Regularly ride with a good friend who has just turned 60. Retired now he often rides the welsh trail centers and came to BPW with us a few weeks ago, rides 60+ mile sportives several times a year. He is 20 years my senior, fitter than me, faster than me on the climbs, but takes it a bit easier on the downs these days, which gives me a chance to catch up!

For me, and despite what most other people seem to think the spoon is the worlds most uncomfortable saddle!

SDG falcon is where it’s at!

Presume these would be ok?
“M4” in the dropdown box.

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=28&osCsid=uv7a1icbpl9m4s9fusmgs83av6

Rode it with a few mates a month or so back and in general have to agree with cap’n flash. We lost track of the times we joked about when we were going to get a break from the relentless climbing and actually get to enjoy some downhill. There was one good section after windy point, you crossed a wasteland of tree stumps and then back into the woods, it was a good technical section with a steep rock-lined gulley towards the end. I would also agree that the final descent is very good, it’s very different to the other trails and a bit more challenging. That said we’re going back in a few weeks time but won’t be returning to blade.

i NOW know she’s not a great drinker of alcohol and is always the sensible soberish one when out with her mates completely pulled the wool over my eyes about her drinking ability

FTFY!

Thanks DezB, excellent work. That is far more accurate than I was expecting!! 🙂

Anyone any good with photoshop? Im intrigued to see if, as I suspect, it looks like a jacked up saab 9-5 estate?
Cover up the bottom half of the picture with your hand using the line that runs across the doors just below the windows as a guide!

No? Just me then?!!

Dont have an answer for you but might be worth stating the wheel size.

What does her contract state in relation to maternity leave and bonus payments?

Orange Clockwork (Audi optional).

Right…..let me see:

Live in Surrey? – Check
Drive Audi? – Check
Ride Surrey Hills? – Check
Own Orange? – Check
Ride a 29er? – Check
Give a cr4p about STW stereotypes or what anyone else thinks? – err no!!
Love riding my bike? – hell yes! 😀

A friend has offered me some muc off brake cleaner / degreaser stuff.
Is it any good or it is still best to go through the cleaning options listed above?

I’m sure this has been covered before, but aside from the rotors, what’s the easiest way to clean up the pads, or is there a point where they are beyond saving?

The tight downhill hairpins after the wide-open-logged section (Beacon view?) are a bit bizarre, massively boggy and too tight to ride at any speed, seems a waste of descent and just an odd choice of trail build

I agree to an extent,(pretty hard to get round on an XL 29er!) but there was only a few of them, then it opens out into longer faster rocky section as you traverse the contours back towards the cafe. To be honest I like the fact they’ve made something different to the other descents (Wall / Whites).

What’s best way to start of Blade?

From where? Just follow the signs.

Rode Blade a couple of weeks ago and while there are a couple of good bits on the way round it really is all about the final descent, long, bit more techy than the other Afan descents, rocky and loose in places, lots of little rock step downs etc. Having ridden all the way round blade (it’s a fair bit of pedalling) I wouldnt miss it out.

If you have this months MBR there are some good pics of Blade.

Stayed here a couple of times. Trails are only a short ride from the door, Friendly, helpful hosts, bike store and have a hose pipe! Plus pub down the road! Definitely recommended.

http://www.willow-end.com

tricky dicky

Warns,
I like that too, is it a recent build that you did?
Is it 1 x 10 or 2 x 10?
I’m running a single and not sure I’m feeling it yet!
Richard

Hi Richard, yes finished it a little over a month a go, taken me a long time to get all the bits together but finally there. I’ve only ridden it a few times but christened it with a trip to BPW then rode Blade at Afan, and was really impressed. Fastastic on the technical climbs and almost felt like cheating on the downs!

Running 2 x 10 (24/38 cranks with 36-11 cassette) and very happy with that.

Ant

tricky dicky – You are clearly a man with impeccable taste!

Got a grey bamboo tee, great fit, looks good and seems to wick well enough. They are very thin, so probably summer use only, ive tended to wear mine over another LS base layer. Will probably get another for the summer.

Bought a stumpy fsr frame from Bikescene, no rear axle (142 not +), gave them a call, very helpful and sent me one for free. Have you called them and asked?

warns74: Can’t tell what it is…got a link and/or a make/model?

It’s aptly called a “tinybike”, theres a few places that sell them, (amazon, ebay shop) typically about £45-50. Plus points are it’s relatively light and the wider wheels help with balance when they first start out.

Appreciate you are looking for a wooden one, but we got one of these for our daughter and she has been pushing herself along on it since she was 18 months. Shes 2 now and still using it a lot.

6 3/4″ is the new 29!

In case there is any doubt, it’s the blue one! 😛

it is the beginning of the end for the 29er

Think you might have the 9 upsidedown!!

I think youre on the right lines with your calculation but it might be worth emailing the Spesh UK helpdesk to check, that way if something does happen you at least have proof. They are really helpful and will let you know exactly what the warranty limitations are on your particular frame.

I did this when I was building up a stumpy fsr 29er and this was the response:

You can run 140mm forks on your bike with no real issues. 150mm it’s the max you can run on that frame without voiding the frame warranty but you may find the handling isn’t as good. Depending on the frame 10-20mm is the max, which is why you do get the 10/20% on the website (Evo’s for example already have a 10mm longer travel fork so only can take another 10mm max).

Just fitted a praxis to my stumpjumper after all the positive feedback on here, although yet to ride/test it.

Hope now have an option too.

What about horse riding at night?

It’s easy enough to attach a solarstorm X2 to its head but you just try finding somewhere to velcro the battery pack to……risky….very risky!

Thanks again, just spoke to them and very helpful.

Thanks for the feedback chaps, sounds like its well worth a go.

Not sure if you or maybe the OP will know the answer to this (im finding it a bit of minefield) but have a 2012 stumpy FSR (carbon comp model) with a PF30 BB, so am assuming this will need the 73mm version from Praxis?

Really interested in this thread as have been looking at the Praxis option for PF30 to HT2 for my stumpy fsr.

Reports Ive seen so far seem to be positive, is it too soon for anyone to have any feedback on the “hope” option?

HobNob and Tricky Dicky – are you happy with the praxis one? Any issues to be aware of?

6’4″ also and XL stumpy fsr 29er.
In the flesh it is enormous but doesn’t feel like it when you’re on it.

Previously rode XL enduro SL (26″)

Another vote for the Butcher here.

Winter – Beaver 2.25
Intermediate – spesh purgatory control 2.3 / butcher control 2.3
Dry – Ardents 2.25

Mix these up between 29er HT and FS and happy with all of them.

househusband – Member
Nice one warns74! I guess Microsoft must have struck a deal with Ordnance Survey… just a shame you can’t print OS maps using it!

Well, technically speaking multimap.com did the deal with Ordnance Survey and were then acquired by Microsoft and the maps absorbed into their Virtual Earth product which was then rebranded “Bing”!

If you were so inclined, it is possible to view your route on bing maps at “full screen”, screen grab it or use the windows “snipping tool” to copy the selected area, drop it into MS Word and err, maybe print it off at A3……..ahem, purely hypothetically speaking of course and I certainly don’t condone that sort of thing!!

No probs 🙂

Bought a pipe cutter and small set of files from ebay for less than £9 and they do the job perfectly with nice even cut. Chopped down 2 sets of bars and both worked really well.

Yes. Very easy, in fact just this minute done it for my ride tomorrow (im old skool)

1) Export the GPX from Strava
2) Use Bing maps (www.bing.com/maps)
3) Select the “my places” option to the top left of the map window
4) Upload/import your GPX and select it when it appears in the little box (map should re-center on your route)
5) Above the map window where it defaults to “Road” map type, select the “Ordnance Survey Maps” option from the drop down. Gives you both 50k and 25k options depending on zoom level.

Cant comment on the conditions at the moment but the trees are either green with a thick brown bit sticking out the bottom or just all brown.

Race Face Ambush