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

Shame it's so far from down here.

Does Flow plan to do some videos on SA trails?
I assume there is a whole marketing budget and involvement of the locations in play?

The Quick Rack frame mount is the opposite of what I thought "quick" meant. Not sure it'll actually work (without a lot of fiddling with placing) so now hoping the OMM rack arrives instead.

I reckon there’s probably a few back in the day, but they tend to make videos where there’s a council grant or new trail network going in. Haven’t heard about SA projects unfortunately!

I was thinking of Melrose. They just opened the epic trail not so long ago. Can't wait to ride it.

Just got the dispatch notification for my centrehub.

Should I follow the advice of Toolbox Wars or Abbey Tool (can’t remember which) and use an impact gun to get my cranks off?

Fox 34 Rhythm or Yari RC?

I've got the Fox forks on my Honzo at the moment but just picked up a pair of the Yari off Wiggle and dunno whether to keep them for if/when I put my GT full susser back together or just slap em on the Kona just now.

Maybe run the Fox through the winter since they are already used and swap the Yari in in the spring?

New mtb, new me.

What flat downhill type shoes are there with super wide toe boxes (bont/vivobarefoot/etc style) any any good?

So far I found some fizik that look the right shape but I’ve always found them to be too narrow generally (in road shoes & spds)

I don’t think such a thing exists but I’d be very happy to be proven wrong.
Broad feet and a high instep combined with Morton’s neuroma in both feet has made my shoe choice tricky to say the least.
I wear Lake* wide fit road shoes but I’ve struggled to find any flat pedal mtb shoes that have a proper wide fit toe box.

The best I’ve found and what I ride in currently is the Shimano GR5 flat pedal mtb shoe. It’s certainly wider than five tens which are comically narrow.

I’ve been meaning to email madison to ask if they do any of the mtb shoes in wide fit. My GR5’s are an EU47 but they could be perfect if they came in the wide variant.

I believe Lake offer great shoes for wider feet.

Doh, I typed Bont in the above post but I actually wear Lake wide fit road shoes. They are great, been a revelation in fact.
The Lake mtb shoes have stiff soles for spd's and don't feel great on flat pedals even with the covers fitted.
Its a shame they don't do wide fit mtb shoes that are flat pedal specific, its a gap in the market that they could easily fill.

It’s certainly wider than five tens which are comically narrow.

That's odd. I have wider than average feet, which require a wide Lake shoe for clipless, but the Five Ten Freeriders fit me fine

The Freerider Pros, however, are quite a bit narrower and hurt my feet after an hour or so

Ah fair doos, I’ve only ever owned the Freerider pro’s and assumed they were as narrow across the board.
The standard ones aren’t too bad then?

The standard ones aren’t too bad then?

They're not as stiff, but shape wise they're far better for me and the grip is identical ( apart from the sole width difference). I have the canvas and DLX versions

Leatt shoes seem to be regarded a wider offering. Not great availability over here though.

I’d be tempted to give them a try, nothing else offers quite the same levels of tackyness as the five tens. They almost felt a bit too grippy to begin with…

Thanks everyone, I’ll try some five tens first because they be CHEAP on Evans/Mike Ashley et al

Been considering some proper mtb shops recently.

Until now I’ve gone from riding in sandals in spring/summer/autumn straight to waterproof Karrimor hiking shoes in winter.

Anytime I’ve ridden with people wearing five tens in winter they’ve winged the whole time about how cold and wet their feet were. It’s been a while though, maybe they’re better now?

Anytime I’ve ridden with people wearing five tens in winter they’ve winged the whole time about how cold and wet their feet were.

But Scotland though, right?

There are some insulated ones on sale too

Haha true!

I've been riding in 5.10s for years now. Started off with the Impacts which were pretty waterproof from the outside and warm, but acted like buckets once the water got in via the big hole on the top. Have switched to Trailcross with waterproof socks (pretty good, the shoes dry out quickly but they're not very insulating) and more latterly Trailcross gtx (too soon to make a firm judgement but initial impressions are good). Pedal grip with the Trailcross is excellent.
Also used waterproof Decathlon hiking/approach shoes, and a pair of waterproof winter boots from Merrel. These were both pretty good for staying warm and dry while bikepacking, especially with mini gaiters, but pedal grip was not nearly as good.

Also ride in five ten trail cross. Just about wide enough to accommodate my dumb wide feet. If it’s cold then I’ll wear woolly socks, if it’s wet then I’ll wear waterproof socks, if it’s cold and wet then I’ll wear insulated waterproof socks. In extreme cold then it’s woolly socks plus overshoes time. I don’t whinge, but that’s because I’m a stoic northern type innit. I do all my suffering in silence and / or therapy.

I do all my riding in these as I ride flats across all my bikes. Ideally something a little wider would be better as things get a bit cramped with the silly winter socks on, but they are sufficient enough. As the Bear says above they are very grippy on the pedals. They’re also pretty comfy for walking around in.

Trailcross with waterproof or woollen socks for me.. I think these are good..

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/900-winter-cycling-socks-black-yellow/_/R-p-9519

Trailcross GTX work for me- but I wish they were warmer.

what decently long mtb films to watch that aren’t too obnoxious/tiresomely ‘artful’ or indulgently emotional ? where to watch free, please x