Matthew62

a ken eh.

Not at all, just a low tolerance for BS. No it's just a wonderfully happy coincidence.

You expel these ridiculous thoughts time and time again as if they're gospel when they're woefully outdated and based on your own lack of knowledge. I know full well what an opinion is and how one will differ from another but your contribution is misleading and far form accurate. I appreciate there are many riders out there who favour hard tails over full-sussers for trail riding but for reasons that are far from what you are talking about. I ride mountains bikes multiple times a week, I ride trials very regularly and I commute by bike every single day so I spend plenty of time on all sorts of bikes and ride with people from very different backgrounds and disciplines so I have a well rounded opinion of why people chose the bikes they do and for what purpose. Every trail ride I've been on in the last 2 years the people I ride with ride full suspension bikes. Some of them have hardtails also, some (like myself) are looking at adding a hardtail for riding these same trails. This is often based on conditions...when it's either covered in snow or ridiculously muddy, that is a good time for riding a hard tail. It's not a case of these people have full suspension bikes to take the impact out of drops....that's f**king stupid. Every trail I ride can (within reason) be ridden on a hardtail or full-susser but there is such a thing as the right tool for the job. Why for the sake of minimalism as you put it would you ride a bike that'll incur more abuse, have a less enjoyable ride and cause you to ride slower? I ride a 130mm travel bike which by todays standards is considered pretty small in terms of travel and for a lot of trails it feels spot on, on some of the DH tracks and bigger enduro tracks it feels ever so slightly lacking. It's nothing to do with drops and hucking off stuff, it's to do with the repeated hits and roughness of the trail when trying to fly down a steep hill thats entirely paved with big rocks. If I took a hardtail down that I'd be battered, the bike would have less traction and i'd inevitably ride slower. Good full-sus bikes are a credit to have the industry has evolved and have allowed for more advanced trials to be conquered whilst still being able to ride to the top....to write that all off based on your experience on from what I can tell is only street riding is clearly ignorant. I've only ridden a minimal amount of TGS compared to street trials so I wouldn't think of telling people that long, low bikes are stupid and uneccessery despite the fact I don't really get the enjoyment behind them? I see what's being done on them, can appreciate the mechanics behind it and have seen how riding has evolved so wouldn't spout forth about how people are carrying around kilos of wheelbase and not using them for purpose.....or however you'd put it.

Do you ever stop to think for a single minute? The amount of shit you spout forth is incredible... you clearly know sweet f**k all about MTBing so please keep your narrow-minded inadequate opinions to yourself, they are painfully ignorant. By all means say that you prefer a hardtail over a full-sus bike but to write them off so swiftly with no justification is moronic. First up...kilos of travel? You don't measure travel in weight. Not using travel for it's intended purpose? So what is its intended purpose and how are people using it incorrectly? Soften impacts....are you stupid? That's not what full suspensions bikes are about. You mention doing something with minimal equipment like that is the enlightened path...what do you even mean by that? A fully rigid, single-speed, brakeless bike could be viewed as the most minimal approach and for a limited amount of riding it'd probably be fit for purpose. Personally for when I'm riding rocky enduro trials and downhill runs on national courses that wouldn't be my optimal choice. Wouldn't have thought so. Who's doing well in trials? Koxx? Rockman? Onza? I hope it doesn't but I think it could just do unfortunately. Outside of trials no one rides 24" anymore (pretty much). 650B isn't for big people in the slightest and nor does 29" have to be. It's not about making bikes bigger, it's about rolling resistance, grip and how a bike makes its way over rough terrain as has been mentioned before....not hugely important for trials riders. Tyres in 26" will begin to dry up so it'll be up to trials manufacturers to bring out suitable tyres. DH is holding on to 26" so there'll be dual ply tyres for a good while but that is also beginning to move to 27.5" so it's one to keep an eye on.

You'll want it up and running before Jan/Feb - that's the best time for a hardtail round these parts. What forks did you go for?

I think 26" will disappear from MTB in the next 2 years or so (but hopefully not), if this does happen then I could see 27.5" trials bikes, however....why? The reasons for going 27.5" or 29" in MTB are to do with rolling resistance, taming trail features, making going uphills a bit easier and to a lesser extent...grip. It's this that is of the only benefit to trials but how much is negligible so I can't really see a reason for it. Frames and forks would definitely become more flexy as a result (as it does with MTB) and weight would go up so if it does ever happen I imagine it'll be a long way off.

You'll no doubt re-write it all before then, it's the nature of dissertations. At this point of the year in my final year I was writing my initial title which I changed just before Christmas and then rewrote that a few times afterwards. It got written mainly in the last couple of months before it was due.

I assume he's talking about building the wheels for the production bikes.

Cut the elasticated straps off and use velcro ones to mount it much further forward on your helmet. You'll want it just about where you peaks stops. It's a big ol' can that thing, I imagine you know it's on there.

It is gloss black and it came out the oven today so should have it soon. Got black graphic for it as well - can't beat black on black.

When I saw the title of this topic I hoped it would feature this song. I see no reason for it personally but your despondency is echoed through your choice of music so it makes really fitting. That aside...the riding was awesome and the video had a really nice feel.

I use one for commuting and they're okay. I used to use mine as my MTB night ride light but I wouldn't this winter as I want something more reliable and trustworthy. For the money they're good, they're very bright but the beam pattern isn't brilliant (it's not very wide, it's hot at the centre and doesn't disperse all that well). Also I wouldn't trust the indicator light at the back to let you know when to charge. If you use them on the lower setting you should get a decent time out of them but the little light on the back will stay green right until they just loose all power. They should indicate a red light that lets you know you've not got long but mine stopped doing this after a short while so has f**ked me over on the odd ride home. You pay your moneys you take your chances..... maybe keep your cateye on the bar as a backup (i'm thinking of doing the same thing).

Do you need the light to see or to be seen? There's a huge difference and therefore a lot of different options that might be suitable or not.

What else.

When my bikes comes back from repainting.....

It was ironic. It doesn't appear to have worked.

Probably best to play it safe then what with humour being subjective. I don't personally take offence to 'Mum' jokes but I do find them banal and am always a little unsure of their intentions.

It'll soon be the cold and dry season so shouldn't be much of an issue finding a dry weekend.

Or the week after that.

How about postponing for a couple of weeks (i.e. enough time for my bike to come back from the sprayers and can't make next weekend )

Of course...

It does look miserable - suits me to switch. Let me know if you guys are going to change as I'll send my bike off now for a respray.

Good point with the steel frame. I'd just get a bit of piping for both. The clamp has to extent a fair bit to get an Orange downtube in but it will work just below the bearings. My Mega is still a bit of an ask for it but it gets the job done.

Nah, you don't need to really but it's not a bad idea for extra protection.

If it is really, really shit then it probably is worth waiting until it's a bit nicer. Anyone want to go MTBing this weekend instead if it's really wet?