The virtual postman dropped a 580 page pdf on my desktop this afternoon. The text is all French so will take some sifting through but luckily I understand pictures really well

Sorry, you'll have to use your imagination

Here's a link to the website I got the book from: http://www.extrem-sud.com/ There's seven editions each covering a different area of Morocco. There's also maps and gps downloads ... 'tis all in French but Google Translate works wonders.

s8tannorm wrote:The virtual postman dropped a 580 page pdf on my desktop this afternoon. The text is all French so will take some sifting through but luckily I understand pictures really well

Sorry, you'll have to use your imagination

Sod riding that edge.

That's the last section of the new BB200 route for this year.

I'll be going the long way round as I have acrophobia and no way no how would you get me on that thank you very much.

Postie has delivered a copy of exploring Scottish hill tracks.

http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/ian_fitz/12319937224/

Wild Country Zephyros 1 tent. I may or may not currently be sat in it in the living room. I am.
No excuse for no Feb night away now.

jamiep wrote:Wild Country Zephyros 1 tent. I may or may not currently be sat in it in the living room. I am.
No excuse for no Feb night away now.

AW and I were talking on Monday nights ride about not, nope, never ever growing up.

This is a perfect example and I salute you sir! :)

Some 29er wheels - Novatek hubs, CX ray spokes and Crest rims - 1530grams of lovely roundness!
And a Nobby Nic and Racing Ralph from action sports.
And some midge netting and velcro for debugging the bivvy bag.

and some less exciting things - light bulbs, service kit for youngests Fiat Panda, angle grinder discs.

Had a phone call at lunchtime today from the other half asking why 7 packages had been delivered, none of them for her attention - didn't want to have to break it to her that they are all for her benefit (bike stuff gets me out of the house, car stuff helps me bond with child, light bulbs to make the house brighter, and angle grinder discs for a project I am doing for her!)

Bike building weekend ahead! :D

Have you had novatech hubs before? I'm tempted from a weight vs price perspective...

Be interested to hear how you go on with them

No Ian - Novatech hubs are new to me - according to the blurb on the website I ordered the wheels from, they are the biggest hub maker we've never heard of - making hubs for all sorts of people. In reality they have been around for years, and I think they are big on the continent and Asia, just the UK isn't a big market. If it's any help I bought the wheels from Spokesman Wheels in Devon - £418 posted. Could have been a bit cheaper but I chose coloured alloy nipples and black spokes. Same wheels elsewhere were £500+.

My theory is that there isn't much that can go wrong with a hub - if the bearings are standard and replaceable I am happy - after that it's usually flanges cracking and freehub issues. As long as I don't take them swimming they should last OK (this does mean I can't use them in Wales though!)

Dually rims. Feel lighter than I expected.
Also, knard tyre.

I'll do some pics when I get round to building them

Ian & Slarge, I have 2 sets of superstar wheels which are re-branded novatec hubs.

I would say in general they are fine and descent value for money. The one set I used the most on my hard tail actually lasted very well. Changing them was pretty easy and the bearings inexpensive.
The rear wheel on my full suss though the bearings lasted half as long and completely seized. It damaged the axle which I had to replace but again that wasn't an expensive part. I guess my advice would be to buy a set of bearings so you have them on the shelf and to check out how the bearings are holding up every 3 months or so. At most just having a look is a 15min job.

Another happy Superstar Switch Hub user here. The axles are switchable to just about anything. I swapped around loads of bikes and have run the fronts as 15mm, 20mm, regular QR and 9mm QR. The Rears have been 142x12, 1235 x 10 and 135 x QR.

I bought another set second hand (unknown mileage) and I got the bearings for £2 each on ebay. The freehub did crack (only noticed when servicing, not fatally on a ride!) and I replaced with a steel one for about £20.

I'd happily buy more from them. :D

So what are the lightest/best superstar wheels now then (non carbon)?
Been looking for wheels for a while and at the moment am thinking hope/crest combo but interested in a cheaper option...

The zip broke on my over shoes this week. They lasted me a couple of winters and a wet summer, with a lot of use in that time so I went for the same ones again; The BBB Hardware. 3mm think neoprene.



I decided to get a watch. I haven't worn a watch in years but the last few bivi trips I have felt without one. The way I tell the time normally is on my phone and when you have switched your phone off to conserve battery it's annoying waking up in the night, morning (who knows?) and not being able to tell the time, especially in the winter when it stays dark so late. It's got a few nice features like vibration alarm and a hydration alarm that can be set to go off every 15mins for example to remind you to take a drink while riding. I'm bad at drinking water so thought that might be useful. The count down timer can be set to repeat indefinitely so you could set that to an hour to remind you to eat regularly. Importantly it's waterproof too. Thanks to Andy - chicken legs, for the recommendation. It's the Timex Expedition.

Dan_K wrote:So what are the lightest/best superstar wheels now then (non carbon)?
Been looking for wheels for a while and at the moment am thinking hope/crest combo but interested in a cheaper option...

Both of mine are Switch Evo/Crest and have remained straight & true.

I did find on my heavily laden Fargo that the wheels felt a bit flexybashing down some rocky steps on the WRT. The Caveat here is that it's a rigid bike, I had LOADS of kit and that was with standard QR's. When using the 9/15/20 axles with suspension forks I've never thought they wobbled.

The Pacenti Rims look comparable to the Stans but I've seen some reports that the alloy they use is a bit soft. I'd stick with Stans as they've lasted and are a doodle to go tubeless.

*edit* I've just looked and seen how helpful my advice was, No Stans left! Pacentis down to £160 though....gotta be worth a punt at that price?

Rab Myriad neoshell jacket.

Which I'm now returning as the sleeves are far too long. Shame as my other Rab stuff in small fits me lovely I'm on the hunt for a lightweight waterproof shell - where breathability is the key. My Gore paclite one is getting old (although still using it), and would ideally like something more breathable. Maybe the Gore active shell stuff is better than paclite... I do want a neoshell though I think - need to do more research in who else makes them
Will get round to getting a Paramo pasco for winter use...sometime this coming year before next winter

Alpkit Hunka XL in stealthy Kelp. Hopefully a bit more spacious than the Rab Storm. I have to say that the built in stuff sac/net strikes me as a bit of a weak point. I think I'll need a dry bag anyway as the moisture can just seep through the net into whatever luggage I've stuffed it in.

Alpkit Hunka XL in stealthy Kelp. Hopefully a bit more spacious than the Rab Storm. I have to say that the built in stuff sac/net strikes me as a bit of a weak point. I think I'll need a dry bag anyway as the moisture can just seep through the net into whatever luggage I've stuffed it in.

There's a good chance I'm rubbish at packing but I've yet to get a Hunka in it's inbuilt stuff sack and I can't fit a Rig7 in the stuff sack either ... well not without hurting myself

s8tannorm wrote: There's a good chance I'm rubbish at packing but I've yet to get a Hunka in it's inbuilt stuff sack

Never had a problem with a standard hunka.... mine's a first gen one (I think) with a mesh stuff sack thing? Have they changed at all?

I struggle getting my Rig7 back into the stuff sack while "out in the field" as it were.

I don't bother using the stuff sack for my Hunka XL. I leave my sleeping bag and mat in the hunka and roll it all up into a 8l (13l when using bag liner) dry bag that goes on the bars.

Just wondering now if the stuff sack for the hunka is a bit bigger than the bag for the Rig7?!?! hmmm.

Maybe Nick and Kenny can give a demo before WRT kicks off.

Getting a Rig7 into its diddy bag is an art. I''ve managed it sometimes but can never remember which way I did it to repeat next time. It definitely has to be folded etc, not just stuffed in, and folded in a particular way.

I wonder why Alpkit don't just add a few more centimetres to the stuff sac and it'd be easier and more versatile. A slightly looser package would also make it a little easier to pack into bike luggage.

At times I've just used one of their other drawstring stuff sacs (firget the name) as I think the XS or S sizes (forget exactly which one) are well matched to it, sizewise.

Hmmm, 1st world problem or

Blimey, didn't realise that there'd be such a groundswell of opinion!

FWIW the stuff sac is an ok size, just not all that useful imho. I like Composite's comment that I might just be able to leave everything in one bundle and ram it under the bars. :)

johnnystorm wrote:

Dan_K wrote:So what are the lightest/best superstar wheels now then (non carbon)?
Been looking for wheels for a while and at the moment am thinking hope/crest combo but interested in a cheaper option...

Both of mine are Switch Evo/Crest and have remained straight & true.

I did find on my heavily laden Fargo that the wheels felt a bit flexybashing down some rocky steps on the WRT. The Caveat here is that it's a rigid bike, I had LOADS of kit and that was with standard QR's. When using the 9/15/20 axles with suspension forks I've never thought they wobbled.

The Pacenti Rims look comparable to the Stans but I've seen some reports that the alloy they use is a bit soft. I'd stick with Stans as they've lasted and are a doodle to go tubeless.

*edit* I've just looked and seen how helpful my advice was, No Stans left! Pacentis down to £160 though....gotta be worth a punt at that price?

That's a good price. Very tempted! Got a birthday coming up so I'll drop some hints...