The ole Raleigh is built with quite a slack head angle, quite some fork rake, wide riserbars, and 29`r wheels, ideally suited for the non-paved dirtroads of the time. Then came along a roadie and propagated the 72/72-geometry in the late seventies, and this somehow got adapted into mountainbiking to give a "racy" MTB-position with dire consequences for MTB-geometry the following two decades. A lot of "revolutionary" bicycle design ideas are rather recycled than bright new thinking on behalf of the big S

Some see "trails", I see gravel roads in half width..

Tried one for a week at the GC test center, it had the 32mm talas. Did not like it at all, in the end i changed to a rz onetwenty and rode the pico del tauro 3000 vertical feet and pico de las nieves 4500 vertical feet trails faster and in better control. The adjustable rear travel is meaningless, minimal impact on pedalling (sitting) performance. 32 mm talas is a waste of aluminum, impossible to hit the sweet spot between suitable LSC, and plushness, the 36 talas eats bumps much better, and it`s easier to adjust out brake dive without performance sacrifices. Spent a lot of time setting up the rear suspension, never got it to be plush for extended descents without being silly-soft for pedalling, nowhere near a Horst link, ABP, or VPP bike. The rear end always felt kinda "dead". My 5cents: -Missed attempt at making a light DH-focused trailbike, an XC-racers alibi for being a mountain biker, looks good in the garage

just put a rubber queen / trail king 2.4 on your 26`r wheel, there you have yout 650b effective diameter!

The local trails are amazing, this one is fairly known and easy to find for travellers. As is evident from the imagery, the trail cannot take much more use, or more aggressive use, than it does today. When a trail gets ridden in rain it shows, and we get a fair amount of rain here.... travellers beware. Also, did I mention the price for accomodation? Luckily there are still quite a few hidden gems only known to those who spend some time finding and maintaining trails. If you travel here, get in touch with the local riders. x

Advice to all mountain bikers; know your science! Have a look at the IMBA resources list an read up on trail degradation. There is no evidence that bikes wear trail more than hikers. Main points: 1) water erodes trail, water management on a trail is essential for it to be sustainable 2) traffic erodes trail, popular bike trails have high traffic, impact per user is usually is the same. 3) Hiker and biker trail impact are more or less equal, and equally reversible, Hikers have higher ground pressure than bikes (N/m^2) and thus make deeper impact on soft grounds, bikes carry high trail shear (sideway forces perpenducular to the ground) under heavy braking and hard turns. 4) Trail reinforcement works. Reinforce soft grounds and make sure the trail drains water. 5) Trail management and planning works. Many trails are just serendipitous, and were not planned with high traffic in mind. Sustainable trails follow contour lines in the terrain and obey "the half-rule". Many trails with excessive wear can be made sustainable by rerouting, water management, and reinforcing. What would you as a govt officer do, get trail users involved in trail management, or ban them?

Generally, in Norway, we have the ancient "all mens right of passage", which is deeply founded in tradition, but poorly founded legally in the outdoors law, which give you the right to pass by any non-motorized fashion on any trail. The current Norwegian govt wants to be world champions of % protected land, around `02 - `04 several bills were unanimously passed in parliament designating new, big, national parks. In the bills the trail impact of single mountainbikers is likened to organized (group) tours with horses and dogs and sports events. This lacks any scientific basis and is a reflection of the views of hiker-enviro-traditionalists, a.k.a. 68`rs, working in public land management and environmental agencies. They see bikes as some sort of technological intrusion in nature. Bills were passed, cyclist organizations were not consulted, and we now have wast areas where biking is banned. Now Scotland has got the current most bike-friendly legislation. This type of shit happens when you don`t care to bother and JRA your flashy, new, full carbon bike. Stop JRA`ing, get involved in your local IMBA/trail advocacy groups!

Actually, when I shortened the hose on my reverb i just pulled the cable off the connector, cut it with a paper knife, and reinstalled. No bleed needed if you keep everything upright, 2.5wt fluid is quite viscous and does not flow out unless forced. I suggest most of you guys reading this try this first, if it works, don`t fix it.

This is the type of actual MOUNTAIN biking I like to ride, ye yankees keep ripping `em lift-accessed downhill BMX-tracks to yourselves! "ripping" it ... This guy is ripping