The cycling thread

[Villan For Life]

The eldest (12yo) wants to get into off road mountain biking...does anyone know of any easy'ish trails within striking distance of Solihull?

There are several trails on Cannock Chase which always seem busy with mountain bikers.

[Somniloquism]

Sandwell Valley has some as well.

[Jon Crofts]

I am thinking of getting a gravel bike, and the choices out there are mind boggling.

Anyone have any views of the below (or alternatives)?

Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 Trail
Cannondale Carbon 3
Cube NUROAD C:62 SLX
Cannondale Carbon Rival AXS

Canyon get mixed reviews across their range, that’s the trouble with a virtual bike shop.

I like Cube as a maker, they make some stunning bikes for the money.

Have you looked at Whyte? A British brand, they get great reviews for their gravel bikes.

Can’t comment on Cannondale other than my dream aero bike is their System 6.

[Somniloquism]

I am thinking of getting a gravel bike, and the choices out there are mind boggling.

Anyone have any views of the below (or alternatives)?

Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 Trail
Cannondale Carbon 3
Cube NUROAD C:62 SLX
Cannondale Carbon Rival AXS

I don't have gravel bike although I have been looking more for adventure riding / packing rather then direct fast gravel riding.

As all your picks are Carbon, and with suspensions options, are you looking to do rough stuff fast or doing more mtb type riding?

I would knock the last one off, (assuming it is the latest model one), as it has the integrated lights / battery pack which means you are being charged for stuff you probably won't need, or could get better options cheaper and lighter.

For VFM, I wouldn't rule out the Sonder Camino from Alpkit.

https://alpkit.com/collections/sonder-camino

[Lastfootstamper]

The eldest (12yo) wants to get into off road mountain biking...does anyone know of any easy'ish trails within striking distance of Solihull?

I don't know if it counts as mountain biking, more like hill biking with the constant possibility of death, and it's not exactly around the corner, but whenever I've been on Brean Down in recent years there's usually somebody on a bike up there. Should you ever find yourself down that way.

[itbrvilla]

Have a look at the vertebrae MTB guides for the Cotswolds. Some decent challenging MTB routes ~1 hour away. Get a decent cycle GPS and use Ride with GPS to plot the routes.

https://www.bikemaps.co.uk/sw-england-mtb/cotswolds-mountain-biking.htm

Also look on Koomoot for nearby routes:
https://www.komoot.com/discover/Current_location

[aev]

Thanks for the gravel bike suggestions.

The Whyte Gisburn looks good (odd name though).

[simon ward 50]

Pogacar cracking on stage 17 yesterday was pretty dramatic!

[Jon Crofts]

The eldest (12yo) wants to get into off road mountain biking...does anyone know of any easy'ish trails within striking distance of Solihull?

I don't know if it counts as mountain biking, more like hill biking with the constant possibility of death, and it's not exactly around the corner, but whenever I've been on Brean Down in recent years there's usually somebody on a bike up there. Should you ever find yourself down that way.

If you want the constant threat of death go to Bike Park Wales, there’s a few runs there you really don’t want to leave the trail on and believe me, I’ve left the trail there and been dangling upside down only held from falling over a 30 foot drop by the fact I was still clipped into a pedal.

[Scott Nielsen]

Felt the tour was pretty much over given stage 17 but what a great stage we had yesterday. So fucking satisfying the break-away clinched it and that Philipsen's antics (a recurring theme this tour) were not rewarded.

[simon ward 50]

Felt the tour was pretty much over given stage 17 but what a great stage we had yesterday. So fucking satisfying the break-away clinched it and that Philipsen's antics (a recurring theme this tour) were not rewarded.

Yes!

[Scott Nielsen]

The whole thing is worth watching for those who didn't see the stage yesterday but the interview starts at 5.30. It deserves a larger audience, I think, but not sure where else to put it.

[UK Redsox]

Great performances from the Yates twins today, but they had no chance to win the stage once Pog and Jonas decided to have a race.

Massive crowds to give Pinot a worthy send off.

Philipsen will be favourite for tomorrow, but hopefully someone will get past him.

[lovejoy]

Well after the rest day Vingegaard had two out of this world performances (Pog numbers on the TT were extremely high and he took c 1'30 out of the pelaton but the effort cracked him the following day).
Then yesterday Vingegaard was bang average. He tailgated Pog. Now if the race was close I can understand a defensive ride so either he's not got the legs (a massive come down from Wednesday don't you think) or he's happy to tailgate and lose the stage -w which at best makes him an extremely dull rider.
I don't know what to think but Armstrong wasn't winning by these margins and Ullrich was a lesser rider than Pog.

[charlatan]

My father-in-law didn't make it to the end of the Tour. Out for a ride with his regular cvcling mates on Saturday morning, swerved to avoid some debris in the road, came off awkwardly (apparently at about 20 mph), banged side of his head, goner (despite helmet). Not a great personal loss for me (hadn't talked in years because mother-in-law is a psycho and he always took her side) but quite difficult to fully process nevertheless. Sounds very unlucky. I understand he was very safety conscious.