my bike, I love it, I can't think of a thing to change on it…

Orange SubZero Frame
Marzocchi 66 SL1ATA
Thomson Stem & Seatpost
Easton EA70 bars
Orange Strange grips
Formula Oro brakes
SRAM x9 shifters & rear mech, chain and PG990 cassette
SDG Bel Air TiFly Saddle
Hope Pro 2 hubs, DT Swiss spokes and Mavic 823 rims
Maxxis High Roller LUST
Raceface BB, Evolve DH cranks, 2 ring & bash guard
WTB headset
Outland Skinny Flat Pedals

before you say, nothing, just get out and ride it, I do and its great…

…I just have this urge, any suggestions?

buy another bike, simples 8)

apparantly you can't have too many

tubeless

done, see above ^ Mavic 823's & High Roller LUST's

As mrsmith says tubeless is a good idea. Maybe sell your Hope/823 combo and buy Hope/Flow and run with yellow tape, saves you some weight to which is nice 🙂

EDIT: ignore that then!

How about some really pimp pedals?

Vortex+1: buy another bike, works for me 🙂

New 2011 fox 36 floats. Can not believe how good they are.

Wider bars, don't knck it untill you have tried it, especially if your a wide bloke.

1x 10 spd

Lighter cranks.

you've got about seven in various states of disrepair spanning two two countries Krag! 😀

Perhaps I should just build up one of yours 😀

I can't think of a thing to change on it…

The rider.

Case dismissed!

Si do you think they'd be better than these?

they seem to do the job, pretty well?

I think so, but i am biased 😉 The Canfield's feel weird in that they don't have a dead spot at the top or bottom of the stroke like most other flat pedals. This is due to the fact that your foot is more or less over the axle.

Ian, my bars are 680 and I don't think any wider would be good for me, they feel spot on. I'm not a fan of spuds and Si I get the no dead spot thing with the Outlands, that said if you've got a demo pair kicking about? 😉

hmmm lighter cranks? what's light & strong?

Spokey dokeys?

personally I'd change almost everything.

Orange SubZero Frame – to something lighter and stronger with better geometry and a quiet downtube.
Marzocchi 66 SL1ATA – to something lighter and coil sprung with 100mm travel and tool free 20mm axle.
Thomson Stem & Seatpost – keep the seatpost but probably changew the stem for a shorter one
Easton EA70 bars – keep as long as they aren't OS
Orange Strange grips – change to ruffians
Formula Oro brakes – change to Avid/shimano, all the formulas I see are very unreliable
SRAM x9 shifters & rear mech, chain and PG990 cassette – keep
SDG Bel Air TiFly Saddle – change for something cromo railed (all Ti rails snap too easily)
Hope Pro 2 hubs, DT Swiss spokes and Mavic 823 rims – change rims to 721s, tubeless jusrt doesn't work for hard riding and unless you ride Fort William/Dunkeld the 823s are total overkill on any hardtail
Maxxis High Roller LUST – switch to 60a 2.35 minion singleply's
Raceface BB, Evolve DH cranks, 2 ring & bash guard – change to saint, far more reliable.
WTB headset – probably switch to an FSA
Outland Skinny Flat Pedals – switch to supserstar nano's (even if the axles are a little weak) your outlands have badly positioned bolts for pins, they need one by the outside edge, I prefer grubscrews too.

no need, Hope Pro 2 😉

Nice build.

Only thing I would want to change is the forks for something else.

I went from the 66's to a set of 36 vans and love them.

GW, interesting…

Subzero seems bulletproof and the geometry's spot on, if I wind the 66's down to 140 that tightens up the head angle and its perfect for twitchy singletrack, the stem is 50mm, would you suggest direct mount? that would ride awful! why coils over air? the 66's can be tuned perfectly. Yep the EA70's are OS, whys that a bad thing? the 823's are again bulletproof with no rear suspension it makes sense to have wide strong rims with big tyres no? and how you can say tubless doesn't work for hard riding I'll never know! maybe on to something with changing the raceface stuff though, as for the outlands I've not had a problem loosing my feet, I wear DC's that have a sole similar to 5:10's and the pins seem to grip fine.

so maybe I'll address the BB and related gubbins, ah ha! a plan emerges! tidy darts! 😀

are the 36 vans lighter? I seem to remember early reviews of the subzero with fox's being slated? that said I rode a Merida 150 with van's on and found them to be pretty good

Nice bike, only thing that springs to mind are different tyres, High Rollers are really draggy for the grip they give. IMO, obviously.

Having seen the way you mince about, I don't know why you lug that ridiculous machine around. You don't do big jumps or owt gnarly, so why not just ditch it and get something lighter, that you might actually be able to ride? 😯

GW, interesting…

Subzero seems bulletproof and the geometry's spot on. Nope! it has a ropey high BB.

if I wind the 66's down to 140 that tightens up the head angle and its perfect for twitchy singletrack.

But it would handle nicer in twichy singletrack with less travel. 140mm on the front of a hardtail is fine for no brain blatting through straightish rough sections but other than that less travel feels way nicer to me.

the stem is 50mm, would you suggest direct mount? that would ride awful!

Don't think ypou understand the term "direct mount" google it! I run a 40mm stem on my hardtail

why coils over air? the 66's can be tuned perfectly.

Air sprung is simply not comparible to coil (or as reliable)

Yep the EA70's are OS, whys that a bad thing?

I hate OS, there's no need unless you are running 750+ bars plus they are heavier and look shit!

the 823's are again bulletproof with no rear suspension it makes sense to have wide strong rims with big tyres no?

not really! like I said, they are overkill, 721s are strong enough and wide enough for any hardtail hero!

and how you can say tubless doesn't work for hard riding I'll never know!

Plain and simple, It doesn't! a tyre burping air is really not what you want hitting any corner flat out and it happens too frequently running sensible pressures (higher than needed with tubes).

as for the outlands I've not had a problem loosing my feet, I wear DC's that have a sole similar to 5:10's and the pins seem to grip fine.

Maybe, but for me, I hate 5:10 levels of foot grip and mainly use Etnies (occasionally Vans) and without a pin where I describe you have to jam your foot between the crank and pedal to stop it sliding off the edge of a pedal in rough loose drifty terrain.

so maybe I'll address the BB and related gubbins, ah ha! a plan emerges! tidy darts!

if you are happy with it, leave it alone!

GW have you ever ridden with tubeless tyres? I've not once had that problem and I always run at 38psi max.

68 bars, 50mm stem, the slack head angle and the 180 forks make its handling spot on when downhill and when the forks are wound down it quickens everything up, seems spot on to me, what height are you, if your about 5ft 11in you'd be welcome to have a blast down some rough stuff on it then make up your mind 🙂

as for the 721s v's the 823's, there would be zero point in changing, they are pretty similar TBH

tubeless just works, no punctures etc in well over a year I couldn't see any benefit in going back to tubes, nor would I 🙂

As it happesn i will have a couple of sets of Pedals for sale that have been to magazines recently 🙂

mmmmminteresting 😉

Custom respray?

have a wan k over it. urrrghh… my bike.. urghh… is so… urgh… sexy..

Everything I love about STW in one thread.

Excellent work.

Makes a mental note to avoid borrowing gloves from Kevevs 😀

tubeless just works, no punctures etc in well over a year I couldn't see any benefit in going back to tubes, nor would I

Not strictly true, the one time I borrowed your bike (and the only time I've ridden tubeless) it burped and I had to faff around with tyre jizz!

<insert jokes about too many welsh cakes here>

lol! I too have shecksy bike. (rubs thighs)

I always run at 38psi max

38psi is really high though.

I run at more like 25psi.

Ah! I forgot about the welsh jizz debacle! It's true! Cakes n all 😀

I dunno what you are on about, but I like cakes. And I like Wales sometimes.

Mr Nut, your not oversprung enough.. id suggest some of them fancy Manitou Dorado MRD TPC forks up front

Hmm are they available as a 29er option? 😀

MrNutt – Member
GW have you ever ridden with tubeless tyres? I've not once had that problem and I always run at 38psi max.

Yes, first tried them around 10 years ago (michi Comp 16/24) couldn't get them not to burp under 30psi under normal DH cornering, have tried again a few times since with no luck, currently have an 823 with minion front that can hack my now much more conservative style DH at around 32psi but still burps if I take it anywhere rocky 🙁

68 bars, 50mm stem, the slack head angle and the 180 forks make its handling spot on when downhill and when the forks are wound down it quickens everything up, seems spot on to me, what height are you, if your about 5ft 11in you'd be welcome to have a blast down some rough stuff on it then make up your mind

I am 5'11" and have ridden plenty similar bikes and am not a fan

as for the 721s v's the 823's, there would be zero point in changing, they are pretty similar TBH

No they aren't. your 823s are almost 150g heavier and slightly wider (I prefer the tyre profile a 721 gives). and most UST tyres are what? 100g heavier? LUST are fragile.

tubeless just works, no punctures etc in well over a year I couldn't see any benefit in going back to tubes, nor would I

good for you, but it absolutely doesn't work for me.

tubeless only works for mincing! and 823s are way overkill for mincing.

I must be mincing then, it's the only plausible explanation 😀

Well, I've seen it with my own eyes.

Nutt, you might as well sell that stupid bike, buy a hybrid and wear a dress really. And just pootle around Swindon Docks, picking up sailors who you'd then charge for letting them do unmentionable things to you in the Woods Behind Nationwide.

It's all you're good for.

The green-eyed monster is a terrible mistress elfin, still you make a lovely couple and it's good she gives you special rates what with you being first cousins n' all 😀