The sad truth is this facility would be more accessible, weather-proof on a daily basis and usable all year if it were built down in Glenmore near the Hayfield. The same with the (now abandoned) plan to put a dryslope on Windy Ridge.

Back in the 90s Cairngorm should have relocated the base station to Glenmore and installed a Gondola. Don’t get me started on the Funicular debacle…

It will be a short lived issue. The top 1m of all the berms will be bulldozed ready for winter, as that area is the beginner area, hence the “magic carpets”.

Incredible short-sightedness from HIE, who paid for trails to be built this year, and will need to rebuild them again next year… You couldn’t make it up.

The original hangers seem very weak. One of the fixing bolts passes through the thinnest part of the hangar, further weakening it. We have experienced constant misalignment of the hangar in the year that we’ve owned the bike. The shifting always need sorting and usually the hangar is slightly bent out of alignment.

I bought a couple of the eBay hangers and put one in my lad’s biking bag as a spare. This proved to be a wise decision as at about 2,300 m on alpine hillside the hanger finally snapped. We were able to swap it and get going in about five minutes, which was a relief.

Get the stuff for under boat mattresses. It worked really well.

Define best?

Small?

Waterproof?

Samsung xcover 5. From £120 on eBay. Dual SIM from £140.

Look on Gumtree. I bought a massive Thule box for £100.

If you know what you are looking for you will get the bars and fitting kit too. Patience is the key.

I had a Berlingo that eventually started to smoke white smoke really badly after it had idled for a while. We are talking world war 1 tank levels of smoke. Embarrassing and dangerous.

The garage thought that it was the turbo that was faulty so replaced that. It was not a pleasant feeling to find it was exactly the same after the new turbo.

Further investigations via a compression test found that one of the injectors was leaking fuel into the cylinder. The constant flushing of diesel in the cylinder had caused the cylinder wall to become scored.

I traded it in for 300 quid.

I am aware of someone doing it recently for some Telemark bindings from Norway, but not EU.

My brother has just removed some Totems I think.

I am 172cm or so. I have always thought 29″ wheels would be too big for me. I have a 27.5″ wheeled Mythique and a 2022 Levo, but running 27.5″ front and rear. I have never ridden the Levo with the 29″ front wheel, assuming I’d prefer the 27.5″ wheel shod with a 2.8″ tyre.

It looks like it might have failed at depth. BBC reporting debris field found near Titanic wreck.

Shoes can take a beating. I ripped the plate that the cleat bolts to out of the sole on 2 pairs of Pearl Izumi shoes. Great comfy shoes, just no longevity. We are talking weeks.

Having said that, Shimano shoes are pretty tough. Good luck with the return, but if it has happened once, it will happen again IME. Perhaps trade to something a little tougher?

Somehow I have accidentally subscribed to this topic and I am experiencing notificatageddon…

We have Oak worktops at my wife’s insistence.

I treat them with Tung Oil. I used a mix of White Spirit and pure Tung for the first 5 or 6 coats, then a few coats of pure Tung. Every few months I slap on another couple of coats.

As mentioned above, there are two types of Tannus.

I use the tubeless one on a 35mm rim with a 2.6 tyre. It was initially tricky to fit, but a subsequent tubeless sealing issue meant I got a lot of practice getting the tyre off. I would not want to have to do it on the trail.

My wheel is usually on my ebike, but I put it on my trailbike for week in Spain with Switchbacks, and I ram it on the trailbike for trips (with the kids) to Nevis.

I have never had a puncture, or a wincing impact in that time.

I am not a lightweight individual and I am hard on gear. If something is not up to the task, I will identify it. Tannus gets the thumbs up from me.

I eventually snapped the axle on the original rear wheel of my 2018 Specialized Levo. In the interim I destroyed the ratchet ring and hub shell in a Sun Ringle wheel. E bikes can put down some power and on a pawl based freehub all of that force is transferred though a tiny area. Is it any wonder freehubs fail?

My solution was some DT Swiss with a star-ratchet. All fine so far. I actually think the ratchets with lower number of engagement teeth are likely to be more robust overall.

Yes, the damper and the lower are separate, and I think used different weights of oil. It is Fox Gold 20 for the lowers. 10ml each side.

Cover up. Get a big long hollow tube – used an 8foot hollow plastic coated metal garden “cane”. Put cling film over one end and tape it on securely, but not over the actual end. Pour wasp powder in, then seal up the other end just like the first.

Push the nozzle from the air compressor into one end of the tube. Put the other into the hole in the nest, then blast.

Retreat instantly. Wait 1 hour. Problem solved

I would add, I don’t like killing things and wasps are important, but thenumber of wasps in my garage was a distracting problem.

Thankyou for all the advice. I picked up 2l of ACEA C2 5W30 on the way home from work and bunged in a litre.

The dipstick is a bit crap with just a tiny flared section at the bottom. I’m not sure how much is in, but there is 1l more than yesterday. Fingers crossed until Friday week…

Yes. Daily. Driving me mad

No. The A5/B5 is high SAPS. I think I will make alternative arrangements and pick up a litre of the Fiat 9.55535-S1 standard stuff somewhere on the way home. That will get me to the service. I think the car has reached the age where it may require top ups between services.

EDIT: It does have a DPF. I was just commenting the other day at the garage how it is 10yo and still on the original exhaust and clutch.

I have bled a Shimano brake using WATER after a giftless riding companion popped a piston during a brake pad change halfway down the backside of the Devil’s Staircase. We went on to ride the Ciaran Path and he didn’t die.

Low on oil. I checked the dipstick.

There seem to be a bunch of Apache type helicopters and associate military vehicles temporarily based at Balado Airfield just outside Milnathort recently. Tonight there were a bunch of long-lens types pulled up along the A91 photographing them. Russians?

I think that is the 1st Gen Ariel frame.

It is t27 too, not t25.

Do the photos here help?
https://www.vitalmtb.com/community/downhillagogo,13379/setup,22600

I have an Ariel 14X, but not near me just now. Be careful with the alloy torx bolts. I think some are reverse threaded, though I might be making that up. It might be that you screw them out from the back of the bolt?

We were once so late after bolting down from Edinburgh I swear it was already moving as we drove on – through the side IIRC. The door closed right behind us and it was definitely moving then. Late, but not too late!

I have been using some Giro Ventanas that have been a pleasant fit to my hoof-like feet. I got them in the sale from Giro for £80.

I have and ebike and to ensure motor longevity I avoid sopping wet conditions. It is usually water ingress that kills the motors. I do not wash with a hose, let alone a pressure washer.

I am at a stage in my life where I am more discerning about where and when I ride as unfortunately there are often other things I need to do. Ebikes are amazing but can be stressful too.

Hmm. I can’t see this ending well…

From the very little information available it looks like they will be poorly built and in the wrong place, and at a totally underwhelming scale. The talk of using the conveyor belt to get to the top of the 200m trail makes me want to cry.

Remember when they wanted to build a dryslope at Cairngorm? It couldn’t be used in sub-zero conditions and it’s proposed site was on “Windy Ridge”. Facilities like this are better off in the bottom of the valley closer to the tourist accommodation, not 10 miles up a dead end road.

Is it defo the right hardware for your year of Nomad?

If you can feel movement, then you should be able to work out which interface is loose. Try a couple of wraps of PTFE tape on this interface and see if that takes the slack out.

I always carry a roll of PTFE tape in the toolkit when away on a trip from home as it can help tighten up any looseness in a shot bushing as a temporary measure.

Lol!

You need to work out the source of any play. I would use some PTFE tape stage by stage to identify the source of any movement, and go from there.

If the mounting hardware is compromised, I’d replace it straight way. Check the frame mount for any sign of ovalisation, as this is not good and could become a big problem. There is maybe a chance you could re-drill for 8mm rather than 6mm, if this is the size used, but you don’t want to go there…

I have bunch of metal tags made from 3mm aluminium strip. These have a hole drilled in for a keyring, then a number of holes that corresponds to the number of the chain. Each bike has 3 chains, one (one hole), two, (two holes) and three (three holes). This means I can tell which chain is which. Treated and used chains get stored in labelled recycled take away plastic tubs.

I put the keyring through the eyelets in the ends of the chain, and then lob the chains in the wax. When I take them out I hang them by the keyring from a hook above an old Amazon box which absorbs any drips. When the chain is nearly at room temp, I wipe the exterior plates down to remove any excess wax. When cold, I store in the boxes.

I run them for approx 100km (offroad) before rotating to the next chain.

It is way better than any other lube system I have ever used.

More than enough at Pitmedden. Conditions must be verging on dusty atm. I am heading up tomorrow evening – really looking forward to it.

I use one of these. It is a click-fix type mount that is super robust and easy to use, with no straps or rubbing. A great size too. My light is mounted on the fork crown so out the way.

I have a brand new, unused, GX cassette sitting here, surplus to requirements, if you are interested.

I have a new Fox 36 Rhythm fork with a knock seemingly from the bushings. It feels like a loose headset, axle, disc rotor or front brake caliper, except it isn’t any of them as I have carefully checked them all.

I can feel movement between the stanchion and the back of the fork brace, just above the seal.

I understand that a small amount of play is necessary to allow oil circulation, but this is more than on any of our other current or past forks. One current set are Marz Z1s, which are essentially the same as a 36 Rhythm, and don’t have the same issue.

I have spoken to Silverfish, who think it is unlikely, but have said if I send them in they will have a look. I can’t see how the Grip damper could cause the fore-aft movement.

I am having the same problem with EDF. After being badgered about a smart meter, we finally had one installed and it hasn’t worked for a year. The new gas meter does’nt talk to display or to EDF remotely. I keep getting emails to send in readings. I have refused.
I phone, complain and insist on an Engineer visit. On the day of the visit the Engineer phones to cancel, or just doesn’t turn up. Each time EDF credit my account with £30. The annoying thing is it takes about two weeks, so I can only get £60 credit a month. If the booking system were move efficient and I could get an Engineer to not attend every week, the compensation would be covering my bill…