riding on the North Downs; until I got into mountain biking I dismissed all geography south of the Pennines as being flat’n’boring.

I’ve snapped 2 reverb levers run upside down. One was on my short HT (small cockpit) & one on my orange 5. Both times caught lever on baggy shorts when riding rather energetically. Levers now live on top.

Thanks; got the Torridon & Skye trail from there so far, also a couple from MBR.

I was there last week, in the rain: Bedgebury

Holding up remarkably well considering the geography. Trail builders have helped with the draining issues, but it’s a work in progress.

First visit in over the year: took the family. All agreed its much improved: kids were ‘whooping’ over some of the newly built features. Favourite section was last piece of ST to the car park. Nicely placed rock slabs between the trees. The yellow clay fire road sections are Somme-like, but a fun challenge pedalling through that much mud.

So thumbs up to the on going work in difficult geography. I think £8:50 is fine* for 2 hrs muddy fun.

(* I ride Hamsterley in Co. Durham, occasionally. It’s £3:50 to park for a great red & good black trails, plus some blues and a skills loop. I see MTBers parking just outside in the lanes to avoid the charges. They’re happy for paying MTBers to subsidise their use of the built trails.)

waller – Member

I got mine from mojo. think they are out of stock when I looked last night of the 140mm conversion kit. I checked as I thought I had bought the wrong one.

I have an aluminium cup in the kit and I was looking for instructions to check where it went. Couldn’t find anything so will assume it goes at the bottom of the fork in-between the bumper stop and the plastic bit at the bottom of the spring.

Be good to hear how you got on; I’ve sourced the conversion kit from activesport plus the maintenance & seal kit. I assume you just pressed the seals in without using a special seal driver tool?

Waller: Where did you get your conversion kit from?

I ran my reverb lever under the bars on 2 bikes. I don’t anymore after I snapped off the levers twice : the lever got caught in my baggy shorts on aggressive climbs.

This summer in Chatel it was ok pedaling on the flat: on an incline it was do-able, even in pressure suit, FF & Leatt, but it’s a real grind. I run 180mm single crown up front & 180 rear. It’s slack & heavy, even with a ti-spring. To pedal it you’ll really need a long seat tube: the Swiss lift guys bust my reverb and I had to use the post that came with the bike, pedaling was grim. It’s all worth it for the DH stuff, then it comes alive.

Pedaling the voltage uphill is hard with a capital H. I run it with a reverb when it’s not being uplifted which makes it acceptable.

Sound sense above: always be polite, a cheery hello goes a long way. A while back, friends on a night ride that passed through a nature reserve, came across the elderly warden trapped under a fallen tree. They helped her, located the ambulance and got her to safety: she told them she’d never complain about the cyclists in the woods again.

All RLJers are ****.

I’ve been on the receiving end of a RLJer: I was on green & cyclist jumping a red t-boned me. Result cost me a new front wheel. I didn’t call them an idiot, that was wayyyyy too polite.

I see numerous jumpers, thru lights & burning pedestrian on zebras (who also shout choice words at disappearing idiots). I’d like to see plod stationed on some busy intersection doling out £30 on the spot fines by the bucket load. Call it an idiot tax.

I bought a kona 120 supreme 13 inch frame for my 12 yr old. Transferred all the kit off his 24 inch kona HT and added some old marzocchi 100 mm forks. All very sweet. It was perfect for Pyrenees this summer. Short cranks will really help. You’ll find some cheap 24 inch wheels on eBay. As he grows I’ll stick 26 inch wheels on. After that he’ll be after my bike.

Sunny Catford to W1. 9 miles each way on a rigid HT with slicks. I feel much better for cycling in, even with daily near-death experiences.

The London Cycle Commuting manifesto:

No drafting, unless the person you’re drafting is a jumper (rides the red lights) then they’re open season.

By all means race fellow commuters, but never acknowledge the fact with each other and try to hide the fact you’re blowing like a steam kettle. Don’t make conversation with fellow riders at the lights, that’s like talking to strangers on the tube: you’ll get sectioned.

Only insult a driver who’s cut you up, when he’s stuck in stationary traffic and you can make a safe getaway (trouble is he/she may take revenge on a subsequent rider).

Use a bell for the benefit of pedestrians who blindly step off pavements. They wont appreciate your warning; expect well dressed business types to tell you to **** off.

Don’t p*ss off Black Taxi-cab drivers; they will hunt you down and drive over you on Waterloo Bridge, after barraging you with a long monologue of cockney insults.

Don’t get p*ssed off with the hipster fixie couriers, they’re on a measly wage risking their necks; just enjoy the spectacle of said rider trying to suddenly stop, unclipping and sliding down the top tube until the headset acts as a buffer around their testicles (I didn’t laugh, it looked wayyyyy too painful).

Ahh cycling in London; the congestion, the pollution, the road rage, the looming HGV death. Still less stressful than commuting via the train/bus/tube.

Here’s a comp. of our crashes over a couple of years

I’ve got a 4S. Since upgrading my phones battery has proved to be drastically reduced; I’m only getting 3/4 day if I’m lucky. This is since upgrading to 7. I’ve switched off all the battery draining apps, refreshes etc.

Damn! I thought this was a thread about a Japanese bike park. Its all a bit secret squirrel in Japan and I thought, finally, some easy access DH mtb in Nihon.????

althepal – Member

Some sort of copyright issue means I cant watch it apparently.. bah!
As I put music on the soundtrack (acknowledged 3rd part content) it’s not available on mobile platforms. 🙁

wl – Member

What did you do after Sticks descent? Up Grizedale and Dollywagon then down Wythburn, or down the other side of Sticks?

Sticks Pass was the last descent of the day. Our route for the day was:

Start Glenridding – Grisedale (parallel to Grisedale Beck) up to Dollywagon Pike – Helvellyn.

Helvellyn – Great Dodd – Bruts Moss – Groove Beck to pick up Old Coach Road, West to Thirlmere.

On tarmac after Old Coach Road to Legburthwaite – Stanah – push/carry to top of Sticks Pass (brutal climb – 1hr+ with the bike on your back)

Sticks Pass descent to Glenridding.

I know, at times it looks like we’re mincing down a gravel drive.

I’ve never really got on with my 32 Talas 140mm. I’ve found I never drop the fork to 110 mm (mainly because the bike – orange 5 – feels like a plough at 110mm). I blew the seals a year ago ( ragged in the Alps) and this weekend after some heavy riding in Lakes & 7 Stanes they’ve locked up: no low speed compression. I’ll get them serviced and stick them on my HT and replace them with a set of 150mm Pikes. ( fox would advise more frequent servicing). Mate I ride with had taken his Talas off the bike that weekend because they’d packed up: he’s flogging his.

Mounted mine on the side: you’ll need a couple of different brackets to shift the orientation. On an XC lid you’ll need the vented strap. Trouble with on the side position is its quite a weight and has a tendency to pull helmet down. It’s not stealth, you’ll look just as ridiculous as if it’s on top. I used to run a vio HD bullet cam and it was easier to helmet mount but the go-pro has the chest mount which is why I swapped.

Used one first time on an orange 5 in lakes & 7 stanes last weekend. Delayed wet arse, kept a lot of muck off & I didn’t really notice it. Worth a punt considering what it costs.

I landed on my head on a rock from about 10ft after going OTB off a ladder drop in the Alps this summer.
Cuts and bruises and a wrecked helmet, but I’m not eating through a straw now.
Not going to repeat the experience without a helmet to see what happens, whatever the internet arguers say.

^ Wot he said

I think a lot of the the creationists (the helmet nay-sayers) on here, are the result of not wearing helmets, and their rantings are the consequence of blunt head traumas?

Cheers for the info. I’ll have a look at go-where & drop them a line.

I’m using Adobe Premiere Elements 11 on an iMac for GoPro footage. Its more capable than iMovie but still easy enough for us amateurs to use. I bought it as a bundle with Adobe Photoshop Elements for about £90

nice one MP. Am jealous, especially as we’ve put the stops on next years return to BearBack. Drop in Clinic still looking as good as ever, the weather at Top of The World looked pleasant and the nachos as fattening as ever.