XC in kent- Any willing volunteers!!!
Comments
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Had great fun today guys, but will have to go down as one of my more memorable rides for mixed reasons. Mostly good ones though!
*6.30am start after going to bed at half 1 and sleeping terribly
*-4 degrees on the journey there :shock:
*Mark's "full face" helmet - LMFAO
*Dry, frozen trails - bit unnerving at first but great fun in the end
*Waiting for Andy & Neil to wipe out on those frozen puddles. You were lucky this time
*Seeing everyone progress on the technical stuff. Once i nail that double i'll be happy but it was great to get some air on the other jumps. I can't beleive what we all ride now compared to when we first met!!
*The "sketchy" section I dabbed and crawled down on the 4th attempt after Mark showed me how it was done
Really glad i had the bottle to try it though
*£4.85 for v nice lasagne, jacket spud and salad. Bargain!
*Cramp like i've NEVER known before. At one point i was totally paralysed, lying foetal while people rode past. So, so embarrassing but all i could do was laugh! They must have thought i was crazy :oops:
*Realising i need to start being a bit more healthy, based on the above event being caused by too much partying
*Finding some good drops that i never thought i'd ride a few months ago. Not quite Russ & Mark's league but i was really pleased with myself
All in all a great day out, I'll sleep well tonight!
Looking forward to seeing some more pics Mark. Cheers all for a top ride0 -
Fancy guiding a tour for us on Wednesday eve??impished wrote:Sounds like you had a real good ride.
Almost makes me sorry I bothered dragging my ass to Blean for a quick blast
Re-found a few bits in Clowes wood that I stumbled across ages ago.0 -
Not my cup of tea, four bar only for me. I had a Blur LT and like all VPP bikes the axle path and subsequent chain tug made me sell it. Single pivots are even worse as you get more brake jack. My logic is, why have suspension if it doesnt work all the time.
But each to their own and orange does look good but its a lot of money to spend on just a frame, I would go second hand as even a year old frame will often be half price. For example, I bought my LT for £650 and it was about 14 months old with only 1 tiny scratch....that was orange thinking about it heh, nice.0 -
Alpine 160, mainly based on it having 160mm travel as against 125. Surely for your type of riding 125 isn't enough? Wouldn't you need a new fork with the 160 though? If Madison don't replace your frame you should go round there and shoot them! Hope you get it sorted either way soon though, we miss youRussAlf wrote: 0 -
FFS its snowing and im back at work (did work over xmas but had two 4 day weekends). I want to be back out building trails and riding.
Also it was 10C in my office this morning, 14C now. Sadly I cant go home under H&S regs as other parts of the building are over 16C namely my server room. Thats about 20C with the air con going flat out chucking the hot air straight outside whereas the rest of the building is freezing but the owners fail to understand how wrong this is :x0 -
Both can be used on a 140mm fork andy but both are said to be best on a 160mm. The blood is a more freeride/trail bike, 125mm is plenty as it will take alot of abuse. Still i think im getting ahead of myself here lol
Pointless snow outside today, not even enough to go sledgeing.0 -
Ok I dont do jumps or big drops but I agree, you just dont need mega travel at the back unless riding silly stuff and not landing smooth. 125 at the rear on a beefy frame with perhaps some of the new 32 Talas 150's would be ideal or a bit heavier, 36's
Had an email from CRC, Hotlines have just replaced more bits of my forks and hopefully will be sent out today. I cant wait. My back is still aching after riding the Inbred round Bedgebury yesterday 0 -
Assuming my memory holds out :shock: , I'm happy to show you the bits I found.pittpony wrote:Fancy guiding a tour for us on Wednesday eve??
Make sure your lights are charged though, as the 'downhill' section is probably the gnarliest part of the whole wood :twisted: [excuse]Oh, and I've only ever ridden up it :roll: [/excuse] So it'll be a new route for me too.
I think we need to do plenty more exploring in Clowes.0 -
Which DH section heh, I dont recall any longer than 10 seconds just nice flat singletrack. God knows how you find your way round there at night though as it all looks the same lol0
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Note downhill was used in it's losest possible sensebreezer wrote:Which DH section heh, I dont recall any longer than 10 seconds just nice flat singletrack. God knows how you find your way round there at night though as it all looks the same lol
BTW, anyone got any spd's floating about waiting for the bin? I managed to lose "the-bit-that-adjusts-the-spring-tension" (piccy to follow)0 -
impished wrote:
Note downhill was used in it's losest possible sensebreezer wrote:Which DH section heh, I dont recall any longer than 10 seconds just nice flat singletrack. God knows how you find your way round there at night though as it all looks the same lol
BTW, anyone got any spd's floating about waiting for the bin? I managed to lose "the-bit-that-adjusts-the-spring-tension" (piccy to follow)
Ive got these ade
Yours for the price of postage.0 -
Downhill? Blean? Excellent!
By the way - if its still snowing on Wednesday i'm developing an imaginary injury 0 -
I'm keen for Wednesday, been out of touch for a while in Devon. Was good down there, did a big ride on Dartmoor that after spending all morning climbing took a good hour to get to the bottom on a super rocky technical track was great fun!
Ade are you jesting? I know Clowes quite well, and last time i was there it was all pretty ruined with the mud and ruts from the diggers. Reckon i have done about every inch of it over the years, but maybe not!
OK Question time:
Was riding round Halden Forest in Devon on Saturday and it was fantastic. However my ever so clever GF managed to leave the lock out ON on her Tora 302 which sit nicely on the front of her Felt Q920. She only realised when we got back to the road at the end of the road and the terrain was bloody harsh so i doubt it has done them any good. Right now there is about 2 inches of travel with lockout on and 2 inches of travel with the lockout off, so something is defo buggered.
I'm pretty handy and have been doing all my own maintenance, have plenty of tools. Any one with any ideas as to what she might have done, and if they are easy to pull apart. Lock out to me seems a complete waste really, just so easy to forget it. And yes she should of "noticed" but she was concentrating so much on nailing the terrain she just didn't realise!
Will post this on the main forum too but thought i would ask my friends first...
Cheers
Rou0 -
pittpony wrote:Downhill? Blean? Excellent!
I'm worried that I've bigged it up more than it deserves. :oops: I really was using the term "downhill" in it's losest/Kent context. As in, it is a downwards incline with roots 'n stuff.... It's very close to the section with the little wooden bridge. We normally ride up a pine-strewn climb and go across the bridge back to the fireroad, but there's a trail that goes left instead.... oh, I'll show ya on Wednesday.also Legless wrote:Ade are you jesting?0 -
I know that trail, easily the best bit of Clowes, has the three dips and loads of roots then a path leading down to a jump. Is that the one Ade?
Are we doing Clowes on Wednesday or Blean, or just a mega ride? Was hoping I might be a bit fitter after all the riding I have been doing! Maybe a mega ride will kill me! Will have to bring spare batteries...0 -
Rou - something sounds a bit dodgy but riding harsh terrain with lockout on shouldn't damage them. Are they air or coil forks - i presume coils? This should cover it, huge document but the bit on each fork is pretty easy to follow. Give them a service and see if that helps.Legless wrote:
OK Question time:
Was riding round Halden Forest in Devon on Saturday and it was fantastic. However my ever so clever GF managed to leave the lock out ON on her Tora 302 which sit nicely on the front of her Felt Q920. She only realised when we got back to the road at the end of the road and the terrain was bloody harsh so i doubt it has done them any good. Right now there is about 2 inches of travel with lockout on and 2 inches of travel with the lockout off, so something is defo buggered.
I'm pretty handy and have been doing all my own maintenance, have plenty of tools. Any one with any ideas as to what she might have done, and if they are easy to pull apart. Lock out to me seems a complete waste really, just so easy to forget it. And yes she should of "noticed" but she was concentrating so much on nailing the terrain she just didn't realise!
I rode for hours round Swinley once before I realised my forks were locked out! :oops:
Probably no bigger a ride than usual on Wednesday, just be good to find some different tracks 8)0 -
Sounds pretty much like it.... Although I think you might be describing the trail we normally ride up... Roll on Wednesday, eh. Either way, it'll make a change to have a ride elsewhere.Legless wrote:I know that trail, easily the best bit of Clowes, has the three dips and loads of roots then a path leading down to a jump. Is that the one Ade?
Are we doing Clowes on Wednesday or Blean, or just a mega ride? Was hoping I might be a bit fitter after all the riding I have been doing! Maybe a mega ride will kill me! Will have to bring spare batteries...
the ride from Blean to Clowes will be a nice little warm-up 0 -
Hi Nick,
Cheers for that, yeah they are coils, will pull them apart and see what i can see. I would be surprised if they are damaged, trouble is i never really used the bike so don't know what it was like before. And my new recons are so plush they feel shit in comparison. Will take them apart and clean them up and see if i can see anything major. Then put them back together and hopefully all will be will with the world again!
Never had the luxury of a lock out so didn't know if it could majorly get messed up by being abused!
Different tracks sounds good to me, as long as we do the one we couldn't find last time. Been to Blean a fair bit now and reckon i know where we went wrong.
Just hope all this snow doesn't turn it into a quagmire!
Loads more sunny days forecast though...0 -
I may be talking crap here but i dont think the toras have a flood gate which blows open when locked out to protect them. I know the higher models do and my revs and pikes would blow through the lockout if i left it on but i dont think the toras have this.
I might be talking crap.0 -
Legless wrote:
OK Question time:
Was riding round Halden Forest in Devon on Saturday and it was fantastic. However my ever so clever GF managed to leave the lock out ON on her Tora 302 which sit nicely on the front of her Felt Q920. She only realised when we got back to the road at the end of the road and the terrain was bloody harsh so i doubt it has done them any good. Right now there is about 2 inches of travel with lockout on and 2 inches of travel with the lockout off, so something is defo buggered.
I'm pretty handy and have been doing all my own maintenance, have plenty of tools. Any one with any ideas as to what she might have done, and if they are easy to pull apart. Lock out to me seems a complete waste really, just so easy to forget it. And yes she should of "noticed" but she was concentrating so much on nailing the terrain she just didn't realise!
Will post this on the main forum too but thought i would ask my friends first...
Cheers
Rou
Im a total noob when it comes to forks, but the same happened on my rockshox J2s when I first got my bike. An old skool trick I was told was to turn the lockout off and pump down hard loads of times, give it some abuse - this for me worked a treat and lockout worked from thereon. Not sure what its meant to have done, but worked!.
Im probably completly wrong, but worth a try before dismantling anything ay?"I don't do double-entendres, but I do like to slip a big one in occasionally"
Giant Trance X2 / Garmin Edge 305 / Empty Wallet0 -
Russ - you may well be right. I just assumed because my Rebas and Revs have floodgates that the Toras would.
Ben - good call, prob best to try your trick before anything gets stripped down into a hundred pieces 0 -
Cheers guys, will have a good look at them tonight and see if any amount of bouncing will do em some good. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a floodgate, they are fairly entry level.0
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My Shox have a "Blowout" and Im sure everyone will agree they are entry level.
It usually reminds me to turn the lockout off! "I don't do double-entendres, but I do like to slip a big one in occasionally"
Giant Trance X2 / Garmin Edge 305 / Empty Wallet0 -
Actually, they have an internal, factory set floodgate. Follow Nicks link and remove the damper assembly and refit. When I serviced my Recons, I didn't replace the damper assembly correctly, the rubber ring at the bottom to be precise (you'll see what I mean) had kind of folded over. Remember, when you replace the damper in the leg you must rotate as you pushRussAlf wrote:I may be talking crap here but i dont think the toras have a flood gate which blows open when locked out to protect them. I know the higher models do and my revs and pikes would blow through the lockout if i left it on but i dont think the toras have this.
I might be talking crap. Oh, matron... 0 -
Ha Ha! - This exact problem was my VERY first post on this forum many moons ago!!
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12537224&highlight=
May not apply to all shocks, but worth a try."I don't do double-entendres, but I do like to slip a big one in occasionally"
Giant Trance X2 / Garmin Edge 305 / Empty Wallet0 -
Thanks for the help guys. Will get some sus oil ordered up and a measuring jug device. Will have a bounce around on them first and see if your magic trick works first though!
Excited about Wednesday already, been riding quite a bit, did 4 days in a row over new year although it wasn't at mega pace due to hangovers.
No doubt i'll be the one wheezing along behind you though Ade!0 -
Get youself down you local motorbike shop and get some shock oil from there. Just make sure you get the right weight. That's what I didLegless wrote:Thanks for the help guys. Will get some sus oil ordered up and a measuring jug device. Rockshox oil costs about £5 per picolitre whereas generic shock oil from motorbike shop costs about £5 per litre :shock:
My Recons have been fine with cheap shock oil for nearly a year. Including a little trip down Brechfa with the lock left on :evil: Doh!
Oh, and don't forget to put the lid on the oil AS SOON AS you've poured what you need. :oops: Makes a bluddy mess of the carpet :oops: DOH!!!0 -
hmm jugs, as per what the others have said and although this paste was relating to a manitou fork, its probably whats happened to yours
"If you have ridden over bumpy ground with the fork locked-out it may have caused 1 of 2 seals to fail at the base of the stanchion. The oil now trapped between the upper stanchion and the lower tube will cause a hydraulic lock which results in a loss of travel (you will only be getting a few cm's at most). If the fork is within warranty, take it back to the place you bought it from. If not, it’s time to get it repaired, although on lower-end models, it may be worth considering a new fork."0 -
sorry to hear about your forks rou
is anyone out for a ride around kent this sunday?0
