'GREAT HOLIDAY, BUT MAYBE NOT SET UP FOR MTB FANATICS'
Strengths: Great accommodation. Nice town with plenty of choice of restaurants and bars, not dead at night but not too hectic either. Great scenery. Good range of non-MTB activities (watersports).
Weaknesses: Riding is mainly fireroad/road - not necessarily a weakness, but possibly not the best if you prefer singletrack. Bike fleet is OK but not exceptional. Guided ride timetable is a bit odd - early morning and late afternoon beginner-level rides, with the longer rides right in the middle of the day when it's hottest.
Overall: I can't criticise the holiday overall, but came away with the impression that they are much more set up for the watersports enthusiast who wants to do a bit of biking as well rather than the dedicated mountain biker and would look elsewhere for a biking-specific holiday in future. The bikes all have Deore-level kit and the only bikes with disc brakes when we were there were the guides' ones, despite the pictures and writeup in the brochure implying that most of them have discs. We were also told that the "book-a-bike" service (where if you're very tall/small you can reserve an appropriately-sized bike for the week) isn't available any more, despite it being in the brochures. This wasn't a problem for us, but could be if you're at the extremes height-wise and there are a lot of other bikers booked in while you're there. One of the guides was good, but the other didn't seem as keen or knowledgeable (quote of the week - "You don't grease seatposts, they're not a moving part").
Strengths: Morzine's a great resort with some fantastic riding. Superb guiding service backed up by top accommodation and food. Something for everyone - rides are well tailored according to ability. A real no-hassle holiday: everything is sorted for you from the minute you arrive.
Weaknesses: None to speak of, apart from making most of the hills in the UK look very small!
Overall: A really good, great value holiday provided by a really great bunch of people. Recommended!
Strengths: Warm. Very warm. Very very warm. Waterproof, durable and comfortable. Versatile design with long neck zip and excellent side vents. Lovely fleecy collar.
Weaknesses: Too hot on all but the foulest of winter days. No big map pocket. Not very packable if you need to remove it.
Overall: A great jacket for those foul wet cold British winter days. In fact, great for any sort of day as long as it's damn cold - the best cold weather jacket I've owned, by far.
Not, however, the sort of jacket you should put on on one of those "will I, won't I need a coat" days as you'll probably suffer extreme heat stroke.
Looks like it'll last for years too - mine's on its second winter of fairly heavy wear and still looking good, while other people I know have had them even longer without complaints. Great value when you take the longevity into account too.
Strengths: Comfortable harness, easy to adjust. Narrow shape so your back stays cool and you can easily turn your head to see behind you on those road sections. Great organiser pockets in the upper section of the sac. The waterproof cover. Top build quality.
Weaknesses: The sac can sit quite high on your back, so if you've got the top pocket stuffed full you can bang the back of your helmet on it, especially if you have a "long and low" riding position. The sac narrows slightly in the centre, so it can be hard to get bulkier items into the lower part of the bag.
Overall: Originally bought as my "big day out in the hills" bag for those days when your Camelbak doesn't hold quite enough stuff, this also became my commuting sac for about 6 months through last winter and early spring. It held up extremely well, with no signs of weakening despite a fair degree of abuse. Don't try getting a pair of shoes or trainers into it though, it'll nearly fill the bag. Mind you, that was probably outside the design brief.... It will hold pretty much everything you need for a really big day out though, I've had food, Camelbak bladder, waterproof, first aid kit, tools, pump, tubes, mobile, spare gloves etc. etc. in mine without problems. Bottom line - I'd buy another without hesitation, that's assuming they still make them in about 10 years when this one wears out.
Strengths: Smooth action with lots of adjustability for tuning the ride. Ease of lubrication with the greaseports. Good backup from manufacturers. They work really well....
Weaknesses: Circlips, although that's not a major hassle. Can appear flexy (see below). Take a while to bed in. Possible reliability issues.
Overall: Great forks for XC, although a good few hours' riding is needed to get them going properly. Once they've loosened up the small bump performance is amazing, while the nice progressive travel stops any annoying top-out on all but the biggest hits.
The forks appear slightly flexy at rest, with noticeable play in the bushings. Pace say in the manual that this is because of the tolerances required to give the smooth action and it isn't noticeable when riding. Tracking is good and steering precise.
I've had great backup from Pace with these forks, with a 2 day turnaround on the only time they've needed to go back (with the steerer recall) and a free service thrown in. I have heard others complain of slow warranty turnaround though.
Although my forks have been very reliable, the aforementioned steerer recall followed a couple of breakages (due to a dodgy batch of steerers apparently) and I have heard of one set of forks cracking on the braces and dropout assembly. This seems to be an isolated issue at the moment, but I'm checking mine more carefully before I ride now.
Overall I'd buy them again, but if you're looking for a 100mm fork for big air and big drops you might want to look at a Marzocchi or a Fox Forx.
Weaknesses: Aargh my wallet hurts. The square tubing resonates and amplifies every tiny creak, which may annoy.
Overall: After a year's riding I love this frame more than ever. Although designed as a hardcore race bike it's more than capable of all-day epics and, contrary to reputation, doesn't leave you crippled at the end of the ride either. I went from a FS bike to this frame and, though I do notice that the rear suspension isn't there, it has never bothered me.
The frame handles beautifully: although quick to respond it's not too skittish and inspires confidence on the technical stuff. Quick to climb and descend too.
The frame is rich in little details that mark it out from the crowd. for example, the threaded holes in the frame for the anti-chainsuck plate fitting have helicoil inserts, so if you strip the threads you can replace the insert rather than having to retap the frame. Little details like that make you realise the thought that has gone into the design and build. The only flaw is the aforementioned tendency to creak: _everyone_ I know who has one of these frames reports this at one time or another. The ride is worth it though....
Overall, whether you want an all-day trail bike or something to thrash round a field for 2 hours in an XC race this bike is it. If you're into 6-foot dropoffs this probably isn't the frame for you. :)
Strengths: Superb engineering. Seals keep out even British muck. Massive choice of colours.
Weaknesses: Price.
Overall: Before, my headset experiences had taken the form of:
1. Buy and fit headset. 2. Service headset monthly as it goes all rough and gritty. 3. Remove destroyed headset and repeat from 1.
My King experience has been a bit different:
1. Buy and fit headset. 2. Er.... well, nothing really.
Truly a fit and forget component. A masterpiece, if a fairly costly one (hence the "good" value rating). Still, for the price of 3 mid-range headsets you get probably the last one you'll ever buy. Doesn't seem so bad when you think of it like that....
Strengths: Low maintenance, low pad wear, excellent modulation and power, no fade in the wet. Made in the UK, excellent availability of spares etc.
Weaknesses: Can howl a bit. Alleged problems with heat expansion on long downhills.
Overall: Lovely bits of kit. The guys at Hope are very helpful too, any problems give them a 'phone and they'll do their best to sort you out. I've never had any problems with heat buildup or fade, the downhills I do must be too short :).
If you are worried about the heat buildup, check out the new Hope Mini brakes. Otherwise, I don't think these can be easily beaten for general trail riding.
Strengths: Very very comfortable. Quick to put on and easy to adjust to give a firm hold on your foot. Nice and cool, dry quickly. They do half sizes.
Weaknesses: Colour might not be to your taste.... Not much difference in features between these and the £30 cheaper Comp version. Not a winter shoe by any stretch of the imagination (not without overshoes, anyway).
Overall: Like riding in slippers. I've had mine over a couple of months and they have been great. The Body Geometry technology seems to work well here, my feet feel much more stable in these shoes than in my previous Nike ones and my knees have given me less trouble too. I went for these over the Comp model because after extensive walking about in the bike shop they felt the more comfortable of the two (due I think to the 3-strap closure) and I actually quite liked the colour. There isn't that much between the two models though, my advice is to try the two and get the one that fits you best. No signs of wear yet despite extensive rock-bashing and a bit of hike-a-bike. Quality construction, overall they are worth the asking price IMHO, but that's a considerable sum so they only get a "good" rather than "great" for value from me.
Strengths: Comfy, durable, good snot/sweat wipe patch.
Weaknesses: Soak up lots of water when it rains, take ages to dry.
Overall: Nice gloves. After a couple of months of daily use, the Body Geometry pad is comfy, but are they any better than my previous Cannondale XC gloves? I'm not sure. The thinness of the rest of the palm is a bit of a shock at first but you soon get used to it. The palms got a bit scuffed fairly early on, but haven't got any worse. The stitching ec. seems quality, and isn't showing any signs of wear. No serious stacks on them yet though :).
