Tyre Review and Tubeless Set-Up
For the end of the season I’ve been using Maxxis Highrollers, the 2.5 UST 42a ones front and back. I wrote about them in a previous review but I have done a lot more miles on them including some miles in Scotland so I have some updated information. I’ve also been experimenting with some new tyre combinations and here’s my initial opinions. I mainly ride in the Basque Country, in Spain, where the terrain is a bit tougher than a lot of the UK. You can see the type of trails on my biking pages.
I have a few more tyre combinations to test out but in a few months I’ll put together a summary of all the tyres I’ve tested and my top three combinations for the year ahead; watch this space!
It’s a problem I’ve had for some time but couldn’t find a definitive answer on the web for. The adjuster at the top of the motion control leg on my Rockshox Pikes has been leaking whenever the fork is turned upside down. Following some advice from the mighty hive mind of Singletrackworld I set about fixing it. It’s dead easy and took about 10 minutes. Here’s how…
When I was replacing the chainrings on my XTR cranks I didn’t want to pay the price of XTR rings. I got conflicting advice on the internet and from friends using Deore chainrings but armed with some spacers I got them to work. Here’s how I did it.
Firstly, I run an E13 DRS and that added some complications for me. I’ve explained these below too for people in a similar situation.
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This weekend I was lucky enough to be invited, by my friend Carlos, to a gathering of a group of Spanish bikers called La Vieja Tronca; “The Old Trunk”. The first stop was a canteen in a gym, on the outskirts of Pamplona, for a screening of their anual mountain bike film along with drinks and food. Eating and drinking local delights we were treated to a fantastically well produced video from Peio, a local photographer who’s work I think is incredible. After the second screening we headed back to Antonio’s place for a comfy bed and an early night because the next morning we needed to have an early start and be fresh for the drove to Riglos, east of Pamplona which would take us through some spectacular countryside. Coming from the UK, where each part shares a roughly similar climate, it is still hard for me to believe that we can drive from the green Basque country to the desert in less than an hour but the mediteranian vegitation and dusty, rocky soil kept reminding me of that fact.
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The Basque Country has been buffetted by storms this week that have dusted the Pyrenees with snow and swamped San Sebastian’s front streets with waves. It’s fantastic! This is expected in winter and is the reason we close mid-October until March. I normally love cycling our cliff-top singletrack when a big storm hits; blasting along with the crashing of the waves and the taste of salt in the air is really life affirming for me. Sadly I have a cold so had to make do with seeing the waves in San Sebastian followed by some pintxos!
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I get asked a lot about how to pack a bike. I always totally over pack my bike. People laugh but I’ve never had a scratch on it. It takes a bit longer and you end up carrying a bit more weight but this is how I do it, you can always decide where you want to cut the corners when you’re doing it yourself.
I took the photos in my parents living room because it was way below zero when I packed up and the garage was out of the question. It’s actually a really nice cozy room but that doesn’t come across in the photos 
The Penas is probably the mountain that I’ve spent most of the time on. In Basque it’s called Aiako Harria and it’s rocky head reaches only 826 meters. What this doesn’t tell you is the nature of the mountain, it’s sides are heavily corrugated and folded with deep valleys and sudden cliffs all coated in dense greenery. Trail finding here is a huge task, trails start and finish without warning and can leave you in a dead end valley with the only way out being the way you came. The hill also tends to be very steep and it’s pleated flanks discourage traversing so the trails tend to be steep too! That’s great for the way down but getting up and around takes a lot of effort!
Sometimes speed isn’t your friend and you can look too far ahead! I was trail finding again and had drived inland in search of a trail with my friend Carlos. We had an amazing days riding on some of the best descents I’ve done in ages, rocky scalectrix singletrack with some challenging drops and turns. The trail was a figure of eight with a cafe in the middle which is great. Anyway, coming down on of the techy sections it all came together for me, the bike felt totally in control and I was off the brakes. The trail ended at a fireroad of grey rock which ran for 200m’s to the road and seeing it clear I let go the brakes, looking well ahead. Too far infact. The hefty chain across the path at headtube height was completely invisible against the grey fireroad until it caught the autumn sun about two bike lengths ahead.
A lot of people have been asking me what I’m up to now that the season is over here. Well, the answer is that I’m preparing to make next season even better! I’ve been studying maps, GPS tracks, google earth and speaking to local people in an effort to get new trails. I’ve learned not to ask local bikers because that results in too much fireroad, instead I ask the old men you see working on the hills and who know every sheep track and rock in the area! After that I go out and ride the area, often spending days exploring every track I see.
Night ride season is upon us again! Being able to ride pretty much as often as I wanted through January to March meant I missed out the night riding season at the start of the year with the result that as of last week I hadn’t used my lights in about 10 months! I dug out my trusty Light and Moion Li-Ion Arc’s, charged them for a couple of hours and they switched on first time and ran on full power all night without a problem. I love it when stuff just works.