This has been tough to write, as it addresses some hard questions that need answers It all started on the back of reading this blog by Gary Brennan,. He is talking about how things used to be for him and food before he lost an almost unbelievable 25 stones via the bike. Before we get to the nitty gritty of this piece, I must point out that I consider Gary a friend and someone who was instrumental in setting me on my way back to health and fitness back in 2009.

Take a look at the comments section of that very soul searching piece by Gary. A guy has dived in, in an unnecessarily argumentative manner in my view, to make the point that Gary has nothing to be proud of by losing 25 stones as he shouldnt have got like that in the first place.

Get cross

Down the hill to the first off – road section, it rapidly outstripped riding mate Daves slick shod 29er. all the lead stretching, four paw torque of the T Dog. Braking from the lever hoods or narrow drop tops feels more precarious than conventional bars and we rarely used the supplementary levers except for casual cruising. This meant we took refuge in the hand security of the compact drop bars whenever we were off – road and thats where we stayed.

In greasy conditions the mix of tight twist and turn lines, roots, wet boardwalk bridges, drop – aways, random rock sections and short sharp techy climbs is a challenge on any bike. Theres a purpose to Daves pedalling as we close in on the first drop – down to the river that proves hes determined to leave us for dead as soon as possible. The first smooth berm isnt so bad, but after ricocheting off the first two big roots, just missing the trees of the next chicane and stammering sideways round the left – hander off the first drop hes already opened up a big gap. The slammed landing off the little dirt kicker and wild focus shaking clatter down the next short descent also clearly confirms the absence of suspension.

You eventually exit the woods and spin along some quiet country roads and tracks, giving you the chance to catch your breath. We also get to grin at our luck with the weather and the surprisingly good state of the trails.
A fast off – camber track descends quickly and with nothing looking untoward the others speed ahead. We know this trail all too well though, so before the end we apply our brakes, push our outside foot hard down and look to get the front wheel into the approaching rut. Its close to a 180 – degree bend and is followed by another tight corner the other way, but this time there are a couple of ridges that require yet more careful braking and weight shifts to save our dignity. At the bottom youll go parallel to the river Thames, along a private road that passes a stud farm, then hundreds of lamas; You then zig – zag over the B471 road back onto a private road, which leads to a fantastic roller coaster trail running alongside the Thames that wouldnt be out of place in a trail centre. The steps leading down at the start have been removed now so the surface is steep and loose, but the climb back up the other side is now very much more do – able. We pull straws to choose which rider is sent on ahead to ride at a sensible speed and warn us of walkers, as its part of the popular Thames path.

FOX SHOX GET SMART
A clever electronic fork and shock set up is on the way as the ultimate fettlers wet dream.
Simplifying suspension set up has always been a tricky problem, but Foxs latest development potentially makes initially setting up forks and shocks a lot less problematic.

Intelligence quota
The IRD – Intelligent Ride Dynamics – concept has no release date or production schedule yet, but even in prototype form its an impressively simple to use system considering how complex the technology is behind it. The key parts – besides the actual shock and fork – are an ANT+ transmitter – equipped smart shock pump and a Fox IRD app thats Garmin and Android smartphone compatible.

SPECIALIZED CAMBER CARBON EXPERT 29
Its not often that a new bike becomes an instant hit, but Specializeds new – for – 2011 Camber is barely out of the starting blocks and already its a mainstay of the range.
Slotting neatly between the race – orientated 100mm travel Epic and the boulder – swallowing 140mm Stumpjumper, it was always going to be a crucial bike for the company that kick – started mountain bike mass production back in the 1980s. Its been so successful that the range gets a big boost for 2012 with the introduction of 29er wheels – as an alternative to the 26in regular version – and a new carbon chassis for the bigger wheels only.