Mountain Biking

Associate
Joined
17 Dec 2009
Posts
2,008
Yeah, down dolly wagon. I’ve only managed about 50% to the tarn, never seen it done completely. From the tarn back to the car park in Glenridding is a great bit of riding.

To be fair I've not been from the tarn back down to Glenridding. I've crossed over from St Sunday Crag side and also gone towards Therlmere from the tarn coming down Helvellyn and that was a bogfest. I guess I have walked some of the lower route, obviously up to the bridge for Helvellyn and also past there and a farm and some trees, where I took a left up a waterfall to scramble Pinnacle Ridge I failed to find lol.

I can imagine that section being pretty quick but I'd feel like a bad person to charge full speed past people I'd imagine will certainly be there on the lower part; I always feel bad when I pass people shouting excused me and find I tend to slow down out of courtesy.
Both the passes I did previous there were very few people on the track and it kind of felt okay to fly by them at eye watering speed due to the nature of the terrain maybe - maybe I'm over thinking it ha
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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2,956
Location
Northants
Just a few of the bikes I've owned(only pics I could find) and believe me I've owned a hell of a lot, serial upgrader always have been always will be, no longer work due to ill health and sadly just can't afford it anymore, currently bikeless.

kTkE1fi.jpg

AaffRQw.jpg

d0SgY3W.jpg

Cannondale was my fav, closely followed by that SS with the Vitus frame, full suss fav was a Santa Cruz heckler with pace forks, it was a beaut.
 
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Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,956
Location
Northants
Lefties are great had a few, so stiff for a one sided fork. Yes SS and rigid always my fav after years of mountain biking, nothing better than really feeling that terrain and singlespeed is just fantastic, low maintenance and really works your legs, no worrying about what gear you need, you've got your gear and you deal with it!

This will show the one gear better(32/16 if I remember correctly):

vXC4CSA.jpg
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Dec 2009
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18,172
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RG8 9
New bike day. Just need some pedals. :D

g5WGBXC.jpg
g5WGBXC.jpg

Perfect match to the orange accents on the frame

Ed3jqt9.jpg
 
Man of Honour
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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100,338
Location
South Coast
Race Face? I almost got those pedals but opted for alloy 3 bearing ones which were going for £22 which have been superb so far :D

I've ordered a chain upgrade as there was an offer going at bike-discount on SRAM's PXX1 chain in black which will now make my entire drivetrain all black and a chain that should last a fair lifetime really with my kind of usage. SRAM claim the X01 and XX1 chains have 4x the longevity of the others and the XX1/X01 are smoother links too for quieter operation. Should be here Tuesday I imagine!
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2004
Posts
26,508
Location
....
Race Face? I almost got those pedals but opted for alloy 3 bearing ones which were going for £22 which have been superb so far :D

I've ordered a chain upgrade as there was an offer going at bike-discount on SRAM's PXX1 chain in black which will now make my entire drivetrain all black and a chain that should last a fair lifetime really with my kind of usage. SRAM claim the X01 and XX1 chains have 4x the longevity of the others and the XX1/X01 are smoother links too for quieter operation. Should be here Tuesday I imagine!

"SRAM" claims. My experience of chains (and most people I ride with) is buy cheap - buy often. It'll either rust, snap or wear out at the same rate anyway.
 
Man of Honour
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"SRAM" claims. My experience of chains (and most people I ride with) is buy cheap - buy often. It'll either rust, snap or wear out at the same rate anyway.

Thing is I did a lot of searching around both communities and YouTube so the decision was based mostly on what people were saying based on their experiences of long term trail riding. The XX1 and X01 chains were giving more mileage than the others,and of course the only ones that ere available in all black lol.

I have no reason to doubt SRAM's claims too, they seem to be open and transparent about their technologies and seem to post up videos abiut everything including self servicing and DIY.

Sometimes the marketing is sound, it's just a shame this isn't the majority trend.
 
Caporegime
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....
Thing is I did a lot of searching around both communities and YouTube so the decision was based mostly on what people were saying based on their experiences of long term trail riding. The XX1 and X01 chains were giving more mileage than the others,and of course the only ones that ere available in all black lol.

I have no reason to doubt SRAM's claims too, they seem to be open and transparent about their technologies and seem to post up videos abiut everything including self servicing and DIY.

Sometimes the marketing is sound, it's just a shame this isn't the majority trend.

They will last longer, no doubt. I just never have experience they last that much longer than most to make the cost worthwhile. But I'm tight :p

Cycling tips done a good review on all the chains, pretty in-depth too.
 
Man of Honour
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100,338
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South Coast
Got a link to the article? Would be interesting to read. I'm always watching stuff from GMBN, Global Cycling Network, Berm Peak, MTB Nation, SickBiker etc as they often do really good videos on the how, why, what etc and seem to give solid advice on components and comparisons etc.

One issue I did have yesterday after a long ride was after getting lightly splashed from a car overtaking me on a hill climb, my chain got sprayed with grit and you could hear the grit grinding on the chainring. I realised that new chains come with thick sticky grease on and would be an issue with this type of situation. I have cleaned it off and it's much better but think I will have to take the chain off and properly clean it off and apply lube and wipe.

Edit*

Found the perfect solution :D

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001C4N95Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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Soldato
Joined
24 Mar 2011
Posts
6,479
Location
Kent
Get used to grinding sounds coming from your chainring etc, that's normal for UK 9 months of the year!

I used an x tools chain cleaner once every few weeks with neat fenwicks green cleaner if I'm riding in mud a lot, then I use squirt chain lube which is a wax and stays put but doesn't attract too much crap.

I'm using an XX1 chain on an X01 cassette for the longevity, the nitride coating is harder wearing than the GX level and below chains.
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2004
Posts
26,508
Location
....
Get used to grinding sounds coming from your chainring etc, that's normal for UK 9 months of the year!

I used an x tools chain cleaner once every few weeks with neat fenwicks green cleaner if I'm riding in mud a lot, then I use squirt chain lube which is a wax and stays put but doesn't attract too much crap.

I'm using an XX1 chain on an X01 cassette for the longevity, the nitride coating is harder wearing than the GX level and below chains.

Yep, I can't do more than a k without the grind at the moment. But local trails is full of slop and it's fun, so I just have to deal with it really. I've started using smoove and it makes a huge difference come cleaning time. I don't rate muc off stuff well really, very expensive for what it is. The blue chain cleaner is the best I've used, but now I just use whatever I'm cleaning my bike with and wash rather than degrease. I'd rather just replace often than go to town 4 times a week :/
 
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