We (2A+2C) have just booked a week in Les Coches, La Plagne for Easter. Being right by the Vanoise Express means we can make use of the whole Paradiski area which is massive with great variety. I have never been there and not had a great time.

I will wait until later to look for a last-minute deal for the 2nd week.

I might consider a couple of these things

https://images.app.goo.gl/p5VBCFE3knqYJuQ1A

You could mount it to the bars on the bike, astride the klikfix mount, but orientated nearly fully downwards. Then mount the next one to the first, to drop the lower bar below the barbag.

It might not look pretty, but it will be almost fully hidden, and you can cut down the lengths of the extender bar to a minimal length.

Mine is a state right now! In Switzerland I’d be in jail.

<p style=”text-align: left;”>New tyres, springs and a bulb, then sort the handbrake. Keep it.</p>

Look for a cheap 36 Rhythm. Grip damper, and should be noticeably stiffer than the Z2 or the Rev.

Surely this is what a 3d printer is for? There are probably files available online that you can download and print. You don’t even need a 3d printer! Our local library has one that can be used, I assume for a fee.

Yep. 180mm post mount as standard.

Using a 160mm -> 203mm adapter?

I have been thinking about this. I think in France you will need to have MCF qualified guides leading your group. You will also need to think of a location that has a good mix of lower end graded trails, as the higher end difficulty trails maybe inaccessible for some school aged riders.

I would also think very seriously about hiring bikes on site. This will add considerably to the cost, but will eliminate the considerable transport hassle, and you won’t need to worry about carrying spares for a massive variety of bikes. How many different derailleur hangers would you need? Don’t forget to get the brakes switched.

Not taking your own bikes means that you also don’t have to worry about the storage and security which could be a major pain in the neck for a large number of bikes.

To get started I would consider taking your group away for a long weekend maybe in North Wales. You could ride for a day at Coed-y-Brenin, then do an uplift day at Antur Stiniog, followed by another pedal power today at the Gwydir trails. This would help you do a shake down to establish the range of riding abilities within the group, the organizational challenges that you may face, and give you a baseline for the endurance level of the group as a whole.

A few years ago I took a small group of riding buddies on a two-week road trip through the Alps. We rode up a variety of locations over the course of two weeks including Les Arcs, Tignes, La Thuile, Pila, Valloire, Alpe d’Huez, Deux Alpes, La Grave, Serre Chevallier and Les Orres. I did not factor in any rest days with riding every day, often only for one day at some locations, and over the course of the two weeks everybody was broken at some point. I was the only person who rode every day and partly this was because I knew what was coming and I was able to pace myself.

I have moved to commuting 8 miles each way on a Carrera Crossfuse which has a Bosch Active Line Plus motor. It is excellent and very quiet. I have fitted an Alfine rear hub for ultimate commuter convenience.

Previously I was riding a Pinnacle Arkose A8. I was finding I was increasingly knackered trying to maintain 5 days a week and rushing backwards and forwards juggling work and collecting kids etc.

The Ebike isn’t massively faster. Some slow sections can’t be sped up, slaloming through bollards, passing pedestrians and other path users. It will help on long stretches where your average speed is below 25kmph. If you are knackered you can ease off pushing at 30kmph and let the motor support at 25imph.

Mine is a part car, part bike commute, and I was getting back to the car in a state where I wasn’t in a good state to drive. Ebike is helping avoid that, making the whole approach more sustainable.

Good on you! I would think about somewhere and something like https://www.lesorres.com/en/on-site/summer-activities/sport-and-fun/mountain-biking-school

I am a teacher of 25 years experience and have run all sorts of trips. I have held MTB cycling leader qualifications and Alpine Ski Leader. I have biked since 1990, and travelled widely mtbing. I go riding in the Alps every summer and this summer we had 6 nephews biking together at Puy St Vincent and Risoul. We had a fantastic time but it is not without it’s challenges. Group management is much more challenging on bikes than on ski.

I don’t shy away from a challenge, and simply thinking of the challenges that I can foresee, let alone the ones I haven’t encountered yet makes me take a step back from this one.

Having said that, go for it and blaze a trail.

Don’t underestimate the amount that biking day after day takes it out of people, let alone kids. They get deeply fatigued and then start making mistakes and or moaning. You will need to build in plenty of rest and recovery time.

I got nearly £650 off a £5500 Levo for a tiny scratch. Good luck with Evans though. My gut is that they’ll deny responsibility.

You could do a near invisible repair with some well-matched mail varnish.

I have no specific knowledge except to say give it a go yourself. The seals are likey to be a standard size for the stanchion diameter. Exhaustive web searching will help maybe with oil weights and volumes. Carefully measuring any o-rings will enable you to find replacements – you might need to buy in bulk though!

Good luck!

http://Water of Leith Management Plan 2020-2030 – Edinburgh Council https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/28361/water-of-leith-management-plan-2020-to-2030.

I would contact the organisations mentioned in R18 of this document too, and advise them of the incident.

According the the above definition the first dog was behaving dangerously too (although didn’t cause an accident in itself), and forced the OP into the ambush of the 2nd dog. A canine conspiracy…

If they are decent people they will be mortified and see you right.

In that case the “owners”, or “supervisors” of the dogs are negligent, especially as it is reasonably foreseeable that a cyclist could be using the main path.

Ironically they may have chosen to go on the single-track to avoid cyclists, but once the dogs were out of sight, they were out of mind.

Were the owners in your line of sight? Could they see you? Did they know you approaching? Did you ring a bell?

If they had reasonable advance awareness of your approach, did they take steps to control their dogs? If they did, and the dogs didn’t respond, then the dogs were out of control. If they didn’t attempt to get them under control, then they are negligent.

I ride 16 miles on a multiuser path each day, and incidents like this sadly are a case of when, not if.

Loose dogs and headphone wearers are the worst, along with people caught up having a chat so they don’t hear multiple bell rings.

Whatever you decide OP, good luck. I hope you heal quickly with no long term effects. It looks like the helmet did its job!

I had a 2018 Levo, running tubeless,  and the rims did exactly the same. I was surprised how sharp it was.

For clarity, I never rode with a flat tyre. I was running a 2.8 tyre with no insert, so couldn’t run a crazy low pressure either.

I sanded it smooth with wet and dry. Eventually the axle in the hub snapped.

I Invisiframed my Levo straight out the box. It did not take 4 hours! Probably less than 2. Matt finish.

Mine is not 100% perfect, but I am very happy with it an I was impressed how easy it was. Clean the frame fully. Work methodically, and use plenty of spray.

I’d mine with the bike in a workstand in the garage in May. Inside, during relatively warm weather. Outside in the cold would be more difficult.

We use Chromebooks at our school. Every pupil has one. Parents have consented to pay for repairs, but we haven’t charged for any so far. I have replaced well over 100 screens though.

They actually work incredibly well as a an educational tool in the classroom and for homework.

I ride 8 miles each way on a part car/part bike commute. My bike leg is entirely traffic free.

Cache clothes at work when you take the car. Ironed shirts and trousers in a hanger bag, plus shoes, deodorant and a towel. If I need to I roll shirts and trousers for transport, less creases.

Don’t shower unless you need to, so don’t ride so hard on the way to work.

Hub gears, full mudguards, rack with rack top bag and a quick clip detachable bar bag. A simple and easy to maintain bike is key.

Tools including 15mm spanner for Alfine hub, CO2 plus a small backup pump.

Goretex shoes and extra flap on front mudguard.

I don’t carry hardshell waterproofs. I have only ever had maybe 3 proper soakings in 5 years. One of those is was pissing it down but I HAD to get going. Within 10 seconds I was soaked, within a minute it had stopped, but I had a 34min ride to do absolutely dripping.

Studded tyres as soon as frosts start. My route is not treated.

Decent Lux stvzo front light. I am not on the road but do encounter lots of dog walkers who I thought were closet Nazis until I switched to a less antisocial light.

Get and use a bell. Smile. I say Hello!/Mornin’!/Evenin’! to everyone I pass. Say Thank You where appropriate. I consider myself an ambassador for all cyclists, but most importantly am ambassador for myself, so I am courteous and kind to everyone I encounter. I see a core of about 30-40 of the same people every day, and probably an equal number of randoms.

I have just moved to a Ebike (wow). Some weeks I was just too knackered to ride enjoyable, especially going home.

New bike has a kickstand (double wow). Get one!

Take time to look around you and watch the environment change as the seasons roll round. Appreciate the freedom to feel the sun on your face and the air in your lungs.

@mrhoppy

Is that the one that finishes at the thermal pools?

No. There are a number of trials that head down there, and the are all marked on the Risoul bike park map. The Black graded one is the one I think you mean and is one of my favourite ever trails. You should definitely do it. The Reds are good too. NB. The thermal springs are not that hot. Mid 20s, so don’t feel that warm in summer.

The GTHA trail drops off the top section of the Black to riders left and drops down a hanging pastoral bowl, then steep, craggy woodland to St Clements, a few km down the valley from the hot springs.

@alpin The Morzine comment was intended as a joke, for all the reasons you outlined.

Is the decking at the cafe/shop replaced yet? The proposed timescale on that was ridiculous. I would have thought a suitable team could replace the decking in single digit days, rather than months.

Borrow a Follow me Tandem?

It isn’t fixed. It is badly bodged.

I have a Samsung xcover5 with a replaceable battery. The rear cover is removable yet waterproof. It coped with Canyoning this summer, but the power button did misbehave for a few concerning hours…
The battery cover and battery were totally dry and the wee moisture sensitive patch was fine too.

Sorry, not me.

The GTHA trails are well worth a look. The section through Furfande is superb. The section from Fressnieres to Ponteil, then down to Chanteloube is a cracker too.

DO NOT DO the GTHA section the drops off the Crete de Martinet at Risoul down towards St Clements. It has been heavily logged and subsequently bulldozed. It was absolutely horrible a few weeks ago and will take years to recover.

Navette Runs 4 times a day from Guil Ebike and Intermarche at Guillestre to Risoul. 7€ gets you about 1000m of elevation. 15€ for a ticket for 4 people.

Beyond the chairlift, the Ebike is King!

No, go to Morzine!

The answer is that auto-call forwarding was set up in Android, and somehow it became active yesterday.  I can say for certain that I 100% did not activate it yesterday, but maybe an update caused something to activate?

It isn’t managed by work in any way, and won’t connect automatically even connect to wifi at work.

On the front lock screen of the phone there is a scrolling message that says “If found please call 07XXX XXXXXX”. I set this up to help the phone be returned to me if lost, but I can’t think that is it.

Anyway, on the way home tonight the bluetooth module in the car failed, so I have stripped that out and am sending it off to be repaired…

SIMs on my personal phone are fine. Defo the right phone! Maybe I have been pranked. Anxious about it TBH. Will check with work phone when I get to work tomorrow.

Set up by myself, so no-one else should have control over it.

Both phones are always locked, so although someone could have gained access, I think it is unlikely. They would have needed to know how to get into the phone, and have known my personal number. It is happening over the normal voice calls in the standard Android calls app.

Calendar Estate trails, Falkirk

Thanks for the encouragement! I’m running Continental Ride Tour tyres, and Schwalbe Winters, the ones with only 2 rows of studs.

I totally get the slowing down thing, but the day is book-ended by dropping of at childminder and it always seems to be a mega rush both ways.

I can’t do a Switch due to a bolt through front axle,and can’t fit a Bafang or similar mid drive kit due to the EBB. I have looked…

Thanks. I’ll look. I am a bit nervous about Shimano motors as I know they are not widely serviceable. I’d be looking for a M/L 51/53cm size.

If the wrong charger was used it could be something like an internal fuse that has gone on the BMS. Ironically the battery is probably “safer” in this condition.

If it were me I would try to find out what the fault is. Open it up, connect the correct charger, and see where the power is getting to before it stops.

None of this is really relevant to your situation, bur when we are camping in France I take the following precautions with an ebike and 4 mtbs:

They are kept out of sight inside a trailer. The trailer is locked to a tree (immovable object) with a Sold Secure Gold lock. I have Sold Secure Gold rated chain that is looped around the trailer axle and threaded inside the trailer. The bikes are locked up to the axle chain with an additional 2 chains and associated locks (all Sold Secure Gold rated). I have an another 100+dB wire alarm that is routed through everything, and hangs, with LEDs flashing, inside the trailer.

So far, so good. The total weight, not including the trailer, could well be 20kg. I see fancy bikes locked to a fence with a combination lock, or not even locked. Sadly, I hope thieves are lazy and go for the low hanging fruit. If not, I hope the insurance company will be happy.