I’ve been pondering today and was thinking maybe of putting the 27.5 HOPE wheels onto the Parkwood to see how it handles on 27.5s.

I then moved onto “well, maybe i should get a used COTIC” and then from there went to “Hmmmm if i’m going steel, what else is there”…

https://www.stantonbikes.com/product/slackline-853-next-gen/

This came up as it’s pretty much ideal in every context from what i can see. 30.9 means it can run my Magura Vyron quickly, then 142×12 means the HOPE Pro4’s go straight in it.

I’d be whipping the components off my Parkwood frame which would mean i’d be running 120mm RS TK30’s, which are in 29er flavour, but that almost seems a bit of a waste.

The rest of the spec is fairly generic/simple with Shimano XT brakes, Raceface 1X crankset, a set of bars and a stem etc.

My 2 minor worries are
Should i really have 29er forks in there, even if running a 27.5 wheel…. how will that affect things if at all ?
Some of my riding is road based on the 29 Parkwood, will the 27.5 Slackline just be completely horrible for that ?

I’ve ridden plenty of bikes over the years, both on road and trails etc, even the Whyte T130 on the road quite a few times and never had an issue with it, i liked it still.

Am i just thinking of spending money for the sake of it and either just keep the Parkwood as it is and forget the Slackline, or will the new bike actually be nicer/better to ride ?

Can’t comment too much about the forks, but I’m a massive fan of the new Slackline.

I borrowed one from Dan for a few weeks last year and was massively impressed with it – I had a second gen Ti Switchback at the time. The 853 tubeset is really really nice to ride and has a nice compliance to it (more so than my Ti frame did if I’m honest). It’ll deal with the road bits just fine.

Thanks for that.

Just had a longish chat with one of the guys there regarding running the 29er forks etc, along with the protection they have on both the inside and outside of the frame negating the corrosion potential… i must admit he’s pretty much sold me on the idea… I just need to internally justify the spend to myself and i think i’m golden.

Sod it.. I’m in 🙂

Ordered.

Good stuff – hope you enjoy it.

For me, it’s the best bike in the range but most seem to overlook them for the Swithback and Sherpa.

i’d be running 120mm RS TK30’s, which are in 29er flavour, but that almost seems a bit of a waste

Get yourself some of those bargainous Manitou Mattocs, they work great on a slackline when set at 140mm.

Where from mate ? I’ll be looking into fork options later tonight and sorting out what to do with the Parkwood that’s going to be getting shipped out later on.
There’s quite a few pairs of forks on Ebay at the moment in 27.5, speaking to the guys at Stanton earlier i need about 200mm steerer so need to check what’s on ebay and in classifieds here and see what plan i can come up with.

I’ll also need a rear mech and a shifter to complete the Parkwood or the Slackline. Apart from that, i’m good to go and just waiting for it to arrive now 🙂

Nice one OP. If I recall, you are from around Swinley arn’t you? The 853 steel will make the cobbles easier too, although they are not really an issue on my Switchback

Yup, not far. For the really yukky stuff i’ve got a T130, so no worries there, it can handle more stones than i can 🙂 This was just an impulse purchase and something i’ve wanted to try for ages really.

Right then, as i’ve got some of your attention….

Lets find some 140mm 27.5 forks to go in here… 200mm steerer if used.. £250 max. 15mm standard 100mm width forks.

These are first on the list… .Although 120mm

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rockshox-reba-rl-solo-air-forks-15mm-2017/rp-prod151092

Haha, I like how your thought process went from building a parts bin special- to – Ahh sod it and buying one of the nicest steel frames around. Good work there fella 😀

Any excuse to post a pix of mine,

Currently with 120mm 2016 fox 32 fit4’s which are fine, but would probably like a chunkier set of forks at some point…don’t think my riding/mincing skills NEED them however

I wouldn’t be getting to excited too soon though, the Stanton guys are a bit slow with shipping.

Classifieds on here are worth a nose as there are a few people flogging on the Fox 34s they picked up in the Mojo firesale a week or so ago.

I do like a nice hardtail.

Good choice,I’ve had a ball on mine since it was launched . 😀

Fork thoughts or 140mm max?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/X-Fusion-Sweep-RL2-Fork-27-5-MTB-Suspension-Fork-Ex-Display-Tapered/263288037707?hash=item3d4d30a14b:g:5acAAOSwiBJZ7hDg

It does say Travel: 160mm (ITA 100-160mm) internal travel adjustable?

I’ve got a gazillion forks on my sodding watch list!

Xfusion Sweeps would be a fine choice and yes they are internally adjustable, how easy that is I dont know, unfortunately you’ve just missed Rose bikes selling Sweeps new for £240, however these look a better bet, they are cheaper and dont have pink decals..unless you like pink decals.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/X-Fusion-Sweep-RL2-Suspension-Forks-27-5-650b-160mm-Travel-2017/222680652814?hash=item33d8cd1c0e:g:VX0AAOSwxu1Z23BX

I’d say go with the designer and 140 max( this also is down to you -you may physically like a higher front end or not),I’m running 140 fit 32’s on mine-as I got them on a good deal.They seem to suit the bike well for me and the narrow stanchions match the elegant narrow steel tubes of the frame nicely too 8O,I haven’t got too many hard charging rocky/steep fork twisting descents where I am -so these are more than capable.
This bike is very capable and will quite happily do many things.

Perhaps a fox 34 or a new lighter 2018 pike would make it even more capable,although I have felt no need to look any farther than what I have .

Already on watch list, I was slightly worried as Stanton said 200mm steerer for an 18.

Perhaps a fox 34 or a new lighter 2018 pike would make it even more capable,although I have felt no need to look any farther than what I have

Likely out of my budget, which started the day at £0 !

You’ve got some Fox’s used here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOX-32-CTD-27-5-140mm-front-fork-tapered-used-good-condition/182861607112?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

There’s new Sektors for £230 @ 130mm
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Rockshox-Sektor-Silver-Solo-Air-Fork-27-5-130mm-Travel/142540010485?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Along with some Suntour Raidon lower end for £160
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fork-Suntour-Raidon-LO-R-Air-27-5-120mm-Conical-axis-15mm-black/172946505447?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Along with a bundle of used forks

Get yourself some of those bargainous Manitou Mattocs, they work great on a slackline when set at 140mm.

weeksy – Member

Where from mate
[/quote]
CRC. Down to £349 now, might buy some as spares at that price!
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/manitou-mattoc-pro-2-forks-15mm-crc-exclusive-2017/rp-prod158504%5Dnull

Theres a thread on them here from when they were £399-
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-manitou-matrix-pro-2-399-crc

There’s new Sektors for £230 @ 130mm

Along with some Suntour Raidon lower end for £160

Yeah. Get the Mattocs.

Raidons are ok at 120mm, any longer and they’re nearly as noodley as Fox 32s. Suntour Aurons (34mm, basically the same as X-Fusion Sweeps) are really good, as are Durolux (36mm now) if you want something a bit beefier.

You get usually waaaaaaaaaaaay more fork for your money with Suntour stuff.

In the end i decided to bail on this purchase and stick with what i’ve got. Partly due to some problem finding on the Whyte T-130 yesterday and partly due to loving the Parkwood as it is. Also because starting from a random idea that was going to cost me £100 to swap which was for a COTIC Soul in the classifieds on here (with me selling the Parkwood frame too) it had ballooned to a figure of over a grand for a new frame, headset, rear mech, shifter, saddle and forks…. Which considering i love both my bikes, seemed a bit excessive.

I’ve bought some X-Fusion Sweep RL2’s to go into the Whyte T-130 for testing the rattle, assuming they’re all good, i’ll send the Suntour Aion forks off to Winstanleys for warranty which they’ve agreed to do.
The plan then may be to run the Sweep RL2s in the Parkwood frame along with 27.5 front and rear wheels in 140mm trim… See how that makes the Parkwood handle. (Or maybe just run the replacement/repaired Aions in it at 130mm)
I was pretty shocked how wandery the front end of the Whyte was when climbing with 120mm/29er front end…

a random idea that was going to cost me £100 to swap which was for a COTIC Soul in the classifieds on here (with me selling the Parkwood frame too) it had ballooned to a figure of over a grand for a new frame, headset, rear mech, shifter, saddle and forks…. Which considering i love both my bikes, seemed a bit excessive.

Seems perfectly normal behaviour to me 😀