gypsumfantastic wrote:I've topped 3000m climbing in a day twice in the last 4 weeks

Impressive. I think I've done 3,000m+ about twice in the last 5 years.

Depends what you're trying to achieve, but as long as you're going at a relatively good pace, I'd say 2x4.

I'm OK with the lack of grip; my primary concern is going to be speed this weekend.

Went out on a full set crossmarks yesterday and was just fine. Properly rapid on the smoother stuff, and managed to handle even some fairly nasty descents pretty well (did parts of the Afan red and blue trails). Wasn't comfortable on the bigger hits, but I'm still alive. Wont be anything even close ...

Hard to fault the price on that really. I guess a lot of it comes down to how good those wheels are though.

I could go for some glamping. Far away from all of you dirt covered heathens!

Another crossmark tyre... this to replace the utterly awful (bouncy) speed king tyre I tried out last weekend.

Some nice bikes in there. :)

I'd see Stu as being the perfect person to write the bikepacking equivalent of Ronald Turbull's The Book of the Bivvy. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Bivvy-Ronald-Turnbull/dp/1852845619 In other words, a witty, insightful cult classic, by someone who's been there and done it a thousand times, that t...

Ha... that looks like a different planet from when I tried doing it.

I still recall getting dirty looks from CXers for daring to pass them as they teetered down the descents on the last of these "multi discipline" rides I did.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1072601256 As for tyres, it's looking largely irrelevant as right now unless my back / shoulder sorts itself I doubt I'll be able to do it anyway. On the original subject, it was mainly about finding tyres that were as fast as I could get away with so I could kee...

Just measured... was running 14psi by the time I'd finished letting air out. I just don't think that's going to work out (too much risk of burping / rim damage).

Aye, is terrain dependant though obviously. Spend a lot of time on fireroad / road, then higher pressures are generally best. Lower for rocky surfaces etc. Point being, I can get away with running my draggier tyres at much higher pressures (allowing smoothness on rough terrain) which leaves me wonde...

Tried a Crossmark up front and a Speed King on the rear today. Wasn't too bad for grip (aside from a couple of sketchy bits on wet rocks), but the Speed King (3c protection) is ridiculously bouncy. I don't know what pressure I ended up letting it down to, but I'm almost certain it's sub 20psi, which...

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Just to prove that Richard will sleep outside ... here he is

Clearly photochopped. I can tell by the pixels.

Ha, have tried that. Have also tried Nytol. Neither seemed to have much of an effect.

One thing I would say on SPD... consider getting them fitted professionally. I nearly permanently ruined my knees by fucking up my cleat placement and doing some seriously long rides without realising.

I'm trying to get the old negatives moved over to digital. Will have to get some up of 80s me when I finally get that project finished.

80s me is a little younger than some of the pics in here though.

I don't know if this is chainring or pedals. I recall it wasn't comfortable at the time...

You'll almost certainly wreck your shins a few times. I have quite the collection of scars from "refining technique".

Well, in the end on that one we ended up basically plonking ourselves on a footpath just off the fireroad because we simply couldn't find any flat ground... so walkers in that case. ...and I can barely sleep under a tarp, I'm not going to just be able to "lie down and sleep". To be fair, I...

Logic really doesn't come into it... and no, it's not a fear of axe murderers. I'm more worried about someone half inching some of my stuff as they pass by (or as previously stating, running into someone that's annoyed because I'm on their land or something). Sure, that's city boy thinking, but that...

I have, they slipped around massively. In fact I went through about 5 different pairs before I ended up buying the five tens and finally being happy with the grip situation (especially when wet underfoot). Edit - To clarify, this is grip when seated rather than when standing, when any old (relativel...

Out of interest, why wouldn't you try using proper mountain biking shoes? I wouldn't even consider using walking / hiking boots on the bike. Is there any real difference? Never tried 5:10's as they seem to be fragile, take ages to dry and expensive. Not really ideal for mutliday stuff Grip. Less of...