The award for Numpty Of The Day goes to...

[The Hodge]

ME!!
The day started with badly having to cancel the planned ride with a mate..on the other side of the county ..but then a solo ride to check out some local bridleways started really well and having not ridden them for over a year I was fearing the worst in terms of them being overgrown but they were riding really well ..apart from the drop to Allerybank which is always ( even in the driest summers) a complete bogfest..

The bridleway alongside Swineshaw Burn.

The Bridleway to Allerybank

All good so far and the next section from Allerybank to Irish Bridge started well ..with the Chirdon Burn in full flow and the falls at Jerry's Linn looking spectacular ...

Then shortly after this pic my cadence went off the scale ..only the bike was going nowhere ..
In 24 years of mountain biking I've only snapped 2 chains ..the second one being today ...I wouldn't care but there was no real stress on it as I was in a very wet & boggy section in a very low gear ..
The numpty award comes in because having only had the bike for a little over a month I hadn't bought a power link !
Having resigned myself to a long walk as this area of the forest doesn't have mobile reception I had only just reached the main forest road when lady luck came to my rescue when a bloke in a van ( from Chirdonhead ) stopped and asking what was wrong offered me a lift back to my village if I didn't mind sitting with the bike in the back section of the van ( as his dog was going nuts ..)
Cant really thank him enough ..and as the bike is going back to Wheelbase in Staveley for its 300 mile complimentary service on Thursday ..I won't be leaving without a chain link !
The rest of my bridleway inspection will have to go on hold ..
Happy chappy in the back of a van ..

 

[The Hodge]

So happy in fact I posted the pic twice ?

 

[Trip Hazard]

Looks a great place for riding ?Reading this I've added a power link onto a my list of kit to buy. ?

 

[Philly G]

@The Hodge your story made me laugh! A mate is getting the same bike as you, he's not experienced at all with mountain bike tech, and I feel the Fox 38 could be a bit complicated for him to set up right. How did you find it? I was trying to push him more towards the S model with the Zeb but he didn't like the colour. I've only ever had Rockshox no experience with Fox at all

 

[The Hodge]

PhillyG..Im no mechanic either ..it was all done at the shop when I picked up the bike ..( tbh I can't even remember the psi for the forks ) ..Im going to have another chat when I get back there on Thursday for its complimentary first service
Im no "big air" merchant and the guy who set things up for me said that normal set up rules don't apply ..just leave it fully open and plough through everything ..which to be fair has worked really well ..the fork has mopped up everything I've been through ..set quite firm ..but I'm not using anywhere near the amount of travel it offers ..
What I would say though is that it " feels" fantastic and having had 36's on a gen 1 Nomad and 34's on a T130..it's the most confidence inspiring fork Ive had ..( I know that doesn't give the technical answer you are looking for ..but its the best I can do ?)

 

[Philly G]

PhillyG..Im no mechanic either ..it was all done at the shop when I picked up the bike ..( tbh I can't even remember the psi for the forks ) ..Im going to have another chat when I get back there on Thursday for its complimentary first service
Im no "big air" merchant and the guy who set things up for me said that normal set up rules don't apply ..just leave it fully open and plough through everything ..which to be fair has worked really well ..the fork has mopped up everything I've been through ..set quite firm ..but I'm not using anywhere near the amount of travel it offers ..
What I would say though is that it " feels" fantastic and having had 36's on a gen 1 Nomad and 34's on a T130..it's the most confidence inspiring fork Ive had ..( I know that doesn't give the technical answer you are looking for ..but its the best I can do ?)

All good, thanks for your thoughts! I had read that the Zeb was easier to set up but it sounds like the 38 isn't all that bad. My mate isn't the sort of rider to be delving into the settings and tweaking this and that, and I just want him to enjoy the bike. From what you've said he should get along just fine ?

 

[B1rdie]

I would rather have a chaintool than a link...

 

[Tim1023]

ME!!
The day started with badly having to cancel the planned ride with a mate..on the other side of the county ..but then a solo ride to check out some local bridleways started really well and having not ridden them for over a year I was fearing the worst in terms of them being overgrown but they were riding really well ..apart from the drop to Allerybank which is always ( even in the driest summers) a complete bogfest..
View attachment 44680
The bridleway alongside Swineshaw Burn.
View attachment 44693
The Bridleway to Allerybank
View attachment 44707
View attachment 44708
All good so far and the next section from Allerybank to Irish Bridge started well ..with the Chirdon Burn in full flow and the falls at Jerry's Linn looking spectacular ...
View attachment 44709
View attachment 44710
Then shortly after this pic my cadence went off the scale ..only the bike was going nowhere ..
In 24 years of mountain biking I've only snapped 2 chains ..the second one being today ...I wouldn't care but there was no real stress on it as I was in a very wet & boggy section in a very low gear ..
The numpty award comes in because having only had the bike for a little over a month I hadn't bought a power link !
Having resigned myself to a long walk as this area of the forest doesn't have mobile reception I had only just reached the main forest road when lady luck came to my rescue when a bloke in a van ( from Chirdonhead ) stopped and asking what was wrong offered me a lift back to my village if I didn't mind sitting with the bike in the back section of the van ( as his dog was going nuts ..)
Cant really thank him enough ..and as the bike is going back to Wheelbase in Staveley for its 300 mile complimentary service on Thursday ..I won't be leaving without a chain link !
The rest of my bridleway inspection will have to go on hold ..
Happy chappy in the back of a van ..

Area looks beautiful!
I've carried quick links with me since I got my last mtb in 2015. 'Cos I'm paranoid. I've never needed them, but they weight nothing and don't cost much.
By the way, you can go back and edit a post, e.g. to remove the second pic. Any major changes in a post are worth commenting, though to avoid confusion.

 

[The Hodge]

B1rdie..
Each to their own mate ..I also have a chain tool which at the time was sitting at home keeping other mtb stuff company on a nice warm shelf ..

Tim 1023..Northumberland as a county is beautiful ..Great coastline and fantastic countryside..
The Cheviot Hills are still pretty much an mtb secret and you can ride all day without seeing another person .
Kielder Forest is vast 250sq.miles ..after living at the southern end and riding in it for over 20 years I've covered most of the best trails ..overgrown forest doubletrack which is more like singletrack ..bridleways which need unofficial " maintenance " to keep them from being lost to nature ..not to mention over 100 miles of man-made singletrack incorporating Black / Red & Blue trails..and the Lakeside Way 27miles of multi purpose trail circling around Kielder Water ( Resevoir) which is 9 miles from top to bottom ..
I count myself as being a very lucky bloke living where I do ..and always happy to show anyone around ( under normal covid free circumstances )
But in reality we tell everyone its crap ..just so we can have the place to ourselves ..so say nowt ..ok???

 

[Tim1023]

B1rdie..
Each to their own mate ..I also have a chain tool which at the time was sitting at home keeping other mtb stuff company on a nice warm shelf ..

Tim 1023..Northumberland as a county is beautiful ..Great coastline and fantastic countryside..
The Cheviot Hills are still pretty much an mtb secret and you can ride all day without seeing another person .
Kielder Forest is vast 250sq.miles ..after living at the southern end and riding in it for over 20 years I've covered most of the best trails ..overgrown forest doubletrack which is more like singletrack ..bridleways which need unofficial " maintenance " to keep them from being lost to nature ..not to mention over 100 miles of man-made singletrack incorporating Black / Red & Blue trails..and the Lakeside Way 27miles of multi purpose trail circling around Kielder Water ( Resevoir) which is 9 miles from top to bottom ..
I count myself as being a very lucky bloke living where I do ..and always happy to show anyone around ( under normal covid free circumstances )
But in reality we tell everyone its crap ..just so we can have the place to ourselves ..so say nowt ..ok???

Sounds great! I've lived in Hamburg for 15 years now and really miss the Surrey hills. I love Hamburg, but it isn't known for its mountains!

 

[Trip Hazard]

B1rdie..
Each to their own mate ..I also have a chain tool which at the time was sitting at home keeping other mtb stuff company on a nice warm shelf ..

Tim 1023..Northumberland as a county is beautiful ..Great coastline and fantastic countryside..
The Cheviot Hills are still pretty much an mtb secret and you can ride all day without seeing another person .
Kielder Forest is vast 250sq.miles ..after living at the southern end and riding in it for over 20 years I've covered most of the best trails ..overgrown forest doubletrack which is more like singletrack ..bridleways which need unofficial " maintenance " to keep them from being lost to nature ..not to mention over 100 miles of man-made singletrack incorporating Black / Red & Blue trails..and the Lakeside Way 27miles of multi purpose trail circling around Kielder Water ( Resevoir) which is 9 miles from top to bottom ..
I count myself as being a very lucky bloke living where I do ..and always happy to show anyone around ( under normal covid free circumstances )
But in reality we tell everyone its crap ..just so we can have the place to ourselves ..so say nowt ..ok???

We used to go up Northumberland to Kielder, Otterburn etc to watch the car rallies. We used to walk for miles into the forest stages to get to good spots (jumps, tight bends etc for photo's). It will be amazing up there on a bike. Gets a bit cold on the Cheviots though ??

 

[fenwick458]

View attachment 44708

when it's at wheelbase I'd get them to shorten the dropper post cable and re route the display cable it looks like another accident waiting to happen!

 

[The Hodge]

I was going to mention the cable mess ..cheers .
Trip Hazard ..I also used to watch the old RAC rally..those Audi Quattro's spitting fire were something else !
The family business (Reivers of Tarset ) used to operate from The Comb ) which was between stages ..so like yourself we also walked into hotspots in the forest ..
Give me a shout if you ever want a ride away from the trail centre stuff ..but I'm mostly free mid week and may not have too much time on my hands between now and January ..

 

[Trip Hazard]

I was going to mention the cable mess ..cheers .
Trip Hazard ..I also used to watch the old RAC rally..those Audi Quattro's spitting fire were something else !
The family business (Reivers of Tarset ) used to operate from The Comb ) which was between stages ..so like yourself we also walked into hotspots in the forest ..
Give me a shout if you ever want a ride away from the trail centre stuff ..but I'm mostly free mid week and may not have too much time on my hands between now and January ..

Will do mate cheers.?

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

OK, I'll play Numpty Awards too if I may...

I went exploring for new trails and found a wooden staircase going down a very deep gully. I actually used to like riding down stairs back in the day but most of these were pretty steep and slippery wet - so I walked my bike down to the first small landing which led to further stair cases. When I got down to the second landing, I parked my bike (no one was around) and decided to walk the rest of the way as I still couldn't see how much further down it goes. If it kept going much further, I really needed to turn back as it would be a mission to push a heavy eBike all the way up and out again. I finally got to the bottom (my parked bike was only about 1/3 of the way down) and saw some kids playing at a brook who seemed to know the place well. So I asked, "Is there another way out of there?" They said, "Yes there is, just cross that ladder bridge and follow the trail and you'll eventually come out onto a street." When I asked if there were any more stairs along the way I was told that they didn't think so. (I should've taken that as a red flag!)

So I went back up and fetched my bike and walked it the rest of the way down. The stairway visible on these photos is just a very short mediocre portion at the very bottom - and the sky is very deceptive as it doesn't depict just how far up it really goes. The wide angle lens plus the foliage has erased all sense of distance, height and perspective.

After riding about 500 meters, the trail ended and guess what? More stairs! Steeper this time and made up of shorter, tighter sections that criss-crossed with hardly any room to turn a bike. The "walk-mode" helped a bit here and there, but was useless most of the way as I was pushing my bike up slippery mossy steps and muddy loose dirt! I would've been easier to climb back out the previous stairway, but I was determined to see where the other end of it came out. I laugh about it now, but... never again! ?

 

[The Hodge]

Aye ..the things we do in search of the elusive golden trail ..?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Aye ..the things we do in search of the elusive golden trail ..?

I thought it was golden snow ? oh no, that's not good is it ?

 

[maynard]

Nice . Are there trout in that stream ?

 

[The Hodge]

Maynard ..sorry mate but I didn't have time to go for a swim to check it out ..?.
Its the Chirdon Burn ..a direct tributary of the North Tyne ..which has both Trout & Salmon fishing..so probably .

 

[The EMF]

Maynard ..sorry mate but I didn't have time to go for a swim to check it out ..?.
Its the Chirdon Burn ..a direct tributary of the North Tyne ..which has both Trout & Salmon fishing..so probably .

Hi Hodge,
We should have done the trails together mate, I could have sorted your chain and you could of helped me pull my bike out of that peat bog !!......I much prefer heather on the moor than peat in the bog ?

 

[Janc]

I would rather have a chaintool than a link...

I carry both AND one of those link splitting tools as they are virtually impossible to open with your bare hands now Link splitting tool which carries the spare links in it