Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

yeah second the decathlon ones, i heard ish on hear about the pockets but I think they are good

Yeah, but cycling-specific trousers have things like smart seam placement, reinforced butt area, more room at the knees, tigher ankles or ankle straps, higher back for when leaning over, lower front, yada yada.

I like Hummvee shorts - should I just get them in full length leg?

I’ve got the 3/4 and the shorts and love them so Mrs M_V has (I think) gotten me the full length ones for my birthday.

Will find out when I get back home on Saturday and can give you my impressions if so.

Nice one, cheers. I've been through quite a few iterations of Hummvees. I still have the first pair I bought from the mid-2000s. The arse has been stitch together so many times. I wear them when I know I'm going to be trashing kit.

Yeah my 3/4 are getting on a bit but been pretty solid. There’sa bit of sticking coming loose on the right thigh that I should really do something with and the Velcro on one of the deep pockets has lost a few stitches too but still hanging on in there!

I know nothing about mountain biking and I've never owned a mountain bike, but I've been increasingly inspired by adventures like SRMR and other epics. Realistically I'm not going to do any ultra racing any time soon, but in an attempt to stave off middle age dullness and decrepitude, and as a 40th birthday present to myself, I'd like to try and ride the Southern Upland Way (a ~200km walking route across Scotland that is also MTB-able). Obviously this is also an excuse to buy a new bike so I now need the hive mind to tell me what to get.

After a little bit of googling my current favourite is the Trek Procaliber (maybe 9.6). I think I can stretch to around £2k if I get it through cycle2work which needs to go through one of the local LBSs, so one of the big name brands seems easiest. I think an XC bike would be best for this kind of ride, but also I do a little bit of cross and I'm pretty drawn to trying some XC races too. I'd also really love an off-road Tri if I ever get back into swimming/running. One concern might be luggage capacity, but from SRMR and others, many riders seem to use strap on luggage, and this kind of "long" distance adventure is going to be a rarity.

Thoughts? The Specialized Chisel comp also looked nice?

Some great deals on Epic HTs at the moment

https://www.certini.co.uk/bikes/mountain-bikes/2022-specialized-epic-hardtail-mountain-bike--gloss-tarmac-blackabalone__81351?currency=GBP&chosenAttribute=91322-7104&gclid=CjwKCAiA0syqBhBxEiwAeNx9N0VY7O_36x86dDKerjuQf9B6fRkrK9zjdUUGWjGNQRas-y5ASwwDFRoCebwQAvD_BwE

https://www.freewheel.co.uk/madison-freewheel-trail-men-s-trousers-varmcl21w17

I bought some of these in L but they were way too big, currently wearing the M ones which are also roomy I bought to replace them as they're pretty good. I've been outside a fair bit today and they've brushed off small showers and dried quickly after bigger ones. I wore them the other week over some merino tights as it was a cold and they're not super warm, I got absolutely soaked but they dried up well stood working under cover . I know hippy is fat so I dunno if the L are big enough but I can post them for £30 if you want, worn once.

Missus reckons L. I reckon XL. Guess I could take a punt. I'll probably buy either the Decathlon or Endura anyway so I've a couple of pairs and one waterproof.

The idea that NX and a fork with "Judy" in the name were ever worth three grand feels a bit of a stretch... but the frame is likely nice.

1749 gets you a 120mm Grand Canyon 9 with Fox 32s, SLX brakes and mainly XT drivetrain; yes, it's alloy, but the rest of the build kit is excellent. Oh, and there's a dropper, if that's your kind of thing. You can pay similar for a similar spec Sonder Dial. (The £850 Vitus Rapide over at the flailing Wiggle/CRC is also a lot of bike for money - entry-level SID, 11-speed Deore, sensible XC geo).

Obviousy downsides are not being able to have a look/sit on one. But... I'd take either of those over a Judy/NX Epic. (I'd also consider an On One Whippet but PX aren't having a sale this week on them so they're very overpriced).

Oh, and there's a dropper, if that's your kind of thing.

Get a dropper.

(I would also say get a dropper, but they're less common on the racier end of XC bikes.)

I’d assume that anyone racing xc has a dropper these days.

Not really, the discipline - by which I specifically mean XC racing hasn't leaned into them as much as the rest of riding MTBs off-road. Partly a weight thing, partly just the focus on pedalling for a great proportion of the riding I guess.

Like, you can spend 11k on an S-Works Epic, and it won't come with a dropper. It's not an accidental omission on the part of dentists worldwide. (Some racers might be using them? I'm just going on race pictures and what happens when you try to buy XC bikes)

But for the rest of us who aren't solely racing: they are great.

Has anyone seen an astonishing deal for a medium size trail bike anywhere that would ship to Singapore?

CRC, because warranties are mostly useless and currently everything is half price

Racers at the top level (and some geeks like us) would be fitting and removing droppers based on the course they're riding.

This can be had for $5,000 SGD: https://www.specialized.com/sg/en/stumpjumper-ltd-t-type/p/218303?color=352740-218303

As context (albeit with 8 weeks lead time).

I've seen a few Geometrons on this page. I have the back end of a 2019 G15 taking up space in the garage (cracked the front triangle earlier in the year). I've replaced it with a G1 and have taken the bits off it that are useful... would any parts of it be any use to anyone here?

(Not a Canyon stan, just saw this when looking at XC bikes earlier) - Canyon Neuron 6 - STW like the new Neuron, available in Canyon Medium (Canyon sizes are sometimes on the large size), it's a good deal on the UK site here but no idea if the SG pricing counts as "a good deal" - or if SLX/fairly entry Fox 34 is too basic.

I might be, what's left? Any spares are always useful. If the mutators fit a G16 then I'd be interested in playing around with those

Chainstays, seatstays and linkage all going spare. I am using the mutators on the G1 as they're all cross compatible.

Fair enough. Could you PM me some pics? I have a 2017 G16 and pretty sure that would all fit. I highly doubt I'll ever break anything on this frame, but like the idea of frankenbiking it

I thought that too until I hit a tree! Will send over some pics later today.

No international shipping advertised but most trail bikes 40-60% off at Paul's cycles
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/bikes/mountain-bikes/full-suspension-mtb