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I do really like it and with all the reading i've been doing in terms of tech, reviews, suspension and even the service manual to work out what we have/need/want etc my mind is still happy with it.
Had a chat with the guys at Blazing Bikes and just waiting for delivery guy to let me know when it'll be shipped and when it'll arrive.
I need to get hold of and work out how we can convert the 148x12 into a 157x12 setup, it's a Hope Pro4 in 148x12 currently.. I'm not sure if this works
https://problemsolversbike.com/products/super-booster-hub-spacing-kit-rear
Or indeed where i'd get one in the UK. I'm waiting for Hope to come back to me too via email. The reason for all this is, we haven't decided yet on 29er or mullet in terms of what he'll run it as. So ideally i want a cheap solution to convert his currnet wheel into a 157 so he can run back to back testing on the 27.5/29 setups. The rest of the bike apart from getting the suspension setup is as it comes and as it'll stay, possibly with some tweaks in the cockpit (i don't like that phrase) area depending on sponsor stuff.
Ison Distribution do Problem Solvers for the U.K. 99.9% of shops will have an account so should be able to help out
https://www.ison-distribution.com/english/product.php?part=HUPS0953
For some reason links don’t take you straight it. It comes up if you search though
Yeah found it on there, thank you... showing as out of stock/unavailable sadly... but it's certainly a start point.
Although, trying to stay with him uphill today wasn’t fun. I could blame it on a long ride yesterday but I’d be kidding myself.
Do you need to get an ebike ? Would be useful at races too
Do you need to get an ebike ? Would be useful at races too
Got one here mate. But admittedly i'm not a massive fan of it. We rarely XC together in truth. It's been useful at some races in terms of semi-uplifting or i'll use it in 2 weeks time for riding round the Enduro National Champs to take him food and drink etc. But in terms of riding, i'm not quite ready for one full-time for myself. I'd rather kill myself trying to stay with him as i think it's doing me good 😀
Simple fact is though, it's a thing that one day will have to come ... but i'll fight it.
For now, when needed i'll steal the wifes one.
So we're onto this week now.
Last night was stripping the bike down and giving it a full check, new brake pads and a new gear cable was all that was needed at the moment. Plan for today is to get the Cushcore into the rear for Glencoe which comes up in 3 weeks time.
First up is Pontypool this weekend, testing on the new Session hopefully (or maybe driving up to collect it first) and a bit of time on the GT/Privateer back to back testing with the Session and maybe timing it to see how it goes. We've borrowed a 157x12 rear from our favourite mechanic at Rotec Cycles, so he can test back to back with mullet and full 29 on the Session.
After that it's straight to Minehead for the National Champs Enduro with Southern Enduro.... then it's off to Glencoe... It never ends.. lol.
FYI National Champs enduro was in June. Shite event though, didn't miss much.
FYI National Champs enduro was in June. Shite event though, didn’t miss much.
Maybe it's the Southern Enduro Champs then... LOL... dunno... I only went by what was on the pic/website..
FYI National Champs enduro was in June. Shite event though, didn’t miss much.
Yep, Southern Champs next weekend. Probably the same end result as above. Actively avoiding & going to ride Exmoor the weekend after to ride the actual decent trails instead 😆
Still waiting for the Session to arrive, but hopeful it'll be this week.
Got a new front tyre on the way to replace the slightly weird choice that comes on the Session, well, half weird. It's a Bontager obviously but is a GE5 Team issue which is wired. Thoughts are they can go up tubeless but it's not described as a tubeless tyre, however is 1500gr a piece which means it'll be replaced and the GE5 will be sold or binned. I've also got a new wheel on loan from my LBS that i need to collect in a 157 and 27.5 so that'll be used for some back to back testing. The plan for testing depends upon when the bike arrives. If it gets here before the weekend i think we'll be hitting Pontypool on Sat... If he's not here in time, then i may go to collect it on Sat morning with the boy and then head there or FoD depending on the weather.
The boy is certainly under no pressure to get racing it, but i do know he'll want to get some time in on it to enjoy himself.
Thank you for the compliment mate.. It's nice to be appreciated. Happily, he's a nice boy and deserves nice things..
Although i will admit, i do take things a bit far 😀
I would subtly ask the shop to delay it until after Glencoe. Mainly for new bike bouncing down horrible rocks reasons 😉
LOL @mashr it's a valid point. But i'm not sure yet if he'd even consider racing it at Glencoe yet as he'll have barely ridden it. But we're heading to Glencoe on the Tues, so he'll have Weds to Sat on both bikes and we'll likely time him too. (or they'll have timed practice)
The bike has a good protector on the bottom and is fully invisiframed before delivery, so it'll be as ready as it can.
But we’re heading to Glencoe on the Tues
anyone else think bloody hell, he's bought a YT on first reading?
😉
been following this thread and you and your kids progress for a while and having a clear out....do you get free tyres? or are you tied to a particular brand? i ask as i have a maxxis minion dhf dh 2.5 and a dhr 2 2.5 (yes the ones you cant buy) dh both 29r that i got from my old neighbour that need a new home only had one ride as they were just to draggy even for basically free tyres on my trail bike! basically could you or rather your son make use of them? you can have them free
Hi Doris, that's fantastically kind of you. Tyres is the one expense that we really find hard. We've got so many bikes and so many wheelsets that there's never enough tyres. We don't get any for free in terms of sponsorship no.
We'd obviously LOVE to have them, but honestly I do feel there are people on here who's need is greater than ours, there's still people struggling day to day and I feel it would be unjust for us to accept them.
If you really don't want to advertise them then yeah, we'd happily accept them of course.
It's a very kind thought either way mate, thank you
Beautifully put Mr Weeks 🙂
To be honest and i might be mistaken there probably isnt that may people on here who would really make use of some DH tyres so if anyone reading this is struggling and needs some fresh rubber to keep them rolling i am happy to send them to them but likewise if no one comes forward then you guys having them and using them that would be brilliant
the dhr2 has "test pilot" written on the side so who ever has them can be all "factory"
What i could do then to make it more fair in the world is if you/we find someone who has a want/need i can send them a set of brand new Bontrager G5 Team Issue in 29 x 2.5. They're a wired bead (although some have set them up tubeless) hence why we don't want them. They get fatastic reviews but are classed as pretty heavy. The lad likes what he likes and these don't fit his box ticking, so they'll be coming straight off. Due to weight i won't fit them to my Slayer.
So if anyone reading wants a pair of G5s, please shout, i'll then happily take Doris up 🙂
I don't need em, but the G5s would be good on a ebike where the weight isn't important 🙂
Tirpwentys with the boy today.
Debated whether we should drive up and collect the Session but we waited for it to be delivered on Tues due to weather.
My plans went south as we were being uplifted by a mate, but a third teen turned up so van was full.
I did 4 laps pedalling on road back to the top, it's not the nicest climb ever. Not ridden there before and some bits were kinda steep! Enjoyed it though
Bit of free time today and with Glencoe getting closer it was time to give the bike a full strip down. Shock out, all linkages, bearings, spacers etc cleaned, greased, checked. Front wheel Hope Pro4 bearings had covers off and fed a little grease, they were a little dry.
Rear wheel is a bit creaky so needs some spokes tensioning, so currently the spare is in the bike while I drop that at LBS so he can do it right. I should really buy a spike tension meter so the boy can do it.
The boy was giving me a hand and learning a few bits at same time.
Tyres arrived and they're absolutely fabulous mate... massive massive thank you from the boy... they're honestly superb.
We'll be fitting on this afternoon when the Trek rocks up.. If my lad hasn't exploded by the time it arrives 😀
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53086395464_735e412daa_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53086395464_735e412daa_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2oT4DSq ]IMG_20230801_135957[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Out testing on back to back runs on usual trail.
Trek has set a new PB time in trail by 1.5s
I've done a few laps on it, I'll have it ove the GT all day. It fits lovely and is more stable.
I love the thing. Both bikes are sprung to him, but I'd ride the Trek all day
Looks ace, not that I know anything at all about DH bikes 👌
Indeed it looks good. It's a weird shape as it looks small standing next to it, but when you're holding it it feels big... then when riding it, it feels big too.
Riding it though it's so stable and poised. Really impressed with how it feels. I'll be massively curious as to how it rides and feels in the coming weeks, whether he goes mullet or stays 29er and indeed whether we convert the GT to mullet.
The one thing i know for sure, the Trek will be the primary race bike at Glencoe. LOL... i can see it in his attitude, his riding and his feelings of it.
Looks nice.👍 I think its the angle of the photo that makes it look small.
Better to let him ride it if that's what he wants 😃
The one thing i know for sure, the Trek will be the primary race bike at Glencoe. LOL… i can see it in his attitude, his riding and his feelings of it.
That was pretty obvious some time ago 😉
@joebristol I know a lot about DH bikes and I think it looks ace too.
Those that think it looks weird, it’s because it’s a DH bike, designed to be ridden whilst standing and attacking not sat down and pedalling. Wheelbase will likely be shorter (or very similar) to an equivalent enduro/trail bike and it’ll sit taller overall due to the suspension travel. It will ride booooootifully though.
He’s come along way since those earlier Fury’s, they were hideous to ride compared to the last one and this session will be.
Dunno mate, he loves the GT so that being the race bike wasn't exactly a stretch, he's been racing that one over a year. But he did jump on the Session and straight away feels at home. Add to that his timing (not 100% precise) also showed him quicker on the Session as well as more stable, then it's hard to argue.
I also think in terms of how it feels it's shown a few things on the GT
1. We've been running it in low on flip chip, I think it should be high. (We've both just been testing it outside and both prefer it in hi)
2. We may 29/29 the GT, it'll mean a headset cup change as well as flipping chip
3. We may not mullet the session.
When are you getting a spare trek then? 😀
When are you getting a spare trek then?
LOL got a spare £7000 lying about i can have ?
Had a trip at lunch to Rotec Cycles and got both his rear wheels on the GT re-tensioned. Both had a couple of slightly looser than optimal spokes, but i prefer to get him to do them right.
Picked up a spare 27.5 in 157x12 as well which we'll now fit into the Trek tomorrow for a bit of a mullet/29 test session. It may not be the final decision as it'll only be the local stuff and likely wetter than ideal, but it should give the boy an idea whether he prefers mullet/29 as he knows the trails well.
Obviously this will then decide longer term which spare wheel we get for the back of the Trek.
Glad the tyres arrived safe enjoy the racing and riding on them 🙂
Been an interesting week. The lad spent 4 hours on the Trek yesterday at the local spot, playing, messing, jumping, just arsing about really. I'll grab some videos off him later. After lunch he then spent another 3 hours out on the Privateer to dial himself in for this weekend. To say he's looking rapid doesn't really do justice lol... He's looking bloody impressive.
Bit of shopping today for baked goods, snacks, peanuts... then off to Minehead in the morning early doors. Southern Enduro Champs. It's a longy and a biggy. All day practice on Sat, followed by a seeding run at 6.10pm for the lad to decide race order, but the seeding run also counts towards his overall time for the weekend.
Then Sunday is 8 stages of racing..
It'll be a slightly different weekend logistically for us as for Enduro races i usually just send him off and either watch or wait for him to come back. (Unless i'm racing too of course and then i'm out with him), but for this one i'll really need to jump on the ebike and find him a few times to give him food, water etc. Not sure yet if the stages pass back through the arena to enable this easily or if i'll head out, find him and fuel him. It'll then mostly be sitting watching the live timing to see how he's getting on.
Take a coat for Saturday!!! Looking somewhat damp! Have a great weekend - love following you two and your adventures...
@bigdaddy yes Sat is looking somewhat wet as well as bloody windy... I don't even think we'll bother putting gazebo up until the evening and i'll just sit in the van when not out with him.
Thank you for the compliment.... I do worry a times i'm boring the hell out of everyone 😀 but the thread also helps keeping me sane at times.