Strengths: The riding is great, Sam, Tom & Joe have got a great variety of trails laid out. Food is fabulous and Lyndsey and Sam are great hosts.
Weaknesses: Just can't get hold of enough cheese on the rest day!
Overall: If you go out to the Alps only once, go with BikeVillage. My legs ache after a week but I just wanted to ride for far longer. The trails make for great riding, some tips are thrown in for the trickier sections and when you get back down to the valley floor you can just chill out in the garden with a few drinks. I felt like a member of the household rather than a paying guest. Throrougly recommended - I look forward to my next visit.
Strengths: Stiff sole is great for transferring the power but has enough flex in the toe to allow for reasonable walking comfort. Adjustable main ratchet and velcro straps make sure you get a really good fit, ratchet lever allows 1/2 ratchet loosening . Lorica is tough stuff and the sho is very light. Great for narrow feet in standard form wide fittings available.
Weaknesses: Perhaps a little more tread around the cleat needed. Pricey. Should have toe studs included in box for the price.
Overall: I was dubious about splashing this much cash out on some shoes but after trying on the top end Shimano ones the Sidi's showed their heritage up with a fit that made them seem taylor made. They also don't look out of place on the road bike if you need a shoe that does it all :)
'CARBON FIBR CRANKARMS, ALLOY SPIDER AND ALLOY RINGS - V LIGH'
Strengths: Very light Cranks - weighs in at 550g for the cranks and rings
Very good finish on the cranks, no rough finishing where carbon fibre meets alloy. All inserts were perfectly aligned and the pedal inserts are reassuringly large.
Rings are well finished, ramped and pinned for fast shifts across all 3. Too early to comment on wear rate.
10 year gaurantee against defects - how is that for confidence inspiring - after hearing many horror stories about carbon its nice to see a manufacturer putting some real faith into their products.
Weaknesses: The shiny finish on the cranks may not stay there long if you have fat ankles!
The thread on the cranks for a crank tool is "interrupted" where the milling for the octalink/isis grooves have been machined. I suspect that these may degrade quickly if you are always removing you cranks - install some self extracting bolts - I will be soon.
Torx key chainrings bolts - why??? Okay they're alloy, but should you really need to torque them up that much? Another tool to take on the trail.
Overall: Fabulous looking set of cranks that feel very stiff, translating the power very efficiently.
Very light - lighter than XTR and cheaper
If FSA are happy offering that guarantee these will be the last set of cranks I buy for a very long time.
Strengths: Light weight frame with lockout shock, feels bombproof, Magura discs, Travel adjustable forks. Plush ride but not at the expense of sprinting speed.
Weaknesses: Cannondale finishing kit is not the sexiest, stem flexes too much. Tyres fitted were not up to much - change them at purchase!
Overall: This bike is an incredible amount of bike for the money. It has the same frame as all the top of the range Jekylls. Quality of the paint job was fantastic. Onthe trails its very comfortable, the fox shock giving you the feeling that you literally are riding on air. Up front the Manitous are a little flexy fore and aft but this is not a major problem as they track straight and true. It used to be that you paid for the frame with cheaper Cannondales and waited for the components to fail and upgrade them...this no longer appears to be the case. It blew everything else I was looking at away for the money.
