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

The extra few quid on that Vitus is well worth it.
I have been growing increasingly frustrated with the epic ball ache of finding a good enough fork for my Ritchey (straight steerer). The plan was to buy an epic but I was completely underwhelmed on the test ride, borrowed my mates spark rc World Cup and was blown away. So the Ritchey is going back to rigid and I have this in the post.

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Hmmm. That escalated quickly.

Flat tyre!!!

First one so far, but certainly a lot sooner than on any of the road bikes. Rear tube. Looked like a snakebite, but tiny and bang on the centre of the tube. I think I’ve already slammed a few flat spots into the rear rim, but anyway, pulled out metal, glass, etc from the Barzo’s but it must have been an unlucky landing off a kerb that poked the shard through. Nothing noticeable on the inside of the tyre.

Thought I had it patched yesterday, still pancaked by this morning. Suppose this is what I get for cycling through a scrapyard a few days a week.

Must fix a set of tube patches and/or boxload of 559 tubes.

Well.... shit.

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Does anybody use those full face but not always full face helmets?

Doesn't that defeat the object, if it lacks all the extra head/neck protection?

Chin piece is removable. Saves you buying 2 helmets I suppose.

I heard that with a similar helmet from a different brand the chin piece could detach in a crash and would then slice open a cheek...

Even in motorcycle helmets the convertible helmets have a serious risk of opening in a crash, so I'd be hesitant to trust the lightweight version of that. (The speeds might be lower, but at the same time there's far more things for the helmet to snag on.)

I like the look of this one though
Giro road lids fit me well

That doesn’t sound fun.
I’ve lost a couple of front teeth already so what’s a few more for the sake of my beautiful face

The side entry through your cheek would definitely make surgery easier...

I'm missing a couple of molars, but I quite like my cheddar slicers at the front. Self-detaching helmet, do not want.

Self-detaching helmet

Might want to see a doctor about that

I considered one when I wasn't sure if I'd get enough use out of a full-face. In the end I just bought a full-face helmet for bike park use.

I was riding with a guy with one of these at the weekend.

He returned the first one under warranty due to the brittle plastic clip that attaches the chin piece snapping on one side.
The replacement one was on its second ride at the weekend and the same part failed.

Pretty unimpressed.

I use a Fox Proframe and I’m very impressed with how well vented it is and it doesn’t feel cumbersome.
It feels surprisingly similar to wearing my Kask Rex until I go to take a drink and jam my camelbak into the chin guard.

I have a super 2 r

We’ve trashed one in a big off and there was no chin guard detachment.

They are good but the chin doobry rarely comes off. Only use it for serious stuff and that means an uplift so no point in taking the chin off.

Mostly use a road lid these days or a TLD A1

Anyone got links to people doing bikepacking / adventure riding on a full sus e-bike, such as a Focus Jam?

Or anyone using a trailer with these sort of bikes?

No but if you wanted any opinions, I am really happy with my trailer, am tempted to use it for a tour in the spring/summer. I think it’s either M-Wave or another brand copy of the Bob Yak single wheel. The Chinese one I bought was fine with small loads but fell apart when I used anything too heavy. This one has been more solid and survived around 20kg on bumpy paths so far.

Bob Yak looks good, it's actually for my dad (63) and wanting to keep up with the young-uns.

I really like the feel of a single-wheel trailer. I have been bombing along on the Marin to grab materials for bags, and most recently carrying bricks in it. Up to 6 bricks/20kg it felt totally okay. That kinda load was a little heavy and would not recommend leaning too heavy or turning too sharp, but basic loads of 10kg weren’t noticeably affecting my handling.

I believe that for the weight penalty of a two-wheel trailer, you get a payoff with stability, but it forces you to steer but not lean.

I’d not want to carry more than necessary anyway. I think the trailer alone is as heavy as all my Berlin bikepacking stuff put together. Horses for courses.

Just picked up a SS MTB and completely new to MTBing. Hoping someone could give me some advice on gearing for Epping Forest.

Thanks.

32:20 and lots of bread pudding

2:1 ratio is the best place to start, so 32x16/34x17/36x18 for 26" wheels, or 32x18/34x19/36x20 on a 29er

lots of bread pudding

Also this

Also

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/269742/

and

https://www.lfgss.com/events/4450/

Thanks guys. Bike came with 32/18. Will give that a go this weekend.