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Hi

I'm relocating to London from the colony of Australia for the next few years. Here is Brisbane (or Brisvagus as locals and people who have never been to the US or out of Australia for that matter call it) riding is what i spend my $$ and spare time doing. been riding on and off for the last 15 years.

I'm in the process of selling off parts of the old 6x6in Norco - RIP my green angle, we had some good times. So i'm keen to get my hands a new ride. been drooling at all the candy on offer there - exotic UK and continental brands unheard of in Oz.

However I dont want to drop a fistful hi-valued $au on a bike when I have no idea what riding is around or how to get there and the effort involved. No one wants to be that guy with the gucci rig that never gets out cluttering the hall way.

Then I come across this site - the peasants rejoice!!

So my newbie questions...
initially we'll be living in West Hampstead in north London, so what riding spots will be easiest to get to? Dont have a car.

secondly what type of bike, which i want to be dictated by the local riding on offer not what i fancy myself riding...

I like technical trails and earning my turns on DH sections - "if you can ride up it, it aint DH". I've done some freeriding in Europe and I'm super keen on doing Mega avalanche or something similar. I like to keep fit and de-stressed and 3hrs+ of trail riding does the trick. I'm leaning towards getting another 160mm all-mountain with a 36 or Lyric upfront, 'endro' i think you call them there, a bit burlier than AM type bikes. but as was the case with my last bike it was overkill for 70% of the riding I did on local trails. So I'm thinking a 130-145mm with aggressive angles and build will be a smarter option even if it presents a dilemma for riding pure FR in UK bike parks or extended trips to Europe. The middle ground 150mm bikes dont seem to offer enough benefit considering they will struggle in pure big mountain freeride anyway.

look forward to replies and hopefully meeting some of you soon!

James

Lol- I'm living here in England and I'm having the same decision crisis!

I love the look of the big travel bikes but I've managed to conquer most stuff so far locally on a hardtail with 130mm forks.

The general research I've done has shown that 150mm travel of thereabouts, front and rear, is good for most stuff in the UK (Inc. Wales).

But when a very nice looking 180-200mm travel bike costs the same as a 150mm travel, and even 130mm front and rear "enduro" bikes it's a real choice between heart and head.

Living in West Hampstead without a car I imagine you'll be best suited to something that you can peddle round the 'heath and cycle from train. Stations to ride spots. Logic states you will be best getting 130-150mm.

Maybe even get a good hardtail until you work out what you need properly.

P.s. You can't take bikes on most of the underground.

Nice one - I love the fact this site can be viewed all over the world! Wicked



Id say the type of bike you need is dictated not by what you ride but how you ride it!

The South East of the UK is flat - the highest point is 300m (near us 90m) but id say you can do whatever riding you like here. #4 at the world champs this year was from the south east of the uk

There is a massive variety of riding here from sneaky steep local DH stuff to miles of endless XC bridleway.

Realistically a 140 -160 bike is a good bet and will allow you to explore all the local offerings. Although it will be too much travel for say Epping it will allow you to do the odd uplift day or N Downs trip, hit up Aston hill and thrash out a bit of Swinley.

In London you tend to have to catch trains into the centre to get out to places. From where you are you can hit up Epping Broxbourne and Danbury from Liverpool Street, Aston Hill, from Marylebone, Swinley From Waterloo and the N Downs from Victoria. If you want to do trips further afield there are always people happy oo to offer lifts n that. Every Month we are usually off uplifting somewhere – last month it was Uk Bike Park in Dorset and this Month its Triscombe in Devon – all about 3hrs by car.

http://www.essexhertsmtb.co.uk/riding_spots.php has some info

Smashing, looking forward to the roads trips- one of our favorite pass times down here with our wide open spaces and distance and all. its 3 days travel to see the folks for christmas and they only live 2 doors down.

i'm sure i'll be buzzing from exploring new trails regardless of grade

were i am here, the hills are about the same but the trails suffer from a conservative 'child proof' approach and dont make the most the elevation potential. its like the powers that be all have shares in companies that do 29'ers, carbon or XC racing. As long as its no wrorse than that, and hauling extra travel is good for the heart.

I'm leaning towards a light work 150mm. once i get settled in to the new place (evaluate the storage dilemma as we already have 2 commuter bikes) then get work going, it will be getting into winter and it will be some months before the mtb campaigning season starts outright. This should give me enough time to save for a burlier fork and 2nd wheelset option for serious days.

and another question - its a given that UK riding is a messy business. if you have a 40min commute on public services back from the trails, how does it work if you're dripping in mud and potentially shivering yourself blue? just ignore the looks from fellow commuters and take some cement in your post recovery?

I'd say it's best to make a bit of an effort to clean some mud off your bike and not look like a mud monster pissing everyone off, and at the same time I'd also be standing mud splattered and proud knowing that I'd just done something that most of them only read about in magazines or would shit themselves doing!

In Britain, we carry on regardless of the weather but maintain some dignity and politeness with the whole mud thing.

You have to think how you would feel getting on a train in your suit and being faced with muddy rider.

Also you are strongly advised to miss the rush hour as it's a pain in the arse getting standing space as the best of times (1645-1830hrs). Also make use of any designated cycle carriage area because that's your right more than a standing person.

I'm sure you'll soon understand and adapt to english living. Even in the country you're never more than a mile away from someone most of time.

Yea avoid rush hour... not really an issue in at the weekend. I used to pack a spare tshirt if I know it would be grim and sometimes shorts but in 3 years of doing it I never really had an issue and never really had any problems.