It’s a good start. Don’t let the negative responses put you off, but don’t think of it as a “if I do this then I can do that…” type thing. It’s about karma.

I think that’s the risk you take unfortunately. I’d like to think the fella didn’t know, but…

Giant Trance X. An excellent bike and good value too.

And I forgot about Switchbacks in Spain. Another fantastic riding holiday.

I ran WTB Dissent DH tyres on Stans Flow rims tubeless. Tough and puncture free.

I’m pretty lucky in that I’ve biked in a number of great places.

Sometimes you don’t need a guide, sometimes it’s good if you have one, and sometimes you definitely need one.

Fruita and Moab won’t require a guide as the guidebooks are good and accessible, although take what they say with a pinch of salt. I expected Porcupine Rim to be desperate after reading the guide, but it’s not. We did a US roadtrip with a bit of online planning and had a fantastic time. Talk to the locals you meet and ask what’s hot and what’s not. Trails change with time, but we’re going back this October. The best approach is fly to Denver, and hire a vehicle and hit the road.

Whistler is fantastic, and although a guide is not essential, as the trails are really well mapped, you’ll get a lot more from the riding with a guide. We’ve been with Bearback twice, and are going again this summer. They are excellent, and tailor the riding to your ability and style. I cannot recommend Bearback enough.

Last summer we did a roadtrip through BC, combined with 5 week ‘house-swap’ in BC. I planned online, and spoke to all the riders I met. We hooked up with people we met on the trails and ended up invited to Vancouver to ride the North Shore. Wow. We also went to Nelson, Golden, Revelstoke, Rossland and a load of other places. We did have the luxury of time, and Canadians are really friendly. One word. GO.

Les Arcs and Verbier are absolutely fantastic if you like steep mountain singletrack. IMO you need a guide to get the best out of it, especially your first time there. Bike Verbier and Trail Addiction were great. I’ll be going back for certain.

Don’t go to Chamonix in July or August – MTBing is outlawed on almost all trails (and all the decent ones). The IGN maps will show all the trails. I’d risk it without a guide and invest in an IGN map. What’s the worst that could happen? But seriously, it’s a waste of time in July/August.

There are loads of places opening up for bikers in the Alps, but where you go and what you do depends on what you want to ride, as different places offer different styles of riding. I’ve had my fill of Morzine/Les Gets as IME many of the trails are over-ridden, and suffer from ‘big-bike fatigue’. If you like M/LG, then the other Alpine places mentioned above will blow your mind…

Have fun.

I’ve seen a couple on the Tay and once watched 4 for hours over a few days in the Outer Hebrides. Magic.

Why fix what’s not broke? They look like a fork that is still increasing in popularity.

Forget the electric thing and go for it with your own fitness. The biggest improvements I made to my fitness weren’t physical to begin with, but mental – believing I could do it. The physical improvements followed, and now, sometimes, on some days, I can beast some people…

TJ – West of Glenfeshie by any chance? Done that too…

I read a Wotan review on Pinkbike that talked about changing the stock oil to overcome the brake dive.

I’d go for a slightly lower in the -ve than in the +ve, and I’d also aim for 20-25% sag for XC.

Make sure both chambers are empty. Set the sag using +ve first, then the -ve.

The actual numbers don’t matter. The proof of the pudding is in the eating…

You’ve got to want to do it. Teaching is about relationships, and it’s about forming positive relationships will all (well, almost all) kids.

You’ve got to like your job, and accept that you’ll have good days and bad days, but as long as you laugh more than you cry you’re OK.

My advice would be to get involved with a school, probably on a voluntary basis – Be ready for CRB checks – and see how you like it.

Schools are chaotic by nature, but an extremely satisfying pace in which to work. Sometimes it’s even FUN! Getting started in teaching isn’t going to be easy, but I reckon that if you like it, it’s one of the best jobs in the world.

Morphic resonance?

I’d add that the guiding from Bearback has been excellent on both occasions that I’ve been.

You might want a full-facer and armour for the park, but you shouldn’t need it for the XC stuff. The riding in Whistler is ace, and we’ve had a fantastic time with Bearback twice – we’re currently planning the third trip.

Read: Voyageur: across the Rocky Mountains in a birchbark canoe by Robert Twigger.
You may reconsider wanting to go.

I use Nevegals (Stick-E front, DTC rear) in the 2.35 flavour. Great tyres.

Easy! Take out your wheels, and pull the levers a couple of times to move the pistons out a bit, but make sure you don’t pop ’em.

Then, witht eh bike the right way up and the levers level, take off the top caps. Now you can simply swap the hoses at the levers.

Once connected, push the pistons on the calipers back in. any air in the hose will only have made it into the first few cm, and will be pushed back into the reserviour.

Re-attach the topcaps and realign the lever, put in the wheels and test ‘n’ ride.

The cause of this is a lack of clean lube oil in the lowers. A pity considering a lower lube change is a 10 minute job.

If you keep them well lubed they should last very well.

Is this not how it was pre-hack? I’d stopped using the classifieds as it was a waste of my time, but if it is like this again, I may start re-using them.

IMO it is a design fault with the way the bushing is constructed, and poor tolerances. In my Vanillas the bushings were mis-aligned from the factory (I could see it with the naked eye) and wear on the stanchion was inevitable. I solved it by, yes, you guessed it, buying Rockshox.

Jesus, read the comments on that YouTube vid. Scary.

Devs, Did you get pished after the hearing by any chance?

I’ve used WTB Innerpeace Cs and the Superstar ones on Giant Internal Fit headsets. Cheap and no issues.

I find DTC and Stick-E Nevegals to be a great all round tyre. I like ACXs, but have had issues with sidewall tears.

Is that not closer to Culra bothy than to Loch Pattack?

I was thinking that a few minutes ago. I’m glad I’m not there. Certainly the wildest weekend of the winter so far.

I used cheapy ones (10 for a tenner) in a Hope XC rear hub, and they lasted a matter of weeks.

My wife fires through a roll a day. It is incredible, and I have issues about the waste and the usage, but she is irreformable.

The last one I got were like that. Kinda paper on one side and shrink-wrapped plastic on the other.

Do a BC roadtrip including Whistler, Revelstoke, Silver Star, Rossland, Nelson and Golden.
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Watch out for making sure that accessories work with it, especially chargers. They need to supply 5v via the USB pins in the connector. The 2g Touch doesn’t support firewire, unlike previous models.

I thik you’re in there. Go for it.