Greg Minnaar didn’t wait. Just taped it to the grip and rode.

I’d probably not suggest doing that though. What did they say in the fracture clinic? There’s quite a few things you can damage on fingers (nerves and tendons) if you don’t let it heal properly. But you’ll be back before the summer starts.

If they invested in ages more DH trails the Cwmcarn would be great again. The original track and it’s variants were great and catered for different skills/balls levels.

The Starling is a great bike, and a lot of time was spent getting it right. If I had enough money I’d consider one, but will probably end up with an Alu Capra. I’ve ridden an Alu and a carbon Capra (with similar fork &a shock) and I think the carbon one just edges it out on how it feels and performed. Not sure why but I was a bit faster and it felt a bit ‘nicer’. But for about £2k I’d get the alu version as it can’t really be beaten for performance or spec.

I think the advantages with carbon are strength, weight or ride characteristics be pending on how it’s been made. It’s easier to make a light strong bike in carbon or a really strong bike. But I believe they can adjust how much flex is in it and where that flex is with carbon.

Judging by the amount of normal bike bottles I see strewn on the side of trails at FO, BPW and Cwmcarn I can only assume that regular bottles and cages aren’t that great at holding water bottles in place over rough ground either

Can you still do half a day? That’s what I’d do, ride the DH in the morning and finish with whichever trail you fancy.

I used to use the uplift before PedalHounds and enjoyed a whole day there.

I ghetto tubeless mine with electrical tape and a split BMX tube. If it worked for Jared Graves then ts good enough for me. Most of my tyres are non tubeless (Maxxis Minion) and my Mavic 521s are not tubeless either.

I run tubeless for puncture protection rather than weight or low pressures (30psi in my Minion) and they stay up pretty well. Only had them burp once and randomly deflate once in 3 years.

Tom KP

The only problem I can see is that they can just shut themselves in the garage and take their time.
Steel isn’t a particularly hard metal so it’s pretty easy to cut/grind through.
The cage will most likely stop casual thieves but pros will be through in 10 minutes. Hardened ground anchors, chains and decent D-Locks (Kryptonite) are what you need. And a loud alarm.

The best protection is caution. Never let anyone know you have a garage full of bikes, always be art when driving home, never leave garage door open fr passerby to see.
And the most important way to protect your bike is to not live in Bristol! (Learnt that lesson the hard way).

Tom KP

It gets busy at the bottom, but even on the main trails you don’t tend to see that many people. The Enduro route isn’t ridden by most people as they tend to stick with Verderers, FreeMiners, family trail or the DH tracks. Even on a BH I’m impressed with how peaceful the trails are.

We might well be up there ourselves if we don’t go walking in Snowdonia or the Lakes.
And the conditions are perfect at the moment (although personally I prefer them slightly damp rather than bone dry).

Tom KP

The reason they get nicked is people leaving them unsecured and unattended in the car park.

I thought the point of Forward Geometry was it was sized the same as other brands as the difference in TT length was balanced out by the proportionally shorter stem?

Capra. It’ll definitely turn up. And they’re really good bikes. The GF has a carbon one and her bro has the Alu one (with likes and 11speed). They’re really good bikes that also happen to be cheap as opposed to a good, cheap bike if you get what I mean. They ride up pretty well and descend really well.

I miss riding in all the trees at Afan. Whenever I’ve been since it’s always blowing a hoolie

Short stem and wide bars work just as well on 26 inch wheeled bikes. I have an Orange Alpine with 780mm bars and a 50mm stem and wouldn’t want anything narrower or shorter. None of my bikes (since my 1996 Diamondback Sorento) have had a stem over 70mm. People were running short stems and wide bars for ages on 26ers before 29 and 27.5 took off.
If you haven’t ordered the bars yet I’d suggest going wider, trying them for a bit and then deciding if you’re going to want to go narrower. Even the GF (at 5’6″) runs 750mm bars happily.

I originally went to a 740mm bar several years ago and after liking it and trying wider again ended up having to buy another set at 780mm.
I had a 100mm Hardtail a little while ago and it was awesome with 780mm bars and a short stem. I’m 5’11” for reference and quite broad at the shoulder.

Tom kp

It was mid September last year. Livigno is open later as is Verbier (but when we went in September last year Verbier didn’t have many trails and was a bit costly).

They’re really reliable. But people were put off by a combination of the huge lever(s) and a flood of cheap Reverbs. There’s loads of information on the modifying shifters to work with them (quite a few Fox sponsored racers have done this) as it looks tidier and works as well. Not sure if any cable levers from other brands work. Also people got hung up on the fact that they don’t have infinite adjustment, personally I only have my Reverb up or down as with a dropped there’s not really the need to having halfway in a compromise.

Tom KP

If it’s the same as the GF’s old Ibiza it’s a slightly odd size. Local tyre company had them from about £50

Just run the tyres you’ve got, reliable grip and cornering when you’re pushing it hard (on trails, DH, XC or anything) is more important than being a bit quicker on climbs in my books. It’ll just make you a bit fitter and save the fact of having to swap tyres all the time.

Tom KP

Didn’t Push (or someone similar) produce a new linkage to improve the Nomad? Something more adjustable such as a Cane Creek, Fox X2 Vivid or a Monarch ( I’m sure one of tuning companies would know the right tune).

I had an RP23 on my Alpine 160 and could never get it right for me, experimented with spacers and Push tuning and eventually went for a CCDB coil as I could fiddle with the settings to get it right for me.

Tom KP

I would have thought a CCDB air would be fine for a heavier chap, think it’s the CCDB inline that’s not so good for us ‘Clydesdale’ riders.

The GF used to have a Leatt, used it a lot when she was riding DH. Originally we got the cheaper less adjustable one, which was ok but never quite right. Upgraded to the newer more adjustable model and she loved it.
I’d go with a Leatt again if it was me as the newer ones are comfy and look better in my opinion.

I’d much rather break a collar bone (which in a healthy adult heals in a matter of months) than my neck having had to deal with patients with broken necks at work. They tend to take a bit longer to get sorted and cause quite a bit of bother to the patient.

Tom KP

Tidworth, UKBikePark and is there anything still at Puddletown woods? Used to love going up there back in the day. They had a great set of DJ trails and all sorts of bomb holes, natural drops and stuff.

I just use a bungee and fix it to the side of the van, usually in the space between the bikes and the side.
Don’t leave them full of water as it still sloshes out and makes everything wet. I now have 2 5L Tesco mineral water bottles with the water in but will probably just carry it in a 5gallon Jerry can when I can be arsed to go back to parents and collect it.

My old T Rev Hi Ace had the engine in front. Having attended a few RTCs involving vans without the engine in front and seeing the damage to the driver I like to have an engine block between me and trouble.

eBay?

My old Toyota Hi Ace Powervan (T reg) is still going strong. I no longer own it but they go on forever. Pretty much the whole of the African continent drives old Toyotas.

Ali at Campbell Coaching runs them (Afan area). Katy Curd runs them out of FOD as well.

My Wife really likes Tony Doyle’s coaching technique at UKBikeSkills in Heryfordshire,

Tom KP

Headset?

25% off Nano X pedals this month.

I meant week

Vivaro/Traffic/Primastar are reliable, parts are cheap and don’t really rust. I’ve got an SWB Vivato and it had a hard life before I got it and still going strong. If I was buying again I’d be looking at a MWB Transit, Master or Sprinter as the extra length and height would be helpful as a higher bed would make it easier to fit the bikes in.

Just remember that if you go bigger they cost more to repair. A Vivaro or smaller Transit are cheaper to get fixed.

Tom KP

Shimano brakes are good and a good price. Although after 2 years being trouble free my XTs are becoming a really PITA and need servicing all the time (our experience with Zees hasn’t been good). But for <£75 Shimano seems to be the go to brake. We’ve got Guides (RSC & R) on two bikes and they seem pretty good but cost more.

Tom KP.

The only difference I’ve noticed has been that the GF’s Capra rolls faster than my 26 bike which has the same tyres. Being 30kg heavier than her used to mean that once Gravity was involved I’d pull away from her (on her Covert) but now her bike definitely rolls quicker. And when I’ve tried other 650b bikes (a Mega and a Capra) I’ve not noticed any differences in handling but I have been quicker over rough stuff.
Still sticking with 26 for now as can’t justify changing bikes until mine needs replacing. But when I do it will probably be a 650b bike (Bird or Capra seem most likely due to pricing).

Stick with 20 inch wheels, hey take a while to get used to but it’s worth it.

The HR2s will probably be fine. Sure they’ll be a bit heavier but you probably won’t notice it after a ride or two. I guess it depends if weight takes priority over grip, reliability and predictability. I’ve found NobbNics are a bit crap and delicate.

People don’t sit on BMXs as much as MTBs. I’ve ridden some pretty knackered/damaged/bent BMXs over the years and as said above steel is pretty forgiving compared to the soft cheese alloy that MTBs are made from.
It’ll be fine.

I’ve got a Mobiwasher. It’s been going strong now for about 7 years of abuse. The battery is still good. They’re really hard to get replacement parts for (I accidentally crushed my mains adaptor and am now using a NetGear modem lead to charge it. The Aqua2Go ones are pretty much the same thing.

Well worth the investment as I find the people I ride with are more inclined to clean bikes before they get into the warm and dry van.

Tom Kl

Troy Lee do a lightweight vest, as do 661 and Bliss. I think most companies offer one nowadays

Fox sell one

I find skull caps to hot for my hairless bonce. Something like a WindStopper head band and ear warmer suits be better for road riding.

Yes I would get my job if I applied again. Although it might F up my pension to start again

Reach for the Sky with Cam Zink and The miserable Champion are both similar to Won’t Back Down. 3 Minute Gaps and The Tipping Point are also good movies.

Front or rear wheel?
Footage of you riding it off-road or it didn’t happen. And proper off-road where you’d actually ride a 275+ bike, not just a dull fire road otherwise what’s the point?
Well done for experimenting and trying stuff out. I’m sure you’re confident in how it works otherwise you’d not have done it.

Tom KP

Ps – don’t let the naysayers put you off.